I have a folder where I put all the files I create while peer reviewing a manuscript. This weekend I finished the fourth of 2016, and I usually assume the fourth will be the last. I wondered if that was always true. By counting up the files in this folder, I was able to see how many I had done each year, plotted below.

Four is in fact the most common number (the “mode” in this dataset, if you will). But what happened in 2013 and why did I do eight? By the way, I also see one of those had three revisions.

Update October 2016: I spoke too soon. I’m going to hit nine this year. You’re welcome, editors.

Update January 2017: Final tally: eleven. I believe in my heart of hearts the late-breaking rush was due to my tempting fate with this very post.

Check out these photos of EPFL’s SwissTech Convention Center, which has a facade covered in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The archetypal dye for a DSSC is a ruthenium complex called “black dye.” Dyes like actually have an enchanting purple-brown-black color, which isn’t totally black. But you can theoretically use any molecule that will inject an electron into a semiconductor when hit by light, and I just did a bit of hunting around and found a company called Dyenamo that specializes in different colors. The bottom picture is from C&EN, which has an article on non-silicon solar cells this week.