The attempt today to put one facet of my latest ideas to the test wasn't too encouraging. I didn't get the effect that I was hoping for, but the data suggest some complications that might have intervened.

The next set of experiments is coming up soon, and I'll incorporate what I've learned this time into their design. Next time I try this particular angle, I'm going to do it with several closely related starting materials, in hopes that some of the factors that complicated today's run might clear up with changes in that aspect of the system. If they do, then it's great news. If they don't, then I can rule out some more explanations of why things are going like they are. An ideal experiment is one whose every possible outcome is full of unequivocal meaning. I can't set up one of those, but I can try to make the ones I have cut in as many simultaneous directions as possible.

I've also received an offer of assistance in the form of another analytical technique, which could prove very useful on its own and as a reality check on the others. If any of this stuff starts to work, I'll need all the reality checks I can get.