A KNO3 Chemical Kind of 4th of July.

I feel like this photo was shopped...

Today is not actually the fourth of July. It is the 7th.  So I am going to have to travel backwards through my memory till I can find what it was I wanted to write about.

July 7th.  slept worked. made 103 dollars
July 6th.  slept worked made 212 dollars
July 5th. slept worked made 127 dollars

July 4th. AHA there we go.



10pm: laid on the roof of my apartment approximately 112 meters from the hypocenter of explosions, flashes, smoke, flames, and other artistic works of fire.  The pyrotechnicians literally were just about a field goal away. The rockets, if not directed towards the heavens, could have easily made it to my exact location with enough force to then continue through my carbon based body.  I could have been turned to a carbon based bunch of ash, smoldered for a while, over time compressed into some carbon based coal and, if not used for a bbq, under the right conditions turned into a carbon based diamond.

where i want to be

Side note: Sometimes when I think of carbon I also think of the three kingdoms of heavenly glory and baptism by fire. The neural network that runs through my brain makes some pretty bizarre and twisted connections I'll admit.

The vantage point from the roof of my apartment left me completely blind in my peripheral vision. All I could see was the explosive force of the pyrotechnician's pride for america, illuminating the sky with electric white streaks of magnesium, blooming yellow sodium compounds, and other creative displays of green barium chloride and turquoise copper chloride. The exothermic chemical reactions painted the sky for a few seconds then would fade till they were nothing but a soft afterimage burning on my retinas.  The visuals were enough but with the added sound and pressure coming from the powerful reactions it became tactile. Each explosion was felt. It was cool.

The air smelled like burnt strontium salts and tasted like lithium carbonate.  You know, those unique odors you get from playing "Harry Potter" with Roman Candles. And that taste you get after dancing with sparkles and then licking your fingers.

Earlier that day

9 pm:  Let the potassium nitrate cure in the freezer.

8 pm: Mixed the potassium chloride into the boiling pot of ammonium nitrate.  Remembered that earlier I had been swimming in a pool of chlorine(atomic number 17, average atomic weight 35.45, electron configuration ne 3s^2 3p^5, symbol CL, Oxidation Number 1/3/5/7, gas at room temperature)

7 pm: Walked through Vernon Worthin picking up nick-nacks, doo-dads, and soft served samples from the venders that had turned my front yard into the hip new town bazaar. Children played lightsabers, adults ate the children. oops, I meant hamburgers. And, cute little babies cried their eyes out. Oh it was a such a ______ (<---insert expletive) _____ (<---insert adjective) occasion.

6 pm: Notice my vision is blurry I am scared I may have poisoned my eyes while naively playing with dangerous compounds. Dissolved ammonium nitrate down by mixing with water.  The chemical reaction cause the water to drop to near 0 degrees celsius (32 degrees fahrenheit [274.15 kelvin]).

5 pm: crush up ammonium nitrate, attempt burning. It is not very flammable.

4 pm: finished acquiring everything on list and ready to make homemade explosives.  medical grade instant ice packs,  imitation salt, steel wool, 3 feet of steel wire, and a cranberry juice (not part of the explosives but still part of the list)

3 pm: listen to Sweater Weather by the Neighborhood. Yes, for the entire hour I just left it on repeat.  Ok not really, but nothing else happened during that hour except for lounging, snoozing, lazing, sitting and lying.

2 pm: dry off. lie in the sun.

1 pm: play Find The Nickel (atomic number 28, average atomic weight 58.70, electron configuration ar 4s^2 3d^8, symbol Ni, Oxidation Number 2/3, solid at room temperature) in a Bath of Chlorine.

12 pm: Drive to The Mesa's community pool.