Ant Experiment.
In keeping with the loose overall theme of occasionally doing actual scientific things on this blog, we are going to write about one of the domestic experiments that we performed recently.
When we moved into our current apartment, it was overall a large improvement over our last apartment (see previous post). However, one slight issue with the new apartment was the infestations of ants. Although we live 20 feet above the ground, a colony of ants had seemingly established itself between some gaps in our baseboards. Insofar as can be determined, the species of ant that we had was the Monomorium minimum, aka the "Little Black Ant." As the name suggests, these were black ants that were little. After a week or two of living in the new apartment, we became tired of finding ants crawling everywhere as we were eating.
There are numerous suggestions online for how to rid one's house of ants, but the solution that seemed to be reported as the most effective was borax. Borax, also known as sodium borate, is a salt of boric acid (Whatever that means). When mixed with powdered sugar, Little Black Ants cannot distinguish the borax from the powdered sugar.
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| 20 Mule Team Borax. |
We took a trip to the local Meijer and purchased one box of 20 Mule Team Borax (not to be confused with the Las Vegas band by the same name), and indeed, when mixed with powdered sugar, it acts as effective ant removal mechanism. We have since had one small breakout of ants in another room, but we have for the most part been ant free ever since.
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| The bait bringing the ants in. |
Engineer J Builds a Layered Cake.
A few weeks back, Engineer J decided to make an ice cream cake. I am not sure of all of the sources that she drew from, but the end result was quality. Note the well executed layering here.
The basic set up here is a thin brownie bottom, a layer of mint chip ice cream, a middle layer of brownie, and then a top layer of mint chip ice cream. One of the trickier things about making an ice cream cake like this is successfully placing the second brownie layer on top of the first ice cream layer without destroying the delicate brownie. You have to be in top form to remove the middle brownie layer from the baking surface and place it on top of the lower ice cream layer.
Chicago.
Since we are living at least somewhat close to the city of Chicago, we decided last weekend to pay a visit to the place. Before going into the city proper itself, we stayed a night in Glenview, Illinois. According to Wikipedia, Glenview is an "affluent suburban village located in Cook County, Illinois." (Although, for being an "affluent" area, their roads were in pretty bad condition in places. For as much income tax as we pay in this state, you would think their roads would be in better condition).
One of the main attractions in Glenview is the Chicago Illinois LDS Temple. I think we actually can indeed call it a main attraction, too. Of the three photos of Glenview on Wikipedia, the Chicago Temple is one of them.
The Chicago Temple has a twin temple in Boise, Idaho, although the Chicago Temple retains its original variegated marble exterior. (In 2012, the Boise Temple was remodeled and the exterior was changed). As far as I can tell, the floor plan layout is quite similar in both temples.
The next day (Saturday), we rode the L (the train) into Chicago itself. It just happened that there was a Chicago Cubs game going on that day, as well as the Chicago Blues Festival in Millennium Park. Long story short, everything was incredibly busy. We saw all sorts of people ("Diversity." See below.) on the streets. There were your basic pink-haired girls with a belly button and/or nose rings. There were your 13 year olds dressed like 30 year olds (they too probably had belly rings). There were the super buff guys who constantly wear those "fashion" shades that probably do not even block any light. I saw a woman who was about 6'5". I saw a man who was about 5'0". We even saw a few guys trying to sell perfume from shoulder bags. I will let the photos explain the rest. We saw very little of the city, mostly because we were on foot and it was hot and there were 6 million people out on the streets that day.
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| Engineer R plays an Epiphone Masterbuilt acoustic guitar. An Epiphone Riviera (with Bigsby) gold top is on the right. The Epiphone Emperor Swingster Royale is on the left. Directly behind him is the Epiphone Casino, which he already owns. |
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| Lake Michigan |
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| Lake Michigan |
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| A panoramic view |
A small side comment on "Diversity." Since moving to Illinois, we have had several people inform us that where we are living now is much more "diverse" than Utah. I always think, "Well, no. We have our freaky nut cases as well." But seriously. Engineer R's home town has a lower percentage of Caucasians than our current locale. And, based on the overall weak, weak, weak Mexican food here, the diversity blanket didn't quite reach that part of the bed either. (Well, and based on the 2010 Census).
We have also had some hilarious ideas thrown at us about what the weather is like in Utah. I have had people ask me if it ever gets cold in Utah. Yes. It indeed does (See previous post). I wonder where these people were during the 2002 Winter Olympics. On the other side of the coin, I have also had people ask me if it ever gets hot in Utah. Maybe that is actually a legitimate question. (See previous post).
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