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Of his later work, I like Friday best. Stranger in a Strange Land. The Cat Who Walked Through Walls is a sort of sequel to Mistress. Any or all of the Future History short stories. Any of the juveniles. The target market was teen age boys, but the themes are pretty universal. Heinlein...

I'm paraphrasing a book reviewer here: 'When I read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, I was sorry I never got to meet Ayn Rand. After reading her biography, I wanted to dig her up and drive a stake through her heart to make SURE!' She was an awful person, with some appalling behavior...

Boiling temp at 1000 feet above sea level is 210°F. It will vary a bit with atmospheric pressure change, which is the actual variable, rather than altitude. I think what is missing here is a reliable reference thermometer, such as a glass lab thermometer. "A man with one watch knows what time...

Just a general comment concerning mechanical pressure gages. They are most accurate in the middle of the range. For example, a 0-100 psi gauge is best suited to a system that operates between 25 and 75 psig. So a 0-2000 psi gauge is accurate in the 500-1500 psi range. Source: Navy A-School...

I take mine out into the woods on my property and transfer custody to the universe at large. After a year or so, it's gone. That's how I recycle.

It's your tax dollars at work. I guess.

Thanks for posting this, Dan. I'm facing a similar project soon and I've been agonizing over the fitting issue. This will make it pretty much painless.

I had to google an image, because I'm not familiar with your model of regulator. Looks to be a standard type. That square shank is a place to put a wrench. The square is turned round and threaded, so that it can be screwed into the regulator body. It may simply need to be tightened, or...

I think most people use a kettle valve. The heat from the boil will be plenty to sanitize the valve. You'll probably want to add a piece of hose to better direct the flow. If so, remove the hose before heating, and put it on when the wort is cool. Don't forget to sanitize the hose, inside...

Just a thought.... Have you considered Robert Heinlein's juvenile science fiction? Some of the science is dated, but the stories and characters stand up very well. They were written in the late forties to early sixties, and had to satisfy a very blue-nosed Scribner's children's editor. I...

I agree, she could have covered the same ground in half the time. But look at anything else written by a Russian. They do like to stretch things out.

The Perfectionists, by Simon Winchester. How precision engineers created the modern world. Full of quirky and eccentric people who really lived and did amazing things. Starts with steam engines and cannons, ends with gravity wave detectors and trying to understand time itself. Did you know...

In defense of Ms. Rand's writing (not that she needs it), she was born and educated through college in Czarist and Bolshevik Russia. She came here in 1922, IIRC, not speaking a word of English. So it's no wonder her phrasing and word choices sometimes seem, well, odd.

I agree. 'Unaware' is the key word here. After years of craft beer and homebrew, I recently bought a 12 of what used to be my favorite macro beer, because I was tired and didn't want to make another stop. Weak, watery, flavor-free. I don't see many people going back once they become aware of...

Side loading will quickly destroy bronze bushings. Properly sized ball bearings will handle reasonable belt tension pretty much indefinitely. You probably have ball or roller wheel bearings on whatever you're driving, and they carry the load just fine. V belts don't need to be super tight...

Folks who know me, know that I'm a safety fanatic. That's OK, people don't get hurt on my watch. Brewing is an industrial process, at home or in a major brewery. If you don't take precautions, you WILL suffer industrial grade injuries. Leather shoes or boots and long pants should be a...

The reason for multiple tests is to be certain that fermentation is substantially complete, as indicated by no change in SG between readings taken a few days apart. You can't assume fermentation is complete simply because you've reached a certain SG. So many variables in brewing, you may...

You can easily seal the exposed foam by smearing on a coating of silicone caulk. It won't be pretty, but it will prevent the foam from harboring mold or bacteria.

If you are in a position to do so, you can mount a piece of electrical strut above the freezer. Add a trolley and a pulley hoist and loading and unloading becomes a breeze. If appearance is an issue, you can paint the strut and remove the trolley and hoist when not in use. Just be sure you...

This is entirely correct. I should have mentioned that I underlet my strike and sparge water through my manifold. I've never seen a doughball, and my one and only stuck sparge broke up when I let a bit more water backflow in. I stir at the beginning of the mash, every fifteen minutes during...