bookofjoe

Nautilus Letter Opener

From the website:

A paper knife with the blade hidden inside the "shell."

When an envelope is passed through the slit on the side, a blade attached to the inner spiral enters under the flap, and opens the envelope.  

A 3D printer was used to achieve the complex shape of the exterior morphing into the blade, but because of the limited sharpness of the blade, repeated experiments were performed for the cutter's right shape, angle, and distance from the slit.

The name of the paper knife — "Nautilus" — comes from its resemblance to a spiral nautilus or ammonite shell.

White or Black.

$102 (¥13,200).

[via Core77]

BehindTheMedspeak: When in doubt, do nothing

Excellent advice from Dr. Garfield re: what to do if you're giving anesthesia and something unexpected (not unanticipated: the art of giving anesthesia safely lies in having enough experience to have anticipated anything that could possibly happen — though every once in a while, perhaps once a year after you've been passing gas for, say, a decade, something unanticipated does occur) happens.

Prime example: during anesthesia induction, premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are common.

The novice immediately reaches for the pre-filled lidocaine 100mg syringe; in contrast, I would simply increase hand bag-and-mask ventilation volume and rate, which acutely lowers CO2: the resulting hypocarbia usually did the trick.

I used to tell residents that simply holding the syringe in their hand solved the problem.

Drone Dives Burj Khalifa, World's Tallest Building

Wrote Kottke:

Dubai-based video artist André Larsen spends a lot of time shooting the Burj Khalifa which, at 2,722 feet and 163 floors, is the world's tallest building.

In this video, a drone piloted by Larsen dives the entire height of the building... and it's kind of astounding just how much of it there is.

Floors whiz past by the dozen and still there's so far to go.

Magic Mushroom Funnel

Trippy.

$16.95.

[via swissmiss]

African Flower Mantis

Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii

Harvesting and bunching radishes

Naoto Fukasawa x Emeco

One of the world's greatest designers collaborated with nonpareil maker of aluminum chairs et al Emeco to create these new stools.

YouTube description: 

The Za Collection by Naoto Fukasawa for Emeco is a joyful union between design and craftsmanship.

The family of stools are handcrafted in the Emeco factory in Hanover, Pennsylvania, following a unique 77-step process involving hands, eyes, and hearts.

Wrote Rain Noe on Core77:

Emeco's Gorgeous Aluminum Za Stools, Designed by Naoto Fukasawa

Handmade in Pennsylvania, these will last forever

Made from recycled aluminum (which can itself be recycled), these stools come in three heights.

Finishes include hand-brushed and clear anodized, powder-coated in a choice of six colors, and a stunning (and stunningly expensive) hand-polished version that is also clear-anodized.

Aside from finishes, you can opt to add seat pads made from Merino wool felt ($130) or vegetable-tanned leather ($235).

The seats for all three sizes have the same 17.875" (45cm) diameter.

The short stool provides a seating height of 18.75" (48cm), while the counter-height stool is 25" (64cm) and the bar height is 30" (76cm).

Whether hand-brushed or powder-coated with a color, the prices are the same: $590 for the short stool, while the counter- and bar-height models aren't much more at $640.

However, the hand-polished models (below) — the company says the process is done three times and takes eight hours — nearly doubles the price regardless of model.

American labor ain't cheap!

From $590.

Why we all need subtitles now

Wrote Kottke:

Dialogue from movies and TV shows has become more difficult to hear in recent years, prompting many to switch on subtitles for much of what they watch.

As this video from Vox details, the reasons for this shift come down to a desire for realism, choices that filmmakers have access to because of technology, and mediocre at-home sound systems on TVs, computers, and devices.

I dislike watching movies and shows with subtitles on (unless there's non-English dialogue) because if there are words on the screen, they capture 95% of my attention and I find it extremely difficult to pay attention to all of the other things going on — physical acting, cinematography, pacing, effects, etc.

Movies and TV shows are much more than plot-delivery mechanisms and all of that other stuff is important!

But with dialogue harder than ever to hear these days (and with my mild misophonia), it does mean more rewinding and not watching anything unless I'm in a quiet room or using noise-cancelling AirPods.

Carsized.com

Carsized lets you compare the size of two different cars.

Free, the way we like it.

Fair warning: there goes the day. 

Retractable Tweezers

Finally.

Wrote Rain Noe in Core 77:

If you're doing splinter-prone work, a pointy pair of tweezers is handy to have, but not the kind of thing you can carry in a pocket without eventually goring yourself.

Veteran knife designer Bob Terzuola thus designed this Tac-N-Tweeze, a stainless steel pair of tweezers that smartly retracts into a sturdy brass handle.

A knurled wheel attached to a sliding screw locks it into any position you'd like along the slot.

From the designer's website:

The Tac-N-Tweeze are one of Bob Terzuola's latest and innovative designs.

The Tac-N-Tweeze aren't your average tweezer.

             

Opening and closing with the twist of the sliding screw, you can push the tweezer up and screw it in place or slide it back into its compact handle.

              

           

The Tac-N-Tweeze is convenient for easy carrying, made of black stone-washed steel with a black and brass handle.

Manufactured by Civivi.

$29.

Drone captures moose shedding antlers

Amazing.

Back story here.

Book Benches in Bulgaria

[via Clive Thompson]

mutalk — 'Leakage voice suppression microphone'

Finally.

From the website:

mutalk is a soundproof Bluetooth microphone that makes it difficult for others to hear your voice and at the same time, makes it difficult for ambient noise to enter the microphone.

Conducting a conference call in a quiet office or open space such as a cafe can cause annoyance to those around you and may lead to information leakage.

Also, when you are doing voice chat in the Metaverse or online games, you often end up shouting when things get heated up, but even in such situations, you do not want to disturb your family or neighbors.

Soundproof boxes are one way to do this, but there are price and space challenges.

The soundproof Bluetooth microphone mutalk is an inexpensive and space-saving solution to this problem.

It is easy to use.

Simply place mutalk on your desk with its opening facing up to automatically mute the microphone, and lift it up to instantly unmute it.

mutalk also has an earphone jack, so it can be used with smartphones as well.

The included band can be used to secure the device to the face.

This allows for hands-free conversation even when both hands are full.

Utilizes Helmholtz resonator to achieve a muffling effect of -20 decibels or more

mutalk utilizes the Helmholtz resonator principle to achieve a significant sound deadening effect despite its small size.

When a conference call is conducted in a noisy environment, such as a quiet cafe, the sound is reduced to a level where it is impossible to hear what is being said, even if you are seated right next to the speaker.

In the high frequency range (1,600 Hz to 2,000 Hz), such as shouting, which tends to be loud and unpleasant to listen to, the sound is muffled by about -30 decibels.

Automatic mute feature for online meetings

 

By placing it on a desk with the bottom facing down, it has an automatic mute function.

 

When you put it to your mouth to speak, the mute is automatically unmuted and you can speak immediately.

 

 

Earphone jack is included and can be used with smartphone

 

Since smartphones do not allow the Bluetooth microphone and earphones to run on separate devices, mutalk allows a 3.5mm mini-plug earphone to be connected at the bottom for use with a smartphone.

 

When connected to a PC, mutalk can be used as a wireless headset with the same connection.

 

Removable band allows hands-free use

A removable band is included for use with online games, VR, and other applications.

By using the band, you can use the controller to distribute games, or take calls while typing or taking notes on a PC.

Hygiene-conscious, removable mouth pad

The mouth pad, which is in contact with the mouth, and the moisture-absorbing cushion, which receives saliva splashes, are removable and both can be washed in water.

Apply within.

[via Kottke who wrote, "Oh good, they're making a Bluetooth muzzle for 'doing voice chat in the metaverse or online games.' The future is amazing."]

The Most Popular Rotti Lady in Bangkok

This master of Thai street food will be happy to make you a fresh egg and banana rotti.

Find her at the Sala Daeng BTS Station.

This video's had 36 million views since it was posted two months ago.

You could look it up.

You only live — correction, die — twice

If you could, would you want to know when you will die?

Up top, The Death Clock's forecast of my day of death using Safari.

Below,

the forecast using Google Chrome.

Clearly, the two live in different space-time continua.

I'm gonna opt for SafariWorld where I get over three more years to cause trouble.

Can they predict one (or two) for you?

[via Steven Petrow's January 29, 2022 Washington Post story headlined "If you could, would you want to know when you will die?"]

James Bond film titles all over this:

• "You Only Live Twice" (1967)

• "Live and Let Die" (1973)

• "Die Another Day" (2002)

• "No Time to Die" (2021)