Tuesday, June 20, 2006

There's a Right Way and a Wrong Way

Today in class we did like 12 practical assignments involving fingerprint development. The problem with the set up was that we had to put our own prints on different substrates and then develop them. A good thing to note here is that its 90 degrees outside and you can't wear gloves if you want to lay down prints, but you should have them on while you're enhancing them.

Interesting fact: When your hands swell up from a combination of sweat and heat, latex gloves are super difficult to get on and off. Needless to say, we all got extremely messy in this endeavor. I got some really pretty prints as well… but… extremely messy.

How messy you may ask?

Let's just say I somehow managed to superglue black powder to my left index finger, got Genitian violet on my right palm while taking off my gloves, and found Crowle's stain on my forearm sometime later that afternoon. Although, I would also like to point out, I was not the filthiest person there.

The crime scene techs are really amazing people. I know with practice it all gets easier and this was the whole point of the exercise – the heat, the bad lighting, the substandard conditions we'll work in at times.

It was really a blast. Man, I love this job.

But messy.

Aren't you thrilled by my stories? I mean, supergluing black powder to your finger is not something you'll ever see on CSI.

End Blog.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You had superglue? Who gave you superglue? Don't they know that most people end up superglueing things they are not supposed to? *Insert here the time Mary superglued the placemat to the table...*

Nikki said...

At least I was smart enough to not touch anything - like my other fingers. The black powder that got glued there was there before I touched the superglue. Or, if we're being technical - cyanoacrylate. See? I can sound smart in my stupidity.