France and Physics and Rain
Posted on: May 16, 2005 2:10 AM
Oh well...I figured that I would sneak in one more post just in case I get voted off this time. (Darn you, UHUBUGGG! What did I ever do to you?) My participation in the competition has dropped severely over the last week as I moved south from Paris to Lyon and Grenoble, away from the big city and their 24 hour cybercafes. So now, after a day of sightseeing and the usual touristy activities, I can't sneak off to take the metro to the center of town to read up on all of the Ultimate Blogger developments. I regret that, but I think that life is actually healthier this way, isn't it? Maybe not.What's funny is that I ended up here in Grenoble because of the Ultimate Blogger. A fan of the competition left a comment on one of my earlier entries telling me about this town and how it was only three hours away from Paris by train. Me, having no agenda whatsoever, took that as an invitation to crash at her place for the weekend and possibly longer. I'm glad that I did.
She's a physicist. And me, I'm a physics teacher. I know that I've been a soldier for a very long time as well, but that's the beauty of the guard. Very few people understand the double and triple lives that we lead. The term citizen-soldier is very accurate. We are citizens first; and me, I've always thought of myself as a physics teacher. When people ask me what I do, that's always what I tell them.
So when I was eating fondue the other night, and thinking about how I could design some sort of fun lab experiment for my class centered around this, I was happy to have a physicist across the table from me. I could design a lab with chocolate and see how hot it needs to be to melt chunks of chocolate with varying amounts of cocoa. They could graph the melting points relative to the percentage of the cocoa content and see what the correlation was. Eh...kinda chemistry, but it also fits into the thermal physics curriculum.
Then I started thinking about the cheese. The fondue we were having had a mixture of a number of different cheeses. At first, it seemed like the pot was getting hot, so I turned down the heat. After eating for a little bit, I started to notice that the cheese was separating. Hmmm...different cheeses...different melting points. It made sense...another variation for a possible experiment. So I could give my students a pot of cheese and have them identify how many cheeses there are and determine what their various melting points are.
Do normal people think about this kind of stuff at dinner? I was glad that I was with a physicist because I was able to bounce a lot of ideas off of her. It's funny that people think of science as being very rigid and unimaginative...that literature and music and the arts are our only outlets for creativity. The same can probably be said of the military...being rigid and whatnot. Again, I'd like to think the contrary to be true. Creative people will find their outlets no matter what path they choose in life. There are artists and musicians and writers who are probably just as stale and uninspired as there scientists and soldiers who are innovative and visionary.
I don't know. It's just something I was thinking about this morning. It's raining outside, so I don't see myself doing too much sightseeing today. And I've got five more days of vacation before I head back. We'll see how it goes.
"How many cheeses are in this fondue?" is an awesome question to be asked in a physics classs.
Great post, Sonny. Your best yet is right.
Posted by: Azure at May 16, 2005 3:03 AM
Wow...positive comments. You two aren't related to me and I didn't even have to pay you. Thanks.
Posted by: Sonny at May 16, 2005 4:43 AM
sonny have u been voted off? if so this is mean. i really like your posts, and appreciate them more cos u don't have the time to compose them to the extent of some of the others. If u are in Paris again this weekend me and my boyfriend will buy u a drink and talk about cheese (we're going there cos i need to interview a filmmaker for a mag).
Posted by: unemployed at May 16, 2005 7:29 AM
Sonny,
I hope you're getting pictures with all these cool commenters so you can post them when you get back. Who knew this competition would help you meet people around the world?
Posted by: enjanerd at May 16, 2005 8:07 AM
Oh, Sonny! I love this post so much. I will miss you in this competition. Enjoy your holiday, and be careful when you get back to Afganistan. There are a lot of future physicists waiting to melt some cheese and hear your thoughtful observations. Good luck!
Posted by: willow at May 16, 2005 10:25 AM
Man, kicked out, that sucks. I am sad that I will no longer be able to make fun of your entries.
So, you're staying with some French chick...and...?
Posted by: Craig at May 16, 2005 10:59 AM
He was staying with some French chick and they had fondue and discussed physics. Didn't you read?
Posted by: enjanerd at May 16, 2005 11:51 AM
DUDE, SONNY, YOU WERE MY BOY
I THINK I WAS THE FIRST TO READ YOUR APPLICATION BACK AT STEVE'S HOUSE BEFORE THIS WHOLE CARNIVAL SET OFF. I STARRED YOUR EMAIL, I TOLD STEVE: OH THIS GUY IS FIERCE. FAMILY OF BLOGGERS, MILITARY SERVICE, ACTIVIST, SCIENTIST, BOXER! MAN OH MAN ITS SAD TO SEE YOU GO! YOUR CONTENT WAS ALWAYS ORIGINAL AND INTERESTING. OUR MAN INSIDE. YOU WILL BE MISSED. I LOVE ALL CAPS. HAVE FUN IN FRANCE. I LUV FRANCE. GET DOWN TO THE COAST IF YOU CAN. NICE IS NICE. BE SAFE IN YOUR JOURNEYS, DONT GET BLOWN UP, PLEASE, WE LOVE YOU. STICK AROUND HERE, WOULD YA?
DAMN, DUDE.
PEACE
UNITY
THEY SHOULD LET YOU MAKE NON-COMPETITITIVE POSTS. THATS WHAT I THINK. THEY WERE ALWAYS YOUR BEST.
WELL, TAKE CARE
ADAM
Posted by: Adam Forkner at May 16, 2005 12:42 PM
Last post was best by far.
Maybe you don't blog that well under pressure?
Posted by: DCS at May 16, 2005 1:50 PM
Sonny, you will be missed as a contestant!
Majorly.
Posted by: Steve Schroeder at May 16, 2005 2:06 PM
majorly.
please come visit us in portland when you are finally done in the middle east.
Posted by: hason at May 16, 2005 5:48 PM
Thank you all for your support. It has done much to offset the pain and the sorrow that I feel at this moment. The 404 Error stamped across my face and the images of my picture going through the shredder will haunt me for years to come. But alas, it was all for a good cause...
Are you not entertained?! Are you not entertained?! Is this not why you are here?!
Posted by: Sonny at May 17, 2005 1:49 AM
I know grenoble well. I used to work in a ski resort an hour away. Go up the mountain on the cable car and look across the valleys and mountains. Good for the soul. I miss it. I'm sorry you're not going to be around anymore sonny.
x
Posted by: mimi at May 17, 2005 1:34 PM
Same thing Mimi, some of my family actually lived in one of those villages, up the romanche valley... You feel free there, and somewhat helpless under the mountain's shadow.
For the anecdote, Sonny, I read the comment where your physicist friend invited you over and I thought "he'll never go, she's crazy to ask". But you did, and I learn not to think too fast.
Thanks for your entries anyway. Keep it posted!
Posted by: boggart at May 17, 2005 3:40 PM
Oh, this is your best post yet.
Posted by: josh at May 16, 2005 2:57 AM