Tales from the Service Counter pt. 3

Another true story about the people I deal with at my retail job...

I had an interesting conversation with Isaac recently. Once again, I was stuck working a closing shift with him and despite the fact that we got done early it was not without the following interaction.

I came back from my break to find Isaac melting the ice in the seafood service case. As I walked up, he looked up and squeezed the hose shut to speak to me.

"I don't know why, but it always takes so long to melt the ice. Like twenty minutes. You know?" He said.
"Well, it's an endothermic reaction..." I replied.
"Yeah... Wait, what?" Isaac said.
"Endothermic, a reaction that draws in heat from its environment," I explained. He furrowed his brow and looked like he was concentrating and it required effort. Then his eyes glazed over. I could almost see "does not compute" scroll across his forehead. I sighed.

"When you spray the ice with the hot water from the hose the ice melts because the water is at a higher temperature than the ice. The ice absorbs the heat from the hot water to find a balance which is the mix of ice and water you get," I said. He began to nod vigorously.
"That's why the water isn't hot when it's done melting the ice because the ice cools it off," he exclaimed. I just looked at him.

Isaac went back to melting the ice as I walked behind the service counter and put my white coat back on.
"Dude, you're smart. You could be, like a teacher or something," he said. "I didn't even know they had scientific words for melting ice!"

I just shook my head.

A ride of the pantless on the MBTA - Boston.com

I came across this story on Boston.com and decided it needed sharing, especially considering all the MBTA stories I've posted.  Check out the link.
A ride of the pantless on the MBTA - Boston.com

This is something I probably would have participated in with my people were I still in Boston. Some quick questions and observations: 1) Did anyone I know ride pantless? 2) I was impressed by the innovation of some of the riders. No pants doesn't necessarily mean underwear only. 3) I sort of wish the reporter had talked to some pants-wearing spectators to get their opinion of the event.