I know we should all be used to how smart Max is by now, but I spent some time with him this afternoon, and yeah, it was just scary. We were discussing elements, which led to a discussion on hydrogen, and somehow we got on the topic of hydrogen powered engines. He said very concretely, “Hydrogen is just too explosive, so hydrogen engines won’t happen for at least another hundred years.” I explained that, although hydrogen is incredibly explosive, it’s no more so than gasoline when handled properly and I then explained how they figured that out. Part of my explanation included telling him about recent discoveries regarding the explosion and crash of the Hindenburg. I’d just taken my pain medication so I was *really* loopy, and for some reason I just couldn’t think of the word ‘Zeppelin’, so I said ‘Blimp’ instead. Max politely interrupted me and said, “You mean ‘zeppelin’, right? Cause blimps are filled with helium; it’s zeppelins that are filled with hydrogen.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. First off, I didn’t think he’d even know what the Hindenburg was, let alone understand that it had exploded, knew that it was a zeppelin filled with hydrogen, and that he was then able to understand what I was explaining regarding ignition sources and flammability. It was hilarious, in a really, really freaky way. But it all worked out fabulously, since he got all excited when I told him about BMW’s workable hydrogen engine and how you can just fill it with your garden hose and your car will still operate at above 230hp. I showed him pictures and it was cute how excited he got, but better yet, he really understood it.
I think karate would be a great idea! If you want, my good friend Jay is a black belt in a Korean form of martial arts called Gumdo. There’s no board breaking, and it involves a lot of smooth martial arts in the beginning, I think. But then later on it also progresses to Korean fencing with cool bamboo and wooden swords and such (it’s safe – they wear pads and nothing’s sharp, but that wouldn’t be until many years later). Jay’s a certified instructor now, so I’m sure he’d be happy to play with Max one day and see if he’d like it, and maybe teach you some too. It might be nice before committing to a whole class schedule and everything. And I know Max likes Jay – they met at that J. Gilbert’s lunch a while ago. I could ask him for you if you want. 🙂
Anyway, that’s my ridiculously long comment. 🙂 You may be sad that not many people comment, but hey, I think I’ve made up for a little bit of that with quantity, hehe.