holidays/vacations

[gcguy]

This is the time of year when I like to book my summer holidays, I am off to Spain with my tribe in July. I was wondering what is everybody is doing for the summer this year?

GCguy

[zokitano]

Have a nice trip to Spain GCguy
I still haven't book my holidays. Maybe I'll be in the Lab all the summer
Still there is plenty of time to organize something good
Ibiza I suppose is very good place for party, don't you think GCguy?

Party on!!!!!!

[HbJ]

It's no holidays for me this year

We're awfully behind with moving to our new facilities so I have to ensure our old lab still works and that the new one is plunged, equipped etc. You may guess who's going to do most of that work...

Besides I have to develop some new pyrolysis methods in order to please my boss. If I fail at that bad things will happen.

So I may need some vacation but I surely won't get it

[GOM]

HbJ

Please take a break - you only die once!

Ralph

[HbJ]

@GOM: Thanks for the advice and your understanding! I'm quite young (under 30) so I hope I can take it.

We're a family business so most things I do help our (very) small company.

The main problem is that I'm still at developing a reliable method for our main interest, the analysis of coating resins. I made considerable progress but I'm still far from perfect and my boss wants to see results for the money he's dumping on that (not much if seen at absolute value, but quite a bit regarding our overall budget).

Another issue is our new lab: The constructors did a horrible job which caused all kind of problems (roof is not tight etc.). The whole matter is at court now which delays matters further.

We should long have moved but nothing happened until now but I hope we get that straight (3rd lawyer is at it now).

What really bothers me is the method development. I've already build some nice methods (industrial solvents on PEG and DB624), determination of water in solvents with GC (down to 50 ppm!) and fingerprinting of coatings so I hope I'll make it

But I don't think that gcguy wanted to hear that

[GOM]

Sorry about that - take some long weekends instead - you'll tackle the job better.

In the meantime this might cheer you up.

This request came in to analyse the supernatent liquid in a slurry to find out why it had gone pink. See if you can spot why





Regards,

Ralph

[HbJ]

Gave me a good laugh!

I think that green caps might solve the problem

[GOM]

Spooky! - I took a picture of it with a green cap on it to include with those pictures in the report! Along with the GCMS, NMR, IR and XRF results that he insisted on having done.

Ralph

[HbJ]

Quite impressive enumeration. I think IR is (in that case) the most convincing technique to show that the sample is not tainted.

Hope your customer is happy now (and did pay you nicely for your analysis).

I'd have chosen the green caps as green and red are distinct from a spectral point of view so the proof is even more convincing.

All in all it's one of the more funny analytical problems which show that all your scientific instrumentation isn't everything

[GOM]

Oh, he did pay. To avoid spiking GCguy's guns and get back on topic
Spain and Portugal

Ralph

[AICMM]

HBJ,

Out of curiousity, what column/detector did you use to do the low level of water (if you can divulge this?) I am working with someone who is also doing this analysis at low levels in monomer.

Best regards.

[HbJ]

HBJ,

Out of curiousity, what column/detector did you use to do the low level of water (if you can divulge this?) I am working with someone who is also doing this analysis at low levels in monomer.

Please see http://www.sepsci.com/chromforum/viewtopic.php?t=5925

[rwk27834]

Hopefully catching blue marlin off of Cape Hatteras around 4th July. First weekend August Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI - headliners: Allman Brothers Band, Alison Krauss & Union Station!

[Peter Apps]

I'm going to the central Kalahari and the Okavango Delta in Botswana for two weeks.

Peter

[WK]

Portugal and Spain - hopefully won't bump into Ronaldo on his vacation - if I do he'll probably dive!