RE: On the value of this forum

From: Gerhard Nebe-von-Caron (Gerhard.Nebe-von-Caron@Unilever.com)
Date: Thu Jan 03 2002 - 07:53:09 EST


Happy new year to everyone and the annual thanks to Steve in particular for
keeping the list in working order.

Before we start writing guidelines for guidelines or a manual for the use of
this list just follow the simple rule that my brother had attached to his radio
system in times long gone by were what you sent into the air could be heard
immediately by lots of radio amateurs.

!!!           ACHTUNG          !!!
!!!    Bevor Inbetriebnahme    !!!
!!!       des Mundwerks        !!!
!!!     Gehirn einschalten     !!!


which translates into

Attention
Before activation of mouth (or sending email)
switch on brain

I still fail to do so on occasions - being a registered TOG now which should
allow for an unlimited amount of disclaimers, even for failing not to explain
what TOG stands for!

I took Paul's comment as a good joke following (already including an apology
within) particularly after all the debate on being more specific with our
comments, and the definition of the fluorescent channels. I had a laugh and
tried to develop a diluent "QC" that would allow instant compensation to
improve the kit. When I run the assay the result was 42 in agreement with the
DNA constant (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/dna/) and as I found out
later the potential Hubble constant. Unfortunately despite the much shorter
assay time (20 minutes compared to seven and a half million years needed by
Deep Thought and 3 years for the Cambridge astronomers
http://sirlou.best.vwh.net/42.html) I forgot the question as well - a clear
sign of a TOG who has to keep coffee breaks short in order to avoid retraining
for the job afterwards.

May the farce be with you all for this and other years to come. Thanks to all
that contribute to this list. Lets enjoy and keep up the good scientific
discussions and the generous helpfulness of the cytometrists and enjoy the odd
cyto-comics.

And always remember, life is too short to take everything serious.

Wishing you all health, wealth, everlasting beauty, IgNobel worth datasets and
many many children

Gerhard Nebe-von-Caron

Research Scientist
Applied Science & Technology Group
SEAC - Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre
Unilever Research, Colworth Laboratory, Sharnbrook, UK - MK44 1LQ

Tel: +44 (0)1234 264822, Fax: +44 (0)1234 222552
E- mailto:Gerhard.Nebe-von-Caron@unilever.com



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