Sans Signs

Tonight, I will be going to my first school dance, EVER. A fellow debater has been trying to convince me to go to a dance for the the last four years, and finally gave up and offered to pay for/arrange the whole thing. See,...? Persistance pays. (I leave it to the reader to judge whose persistence was most valuable.) Experiments this week are coming to a head as the deadline for submitting the revised manuscript for the paper I was working on at TASP looms. (Sorry, convoluted sentence.) In case you don't remember or I haven't told you, it was reviewed by two scientists in September. One said "accept with no revision" and the other said "accept with major revision." The editor, unfortunately, sided with the latter. I discovered this afternoon the corollary to "a watched pot never boils." It is: a recrystallization experiment involving boiling toxic solvents will always boil over and leave a mess, even if you turn your back for one second to get a pipette with which to stir to prevent super-heating. Alas, that sample of dithiasuccinoyl-N-phenyl will rest peacefully in chemical heaven.

Question of the day:
In light of the latest Sudanese Security Council agreement, who here is annoyed at the tacit acceptance of colonial-era borders and statehood in Africa? Votes I've collected: 1 yes, 0 no. Please update the tally in the comments section.
(Follow up: who is also annoyed at the UN requirement of territoriality as a prerequisite for statehood and membership? 1 yes, 0 no.)