Tattoos have become commonplace – especially for the under-40 crowd. Artwork that was once reserved for military folk, tough-as-nails bikers and jailbirds has found its way to the skin of bankers, lawyers, doctors, journalists and chemists. Yes, chemists – or at the very least, people who have a connection to the chemical industry.

As the senior digital editor for Chemical Processing, it is my duty to stay on top of new trends. One of the new trends is Bing Visual Search. (Bing is Microsoft's entry into the search universe and is attempting to steal some of Google's market share.)

I receive a lot of mail-order catalogs. I'm certain the avalanche is due to the one item I actually purchased several years ago. Now every catalog known to the civilized world is delivered to my mailbox.

One of my guilty pleasures during the workday is to visit ScienceDaily. The Web site has so many interesting stories all relating to science. I guess I shouldn't feel too guilty, I work for Chemical Processing, which is a science-based publication. And ScienceDaily has an area dedicated to chemistry. So in essence, I am continuing my education and locating great stories to share with ChemicalProcessing.com site visitors. And sometimes I even get tips that help me in my personal life, as well.

Congratulations to Kevin A. Wilke for submitting the winning caption to the latest cartoon from award-winning cartoonist Jerry King.

File this under the Totally Cool category: Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a new way to mix tiny volumes. Researchers use microfluidic devices for testing in bio labs and as micro-reactions cells for chemical sensing and fluid analysis. Microfluids often must be mixed, but scientists have lacked a simple and reliable way to do it.

It's time once again to announce the Comical Processing cartoon caption winner. This cartoon was the catalyst for myriad funny responses. Everything from the H1N1 virus to world domination and poking fun at Speedo underwear.

The winning response tickled the funny bone of many judges. I wonder if those same judges have first-hand experience with the topic of Wayne Maceyka's caption?

I recently read an article that talked about President Obama's potential plan to lengthen the school day and/or eliminate summer breaks for American kids.  Based on the fact that many U.S. kids are falling behind their peers in other countries when it comes to test scores, it may be time the country rethought its approach to education.

I find it interesting how social media has taken a firm hold on society. Even my 72-year-old mother knows about Twitter and Tweets – which is saying a lot because she doesn't usually care much about technology. And popular culture confuses her. Case in point:  Regarding last season's "Dancing With The Stars," she told me the reason 83-year-old actress Cloris Leachman looks so good for her age is because she does pilots every day.

When I post a new cartoon I always think of one or two captions that I would submit if I were able to partake in the Comical Processing Cartoon Caption contest. I suppose I could submit my captions, but I have a lot more fun reading the ones submitted by visitors to ChemicalProcessing.com.