mel schriver

@sean_t_barry Yeah, that was the year I transitioned from having a research group and the lab copies got thrown in a box with the equipment.

@melschriver You had a lot going on in '96-97, I see...

I'm a dinosaur that has seen the star fall and is waiting for the shock wave of retirement to hit but I still maintain that there is pedagogical value in teaching labs having hardcopy reference libraries. When it comes to value and utility nothing beats the Aldrich catalogue.

@UlrichFekl True, the students always point the artwork out.

@melschriver I always found that Aldrich catalogues make amazing lab jacks, in a pinch! And the Dutch oil paintings as covers were just delightful (apparently, the founder, Alfred Bader, collected original Dutch master paintings).

@ParafilmM Missing dissection scissors purloined from the Bio lab. Missing paper guillotine "borrowed" from the photocopier room (best option, straight cuts, easy to find in lab if it walks).

Latest quantum mechanics calculation vs Lewis Structure analysis.

Statistical probabilities can be difficult to explain. But as long as the slope is greater than the noise this is statistically true: As hot as it has been this summer, it is likely that this summer will be the coolest summer that you will experience for the rest of your life

I have always had a very "lived in" office. The University decided to replace the floor and paint the walls. I have resolved to only take books and supplies out of the boxes as I actually use them and anything still in boxes come early September will be recycled or donated.

@MichelleFrancl In 1980 when I started my BSc Chem at UNB we were told that if we bought copies of the CRC, Ternays Organic Chem and Cotton and Wilkinson in 2nd year we would not have to buy any other organic or inorganic texts for the rest of our degrees. Still have them within arms reach.

My first trip to the hospital as a grad student was from demonstrating the generation and condensation of Cl2. Someone replaced the conc HCl with conc H2SO4 in my demonstration set up and I did not notice the difference until the explosion. Adventures in manganese sub-oxides.

I regularly donated blood until 1984 when I lived and studied at Durham U during the height of the UK Mad Cow outbreak. I was forbidden to donate until early this year. It felt good to pull out my old card and donate again. Spread the news, give blood if you can @CanadasLifeline

@awhspeed "Chemvesting" when the retail value of a previously purchased chemical increases resulting in a profit on the barter market. Almost all the electrochemists I know are active chemvesters. Computing barter equivalent values is a dark dark magic.

According to my records, this was purchased on July 15th 2015. Today the list price is 58% higher than what I paid then!

@awhspeed Ahem, what do we say when a student tells us that a reaction occurred but did not "work".

My metal reactions from last week. Cool colours, but none of them worked!

I love you Jon and I celebrate your return but I think you made the right choice long ago. @TheDailyShow @rightanswersmatter

Completed another orbit and have leveled up to my Europium year. Benign and boring, yeah sounds about right.

Used @VernierST probeware near a hilltop church to observe the eclipse. Monitored the Sun with a pinhole camera obscura. The eclipse occurred in a clear sky but less than 10 min later a cloud moved in. Temperature and illumination data clearly captured totality. Most Excellent.

Periodic Table Regions xkcd.com/2913

Did you know David Suzuki was once a speaker at an APICS (now Science Atlantic) conference? At the 1980 Education Conference in Sackville, NB, Suzuki spoke on the ever-relevant topic of science as a tool for living in an increasingly technological world. #ThrowbackThursday

As we approach the end of semester and faculty facing piles of marking stalk the hallways I can only come to one conclusion: Collegiality is actually work avoidance.

Sometimes our job allows us get to stand up and say nice things about people you respect, admire and like. Friday I got to present @keithsgrant with the '24 Steeves Service Award. Congratulations to @isaacsoon2, @CathleneHillier and Don Moore for their awards as well. Respect.