The most useful thing Nicolaou has ever done

I typically think that Nicolaou has contributed very little to the endeavor of total synthesis (unless you count using the same series of 3 reactions over and over again to make 1 mg of huge molecules important). But he has finally done something useful (while still managing to just combine two separate and well established reactions). I could have used this when I was banging my head against a wall for 6 months-a year trying to do an oxidative cleavage.

memory

wild weather

Here's the snow while I was digging the other day:


Here's the street out front after the storm, and a Metro parking lot:



Then yesterday it snowed again and it was windy, so I don't know how much but it might have been a foot.



Then today it was sunny and the temperature was ~20 degrees warmer than yesterday. There were huge puddles and small rivers all over the place.

mmmmm ... I bet that's some tasty water

It's supposed to snow again early next week, I can't wait!

snow, glorious snow

Well, we got some snow last night, and I'm pretty much stuck here now. Motorcycling in the snow may be fun but it's not very practical, and the Metro stops servicing to above-ground platforms at 8+ inches of snow (insert "that's what she said" joke here) so I have no way to get to work aside from walking 6 miles.

I decided to make myself somewhat useful, and dig out some pathways around the house. I love the snow and winter, so it was actually pretty nice to be outside in it for a few hours, but being a nerd I think the manual labor is going to royally kick my ass in the aftermath for the next few days.

as you can plainly see, it's uphill both ways

storm watch 2010!

I'm in the middle of the terrifying snowstorm that's ROCKING the mid-atlantic! When I got up early to go to work today "just in case" the storm closed everything down before I could make my escape the train platform was BARREN! In fact no one got on the train I used to go to work! When I got to the lab every one of the brave souls I work with had braved the distinct possibility of snow that had been predicted! It was truly awe inspiring!

Several hours later, after virtually every school and government office had been closed, the snow began! Here is a harrowing look into the snowy, snowy eyes of potential doom outside the lab!

brrrrrrr ... just looking at it brings back harrowing memories!

Because I had gotten up so early "just in case", I left early because I was tired as fuck, and not a moment too soon! Look at this incredible accumulation in the foreground already! It's only 2:30 pm!

oh dear Lord! just look at the limited visibility!

I thank my lucky stars and the sweet Lord above I was able to make it home through this harrowing, harrowing event!

nerdiness

It's a little cold today, ~25 degrees Fahrenheit, and on the Metro ride in I ended up walking behing someone who had apparently taken a bath in cologne. The first thing that popped into my head was "How is that even volatile under these conditions?", followed closely by "I'm really glad I won't be around that guy when he's in a warm building."

I think maybe I need to get out more and do some non-science things.

that's the key 2

After the mild debacle the other morning, I wasn't too surprised to find yet another problem on the way home. Apparently the taillight doesn't come on when the run circuit is jumped, and nothing else. This little tidbit was conveyed to me by a nice motorist who took the time to tell me on my way home at night. I wish I had known that before dark, but at least there were no issues due to it.

I did a small bit of research, and found I just needed to jump four of the five wires in the starter. Conveniently two of those wires come from one being split after the ignition connector that I was jumping already, so I just needed to connect the two pairs at the junction connector. Instead of making two different wire jumpers, like the little piece of shit I was already using, I cut the Molex type connector off of the old broken ignition, soldered the ends together, and after some heat shrink I had my new key.


Which should last me until the weekend when I have time to actually work on the ignition switch. I even cut the tooth off of the connector so it doesn't lock in place, and I can remove it in only several minutes of dicking with it in the parking lot.

Pretty swank, huh?

If I'm not mistaken, I now have the key to a great number of motorcycles out there. Just proves to me how important it is to lock the bike down to something.