Microwave Popcorn

I was cooking popcorn in the microwave the other day at work. We have an old-school heavy duty industrial microwave that cooks a bag of popcorn in 30 seconds. I turned the dial and started to watch the popcorn since there isn’t a timer on the microwave. I was distracted and went into the lab to help a technician. A few minutes later I recognized the rank smell of burned popcorn. I ran to the microwave to try to salvage my popcorn but it was too late. A small thread of black smoke escaped from the microwave door when I opened it. In normal conditions, this wouldn’t have been a big deal, right? Throw away the burned popcorn then end of story. Well, in the propulsion industry, where I work, fire is a serious concern. A small flame from a match or cigarette lighter could be fatal. Even ignition from static energy is a big concern. Every room on plant has highly sensitive smoke detectors that immediately alert one of two fire departments on plant. Before I could close the microwave door, blaring alarms started sounding and the whole fire department arrived at my lab prepared for an explosion. How embarrassing! All because of my burned popcorn. The fire department teased me unceasingly about my cooking skills. Oh well, at least the fire department got some entertainment for the day! Hazmat was then called for a nuclear fallout analysis. . .

Gas Mask

Gib taught gospel doctrine today at church. He related the armor of God in Ephesians 6:13-18 to his personal protective equipment he uses at work. He works at a microbiology testing laboratory where they use ethylene oxide (EO) to sterilize medical devices. Gib discussed the danger of this toxic gas by describing EO. It is a colorless flammable and highly reactive gas. It's health and safety dangers are extensive in that it is carcinogenic and mutagenic. Lung injury, cancer, and nerve damage are a few of the symptoms of exposure. Circumstances sometimes require Gib to be exposed to moderate levels of EO, which is a considerable health concern. I often fear for Gib's health because of his chances of EO exposure. For protection, he wears a Darth Vadar mask which filters out the toxic gas, providing him with clean oxygen in the hostile, EO rich atmosphere. Gib was wearing his mask one day while working, as required by safety protocol. A new hire working in the same vicinity mistakenly exposed Gib to a large volume of EO. Without his proper personal protective equipment, the gas mask, Gib would have undoubtedly suffered serious lung and nerve damage and would have run the increased risk of cancer, reproductive problems and even death. Gib described his fear after the exposure and expressed how grateful he was to have chosen to follow protocol and wear his gas mask. He then related his protocol to wear personal protective equipment to the protocol layed out by the Lord, to "take unto you the whole armor of God" and how we have the choice to fortify ourselves against the "fiery darts of the wicked." While Gib's exposure to a large volume of EO was not expected, our exposure to temptations from the adversary are unquestionably inevitable. Gib said how thankful he was for his personal protective equipment at work that day and challenged the members of the class to fortify themselves against the exposure to the adversary by putting on the armor of God.

Our own blog!

I was so excited about the birth of our nephew, Logan, that I wanted a chance to share the pictures with everyone. . . so, I started this blog to celebrate. He was born 18 Oct 07, weighing 8 pounds 15 ounces. He's a cutie! It has been a pleasure to spend time with Ash, Chad and Logan these last couple days. I love everything about him, even his little cry. He has clear blue eyes and curiously looks towards his Dad whenever he hears Chad's voice.