It is COLD in CT

I just had to share this with our Mod-Blog family. These cans are stored INSIDE at the bottom of our front stairs. Each is a diet soda, and each has EXPLODED in the last week, due to extreme cold (-5 degrees F to 20 degrees F) we have been experiencing. The explosions are surprisingly energetic, embedding ice globs onto and into walls up to 10 to 20 feet away.

Cue (1) people telling me to bring the soda upstairs, and (2) stories of people who know what cold REALLY is (I'm looking in your direction Mr. and Mrs. Bowhunter!)

Not Again - Another Oil Rig Explosion

Since the Gulf Oil Spill, the Obama administration has been trying to impose a ban on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico which judges have steadily stricken down. One has to wonder if that may now change since a second oil rig has exploded in the Gulf, about 200 miles away from the existing spill. The question is, are two explosions so close together in time an indication of a systemic problem with inspection/regulation? Or is it all coincidental?

Either way, I'm happy to see no one was killed by this explosion. But less happy to hear that oil slicks have been sighted by the Coast Guard.

Explosion in Middletown, CT

It is not very often that there is big news in my home state of Connecticut. But today, there was a natural gas explosion at a local plant. Early reports are that the plant's stack went up while they were cleaning it. Fatalities have been confirmed, but not yet enumerated.

Big Bad-da-Boom!

A construction crew has been blasting the old foundation out next door all week. And I have been home, due to illess, so I was able to take a number of photos and videos of the process. The explosions are not what I would have expected from Hollywood or Mythbusters, but they are still quite fun to watch.