Killing Three Minutes
I am waiting to get out to the bus today, as it is cold outside: -17 (the high is -14) and the usual Halifax wind, making it feel like -25. I overslept, so I missed the rush-hour busses, and I have to plan my arrival at the bus stop if I do not want to shiver too much!
Yesterday was an impressive feat of endurance. I was in the lab for 12 hours, all of which was spent doing TEM work. I had some blocks that were ready, which meant that I had to trim and section them, stain them, and check them on the microscope, since today I will be doing the next high-pressure-freeze fix. That will require a fair bit of preparation and will take two weeks to complete, so I want to be certain that I am doing it with the right things. That, in turn, means knowing how the previous fix turned out.
I was very pleased: even without time to stain them (I would have needed to have made up new stain, which would have taken even longer) the specimens are the best quality that I have ever gotten. We are going ahead with the high-pressure-freeze fix anyway, though, because the tech that knows how to do it is going away for a couple of months, and I will need to be the expert, so he is guiding me through the process today.
I also had to check some background things yesterday, such as that we had enough good specimen holders, and I had to choose cultures to subject to the process. All of this takes time, and always more of it than I plan on. But the result should be worthwhile -- we hope.
Aah! It is time that I go to the bus. Um, happy New Year, everyone!
Yesterday was an impressive feat of endurance. I was in the lab for 12 hours, all of which was spent doing TEM work. I had some blocks that were ready, which meant that I had to trim and section them, stain them, and check them on the microscope, since today I will be doing the next high-pressure-freeze fix. That will require a fair bit of preparation and will take two weeks to complete, so I want to be certain that I am doing it with the right things. That, in turn, means knowing how the previous fix turned out.
I was very pleased: even without time to stain them (I would have needed to have made up new stain, which would have taken even longer) the specimens are the best quality that I have ever gotten. We are going ahead with the high-pressure-freeze fix anyway, though, because the tech that knows how to do it is going away for a couple of months, and I will need to be the expert, so he is guiding me through the process today.
I also had to check some background things yesterday, such as that we had enough good specimen holders, and I had to choose cultures to subject to the process. All of this takes time, and always more of it than I plan on. But the result should be worthwhile -- we hope.
Aah! It is time that I go to the bus. Um, happy New Year, everyone!