Shipwrecks, Pirates and Rum Tasting: An evening at the Cape Cod Science Cafe

During the summer of 2020 I had the honor of being in the Commodore succession at the Wequaquet Lake Yacht Club (WLYC). This governance structure is similar to most where there are specific duties associated with each position.  As the Rear Commodore, I was tasked with running the House Committee and daily operations at the grill. In a "normal" year this might have been manageable. In a pandemic year, it was one of the most challenging things I have ever done. With extreme pressure from the Board of Directors, I reluctantly agreed to open the club utilizing state and local COVID19 guidelines to keep our teen employees safe and our membership safe. I created a COVID19 Oversight Committee made up of club members who would have had, at the time (May 2020), special knowledge or experience including doctors, nurses, school principal, attorney, police etc., who could review the controls I was implementing. 

Having to oversee daily operations at the club for 10+ weeks in excess of 80 hours a week of my time on site, I did manage to manage a handful of safe events for the private club members and their guests to enjoy. And I organized and orchestrated one special event: 'Shipwrecks, Pirates, and Rum Tasting' held on August 1, 2020. 

Since it's a private club, we used our internal marketing channels: 'This Week at the Lake' Eblast & Events Wipe Board in 'The Fireside Room'. 

I worked with the bar manager to select three different rums, including a locally sourced one(Twenty Boats is made on Cape Cod)! We also worked out pricing for beverages which was a nice price for guests but yielded a "great" night for the bar! 

Since I was running the grill this summer with my teenage workforce, I created a 'themed' meal choice that I prepared via crockpot and had a limited menu for folks who wanted more familiar food off our menu. We charged an admission fee to cover the meal plus there were a few price tiers to choose from: One that was the meal only, one that was the meal plus the rum flight and one that was meal plus rum drink. Having the pre-order food, pre-assigned tables, and being able to put in the pre-written meal tickets when the guests checked-in made for a very smooth evening in the kitchen for my staff! It also created a relaxed vibe for patrons. This pre-order/pre-assigned seats combined with staggered dinner/coctail hour is a model that we used for the rest of the limited summer events (Comedy Nights and Adult BINGO Nights).

'Shipwrecks, Pirates, and Rum Tasting' was an adult version of the Cape Cod Science Cafe held at the Wequaquet Lake Yacht Club (WLYC) on Saturday evening August 1, 2020, at 7pm. Attendance was limited to 48 people due to COVID-19 protocols with table distancing at this establishment. Mandatory masks were worn, except when seated. Meals were pre-ordered and dinner was prepped by kitchen staff once guests
checked in and we held dinner/cocktail hour over between 6-7:30pm. What was served? A Caribbean themed dinner consisting of jerk chicken, beans & rice with less spicy options like chicken quesadilla & tater tots, chicken salad wrap or a grilled cheese & fries. 

As part of the RSVP guest could choose to order the rum flight for the rum tasting/flavor chemistry portion of the evening which kicked off the technical program led by a local area chemist. History, flavors, aromas, and fun facts were all part of the rum tasting. Rum concoctions such as mai tai's, rum punch, and pina colada's were available throughout the evening (as well as a full bar for those not inclined to imbibe rum).

Local marine educator, Eben Franks who has 45 years of experience as a sailor, seaman, sea-going technician, geological engineer, underwater vehicle pilot, adventurer, and ocean explorer shared his passion for the ocean and firsthand  knowledge of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary which is located right here on Cape Cod off the coast of Provincetown and is home to over 200 shipwrecks! The featured honorable special guest and marine archaeologist, Calvin Mires  wowed us with tales of the sea, ocean, pirates and shipwrecks. He left us wanting MORE real pirate stories from the shipwrecks he has worked on during his career and that evening he promised us a dedicated 'Pirate' Science Cafe in 2021! 

PID Analyzers' Technical Program SUNDAY at Pittcon 2020

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  SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT PITTCON 2020:
  

  Analysis of Medical Cannabis Terpenes by GC-PID   

  • Room: Room W176A
  • Session Number: 5-3-3
  Sunday, March 01, 2020: 2:10 PM - 2:30 PM
  Authors: Driscoll, Maclachlan (presenting)
  

  Description

  With recent changes and liberalization in the law, cannabis is now a rapidly growing industry and lab testing is required for medicinal and recreational cannabis as well as residual cannabis solvents. There are a few gas chromatography (GC) detectors presently used for this analysis but each has its challenges. The Flame ionization detector (FID) requires hydrogen support gas and can have problems with flameout during injections. The GC Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) detector is not very useful for analysis of residual solvents or terpenes since more than a dozen of the important terpenes have an m/e of 136 with different secondary ions. Alpha and beta-pinene have similar parent ions but slightly different secondary ions. The Photoionization Detector (PID) does not require any support gases like hydrogen, has a strong response for terpenes, has a long lifetime lamp, is non-destructive and can be easily added to any GC. It has both analog and digital signal outputs and will accept a digital signal from the GC to autozero the amplifier at the start of the run. One interesting detector combination is using a PID (non-destructive) coupled with an FID in-series for structural identification of peaks (1). We used a new to the market GC model 323 with a PID and have developed a method for profiling of medical cannabis terpenes (22 components). We use a low mass capillary (624) column and a PID for the analysis. We can cool the low mass oven from 290 degrees C to 60 degrees C in less than 2 minutes thereby reducing the overall analysis time. This system can also be used for residual solvent analysis that involves the extraction of active ingredients from cannabis using solvents such as ethanol, carbon dioxide, butane, and water. 1. Driscoll, et al., "Gas Chromatographic Detection and Identification of Aromatic and Aliphatic Hydrocarbons in Complex Mixtures by Coupling Photoionization and Flame Ionization Detectors," J. Chrom., 158, 171 (1978)
  
  
  ACS SUNDAY EVENING POSTERS:
  
  Rapid Analysis of Volatile and Semivolatile Organic Compounds with a Field Portable GC-PID
  Authors: Driscoll, Maclachlan (presenting)
  
  Room: Skyline Ballroom

• Session Number: 6-2-11P

Sunday, March 01, 2020: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Description

We used our line operated Portable Gas Chromatograph (GC-311- 115VAC) with a Photoionization Detector (PID) for many years at hazardous waste sites and for industrial hygiene surveys of volatile hydrocarbons at ppm and ppb levels. In order to bring our Model GC312 directly to the field, we needed a longer battery life. We have developed a low mass capillary column which required significantly less power, improved the insulation, and used a lower power PC and a lower power color monitor. Now we can operate the GC for 4-6 hours at 75 degrees C or for 8-10 hours at 5-10 degrees C above the ambient temperature. This allows us to analyze volatile compounds like vinyl chloride monomer (gas), benzene (BP 78 degrees C) at 30-40 degrees C or non volatile compounds like 1 vinyl 2 pyrrolidone (BP 148 degrees C), ethylbutyric acid (BP 195 degrees C) and, Napthalene (BP 218 degrees C) or other PAH’s at 75 degrees C to detect ppm to ppb levels. We can operate the GC at temperatures up to 150 degrees C but above 75 degrees C, the GC has to be line powered. Benzene at refinery or chemical plant fence lines can be detected at low ppb levels with an analysis time of < 30 seconds. A complete BTEX analysis (benzene through o-xylene) can be accomplished in 3 minutes.

SEE US AT OUR  PITTCON EXPO BOOTH # 3938: HNU PID Analyzers 

STEM Journey 2020

SATURDAY MARCH 7, 2020

SANDWICH HIGH SCHOOL

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED: FREE, ALL-AGES

PRESENTED BY:

PID ANALYZERS, LLC, NORTHEASTERN SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, SANDWICH STEM ACADEMY & CAPE & ISLANDS BOY SCOUTS COUNCIL OF AMERICA

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 12PM-4PM-HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES-CAFETERIA 12PM: CAPE COD UKULELE CLUB PERFORMANCE-AUDITORIUM 1PM: KEYNOTE LECTURE: CITIZEN SCIENCE & HOW YOU CAN HELP-AUDITORIUM 2PM: PANEL DISCUSSION: EVOLUTION OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 1620-2020-AUDITORIUM More event info: facebook.com/STEMJourney instagram.com/stemjourney Reserve your free tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stem-journey-2020-tickets-94847835429

Science Sunday Funday bliss at the Sandwich Public Library

Personal branding maintenance, some assembly required

SYMPOSIUM: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn and Getting Paid for It Accepted for presentation at the American Chemical Society's Spring 2020 national meeting, Philadelphia, PA, March 22-26, 2020.

ABSTRACT SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM AREA NAME: WOMEN CHEMISTS COMMITTEE PROGRAM TRACK TITLE: PERSONAL BRANDING MAINTENANCE, SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED AUTHORS (FIRST NAME, LAST NAME): Jennifer L. Maclachlan1 INSTITUTIONS (ALL): 1. PID Analyzers, LLC, Sandwich, MA, United States. ABSTRACT BODY: Abstract: This presentation will illustrate how to create your personal brand and how to amplify your personal brand using Linked-In, Facebook (personal, Pages and Groups), Twitter, Instagram, Blogs, SnapChat, VSCO, and TikTok. Attendees will learn how to leverage and fuse social media networking and in-person networking skills for career advancement. There will be an emphasis on personal brand consistency throughout the digital landscape as well as how to manage your personal brand when you are planning your exit strategy and after you land.

CAPE COD CELEBRATES THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE PERIODIC TABLE AT SCIENCE SUNDAY FUNDAY

The Cape Cod Science Cafe and the Sandwich Public Library present Science Sunday Funday in celebration of The International Year of the Periodic Table on Sunday, December 15, 2019, from 1pm-3pm. This is a FREE event for everyone. Students in grades K-8 will enjoy and learn about the importance of the Periodic Table through hands-on activities while older students and adults will learn from the lecture by the American Chemical Society's

Dr. Jens Breffke
Photo by Brian D'Amico

International Activities Committee Chair, Dr. Jens Breffke, as he discusses the history of the Periodic Table, the interdisciplinary use of the Periodic Table of the Elements in the sciences and how scientists around the world have celebrated this 150-year-old discovery by Dmitry Mendeleev during 2019, the International Year of the Periodic Table. There will be two seatings for the lecture portion of the event: 1pm and 2pm. You must RSVP using the Eventbrite to reserve a spot for either of the identical lectures as seating at this event is limited. 

This is the second time the Sandwich Public Library has hosted the award-winning Cape Cod Science Cafe for families. The first time was in 2011 during the International Year of

Chemistry which featured hands-on activities related to healthy kids. This time around we are adding the Periodic Table Talk lecture for older learners so we can offer something for every science enthusiast. Hands-on Periodic Table themed activities will be led by three local sections of the American Chemical Society: The Northeastern Local Section (of which Cape Cod is part of), the Lehigh Valley (Pennsylvania) and the Rhode Island Local Section. PID Analyzers, LLC, Palladium Science Academy, Scientists are Superheros, too, Cape Cod Learning Tours, Smithers Viscient, LLC. PiRShared, and Marine Educators, Eben Franks will be leading hands-on activities related to the Periodic Table of the Elements.

The Cape Cod Science Cafe is a cooperative effort between Sandwich-based business, PID Analyzers, LLC and the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society to create a social and educational forum where scientists and the general public, including students, can meet in a relaxed atmosphere and fuel their passion for science and STEM-related fields.

What to expect If you plan to attend the event: Please RSVP if you want to attend the lecture as seating is very limited. Use this link to reserve your tickets: http://bit.ly/ScienceSundayFundaySPL There are 1pm and 2pm lecture seatings available. Tell your friends and family to come on down to the Sandwich Public Library for free hands-on science activities that will run continuously from 1pm-3pm. We hope you can join us at Science Sunday Funday at the Sandwich Public Library.

And ACTION: AIHA announces their Young Worker Health & Safety Policymaker Meeting Request Campaign

Every minute, a young worker is injured on the job, and every day, a young worker loses their life as a result of an incident at work. By working with policymakers we can help protect young workers. One of the first steps on the road to protecting workers is meeting with policymakers, which is also one of the most effective forms of advocacy.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has launched an action alert titled Young Worker Health and Safety Policymaker Meeting Request with a pre-written letter to your LOCAL policymakers. All you have to do in click on the link below, fill in your name and address and click on START WRITING, which opens up a letter to your policymakers (you can select the letter as is or customize it if you wish), then click SEND.

The letter requests a meeting. The AIHA Teen Workplace Health and Safety Task Force can assist you with the next steps in this advocacy process by providing preparatory materials for your meeting/visit. Contact us to learn more. If meeting with legislators is out of your comfort zone, please send the action alert anyway and pass on the lead to the AIHA Teen Workplace Health and Safety Task Force and we'll follow through with it either by identifying someone local who is willing to take the meeting or scheduling a telecon if we need to complete the meeting remotely. 

Advocate for the education of young workers so that they are able to identify and correct workplace hazards and teach them to expect a safe and healthy workplace. Take action now.

ACTION ALERT:
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/young-worker-health-safety-policymaker-meeting-request-campaign?source=direct_link&