I had a massive headache yesterday, but today I felt much better (it was probably due to the healing effects of the Skypecast I joined at 2:00 in the morning), and seeing as I didn't have an exam, I decided to go tasking!

This was actually a bad idea, because a) I'm supposed to be studying, and b) I still had a fever and throbbing temples.

Anyway, here's this praxis' jingle!



It's rather terrible, because I didn't have any ideas for it. I'll try to make better jingles in the future. Catchier jingles. Also, I did say previously that this praxis would be handwritten, but that hasn't come to light yet. Perhaps another day.

So, onto the water decoration...



The white powder isn't crack (amazingly) - it's a type of sodium polyacrylate. Basically, it belongs to a family of polymers that can absorb water extremely well through osmosis. This particular powder not only absorbs the water, it expands in volume and becomes light and fluffy like snow! The result is 99% water, and is actually cold, thanks to trace moisture evaporating quickly, thus removing heat.

And it's all because of SCIENCE!

Melbourne doesn't get snow - ever. And our summers are unbearably hot. So I decided to decorate a public place with fake snow, so that people can finally enjoy the fun and bliss of snow all year round. (The nice thing about this snow is that it doesn't melt, it evaporates extremely slowly, and lasts for a very long time. And when it rains, it becomes snow again!)

So I snuck out of the house with my bag of white powder and a mixing bowl and proceeded to find a water tap. This is where my troubles began.

Walking around, I got very strange stares from people. Parents with their kids briskly walked away, and car drivers kept craning their necks to see what I was holding. I got stopped by a crossing guard who asked what I was doing. I then told him about the project to spread joy into the world, and directed him to SF0.org (unfortunately he thought I was crazy, and he denied me permission to take a photograph of him).



This first water tap, which I found at a park 5 minutes away from my house, was closed! I was extremely frustrated. I considered going back home to get a wrench, but thought better of it. Interestingly, the park was full of children playing when I came, and by the time I left, they had all vacated. :( I'm not a stalker or drug-dealer, really!



Down at the very end of a 13 minute walking trail, I spied another tap! However, when I got there... Shock and horror! It too was closed off. What fiend would do such a thing? Obviously it was a conspiracy against me. I was determined to fight the powers that be, and so I pressed on to find another water source.

15 minutes later, I found myself in the middle of nowhere, my feet aching and my head spinning. There was a rather chilly wind and my whole body was numb. I became slightly delusional, I think - I thought briefly of going to a random house and asking to use their sink. Then I had a vivid image of a psychotic hermit coming out of the house and stabbing me, which doesn't make sense, because why would a hermit live in a house?

Then, I found it.



Finally, a working source of water! Furthermore, it was not that far from a playground - so I decided to make a winter wonderland for kids to play with. Every child should have the chance to play with snow; make snowballs, snowmen, snow angels (though it would be rather hard with the limited amount of snow I could make)... Realizing it was getting late, I hastily started working.



This is the first batch of artificial snow I made. Several people passed me by as I made the snow, but none stopped and asked me what I was doing. Four dogs tried to eat the white powder, which is probably not the best idea - even though it is non-toxic, it would probably make their mouths full of fluffy snow, and they might asphyxiate. (Fluffy snow kills!)

Here is the playground. I decided to decorate the inside of the red tube, and change it into a magical snow adventure!



4 trips there and back, and here are the results:



I later measured how much water went into each batch, and it turns out that I ended up making more than 6 liters of snow.

I also made a miniature snowman, as a gesture to kids to play with the snow.



Two brothers came up to me while I was making the snowman. Their mouths dropped open in awe, and I explained to them that the snow was all theirs!

They promptly started making their own snowmen, and my heart soared. My mission complete, I headed home. I might check back another day to see what becomes of the snow (if I can be bothered finding my way there again). I sincerely hope that some kids find joy in playing with it.