the experimental life

many years ago,
when i was in year 3 of college,
studing chemistry.
A course i took was a lab in instrumental analysis.
The entire grade revolved around one experiment using Gas Chromatography.
We had to synthesize the matrial used in the column
and that is where the problems began.
It was a delicate reaction
and as hard as we tried to control the variables,
the reaction failed...
time and time again.
We learned many lessons:
that variables beyond our control could change things;
Temerature, atmospheric pressure and humidity were a few.
We also learned that failure to produce the material did not mean we failed the course.
We had to write up our failure and deduce "Why",
then we had to write up what would have been the action of the material if we had succeeded.
My partnern and i both received an "A" for the course.
Fast forward to yesterday and the catistrophic failure of the cornbread.
All factors had to be concidered:  old baking powder, atmospheric pressure, noise...
It all had a factor.
Today  the atmosphere was different and the cornbread came to pass perfectly.
On to my current Physical Therapy for my balance.
The worker almost threw up her hands because i am a unique case,
one that all the normal things do not work on.
She wants to "experiment".
I am game.

testin, trying - not quite there

It has been a rough2 weeks at work and i have been in a number of battles
 - so i have not been very inspired...
that of course leads me to try new things or "twists" to old recipies.
Yesterday i took my tried and true clam sauce and add black olives and lemon zest -
it mostly worked.
Today - i wanted fish - i had frozen Tilapia.
Normally i bread it with corn meal and bake it -
today - i had a box of packaged corn bread that i need to use so...
i melted butter in an oven pan, placed the Tilapia in it and poured the corn bread batter over it and baked...
Okay - i probably should have toasted the fish a bit first
or added some lemon to it, but it came out okay -
enough that no one complained,
except they wondered what poaching the Tilapia in cream of corn would have been like.
I should recover enough tomorrow that i should have my game on...if we do not go out to eat BBQ....

A failed experiment

Just finished working 4 hours today, yesterday I worked four hours, tomorrow I work again, but Tuesday and Wednesday...I am off.
It was not so bad today, but I asked John to cook tonight, I have be way too tired. The work gives my eye a lot of strain. I do not know how it did not do what it has been doing, but it was not bad.
I know i was a bit aggravated over a piece in our local newspaper on this Scofieldtown thing.
Seems residents think that the trace amounts of chloroform and other trichlorocarbon speices are going to kill them.
Funny, those are by products of chlorine disinfection and the water company water has much more than the trace amounts found in the wells.
The proable source of the chlorinated compounds? Using bleach in the laundy and for cleaning. Anyway...

The day is beautiful, crisp and clear after all that rain yesterday and not cold, just cool.
I really did not want to go into work, but it is finished.

Oh, the experiment that failed?
That was at home.
I wanted to extract the color and menthol out of my mint and had some vodka downstairs (nasty stuff, I do not know where it came from, but I do not drink it) and so I used it. It seemed to work, the chlorophyll was coming out, the mint flavor came out. I wanted to eliminate the alcohol...
Oops, that meant I eliminated the menthol also, the main flavor i wanted.
What did I get?
Green colored, chlorophyll (think grass) tasting water.
Okay, back to the lab for some intelligence next time and maybe a new brain.
Better yet, maybe a bit of rest would stop some of this. So I will try again Wednesday.