Monday, May 4, 2009

Staying in Touch--with Co-Workers

When I am back in the US I work at a museum and library of chemistry and early science that has books in its collections dating back to the invention of printing in the 1400s. In some ways, we are the most low-tech place you could imagine. The staff reads books. People visit to read books. We all talk about books. But if Chemical Heritage Foundation is low-tech at heart, it has a high-tech side. We have an extensive Web site, a Facebook page and many other connections to the high-tech world. And since I miss the people I work with the best of these high-tech connections is "Distillations" the CHF podcast (Free subscription on iTunes.)

when I go to the gym or in have a few minutes I can listen to the weekly podcast on various subjects in chemistry and the world around us. I liked the podcast when I was in America, but now listening Jen, Jim, Sarah, Bob, Jody (not THAT Jody), Audra, or the always mysterious Anke talk about chemistry in the kitchen, or medieval love potions, or how to be green and clean, I hear voices that I miss. Of course, they are all being professional and informative as they speak, but I have heard everyone who is on the podcast laugh and make jokes in person, so I can usually remember some funny thing Anke said about Medieval cures that were worse than the disease, or Jim showing me a Ship of Fools, or Sarah making jokes about almost anything.

CHF is a great place to work. If you don't believe me, listen to the podcast. Almost everyone who is "on the air" is on the staff.

So if high-tech might have kept me from becoming a writer, it certainly is nice to have it for things like listening to people I know and like on line.

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for keeping the blog and for all you do for us back here. It is so wonderful to keep in touch with my guys even when they can't actually write or call. Your blog is one of several I have begun to check daily and I greatly enjoy it. Bless you and all your troop. (I hope that is the right term)

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  2. I hope you got your thirty-day-checkup on that bike! Thanks for calling today. How 'bout that f1 season!? take care, Bill@bikeline.

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  3. Ally--thanks. Troop is a cavalry unit, we are a company but one of our companies is a Cavalry Troop.

    Bill--McLaren 4th and Ferrari 9th in the standings!!!! Button, Barrichello, Vettel Trulli, Glock and Webber ahead of Hamilton!!
    Wow!!!

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  4. At least we're still getting you your fill of chemistry! As if those MREs weren't chemistry enough for you... We should do a chemistry-of-the-army podcast when you return! It's always nice to have an expert on staff. :-)

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  5. Aww shucks! We should send you a CD of outtakes so you can laugh with/at us!

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