My newest tank. I have been away from the hobby for ~10 yrs but good to be back. We spent some time in the country this spring and my son loved playing in the streams and river, catching trout fry and tadpoles, and seeing baby toads moving from pond to forest. As we were approaching…
Sourdough Bread: Baking
Assuming you have grown your own sourdough starter, you are now on your way to a delicious boule of bread! I follow Jim Lahey’s no-kneed recipe for bread but I substitute my starter for the yeast and I subtract our 100gm and 1/2 cup of water for the flour and water in the starter. The…
Sourdough Bread: Starter
A few years back I started making sourdough bread. The key to sourdough is growing your own yeast culture: starter. This starter is then used in place of store-bought instant yeast. The starter combined with a rustic style of fermenting the bread for 12-18 hours imparts a distinct sour flavor to the dough. First you must create…
Custom HO scale CT DOT P32AC-DM
Perhaps the most attractive locomotives out there are the Connecticut Department of Transportation P32AC-DMs. These modern passenger locatives are painted in a revival of the New Haven McGinnis scheme. The mouthful locomotive designation includes the “-DM” as these unique P32s can run off diesel or drop a third-rail shoe to run electric. There is no one making a…
DiY LED Aquarium Lighting
Last week I put together a new LED lighting upgrade for my 8-gal Hex freshwater aquarium. The 8-watt screw in fluorescent wasn’t putting out enough light to grow plants. It might seem like 1-watt/gal would be enough, but the bulb is omnidirectional and the reflector was garbage, I probably only got 4-watts to the water….
What a Delivery!
This has to be the best fruit/veggie box I have received yet from Boston Organics service. It is my standard $29 “dogma box” of local veggies: Apples, beets, cabbage, celery root, red onions, potatoes, black radishes, sunchokes, and white mushrooms Plus a few add-on items: Garlic, local bee pollen, granola, spinach, bananas I am excited…
BMW 325XiT Alternator Repair
Had to replace the voltage regulator on my 325’s alternator. Unless you hear noise or see vibration on the alternator pulley, you likely don’t need to replace your entire alternator. The voltage regulator is many times what has gone bad if your battery isn’t charging. It is worth noting I made the mistake of going for…
325XiT Cold Air Intake
325xiT Cold Air Intake Installation This was a budget installation so I just bought an intake off ebay from Chrome Intakes. Their design seemed sturdy and I liked the 3″ chrome pipe and dual cone filter. I also picked up an AEM bypass valve to protect against ingestion of water. First step is to remove…
Reef Aquarium
Salt Water Reef Aquarium 10 Gallons About 2004 About 2005-2006 The tank, at its peak. I was using Brookline, MA tap water! A lot of work went into that coral. Closeup of the candy cane coral