I enjoyed this article from Nature by microbiology PhD student Adeline Williams. As a scientist, she keeps lab notebooks in both digital and paper form, and she also keeps a personal journal. She has some great observations about these different forms of journaling and their benefits. Since my school days, long before I started working … Continue reading Keeping Two Journals
Here’s a beautiful notebook that I’d rather not see up close: “Marie Curie made some of the most significant contributions to science in the 20th century. And as most people already know, she did so at a great cost to her own health. What most people probably don’t know, however, is that the radiation … Continue reading Marie Curie’s Radioactive Notebook
I recently came across a great post by Tom Lipton of Ox Tools, who designs and builds “special tools, instruments, and mechanical devices for the scientific, medical, product development, and metal working industries.” He has some great thoughts on why it’s important to keep a paper notebook, and the contents of his own notebooks are … Continue reading Tom Lipton’s Industrial Notebook
The notebook below helped solve a decades-old scientific mystery: who deserved credit for discovering the antibiotic streptomycin? For as long as archivists at Rutgers University could remember, a small cardboard box marked with the letter W in black ink had sat unopened in a dusty corner of the special collections of the Alexander Library. Next … Continue reading The Discovery of Streptomycin Recorded in Lab Notebooks
Some more tips and questions from our mailbox: Christa’s hand-drawn Moleskines celebrating San Francisco, made to order with your name included in the design: Paul spotted the RoadPro brand of notebooks at a truckstop in Ohio. I’ve seen these at truckstops too, and also wondered why there would be a brand of notebooks exclusive … Continue reading From the Readers
Here’s something that struck me as unusual: a top-opening lab notebook. It looks a bit like the Book Company lab notebook I reviewed, but that was side opening, as is every other lab notebook I’ve seen. Also, this one is different in that the pages are printed on only one side, which might appeal to … Continue reading Top Opening Pocket Lab Notebook
When I wrote about my Engineer’s Field Notebook, I mentioned that I would love to have a pocket sized version. Well, here’s something that’s sort of close: a pocket size lab notebook from The Book Factory. I’ve written about this company before— they’re based in the US, which is a rarity for notebook makers these … Continue reading Review & Giveaway: Book Factory Notebooks
Who knew? I was already familiar with JD’s excellent blog Get Rich Slowly, but I didn’t know he was a notebook addict: Read more here, or view the annotated Flickr image here.