Freezing

Yes it has been freezing up here in Rexburg. With the freezing temperatures come a lot of things. You have the bad and the good. This post is just to show you one of the good things that comes from freezing temperatures. So the good that come from freezing temperatures is beauty. On Saturday I had to work earlier than I usually do, 9:30 am is when I had to be there. So I walk out from our apartment to find that it was really foggy out. I know you are saying that fog is not beautiful. Well, before you go to far just remember that it is really cold here and that fog is a cold with lots of water in it. We were getting freezing fog that day. Here are some of the pictures that Steph and I took after I got back from work.

 

Looking up a tree into the ice crystal covered branches

 

Ice crystals growing off the branches of trees.

 

 

More crystals on this tree.

 

 

Steph while we were walking (I didn't get permission from her.... ...bad idea?)

 

 

We really liked the deciduous trees.

 

Well, I hoped you liked that pictures. I think that it is best to see it is person.



 



James Bond

I want to tell you all that I love the James Bond movies, some better than others. However, I have noticed that James Bond has a few gadgets that are physically impossible to work. I am sure that some of you know which ones I am talking about.

The first one that I am going to talk about is the belt grappling hook from "Golden Eye." The reason why I say that this could never work is because of a few reasons. The first one is that there is no way to get enough energy from the belt to shoot the buckle as far as it does. You say what about an explosive. Well, it would work, but it would also blow off his hand when he launches it. Air pressure or any other kind of pressure wouldn't work either. This is because there would be no place or room to hold that much pressure.

The second one comes from "Golden Eye" as well. It is his watch that has a laser on it. I am not saying that a watch can't have a laser, but not one that is as powerful as his. He is able to burn through the floor of a train with it. At least right now I can say that isn't possible to fit a laser that powerful in a watch, but who knows about the future.

The third one is the flying car. It was in the movie "Man With the Golden Gun." The reason why this car is impossible is because of how the wings are connected to the car. The force that is required to lift that car and get it to fly would just shear the bolts, and then the wings would come off.

I think that is it for now about the impossible toys that James Bond has. I hope you had fun. 

Salt vs Sand

Okay it is now that season where we need to melt the ice on the sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, and other places. Everybody has their opinion on what to use to melt the ice. Our two contenders; weighing in at about 58.4 g/mol and in white is salt; weighing in at about 60 g/mol in brown is sand.

So the question is which of these two is going to come out at the top? Let the fight begin.

Salt

Salt is very strong is it likes to remove the ice completely from the fight. It does this by lowering the freezing temperature of the ice from 32 F/ 0 C to 0 F/ -18 C. This happens because the atomic structure of water with the salt requires a lower temperature to reach the point of wanting to get close together. Salt's strength is also its weakness. Because it lowers the freezing temp. it must get the job done before it gets too cold. Salt also like to destroy other things in the ring besides ice. It isn't the biggest friend to steal or concrete. Most industries that use steal and concrete have found ways to prevent this damage.

Sand

Sand like to man handle his opponents. He likes to put more friction on the ice. This allows the cars to drive on it and not slip, even in very cold weather. Unlike salt though, sand freeze to the ice if it gets wet or another layer of ice gets on top of it. In places of high traffic sand also is easily removed from the salt. Sand does not cause damage to other things beside maybe crops and to clean up crews.

Outcome

It is a tie everybody. They both do a great job against the ice. They do the job in their own way, and they make a great team when in needs to be done. So the choice is yours of which you want to use. Sand is dirty and it just allows friction on the ice as long it is on the surface. Salt melts the ice as long as it is not too cold.

 

Cooking

So lately I have been wanting to try some new recipes. Last week it was a recipe of fish. My Dad gave us some halibut from when he and two of my brothers went up to fish one of the final frontier of the world, Alaska. My wife and I aren't very big fish people. In fact we both kind of hate it.

This is my usual face for when I hear the word fish for dinner or smell fish. I can't really say if this is my Love's face when it comes to fish. So it is really surprising that I actually cooked up the fish instead of giving it away. The reason why I wanted to cook the fish is because it is healthier for you and it was a challenge to find some kind fish that I would eat.

We got the recipe from a family that Steph was babysitting for, this last August. At first I put off making fish. The reason for this is because I have had a lot of people say that I would love the fish, but I was never a really big fan of the meal. (Sorry to those that cooked fish for me. At least I ate it, and I just don't  like fish.) This recipe, however, was really good. The part of fish that we don't like is the fishy taste that comes with it. The recipe, that we used, got rid of that. If anybody wants to try it out just give me a shout. I don't literally mean shout at me or shout to get my attention. All you have to do is call me and ask.

This week, today actually, was pumpkin roll. Unlike fish, my face for pumpkin roll is like this.

My love for pumpkin rolls came at first taste. I first tried pumpkin roll the fall before my mission in Washington DC (some of the few good thing that has come from Washington DC to me.) I didn't have it again until this last October when a neighbor brought back our plate from when we took over some cookies. Then again, last week, at a reception for a friend couple.

I got my recipe from allrecipe.com for this one. It turned out pretty well. I have learned a few tricks though for the next one I make. The next time I make it is going to be for Thanksgiving.

My tricks are mine and you can only have them if you ask. It has been great trying these new recipes.



Time to vote.

Well, I guess it is time to vote. I have read all the names that has been suggested. Some of them didn't make the primaries (I am sorry I just think that they didn't spark anything for me to write about); however, I have chosen at least one name from everyone that suggested a name. You get two votes so use them wisely. To vote just your two choices in a comment, and put down the number not the name. There is no changing your mind so make sure you vote for the one that you want. NO WRITE INS!!!! You had your chance to suggest a name.

Here are the choices.
1.Ardent Armstrong
2.Taylor's Tirades
3.The Chronicles of Staylor
4.Stretch Armstrong
5.Cool Hand Taylor Talks Trash About Technical Things Thought up by Thugs and Thinkers
6.T.T.T.T.T.
7.Taylor and Steph

So choose but choose wisely

New Name

Hey everybody, I want to get back to doing a little blogging. I want to start with some thing new completely. So as I started I realize that with a new start I need a new name for this blog. So I am going to ask all of you to participate in this process. If you have any suggestions for the name please just leave it in a comment. If you like someone's idea then wait until I post again because I will have a vote on which name it should be. Hope we can get a really good name for this blog.

Try to keep the name reasonable please but do as you like.