@Durrum
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My primary job at Durrum Instruments was to be a Research/Field Service Engineer. Since I was also the only unmarried engineer in the department, I was also assigned as the "host" for visiting guests.
Tech classes
In August, Durrum decided to hold a class about the D-500 for clients. The company invited two dozen people from all across the nation. The class was a two week course on maintenance, repair and upgrading our analyzers. They were all put up at the Country Inn in Mountain View. Being the only "single guy", I was the de facto "major domo / Maître_d' / concierge / wing man / go to guy".
- Beach Party
At the end of the first week, we decided to have a beach party at Bean Hollow State Beach near Pescadero, CA. The menu was to include Margaritas, steaks, Sangria, Hot dogs, Rum, bonfires on the beach, Vodka (well you get the idea) so attendance was nearly unanimous. By sunset, the tide had gone out and everyone went in to the surf and were exploring the tide pools. I must say that hearing a dual-doctorate biochemist refer to a sea anemone as "this little green slimy thing" brought laughter to all of us.
Most of us sat around the fire and sang, laughed and told funny stories. A few of them wondered off, holding hand and studying "biology".
Sunday morning, very few of the participants were awake early enough to make breakfast at the hotel.
- San Francisco tours
Many of the students decided they wanted to tour "San Francisco After Dark". I did my job being the designated driver in my own Lincoln Town Car. Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street, dinner in China Town, and off course drinks in North Beach strip clubs. It was all part of a research project of course!
It was funny how during the second week, the guys were making appointments to "take the tour".
Hot and cold metal
The Durrum D-500 was device the replaces electrophoresis as a way of measuring quantities of variuos amino-acids in a solution. You can make your own, buy a pre-made system for about $300, or buy a complete, automatic analyzer for over $100k. The D-500 was in the last category. (See Durrum D-500). It was a combination of computer(?), electro-mechanics, fluidics, optics, electronics, colorimetery and quite a few other disciplines. Its Achilles heel was a piece of stainless steel bar two inches in diameter and 36" long that an eight-inch coupled to a a one inch thick plate about eight inches square by a clevis pin a quarter inch in diameter.
Every few months, this assembly would fail producing the sound of a small explosion. This wouild require a TechRep to travel to the clients site and replace "The "Ram"
Chicago
Nutley, NJ
I was spending a lot of time in the Chicago to New York to Washington to Chicago triangle. It was decided that rather than to keep renting hotel rooms and flying from city to city, that it might be more cost-effective to rent a house or apartment in Nutley, New Jersey area. It also allowed me to keep a fair amount of replacement parts on hand.