Hi again Craig,



Don't tell anyone else, but that research I mentioned has been to develop a new generation mass spectrometer. It's man-portable (briefcase scale) and sensitive enough to compare to a canine olfactory system. In other words, it will measure anything you can train a dog to detect. The impetus was a Demining UXO/EOD (UneXploded Ordnance/Explosives and Ordnanace Disposal) conference put on by the military back in 2001. The idea is to detect buried landmines by the chemical vapor signature above the surface where they're buried. Anyway, I've done all the physics, all of the proof of principle tests, and now all I have left to do is build the prototype (not one of my favorite passtimes). Let's just say I've suffered a few distractions lately.

Now talk about your philosophical dilemma. If I build the prototype and sell it, kids in Kosovo and Bosnia won't have to worry about the fields they play in being mined. On the other hand, you and I won't be able to get on an airplane if we wear the wrong kind of cologne. I know. Of course the lives and limbs of children trump my privacy concerns. But I do still think about it.