Geek's guide to the holidays

The holidays are upon us, and with them comes the feasts ad libitum, the presents and all that time consuming inter-personal mingling with people sharing a recent common ancestor with you. Lab geeks are really a breed of their own, they will actually come to work on christmas because those mice wont inject themselves, those cells need passaging, that 96h time point happens to fall that day. If you are in that situation here are a few things that may help you out find last minute presents in the lab, and prepare some last minute cooking.

Top five things found in the lab suitable as stocking stuffers:

1. Rack of 50ml Falcons, you can pass those as a customizable "spice racks".
2. A seringe/needle set, for your diabetic cousin.
3. A roll of pH paper, for your rich uncle who owns a pool.
4. A roll of autoclave tape, always usefull.
5. A box of medical gloves, practical for cleaning.

Top five lab dishes:

1. Eggnog: ddH2O, 5% skim milk powder, 10-40% EtOH (molecular grade, denatured may contain methanol).
2. Ice cream: 50 creamers from the coffee club, 30g Glucose, add liquid N2 slowly while swirling.
   
3. Munchies: irradiated rodent food pellets, NaCl.
   
4. Seafood platter: If your model organism is an Echinodermata, you're in luck as they are good raw with some lemon (Other mammalian model organisms may be roasted in the autoclave if need be).
   
5. Marmite: use the LB recipe but dilute less. You may substitute NaCl for glucose and add agar for a jello-type desert.

Hope this helps... Happy holiday suckers!