school paperwork, new mask, science fair
Today, "J" and I spent a lot of time working on school paperwork for "T". We should have done it sooner, but better late than never.
Speaking of T, after coming home from school, he wanted to go back in the evening for his school's science fair. He didn't have a project to display, but wanted to see his friends' exhibits. We arrived soon after 6 pm, which he said was the starting time. Unfortunately, 6 pm was the opening time for kids to set up their exhibits; the actual show didn't start until 7 pm, though they didn't chase us out.
So, we waited in the playground area. It was chilly, so I mostly stood out of the wind near a wall watching him. He had fun.
When the show opened, it was crowded. I was pleased to have one of my new 3M masks. (Sincere thanks to my friend "K", who did the research to find the best masks, and a legitimate authorized dealer.)
The big surprise of the show was the presence of a couple of things I didn't already know. The simpler one was a demonstration of homopolar motors. The concept was no surprise, but I hadn't seen one in action, and I didn't know the term.
The more impressive display was one about why chicken "tastes just like chicken", and why some other foods do and others don't. It's apparently a reaction between the chemicals in chicken that, when heated, produce aldehydes with distinctive flavors. Cooking chicken and some other foods produces those aldehydes, while other foods don't have them. On the other hand, I couldn't find any resources about the topic (with a lazy web search), so maybe the display picked up on some detail that's a part of the explanation but not an important part.
Visits: T to school bus and school, T and I back to school.