Archive for the ‘In the lab’ Category
Doing Things in Sweden
This is a smoked reindeer sandwich. You can find smoked reindeer in the deli section of your local grocery store where it’s called rökt renstek. I didn’t remember the Swedish word for turkey, so everything in the store was mystery meat except for renstek – see the logo on the packet. Also, it is delicious and I will probably eat a lot of it in my time here.
Props to scientist Carl Linnaeus for getting himself on the C-note.
This is Swedish money. In addition to the bills there are coins for 10, 5, and 1 kronor. The 10 kr coin is worth a bit more than $1 US, so it’s useful for tipping in bars and restaurants. The other coins are as useless as pennies.
Elsewhere: I lined up a 1-BR apartment for the summer and I stopped by the office (here) to apply for my key, access card, and online passwords. Got to chat with a few colleagues, and the conversations reinforced my belief that this was the right place to come work. The scientists are talented and the work in the group leans more toward applied science. I am excited to get started.
Future blog posts will revolve around my work and adventures in this new place, so if you’re interested in reading my stories and seeing my photos, take a moment to subscribe to the email notification on the right sidebar.
How I paid 62 cents for a brand new hardcover bestseller.
I went to Borders tonight because I had $15 in Borders Bucks that needed to be spent this month before they expired.
Retail price of book: $25.95
-Apply 40% off coupon-
Subtotal: $15.57
-Apply Borders Bucks-
Subtotal: $0.57
TN 9.25% Sales Tax: $0.05
Total: $0.62
Saving money is one of my interests, but what does it have to do with nanotechnology research? Read the rest of this entry »
Arrangement in Gray and Black 01
TiO2 particle? Or cat food?
What makes you indispensable?
Grad student scientists want to become their advisor’s go-to investigator. This position makes you privy to the advisor’s more closely held thoughts and often spares you from working on trivial/crappy projects. (Within reason: you don’t want to be so trusted that they end up overburdening you with every task they deem important—since we know profs believe everything they work on is of the utmost importance.) A post on Keith Ferrazzi’s blog lists ten tips for becoming indispensable at work. Some of his ideas strongly resonated with me, in the context of doing research.
1. Get out in front and analyze cutting-edge trends and opportunities.
I want to get better at this practice. As grad students we become occupied with our particular project and how to get it done. But the big-time scientists out there seemingly predict what next year’s Nature-level hyped topic will be, and get to work on it this year. I don’t have a ready idea for what to try on this topic, because the “cutting edge” of science that you read is something that was submitted up to 12 months prior to publication. Read the rest of this entry »
Where do you like to recharge online?
A lot of science is waiting five- to twenty-minute intervals for a sample to finish drying, or to finish centrifuging, or to finish reacting. Often, this interval is too brief to do any serious reading that requires information retention, but just enough time to recharge the mind by doing a puzzle or reading interesting non-science ideas. My favorites are below; what are yours?
Career/Networking
Puzzle Games Read the rest of this entry »
