This paper is a faithful description of the author’s career as a scientist, which often intersected that of Yves Couder. The emphasis of this paper is a true description of how the science that the author has been associated with really came about. Included are brief descriptions of the science associated with the research paths described. It is hoped that this rather accurate account may be amusing for the senior scientists among us and educational (and possibly useful) for younger scientists.

A method for synthesizing DNA directly on glass is presented. The process is based on pretreatment of glass with boiling hydrochloric acid, thus exposing the hydroxyl groups of the glass. Phosphite-triester chemistry was used to directly attach the first nucleotide to a glass plate via a covalent bond between the hydroxyl group of the glass and the phosphate group of the protected deoxyribonucleotide. Standard molecular biology procedures, such as ligation and restriction digest, were efficiently performed on the glass synthesized oligonucleotide, with the added benefit of extreme ease of handling.

We use the compact U(1) theory formulated on a euclidean lattice to calculate the strength of electromagnetic coupling to magnetic monopoles. We find that the coupling strength goes as exp(-π/α).