Soaponification

soap•on•i•fi•ca•tion (noun)
the chemical term for the process by which soaps are created from lipids via hydrolysis under basic/alkaline conditions

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SO, as promised, here are the answers to the ester exercise!

Recall that an ester is a functional group whose main carbon is bonded to three thing: 1) double bonded to an oxygen, 2) single bonded to a different oxygen with another organic group attached to that, and 3) another carbon group.

I rather like doing these exercises; it makes you think about what I'm trying to teach you. Perhaps you'll do better on the next one. Also: don't fret if you can't get it; this stuff is from second year chemistry, and if memory serves, the last chemistry class you took was in gr. 11.

In response to your earlier posts:

1) Haha, yes, quite true, Machiavelli will never be the same between the two of us =P You shouldn't be the one apologizing for what you posted about Machavellians; if I'm not allowed to apologize for the daunting text, you aren't allowed to apologize either! =P Also: I'm glad that what I said was understandable/not disconcerning to you any longer; I was worried (but then again, when am I not worried? LOL)

2) I was not aware that such a thing as a Catholic Catechism existed, although, from what you've told me, I can't say that I agree with its function in the Catholic church. To me, it sounds like a way of getting new followers to memorize someone else's definition of faith, which, to me, is a very, very bad thing. As I've said many times in the past, I believe that each person should define for themselves their own beliefs and their own faith, and in that way each person can be absolutely sure in their beliefs and the reasons for them. I remember you talking about this saint several times before, although I had not completely understood what you meant, but now I do (I believe he came up in our discussion about wanting to die for a noble cause; I think I may have, as always, explained myself incorrectly; what I wanted to say was that because all of us are going to die, if I could choose my mode of death, I would rather die protecting someone I care for or values that I believe. It doesn't mean that I'm going to be seeking a death like that, and it doesn't mean that I'll be happy to die peacefully in my sleep. This is an interesting topic that was raised in the book I recommended to you in September. I hope you have a chance to read it sometime this winter/summer break; I'd love to hear what you think of it.)

Also: No, I was not raised in a Catholic household, but the school my mom attended when she was a girl in Malasia was an English Catholic school; that's why she can't speak Mando or Canto as well as my dad can. I have a feeling that some of the things about faith they taught her didn't quite sit well with her; I can only imagine that it's the reason she's not Catholic anymore (I think you'd call my family Protestant? I've never actually been sure what to call it; we attend an Evangelist church, but I'm not sure if Evangelist is an actual distinct church? All these denominations confuse me)

3) Shakespeare is fantastic! I miss studying his stuff! Lol this reminds me: when I was in 9th grade and we were just starting Shakespeare, I remember telling my dad how hard it was to understand it, and he said "You think Shakespeare is hard to understand? His stuff is only just over 400 years old! When I was in school (my father was educated in Mandarin; English is his second/thrird language: he speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien/Teochu, and English) I had to read texts that were over a thousand years old! The meanings of the characters have changed so much that it's almost like learning a new language!" I've always dreamed of studying texts like that. Anyways, Shakespeare sounds so much fun to study! Which is the piece your anthology is missing? I bought a second-hand collection of all of his tragedies a few years ago; maybe I have the one you need?

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Haha I wasn't asking you to do the meme, I just thought it was fun. I like doing those sort of personal memes every once in a while; it gets me to think about some things that I don't usually think about every day, and its fun to go back and read my answers after a few years to see how I've changed.

SO.

TODAY IS A SPECIAL DAY.

IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAY!!!!! =DDD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Is it a cake? Is it a present? BOTH! INSIDE IS A BABY! Buy yourself a nice new house =)

YOU ARE AN AMAZINGLY AWESOME FANTASTIC FRIEND AND A GREAT INSPIRATION AND A MARVELOUS GENTLEMAN AND A STUPENDOUS HUMAN BEING! YOU HAVE SUCH A GREAT SENSE OF SARCASM AND HUMOUR AND YOU ARE ALWAYS FULL OF WISDOM AND YOU ARE SUCH A SOURCE OF EXPLOSIVE WONDERFULNESS! THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU!!! I WISH YOU ALL THE VERY BEST IN THE NEXT YEAR OF YOUR LIFE: MAY JOY NEVER LEAVE YOU; MAY YOUR DAYS BE FILLED WITH LAUGHTER AND LOVE; MAY YOUR WEAPONS COME IN PINK DIGI-CAMO WITH THE BOLT ACTION ATTACHED; MAY YOU NFTBA; MAY YOUR JOKES NEVER LOOSE THEIR WIT.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAY!!!

Chat soon,
with love,
~Tim~