The Lab Notebook - a questionnaire

The lab notebook

Ah, the good old fashion lab notebook.  At the beginning of the semester it was the picture of order with its sharp corners and that new paper smell - blank, empty and ready to accept all my new ideas.  By the end of the semester, it was dogeared, stained with some combinations of chemicals and pizza grease and full of the realizations and insights that made me who I am now.  When I was in school it was an elemental tool in the pursuit of scientific truth.  Experimentation without a lab notebook was unthinkable.  It was elemental for anyone considering a technical field.

The thing is that was then; before computers and tablets and smartphones and sensors were everywhere... back when math was hard because you had to do the calculations yourself - by hand.  Now we have tools that have profoundly changed the way that we approach science and technology.  Computers record and graph data for us.  Tablets and phones are in our pockets at all times to record notes and even take pictures.  With all these changes, what has become of the venerable lab notebook?  Is it still a staple?  Is it gone completely?  Has it evolved?

We at Digital Diner have decided that we would like to find out what you think of the role of the good old lab notebook.  If you are in a scientific or technical field, we'd love it if you would take just a few minutes (probably < 10 min) to fill out our questionnaire and also to ask your friends to do the same.  It would be a huge help for us in our pursuit knowledge and an understanding of the state of the lab notebook.

Fill out the Digital Diner Lab Notebook Questionnaire

Pass it on - Please ask your friends to fill out the questionnaire too... 
It's quick.  It's easy.  It's for the good of citizen science!

Commercialism and Art

You've probably had a conversation with a friend at one time or another about a band that went something like this:

"I liked their old stuff better... before they got discovered."
"Yeah, they used to be great, but now they are all pop... they really sold out."

I always wondered about that term "selling out."  It is like we as a culture have decided that coolness is lost when something gets too popular.  It is cool to like things before they get popular, but rather than just reveling in saying "I told you they were great!" we insist on saying that once they get popular they aren't as cool any more.  It isn't just art.  Yes kids, even Microsoft was cool until they got big.  Apple and Google are reaching that point now.  We seem to always want to root for the underdog.  We want to support those who have a clear mission... not about making money, but about changing the world.  If they get too big and successful, we question that mission.  Art is corrupted by money.  Commercial interests dilute art.... or so we believe.

Sekou Andrews

Yesterday I was at the Quickbooks Connect conference (which was surprisingly good).  It started off on an incredible note, which is why I decided to tell all of you.  The lights went down and the pre-music faded and a face appeared on the large screen.  It said "it starts with poetry."  The face belonged to a fellow named Sekou Andrews.  What followed was an amazing performance by Sekou of a poem about how people follow their passions and find an entrepreneurial spirit and courage and make things happen and create a web of connected, like-minded souls who together make a difference in the world.  It was poetry about small business.  And it was amazingly great.  Who'd a thunk it?  He is one of the most engaging and energetic speakers I've ever seen.  It was like an incredible slam poetry reading that was beautiful and insightful and thought provoking and... it was about small business.  It was an amazing work of art about the beauty of commmerce.  The thing is, it was amazingly great and powerful and intense and inspirational.  It was as moving as any poetry reading I've heard in years... and it was about... business.... and it was cool.  How did he do that?  That isn't supposed to work is it?   I was there and I have no idea.  But, it was amazing enough that I thought I should introduce you to Mr Sekou Andrews with the video below doing his thing that a he calls Poetic Voice.  Watch and enjoy.

...and to Sekou Andrews, yes you are awesome (and we are sort of experts on awesome).  Thanks for the performance.