The Latest from Boing Boing |  |
- Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay - funny and well-written economics book
- Video: English cops terrorism-harassing photographer for taking photos of town Christmas decorations
- Objective reporting and American politics
- Old coco-mix ad with kids on sunbeds, trudging through snow in underwear
- London councils issue themselves parking tickets, fight them in court
- Chatroulette: won't someone think of the children?
- U Wisconsin symphony concert based on fantasy novels, video games, manga, anime
- James Kochalka and Pixel Jam's game
- ACTA leak shows US Trade Rep lied about "3-strikes"
- Maggie on the radio
- 3D printed shoes
- Highlights from the AAAS: Batteries out of Paper, Order out of Chaos
- ACTA "internet enforcement" chapter leaks
- Israel's new military drones can reach Iran
- The 100 Watt Lightbulb Goes Out: Ronald Howes, Easy Bake Oven Inventor, Dies at 83
| Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay - funny and well-written economics book Posted: 16 Feb 2010 05:53 AM PST  I have read a mountain of economics books that purport to explain the great econopocalypse in which we find ourselves, but none can hold a candle to John Lanchester's Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay, a British book that explains the macro- and microeconomic phenomena with a novelist's sense of plot and clarity (Lanchester being a novelist) that nevertheless refuses to sacrifice accuracy for accessibility. Lanchester explains the econopocalypse thus: a climate (the fall of the Soviet Union and the triumphal do-no-wrong belief in unfettered capitalism that ensued), a problem (using derivatives to expand risk, rather than limit it, which led to reckless lending in the housing market), a mistake (bankers assuming that they had laid off the risk using complex derivatives) and a failure (regulators refusing to look the financial gift-horse in the mouth). This provides an excellent framework for explaining the ways in which history, greed, and hubris conspired to create the worst financial crisis in memory. What's more, Lanchester is funny, and he has a gift for making you revisit your assumptions about the world (your house is a highly leveraged asset that appreciates at the same rate as the overall economy, is difficult to liquidate, and if you manage it, you need to buy another house that has appreciated right alongside of it or find yourself homeless). He even manages to make Alan Greenspan and Maggie Thatcher funny, which is really saying something. Alas, Lanchester is also a downer. At the risk of giving away the ending, he concludes with a compelling argument that the UK economy is likely to be roadkill for a very long time as a result of the financialization of the economy and the capture of the regulators who were supposed to keep an eye on it (he's also bearish on the US economy). Yeah, it's depressing. It's also probably true. And at least he made me laugh while he broke me the news. Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay Previously:
|
| Video: English cops terrorism-harassing photographer for taking photos of town Christmas decorations Posted: 22 Feb 2010 05:34 AM PST Bob Patefield, an English amateur photographer, video-recorded an outrageous Terrorism Act stop-and-search in Accrington town centre last December, where he was stopped by a police community support officer (a kind of junior copper) who told him he was under suspicion of terrorism for taking pictures of the Christmas celebration -- Santa Claus, a pipe band, and so on. Photographer films his own 'anti-terror' arrest (Thanks, Chris and everyone else who suggested this!) Previously:
|
| Objective reporting and American politics Posted: 22 Feb 2010 04:59 AM PST In "The Quest for Innocence and the Loss of Reality in Political Journalism on PressThink, Jay Rosen puts his finger on a major failing in American political journalism. Namely, that in the name of objectivity, political reporters shun evaluation of the objective truth of political claims. Rosen takes a recent and very good NYT story on the Tea Party movement, in which the reporter, David Barstow, describes the Tea Party movement as being built around a "narrative of impending tyranny." But, Rosen notes, Barstow shies away from writing about whether there is an actual danger of impending tyranny -- whether it's likely that guns will be seized, concentration camps established, and so on. This despite the fact that these events -- if real -- would be major stories in their own right, but comments on their truthfulness are off-limits because political reporting must be "objective" and evaluating the truthfulness of these statements would be tantamount to taking sides. In a word, the Times editors and Barstow know this narrative is nuts, but something stops them from saying so-- despite the fact that they must have spent over $100,000 on this one story. And whatever that thing is, it's not the reluctance to voice an opinion in the news columns, but a reluctance to report a fact in the news columns, the fact that the "narrative of impending tyranny" is ungrounded in any observable reality, even though the sense of grievance within the Tea Party movement is truly felt and politically consequential...The Quest for Innocence and the Loss of Reality in Political Journalism Previously: |
| Old coco-mix ad with kids on sunbeds, trudging through snow in underwear Posted: 22 Feb 2010 01:46 AM PST  This bizarre old ad for Cocomalt chocolate mix features naked children on sunbeds and trudging through the snow in their underwear, along with a pitch to parents to have their kids "drink sunshine" three times a day (this being a reference to the vitamin D added to the Cocomalt). Previously:
|
| London councils issue themselves parking tickets, fight them in court Posted: 22 Feb 2010 01:39 AM PST Parking wardens working for London's local authorities routinely issue tickets against authority-owned vehicles. When this happens, the authority takes itself to court to argue that it shouldn't have to pay fines to itself. Sometimes, they ask the courts to award themselves legal costs from their own pockets. This according to Barrie Segal, who published a book in 2007 on London's insane parking enforcement called The Parking Ticket Awards: Crazy Councils, Meter Madness and Traffic Warden Hell. It's crazy, but not as crazy as it sounds: drivers for the authority have to pay their own tickets (so naturally they'll fight them), and it's actually kind of admirable for wardens to enforce parking rules against government employees as vigorously as they do the general public. London councils sue themselves for parking offences (via Neatorama) Previously:
|
| Chatroulette: won't someone think of the children? Posted: 21 Feb 2010 11:52 PM PST Some pithy thoughts on ChatRoulette (a site where you are presented with a feed from a random stranger's webcam and vice-versa until one or both of you click "next") from Dr danah boyd, who has smart stuff to say about moral panics and kids and the net (as always). Like when I was a teen trolling through chatrooms, ChatRoulette is filled with all sorts of weird people. And most users ignore most other users until they find someone they find interesting or compelling. While the site was designed by a teen, minors do not dominate there (although there are plenty of young adults there). And, not surprisingly, teens on the site have ZERO interest in talking to older folks - even old folks like me. It's the strangest pairing dynamic... You can click Next and they can click Next until something gels. And even though I might want to talk to teens on the site, they have no desire to talk to me. Imagine if I was a sketchy guy. Right: no interest. Likewise, the people who most want to talk to me - a young woman - are the people that I don't want to talk to. So on and on and on we go clicking next until there's a possible spark. It's a game played by flaneurs walking the digital streets.ChatRoulette, from my perspective Previously: |
| U Wisconsin symphony concert based on fantasy novels, video games, manga, anime Posted: 21 Feb 2010 10:23 PM PST On Feb 27, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony is giving a concert based on sf/f films, video-games, and books, which sounds awesome. And I'l honored that the prof who organized it, Kevin Collins, cited my last couple of novels as inspiration for the theme. First Fantasy: Music from Video Games, Anime, Fantasy Films and Fiction (Thanks, Kevin!) Previously: |
| James Kochalka and Pixel Jam's game Posted: 21 Feb 2010 10:13 PM PST Box Brown sez, "Comic God and rockstar James Kochalka, he of American Elf fame, has teamed up with Pixel Jam to produce a game called Glorkian Warrior!" |
| ACTA leak shows US Trade Rep lied about "3-strikes" Posted: 21 Feb 2010 10:07 PM PST Michael Geist sez, "Your earlier post did a great job of highlighting the latest ACTA [ed: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret and unprecedented global copyright treaty] leak. I've just posted on the implications for the three key issues: notice-and-takedown, DMCA anti-circumvention, and three strikes. "The three strikes is key - the draft chapter finally puts to rest the question of whether ACTA in its current form would establish a 'three strikes and you're' out model [ed: if someone in your house is accused of three acts of copyright infringement, your whole house loses internet access]. The USTR has recently emphatically stated that it does not establish a mandatory three strikes system. The draft reveals that this is correct, but the crucial word is mandatory. The draft U.S. chapter does require intermediaries to play a more aggressive role in policing their networks and the specific model cited is the three-strikes approach. In other words, the treaty may not specifically require three-strikes, but it clearly encourages it as the model to qualify as a safe harbour from liability. "This leaks shows how deceptive the USTR has been on this issue - on the one hand seeking to assure the public that there is no three-strikes and on the other specifically citing three strikes as its proposed policy model. Given the past U.S. history with anti-circumvention - which started with general language and now graduates to very specific requirements - there is little doubt that the same dynamic is at play with respect to three strikes." The ACTA Leak: Revealing Deceptive USTR Claims on Three Strikes (Thanks, Michael!) Previously:
|
| Posted: 21 Feb 2010 09:56 PM PST I'm going to be on New Hampshire Public Radio's "Word of Mouth" Monday, talking about the nifty stuff I've learned at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference. My part of the show starts around 12 Eastern. Tune in if you're in New England, or listen online. |
| Posted: 21 Feb 2010 12:40 PM PST  This laser-sintered 3D-printed shoe, by Naim Josefi and Souzan Youssouf, was displayed at Stockholm's Fashion Week. If only it was made out of the kind of milk-based bioplastic that smells like rice pudding, well, shiny shiny shiny pumps of dairy! The Melonia Shoe: A world's first? Wearable 3D printed footwear (via Make) Previously:
|
| Highlights from the AAAS: Batteries out of Paper, Order out of Chaos Posted: 21 Feb 2010 10:07 PM PST  I spent Saturday veering from science future, to science past and back again—learning about the ways nanotechnology could revolutionize energy generation and storage, delving into the history of how scientists made themselves more accountable to fact and then getting a peek at the connections researchers are trying to make between social policy and climate/energy technology. Paper Batteries, and the Hunt for the Perfect Thermal Insulator
But there's no analog for that in thermal insulation, Cahill said. That fact that matters a lot if you care about improving energy efficiency in everything from engines to houses. Cahill is part of a team working to improve thermal insulation with nanotechnology. His goal: Create some kind of new material that will disrupt the transfer of heat energy between two objects. Getting it right would have big implications. For instance, we could drastically improve our ability to capture the waste heat from electrical generation and put it to use in other ways. One possible solution is silicon nanowires. These structures are normally baby-butt smooth, but as you make their surfaces more and more rough, the nanowires conduct less and less thermal energy. Right now, it's not exactly clear why that trick works. But understanding it could put Cahill's team on the right path. He's not the only one taking energy technology nano. Another researcher on the same panel, Yi Cui, Ph.D., of Stanford, is applying nanostructures to energy storage, in hopes of developing smaller batteries that can hold more power. In fact, according to Cui, nanotech is absolutely essential to any future progress with batteries. Storage capacity for size has plateaued, he explained. To go further, we have to start making electrodes out of completely different—and probably completely new—materials. Nanotech has even enabled Cui to make batteries out of paper and fabric. His team takes these ordinary materials and coats them in carbon nanotubes. The porous fibers give ions easy access to the conductive nanotubes. The more nanotubes you add, the more conductive the paper or fabric becomes. Layer many sheets of treated material together, and you get all-paper supercapacitors, which Cui's team has already built.
Do the same thing with the textiles—which are still stretchable and flexible—and you've got wearable electronics. Of course, there are limitations. In the Q&A, somebody asked Cui what would happen if you wore those fabrics on a static-y day. The reply was some awkward laughter and promise that the team is still working out the kinks. Ghosts of Science Past I went to a lecture on the history of dealing with experimental error not really knowing what to expect: Boring round of scientific "Inside Baseball" or eye-opening fact fest? Thanks to historian Jed Z. Buchwald, the session definitely veered toward the latter. Even the basic idea was fascinating. You probably know that modern scientists try to account for their own research mistakes by running an experiment or taking a measurement multiple times. Often, the results will all be slightly different, and scientists deal with that by taking an average—which is likely to represent the closest-to-correct answer. But they didn't always do it that way. In fact, according to Buchwald, the first scientist to use averages to address error was Isaac Newton, who privately started taking averages in his notebooks in 1671. Before that, obviously, scientists still made mistakes. Multiple measurements or experiments still yielded varying results. But they dealt with the variation in a very different way—they picked the answer they thought represented their best work. To modern ears, that sounds like cheating—"You just randomly decided on the number you liked best? That's science?" But, at the time, it was perfectly logical. Historically, scientists viewed themselves as craftsmen, Buchwald said. If you were building a piece of fine furniture, you wouldn't make a bunch and pick the average to display. You'd choose the finished version that was the best, and best displayed your woodworking skill. In fact, the whole reason Newton didn't publish his first research to use averages was because it would have made him look like a lousy scientist. After all, what kind of craftsman can't tell his own best work? More highlights coming tomorrow! You should also follow my live tweets of conference sessions (Today, I'm hitting one lecture on sustainable farming—by a Monsanto researcher, no less— another called "Doomsday vs. Discovery", and probably a bit on the ethical implications of dolphin smarts.) You can follow lots more AAAS live tweeters by watching the #aaas10 hashtag stream. And finally, read about sessions I wasn't able to attend by following the blogs on Science magazine. |
| ACTA "internet enforcement" chapter leaks Posted: 21 Feb 2010 12:46 PM PST  Someone has uploaded a PDF to a Google Group that is claimed to be the proposal for Internet copyright enforcement that the USA has put forward for ACTA, the secret copyright treaty whose seventh round of negotiations just concluded in Guadalajara, Mexico. This reads like it probably is genuine treaty language, and if it is the real US proposal, it is the first time that this material has ever been visible to the public. According to my source, the US proposal is the current version of the treaty as of the conclusion of the Mexico round. I've read it through a few times and it reads a lot like DMCA-plus. It contains, for example, a duty to technology firms to shut down infringement where they have "actual knowledge" that such is taking place. This argument was put forward in the Grokster case, and as Fred von Lohmann argued then, this is a potentially deadly burden to place on technology companies: in the offline world Xerox has "actual knowledge" that its technology is routinely used to infringe copyright at Kinko's outlets around the world -- should that create a duty to stop providing sales and service to Kinko's? This also includes takedown procedures for trademark infringement, as well as the existing procedures against copyright infringement. Since trademark infringement is a lot harder for a service provider to adjudicate (and since things that might be trademark infringement take place every time you do something as innocuous as taking a photo of a street-scene that contains hundreds or thousands of trademarks), this sounds like a potential disaster to me. This calls on all parties to ensure that "third party liability" (the idea that ISPs, web-hosts, application developers, mobile carriers, universities, apartment buildings, and other "third parties" to infringement are sometimes liable for their users' copyright infringements) is on the books in their countries. It doesn't spell out what that liability should be, beyond "knowingly and materially aiding" an infringement -- see the Kinko's point above for why this is potentially deadly. And, of course, this contains the DMCA's injunction against breaking digital locks (that is, circumventing DRM), even though this provision has been in international treaties since 1996 and has done nothing to reduce infringement, has never shown itself to be effective in shoring up the power of these technologies to prevent copies, and has introduced enormous anti-competitive effects into the market. Also buried in a footnote is a provision for forcing ISPs to terminate customers who've been accused -- but not convicted -- of copyright infringement (along with their families and anyone else who happens to share their net connection). There's plenty more here -- and we don't know what the rest of the treaty reads like, or what the competing drafts said -- and I'm sure that more astute legal scholars than I will be along shortly with their commentary. Update: Here's an IDG report on the leak, with more analysis. Article 2.17: Enforcement procedures in the digital environment (PDF) (Thanks, Paolo!) Previously:
|
| Israel's new military drones can reach Iran Posted: 21 Feb 2010 09:04 AM PST The Israeli air force unveils a fleet of unmanned aerial drones it says can fly as far as Iran. Officials say the Heron TP drones are about the size of passenger jets, with an 86-foot wingspan, and can fly 20 consecutive hours. |
| The 100 Watt Lightbulb Goes Out: Ronald Howes, Easy Bake Oven Inventor, Dies at 83 Posted: 21 Feb 2010 07:14 PM PST  The original EASY-BAKE used a 100 watt bulb as its heat source. (I always loved the fact that you could bake brownies with a lightbulb.) In its first year, over 500,000 pre-pubescent Duncan Hines wanna-be's talked their folks into spending $15.95. By its fifth birthday, the EASY-BAKE Oven was a household name.The toy was invented by Ronald Howes Sr, who died yesterday at age 83. According to his obituary , Howes sounds like my sort of guy. He always had the coolest stuff on earth that I could mess around with," such as phosphorescent powder he was testing for various glow-in-the-dark applications, his son said. |
Patefield asked if the officer had any "reasonable, articulable suspicion" to justify him giving his details. 
In 2007, Islington Council issued a parking ticket to one of its own vehicles. The department receiving the ticket disputed the validity of the Penalty Charge Notice and appealed against the fine. The council declined the appeal so the department took the case to the Parking Adjudicator. At this stage, the council submitted no evidence so the ticket was cancelled. The department that appealed the ticket then applied to have their costs reimbursed. The bewildered Adjudicator did not award costs, saying: "The legal status of the two parties in this appeal amounted to one and the same." 
"I think that it's fair to say that this program was especially inspired by (Doctorow's) "Makers" and "Little Brother," Collins said. "I find myself fascinated by his descriptions of the contemporary popular sub-cultures, and the creative culture of modification and personalization that has developed around new technologies." | You are subscribed to email updates from Boing Boing To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment