bookofjoe

When ants party

Brazilian photographer Rivane Neuenschwander's short film, "Quarta-Feira de Cinzas/Epilogue" (above) has been showing at Washington D.C.'s Hirshhorn Museum for months, closing yesterday.

A note in the April 19, 2008 Washington Post read, "In the film, (a collaboration with artist Cao Guimarães), ants appear to turn last night's party (the confetti, anyway) into today's nest. How did she get them to pick up the bits of paper? Pork fat and honey, apparently."

Cell Phone Call Notifier

Think outside the automobile or office space — how about where the music's deafening and no one ever hears the phone ring?

Hey, wait a minute... that sounds exactly like bookofjoe World Headquarters — where Jimi Hendrix rules and those not on the treadmill drool.

But I digress.

From the website:
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Cell Phone Call Notifier

Flashes when you have an incoming call

Don't miss another call.

The Call Notifier detects incoming cell phone calls and flashes twin red LEDs to alert you.

Perfect for noisy environments such as cars or offices.

Works within 5 feet of your phone.

Includes CR2030 battery and Velcro® tape for quick attachment and detachment.
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$9.95.

Dubai Metro bookofjoe Line: 'All aboard'

The Dubai Metro is offering naming rights for any Dubai Metro station or one of the two lines of the Dubai Metro network.

Says so right in the full page ad (above) in the latest (April 19, 2008) issue of The Economist.

The thing is, I'm not sure which would work better for me, a Metro station or an entire line.

Hey, why not think big?

As Albert Szent-Györgyi, who won the 1937 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for his discovery of vitamin C, remarked, "If you're going to go fishing, use a large hook."

If you want your own station or line, be my guest: namingrights@rta.ae

I wonder what a reasonable opening bid might be.

According to an editorial on the subject in the April 18, 2008 Financial Times, 23 of the 47 stations on the two Dubai Metro lines are still open to the highest bidder.

The Metro authority "... says it has 250 companies in its queue, logos at the ready."

Well, guess what?

Now there are 251.

Banana Split Hanger

From the website:

Banana Split Hanger

Sick of bruises? Make like a banana and split from the hard life of the countertop with this modern banana hanger.

Aptly named the "Banana Split," it features a stand modeled off a banana that is split down the middle with an additional piece that unfolds to hold bananas.

12" long, 11" high when open.

Plastic.

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$13 (bananas not included).

Ice Cold Drinks in 20 Seconds — Episode 2: The video's producer visits bookofjoe

Dave commented on Episode 1 as follows:

Hi Joe,

This works because air duster contains a pressurized low weight hydrocarbon, a chemical cousin of the refrigerant Freon.

To safely achieve the desired results you would have to take care and do the following:

1) Hold the can upside down (to release frozen liquid gas)

2) Do not fully seal the container (to prevent container from bursting)

3) Wait a few seconds before touching the ice-cold beer

I would know because I am the producer of the video.

Check out some of my other stuff at www.metacafe.com/channels/sonicintox or MySpace: www.myspace.com/sonicintox

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Up top is Dave's video on how to make a Jellyfish Shooter.

Don't laugh: he's already banked $234 from Metacafe as a result of its having been viewed nearly 47,000 times.

Maybe I could learn something from this guy....

April 21, 2008 at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tricked-out Vise Grips

Who'da thunk this tool could be improved?

Not moi.

But the iteration up top sure looks tempting.

"Made in the U.S. by Vise-Grip®, this is a 10R model, a heavy-duty tool, much stronger than the look-alikes in the market. Same construction as the original Vise Grips, only with a polymer-covered handle for a non-slip, cushioned grip. 10" long when adjusting screw is fully extended with 1-5/8" open capacity; weighs 1-1/4 lb."

But wait, there more!

"Limited stock, manufacturer's close-out."

These will sell out in a bookofjoe minute for $9.50.

Fair warning.

April 21, 2008 at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

BehindTheMedspeak: The end of anesthesia?

So it would seem, if the remarkable events described below in an April 18, 2008 BBC News story can be reliably reproduced.

Man hypnotises himself before op

A hypnotist from West Sussex has undergone surgery on his right hand without a general anaesthetic.

Alex Lenkei [above], 61, from Worthing, chose to sedate himself by hypnosis before undergoing the 83-minute operation.

He said he was fully aware of everything going on around him during the procedure but was free from pain.

The operation at Worthing Hospital involved removing some bone in the base of the thumb and fusing some joints in an attempt to improve his arthritis.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon David Llewellyn-Clark said he was happy in agreeing to the unusual sedation on Mr Lenkei, a registered hypnotist who has been practising since the age of 16.

Mr Lenkei said Wednesday's surgery "went amazingly well".

"It took between 30 seconds to a minute for me to place myself under hypnosis, and from that point I felt a very deep relaxation.

"I was aware of everything around me, from people talking and at one stage a hammer and chisel was used as well as a surgical saw, but I felt no pain."

Throughout the operation, an anaesthetist was on standby to administer an anaesthetic if necessary.

Mr Llewellyn-Clark said he had been confident that Mr Lenkei was a skilled hypnotist and was "delighted all went well".

....................

Want more?

No problema.

Here's BBC South Health correspondent David Fenton's more in-depth April 18, 2008 report on the case.

Pain-free alternative to anaesthetics?

"I'm glad I did it — it felt ace!"

That's how a registered hypnotherapist described an operation on his thumb — without any anaesthetic.

Surgeons cut, sawed and chiselled a bone out of the hand of Alex Lenkei.

But the 61-year-old didn't feel a thing after putting himself into a trance ahead of the 80-minute operation at Worthing and Southlands Hospital is West Sussex.

"It took about 30 seconds to a minute for me to put myself under," he said.

"I was aware of what was going on around me, I could hear the surgeon talking but I couldn't feel any pain.

"I remember at one point the surgeon asked for a saw, and I had images of this big thing like you get at B&Q — then he said, 'No not that one, the little one', and I thought oh, that's all right then."

Mr Lenkei needed surgery to remove a bone about the size of a walnut from the base of his thumb.

The surgeon, David Llewellyn-Clark, smashed the bone with a special chisel, then sawed the bone ends and cleared the debris with snippers.

Throughout the operation consultant anaesthetist Dr Richard Venn was on hand to give pain relief — if it was needed.

Both doctors said the process by which a body can shut out pain by hypnosis is not well understood.

"Presumably what happened is that his own body released a lot of pain killing chemicals that prevented him feeling pain during the operation," said Dr Venn.

"What was interesting was that I was monitoring his heart, blood pressure and breathing rate all the time and they stayed exactly the same throughout — so he certainly wasn't experiencing any pain."

Dr Llewellyn-Clark believes there could be a place for hypnosis in NHS treatment.

It was the first time he had operated on anyone under hypnosis.

He added: "I think this is possibly the extreme case of what can be done with hypnosis; but some people are very anxious about being given an anaesthetic so I'm always looking to find alternatives."

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[via Skipweasel]

April 21, 2008 at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Black Hole Table

Designed by Marc Newson, made of carbon fiber, this is number one from a 2006 edition of ten.

To be sold at auction in London this coming Thursday, April 24, 2008.

Another in this series brought $370,000 at auction last June.

Signed on the underside: "Marc Newson/1/10".

Estimate: $300,000–$400,000.

April 21, 2008 at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

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