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Does your ebook lack that sensory experience?

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Do your e-books lack that special something that print had?  Do you miss the feel and smell of old-fashioned paper and ink?  Well, you needn’t worry any longer.  A new product was released earlier this year that could be the answer to your yearning for the heyday of the printing press: The Smell of Books™

This “aerosol ebook enhancer” is purported to be compatible with a wide range of formats and is described as 100% DRM-compatible.  It is even noted to work with the DAISY Talking Book (NISO Z39.86) standard format.  Smell of Books™ is available in five designer aromas.

*  New  Book Smell
*  Classic Musty Smell
*  Scent of Sensibility
*  Eau You Have Cats
*  Crunchy Bacon Scent

I’ve submitted a request for a trial size some to test on my new Kindle.  I’ll post a review once it arrives!

NB: I came across this site today, while searching for examples of funny forgeries.  Thanks to the Museum of Hoaxes for the link.

Posted in DAISY, Kindle, book trade, ebooks, humor, paper, textbooks | No Comments »

The el-dente style of standards

Monday, October 27th, 2008

Although outside of NISO’s normal remit, I thought I’d provide some interesting fun for a rainy fall Monday.  ISO has just announced the publication of a standard on “state of the art” cooking of pasta.  From the release:

“ISO 7304-2:2008 – Alimentary pasta produced from durum wheat semolina – Estimation of cooking quality by sensory analysis – Part 2: Routine method, describes a test method for laboratories to determine a minimum of cooking time for pasta.” “This International Standard specifies a method for assessing, by sensory analysis, the quality of cooked alimentary pasta in the form of long, solid strands (e.g. spaghetti) or short, hollow strands (e.g. macaroni) produced from durum wheat semolina, expressed in terms of the starch release, liveliness and firmness characteristics (i.e. texture) of the pasta.”

I know at least one of my college roommates who could have benefited from the advice this standard could provide.  I am sure that the development of this standards was … tasty.

Posted in ISO, Standards, humor | No Comments »

Island of Sans Sariffe

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Collecting maps is one of my hobbies.  I’ve always loved how people view the world in years gone by and how they tried to represent their views on paper.  There’s a very intersting site, Strangemaps.com, which highlights the various miscellany of maps and geographical display.  Earlier this month, the site highlighted the great semi-colonial state San Serriffe, one of the great April Fool’s Day pranks by the Guardian newspaper in the UK.  Those of you in the publishing world might find this amusing for the references to typography.  Others in our community focused on the issue of country codes might also find a place for this island nation in ISO 3166.

 Island of San Seriffe 

More about the history of San Serriffe can be found here on the Museum of Hoaxes website.

Posted in country codes, humor, maps, miscellany | No Comments »