Hi all,

Just thought I would put out this post to ask other users what are the small insignificant things that make you happy around the lab each day.

I know it sounds silly but apart from the obviousness of achieving good results and/or things working out for you, what other little things help put a smile on your face?

The reason i ask is,

(and maybe it's a sign i need to get out of the lab/out more) but:

Today, the feeling of the tension, when spraying a recently filled 70 % ethanol spray bottle made me smile, and to be quite honest I was happy for the rest of the day.

Cotchy.

Yay for being mindful and smiling!

I like when I happen to pull out just the right number of tubes from the bag, and when my 5-minute incubation is just enough to do something else I needed to do. And when the radio has fun music!

Sounds like alcohol misuse...
And it makes me happy if I can lock the door of the lab or office to go home (at least sometimes...)

Ha ha no not missue, the actual feeling of spraying alcohol in the flow hood.

the fact it was a full botlle jjust made me happy!!

maybe cos i wont need to fill it for a good while again, sad i know

yeah it's sad... just think of all the killing and the fixing and the preserving it does...

playing with the bubble wrap. POP POP POP

It makes me happy.

With you there . The bliss of starting a day’s experiments with full reagent bottles and media flasks.



Having all my labbooks completely up to date counts high on my satisfaction ratings.

Flash freezing in liquid nitrogen is always fun. Also, I like being in the dark room with the red light on developing western blots - its very calming

P

putting dry ice in eppendorf tubes....

Finding that ive overcome my 'sequencers block'

....and let them slip under my lab mates bench (enjoy them jumping)


But also: a nice smile and "good morning" of somebody in the elevator.....

Seeing DNA from a midiprep percipitate out upon addition of isopropanol.

Nice big pellets.

Also, hearing any vague reference to an aspect of your research on t.v.

I havent tried this one so what happens when you put dry ice in an eppendorf tube?.

And out of curiosity how would you do this?

Do I just add some of the ice pellets to an eppendorf? Should i stand back pretty quickly after doing it?

(Of course i just want to find out what not to do, you know.... in case it happened to me by accident !!!,

I wouldnt dream of putting dry ice in an eppendorf )

Cotchy

The lid pops off and an audible sound is heard.


1. To an empty eppendorf tube place one pellet of dry ice into the tube
2. Close the cap of the eppendorf tube.
3. Quickly place sealed tube in a warm place
4. Retreat to a safe distance.
5. Wait
Note: Beware of patrolling safety officer. Safety first. Wear safety glasses.


Yes. You have a few minutes. Mostly it depends on the room temperature. Do note that your hands are warm. Use a rack to more the tube. Warm hands will sublime the carbon dioxide pellet.


Most certainly. This is purely a hypothetical discussion, in the even that you should find dry ice in a sealed eppendorf. The more extreme version of this endeavour is to place liquid nitrogen into a closed eppendorf tube. The bang is louder, more dramatic and more dangerous. Real injury is possible.

please do not try this at home, or should i say at the lab, unless you're qualified to...

In my institute, once some PhD students throw a heap of dry ice (what's inside a parcel from any company sending biological material in dry ice) in a large puddle on the institutes parking area...nice effect the vapour and big dirty bubbles. But finally someone called the fire brigade...not so nice.

seeing bacterial colony on agar plate makes me happy.

it's a sign of life. life is good and life goes on

Pouring liquid nitrogen on the floor and watch the small droplets bounce of the wall as they hit it!

Watching baby mice in the animal room. That's why I get stuck in there twice as long as I need

yeah, like you don't wanna leave. Mine would be whenever I go to the microscope/imaging facility....the walls are lined with posters and enlarged pics of stained cells and tissues, some of Nikon's Small World past winners....the brilliant colours hit you first and then the intricate designs......an art gallery right there....

and then you go thru these inevitable stages: first, awe and appreciation "nature is perfect, the guys from AT&T Bell Labs and Zeiss, geniuses"; then the frustration "why are my images never this good"; and lastly, the art critic comes out: "enhanced, enhanced, touched -up, photoshopped, what the heck are those?"

hope everyone's having a nice weekend....

casandra

Dipping my bacteria spreader in ethanol and then burning it off

Filling out the last page of an old lab book (perfectly to the bottom, no overflow).

Filling out the first page of a new lab book.

Finding that someone brought a can of cinnamon buns to the breakroom and baked them in the communal toaster oven just before coffee break time.

Well, I suppose the eppendorf tube will explode due to increased pressure of CO2, yes?

What makes me happy in the lab? that's a really good question

I'm happy when I have to streak out some bacteria on LB agar/Amp. I am happy when taking out old media by suction from my LNCaP flask. Sound weird, but it feels great to know that I have changed the medium

seeing well stocked pipette racks makes me happy when on the hood

printing double sided. makes me feel "environmentally friendly"

same here