bookofjoe

Igor Siwanowicz wins Nikon Small World Contest

Regular readers will recall Siwanowicz's first appearance here on December 1 of last year, a series of his exquisite photographs of insects.

I received the following email yesterday from Siwanowicz's wife Lisa:

Hi Joe,

I am Lisa Siwanowicz, and my husband Igor and I really enjoy your blog! I just discovered it this weekend on a random internet search thing, and we had fun looking at it! Then I saw that you had some of Igor's photos on your site!

Thanks! Keep up the fun blog! Cheers!

Lisa Siwanowicz

That brightened my afternoon and I emailed her back to tell her so, adding that I hope I credited him properly.

She responded:

You totally gave him credit! We don't have a website, photography is just a hobby, he's a neurobiologist by day. If folks want prints, though, they can contact me at this address: mrssiwanowicz@yahoo.com, it's fine to publish it if you like. Cheers!

And that was that until this, in at 8:27 p.m. yesterday:

Cool... thanks... you may add that he won the Nikon Small World Contest for 2011!

Cheers!

Lisa & Igor

The winning photo is up top.

The LiveScience photo caption:

First place in the 2011 Nikon Small World photograph competition went to this photograph of an itsy-bitsy green lacewing larva. The bug landed on photographer Igor Siwanowicz and bit him; Siwanowicz retaliated by turning the insect into art. CREDIT: Dr. Igor Siwanowicz, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany.

Panic Button

From the website:

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When you’ve reached your limit, there’s only one thing left to do: Press the panic button to elicit a blood-curdling scream.

Scream along when the situation merits it.

A hole in back lets you hang it on the wall.

Requires 2 AAA batteries (not included).

7-1/2"H x 4"W x 1"D.

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$13.06.

BehindTheMedspeak: Treato — "Posts about drugs, side effects, conditions and symptoms"

Tell you what: Any Big Pharma firm that doesn't have at least one employee whose sole job is reading posts on treato.com isn't one whose stock I'd want to own.

This is Twitter/the DEW Line (those of a certain age will know what that is without Wikipedia)/the cluetrain for medications.

Here's what Dina ElBoghdady had to say about the site in Sunday's Washington Post: 

Five months ago, [Gideon Mantel]... launched Treato, a Web site that scans social media sites all over the Web for patient comments on medications. The company analyzes the comments to identify side effects, compare competing medications and learn about off-label uses of the drugs. It aggregates the information into charts and graphs.

For example, type "Lipitor" into the site and a bar chart pops up ranking the top issues posted about this cholesterol medication. Click on muscle pain, which tops the list, and the site directs you to snippets of the comments or the posts in their entirety from the originating site. Click on "compare drugs" and up comes a similar list of side effects reported on other medications, even fish oil.

The idea came about when Mantel's daughter was preparing to have knee surgery. Anxious to learn more about the procedure, he went online. The medical discussions were too technical, he said. More insightful were comments made by patients and their loved ones.

The stuff that makes its way onto the front page of the New York Times begins burbling up on treato.

Fair warning: There goes the day.

JMC Soundboard — Wood Loudspeaker

From the website: 

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The Soundboard creates a balanced, lively and pervasive musical climate, like that of a concert.

The association of 350-year-old resonant spruce, time-honored lutherie techniques and contemporary audio technology has given rise to a truly exceptional loudspeaker.

Dimensions: 89 x 89 x 21 cm; Impedance 8 Ω; Pass-band 25 to 25,000 Hz.

Minimal power rating of the Amplifier: 2 x 80 W.

Weight: 12 kg.

Handmade in Switzerland.

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[via Fancy]

Experts' Experts: How to hang your toilet paper correctly

Finally, something of value here.

What took so long?

Never mind.

From Apartment Therapy:

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While filming promotional videos for Cottonelle with conference attendees at the Altitude Design Summit Conference last week, the issue of which way toilet paper should be hung came up repeatedly. It made me realize that when you're living with someone, little things like this can spark big fights (it happened to me too).

What's the right way to hang toilet paper?

• Waterfall method (left, above)
• Underhand method (right, above)

The correct way — by unanimous consent in polls over the years — is the Waterfall method.

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[via Kyle Kyllan]

Stoneware TV Dinner Tray

That's different.

"Stoneware trays coated with a food-safe glaze enable separated servings of meats, starches, vegetables and desserts."

Microwave-, oven- and dishwasher-safe.  

12"L x 8"W x 1.75"H.      

Set of two: $20.

Alyssa talking backwards

Res ipsa loquitur — no matter which way you say it.

And yet we wonder: Are all of us capable of things like this but unable to access the pathways, or is there some rare quirk of neurological wiring specific to Alyssa?

If pressed, I'd say flip a coin.

We haven't even begun to understand the brain and its functions, much less dream of its untapped capabilities.

[via Gini Moore]

Outlet Stickers

I'm thinking these are just the proverbial camel's nose under the tent.

Think of the possibilities.

From the website:

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Give your outlets an electric personality with these whimsical stickers.

Printed on glossy vinyl, you can combine them in any number of ways.

Sheet size is 4" x 7". 

Not intended for children.

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Per sheet: $4.95.

[via Jeri Dansky, Tammy Williams via Jennifer Lawson, Kick-ass stuff, and Corinne Miller]