Fantasy and Science Fiction: ‘Kiosk’ by Bruce Sterling | Beyond the Beyond | WIRED

The Fabrikator by Bruce Sterling

THE FABRIKATOR WAS UGLY, noisy, a fire hazard, and it smelled. Borislav got it for the kids in the neighborhood.

One snowy morning, in his work gloves, long coat, and fur hat, he loudly power-sawed through the wall of his kiosk. He duct-taped and stapled the fabrikator into place.

The neighborhood kids caught on instantly. His new venture was a big hit.

The fabrikator made little plastic toys from 3-D computer models. After a week, the fab’s dirt-cheap toys literally turned into dirt. The fabbed toys just crumbled away, into a waxy, non-toxic substance that the smaller kids tended to chew.

Borislav had naturally figured that the brief lifetime of these toys might discourage the kids from buying them. This just wasn’t so. This wasn’t a bug: this was a feature. Every day after school, an eager gang of kids clustered around Borislav’s green kiosk. They slapped down their tinny pocket change with mittened hands. Then they exulted, quarreled, and sometimes even punched each other over the shining fab-cards.

The happy kid would stick the fab-card (adorned with some glossily fraudulent pic of the toy) into the fabrikator’s slot. After a hot, deeply exciting moment of hissing, spraying, and stinking, the fab would burp up a freshly minted dinosaur, baby doll, or toy fireman.

Foot traffic always brought foot traffic. The grownups slowed as they crunched the snowy street. They cast an eye at the many temptations ranked behind Borislav’s windows. Then they would impulse-buy. A football scarf, maybe. A pack of tissues for a sneezy nose.

Once again he was ahead of the game: the only kiosk in town with a fabrikator….

via Fantasy and Science Fiction: ‘Kiosk’ by Bruce Sterling | Beyond the Beyond | WIRED.

The Fabrikator by Bruce Sterling

What is Aseptic Non Touch Technique ANTT?

Aseptic No Touch Technique may be used in conjunction with sterile gloves as an alternative to full surgical asepsis for body piercing procedures. I demonstrated variations on this with colleagues during the Versatility in Piercing Techniques series of workshops for the 2014 APP conference. The following is from ANTT.org: What is Aseptic Non Touch Technique ANTT? ANTT is defined … Read more

How It’s Made – Hypodermic Needles

This is very similar to what I saw when I visited Industrial Strength LLC Sharp Ass Needles, without the hubs, followed by cleaning and chemical passivation. They are ready to be sterilized and used. We use 304 SST and keep on file for every lot of needles we make a passivation certificate. We also have an … Read more

Double pouching for sterile presentation? ATP use in CS? May 2014 – CS Solutions

From May 2014 – CS Solutions.

Double pouching for sterile presentation? ATP use in CS?

by Ray Taurasi

Q The OR requires that Sterile Processing double peel pouches all items sent to them. They claim this is essential to allow for sterile presentation to the sterile field. I cannot find anything in AAMI or AORN recommendations stating this is necessary. I find it strange that they have no issues with commercially prepared items they use from manufacturers that are all single packaged. Why should there be different packaging standards for items sterilized in-house versus commercially sterilized items?

A There are no AAMI or AORN recommendations that state you must double peel pouch items for use in the Operating Room. Both AORN and AAMI state that you should follow the manufacturer’s IFUs for any packaging materials. Their recommendations also advise that if a hospital chooses to double peel pouch they must be sure that the manufacturer has validated their pouches for double pouching.

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Somatic Piercing

Nick completed his Masters degree at the Ohio State University in Somatic and Cultural Studies in 2002. His final project, “Somatic Piercing: The Art and Ritual of Body Piercing” portrays his experiences in body rituals as well as illuminates other piercers’ views on the matter.

11 Things You Should Know About Piercings

“This article presented some sound information, but there’s still much more to know. When piercings are performed by a trained professional using sterile equipment and high quality jewelry, and appropriate aftercare is followed, the risks are drastically minimized.” — Elayne Angel, APP President

ASTM F136 revision

One of the most commonly used materials for body jewelry, the ASTM F136 – Standard Specification for Wrought Titanium-6Aluminum-4Vanadium ELI (Extra Low Interstitial) Alloy for Surgical Implant Applications (UNS R56401) has been revised to F136-13 developed by Committee F04.12, ASTM BOS Volume13.01.

The new version changes are in section 9. Special Requirements

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