Random thoughts... - by Tocky
Anarchic Fox on 8/12/2023 at 03:31
Every year a big hotel in the area hosts an event with multiple rooms of ice sculptures. This year, the first I've been, the theme was How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Quite impressive! Dozens of human-scale sculptures, a handful of ice buildings, and a set of ice slides (about ten feet high). I'll get some pictures from my friend.
mxleader on 14/12/2023 at 04:13
I was just thinking that there is a decent meteor shower tonight that is sort of visible here in Arizona. Surprisingly the skies are not very clear at night in the winters here but I did manage to see a few bright streaks so far. The most amazing meteor shower I've ever seen was about twenty years ago during the summer while laying awake late at night out in the open on a sandbar on the Lower Salmon River in Idaho. But I digress. Tonight I was thinking that maybe it's possible that there is some sort of life that could survive entry on one of those meteorites and then somehow survive long enough to escape the inside of a small metallic rock. Of course that could take millions of years and any DNA in such creatures might be all dried up. But as Jeff Goldblum's character once said, "Life finds a way."
Tocky on 14/12/2023 at 16:29
Back when there was no oxygen rich atmosphere some form of life might have survived entry but now the extreme temps of entry because of oxygen would crisp it. The life which did become established long ago expelled oxygen as waste then died off because it could not live in that waste. Some few survived and we animals are the result of that.
Not meaning to rain on your parade. I'm sure we have all thought about seeding life at some point. But the exact conditions would have to be before that could happen and we are no longer in those conditions. As a matter of fact, it's a sort of failsafe for established life that any subsequent "seeds" would burn up in an oxygen rich atmosphere. The invaders might flourish otherwise. Reminds me of the reaction when a sperm enters and egg.
It's just as interesting to think of life spreading from some torn apart or meteor blasted planet (imagine if the meteor which killed the dinosaurs blew chunks into space which became seeds) like space ripples and then hardening itself against further invasion. Of course that still leaves the chicken or egg question of original seed.
heywood on 15/12/2023 at 16:35
Andromeda Strain anyone?
If the extraterrestrial life developed around a star, then it would probably have to survive a supernova in the early universe to find its way into our primordial solar system.
Azaran on 18/12/2023 at 18:55
I recently discovered the magic of salt+vinegar baths to clean metal.
This is a red brass (more copper than zinc) candelabrum. Regular metal cleaner was taking forever to clean. I steeped it into a white vinegar-salt bath for a couple days, and the dirt & verdigris/oxide sloughed right off with just a sponge:
Inline Image:
https://i.postimg.cc/RZBWxjrw/IMG-20231211-095222.jpgI tried it on a standard (golden) brass one, but didn't work as well. I imagine it's mainly the copper that it targets.
Tocky on 23/12/2023 at 22:05
Copper is particularly reactive. You never put a penny in vinegar then put salt on it as a kid? They also recommend this sort of bath with silver before welding, that's with flux of course. I only know this because I got side tracked when I was learning how to sand cast silver. And I only got off on that track when I was researching Native American jewelry hallmarks because I'm thinking of collecting something my wife approves of for a change.
Sandcasting tutorial, but you can use baby powder instead of the factory stuff to coat for separation.
[video=youtube_share;rOtQAQVOuYE]https://youtu.be/rOtQAQVOuYE[/video]
