Quick, give me an experiment for the kid

In order to avoid the now famous South Carolina Catastrophe of 2007 (not exactly what you think), I'm stepping up the experimentation with our girl. Tonight's experiment performed during dinner preparation brought to you by SciFun.org is Dancing Raisins.

Using a clear carbonated drink or the alternative mentioned below:

Drop 6 or 7 raisins into the glass. Watch the raisins for a few seconds. Describe what is happening to the raisins. Do they sink or float? Keep watching; what happens in the next several minutes?

Raisins are denser than the liquid in the soda, so initially they sink to the bottom of the glass. The carbonated soft drink releases carbon dioxide bubbles. When these bubbles stick to the rough surface of a raisin, the raisin is lifted because of the increase in buoyancy. When the raisin reaches the surface, the bubbles pop, and the carbon dioxide gas escapes into the air. This causes the raisin to lose buoyancy and sink. This rising and sinking of the raisins continues until most of the carbon dioxide has escaped, and the soda goes flat. Furthermore, with time the raisin gets soggy and becomes too heavy to rise to the surface.

Another way to do this experiment is to generate the carbon dioxide gas using the reaction of baking soda and vinegar. Fill your glass about 1/2 full empty (I'm a pessimist) with water. Add one teaspoon of baking soda and stir until it is dissolved in the water. Add 6 or 7 raisins to the glass. SLOWLY pour in vinegar until the glass is about 3/4 full. The vinegar and baking soda react to form carbon dioxide bubbles, and the raisins will dance just as in the soft drink!

Tragic

From St. Louis Action 3 News

Twin tragedies involving small children left in hot cars

Associated Press - August 24, 2007 5:53 AM ET

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Police say a woman whose seven-month-old daughter was found dead in the family's car is a doctor at St. Louis Children's Hospital. The father is a research analyst at the nearby medical school.

The baby was found inside the car, where the outside temperature was in the upper 90s. Police say it was a horrible mix-up where each parent thought the other had taken the baby to daycare. A passerby called authorities and smashed the window in an unsuccessful effort to rescue the infant.

Hours after that tragedy, a toddler died inside an SUV near Cincinnati. She was found in the parking lot of the middle school where her mother is an assistant principal. Police say they received several 9-1-1 calls from people who spotted the 2-year-old girl in the vehicle in 100-degree heat.

At first I was irate at the stupid parents until I recalled an event a couple years ago while traveling in Michigan.

My wife and I suffered through an entire night of Frankie in pain from a diaper rash we couldn't cure quickly enough. The next morning, Trish went to her conference and Frankie and I went out to breakfast. Get this series of exhaustion-induced moves: I parked by a parking meter, got out to open Frankie's side door and take her out, having opened the door (her still locked into her seat), I realized I was in front of the meter when I should've been in back of it, I groggily got back in the car, started it up and backed up with the door open and Frankie on the same side as the open door. The open door crushed back from the sturdy parking meter and Frankie witnessed the entire event from a closer perspective than she should have. Only $2600 in damage and no one hurt. Could've been infintely worse.

Parents do stupid, irrational shit when caring for their kids and most of it's a result of sleep deprivation. Both of these kids were really young and chances are likely they may have exhausted the parents into a foggy haze. I can't imagine the guilt they'll endure for the rest of their lives.

vick

A refreshing Canadian perspective.

Best opinion I've seen on the issue. Superbly written.

Mine's smaller

I saw a Mini Cooper today with a plate that said "NOT SUV".

It's easy to dislike people for their preferences; I'm guilty at times too, but working on it. This guy (or girl) has a Mini Cooper (mileage estimated at 40 on the high end). Hate to break it to this person, but the Hummer H3 has a mileage rating of 20. So the cars differ by a nominal factor of 2. Hummer owners are easy to hate. But, what if they only commute 5 miles to work, push a manual mower, skip A/C in the Summer, dress in 10 layers in the winter and this H3 is his luxury, his place to spend his carbon. It's possible the carbon footprint of the Hummer owner is tiny compared to the Mini owner who commutes 20 miles to work, uses A/C, heats to 75-deg-F in Winter and skips recycling. Same for the holier-than-thou (see, I'm doing it too) Prius crowd. Yeah, they embrace technology by paying homage to the Toyota profit margin and will embrace it again in 10 years when they have to kick in several thousand dollars for a new battery.

We shouldn't pass judgement on one little slice of a person's life until we know the big picture. I personally think a pedicab culture would solve a big chunk of the fossil fuel problem and obesity in one shot, but I secretly fantasize about owning a Ford F-250 4x4 with a lift kit - diesel.

I use a push mower and live 1.7 miles from work.

What I did on my night off ...

"What are you doing?"
"Why are you putting screws in and out?"
"What are you doing?"
"Why are you doing that?"
"Can I help?"
"It looks like you're putting screws in, why?"
"Are you screwing that in?"
"What are you doing?"
"Are you finished yet?"
"Can I put in a screw?"
"Why are you doing that?"
"What are you doing?"
"Is that broken?"
"Is it done yet?"
"You're just putting screws in and out?"
"Why are you doing it again?"
"Is it done yet?"
"What are you doing?"
"Why does it look like that?"
"What's all the stuff on the insiide?"
and on, and on ...

Last night, while Mom and Frankie had a night out, I decided to install a new cd-rom in Frankie's daycare classroom's broken computer. These were the curious kids' comments. Inquisitive bunch. Kind of like a swarm of talking cats around your feet.

Thank goodness it actually worked, the pressure was intense!

Ohio $tate Fair!

We love the Ohio State Fair. The fatty food, rides, animals, livestock, crafts, the incredibly rich variety of mullets. It's all there. But, wtf! What happened to the prices? Since it's an all cash affair, in order to track spending, I usually just put a hundred bucks in my pocket and tally what's left to figure out what we spent. We usually have plenty. This year, not so much. The only thing that kept us under the wire was the blistering heat and humidity and Frankie's endurance fell a bit short. Fortunately, she was whipped by noon (we got there when the gates opened around 9). Not including water we purchased beforehand, it cost approximately $70. I think the rides doubled in price this year (we live for the monster slide and did it many times). Next year, if the weather's cooler, we're getting $20 wristbands and staying all day.

Parenting. Changed forever.

I have anger issues. I'm hardly proud of that. It's just me. An interaction with a surly salesperson is enough to set me off.

A few days ago, while accelerating from a red light, I got rear ended pretty good by a Ford Explorer. I got slightly startled and, contrary to what many advised, no signs of "whiplash". No big deal.

And, no anger.

Some damage from a frightened twentysomething woman who didn't know what to do. I had some paper and wrote down the relevant information for both of us. She seemed a little stunned and sorry. Very non-Paris Hilton. Both vehicles driveable, we went on our way.

Within an hour, her father was on the phone asking if he could pay the damage without insurance involvement. Too happy to oblige, I tracked down an estimate and her father gasped. He went with the insurance and gave me all the information I needed. He also told me how many nights he lay awake worrying about his daughter's driving and how great a daughter she was, "She does everything right, she's a great kid." Insurance proceedings have progressed uneventfully and within a couple weeks and a little inconvenience, I'll probably have forgotten the incident. Unfortunately, my taillight assembly is currently held on with (matching) duct tape so my vehicle is barely street legal.

What surprised me was my reaction. Big picture: no one hurt. On a lesser scale: I felt horrible the entire day for the young woman (probably her first accident), her financially-burdened and worried father and my parents who tolerated my automobile mishaps throughout my life (I had MANY). It was a slightly scary reminder of how long the challenge of parenthood is - forever. Most of it good, much of it scary. It also made me laugh at the silliness of parenting classes. Nothing can prepare you for this journey.

Starbucks: Let the weaning begin

If gas goes up, you're stuck. Despite tailgaters, all you can do is drive economically as possible, but you kind of need it. Starbucks coffee, on the other hand, is something I'm addicted to and I'm running an annual tab of about $1,000 (after tax dollars) per year (and I don't even drink the fancy girly cocktails they offer for about $4 each). Now that they've raised prices again and I'm done. I don't need it like I need gas and this is where I draw the line. My coffee in work is $0.35 (about a fifth of 1 tall). I'll see how long I make it.

Update:
I'm into my third day of workplace coffee. Mmmm, Soma is good, I must be in heaven.