Watermelon On Tap

I love to share things with people, that might not otherwise get to see them.  This is a cool design using a watermelon and water facet.

drunken watermelon on tap

I know what you're thinking: "What if I attached a faucet to a watermelon and filled it with spiked watermelon juice so party guests could serve themselves right from the melon?" Well, my husband finally turned that dream into a reality.
After testing three different types of faucets and spending the entire afternoon of our housewarming party creating his masterpiece — only to have it clog just hours before guests arrived, resulting in a mad dash to Home Depot and the supermarket so he could do it all over again — he's now perfected the model so all you have to do is build it. Want to impress guests with a DIY watermelon keg of your own?
Read on to find out how...

What you'll need:
•   10-pound seedless watermelon
•    Sharp knife
•    Big spoon
•    Big bowl
•    Drill with a 1/2-inch drill bit
•    3/4-inch ball-valve faucet with a handle that's easy to turn with one hand
•    PVC-to-faucet adapter that will screw into the back of the faucet
•    Rubber O-ring that fits the back of the faucet
•    Blender
•    Sieve
•    Pitcher
•    1 1/2 cups rum
•    4 limes
•    About 90 minutes of your time
1. If your watermelon is wobbly when standing on one end, use a knife to trim off the stem end of your watermelon rind just enough that the melon sits flat. Then decide which side of your melon looks best — that'll be your front. Cut the top jack-o'-lantern style, big enough to fit your hand through, but center the cut more toward the back of the melon so you can't see the seam from the front.

2. Use a big spoon to scoop out the fruit into a large bowl. Eat some of the watermelon as you're scooping it out to make sure it doesn't poison your guests. Pour any juice in the bottom of the melon into your pitcher.

3. Drill a hole a few inches from the bottom of the melon for your faucet. Then use a knife to slightly widen the hole till it's just a little smaller than the diameter of the back of the faucet.

4. Gently screw the faucet into the hole, putting your other hand inside the melon for leverage. Don't jam it in or you'll bruise the outside of the rind and compromise your seal. Inside the melon, carve away a little more fruit from around the back of the faucet (don't go through the rind) to make room for screwing on the adapter.

5. Slide the O-ring onto the back of the faucet, then screw on the adapter. To test for leaks, fill the melon halfway with water, then turn on the faucet. Once you've confirmed that your watermelon is indeed operational, pour out the water through the top.

6. Reserve some watermelon to eat tomorrow for breakfast, then throw the rest into a blender and puree. Use the back of a spoon to push the puree through a sieve placed over your pitcher so you're left with just juice. Discard any solids. You should have about 6 cups of juice. Mix the juice with 1 1/2 cups of rum and 1/2 cup of fresh lime juice (about four limes' worth).

7. Pour the mixture back into the watermelon. Put the top back on the melon and set it on the edge of a counter or table to serve.

 

To find this article and more, head on over to this website.  Evite

Is the Glass half full or half empty?

There are multiple ways to answer this question.  One of them being, we can't tell if the glass is half empty or half full, because we didn't see who poured or emptied the glass.  I like this answer better.

Why I Want To Travel To The Maldives

The Sun, the surf, the beach, the crystal clear water.  Nope, I'm not talking about the Bahamas.  I'm talking about the Maldives.  The Maldives is a series of Islands that makes up a small country in the middle of the ocean.  Here are a few reasons taken from Wikipedia.

The Maldives consists of approximately 1,190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls, along the north-south direction, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres, making this one of the most dispersed countries in the world. It lies between latitudes 1°S and 8°N, and longitudes 72° and 74°E. The atolls are composed of live coral reefs and sand bars, situated atop a submarine ridge 960 kilometres long that rises abruptly from the depths of the Indian Ocean and runs from north to south. Only near the southern end of this natural coral barricade do two open passages permit safe ship navigation from one side of the Indian Ocean to the other through the territorial waters of Maldives. For administrative purposes the Maldivian government organized these atolls into twenty one administrative divisions. The largest island of Maldives is Gan, which belongs to Laamu Atoll or Hahdhummathi Maldives. In Addu Atoll the westernmost islands are connected by roads over the reef and the total length of the road is 14 km (9 mi).

The Maldives is the lowest country in the world, with a maximum natural ground level of only 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in), with the average being only 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, although in areas where construction exists, this has been increased to several metres. More than 80 per cent of the country's land, composed of coral islands scattered over an area about 850 km across the equator, is less than one metre above sea level.^[18]

The reef is composed of coral debris and living coral. This acts as a natural barrier against the sea, forming lagoons. Other islands, set at a distance and parallel to the reef, have their own protective fringe of reef. An opening in the surrounding coral barrier allows access to the calmer lagoon waters. The barrier reefs of the islands protect them from the storms and high waves of the Indian Ocean.

A layer of humus 15 centimetres (6 in) thick forms the top layer of soil on the islands. Below the humus layer are 60 centimetres (2 ft) of sandstone, followed by sand and then fresh water. Due to high levels of salt in the soil near the beach, vegetation is limited there to a few plants such as shrubs, flowering plants, and small hedges. In the interior of the island, more vegetation such as mangrove and banyan grow. Coconut palms, the national tree, are able to grow almost everywhere on the islands and are integral to the lifestyle of the population.


The limited vegetation and land wildlife is supplemented by the abundance of marine life. The waters around the Maldives are abundant in rare species of biological and commercial value, with tuna fisheries being traditionally one of the main commercial resources of the country. The Maldives have an amazing diversity of sea life, with corals and over 2,000 species of fish, ranging from reef fish to reef sharks, moray eels, and a wide variety of rays: Manta rays; Stingray; and Eagle ray. The Maldivian waters are also home for the whale shark.


And if that's not enough.  Just check out the climate.

Climate

The Indian Ocean has a great effect on the climate of the country by acting as a heat buffer, absorbing, storing, and slowly releasing the tropical heat. The temperature of Maldives ranges between 24 °C (75 °F) and 33 °C (91 °F) throughout the year. Although the humidity is relatively high, the constant cool sea breezes keep the air moving and the heat mitigated.

The weather in the Maldives is affected by the large landmass of South Asia to the north. The presence of this landmass causes differential heating of land and water. These factors set off a rush of moisture-rich air from the Indian Ocean over South Asia, resulting in the southwest monsoon. Two seasons dominate Maldives' weather: the dry season associated with the winter northeastern monsoon and the rainy season which brings strong winds and storms. The shift from the moist southwest monsoon to the dry northeast monsoon occurs during April and May. During this period, the northeast winds contribute to the formation of the northeast monsoon, which reaches Maldives in the beginning of June and lasts until the end of August. However, the weather patterns of Maldives do not always conform to the monsoon patterns of South Asia. The annual rainfall averages 2,540 millimetres in the north and 3,810 millimetres in the south.


There are multiple reasons for wanting to travel to the Maldives.  Here are a few more.