Network fail, lab bullshits

Due to the broken Sino-US undersea cable by the earthquake in Taiwan, the network has been terrible since then whenever a foreign connection is intended. It is difficult to access Wiley InterScience, ACS Publication or ScienceDirect (while SpringerLink remains normal), so I cannot catch up with the newest papers for weeks. Gmail, Blogger.com and other Google services are also far from usable.

It is now that I realize I am too much relying on Internet, without which I can learn or achieve nothing. I can hardly figure out how did I study in the high school when I was permitted to use computer for limited hours - in fact I didn't 'study' with computer, I just played game with it instead, and I do so now, too, in my spare time after experiment.

And I spend more time on experiment these days - synthesis of lactide (L- or D,L-) for further copolymerization with PEG. It is a tedious job: almost 5h of reaction, 2 recrystallizations and 1 sublimation. I get up early at 7:20 or so, arrive at the lab at 8:00, but can manage to start reaction often at 10:00 or later due to some other guys in the same lab used my washed glass wares and left them unwashed. I have to wash them first of course, and (re)collect other flasks and tools needed (which are also distributed here and there by other guys in the same lab) for the experiment. Guys working in the same lab never wash glasses, tidy the desk, wear goggles, or turn off the electricity. They do all the things that are incorrect but normally cause little or no consequences. They laugh at me when I wear a goggle or clean the floor.

One of them needs to synthesis lactide too. He uses a catalyst (stannous octate) while I do not, because the catalyst decomposes at elevated temperature. However I might consider using for once or twice because the guy keeps telling my how fast and high yielding his reaction is every time he looks at my stirring mixture. He sometimes even adjusts the temperature for me, which he feels is too low. I will immediately pour his whole bottle of stannous octate in to my reaction mixture and raise to 300°C once he again talks about this.