I treated myself to a $6.74 acidty meter yesterday. You stick 
the twin-metal tip in moist soil, wait two minutes and read that 
your soil, any soil at all in the apartment, whether it be in 
pot, tub or composter, has a pH of 7, i.e. is neutral, neither 
acid nor alkaline. 
It struck me that maybe for $6.74 I had purchased eight inches of 
placebo effect, so I ran the cold-water tap and guess what? pH7. 
Of course!! Our water is treated to remove all evidence of life 
whatsoever. This is Toronto, after all. 
Nothing stops me. It was, after all, only $6.74 of toy. 
I stuck it in my brand new 2.5 litre cask of white vinegar, 
unmindful of the fact that I might actual damage a year's supply 
of acetic acid.  Whoopee! ph8. 
Now I know that the needle actually MOVES on the dial that ranges 
from 3 to 10 - presumably pH3 to pH10. 
Twenty four hours later, here I sit, thinking that I really need 
to calibrate the little spiker, but how? 
        I need a list of common chemicals around the house that 
        can yield measurable results on my toy, in order that I 
        might learn to trust it. After two failed marriages, 
        trust comes hard, believe me! 
I don't want to race out and buy $500 of chemicals to test a 
$6.74 toy, but I don't mind dipping and poking the sucker in 
things I might normally drink or cook or eat, to see how far it 
can go. 
Any suggestions? 
Christopher.Greaves@CapCanada.Com    www.interlog.com/~cgreaves
 * 1st 2.00b #6263 * Don't Brake!
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