another smaller world

Yet again a reason to give consideration, before uttering the Truth about your boss. No matter how true it is, eventually you'll say it in front of someone who knows her/him. And, with a relatively small profession like industrial hygiene, it will likely be sooner rather than later.

I'm going to be working through a consultant to do a project for the firm I did my internship with last year. I mentioned I'm taking a law course, and he of course asked who my teacher is. Yup - consultant knows my prof. They used to work together. Discussing the course material, I mentioned one of my classmates works here at the U. Yup, consultant knows him, too. Both people, in turn, also know the consultant personally.

Interestingly, the opinions expressed by the various parties was rather amusing, when taken as a whole.

It's also the sort of thing that reminds me that there are other folks out there who know me professionally, and whose opinion of my abilities and personality can quite easily be passed on to some total stranger. Which leaves me wondering what sort of opinons they are tossing around.

Hmmmm.... yup, maybe I ought to keep my opinion of my boss/co-worker/etc. to myself. Or, at least, keep the entire truth to myself.

Response to failure

Today at Rodent U.'s Industrial Hygiene lab
we return to the on-going saga of our grad student's valiant efforts to get data.
In the last episode, her experiment actually produced data!
We open on the scene of her meeting with her research adviser,
Dr.P:


meet with Dr.P --- ok

The missing peak in last experiment is supposed to be missing --- ok

the annoying peak at 0.7 is still there and pretty much just as big --- hmmm

check out experimental set up, connections, tubing --- how many gallons of oil were needed to make all of this Tygon tubing??

Find wiggly thing that's not supposed to be wiggly --- hmmm

find a the leak --- good

correct leak --- even better

annoying peak at 0.7 gone --- great

have finally gotten really ready to get to the meat of the experiment

set up power source --- ok

turn power source on

power source "on" light lights up --- yea!

power source makes the right kind of ticking noises --- good

fiddle with voltage regulator --- looks right

loud pop --- huh?

flash of white light at ammeter scale --- wow, pretty lights

no more voltage

no more joy

Dr.P & I looked at each other and sighed ...


I might as well laugh; at least it doesn't make my nose run afterwards.

Thesis tip

When you decide to be supportive of your classmate, and attend her thesis' defense ...

and you realize the only people in the room besides yourself are the degree candidate, and her 3 committee members ...

make sure you think of something really intelligent to ask at the end of the presentation.

So that when her advisor (who also happens to be yours) turns to you and asks, "So, at this point, we'd like to ask our guest if she has any questions" ...

you can whip out that great, insightful observation and impress a) your advisor and b) the other departmental prof sitting there, whom you want to have on your committee.