The Curious Engineer

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Funranium Labs

funraniumlabs.com

An exploration of ultracoffee, radiation safety, and more often than not a beer or two.

ScienceFoodBeerTravel

’10’15’20’25
Posts
394 from 8 Feb 2010 to 28 Oct 2026
Posting
monthly (8 in the last year)
Kind
personal blog
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https://www.funraniumlabs.com/feed/

2026 6

  1. Why Do People Keep Messing Up With “Generally Licensed” & “Exempt” Radioactive Sources?
  2. “Do You Know The Way To Shell Beach?” – Memory and Return from Antarctica
  3. ALARA and the Linear-No Threshold Hypothesis
  4. Welcome to Depleted Uranium Chat!
  5. Time vs. Admnisitrative Controls
  6. The Delta Movie File – READY PLAYER ONE

2025 9

  1. A Noble Reason To Make Pants – A Tale of Italy
  2. The Decembering 2025 – Yes, It’s That Time Again
  3. Radioactive Shrimp
  4. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE: Anti-Drone Warfare
  5. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE: Murder By Nuclide
  6. Camino Primitivo After Action Report, Part 3
  7. Tariffs, BANI and Coffee Agronomy
  8. My Most Evil Coins
  9. In Memoriam: Jen Miller & Extra Life Overtime

2024 12

  1. Radiation Roadtrip 2024
  2. Antique Rot
  3. The Decembering 2024, Once More With Feeling
  4. Fiestaware & Uranium Glass
  5. My se7en Book Report
  6. How I Got My Laser Eye Injury
  7. Evolution Of Safety Equipment – The Berkeley Box
  8. Camino Primitivo After Action Report, Part 2
  9. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Kneejerk Spent Fuel Solutions
  10. Phil vs. LLMs
  11. BONUS MONEY RANT: Maundy Money
  12. EXTRA LIFE 2023 – Encore! Encore!!!

2023 15

  1. Camino Primitivo After Action Report, Part 1
  2. It’s A Training Problem
  3. Commodore Blacknuts
  4. THE DECEMBERING 2023
  5. Ultraviolet Rant – Scorched Ape Eye Club
  6. CYORA: Spicy Rock Shipping
  7. EXTRA LIFE 2023
  8. How I Learned What “Deliquescence” Is
  9. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE: Anti-Terror Money
  10. Phil’s Failed TI Interview
  11. The Upcoming Spain Itinerary
  12. My Last Day At Pole
  13. A Thank You From The Babushkas
  14. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE: Rad Presents
  15. Planned Service Interruption June 2023

2022 7

  1. The Decembering 2022: Holiday Boogaloo
  2. EXTRA LIFE 2022
  3. Fun With PUREX
  4. A Sweetwater Tale
  5. Lewis Black 2004 – If It Hadn’t Been For That Horse…
  6. Looking Out For The Babushkas
  7. Coins of Transition: Revolutions & Civil War

2021 12

  1. THE DECEMBERING 2021: The Holidays Cometh
  2. Birthday & Extra Life 2021
  3. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Mailing Cheney’s Heart
  4. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE: Radioactive Kitty
  5. An Atheist’s Pilgrimage – Bethlehem University
  6. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Abort Launch
  7. Regarding Freight Forwarders
  8. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Legacy Waste
  9. The Moving Announcement
  10. The Archetypical Injury – My NYE 2020 Benediction
  11. Stupid Traditions – Cold, Naked and Dumb
  12. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Old Tubes

2020 21

  1. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – The NYC Reactor Problem
  2. Important Research Wisdom
  3. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE: Radioactive Dead
  4. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Radon Hijinks
  5. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Demonstration Radiation
  6. The Decembering 2020: Holidays in the Time of COVID-19
  7. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – The Counting Experiment
  8. Extra Life 2020 Update: Now with more info!
  9. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Med vs. Rad
  10. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Urban Explorer Wildlife
  11. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Wildfire vs. Rad
  12. Birthday and Extra Life 2020
  13. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Collections of the Dead
  14. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Surprise Positrons
  15. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Nuke Crabs
  16. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE – Radio Shack
  17. CHOOSE YOUR OWN RADIATION ADVENTURE: Radioactive Seagull
  18. Fukushima – I Finally Wrote It
  19. Pseudoscience Themes – 5G
  20. The Requisite COVID-19 & Coffee Post
  21. Phil vs. The Otago Rail Trail, Part 2

2019 9

  1. Holidays: The Decembering (2019 Edition), The Sequel
  2. Phil vs. The Otago Rail Trail, Part 1
  3. Holidays: The Decembering (2019 Edition)
  4. Back From Jerusalem & Extra Life 2019
  5. Upcoming Service Interruption
  6. Hormeisis Jokes
  7. Phil vs. Holy Water
  8. A Stream of Consciousness Rant on D&D Projects
  9. TWO Coffees from the Philippines!

2018 15

  1. DEFCON 2018 After Action Report
  2. GOOD NEWS: Price Increases!
  3. The Big Shill 2018
  4. Extra Life and The Decembering 2018 Update
  5. The Penalty Bucket
  6. Fukushima Exclusion Zone Preview & Announcements
  7. The Fringes of Regulation
  8. Meet Herr Direktor: DEFCON & National Atomic Testing Museum
  9. Upcoming Adventures: Sumo & Fukushima Daiichi
  10. The Lost Cybernetics Safety Chapter
  11. Containing Multitudes: Laser Safety Edition
  12. Do I Look Like I Have A Plan?
  13. Philippines Barako BBotE Now Available
  14. Twitter Invisibility – A Customer Service Tale
  15. Funranium Service Announcements – Steins, Coffees, and Tombs

2017 22

  1. Colonies and Gold, Part II
  2. Money Rant: Colonies, Coinage, and Gold
  3. The Last Minute, 2017 Edition
  4. The Decembering 2017 Update
  5. Production & Extra Life Announcements
  6. The Tale of the Schrempeltraps
  7. Puerto Rican BBotE Update
  8. Laser Products I Hate
  9. The 2017 Atomic Heritage Roadtrip, Part 3: Trinity & Titan
  10. BBotE Line Up Changes & Vacation Alert, Summer 2017
  11. The 2017 Atomic Heritage Roadtrip, Part 2: What Are You Doing Here, Jeff?
  12. State of the Black Blood of the Earth, 2017 Update
  13. The 2017 Atomic Heritage Roadtrip, Part 1: ABQ & the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
  14. Some Holiday Related Bullshitting I Am Proud Of
  15. More Atomic Fun Times!
  16. So, You Want To Test A Nuclear Weapon?
  17. The Twilight of the Steins
  18. Herr Direktor Funranium Goes to Chernobyl & Kiev, Part 3 – Kiev, Hero City
  19. Money Rant Two & Blood of the Harpy Update
  20. An Old Friend Returns and the Harpy Cometh
  21. Money Rant Two: America Could Plan Once
  22. Good Enough for Government Work

2016 25

  1. Herr Direktor Funranium Goes to Chernobyl & Kiev, Part 2 – Chernobyl, the Town & the Reactors
  2. The DECEMBERING 2016 Draws to a Close
  3. Herr Direktor Funranium Goes to Chernobyl & Kiev, Part 1 – Pripyat
  4. THE BIG SHILL: Things You Can Buy Which I Don’t Sell
  5. Chernobyl Teaser Pictures
  6. Phil’s Trip To Nowhere: A Mileage Run Tale
  7. The Decembering 2016 Edition
  8. BBotE Ambassador & Line Up Changes, October 2016 Edition
  9. Phil vs. the Russian Language
  10. Concerning Asskicker Coffee
  11. BBotE Vacation Alert, Big Trees, Bad Air, and Camping Theory
  12. Recent Improvements, New BBotEs, and Vacations
  13. BBotE Availability at DEFCON 2016
  14. BBotE Line Up Change July 2016
  15. Shifting the Production Window Ending July 2nd
  16. Antarctic Medical Evacuation 2003
  17. Product Recommendation: The Juggernaut
  18. BBotE Ambassadorial Updates
  19. Great Moments In Teaching – Fecal Samples
  20. The Picric Acid Tale or “Why I Can’t Have Four Day Weekends Anymore”
  21. No Pants-Bear Bad
  22. The Money Rant
  23. Klingon Scrabble and Odd Units of Measure
  24. More Volcano & Coffee Contemplation
  25. Apologies For The Weird Production Windows

2015 15

  1. Final Notes for 2015
  2. BBotE And Steins For The Last Minute Crowd
  3. The Decembering 2015 Is At Hand!
  4. Travel and Stein 666
  5. Regarding Breathalyzers in Antarctica
  6. Yet Another Q&A
  7. A Labor Day Recipe
  8. Old Friends Are Back
  9. Welcome to the Wasteland
  10. Carbon Dating Primer
  11. Don’t Panic, New Slots Going Up
  12. New Things, Departures, & Fun
  13. Advice to a Young Scientist/Engineer
  14. An April Fools Cautionary Tale
  15. Atomic Robo Shameless Promotion

2014 16

  1. End of Year Update
  2. THE DECEMBERING™ 2014: It’s Over
  3. THE DECEMBERING™ 2014: The Home Stretch
  4. Stein 600 is GONE, so is Congo
  5. Another Rant: Art Safety
  6. The Decembering 2014 and Stein 600
  7. New BBotE Ambassadors!
  8. PLEASE Don’t Open That – A Rant on Generally Licensed Materials
  9. A Reactor Accident Cocktail
  10. And Back Again – A Phil’s Journey.
  11. VACATION TIME
  12. Speaking of Jamaica Blue Mountain
  13. Congo, Special Requests and Vacation Reminder
  14. Nevada Test Site Cocktails
  15. Impending Service Interruption
  16. Cocktail Challenge: The Water of Life

2013 15

  1. Dunecember and Indianapolis
  2. The Decembering 2013 & A Worrisome Cigar Box
  3. Impending Holidays, Site Changes, and Extensions
  4. Awesome Product Endorsements
  5. Special Runs Of BBotE & New Merch
  6. An Enumeration Of Good Things
  7. The Worst Kind of Update
  8. Alcoholism in Antarctica
  9. GUEST POST: Cooking with BBotE in PDX (Part 1 of ???)
  10. St. Patrick’s and ANZAC Days, 2003
  11. BEHOLD! A coupon! Also a modification to refill policy.
  12. Station Closing – Settling Down For A Long Winter’s Nap
  13. State of the BBotE Address
  14. Shark Teeth & Whale Tale – Helping the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
  15. The Antarctic Musical Tradition (AKA: NYE 2002)

2012 38

  1. The South Pole Bar Albums, Volumes I-V
  2. The Noble Sport of Volleybag
  3. THE DECEMBERING: 2012 Edition
  4. My Birthday, Resupply, and Antarctica
  5. Vacation Reminder and OKTOBERCAST
  6. Restocking and ComBots Cup 2012
  7. Vacation Announcement and The Decembering
  8. Horrible People Dragging The World Forward
  9. A Very Special Thank You
  10. Oktoberfest Prep Work
  11. Helping Ms. Penny
  12. Guatemala Nueva Vinas and Death Wish
  13. Greetings & Farewells
  14. BBotE Lineup Changes & A Wounded Soldier
  15. The Tale of the Dolphins
  16. Project GOAT DEPLOYMENT
  17. Your Radiation Safety Conundrum
  18. Where’s Phil Now & How To Get To Antarctica
  19. BBotE Ambassador Supplies and Approaching Science
  20. Alright, Game On But New Rules
  21. Dude, Why Can’t I Order?
  22. The Black Resume
  23. An Admission Of Defeat
  24. Why, Hello There!
  25. Can I Possibly Be More Of A Nerd?
  26. A Shift of Terminology
  27. An Antarctic Recipe: Enhanced Sangria
  28. Peruvian Salkanty and the State of the BBotE Address
  29. International Shipping Is ON Again
  30. International Shipping Error
  31. Further Q&A – The Ego Feeding Edition
  32. Maintenance Upgrades
  33. The One Where I Play Sherlock Holmes
  34. Caffeinating PAX East & Other Sundry Information
  35. Lest Ye Become Arrogant In Your Knowledge
  36. Ineffable Goat of SCIENCE #1
  37. New Art For BBotE
  38. I’m Not Ashamed To Admit This

2011 94

  1. Hard Life Lessons from the Land of Q Clearances
  2. The Wire
  3. You Know A Building Is Awesome When…
  4. Crunchtime and HOORAY!
  5. BBotE Update: The Decembering
  6. The Tale of the Adventure Socks
  7. A Bounty!
  8. Local BBotE Hand-Off Update
  9. I Went Here: Exploration, Toilet By Toilet
  10. Spoke Too Soon, Plus A Field Report
  11. Tanzania, Nicuragua and the BBotE Pimp of Austin
  12. ‘Tis The Season REDUX
  13. My Birthday Wish
  14. Another Rant: The Funranium Labs Customer Service Ethos
  15. London Service Starting
  16. Crazy Bastards At Work – Please Donate
  17. The Best Product Review Ever
  18. Reports From The Field
  19. Good News, Everyone! New Local BBotE
  20. A Bit Of A Rant
  21. New Offerings After Radio Silence
  22. Shameless Shilling For Atomic Robo
  23. A Collection of Delicious Things
  24. The Questions Keep Rolling
  25. A Post-WorldCon 2011 Giggleworthy Testimonial
  26. The Deal With Refills
  27. Very Exciting Times For BBotE
  28. Waaaay Better Than A Tupperware Party
  29. Central American EXPLOSION
  30. This Is How Marie Curie Died
  31. Apropos of Nothing
  32. A Change In The Lineup
  33. A Quick Q&A
  34. The Thrillist BBotE Explosion
  35. Pimps & Pimpstresses: NYC, Chicago, and Madison
  36. BBotE Experimentation: Banana Republics & Tasting Volcanoes
  37. A Pleasing Testimonial
  38. Sorry Canada, No Shipping For A While
  39. Firing Things Back Up
  40. Planting The Seeds Of DOMINATION
  41. The Obligatory Vacation Announcement
  42. Down To The Wire
  43. BBotE Experimentation: Death Wish Coffee
  44. Last Minute Orders, & Further BBotE Experimentation
  45. In Memoriam: Erik Allen Fitzpatrick (1975-2010)
  46. A Scheduling Observation
  47. Playing Cops & Robots and Touching Faults, Part 2
  48. SCIENTIFIC DRINKING TOUR 2011 (Updates)
  49. Playing Cops & Robots and Touching Faults, Pt. 1
  50. Fundamentals Q&A
  51. Great Honor Through Caffeination + GLORY
  52. A New Coupon For Upcoming Adventure
  53. Playa Grade & Rugged Steins Of Science
  54. Spambot(?) Q&A
  55. Corporate Culture vs. The Frozen Frontier
  56. Attacking Befuddled Travelers With Kindness & Stein Tragedy
  57. Buffalo, Hear The Plight of Your Canadian Neighbors
  58. Vegas, Again, Tomorrow
  59. Cryogenic Cocktails – An Antarctic Tale
  60. Shameless Whorebaggery On Behalf Of Others
  61. To Your Health
  62. Test Subjects On The Internets
  63. Culinary Delights
  64. More Bits For A Wet Friday
  65. Bits, Bobs, and Links
  66. Post-Tsunami Japanese Reactor Problems
  67. An Important “Shiny Brass” Style Stein Field Modification
  68. Some Comic Love
  69. Another Stein Of Science Field Modification
  70. Goiania
  71. Put To The Question
  72. The Resurrected “Origins of Funranium”
  73. Testing Dispatches: College Station, TX
  74. Scientific Drinking Tour 2011, Further Updates
  75. Approaching Stein #200
  76. Antarctic Lifestyle Challenge
  77. Fare Thee Well, Greg Yuhas
  78. Drinking To Columbia – An Antarctic Tale
  79. Continued Domination Of Global Media
  80. Funranium Labs, Iteration V (and The Bug Hunt)
  81. Weatherpocalypse Delays & Ordering Problems
  82. The Lupercalia Coupon
  83. warrenellis.com GUEST INFORMANT Piece
  84. Las Vegas (Part 2): The Atomic Testing Museum, NERVA, and SL-1
  85. Las Vegas (Part 1): CES 2011 & Good People
  86. Scientific Drinking Tour 2011 Update
  87. Blowing People’s Minds With Geology
  88. Questions Answered, Mark IV
  89. FMJ Stein of Science Family Portrait
  90. Clean Labs Make Good Research
  91. Super Bowl XLV & Steins
  92. The Black Lodge, Antarctica
  93. International Shipping
  94. SCIENTIFIC DRINKING WORLD TOUR 2011

2010 63

  1. The Year In Review
  2. Merry Christmas
  3. The Steins That Are On Hand
  4. Thinking of Australia
  5. Well Played Arts & Crafts
  6. Holiday Order Cut-Off Dates REDUX
  7. Rising To The Challenge – Using the 4.3L Stein of Science
  8. Your Holiday Order Cut-Off Dates
  9. I Have Been Issued A Challenge
  10. Concerning British Battle Knees
  11. For Those Giving the Gift Of Scientific Drinking
  12. Check Out All That Majesty
  13. A High Powered Mutant Never Meant For Mass Production
  14. Alchemy
  15. BBotE Experimentation – Caffe Vita’s Ethiopian Nigusie Lemma
  16. Discussing N’awlins Style BBotE Again
  17. BBotE Experimentation – Caffe Vita’s Guatemala Mundo Nuvo
  18. Oh, Canada.
  19. I Don’t Even Like To Think About It
  20. Announcing Brad, BBotE Pimp of Greater Santa Barbara
  21. How To Refill & Congratulations Are In Order
  22. Even More Q&A
  23. Further Q&A, with Herr Direktor Funranium
  24. Re-announcing The BBotE Pimpstresses & Brand New Pimp
  25. Well, *MY* Table Is Ready For Oktoberfest
  26. A Field Trip To NASA Ames/Moffett Field
  27. Malabar Experimention II
  28. Labor Day BBotE Cocktail Experiments
  29. Because It Entertains The Bejeezus Out Of Us
  30. The Joy Of The Barter Economy
  31. A Moment To Say Thank You
  32. A Fireside Chat, With Herr Direktor Funranium
  33. BBotE Experimentation: Southern Colombia (Huila) PLUS Firelit MkII
  34. Oktoberfest Coupon
  35. People Playing With Their Steins Of Science
  36. Funranium Labs, Iteration 4
  37. Not To Cause Alarm Or Anything…
  38. Some Thoughts On Australian Beers And “Pubs”
  39. The “Playa Grade” Stein Of Science
  40. A Caffeine Clarification
  41. More Awesome For The Entire World
  42. Herr Dirketor Funranium, Down Under (100% Paul Hogan Free Content)
  43. Vacation – The Sad Truth
  44. Coming Down To The Wire
  45. Last Call: A Literary Review
  46. VACATION ALERT, REDUX
  47. VACATION ALERT: June 10th Closure
  48. BBotE Update: Longevity Test, MkII
  49. BBotE Update: Malabar Experimentation
  50. FYI: Impending Vacation Store Closure
  51. My Dental Hygienist Was Impressed
  52. Having Trouble Placing Your Order?
  53. Alas, Price Increases
  54. SCIENTIFIC DRINKING TOUR 2010 – Sydney, Australia & Christchurch, NZ(possibly)
  55. Black Blood Of The Earth Now Available In CONUS
  56. SCIENTIFIC DRINKING WORLD TOUR 2010 – Portland, OR
  57. SCIENTIFIC DRINKING TOUR 2010!!! Next Stop: Portland, OR 4/29-5/2
  58. BBotE Now Has A Pretty Label
  59. BBotE Update: The Lost Ethiopian Post & Guatemala
  60. Coffee/Booze Update 4/10/10
  61. BBotE Recent Developments (3/26/10) – Shipping Is A Possibility, New Test Subjects, A Chemical Review and Sulawesi
  62. What Are Dewars?
  63. BBotE: Recent Developments (2/8/10)