The Squeal from Miss Vivi – February 2012

Well hello!

Here we are at the beginning of Term 1 for 2012.  I hope the summer has been kind to you and you're relaxed and raring to go.

Here at Dissection Connection we’re starting the year with a new price list.  You'll find it in the Downloads section of the website.  It’s in a slightly different format, hopefully organised to make it easier to use.  It's now in three section – specimens we try to keep in stock all the time, specimens we supply to order because there hasn't been a very high demand in the past, and specimens that are subject to availability.   Feel free to have a squeal if you have any comments about it.

There are some new dissection specimens really worth squealing about.  We've added a pluck with a pair of joined kidneys in the pack, porcine and bovine uterus are now available as stand alone items, entire piglets – which I've had a big squeal about further down this newsletter – and fresh boar semen just to name a few.

Over Christmas a styrofoam box manufacturer went out of business and consequently the remaining suppliers are having to pick up the slack.  This has meant that there are almost no small boxes to be had for re-use and we are having to buy them new.  They will cost $4.00 each for the time being, but hopefully everything will settle down later in the year and we will be able to start collecting recycled ones again.  The very large boxes we use have gone up to $6.50 each, but we can usually use a different shaped recycled one at a lower cost for you.

This year, too, Mr Vivi will be stepping up and taking on a bigger role at Dissection Connection.  I am still working at school Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays so I can't always answer the phone and sometimes it's just easier to leave it with him rather than keep you waiting.  He's been there from the beginning and he really knows his way around the freezer.

Finally, we're looking for guest writers for the website.  Have a look at the details in the article below.