dcarch

Bubbles (fizz) in carbonated water are governed by the following: 1. temperature - the higher the temperature, the faster the CO2 escapes. 2. pressure - the higher the pressure the slower the CO2 escapes. 3. surface area - the larger the surface area, the faster the CO2 escapes. 4. agitation - the desolved CO2 in a solution is not stable, agitation will encourage CO2 to escape. 5. time - the desolved CO2 in a solution is not stable, CO2 is constantly escaping, except in a pressurized enclosed container. This is how I can have good enough fizzy tonic water, or other carbonated drinks all the time: All carbonated waters are over carbonated in the beginning, and half way through a large bottle, the remaining half will get kind of flat. So when a bottle is almost flat, I will open a new bottle and mix the flat tonic with some new tonic. And when the new bottle is half empty and flat, it's time to open another new bottle for mixing dcarch

That would be stealing. Not acceptable, it is a crime. I have seen people bent off part of asparagus so they get less of the tough part of stems. dcarch

Sounds like a major disaster for Singapore. Tourism is important to Singapore, but not that important for their economy as a whole. And tourism is not dying: General trends Singapore tourism Year Tourism Arrivals Percentage change from previous period 1965 99,000 1970 579,000 488.1% 1975 1,324,000 128.6% 1980 2,562,000 92.% 1985 3,031,000 18.3% 1990 5,323,000 75.6% 1995 7,137,000 34.1% 2000 7,691,399 7.76% 2005 8,943,029 16.27% 2010 11,638,663 30.14% Recent years Year Tourism Arrivals Percentage change from previous year 1997 7,197,871 −1.30 1998 6,242,152 −13.28% 1999 6,958,201 11.47% 2000 7,691,399 10.54% 2001 7,522,163 −2.20% 2002 7,567,110 0.60% 2003 6,127,291 −19.04% 2004 8,328,720 35.92% 2005 8,943,029 7.4% 2006 9,751,141 9.0% 2007 10,284,545 5.5% 2008 10,116,054 −1.6% 2009 9,345,054 −4.3% 2010 11,641,700 20.2% 2011 13,171,303 13.1% 2012 14,496,091 10.1% 2013 15,567,923 7.4% Singapore can be very boring, after you have been there 20 times. dcarch

Again, it is very expensive real estate costs for a good retail locations. There is a need to pack people as close as possible. Assuming you are in an open space, which is by definition 100% acoustic absorptive (no reflected sound what so ever), if you pack people close together, they will still try to out shout each other. The three most effective noise control methods, none practical: It has very little to do with design. 1. Tell people to shut up. 2. Acoustic barrier - A wall between noise sources. 3. Distance between noise sources. (inverse square law). Noise control may be old tech, but the science of acoustics, an adiabatic thermodynamic process, is difficult to be understood. dcarch

That article is full of errors, which is to be expected. Generally acoustic is a very difficult science, a typical writer will not be able to understand what are truths and what are myths. For instance: As far as I know, it is impossible to have practical "sound-absorbent paint". There are effective noise canceling ear phones using electronics, and noise reducing equipment for rooms for repetitive (machine) noise control, but I am not sure there are ways to control random noise in a room packed with noisy customers. dcarch

For a blender, I am not sure metal to metal transmission is necessarily good. I have not heard rubber connections breaking very often for blenders, for mixers yes. Mixers are very high torque machines. Metal to metal can be much noisier. A good mixer is the combination of these three factors: 1. Speed of RPM - A car engine can have 500 HPs, but it will make a lousy blender because it red lines at 7000 RPM, Some blenders can go above 30,000 RPM. Also, at the same RPM, the larger the diameter of the blades, the higher the blade speed (relative to the food being blended). 2. Power - RPM is meaningless without power. A Dremel rotary tool can have 37,000 RPM, but it will make a lousy blender because it is very low powered. 3. Hydraulics - The combination of geometry designs of the blades and the jar determines the effectiveness of blending results. If the blades rotate at the same RPM as the food, there will be 0 blending regardless of HP and RPM. Round jars are not very good. dcarch

"------ I think it can be proven that it stores more heat based on how long it takes it to cool down.---" Not correct. If you withdraw money from you bank account slower, that will not mean you have more money in the bank. dcarch

Go to Zabar's and make your own incredible sandwiches. Then walk a few seconds to Central Park and take all the time you want to enjoy your food and company. Then another few minutes of walk to all the museums. dcarch

It's a fungus, just spread the spores around. dcarch

Absolutely no! Don't try it yourself. Feed it to your husband first. dcarch

I have read sometime ago that Singapore is into urban roof top farming to supply local restaurants. I don't remember details. http://www.inuag.org/singapore%E2%80%99s-first-rooftop-farm-aims-supply-produce-food-beverage-outlets http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/pview.php?id=565 http://m.todayonline.com/worldcup/singapore/spores-1st-rooftop-farm-aims-supply-produce-fb-outlets dcarch

In any case, it would be interesting to see if there is a market for a smoker which only does briskets. dcarch

Not true. You can't compete in a MBN (Memphis BBQ Network) event. dcarch

Take a tour of New World Mall, (Main Street/Roosevelt Ave) and go to the restaurant on the top floor. After, take a quick tour of the food court in the basement. dcarch

They can't compete. This smoker is only designed and tested for one meat, briskets. No chickens, no ribs, no fish, no sausages, no bacon, no pulled pork, no turkeys, no steaks no ---------- dcarch

Thank you all for your kind words and "Like"s. Yes, Himalayan salt block. Yes, the salt block actually lights up with built-in illumination, no wires. I have always thought that the most important consideration about sashimi is the freshness of the fish. There is certain translucency of the meat when the fish is really of good quality. I decided the only way to show case the color, the texture and the freshness of the fish is to shine a light through it. Very dramatic in a dimmed room. The salt block was cooled in the refrigerator. It can keep the fish at a nice temperature for a few hours. Of course it will give a nice salty taste to the fish. dcarch

My smoker can cold smoke ( on a hottest summer day) , hot smoke, with an ultrasonic humidifier. It is PID controlled and can operate over 24 hours unattended. dcarch

Ketchup is invented in China? dcarch

Advanced insulation at 1/50 the weight. For an engineering school like Harvard, I would also include a thermal electric generator* to power the fan and PID controller. They don'rt use a lot of power. This way you can go camping with the unit. dcarch * nothing new. There is a BBQ grill with that, as I remember.

" ------ The ceramic body is optimal for retaining and radiating heat. According to the class’s research, ceramic has lower heat-conductivity properties and higher heat capacitance than cast iron or stainless steel.----" If the smoker is PID controlled and has a constant heat source, why would heat retainage, conductivity and heat capacity matter? The unit needs to be less than 50 lbs so you can take it to a friend's house. Surprised there is no automatic humidity control. It would be nice to make the unit with tempered/heat treated clear glass. dcarch

Post #13: I hope that is not a pineapple plant behind your wife. :-) Had durian yet? :-) dcarch

Came back from traveling, enjoying all the fantastic dishes by you all. Very pretty and delicious and creative and impressive. Trying to catch up with stuffs that need to get done. Too hot and too humid to cook anyway. So just quickly sliced up some raw fish, and called it a day. dcarch

Do you speak the local language? And yes, she is a beautiful woman. Look forward to travel with you through this exciting part of the food world. dcarch

That's true. I have some pork in my smoker at 155F now. However, some smokers are also grillers/BBQs. dcarch

A BGE can easily get up to 1,000F. dcarch