Conference recap

[moonwise]

It was a very nice day yesterday until I got home, but that's another story.

We all attended the J&J Chromatography Symposium yesterday, which isn't very exciting (series of unexciting talks and a poster session) but as anyone who's ever attended a trade show knows, the best part is wandering around amongst the vendor tables and picking up free swag.  Certainly there isn't as wide a variety as one might get from a large gathering like an ACS meeting, but I'm pretty happy.

The goodie count:

• 12 pens (Nicest pen:  Thermo; best pen:  Waters; worst pen:  Hudson)


• Clip-on blue LED flashlight


• Calculator


• Luggage tag


• HPLC column tag


• Handfuls of candy

And my favorites...

• Charlie the Chameleon, the mascot for Dionex's Chromeleon system (I'm buddies with the sales rep)


• A dorky T-shirt, light blue with "Chromatographer" printed across the chest (woo, won something in the raffle!)

We did hit the bar before dinner before our boss suggested that we might want to actually attend the dinner, since one of our number was being honored.  Despite his grumping that he didn't know what to say, the honoree spoke very well, I thought - he said that his true definition of achievement was to be a part of the technology he'd seen develop over his 28 years with the company, and to help it along.  He made me think a lot about my reasons for going into science, and it was good to hear from someone who understands what it's really all about - not profits or personal gain, but pushing back the frontiers of science.  While that's a very idealistic goal, it helps to keep one on track, because in the end all we have is our integrity.

Then I went home and was so pooped that I took the wrong exit.  >_<

At home, my Cocteau Twins CDs and This Mortal Coil CD were waiting, and that made me happy, so that's the end of the story.  Then things got shitty but it remains to be seen whether I want to post about that.

 

Comments

Excuse me, teacher? I think I just changed religions, and, uh, it's a holiday, so...?

[wpl510.livejournal.com]

I think the ACS mascot is actually named Millie Mole; our "Student affiliate" chapter used to have a big stuffed one around.

Though, for the amusement of any other chromatographers, you might appreciate what my own students are now doing... Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC)! Obviously, at least one student is just playing it by ear and not reading the lab manual; instead of reporting "Retention Factors" (Rf), he reported "arf" values....

(Bangs head on desk)
(Repeatedly)