Hollywood Hydrosilation

 Some background on this picture. I made this picture for my thesis advisor, the king of hydrosilation, T.Don Tilley using GIMP (graphic image manipulation program). Hydrosilation is a chemical transformation used in making many useful materials. for example, high-temperature rubber cooking wares like spatulas and pot holders, fish tank sealant, glues, computer chips, caulking, and silicones such as implants, non-volatile oils, and lubricants.  

I do so much work I don't even look at it

So, today I was feeling blah about being a graduate student. Particularly, I wasn't feeling very good about working in a chemistry laboratory. Smelling fumes all day and feeling quite unfruitful at synthesizing, purifying, isolating, and characterizing molecules. Unable to accept my current state, I struggled through the whole day, resisting nearly everything. However , I am slowly learning that I should let go of what i deem painful or irrelevant because it all pertains to the present, to what is, to my work. The funny, sad, and strange part is, I didn't feel good about work today, but I actually accomplished a lot. For example, I cleaned an entire rack of glassware left over from cleaning up the benches and hoods of a 4 person lab. I also submitted and categorized 8x4Liters of "spent/used" chemicals, normally referred to as waste, to college Environmental Health and Safety. I cleaned out glass fritted filters using concentrated Hydrochloric acid mixed with Sodium Hypochlorite (Clorox Bleach). Furthermore, I cleaned all my NMR sample tubes, read a paper on Hematite (Iron Oxide Fe2O3) Nanostructures coated on Titanium Silicide nanonets (TiSi), and set up a recrystallization of starting material which required a vast solubility screen in solvents like chloroform, bromoform, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), ethyl acetate, hexanes, acetone, benzene, toluene, and chlorobenzene. It turns out bromoform works the best, but I used chloroform instead since its cheaper and could work just as well. The point is, I need to walk into the fire, face the music, and accept the headache, otherwise life is hell. 

Ouroboros over the weekend

Half scales protected with Rubys and half synthetic carbon fiber. Ouroboros is a hybrid of two chemical worlds.

Here is after I added the ruby/amethyst breast shielding, scales and a segment of carbon fiber

This is after the scales were added ( a neat effect using gIMP Graphics Image Manipulation Program available free for Ubuntu Linux)

Here is the original that I sketched with graphite, I used a compass for the circles and used color pencils

From scenery to chivalry, spiritually and contentedly, one should be the change they want to see happen.

I like the discipline of contentedness, but it, like smoke, dissipates. Be wary of laziness, strive for working hard and moving quickly. Rest a lot to balance exhaustive work and play. Remember sleep is like the intake plenum for an engine and movement is like the exhaust plenum. With too much air an engine will run lean, overheat and slow down, so too will body and mind become chronically lazy after too much sleep. With too much fuel an engine will build up soot, lose torque, and gas mileage, so too can body and mind. Thus, constant monitoring of one's sleep and movements is necessary to get the best gas mileage.  Be irregular to maintain nimbleness yet exercise regularly. Analogies become pitfalls.    

The line between losing one's self and finding one's path is dashed and at times ambiguous. Life reduces to the present and yet exists for the future. The point is in satisfaction.