Friday Fun: Chemistry Craigslist

Most folks these days have moved around some - whether for school, jobs, or family - thus buying and selling furniture and appliances on the cheap = required skill. 

Enter Craigslist, the online "Wanted Ads" for the grad student who just needs to find a $50 couch.

Many of the raucous online discussions our community has had over the past few days (plagiarism, checking preps, #chemjobs) would probably benefit from better communication amongst ourselves, and with the larger world. Well, what if we had a little piece of digital property over on CL? What might that look like?

Help Wanted

Needed: Dissertation Typist. Must have encyclopedic knowledge of p-chem terminology, command of stereochemical language, enjoy ramen noodles for lunch. 130 wpm / minimum. 

Please bring own laptop if possible.

LOST: VOLATILE PRODUCT

Dag! While uzing rotovap on teh third-floor labz, heard mah cell go off, rushed too take call. Came back to nuthin'! Anyone emptee the trap l8tley? 

Missed Connections. You: Tall, gangly chemist in need of a shave with thick glasses and a slightly stained lab coat. Me: Passed you by on an OSHA inspection, petite brunette, business suit, designer  goggles. I thought we shared a glance, but you may have just been nervous when you saw my badge. Perhaps a drink might help? Call 555-8G13

Plagiarism Party

We're meeting down in the conference room at 7:00PM tonight for drinks and text-searching. Up your alley?

                          - Location: Cambridge, MA

                                 - Just kidding, it's BYOB. But we'll have pizza (I think)

                                 - Scratch that, we're broke. But come anyway!

Happy Friday, everyone!

-SAO

Friday Fun: Timing = Everything

Looks like a snowy weekend for those in the Northeastern U.S. Predictions for the New York-to-Boston area, which includes a large swath of the biotech / pharma corridor, expect anywhere from 8 to 24+ inches of snow over the next 2 days. 

Well, to paraphrase one of my Twitter colleagues, Pharma 'laughs at snow the way it laughs at stable jobs.' Thus, many of you will still be venturing out into the Snowpochaosalypsemageddisaster. Hopefully, you're already stocked up on salt, sand, and dry goods. 

If you're one of the 'lucky few' who've already closed up for the day, Nature has you covered: a perfectly-timed Top Ten list for future ice and snow research! Author Thorsten Bartels-Rausch says it best on his research page: "Snow and ice are chemically active." From trapped gases to metal reduction, there's a fascinating molecular interplay within frozen water matrices. Go have a look!

Happy Friday. Stay safe!
-SAO

Announcing: The Chem Coach Carnival

Do you work in chemistry?

Want to help folks interested in chemistry do what you do?

I like to think about chemistry
during timeouts.

In celebration of the 25th National Chemistry Week (Oct 21-27, 2012), I've decided to host a blog carnival called the Chem Coach Carnival. (Unfamiliar with the carnival format? Check out the "Favorite Reactions," "Toxic," and "Science Writer" carnivals)

Why the theme? After writing a tongue-in-cheek post last week, I received several comments through email, Twitter, and on the blog about an actual online repository of chemistry job success stories. Wouldn't it be nice to ask professionals questions like these?

What do you do all day? What chemistry skills do you use in your line of work? How do you move up the ladder in chemistry? What do I need to do to be in your shoes?

Here's the specifics: To keep the carnival timely - and since I didn't give a lot of advance notice (sorry!) - we'll keep posts short, about 300-500 words. If you'd like to toss in a (small) picture that helps the reader, go ahead. The general structure will be:

Your current job.

What you do in a standard "work day."

What kind of schooling / training / experience helped you get there?

How does chemistry inform your work?

Finally, a unique, interesting, or funny anecdote about your career*

The most important question to ask yourself - If I were just coming into the field, would I learn something useful from your story?

Whaddaya mean these mechanisms
aren't right?

I also want to stress that you don't have to be a blogger or writer to participate. I'd love to hear from every kind of chemist: professors, bench chemists, formulators, artists, Wall Street advisors, authors, Editors, engineers, grad students, historians, Olympiad participants, forensic scientists, safety officers, advertisers, biochemists, Nobel laureates, you name it.

Everyone is welcome.

As far as posting, you can either post on your blog and I'll link to it (preferred), or I can take your entry by email (seearroh_AT_gmail_DOT_com) and post them on Just Like Cooking. If you've posted something, send me a line at @seearroh or use the hashtag #ChemCoach.

I look forward to celebrating National Chemistry Week by reading about all your employment adventures. Thanks in advance!

*Bonus motivator - I'll be writing a post, too, but I'll only post mine after I receive at least ten entries from around the campfire. Happy writing!