A walk in the dark

I was in Chicago this weekend to meet some friends. I woke up Sunday morning and scanned though my RSS feed for the latest on Syria. A study reported that an average of a 1000 people were dying each day with the rate potentially going up through the winter. I felt a sick punch of impotence in my stomach. Later in the day, we walked around downtown Chicago straining our necks to count the number of floors in the Hancock tower. When our eyes returned to ground level, I noticed the people walking around with their pretty coats and expensive shoes. I noticed the chromed out sports cars that made vroom noises even when parked. And then I noticed the hobos. Some were holding boards requesting food and not money. There was a war vet who had lost a leg and held a board requesting a job, any job. There was one guy with no board but a dog wrapped in his coat on his lab. The dog chose to not move but it was not smiling. When the wind got stronger, the dog shivered a little until the guy gave it a pat and hugged it.

I am glad I got to have a good warm time with my friends on Sunday. I am thankful for the fact that I have friends and a loving family to turn to. I am thankful for a clean and protected childhood. I am thankful for good teachers and an education. I am thankful for having a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat and an honest occupation to sustain myself. Most of all I am thankful for a sensitivity that keeps me humbly thankful on any given Sunday.

   

Try this

When you find the time that is.

Pour ice slush into the lab sink such that the sink drain is clogged from all the ice but you can still see it. Listen to the ice melting and dropping (pop!) from contact with the drain surface. In a few seconds, you can also see the ice bits getting smaller and falling into the trap making it a fun lightning and thunder combination!

Or you can spice it up by pouring a slush of ethanol and dry ice. Brilliant smoke effects! Use a spatula to play some dry ice hockey on the sink surface as you watch the smoky ice rearrangement show.

Or you can make it more awesome by making it a slush of liquid nitrgen and regular/dry ice for some extra hot spring bubbling effects as well! Except that is against lab safety regulations so cross that.

And they thought Tuesdays aren't fun.

I've been missing for the last month because, amongst other things, I have been working really hard. Peace.