Middle school science

I noticed a group of young folks doing the Mentos-Coke experiment at the pool on Sunday.
I had to go over and investigate. The students doing the experiment were in 6th grade at our local middle school. The "reaction" was slightly, but observably endothermic (the can was colder at the end than at the beginning). We discussed the 6th grade science curriculum. They have had the kingdoms of life, a long section on the environment, and physics (force, acceleration and waves) this year.
The reaction is an acceleration of the bubbling process, driving dissolved CO2 from the solution. This reduces the entropy of the water a bit which reduces the temperature of the solution.

Monday, I sat with the new PTA president (my neighbor behind the fence). She discussed her plans for the next school year and ways to make the committees/responsibilities less work and more organized. It was a bit like a mini-PTA meeting. I learned that our school has a simultaneous translation system (the headsets and microphones) and the county will provide an interpreter for PTA meetings.

No H1N1 flu update today.

CDC has gone to Mon-Wed-Fri reporting. They expect to go to weekly reporting soon. It makes sense. School will soon be out (those disease vectors with legs will soon be separated). The warmer average temperatures will result in less effective spread. There is a need to analyze smaller data sets to figure out risk of death/hospitalization and transmission rates in different environments.

I would have done one more daily update to clear the backlog from the three-day weekend, but maybe tomorrow will be the first time that they can actually clear that backlog. The state of Wisconsin (for example) has a much higher number on its public health webpage than CDC is reporting for it.

Rift Valley fever predicted by satellite. The transmission (from mosquitoes) is so weather-dependent that satellites can observe and protect people from the disease (if they follow the advice).