The Flood

By now, you've most likely read about the flooding in Nashville. The damage is extensive, but so is the volunteer spirit. Many of you are pitching in in many ways to help your neighbor, and the efforts must continue as long as there is a need.

Now that the waters have been gone for a few days, and the temperatures have risen, mold growth is inevitable, and has most likely begun. Having first-hand experience with water-damage while working in residential construction, I can offer a few bits of information on the subject.

Mold

Mold will be most prevalent in darker, damper locations. Mold can grow on almost any surface, and can grow inside of porous surfaces. Drywall, carpet, carpet pad, beneath vinyl floors, baseboards and trim, and wood framing are all prime locations for mold to thrive.

Protection

It is imperative that you use adequate protection when working in flooded houses, especially with these materials. At very least, an N95 respirator mask should be used. A half-face negative air respirator is a better choice. Eye protection is also a must. Water droplets can become airborne easily when demolishing building materials. Wear gloves that are waterproof and heavy. Wear heavy rubber boots. Try to keep contaminated materials contained to specific areas, and have a "clean" area where no contaminates are allowed.

Organization

Try to work in some sort of order: carpet, carpet pad, tack strip, baseboard, drywall, insulation. Try not to let the drywall mess get out of hand. It will make things difficult and messy later on. Keeping materials separated helps keep outdoor clean-up efficient.

Clean and Dry

Once wet/contaminated materials are removed, you must dry the affected areas. Get as many high powered fans as you can find. Be sure that they are blowing outward. This will prevent mold spores from being blown around in the building. Using heat to dry is not recommended. Heat combined with moisture encourages mold growth. Additionally, run a dehumidifier to draw moisture from framing and concrete slabs. Treat affected areas with a biocide such as MoldStat, or a mixture of bleach and water. It is important that everything is completely dry and disinfected before rebuilding.

Here are a few links to some flood cleanup information:

http://www.nchh.org/Portals/0/Contents/FloodCleanupGuide_screen_.pdf

http://www.floodsafety.com/media/pdfs/cleanup/Cleanup_after_flood.pdf

We can get this town back in shape in no time if we all keep doing as much as we can, for as long as we can.

We are Nashville, aren't we?

Stay dry,

Mango

Variety

Frozen Blueberries


Hot Sauces


Cats

Currently...

I'm currently enjoying, in no particular order, the following things:

Static electricity
- I'm shocked at how much fun it can be to make sparks appear on my cats.

Eggs Benedict
- My first attempt at Hollandaise wasn't stellar, but neither was the first Star Trek movie. They got it right when they brought in Ricardo Montalbán. May he rest in peace.

24
- I actually found myself saying out loud, "This is so unrealistic." Nevertheless, Jack Bauer's ability to gain the trust of a man who he just tried to poison, and the trust of a woman who he just shot in the neck and buried alive is pretty spectacular.

Twitter
- Now I can tell the world how I feel just before I go to the bathroom, then let them know how differently I feel after I've finished. I am complete.

Globes
- Maps are brilliant. Spheres are beautiful. Combine the two and I am forced to weep tears of joy. I now have 4 globes. One of them is inflatable (thanks Casey.) If you have a hot tip on a great spherical map, send it my way!

If you share a common enjoyment of any of these items, speak up! If you hate any of them, speak up! If you are indifferent, then you probably haven't read this far. Go back to your lukewarm cup of coffee and finish those past-due taxes!

Enjoy the day, right now, this very moment.

Matt

Yolk

This restaurant has the best breakfast in Chicago, and possibly the best breakfast anywhere. I stumbled on it by accident and made it my morning home for the next 4 days. I took all of my friends/co-workers there. I met the owner. I ate. I was satisfied. The end.

Oh yeah...all of the meals come with a side of pancakes. Glorious.

MDM

Cracker Barrel

If you've ever traveled through the southeast, you've likely seen a Cracker Barrel. It is also likely that you've stopped in an eaten a meal. If you have, this blog is not for you. Go about your business. Nothing to see here. If not, please read on.

The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is a chain of restaurants that serve "Southern comfort food." The stores are typically located along interstate highways and offer a decent alternative to fast food restaurants. The restaurants serve breakfast all day, and also have a lunch menu. The outside of the restaurant has plenty of rocking chair seating for the 2 hour Sunday morning breakfast wait.

The patrons enter the restaurant through the "Old Country Store". The store is fashioned after the idea of the old country store, where one could come to buy the necessary staples of life. Or, in the case of Cracker Barrel, the unnecessary staples of life (see photo.)
Once seated, the patron can challenge his/her brain by playing a brain-teasing game with golf tees that will either make you feel like a genius or reduce you to a sniveling "eg-no-ra-moose." Be sure to wash your hands after playing. After all, you're about to eat!
The menu has a complete selection of fried foods, and some not-so-fried companions. For breakfast, I enjoy a hearty Uncle Herschel's Favorite (2 eggs, grits, gravy, biscuits, hash-brown casserole, sugar cured ham, and 1 defibrillator.) For lunch and/or dinner, I stick to a fried meat, fried okra, turnip greens, and fried coffee. I rarely deviate from my selections. If I want something different, I can just steal it from someone else's plate.
I like Cracker Barrel for several reasons.
1) They are consistent. You can always count on the meals to be prepared in a familiar fashion. An interstate traveler's dream.
2) They have round tables. What's better than a round table? In the realm of seating, nothing is. It's a very egalitarian piece of furniture.
3) Civil War-ish memorabilia on the walls. Nothing says fine dining like a bayonet hanging over your head.
4) You can make the Pentagon out of mashed potatoes.

So for all of you foreigners who rarely visit the south, do yourself a huge favor and pop into a Cracker Barrel and see what the buzz is all about!

Mmmatt.

Trail Mix

On Friday, somebody gave us 2 gallons of the most extensive homemade trail mix I've ever tasted.
Here are the contents:

Dried orange, peanut butter pretzel, regular pretzel, peanut M&M (on top of regular pretzel to prevent rolling away), Teddy Graham, Golden Graham, caramel Chex, dried peach, dried coconut, raisin, Cheeze-It triangle, wasabi pea, dried mango (my personal favorite), almond, dried apricot, caramel corn, spicy cheese string (?), hazelnut, spicy peanut, brown sugar Chex, cheddar cheese Chex, golden raisin, brazil nut, spicy cashew, spicy sunflower seed, dried strawberry, and pecan.

But wait...I just found more: dried banana, dried pineapple, and peanut butter M&M.

Thank you, mysterious 30 item trail mix provider.

MDM

Chiggers!

According to some, no creature on earth can cause as much torment for its size than the tiny chigger. Chiggers are found in low, damp areas where vegetation is rank such as woodlands, berry patches, orchards, along lakes and streams, and even in drier places where vegetation is low such as lawns, golf courses, parks, and my backyard. They are most numerous in early summer when grass, weeds and other vegetation are heaviest. Their bites produce small, reddish welts on the skin accompanied by intense itching as irritating as acute cases of poison ivory or poison sumac. These symptoms often are the only way of learning that an outdoor area is infested since chiggers are so small that most cannot be seen without a magnifying glass. Chiggers feed on a wide variety of snakes, turtles, birds, and small mammals as well as humans (me).

Now check this out. Chigger larvae do not burrow into the skin, nor suck blood. They pierce the skin and inject into the host a salivary secretion containing powerful, digestive enzymes that break down skin cells that are ingested (tissues become liquefied and sucked up). Also, this digestive fluid causes surrounding tissues to harden, forming a straw-like feeding tube of hardened flesh (stylostome) from which further, partially-digested skin cells may be sucked out. After a larva is fully fed in four days, it drops from the host, leaving a red welt with a white, hard central area on the skin that itches severely and may later develop into dermatitis. Any welts, swelling, itching, or fever will usually develop three to six hours after exposure and may continue a week or longer. If nothing is done to relieve itching, symptoms may continue a week or more. Scratching a bite may break the skin, resulting in secondary infections. However, chiggers are not known to transmit any disease in this country.

Another thing to note is that it really sucks when a chigger gets inside of the cast that is on your left hand.