Fellow TrickleMavens,
Amazingly enough, I am posting from a campground 20 miles north of Phoenix. Phoenix has been rigged for Ricochet, the high-speed mobile access network, of which I am now a customer. Bloody Cool!!
As threatened, I dropped in on the exhibits at the Lab Automation conference in Palm Springs Monday night.
I learned a couple of interesting things. For one, I talked someone from Wallac, part of PKI. He showed me a nifty plate imaging system that could image the whole plate (up to about 6500 wells!) at once, thus getting a reading in a few seconds. Other machines can do this, but theirs can do it five different ways, not just one like their competitors.
I also asked about the GNSL situation. Those following may be aware that its 30 day moving average has fallen below the point at which PKI has the option to buy the shares it doesn't now own (see that thread for details). I was told that PKI is "testing the waters" with its stake in GNSL, and that it is still quite preoccupied digesting NEN. Thus this person's take was that it was unlikely PKI would swallow GNSL for a good number of months, if at all.
I also found that one of my non-biotech contacts can get me into a lot of the expensive conferences for free (well, it might cost me some beers). Didn't know if any SI biofreaks were in attendance, but he was, to my surprise.
All in all, a very worthwhile trip. Got in a bit of bouldering at Camelsback in Phoenix, too. I only expect to be here for the first part of tomorrow. Then on to Tucson. No Ricochet there, so I'll be out of touch. I will likely be back in this campground on my way home to San Diego, so I'll be back in touch for a it in five days or so.
Cheers, Tuck |
