I’m sure the scientific aspects of this $100 chem lab manual are sound, but I’m finding this sentence oddly unscientific, and quite funny:

“Believe in your data, and others should have confidence in it also.”

Go, my little data, and be all that you can be! I believe in you!

And here’s a few more good tips, that any student should take note of:

“Books are generally more reliable and more complete sources of technical information than are classmates.”

“Handling chemicals is as safe as handling your dog; if it is done carefully, no injuries will occur.”

I remember seeing graffiti in Irkutsk, which translated as ‘what’s more valuable — Baikal or oil?’ and visiting a local environmental agency, to hear about the difficulties they have had in operating. Being an environmentalist in Russia is almost as much fun as being a dark-skinned foreigner.

I didn’t have any problems myself, being pale-skinned, but I certainly remember feeling quite uncomfortable and hurrying home faster from the metro on the evening of September 10th after vaguely overhearing two men behind me on the street say something about America and 9/11.

p.s. on a brighter note: cool photos, and briefly fascinating widget from yandex