Slack software for labs
Slack is very useful team coordination software. It’s been such a help in my own lab, that I suspect that given a properly configured Slack account, I could simultaneously run GE, Google, Intel, and the US…
Category: Tips
Enhancer trap mice from Brandeis
Posted in Tips
There’s a project in Sacha Nelson’s lab at Brandeis to generate and characterize enhancer trap mice for studying neural circuitry. They have a nice online searchable database of the lines they’ve generated,…
Phase retrieval
Microscopists are often adapting techniques pioneered for astronomy. Adaptive optics is the example you all probably know. Relatedly, phase retrieval was originally developed for telescopic imaging systems, and was adapted for high NA microscopic…
Upconversion: NIR in, vis out
Posted in Tips
Compared to visible (vis) light, near infrared (NIR) wavelength scatters less and is less absorbed in brain tissue. If your fluorescent target absorbs vis light, then one way to use NIR is to flood the…
Voice control
Voice control has just recently become interesting to me. Ikuko bought me an Amazon Echo and I’m surprised at how useful I find it. I’m also surprised at how well it works– it can…
Clearing out a gmail account
Posted in Tips
If your gmail account gets filled up and you need more space, you could pay for an upgraded gmail account with more storage. Or you can clear out space. For clearing out space, there are…
SLAB hiring postdocs
Posted in Tips
SLAB is hiring. See details at the link above (“Now Hiring!!“) or here: http://labrigger.com/blog/now-hiring/
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Photonics Handbook online reading
Posted in Tips
When you run out of catalogs to read, Photonics has some nice short articles. It’s all pretty basic, not too complicated. Good for training (e.g., Optical design software, Fiber lasers)
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Colorbrewer for color schemes
Posted in Tips
Colorbrewer was designed for cartography, but is useful for figure color schemes and look up tables (LUTs). The web interface is slick, offers an immediate preview, and the look up table can be exported….
Practical guide to optical alignment
Posted in Tips
This is a nice, quick, and practical introduction to optical alignment. A good place to start for training. By Rainer Heintzmann.
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How to wrap cables
Posted in Tips
I like things clean and organized. I’m basically Martha Stewart. With more lasers and fewer indictments.
Depending on the length of the cord and its minimum bend radius, several different wrapping styles can be acceptable. Here…
Rolling shutter vs. global shutter: why it matters
Digital cameras can have global shutters or rolling shutters (some cameras can operate in both modes). Global shutters are preferable for periodic applications, including intrinsic imaging, because rolling shutters can cause artifacts. This article does a nice job of explaining the artifacts…
Lenses and lenses and lenses and lenses
Posted in Tips
Can anyone suggest a nice way to store lenses? Ideas about storage containers and cabinets, and ideas about overall organization are all welcome.
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Notes from Austin Blanco
Posted in Tips
Our friend Christian Wilms tipped us to Austin Blanco’s blog, which has some posts you all might be interested in:
Characterizing unknown optical components
A few notes on Arduinos, their timers, and using…