Category: The Squeal

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The Twelve Days of Vivi


On the first day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
A packet of porcine kidneys.
On the second day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the third day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the fourth day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Four small intestines,
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the fifth day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Five ovaries,
Four small intestines,
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the sixth day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Six lungs inflating,
Five ovaries,
Four small intestines,
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the seventh day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Seven tongues a-wagging,
Six lungs inflating,
Five ovaries,
Four small intestines,
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the eighth day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Eight entire piglets,
Seven tongues a-wagging,
Six lungs inflating,
Five ovaries,
Four small intestines,
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the ninth day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Nine eyes a-winking,
Eight entire piglets,
Seven tongues a-wagging,
Six lungs inflating,
Five ovaries,
Four small intestines,
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the tenth day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Ten porcine testes,
Nine eyes a-winking,
Eight entire piglets,
Seven tongues a-wagging,
Six lungs inflating,
Five ovaries,
Four small intestines,
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the eleventh day of Christmas
Miss Vivi sent to me
Eleven hearts a-pumping,
Ten porcine testes,
Nine eyes a-winking,
Eight entire piglets,
Seven tongues a-wagging,
Six lungs inflating,
Five ovaries,
Four small intestines,
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
Miss Vivi sent to me
Twelve joints a-bending,
Eleven hearts a-pumping,
Ten porcine testes,
Nine eyes a-winking,
Eight entire piglets,
Seven tongues a-wagging,
Six lungs inflating,
Five ovaries,
Four small intestines,
Three pigs heads,
Two ovine brains,
and a packet of porcine kidneys!

Wishing you all the best for a very happy (and uneventful!) holiday.  We’ll see you in 2012.

Miss Vivi

&

Mr Vivi

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An eye for an eye

Mr Vivi passes on the tricks of the trade to a couple of budding scientists

Everything I ever learned about this job, I learned from a more experienced Labbie.

4 years of chemistry at Uni meant I could set up a distillation apparatus with my eyes closed and perform multiple titrations in the blink of an eye, but it didn’t teach me to leap tall piles of washing up in a single bound or remember to check if the copper sulphate I’d grabbed off the shelf was anhydrous or not.  I’d always had a labbie nearby to do that for me. Not that I’d ever really noticed.

When I started my first school job I had Andy to look after me, then there was Julie at the next one, followed by Jill at the next.  If I ever needed them, and I frequently did, there was also an army of experienced people available via the LABBIES discussion list, or the LabLINK newsletter or the QEST committee.  That’s how I know how to get a piece of tube through a rubber stopper without jamming it into my hand, how to nurse a microscope through to the next service and how to store eyeballs in the freezer for the next time I need them.

So, when I had a call from a Labbie new to the job recently I was happy to be able to pass on some of the tricks of the trade.  She started the conversation with,

“I’m not sure if you’re going to want to tell me or not, but I’m going to have a few eyeballs left over after the prac and I want to know if I can freeze them for next time.”

I will always be happy to help you get more bang for your buck out of our specimens. It’s my experience that education in Queensland is under valued and horribly under-funded, and that is probably the case in most states of Australia.

So, don’t be shy.  Get in touch and ask away.  And if you have a tip to share then let your colleagues in on the secret.  You just never know when you might need one of them to return the favour.

Miss Vivi

 

By the way, place your eyeballs lens down in a container or petri dish and cover them with 0.9% saline then store in the freezer until you need them.  A quick soak in saline will also plump up any specimens that have dried out a bit in the freezer and get them looking better before you put them into the classroom.

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Rainy day blues


These dreary, cold, wet winter days make me feel like I’m in danger of coming down with something. You’ve got to look after yourself. ConQEST is only 2 weeks away and we don’t want you missing it because of the flu.

Miss Vivi’s suggestion – get into the lemons and ginger.

Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Icing
3/4 cup golden syrup
3/4 cup water
185g butter
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp all spice
3/4 cup self raising flour

Gingerbread Cake
Straight out of the oven - yum!

Melt syrup, water and butter together. Mix into dry ingredients. Bake at 180C for 25 mins.

Lemon Icing

1 tbsp milk
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup icing sugar
zest of a lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon

Melt butter into milk. Mix in icing sugar and zest. Thin with lemon juice to right consistency.  Drizzle over a slice of cake.

Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Icing
Rug up and enjoy it with a cup of tea

Enjoy!
Miss Vivi

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The Squeal from Miss Vivi – May 2011

Well hello!

it’s been a while since I’ve sent out an update of what’s happening at Dissection Connection headquarters. With the term half over already I hope you’re looking forward to the winter holidays and a chance to have a break from the swings and roundabouts of the term.

There are three things I want to squeal about in this newsletter:

  • new products
  • new freight prices
  • ConQEST 2011

New products
We have some exciting new body bits in the freezer. Bovine hearts as big as your head and weighing the same amount as a whole packet of pig hearts. Porcine testes in packs of 6 which weigh more than a packet of hearts and are usually still connected in their pairs. Bovine ovaries in packets of 6 which aren’t much bigger than a pack of porcine eyes. Bovine reproductive packs made up of a uterus with ovaries and a complete penis with testes. Coming soon are digestive system packs with a spleen, pancreas, tongues, a piece of rumen and other good things so keep an eye on the website for updates.

New freight prices
When I arrived at the courier this Monday to drop off deliveries I was given a pamphlet announcing their new freight charges – effective 1 June 2011. South-east Queensland prices haven’t changed, but there have been changes for all other areas so please have a look at the shipping information in the downloads section of the website homepage for the new charges. As we grow and send more parcels we will become eligible for cheaper freight charges which we’ll be able to pass on to you. I was hoping to get there before the courier company put up their rates, but unfortunately it hasn’t worked out that way. If you’d ever like a quote for freight on a specific order then please get in touch. It’s worth noting, I think, that we only charge what it cost us to ship to you so our freight charges are cheaper than other supply companies you will be buying from.

ConQEST 2011
Hooray for ConQEST! The annual conference of the Queensland Education Science Technicians is always fantastic and this year we are running two workshops for lab techs. One is the pluck dissection, back by popular demand after last year, and the other is a head dissection that will touch on using a bissected head in teaching the skin, the eye, the ear, the brain and the digestive system. Miss Vivi will be there ‘in the flesh’ so come to the trade display and say hello. You can find the final program for ConQEST and the link to online registration at www.qest.org.au/conqest

Finally, I’d like to leave you with some words of wisdom from a customer in Brisbane.
“I have to make a comment on your slogan. Apparently you haven’t heard two foam boxes sliding against each other. It certainly sounds like a squeal to me.”

Miss Vivi




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