OUR TIME has come. Where once to be a nerd was deeply uncool, today it is the epitome is stylishness. It seems that everywhere we look, the latest role models are adored more for their intellect than – as was the case just a few years ago – their sporting prowess.
I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. A decade or two ago, I was a gawky young man with few social graces and little going for me other than a modest intellect. Despite investing heavily in the appropriate clothing and hairstyles, I was never what you might call cool. I was no good at sports and therefore had little hope of being part of the in-crowd.
Contrast that with today. Now I am a gawky middle-aged man with few social graces, and am still deeply uncool. But if I were a gawky young man again, it might all be different.
From the heroes of the top TV shows and movies (the new Q in the latest James Bond movie os classic geek) to the fashion pages of newspapers and magazines, it’s all about geek chic.
Anybody who works in a laboratory, or connected to the performing of science on a regular basis, can now lay claim to the ultimate badge of style. Nerds are out and proud, and aren’t the orcs jealous?
Thanks to the rigours of health and safety legislation, even those of us with good eyesight can adopt the defining accessory for geek fashion, the oversized spectacles, by simply donning a pair of safety goggles.
In terms of being cool, we’ve never had it so good. But remember that fashion is cyclical, and what is hot today will be both stone cold and deeply uncool (contravening all known laws of thermodynamics, incidentally) tomorrow. Enjoy it while it lasts.
I hope you find the LabHomepage website, and this weekly newsletter, useful. Comments and feedback are always welcome: news@labhomepage.com Please help us build our circulation base by forwarding this to any friends that might like it, and suggest they subscribe at http://eepurl.com/itOV2
best wishes
Russ Swan
editor, LabHomepage.com
1. Caption competition: microscope makes student sad
THIS picture was sent to us by Meiji Techno, which has just commissioned a new suite of 365 microscopes at the University of Liverpool, UK. The university’s new central teaching laboratory…
http://labhomepage.com/3149/microscope/caption-competition-microscope-makes-student-sad/
2. New association for UK lab managers
TRADE association for the instrumentation sector in the UK, Gambica, is in the process of launching a spin-off association for laboratory managers. The British Laboratory Managers…
http://labhomepage.com/3128/exhibition/new-association-for-uk-lab-managers/
3. Safe elemental determination of halogens, phosphorus, and sulphur
ELEMENTAL analysis of halogens, phosphorus, and sulphur by oxygen flask combustion can be performed safely and economically using the OFCU-1 unit, says Exeter Analytical…
4. Clinical chemistry analyser runs 720 tests per hour
THE LATEST clinical chemistry analyser from Diatron, the Pictus 700, can conduct up to 720 tests per hour on samples as small as 0.2ul. The fully-automated, random-access Pictus 700 has…
http://labhomepage.com/3165/diagnostic/clinical-chemistry-analyser-runs-720-tests-per-hour/
5. Flow chemistry chiller takes reactions to -88C
COOLING flow chemistry reactions below about -70C has traditionally presented challenges in the laboratory, requiring the use of pressurised gas and heat exchangers. Now Uniqsis says…
http://labhomepage.com/3161/temperature/flow-chemistry-chiller-takes-reactions-to-88c/
6. Assay kit gives rapid fructose determination
A NEW enzyme-based test to determine fructose in food and fermentation samples gives a result in only 15 minutes, says Bioo Scientific. The MaxSignal Fructose assay kit is described as…
http://labhomepage.com/3157/assay/assay-kit-gives-rapid-fructose-determination/
7. Better cell growth on these microplates
THE LARGE surface area of each well on the Krystal 24 microplate enables ‘unmatched’ cell growth, says Porvair Sciences. Each well holds a volume of 3.1ml, giving a large surface area, and…
http://labhomepage.com/3138/cell-culture/better-cell-growth-on-these-microplates/
8. Evaporator offers economy for small volume work
A NEW low cost, small volume evaporator for synthetic and medicinal chemists has been launched by KD Scientific. The Centrifan PE dries solvents directly in the vial, which…
http://labhomepage.com/3132/evaporation/evaporator-offers-economy-for-small-volume-work/
9. Light-scattering detectors ‘out-perform the opposition’
TWO NEW evaporative light-scattering detectors for liquid chromatography will deliver more sensitivity, higher efficiency, and better reproducibility that any alternative currently…
10. Laboratory Sales Ltd (LSL) rebrands as Wheaton
FOLLOWING its acquisition by US-based laboratory supplies company Wheaton in 2009, UK company Laboratory Sales Limited (LSL) is changing its name to Wheaton. The newly-rebranded…
http://labhomepage.com/3170/labware/laboratory-sales-ltd-lsl-rebrands-as-wheaton/