Forensic Chemistry

At the moment I am taking a Forensic Chemistry course. I have to say it is interesting, although sometimes, it does give me some disturbing dreams. In one dream, some methamphetamine addicts were after me (after the lecture on clandestine meth labs and meth synthesis). Anyhow, the subject material at times can be dark, but the technology that exists for Forensic Chemistry never ceases to amaze me. Chromatography has come a long way!

Politics

Here is something to think about:

Friday Cat Blogging

I am reading the book about the library cat named Dewey Readmore Books. It is a delightful book.

Here is a video about him:




I think every library should have a cat. Or perhaps every cat should have a library?

Anyhow, Dewey at this point is deceased, but he brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people.

The book, in case interested, is here.

Amusement

Someone pointed out to me that I have not posted in a while. Sorry. Just a lot going on.

Anyhow, hope this video makes up for it. Perhaps a bit bad, but very amusing.

Friday Cat Blogging

An oldie, but goodie. The engineer's guide to cats:



And the follow up video of cat yodeling:

Friday Cat Blogging

I have to admit, the 44 presidents as cats is humorous. Also available in women's sizes as well. Here is the link if interested.

Pearls before Breakfast

Has our society become so apathetic with regards to classical music that they cannot recognize exceptional beauty? Has our society become so preoccupied with sports scores of millionaires pushing a piece of leather down a field that they cannot even appreciate auditory stimulation in the form of classical music played to exceptional heights?

What I mean is this story (taken directly from snopes.com):

A man sat at a metro station and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listened to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again.

The musician played for 45 minutes. Only six people stopped to listen. He collected $32. When he finished playing, no one applauded.

The musician was Joshua Bell and played one of the most intricate pieces of classical music on his Stradivarius violin supposedly worth 3.5 million. Two days before, he played at a sold out concert hall for seats averaging $100.

The more complete story is here.

Although most people may not recognize him as the famous violinist, one would think they would recognize a piece of music played beautifully.

This makes me sad. Very sad that our society puts so little value on talents that must be nurtured through many years of hard study and work.

Anyhow, here is a video of him playing Ave Maria:



One would think that music played to heights should be appreciated even if the musician is not recognized.