Sample Binder: Fill & Download for Free

My brother studied Forestry, a major that includes courses like “Soil” and “Dendrology” (the study of trees). Most of his “labs” were literally walks in the woods to take measurements and samples. One of his major class projects was a leaf collection. Pretty silly, right?My brother’s senior project was a plan to cultivate 440 acres of mature oak forest such that the land would produce a stable revenue stream in perpetuity. The supporting documentation for his plan filled fourteen 3″ ring binders. He finished the project after about 2 months of very long work weeks.A friend who’d graduated and worked as a freelance forester told him, “For each job like that, I charge $100,000.”

I use clear nail polish to seal my coverslips to microscope slides for imaging samples at high magnification.I use dried soybeans (which are effectively boiled in water in an autoclave) to feed the cells I work with.I used to use powdered milk (also just from the grocery store) as a non-specific protein binding inhibitor for some of my experiments.Pyrex baking pans are some of the best containers for soaking agarose gels in preparation for transferring the DNA or RNA in them to a nylon membrane.Scotch-brite pads are really useful as sponges when using an electric current to transfer DNA, RNA, or protein from a gel to a membrane.As an undergrad, I used to use a paint shaker and a ton of small metal bars to homogenize 96 separate plant samples at a time.Convenience store refrigerators with sliding doors are great for equipment (like protein purification rigs) that needs to be refrigerated but connected to a room temperature computer.Media for growing fruit flies in labs is usually made out of some combination of molasses, corn meal, and apple juice.Binder clips get used to hold all kinds of potentially leaky shit together (especially vertically run gel electrophoresis rigs.)

Two disclaimers:1) I don't want to give details of conversations- it's not appropriate to do so. (there is one exception below- but you'll understand why)2) My sample size of conversations with President Bush is small so don't take my comments as all encompassing. But all my former colleagues shared the same views and interactions.First, he is extraordinarily intelligent. Forget what you've read in the press. The man is smart and has an incredible memory. He'll remember things that you said months ago or he'd remember some minute detail of some obscure policy issue. He studied the issues and took it as a challenge to know as much about a topic as his experts knew.For example, President Bush asked all of the directors in the NSC to put together a transition book for the incoming Obama team. Each director was responsible for creating a book that covered all the details of their specific repsonsibility. I was responsible for space. I put together a 3-inch binder of all the things that we had done and encountered during President Bush's administration. I gave the book to the President and two days later the book shows back up on my desk. In the margins the President had hand written comments and questions and even remembered a few details on things that I, the "expert", had failed to include. Anybody who says the man is dumb has never met him.Second, he's extremely personable--not in a fake DC kind of folksy way--he comes across as actually caring. He asks about your family, ask how you're doing and he remembers details about all that and later asks you how certain members of your family are doing.Another example, I was at the White House Christmas Party with my wife. (My wife is a hardcore liberal democrat--we're considered a mixed marriage in DC.) We go over to the President and the First Lady and the President gives my wife a big hug, looks her straight in the eye and says, "Melissa, I'm so glad you're here. It's great to meet you..." and then he mentioned how he appreciated my work there, etc. But my wife, who was told by her friends to hate George Bush, was floored by how warm and kind he was. After that encounter she had to tell her liberal friends that the guy actually wasn't the devil--the President actually gave her a hug.Third, he has an incredible sense of humor and great comedic timing. Seriously. You don't get this from his televised speeches but behind closed doors the man was seriously funny and had really quick wit. I wish I could reveal some specifics here but just trust me--the guy is really funny. His responses were sharp and quick--it was something the writers of the West Wing would have appreciated.Finally, the man is serious. I know I just got done commenting on his warmth and humor but make no mistake the man took the job seriously and knew exactly how to find the key issues in any discussion. On matters of policy the President could quickly home in on the critical points and he would politely hammer away at the issues until he felt he had the right answers or that he knew what the right questions were that needed to be answered. You always made sure you brought your "A" game when talking to the President because he would ask questions about your research or recommendations and you'd better have the answers (or know how to get the answers).