Apple #441: Icicles

This past week, there were tons of icicles hanging off my house.  I took a lot of pictures of them.

Looking out the east window:





The west side of the house, from the street:






When I was a kid, I thought icicles were really cool and also romantic-looking.  They didn't seem to show up very often, and I don't think we ever had them on our house.  When I saw them on other houses, I was jealous.  I thought they looked old-fashioned and I took them to be a sign that whoever lived in that house with icicles was enduring a true winter, the way winter was supposed to be.

But then at some point my parents told me that icicles were bad.  If you were a homeowner, you would not want icicles hanging off your roof because it meant all sorts of bad things about your roof and your eaves and so on.

It seemed that other people knew this, too, because I didn't see them as often anymore.  It seemed that other homeowners knew that icicles were bad and had taken steps to ensure they wouldn't form on anything.

This year, the precipitation and the temperatures must have been just right because there were icicles everywhere.  I'm talking huge ones.  Really long dagger-like ones, and also curtains of them all along the sides of houses.  Not just on my house, but throughout my neighborhood and, apparently, all over the city.


These icicles are on the north side of this house.
(Photo by the Apple Lady)

• Icicles form when the temperature is right about at freezing, but the sun is shining.  The sun melts the snow on a roof and as the melted snow drips down, the air temperature freezes it again.

• When that droplet of water freezes, it releases a tiny amount of heat.  That little bit of heat travels up to the top of the icicle.  

• As the heat goes upward, it diffuses away from the icicle. So there's kind of a triangular updraft going up and away from the icicle.

• This allows more snow and ice to melt at the top and to continue to travel down the length of the icicle, where it tries to drip off the end but because of the colder air temperature, freezes there. 

I'm not sure how well you can see them, but there are drops of water at the end of each of these icicles.
(Photo by the Apple Lady)

• Icicles often get ripples in the middle of them because of the warring forces of gravity and surface tension.  Gravity is trying to pull the droplets of water down, while the surface tension inherent in water means it's being pulled sideways toward the surface of the icicle. 

Icicles with ripples
(Photo by the Apple Lady)

• The way our homes are heated also contributes to the formation of icicles.  Heat that escapes through a poorly insulated roof will make the snow on the roof melt faster.  When the melting snow hits the uninsulated eaves, icicles will form there.

• Icicles can be dangerous when they break off and fall.  My mom was once hit in the head by a falling icicle and she had to go to the emergency room.  They gave her, not stitches, but staples in her scalp. It was not fun.  You really don't want to get hit in the head with an icicle.

• In addition to the safety aspect, icicles can signal potential problems with roof leakage.  When ice and snow build up at the edge of a roof, they form what's called an ice dam.  Basically, an ice dam concentrates a lot of moisture that keeps melting and re-freezing in one spot on the roof and after a while, the roof can't handle all that moisture and it gives up, and in comes the water.  You do not want this to happen, especially since a lot of basic homeowner's insurance policies don't protect against damage due to ice dams.

You can see how the snow has melted on most of the roof but collected at the edge. The icicles have formed from the snow dripping off the eave.
(Photo by the Apple Lady)

• To prevent this sort of badness happening to your roof, make sure your home's attic and the spaces under your roof are properly insulated.  This will keep the snow from melting as quickly and forming icicles or ice dams.

• Most building codes also require that a roof be properly ventilated.  Roof ventilation will keep warmer air flowing around the eaves in the winter time and in the summer, will allow warm air and moisture to escape and keep the roof from getting too hot. Usually this means there have to be vents under the roof's overhang (soffit vents).

• A lot of the houses and buildings in my neighborhood are really old and the roofs were probably built before housing codes required ventilation and certain amounts of insulation.

This older gray house looks sad with its big icicle hanging off the dormer roof.
(Photo by the Apple Lady)

• Another thing that can happen is that downspouts get clogged with debris and then the water trying to get out of it freezes, and the whole thing backs up into a kind of frozen fountain.

The water trying to get down this downspout (above) apparently couldn't and forced its way out from the top and gushed down alongside the downspout. Looks like a similar thing happened to the next one, too. (Photos by the Apple Lady)
 



On my roof, the gutters hang a little way from the edge of the roof. I don't know if they were built like that many moons ago, or if, over time, they have gotten pulled away from the edge. Regardless, the water spills out over the edge of the gutter and drips off both sides and forms a curtain of icicles.
(Photo by the Apple Lady)

• Some people go out and knock the icicles off their roofs with a long-handled broom or other such implement.  But roofing people say don't do this.  If you knock a big fat, heavy icicle off the roof, chances are it might still be frozen to part of your roof and you could wind up ripping off a hunk of eaves trough or shingles or some other crucial part of your roof along with the ice.  

• So then you'd have to get your roof repaired, but a roofer isn't going to go up there while it's all covered with ice and snow.  Roofers have to wait until all that stuff melts before they to do the repair, and that melting snow would then probably leak through your now-broken roof into your house.  

• The moral is, let the icicles melt and break off on their own.  Then when it's warmer, get your roof insulated properly and solve the problem at its source.

These icicles are so long and yet so close to the ground, it would be very tempting to snap them off. But because of all that ice that has formed at the top of the icicles, you'd risk ripping off part of the eave or roof.
(Photo by the Apple Lady)

• Or if you're a renter like me and can do nothing about the situation, enjoy the icicle show and take a lot of pictures.

I took these photos with my camera on various night settings and then adjusted the levels in Photoshop so you could see the icicles.  When I did that, all sorts of other colors showed up.


 

 



 

(Photos by the Apple Lady)


Sources
doityourself.com, Ice Melting: How Icicles Form
Mahalo Answers, "Why do icicles form on the gutters of a house and what can be done to prevent them from forming?" January 18, 2009
"Why Icicles are Long and Thin," Science Daily, February 1, 2007
"The Point of Icicles," Science Daily, October 4, 2006
Keith C. Heidorn, Weather Phenomenon and Elements, Icicles
Anya Sostek, "Western Pa. growing bumper crop of icicles," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 12, 2010
DOE, Ceilings and Attics: Install Insulation and Provide Ventilation

A Little Olympics Interlude

Did you see Shaun White's finals in the halfpipe last night?  I hope so because it was insane.  Ridiculous.


AP Photo of White flying in Vancouver 2010.
(Photo from Brisbane Times)


In the snowboarding halfpipe, they get two shots at it.  He got the highest score in the first round and in the second round, he went last.  By the time it was his turn to go again, he knew how everyone else had scored and that no one had been able to beat his score from the first round.  So he knew before he did his second run that he had already won the gold medal.

He was standing up at the top of the run with his coaches, celebrating, and you could hear him whooping and talking because they had a microphone up there.  He said, "I can't do this right now," meaning he was too excited to do his second run.  He asked what should he do, should he just go straight down the middle or what, and one of his coaches told him to "knock the shit out of it."  Once he'd gotten himself ready to go, that's exactly what he did. At the end of the second run, he did a new, but now-signature move of his called the Double McTwist, which is two head-over-heels flips plus 3.5 twists.

I wanted to find a video on YouTube of both runs for you, but I could only find the first one.  It's been set to music, no commentary, but I think you'll see, even if you know nothing about the sport -- which I don't -- how pretty phenomenal it is.  Then the video plays the same run over again in slow motion and it's there that you'll really get a sense of how high he flies above the edge of the wall.  I'm guessing that's thirty feet?  Ah, the Brisbane Times says 8 meters, which is just over 26 feet.

Nuts, I can't get it to load here.  Here's the link to the video on YouTube.  It may not be around for long.

You can also watch videos of both of his runs at the NBC Olympics page.  It'll prompt you to download a mini-program called Silverlight and then you'll have to watch an ad, but you'll be able to see both runs and hear the commentary.  At the end is an interview in which, among other things, he says hi to his dog Rambo.

I love how the announcers are just laughing at the end of his second run.  I mean, it's nuts what he's able to do.

Congratulations, Shaun!  Well-deserved!

Apple #440: Complete TV Schedule for 2010 Winter Olympics

Today I was trying to find out which Olympic events were being televised at which times.  You would not think this should be a difficult question to answer, but I discovered that it is.

In past years, NBC has done an excellent job of listing which events were going to be televised when and on what channel.  For some reason, this year, they decided to make their website TV schedule so that you have to mouse over each time slot on each individual day, or you can look at the full schedule but only for a single day at a time.  You can also search by individual sport, but it'll only tell you the same really general stuff like, "Apolo Ohno returns to the ice for the 500 m live" (that happens on the 24th, by the way).  Their schedules don't always tell you exactly which of the Alpine Skiing events is happening, for example, or whether both men's and women's competitions are happening on that day.


I am not trying to say that this blog entry is in any way sanctioned by NBC. I'm only saying this is where I looked first, where I wish I had found the information I was after, and where I got some of the information I used below. You can also click on the logo and go directly to NBC's TV listings if you like.


I thought, surely someone else would have put this together.  I looked around and I found some schedules that local newspapers had put together of a few days' worth of events.  I also found Mahalo's TV Schedule, which makes everything easy to read and it's very simplified.  So if you don't want a whole lot of detail, but you want to know which events are on NBC throughout the Olympics, check their page.

I, of course, want more detail.  I found the official list of events posted by the official Vancouver Olympics folks. If you have a friend or relative who's competing in the Olympics, this is a great place to go and see when, in Vancouver time, they're actually competing.  But this page does not tell you when these specific events will be televised.


I am not trying to say that this blog entry is in any way sanctioned by the people running the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. I'm only saying this is another place I looked for the information I sought, another place where I wish I had found the information I was after, and where I got some of the information I used below. You can also click on the logo and go directly to the official schedule of events in Vancouver if you like.


So, yours truly decided to marry the official Vancouver events with NBC's TV schedule to give you a detailed list of everything that will be televised on all basic channels from now through the end of the Olympics.

  +
Again, NBC and Vancouver 2010 have not seen or approved this entry at all.  This is merely a visual way of demonstrating how I made the schedule listed below.


CAVEATS:

• These times are Eastern Standard Times.  Your broadcast times may vary.

• (medal) means that the event will reach its medal conclusion in this time slot. There may also be qualifying heats or rounds before that, but a medal winner will be determined at some point in that time period.

• Weather has a way of screwing things up.  Games and events might have to be delayed and broadcast at another time.  I have no way of anticipating those alterations.

• It's possible that your cable schedule and channels might be different than mine.  Double-check your listings before staking your life on DVR'ing something as it's listed here.

• I didn't list HD channels because all they said they were going to do was show highlights.  If you've got HD channels and you want to watch highlights there, check your listings.

• Not every event that occurs in a given day is broadcast on the day that it happens.  Usually they pick it up later, like at 1:30 in the morning of the following day.  So if an event appears at the end of the day's schedule as having occurred but not having been listed, check the following day's schedule and you'll probably find it there. 

Here's the schedule.  I've made internal links that will jump to each day within this schedule.  Or if you want the entire schedule to keep by your television and DVR, click on the title of this entry and then print out the whole thing.  Enjoy the Olympics!

Monday, February 15
Tuesday, February 16
Wednesday, February 17
Thursday, February 18
Friday, February 19
Saturday, February 20
Sunday, February 21
Monday, February 22
Tuesday, February 23
Wednesday, February 24
Thursday, February 25
Friday, February 26
Saturday, February 27
Sunday, February 28

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15

12:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Pair figure skating, short program

Speed skating, Women’s 3000 m (medal)

Luge, Men’s singles (medal)

Freestyle skiing, Men’s moguls (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Women’s US vs. China replay

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. NBC

Cross Country skiing, Women’s 10 km free (medal)

2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. NBC

Snowboarding, Men’s cross

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Cross Country Skiing, Men’s 15 km free (medal)

5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Women’s Canada vs. Switzerland

8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. NBC

Pairs Figure Skating free skate (medal)

Snowboarding, Men’s cross finals (medal)

Speed Skating, Men’s 500 m (medal)

Alpine, Men’s Skiing downhill (medal)

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Hockey, Women’s Sweden vs. Slovakia

Luge, Women’s singles

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16

12:30 a.m. – 2:00 a.m. NBC

Luge, Women’s singles

Medal ceremonies

2:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Pairs Figure Skating free skate (medal)

Snowboarding, Men’s cross finals (medal)

Speed Skating, Men’s 500 m (medal)

Alpine, Men’s Skiing downhill (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Women’s Canada vs. Switzerland replay

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. USA

Curling, Men’s round robin session 1, includes US vs. Germany

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Biathlon, Women’s 10 km pursuit (medal)

Biathlon, Men’s 12.5 km pursuit (medal)

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. USA

Hockey, Men’s USA vs. Switzerland

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 1 includes US vs. Japan

5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Women’s US vs. Russia

8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s Canada vs. Norway

8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. NBC

Figure Skating, Men’s short program

Snowboarding, Women’s cross (medal)

Speed Skating, Women’s 500 m (medal)

Alpine Skiing, Men’s super combined downhill

Alpine Skiing, Men’s super combined slalom (medal)

10:00 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Women’s Finland vs. China

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Luge, Women’s singles (medal)

Curling, Men’s round robin session 2 including US vs. Norway

Hockey, Men’s Russia vs. Latvia

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17

12:30 a.m. – 2 a.m. NBC

Luge, Women’s singles (medal)

12:30 a.m. – 2:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s Russia vs. Latvia

2:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Figure Skating, Men’s short program

Snowboarding, Women’s cross (medal)

Speed Skating, Women’s 500 m (medal)

Alpine Skiing, Men’s super combined downhill

Alpine Skiing, Men’s super combined slalom (medal)

2:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s Canada vs. Norway

Hockey, Women’s Finland vs. China

Curling, Men’s round robin session 2 including US vs. Norway

3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 2 including US vs. Norway

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. USA

Curling, Women’s round robin session 2 including US vs. Germany

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Cross Country skiing, Women’s sprint classic (medal)

Cross Country skiing, Men’s sprint classic (medal)

3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s Finland vs. Belarus

5:00 – 8:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 3 including US vs. Switzerland

5:30 – 8:00 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Women’s Canada vs. Sweden

8:00 p.m. – 10 p.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s Sweden vs. Germany

8:00 p.m. – 8:30 pm NBC

Speed Skating, Men’s1000 m (medal)

8:30 p.m. – 11:30 pm NBC

Alpine Skiing, Women’s downhill (medal)

Snowboarding, Men’s halfpipe (medal)

Short Track, Women’s (medal)

10:00 p.m – 12:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Women’s Slovakia vs. Switzerland

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Luge, Doubles (medal)

Curling, Women’s round robin session 3

Hockey, Men’s Czech Republic vs. Slovakia

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

12:00 a.m. – 1:30 a.m. NBC

Short Track, Men’s 1000 m

Short Track, Women’s (medal)

Luge, Doubles (medal)

Medal ceremonies

12:30 a.m. – 2:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s Czech Republic vs. Slovakia

1:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Alpine Skiing, Women’s downhill (medal)

Snowboarding, Men’s halfpipe (medal)

Short Track, Women’s (medal)

2:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. CNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 3

Hockey highlights

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. USA

Curling, Men’s round robin session 4 including US vs. Denmark

3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 4 ?

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. NBC

Biathlon, Women’s 15 km (medal)

3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. USA

Hockey, Men’s Canada vs. Norway

3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Snowboarding, Women’s halfpipe

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 4 including US vs. Denmark

5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Women’s US vs. Finland

8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s Canada vs. Norway

8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. NBC

Figure Skating, Men’s free skate (medal)

Snowboarding, Women’s (medal)

Alpine Skiing, Women’s super combined downhill

Alpine Skiing, Women’s super combined slalom (medal)

Speed Skating, Women’s 1000 m (medal)

10:00 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Women’s Russia vs. China

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Biathlon, Men’s 20 km (medal)

Skeleton, Women’s

Skeleton, Men’s

Curling, Men’s round robin session 5 including France vs. Canada

Hockey, Men’s Slovakia vs. Russia

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19

12:30 a.m. – 2:00 a.m. NBC

Skeleton, Men’s (medal)

Skeleton, Women’s

Biathlon, Men’s 20 km (medal)

Medal ceremonies

12:30 a.m. – 2:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s Slovakia vs. Russia

2:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Figure Skating, Men’s free skate (medal)

Snowboarding, Women’s (medal)

Alpine Skiing, Women’s super combined downhill

Alpine Skiing, Women’s super combined slalom (medal)

Speed Skating, Women’s 1000 m (medal)

2:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 5 including France vs. Canada

Biathlon, Men’s 20 km (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, stated as Men’s but Women’s round robin session 4 teams are listed

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. USA

Curling, Women’s round robin session 5 including Russia vs. US

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Cross Country skiing, Women’s 15 km Pursuit (medal)

Recap of Men’s Figure Skating from Thursday

3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s Belarus vs. Sweden

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 6 including France vs. US

8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s Czech Republic vs. Latvia

8:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. NBC

Ice Dancing, compulsory

Skeleton, Women’s (medal)

Ski Jumping individual

Alpine Skiing, Men’s Super-G (medal)

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. CNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 6 including Denmark vs. Canada

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Hockey, Men’s Finland vs. Germany

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20

12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. CNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 6 including Denmark vs. Canada (continued)

12:00 a.m. – 1:30 a.m. NBC

Medal ceremonies and recap

12:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s Finland vs. Germany

1:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Ice Dancing, compulsory

Skeleton, Women’s (medal)

Ski Jumping individual

Alpine Skiing, Men’s Super-G (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 6 including France vs. US

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MSNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 7 including Sweden vs. US

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. NBC

Freestyle Skiing, Women’s aerials

2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. NBC

Ski Jumping individual (medal)

3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s Norway vs. Switzerland

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. NBC

Cross Country skiing, Men’s 30 km Pursuit (medal)

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 7 including US vs. Great Britain

7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s Slovakia vs. Latvia

8:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. NBC

Alpine Skiing, Women’s Super G (medal)

Short Track, Men’s 1000 m (medal)

Speed Skating, Men’s 1500 m (medal)

Bobsled 2-man

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 8

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Short Track, Women’s 1500 m (medal)

Hockey, Women’s TBA

Hockey, Men’s Germany vs. Belarus

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21

12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. NBC

Short Track, Women’s 1500 m (medal)

Medal ceremonies

12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 8 (continued)

12:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s Germany vs. Belarus

1:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Alpine Skiing, Women’s Super G (medal)

Short Track, Men’s 1000 m (medal)

Speed Skating, Men’s 1500 m (medal)

Bobsled 2-man

3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 7 including Sweden vs. US

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. NBC

Freestyle Skiing, Men’s cross (medal) – new to Olympics

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MSNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 8 including Canada vs. US

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. NBC

Biathlon, Men’s 15 km mass start (medal)

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. NBC

Hockey, Men’s Russia vs. Czech Republic

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 9 including US vs. Great Britain

7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s Canada vs. US

7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. NBC

Ice Dancing, original dance

Alpine Skiing, Men’s giant slalom (medal)

Bobsled 2-man

Speed Skating, Women’s 1500 m (medal)

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. CNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 9 including US vs. Sweden

11:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. NBC

Biathlon, Women’s 12.5 km mass start

Medal ceremonies

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Hockey, Men’s Sweden vs. Finland

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22

12:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. NBC (continued)

Biathlon, Women’s 12.5 km mass start

Medal ceremonies

12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. CNBC (continued

Curling, Women’s round robin session 9 including US vs. Sweden

12:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s Sweden vs. Finland

12:30 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Ice Dancing, original dance

Alpine Skiing, Men’s giant slalom (medal)

Bobsled 2-man

Speed Skating, Women’s 1500 m (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 9 including US vs. Sweden

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. USA

Curling, Men’s round robin session 10 including Canada vs. US

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Cross Country skiing, Men’s sprint free (medal)

Cross Country skiing, Women’s sprint free (medal)

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. USA

Hockey, Women’s TBA

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 10

8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. CNBC

Hockey, Women’s TBA

8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. NBC

Ice dancing, free dance (medal)

Freestyle Skiing, Men’s aerials

Ski Jumping team (medal)

10:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 11 including US vs. China

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Hockey, Women’s TBA

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23

12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 11 including US vs. China (continued)

12:30 a.m. – 2:00 a.m. NBC

Hockey, Men’s elimination round TBA

Medal ceremonies

2:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Ice dancing, free dance (medal)

Freestyle Skiing, Men’s aerials

Ski Jumping team (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 11 including China vs. US

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. USA

Curling, Women’s round robin session 11 including US vs. China

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Speed Skating, Men’s 10,000 m (medal)

Biathlon, Women’s 4x6 km relay (medal)

Freestyle Skiing, Women’s cross

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. USA

Hockey, Men’s elimination round TBA

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s round robin session 12 including Canada vs. China

8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s elimination round TBA

8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. NBC

Figure Skating, Women’s short program

Freestyle Skiing, Women’s cross (medal)

Bobsled, Women’s

Nordic Combined (medal)

10:00 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s playoffs

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 12 including Switzerland vs. US

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Hockey, Men’s playoffs TBA

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24

12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 12 including Switzerland vs. US (continued)

12:30 – 2:00 a.m. NBC

Recap of Figure Skating, Women’s

Medal ceremonies

12:30 – 2:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s playoffs TBA

2:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Figure Skating, Women’s short program

Freestyle Skiing, Women’s cross (medal)

Bobsled, Women’s

Nordic Combined (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Women’s round robin session 12 including Switzerland vs. US

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Hockey, Men’s quarterfinals

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. MSNBC

Curling, tiebreaker rounds

7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s quarterfinals

8:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. NBC

Short Track, Men’s 500 m

Short Track, Women’s 3,000 m relay (medal)

Bobsled, Women’s (medal)

Alpine Skiing, Women’s Giant slalom (medal)

Cross Country skiing, Men’s 4x10 km relay (medal)

Freestyle Skiing, Women’s aerials (medal)

10:00 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s quarterfinals

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Speed Skating, Women’s 5000 m (medal)

Short Track, Women’s 1000 m

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25

12:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s quarterfinals (continued)

12:00 a.m. – 1:30 a.m. NBC

Short Track, Women’s 1000 m

Speed Skating, Women’s 5000 m (medal)

Medal ceremonies

12:30 a.m. – 2:30 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s quarterfinals

1:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Short Track, Men’s 500 m

Short Track, Women’s 3,000 m relay (medal)

Bobsled, Women’s (medal)

Alpine Skiing, Women’s Giant slalom (medal)

Cross Country skiing, Men’s 4x10 km relay (medal)

Freestyle Skiing, Women’s aerials (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Men’s tiebreaker round

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. USA

Curling, Women’s semifinals

2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Women’s bronze medal game (medal)

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Preview of Figure Skating, Women’s free skate

Cross Country skiing, Women’s 4x5 km relay (medal)

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s semifinals

6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Women’s gold medal game (medal)

8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. NBC

Figure Skating, Women’s free skate (medal)

Freestyle Skiing, Men’s aerials (medal)

Nordic Combined, individual 10 km (medal)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26

12:30 a.m. – 2:00 a.m. NBC

Recap of figure skating

Medal ceremonies

2:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Figure Skating, Women’s free skate (medal)

Freestyle Skiing, Men’s aerials (medal)

Nordic Combined, individual 10 km (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Women’s semifinals

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. USA

Curling, Women’s bronze medal game (medal)

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NBC

Hockey, Men’s semifinals

3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. MSNBC

Speed Skating, Men’s team pursuit

Speed Skating, Women’s team pursuit

6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Women’s gold medal game (medal)

8:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. NBC

Alpine Skiing, Women’s slalom (medal)

Short Track, Men’s 500 m (medal)

Short Track, Men’s 5000 m relay (medal)

Short Track, Women’s 1000 m (medal)

Bobsled 4-man

9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. CNBC

Hockey, Men’s semifinals

Other events that occur but are not listed:

Biathlon, Men’s 4x7.5 km relay (medal)

Snowboarding, Women’s PGS (medal)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27

12:00 a.m. – 1:30 a.m. NBC

Snowboarding, Women’s PGS (medal)

Biathlon, Men’s 4x7.5 km relay (medal)

1:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Alpine Skiing, Women’s slalom (medal)

Short Track, Men’s 500 m (medal)

Short Track, Men’s 5000 m relay (medal)

Short Track, Women’s 1000 m (medal)

Bobsled 4-man

3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Men’s semifinals

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. USA

Curling, Men’s bronze game (medal)

1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. NBC

Speed Skating, Men’s pursuit (medal)

Speed Skating, Women’s pursuit (medal)

Snowboarding, Men’s PGS

Cross Country skiing, Women’s 30 km mass start (medal)

6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. CNBC

Curling, Men’s gold medal game (medal)

8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. NBC

Figure Skating exhibition gala

Alpine Skiing, Men’s slalom (medal)

Bobsled 4-man (medal)

Snowboarding, Men’s PGS (medal)

10:00 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s bronze medal game (medal)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28

12:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. MSNBC

Hockey, Men’s bronze medal game (medal) (continued)

1:02 a.m. – 4:02 a.m. NBC

Replay of Previous Primetime

Figure Skating exhibition gala

Alpine Skiing, Men’s slalom (medal)

Bobsled 4-man (medal)

Snowboarding, Men’s PGS (medal)

3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. MSNBC

Curling, Men’s gold medal game (medal)

6:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. MSNBC

Figure Skating exhibition gala

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. NBC

Cross Country skiing, Men’s 50 km mass start (medal)

Medal ceremonies

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. NBC

Hockey, Men’s gold medal game (medal)

7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. NBC

Closing Ceremonies


Sources
NBC TV listings
Vancouver 2010 Olympic Schedule

Apple #439: Dull Knives

I have an 8-inch chef's knife that I got for Christmas a few years ago.  I know nothing about knives.  I've never sharpened this knife because 1) for years the only knife sharpener I've owned is a strange thing on the back of my can opener and I don't trust it to do a good job; 2) I've heard that some knife sharpeners can do worse damage than not sharpening a knife at all; 3) this knife intimidates the heck out of me; 4) I know nothing about knives.

The knife in question:

Cuisinart 8-inch stainless steel chef's knife.  The thing I've been cutting myself with lately.
(Available from Cuisinart for $28)


I like this knife for smashing garlic because of the width of its blade.  I also like to use it for chopping stuff, like onions or nuts, because the curvature of the blade helps me get more motion and speed going and I can really move through the pile of stuff on the cutting board.

But in the past week, I have cut myself with this knife, twice.  Badly.  The first time I was thinking I was all Top Chef while I was chopping onions and my ring finger somehow sneaked under the blade and zappo! I cut it right open beneath the nail.  Man, that hurt.  Bled a lot, too.  Over a week later it's still tender, and there's a red line across my finger where the cut has mostly healed.  I'd take a picture of it to show it to you but right now it's covered by a bandage because I cut that finger again.

This time I was slicing raw turnips (mmm, turnips!  Snappy!).  If you've ever cut a turnip, you know how unyielding they are.  So I was bearing down on a slice that was fatter than I wanted, stupidly trying to slice it again.  I was even thinking I was holding the turnip slice in a dangerous way.  I must have had my hand underneath the slice with the tips of my fingers pointing upwards, steadying it, while I was bringing the knife down into the slice.  That seems crazy but that's how I must have been doing it.  Sure enough, the knife slipped and whappo! sliced open the tip of my ring finger, middle finger, and index finger.  Yeah, pointer man got it too.

Once upon a time long ago I had to go to the emergency room because I'd accidentally cut myself so badly with a kitchen knife that I had to get stitches.  That time, I was cutting orange slices.  The nurse in the ER said, as she was pushing the needle into my finger, "I bet it was a bad knife, too, wasn't it?"  I said yes.  It was a crappy serrated thing I had gotten in a dime store or someplace like that.  She said, "It's the dull knives that do the most damage.  As soon as you get home, throw that thing away."  I did exactly as she said.

So I'm thinking that maybe this fancy-pants knife is dull and therefore dangerous.  I'm thinking it's time for me to acquire some knife knowledge.  The future of my fingers seems to be at stake.


Is Your Knife Dull?

• There are a couple of tests to see if your knife has gone dull.  One is to use the knife to slice a piece of paper at its edge.  If the paper only crumples under the knife, it is super dull.  If the knife cuts the paper, but the cut is jagged and shows signs of tearing, the knife is dull.  What you want is for the knife to cut the paper easily and for its cut to be smooth with no signs of tearing or pulling. 

• The second test is the tomato test. Lay the knife sharp edge down on a ripe tomato with its skin on.  Don't press down but let the weight of the knife be the source of pressure against the tomato.  Slide the knife back and forth about half an inch or so.  If the knife penetrates the skin and makes a cut, it's sharp enough.  If the knife only rubs against the skin, it's too dull.

• Another way to tell is by regular use of the knife.  If, while you're cutting vegetables, you find you have to press down hard to get the thing to work, your knife is too dull.

• My knife, as it turns out, was a miserable failure at cutting the paper.  It acted more like a hammer than a knife and crumpled the edge of the paper. If I stabbed the paper and then drew the knife down, it made a cut, but it looked more like a tear.  I don't have a ripe tomato at the moment, but I've been aware for some time that I've had to push hard to get it to cut through vegetables, especially ones with tougher skins.  

• The fact that I've been pushing hard with my knife may be why the first injury to my ring finger still hurts--besides cutting the skin perhaps I also bruised it with the force of the knife.

Why Dull Knives are Bad

• People tend to be afraid of sharp knives.  That's a good thing; you should treat them with caution.  But you're more likely to injure yourself with a dull knife.

• A sharp knife will cut food quickly and easily with far less pressure.  One stroke and ffft! the thing is cut.

• With a dull knife, you'll tend to push down on it harder to force it to cut.  You'll be gripping that turnip hard and bearing down with the knife.  But that dull knife isn't going to slice through that turnip as easily. Instead, it's more likely to glance off the surface of the turnip, and since you're gripping that turnip hard you're less likely to move your hand out of the way and bingo, you've cut yourself.

How to Sharpen a Knife

• It's true that those sharpeners on the back of can openers are no good.  They usually throw off sparks, which means the sharpener is removing red-hot pieces of metal, which in turn means that the knife is being overheated, which will weaken the metal.  If you don't see sparks, you may smell a sort of metallic, burning odor, which amounts to the same thing.  Don't use those.

• Those sharpening steel things that you get with a knife block don't actually sharpen a blade.  In fact, they "unfold" the edge.  

• When you use a really sharp knife, the edge is so fine that the pressure of cutting with it causes that edge to fold.  That's what makes the edge dull. 

• The sharpening steel thing will unbend that fold and make it stand up again.  But this happens only when the person using the sharpening steel thing is really good at it.  Even then, the folded part is now weakened from having been bent and unbent.  It will probably fold over again really soon, after as few as 10 cuts of the knife, or it may break off altogether.  

An example of a "sharpening" steel.  But these things don't actually sharpen.  They'll "unfold" a knife's edge, but you have to use these pretty much every time you use the knife, you have to know what you're doing, and it still might not even make the knife do what you want it do.
(This happens to be a J.A. Henckels 9-Inch Poly Sharpening Steel)

• What you want is an actual sharpener.

• Specifically, you want a sharpener that doesn't wobble as it's drawn across the blade.  A wobbling sharpener will create an edge that's not uniform. Instead the edge will sort of wander, and you'll have some spots that will seem dull and others that will seem sharper.  A consistent edge is better than a precision edge.

• If you're adept at sharpening and you know what you're doing, you can use free-form sharpeners like water stones or sharpening rods.  But if you're like most people, you're not skilled at knife sharpening, nor do you want to spend months learning how to do it.

• In that case, you want a tool that's going to hold the knife steady for you and put a good edge on the knife for you.

• There are lots of inexpensive, hand-held, non-electric tools. Some of them require you to hold the tool stable and draw the knife through it, while with others you hold the knife steady and draw the tool over the knife.  Personally, I think holding the knife steady would give me more consistent results, but that may be a matter of individual preference.

• Because there are lots of cheap sharpeners out there, lots of them aren't very good.  You want to look for a tool that's going to keep the knife as steady as possible, which usually means some sort of built-in guide or stabilizer.  You also want the abrasive method to be as sharp and precise as possible.  

I left this photo big so you could see the little channel thing where you put the knife blade.  See those criss-crossing metal triangles?  Those are the abrasives that will sharpen the knife.  But they will sort of part back when you place the knife in there, and they'll help keep the knife in place as you draw it through, as will the black plastic things.  This sharpener from Smith's is one that comes well-recommended.
(Photo from Cookography)

• Some people say to use only sharpeners with 100% diamond abrasives, but others say that it doesn't have to be that intense.  These latter folks say that if you have something that's less immediately abrasive, that's okay because you need to sharpen your knives often anyway, and regular sharpening is better than a super-sharp edge that dulls quickly and doesn't get sharpened again for a long time.

• The downside to hand-held sharpeners in general is that it may take quite a while to sharpen an especially dull blade.  If the blade has little divots in it, a hand-held sharpener won't deal with those.

• If you do go for a hand-held sharpener, read up on them first and find ones that have gotten lots of positive recommendations. 

My mom gave me this hand-held sharpener for Christmas. With this, you hold the knife steady and draw the sharpener over the knife. It has those criss-crossing abrasive blades in there, which in this case are made of tungsten carbide.  I tried it on my way-dull knife, and I could definitely see and feel little metal bits coming off of it.  After many passes with this sharpener, my way-dull knife did better at the paper test, but still not great. This sharpener seems pretty low-rent, both in its design and its $10 price tag. But 187 out of 235 people gave it 5 stars, and a lot of people say they like this better than their electric sharpeners.  I tried its companion product, a scissor sharpener, on a really old pair of scissors, and that worked great. So it could be that this knife just needs serious help.
(To be specific, this is the AccuSharp 001, and it's going for $9.94 on Amazon)

• Electric sharpeners used to be bad news because they'd wear a knife down lickety split without even sharpening it.  All they did was grind off bits of the knife but never gave a sharp edge.

• Now, however, electric sharpeners are made to be much more precise.  In fact, a good electric sharpener can sometimes "rehabilitate" a knife that's got issues besides dullness.

• Electric sharpeners usually keep the whole sharpening process more stable, the good ones can handle lots of different types of blades, and it won't matter whether you're left- or right-handed.

• They work much more quickly than a hand-held sharpener -- which means a bad sharpener can screw up a knife that much more quickly.  For this reason, if you're going to go electric, you're going to have to be willing to pay extra for a decent one.

• Again, do your research and find an electric sharpener that comes well-recommended. With this type of tool, quiet operation is an important indicator.  If the thing is loud, that probably means it's grinding away too much material.

This electric sharpener, the Chef's Choice M130, got 197 reviews on Amazon, 145 of which were 5-star. This thing has 100% diamond abrasives, it can sharpen pretty much any type of blade including serrated blades, and it automatically adjusts to the angle the blade requires.  The three slots are progressive and, used one after the other, result in "hair-splitting sharpness."  It'll set you back $150 on Amazon.

• Another option is to take your knives somewhere to have them sharpened professionally.  The plus side here is that -- if you've done your homework -- you can be confident that the sharpener has done a good job.  The down side is that if you rely on someone else to do it, you're less likely to have your knives sharpened as often as you should.

• You might be thinking, so why bother with all this?  Why not use those "never-needs-sharpening" knives?  Because, in short, those knives are crap.  They have serrated edges, which would turn a typical knife sharpener to mincemeat.  And serrated edges do, in fact, grow dull over time.  When these get dull, they're even more dangerous than a traditional blade because now you've got all sorts of little dull edges that can cut your skin and instead of making one cut, they'll sort of chew and grind up your skin.  

• That time I cut my finger and had to get stitches?  That was from a serrated knife.  Don't use those.  Or if you do, make sure you have a way to sharpen them.

These serrated knives look like el cheap-o bad news to me.  Sure, the "awesome colors" make it easy to find them in the drawer, and yes, they come with a little sheath to keep the blade from getting dulled when in the drawer. But they look like the handle could snap off at any time and what happens to that non-stick coating when you try to sharpen it? Major bad news, methinks.
(Knives available for $12.89 each from Delight.com)


Knife Maintenance

• There are some things you can do so that your knives stay sharp longer.

• Don't store them willy-nilly in a drawer with other metal cutlery.  The knife will get bumped against other metal objects which will dull the knife quickly.  Store a knife in a butcher's block or on a magnetized rack or in its storage case where it won't interact with anything else.

• The harder the surface you cut on, the faster the knife will go dull.  Polyethylene or polypropylene boards are best.  Wooden cutting boards are next best.  Acrylic boards, glass, stainless steel, granite, marble -- all these surfaces will dull your knives in a hurry.

 
An example of a polyethylene cutting board.  They're pretty standard, available all over the place.  This one goes for $10 on Amazon.

• Don't scrape chopped food off the cutting board into the pan using the knife edge.  Flip the knife over and use the back of the knife to do this.

• Sharpen your knives regularly.

The whole time I've been working on this entry, a line from a Louise Erdrich novel has been going through my head.  Karl Adare, an untrustworthy knife salesman, knocks at Celestine's door.  She knows he means nothing he says, but she buys his knives anyway.  When he comes back again, before they wind up in bed together, she says to him, "Your knives are duck bait."

I hope for your safety's sake that no one can say of you, "Your knives are duck bait."


Sources
Sharpening Supplies.com, What Is Sharp?
everything2.com, How to test if a knife is sharp
Chef's Choice, Knives & Knife Sharpeners: Myths & Facts
Ken's Knife and Scissor Knowledge
Cookography, Knife Sharpening for Real People