Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Latest from Boing Boing

Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing

Link to Boing Boing

Mall security guard accuses shopper of being a paedophile for photographing his own son

Posted: 24 Feb 2010 03:46 AM PST


According to his blog, Kevin visited the Bridges Shopping Centre in Sunderland with his son to spend the £10 his father gave the boy on a family visit. While there, he seated his son on a coin-operated train ride and snapped a photo of him with his cameraphone. At this point, a Bridges security guard came by and ordered him to stop taking pictures. He said that it was mall policy, and implied that Kevin was taking pictures because he was a paedophile. Kevin told him that this was ridiculous and took his son to find his wife and get out of the mall. He also took a picture of the security guard "so that if I later wanted to make a complaint to the centre I would be able to identify him."

Outside of the mall, Kevin was stopped by a police constable who had received a complaint from mall security that a suspicious potential paedophile had been taking pictures on its premises. The PC threatened to arrest Kevin "for creating a public disturbance" and ordered him to delete the photo of his son. The PC also averred that the Bridges Shopping Centre is a hotbed of paedophile assaults.

For the record: It's not clear to me how a fully clothed child on a mall coin-op ride is harmed by having his likeness captured by a camera, even if that camera is in the possession of a paedophile. And I'm pretty sure that taking pictures of your kids having fun on rides isn't a warning sign of paedophilia (I'm in big trouble if it is!).

Talk to Frank (Thanks, Guy!)

Previously:


Twitter phishing scam

Posted: 24 Feb 2010 01:54 AM PST

I just fell for a Twitter phishing scam -- it took the form of a direct message from one of my contacts, with the message "This you????" and a link to a site that prompted me for my Twitter password (which, like an idiot, I entered before noticing that the URL was twitter.scammysite.com; blame it on browsing with a tiny mobile-phone screen while in line at the coffee shop). You have been warned -- stay away from anything that reads "This you????" or "This you in this video????" Hell, I think that a good rule of thumb is to ignore anything that uses multiple question marks for emphasis. Even if it's not a scam, it's probably too dumb to read.

Writers' advice for writers

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:28 PM PST

The Guardian asked several writers to list up to ten rules for writing (inspired by Elmore Leonard's little book, 10 Rules of Writing). The result (in two parts) is, by and large, excellent advice. I especially like "Do back exercises. Pain is distracting" (Margaret Atwood -- amen); "A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk" (Helen Dunmore); "Do it every day" and "Have regrets" (Geoff Dyer); "Don't wish ill on your colleagues" (Richard Ford); "The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator" (Jonathan Franzen); "Are you serious about this? Then get an accountant" (Hilary Mantel -- amen!); and best of all, "Find an author you admire (mine was Conrad) and copy their plots and characters in order to tell your own story, just as people learn to draw and paint by copying the masters" (Michael Moorcock). Also: "You know that sickening feeling of inadequacy and over-exposure you feel when you look upon your own empurpled prose? Relax into the awareness that this ghastly sensation will never, ever leave you, no matter how successful and publicly lauded you become. It is intrinsic to the real business of writing and should be cherished" (Will Self).

Ten rules for writing fiction: Part one, part two (via Kottke)

Apology from an evil dictator - debut short story from Alex Kreis

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:37 PM PST

Alex Kreis sez, "Four years ago with Cory's encouragement, I attended Viable Paradise, the SF/F writing workshop. While there, Teresa Nielsen Hayden set us an exercise to write a story using the Evil Overlord list. I'm proud to say that I sold the story I wrote, and only four (!) years later, it's finally in print in the awesome fantasy magazine Black Gate. Black Gate editor John O'Neill has generously posted the entire story on the website for free."

I know Alex from his technology work, as an astute and forward thinker; and as a nice guy. I'm delighted to discover that's he's also a very, very funny writer.

I am very sorry about seizing the throne of Falland and establishing a dictatorship based on terror and intimidation. As ruler of Falland, I enforced a number of highly unfair and immoral policies for which I now feel very badly, including putting all orphans raised by any forms of wildlife to death, and ordering the execution of all wandering bards (although I must say in my defense that that decision was not entirely unpopular). I congratulate the Directorate for their more enlightened social and economic policies, and am certain that their wisdom will see Falland through these deeply troubled times. I urge the People of Falland to be patient while awaiting results from the Directorate's programs.

If I had the chance to do it again, I would never have perverted nature and desecrated the holy by destroying the bones of St. Elias the Healer in the ritual that granted me immortality. While it is a natural thing for men to wish to live forever, it is not given to us by nature to have beyond our allotment, and I was wrong to offer to grant immortality to those of my followers who aided me in significant ways. It is for the best that I am no longer in a position to do so.

I am particularly embarrassed that I ordered the foul murder of Giles Sunbearer, who entered Castle Ironbound in a perfectly reasonable attempt to put a stop to my illegitimate reign. His plan of disguising himself as a clan chieftain who wished to enlist his tribe in my armies was ingenious, and if not for the fact that all of my guards knew what he looked like and had orders to stab him on sight, would undoubtedly have worked. Once Giles was dead, his companion Polonius Seidkirk was of no further threat to me, and thus having him executed was unwarranted. I feel terrible that I propositioned Giles's lovely companion Raven Livintra so soon after Giles's death; it was tasteless and inappropriate. I should have waited at least six months, and I certainly should not have had her killed when she rejected me. Finally, it was cruel and unnecessary to feed Giles's clever pet marmot, Twiggy, to my wolves.

Special Fiction Feature: "The Renunciation of the Crimes of Gharad the Undying" (Thanks, Alex!)

Epically bad teen Christian rock band becomes internet phenom

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 09:41 PM PST

"Final Placement" is a teen Christian Rock band from Midland, Texas. Dangerous Minds more or less discovered this video of the band earlier this week, and internet infamy exploded.

Sneering at off-key amateur god-pop is easy enough, but what's interesting about the story is this: the young man who plays guitar in this video jumped right into the comment thread, and owned up to how epically awful it was. "I am not in the band. I helped them out on this song, unfortunately," he says. "The guitar solo I played— hate it. It deserves to get ripped."

Not everyone feels that way. Someone took his guitar solo and made a loop of it.

To top it all off, the guest-blogger who spotted this over at DM, and is engaging with the guitarist in that thread, is none other than Brad Laner of the band Medicine. Internet gold.

Final Placement (Dangerous Minds, thanks Richard Metzger)

Dude in Moscow hacks video billboard to display porn

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 09:37 PM PST

Breaking news from Russia: "Police in the southern city of Novorossiisk have arrested a man accused of hacking into a video billboard in Moscow last month and showing a pornographic movie that spawned a traffic jam as curious drivers slowed to watch the film." (thanks, Duffong)

Rachel Maddow on "Dogs freak out over Law and Order theme?"

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:53 PM PST

On tonight's episode of the Rachel Maddow Show, Ms. Maddow opened up a can of science whoopass on a Boing Boing post from earlier this week about the internet phenomenon of dogs freaking out when the Law and Order theme song is played.

You can watch the Maddow Show segment here. In it, canine behavioral expert Robert Brandau is accompanied by Chomper, a labrador retriever who is totally adorbs. Together, they explain why so many dogs have been observed in internet videos to have "a howling reaction" to the theme song of the Law and Order TV series.

Video above: Internet remix artist extraordinaire Joe Sabia takes a Final Cut knife to pretty much every YouTube video of a dog flipping out over this theme song.

(thanks again to Tara McGinley for first pointing us to this phenomenon)

Previously:


Alexander McQueen on Charlie Rose, 1997

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:30 PM PST

mcqueen.jpg BB pal Mister Jalopy points us to this Charlie Rose episode, viewable (for folks in the USA, anyway) on Hulu. The episode contains a good fashion roundtable followed by a heartbreaking and inspiring conversation with Alexander McQueen from 1997.

The Rose/McQueen conversation starts right around 45 minutes into the show, and explores his personal and creative history, and his vision of the sort of idealized woman he designs for. The most interesting and revealing piece of media I've seen on the late fashion icon. He is missed.

Charlie Rose, Season 18, Ep. 35 (52:27).

Update: BB pal Brian Ashcraft says, "The Charlie Rose Show website has clips viewable to those outside the US. So no need for Hulu! It's under the recent shows sidebar." Thanks!

Previously:


EFF: YouTube shouldn't block works by video artist Amy Greenfield

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 06:01 PM PST

(Video contains artistic nudity).

EFF and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) wrote to YouTube today, asking the video hosting giant to reconsider its removal of the work of internationally recognized video artist Amy Greenfield. Snip from commentary by Kurt Opsahl at EFF.org:

Amy Greenfield received notice from YouTube that her works, which contain some artistic nudity, did not conform with YouTube's "community standards." Under YouTube's policies, "films and television shows may contain [full nudity]; however, videos originating from the YouTube user community must abide by the YouTube Community Guidelines and are not permitted to include such content." (emphasis in original). The Community Guidelines purport to allow nudity with "some educational, documentary and scientific content, but only if that is the sole purpose of the video and it is not gratuitously graphic," but does not recognize the value of nudity in art.
Video Above: TIDES, by Amy Greenfield, which has been screened at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; The Museum of Modern Art, NYC; The London and Edinburgh Film Festivals.
"We do not stand on the shore and inquire of the ocean what was its movement in the past. We know that the movement of its nature is eternal to its nature."—Isadora Duncan, The Dance Of The Future.

$150 treadmill desk

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 05:07 PM PST


Here's Instructables co-founders Eric and Kristy testing out their $150 treadmill desk, which allows them to work and walk at the same time. Their incredibly cute baby seems to enjoy it.

This is related to my earlier post about Seth Roberts observation that doing two different boring things at the same time can be fun.

Treadmill desk

Blood Bath Shower Gel and Ninja Coat Hooks

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 03:29 PM PST

Sites Default Files Product Images Showergel 3 600X600 Sites Default Files Product Images Ninjastar 9 600X600 0
London-based Spinning Hat sells a variety of zany products, some of which look really fun like Blood Bath Shower Gel for £4.99 and Ninja Coat Hooks for £7.99.

Body scale with affirmations instead of numbers

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 03:34 PM PST

Wp-Content Uploads 2009 09 Scale
The Yay! Scale doesn't have any numbers, but rather words like "hot," "ravishing," and "cute" that are meant to make you feel good about yourself. Over at IFTF's The Future Now, my colleague Jason Tester weighs (ahem) the benefits of such a device. From Future Now:
What if devices could return quantitative measurements as qualitative and personalized results? Continuing with the example of weight, is it more motivating to see just a number (178 lbs) or a number with feedback (178 lbs::You've gained a little) or no number and just motivation (OK, so you've put on a bit since last time...) The new crop of smart scales (see here or here or here) all chart your progress, and some will automatically send your weight to doctors or contacts of your choosing; I wonder if any of them also focus on explicit motivational messaging.


But is there any potential value in a technology that delivers non-stop good vibrations, not at all reflective of our actual behaviors? Could a technological placebo-cum-fortune-cookie work just as well?

"Manamana as persuasive technology"

Previously:


Stephen Levy on Google's algorithm

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 09:35 PM PST

Stephen Levy, one of the great technology journalists, got an unprecedented inside look at Google's search algorithm and wrote up his experience in a long, fascinating Wired feature. Reading this piece, there were several a-ha moments for me as it helped me understand what was going on beneath the hood when I run my queries in my little search-box.
Google is famously creative at encouraging these breakthroughs; every year, it holds an internal demo fair called CSI -- Crazy Search Ideas -- in an attempt to spark offbeat but productive approaches. But for the most part, the improvement process is a relentless slog, grinding through bad results to determine what isn't working. One unsuccessful search became a legend: Sometime in 2001, Singhal learned of poor results when people typed the name "audrey fino" into the search box. Google kept returning Italian sites praising Audrey Hepburn. (Fino means fine in Italian.) "We realized that this is actually a person's name," Singhal says. "But we didn't have the smarts in the system."

The Audrey Fino failure led Singhal on a multiyear quest to improve the way the system deals with names -- which account for 8 percent of all searches. To crack it, he had to master the black art of "bi-gram breakage" -- that is, separating multiple words into discrete units. For instance, "new york" represents two words that go together (a bi-gram). But so would the three words in "new york times," which clearly indicate a different kind of search. And everything changes when the query is "new york times square." Humans can make these distinctions instantly, but Google does not have a Brazil-like back room with hundreds of thousands of cubicle jockeys. It relies on algorithms.

Exclusive: How Google's Algorithm Rules the Web (via Beyond the Beyond)
Previously:


Cleantext: turn your ASCII pastebombs into formatted text

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:55 PM PST

Mekki and a friend ran with an idea I tweeted last October: "Who's got a web-based service that will take a huge pastebomb (300K of text) and smarten all quotes, turn -- into em-dash, etc?" They created something called Cleantext. I just pasted in the entire text of my next short story collection (written as plain ASCII in a text editor) and out came something that was beautifully formatted and ready to be pasted into a layout program for further massaging. I'm delighted by this -- how useful!

Cleantext (Thanks, Mekki!)

Previously:


Morning orchids

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 01:02 PM PST

Morning orchids.

Image: iPhone snap I took of still life (and death) on table in the Boing Boing Video studio in Los Angeles this morning. Another.

US Copyright Czar wants your thoughts on how to measure and reduce infringement

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:43 PM PST

Victoria Espinel, the Obama Administration's new copyright enforcement czar, wrote in to tell us that her office is running a new public inquiry into how the US should enforce copyrights. It runs a little to the "have you stopped beating your wife yet?" in the questions it asks ("[What are] the costs to the U.S. economy resulting from intellectual property violations, and the threats to public health and safety created by infringement?") but the fact that they're opening this up to the public and seeking comments from all sides is good news. Comments are due by Mar 24. What I'm wondering is if they'd be up to recommendations like, "Reduce infringement statistics by clarifying copyright law to make it clear that incidentally capturing some copyrighted music in the background while your toddler is dancing in the kitchen isn't infringement." Admittedly, judges are pretty good at interpreting the law in those cases, but that means that you have to be able to afford to pay a lawyer.

Still, a standardized, rigorous way of reporting infringement would be a good recommendation -- remember that the oft-cited statistics for job-losses due to piracy are an outright (and admitted) fabrication, as are the stats on college downloading. Getting some rigor into the numbers game would do a world of good.

This request for comments and for recommendations for an improved enforcement strategy is divided into two parts. In the first, the IPEC seeks written submissions from the public regarding the costs to the U.S. economy resulting from intellectual property violations, and the threats to public health and safety created by infringement. In the second part, the IPEC requests detailed recommendations from the public regarding the objectives and content of the Joint Strategic Plan and other specific recommendations for improving the Government's intellectual property enforcement efforts. Responses to this request for comments may be directed to either of these two parts, or both, and may include a response to one or more requests for information found in either part.
Coordination and Strategic Planning of the Federal Effort Against Intellectual Property Infringement: Request of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator for Public Comments Regarding the Joint Strategic Plan (Thanks, Victoria!)
Previously:


Online documentary about one of the last people living in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:59 AM PST


Vice has a fascinating 5-part documentary on Heimo Korth, "the Omega Man of America's Final Frontier." The first two parts are up now, the rest will be posted throughout the week.

In 1980, Jimmy Carter established the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the Alaskan Interior, cutting off 19 million acres of prime boreal wilderness from the mitts of fur trappers, oil tycoons, and would-be lodge owners alike. Only six families of white settlers were grandfathered in and allowed to keep cabins in the refuge -- of them, only one still stays there year -- round living off the land.

Raised in suburban Wisconsin, Heimo set off in his teens to the Alaskan Bush to pursue the Davy Crockett lifestyle in more or less the only place it was still possible. Amid numerous setbacks and misadventures, Heimo gradually learned how to master his terrain, provide for his Eskimo wife, and rear children in one of the most inhospitable environments in North America.

In this premiere edition of Far Out, we take a bush plane to the middle of nowhere, Alaska, to catch up with Heimo and his wife, Edna -- now reaching their golden years. Over the course of our ten-day stay, the Korths show us everything you need to know about fur-trapping, caribou-hunting, caribou-eating, river-crossing, boredom-staving, bear-avoidance, and bear-defense to live happily over 100 miles from the nearest neighbors. Vegans, you have been warned.

Watch Far Out - Heimo's Arctic Refuge  Part 1, Part 2

Delta special: SFO to OAK for $69?

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 03:26 PM PST

Nessssss
My friend Sean Ness received the above Delta Weekly Fare Specials email this morning. Note that one of the (erroneous?) specials is a $69 each-way fare from Oakland to San Francisco. That's a 31 mile trip airport to airport across the Bay Bridge, so perhaps it would actually be cheaper to fly than, say, take a taxi?

Share your ideas with even more government agencies

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:53 AM PST

chartclip.jpg

So remember how the EPA is taking suggestions from average citizens? Turns out, it's not just the EPA. I had a lovely chat with Anil Dash at AAAS, and he pointed me toward OpenGov Tracker—the multi-agency dashboard that allows you to share ideas with everybody from the NSF to the DOD, and vote on other people's ideas. Dash—who's working with the White House on this and other, similar projects—says that what's posted at OpenGov really is being read, and thought about, by the people in power.

NASA and Veterans Affairs are getting the most activity right now. Other agencies—like the Small Business Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Agency for International Development—are low on public input. Maybe you've got something to say?

OpenGov Tracker is taking your ideas for the next 23 days.

Exploded Bug poster by Peter Aschwanden

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:21 AM PST

201002231114

The late Peter Aschwanden was best known for his extremely detailed and humorous illustrations for John Muir's 1969 book, How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot. His cover illustration for The Septic System Owner's Manual almost makes me wish I had a septic tank.

At his website, you can order books, posters, and T-shirts. His "Exploded Bug" poster (above) is amazing!

Peter Aschwanden's web site

Self Righting Domino Sculpture

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:44 PM PST

What I find frustrating about domino toppling is its ephemeral nature. If only the dominoes could stand themselves up again, you could topple them over and over. Los Angeles artist Karl Lautman solved this problem a few years ago in his sculpture called Ouroborus.

I blogged last week about how microcontrollers like Arduino and Basic Stamp are changing the way sculptors use computers to create works. In Ouroborus, each domino is connected to a solenoid beneath it via a couple of polyester strands. When the domino falls over, it lifts the solenoid's plunger a bit. When the solenoid is energized (under microncontroller control), it pulls the plunger back down, yanking the domino back up. I've attached a drawing of the domino hardware. Complete build notes here (PDF)

Boring + Boring = Pleasant?!

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:46 AM PST

I've read that Aristotle taught his students while they walked around. It seemed to enhance learning and make the activity more enjoyable. The self-experimenter Seth Roberts has found that doing two boring things together -- walking on a treadmill and studying flash cards -- results in a pleasant experience.
Fact 1: For the last few weeks, I've been studying Chinese using a flashcard program called Anki. It's an excellent program but boring. I've never liked studying — maybe no one does. Fact 2: I've had a treadmill for a very long time. Walking on a treadmill is boring so I always combine it with something pleasant — like watching American Idol. That makes it bearable. I don't think listening to music would be enough.

Two days ago I discovered something that stunned me: Using Anki WHILE walking on my treadmill was enjoyable. I easily did it for an hour and the next day (yesterday) did it for an hour again. The time goes by quickly. Two boring activities, done together, became pleasant. Anki alone I can do maybe ten minutes. Treadmill alone I can do only a few minutes before I want to stop. In both cases I'd have to be pushed to do it at all. Yet the combination I want to do; 60 minutes feels like a good length of time.

His thoughts on why this might be so are really interesting:

The evolutionary reason for this might be to push people to walk in new places (which provide something to learn) rather than old places (which don't). To push them to explore. David Owen noticed it was much more fun  for both him and his small daughter to walk in the city than in the country. He was surprised. When I drive somewhere, and am not listening to a book or something, I prefer a new route over a familiar one. If I am listening to a book I prefer the familiar route because it makes it easier to understand the book.
Boring + Boring = Pleasant?!

How a duck, a Nazi and a themepark saved American color TV

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:05 AM PST

My latest Guardian column, "Ducks, Nazis and Disney: well, that's one way to get a TV transition," tells the unlikely story of how a duck based on a rehabilitated Nazi rocket-scientist helped create the American color TV transition in the sixties:

There was one source of ready-made colour material that could have gone out over the airwaves: Hollywood had been shooting feature films and accompanying short subjects in colour for decades and had amassed a prodigious back-catalogue of material that might have jumpstarted the colour TV transition.

There was another problem, though: the studios hated TV, feared it, and would like to have seen it dead and dusted. It was the competition.

Until Walt Disney decided to build Disneyland, that is. The Walt Disney Company came through the second world war as a publicly listed firm, and Walt spent the next decade chafing against shareholder control and squabbling about spending with his brother Roy, the adult in their partnership. When Roy refused to open the company coffers to him for the $17m he needed to embark on a mad scheme called Disneyland, the company instead raised millions by opening their vaults to ABC, a broadcaster.

Ducks, Nazis and Disney: well, that's one way to get a TV transition

Is your bathroom a cause of political radicalism?

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:25 PM PST

bathroom bolsheviks.jpgI've been in some pretty terrible public bathrooms, some of which made me want to do various things, but I can't say they really affected my politics. But back in the 1930s, it was apparent to major paper companies that the best way fight the Red Menace was by eliminating scratchy toilet paper, which is why this poster strikes me as interesting.
<--Try wiping your hands each day on harsh, cheap paper towels and maybe you too, would grumble.
(Personally, I'd prefer even cheap paper towels over electric dryers although the new Xcelerator models are fun because you can make gross noises when you hold your hands just so.)

Cartoon about Microsoft's giant tax gift from Washington State

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:03 AM PST


Jeff sez, "Inspired by Boing Boing post about Microsoft tax dodge, cartoonist RR Anderson takes on Washington's $100 million tax cut and tax amnesty for Microsoft." Broke-ass Washington State Set to Give Microsoft $100 Million Annual Tax Cut and Amnesty for $1 Billion in Tax Evasion (Thanks, Jeff!)
Previously:


HOWTO unlock your Nexus One and turn it into a 3G modem

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:37 AM PST

I've just successfully rooted and flashed two Nexus One phones, so I thought I'd write up the process and give you some guidance in case you're considering doing the same. Once you've rooted and flashed your Google Nexus One Android phone, you can use it as a "tether," sharing its network connection with your laptop and other devices. There are non-rooting ways of doing this, involving installing an app on your computer and a complementary app on your phone, but these seem clunky to me (on the other hand, these apps, such as Proxoid -- search the Android Market for it -- don't void your warranty, while unlocking your Nexus One does).

Mostly, I followed these instructions, which are very good, but assume a certain level of foreknowledge, and could have been better organized. I've adapted them to create the HOWTO below.

Some notes before we begin:

1. Once you install a jailbroken version of Android, there's a chance you will have you manually update your operating system in future, rather than receiving over-the-air updates from Google.

2. This process wipes your phone. You can back up most of your stuff to your SD card (more on that later), but not everything, and you'll have to spend some time getting everything back the way you like it

3. If you do this wrong, you will brick your phone, rendering it useless. And you will also void the warranty. Be warned.

4. I'm not an expert. This worked for me, it might not work for you. I followed several recipes around the net in order to derive these instructions, but I didn't write the underlying HOWTOs. For all I know, this is an incredibly stupid way of doing this (on the other hand, it worked twice).

OK, with that out of the way, let's start with some prep-work:

1. Back up your apps and data. I used MyBackupPro, which claims that it backs up all your apps and data to your SD. It costs $4.99 in the Market. It took about three minutes to do the backup, and about ten minutes to do the restore. There were some small flaws in the restore:
* Three of my apps (one paid, two free) were not reinstalled and had to be downloaded afresh from the Market
* The wallpaper was incorrectly set, and I had to re-set it by hand
* There was a scary warning that "too many contact deletions" had been requested. However, all my contacts are present on both the phone and in Gmail.

2. Download the necessary files:
* Fastboot is a program that is used to unlock your Android phone's bootloader. You can download it here (a ZIP archive, found here, containing apps for Linux, Mac and Windows). Download and unzip the program. In Linux and MacOS, you need to open a terminal, navigate to the directory containing the uncompressed files (for me, it was "cd ~/Desktop/fastboot") and then run "chmod +x fastboot*". I don't know much about Windows, but it looks like this step isn't necessary for Windows users.

* Download the recovery image (found here, and I recommend looking for yourself to see if the file has been updated since this post). After the file has downloaded, rename it "Recovery.img" and put it in the fastboot directory you created above.

* Download CyanogenMod-5 (found here, and I recommend looking for yourself to see if the file has been updated since this post). This is a new version of the Nexus One firmware. Download it, but do not unzip it. Instead, load it on a mini-SD card (you can use the card that's presently in your phone).

* Download Google AddOn (found here, and I recommend looking for yourself to see if the file has been updated since this post). This contains the Google Apps that ship with the phone (they are not included in CyanogenMod for legal reasons). Load this onto the same mini-SD that you put CyanogenMod on.

3. Unlock your bootloader
* Connect your phone to your computer with the USB cable
* On your Nexus One, go to Settings -> Applications -> Development and tick "USB debugging"
* Shut off your phone
* Holding down the trackball, press the power key. Keep the trackball depressed until you see a text-based menu with three skating androids below it
* Return to the terminal window that you used in step 2 (to run "chmod +x fastboot*"). Type "sudo ./fastboot-linux oem unlock" and enter your password (Mac users will type "sudo ./fastboot-mac oem unlock" -- sorry, I don't know what Windows users should do here). * Your phone will display a screen that informs you that you are about to void your warranty. If you want to go through with this, press Volume Up to select Yes, and then press the Power button to confirm

4. Install the new firmware and OS.
* Your phone will reboot. Skip past all the setup screens. Once you have the home screen, again go to Settings -> Applications -> Development and tick "USB debugging"
* Shut off your phone.
* Holding down the trackball, press the power key. Keep the trackball depressed until you see a text-based menu with three skating androids below it
* Return to the terminal window from step 3. Type "sudo ./fastboot-linux flash recovery Recovery.img" (Mac users will type "sudo ./fastboot-mac flash recovery Recovery.img" -- sorry, I don't know what Windows users should do here)
* A moment later, the command prompt will return to the terminal, indicating that the firmware has been flashed
* Press the power button once. The highlighted blue text should now say HBOOT. If that doesn't work, try holding the trackball and Volume Down buttons while you press the Power button
* Using the trackball, scroll down to "wipe" and press the trackball to select it and again to confirm. Wait until the wipe is complete
* Using the trackball, scroll down to "Flash zip from sdcard", and press the trackball
* Using the trackball, select the CyanogenMod update from the list; it will be a zip file that begins "update-cm". Press the trackball again to confirm. Wait until the flash is complete
* Scroll down to "Flash zip from sdcard", and press the trackball again
* Now select the Google Addon file; it will be a zip file that begins "gapps-passion", and press the trackball again to confirm. Wait until the flash is complete * Now use the the trackball select the first option (Reboot system now) and reboot the phone

5. Reinstall your data and apps
* Your phone will reboot into a factory-default-like setting. Set it up as normal, with your Google username and password. Once it is set up, return to the Market and download a fresh copy of MyBackupPro
* Once MyBackupPro is installed, recover your apps and then your data and reboot the phone again
* At this stage, my phone was more or less as it had been when I started. All told, the exercise took about 30 minutes. I then spent another five minutes recovering the apps that the backup missed

6. Tether your computer
* Connect your computer to your phone using the USB cable
* Go to Settings -> Wireless & networks and check off "Internet tethering"
* My laptop's OS (Ubuntu Linux Karmic Koala) immediately recognized that the phone was connected and supplying Internet access. It configured itself. I disconnected the power on my DSL router to ensure that the only place the network service could be coming from was the phone and confirmed that my browser, mailer and ssh all worked over its 3G connection. I don't know what's involved in getting this to work on the Mac or Windows.

Previously:


Truth: Common Power Point mistakes never change

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:35 AM PST

Judging by the film quality and clothing, this video with comedian Don McMillan was probably filmed at least a decade ago. Having spent all last week watching Power Point-enhanced (or, in some cases "enhanced") presentations, I can tell you that every, single, point (ha!) he makes is still relevant today.

Seriously. Scientists, I love you. But please get better Power Point skills.

(Thanks, Corinna Wu!)

Faking it for god

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:12 AM PST

Interesting, all-too-brief account of a family in Texas who fakes Christianity for social reasons. As agnostics, their children don't get play dates.



Spa day in a canine hyperbaric oxygen chamber

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 11:10 PM PST

rubyoxgthumb.jpg Ruby looks nervous. She sits upright on her bunny-like haunches, her fuzzy red ears point straight up in the air; her round black eyes stare straight at mine. The man in the black suit is cranking the dial on the adjacent control panel. 0.3...0.4... the numbers climb by the seconds as the atmospheric pressure inside the glass cylinder rises. The man tells me the optimal pressure for dogs is 1.2 atm, roughly what Ruby would have experienced as a fetus inside her mom's belly.

_MG_7447s.jpgPhoto courtesy of Tetsuya Miura


We're at Wag Style, a doggie day spa on the side street of a trendy Tokyo neighborhood. I've brought Ruby here to test out a canine hyperbaric oxygen chamber that I once blogged about. The technology is the same as that rumored to be used by athletes ranging from Lance Armstrong to Michael Vick — it sends concentrated amounts of oxygen to problem areas in higher atmospheric pressure, supposedly expediting the recovery process.


The science, predictably, is kind of fluffy. "Increasing oxygen tension above and beyond what is physiological can cause risks, like oxidative damage," says Dr. Richard Mailman, a pharmacology expert at Penn State. "The evidence that it works is totally anecdotal." Nonetheless, hyperbaric oxygen therapy centers are quite common these days, claiming to heal everything from skin tags to autism.


For dogs, hyperbaric oxygen chambers are supposed to have the aerobic benefit of two hours of exercise. Tsuyoshi Hirano, the man who owns Wag Style and invented the doggie oxygen chamber Ruby's sitting in, tells me stories of miracles that have happened under his watch — crippled dogs who recovered their youthful gait, wounds that healed within minutes, visible reversal of aging.


Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used to heal animals in America, too. "We thought we were drinking our own bathwater for awhile," says Kristen Johnson of Equine Hyperbarics, an organization that specializes in treating horses and other animals. "You can watch a horrible wound on a dog change in a few treatments. It's insane." Equine Hyperbarics has distributed 14 chambers nationwide that provide daily treatments to race horses at about $300-400 a session.


Wag Style has daycare, massages, haircuts, even hair extensions for those needing a little extra something. It sounds ridiculous, but pampering pets has become a pretty popular pastime in Japan. Judging from the look on Ruby's face, this is the last place she wants to be on this cold Monday afternoon. As I later discover from my own half hour session of oxgen therapy (at Wag Style, humans and dogs can get treated side by side), the first few minutes are quite uncomfortable — my ears are popping as if I was on an airplane, and the machine makes a whirring noise that would no doubt irritate a dog's keen sense of hearing. After a while, I enter a meditative state, though I'm not sure if it's due to the atmospheric pressure or the fact that I'm lying face up in a zipped-up compression tube with nothing else to do.


When Ruby and I emerge from our respective oxygen cells, she greets me happily and we prance out of Wag Style together. We both feel energized and happy, but I think that might have been more from relief than from the oxygen.



ACLU and EFF on school where spy-laptops were mandatory

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 07:44 AM PST

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union have joined the fray in Lower Merion, PA, where the local school district is being sued by a family whose son alleges that the school covertly photographed at home him using spyware they installed on all students' mandatory laptops. The ACLU has filed an amicus brief in support of the boy's family, and in this interview, EFF attorney Kevin Bankston discusses the law as it pertains to video wiretapping:
"There is no federal statute that criminalizes or creates civil liability for such secret videotaping unless it involves sound, because then it is an intercept of a verbal communication. So no one can plant a bug in your house without violating wiretapping law, but they can still plant a camera without violating federal wiretapping laws," he said. "That's something that congress should address particularly now that everyone potentially has a surreptitious video device staring them in the face when they're at their laptop."

Bankston also pointed out that one of the claims brought by the plaintiffs -- that the school district violated wiretapping laws -- is weak, because technically wiretapping involves intercepting communications that have already begun, not creating a connection to take video. However, that's not the only claim filed as the lawsuit and the court has many options at its disposal, including awarding damages.

"We filed the amicus brief to share our expertise in this area of constitutional law and to support the plaintiffs' efforts to make sure this surveillance stops immediately," Walczak said in a statement issued on the organization's Web site. Bankston concurred saying that EFF hopes that the lawsuit will serve as a warning to other institutions that are thinking of spying on the people they give laptop computers

ACLU and EFF Speak Out Against School Webcam Spying
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