The Latest from Boing Boing

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• Quake III for Android
• Nikola Tesla's letterhead, slathered in awesome lightningsauce
• Juggalo News, from the Insane Clown Posse dimension
• RIP, Hummer
• Dirty font is an ode to the letter "F"
• HackBook Air
• A very fine mouse-pad: $10,000. Plus shipping.
• Cassini: Trip Reset
• Typographical mohawk
• Mighty Boosh live chat, Thu. 25, 1pm ET/6PM GMT
• Crowdsourcing the Physics of the Backdraft Cocktail
• The Invincible Kung Fu Legs
• May this stylish purse be full of nutritious potatoes
• Whistleblower site Cryptome.org shut down by Microsoft over leaked surveillance doc
• Conan's on Twitter (don't tell Leno, he might take that away, too)
• Get a P8TCH at the Boing Boing Bazaar
• Yoo announces himself as gift to Obama administration
• Ready Fire Aim: New Works by Shawn Wolfe
• Furniture with partial humans supporting it
• Custom keypunch plates for sale
• Vice-principal denies using laptop to spy on student
• Mark Ryden's Snow Yak postcard set
• From Gameboy to Armageddon: radio documentary
• Yelp hit with class action law suit alleging "extortion scheme"
• Drug informant busted with drugs
• TWENTYWONDER - cool event to benefit people born with Down syndrome
• Global Lives Project video installation
• Popper's got a brand new bag: gypsy space-jive from "Look Around You" funnyman
• A comparison of banjo ukes
• IP Alliance says that encouraging free/open source makes you an enemy of the USA

Quake III for Android Posted: 25 Feb 2010 01:11 AM PST Holy awesome, Quake 3 for Android! Did I mention that my wife is an internationally ranked Quake champ (seriously, she played on the first UK team)? I think I just lost my spouse for a week. (via /.)

Nikola Tesla's letterhead, slathered in awesome lightningsauce Posted: 24 Feb 2010 10:48 PM PST (Thanks, Marilyn!)

Juggalo News, from the Insane Clown Posse dimension Posted: 24 Feb 2010 10:38 PM PST Juggalo News is a newscast from an alternate universe in which Insane Clown Posse fans are the mainstream and rule the world. You know what, before this newscast, I would have called that hell on Earth, but now I feel a curious longing for it. The boundless capacity of Juggalos to form portmanteaux using cuss-words, such as "Thugnuts," "Murderbitch" and "Herculeez B Pussyfiend" is unexpectedly and enduringly funny. Juggalo News (via JWZ)

RIP, Hummer Posted: 24 Feb 2010 10:37 PM PST Having failed to sell the Hummer brand off to a Chinese car manufacturer, GM is shutting it down. This car was like the high-fructose corn syrup of automobiles, something that concentrated everything bad about motoring until it underwent a phase-change and somehow became an object of desire. "We have since considered a number of possibilities for Hummer along the way and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," said John Smith, GM's vice-president of corporate planning and alliances. "GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner." Hummer brand to be wound down after sale fails (via Memex 1.1) (Image: Hummer limousine, a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike image from Franco Folini's photostream) Previously: Hummer H2 finger flipping photo gallery - Boing Boing Combat Hummer Limos enter Air Force war games - Boing Boing Hummer laptop - Boing Boing Back seat to the Hummer - Boing Boing Hummer wheel ad on Craigslist featuring a crack smoker - Boing Boing Boing Boing: Styrofoam Hummer

Dirty font is an ode to the letter "F" Posted: 24 Feb 2010 10:25 PM PST Alex Merto's Effing Typeface is a set of big, friendly letters made from very naughty and anatomically suggestive bits. It was produced as an ode to the letter F. Effing Typeface Previously: Boing Boing: Can you copyright a typeface? BB readers debate. Dyslexia-friendly typeface - Boing Boing Typeface brought to life - Boing Boing Boing Boing: Campaign to ban Comic Sans typeface New roadsign font not in public domain - Boing Boing An open letter to James Cameron from Papyrus Boing Boing

HackBook Air Posted: 24 Feb 2010 10:27 PM PST Forget bulky netbooks: Gino Punsalan's worked out how to make a HackBook Air that lacks only the mic and multitouch gestures. [Shanzai]

A very fine mouse-pad: $10,000. Plus shipping. Posted: 25 Feb 2010 01:28 AM PST Reuben sez, "I went shopping on Amazon.com for a new mouse pad and I could not believe what I found. The answer to all of my portable mousing surface needs is only $9,999.00 plus $6.44 shipping. Too bad I did not get in on this when it only cost $12.99. Now I will have to get another mortgage to afford it." Belkin F5L008-GRY Mouse Trap Mouse Pad (Thanks, Reuben!)

Cassini: Trip Reset Posted: 24 Feb 2010 10:41 PM PST In 1997, we aimed a rocket towards Saturn and sent a 13-foot-wide satellite off on a mission to explore the strange worlds in our own (relative) backyard. This month, NASA announced plans to extend the Cassini space probe's Saturn sojourn until 2017--nine years longer than its original end date of 2008. Why, exactly, does Cassini need those extra years? "Cassini: Trip Reset," a Boing Boing special feature

Typographical mohawk Posted: 24 Feb 2010 09:09 PM PST The letters spell "TYPOSEXUAL." Oded Ezer says, "A humble homage to the British '70-'80s Punk movement: the Typo-mohawk, worn during my talk last Friday at the London College of Communication. Photo: Casper Chan." More image sizes.

Mighty Boosh live chat, Thu. 25, 1pm ET/6PM GMT Posted: 24 Feb 2010 08:37 PM PST Boing Boing pal Eddie Codel (who's now with Ustream) says, "Knowing your love for all things Mighty Boosh, I thought I'd let you know that Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt are doing a live video web chat Thursday morning to promote the release of the Mighty Decider iPhone crack/toy/game/timewaster app, created in part by Doctor Popular. The insanity begins at 10AM PST / 6PM GMT.

Crowdsourcing the Physics of the Backdraft Cocktail Posted: 24 Feb 2010 06:43 PM PST As may be apparent from my earlier posts, I'm interested in "dangerous" foods and drink and playing with fire. This week, I've come across this flaming cocktail idea called "The Backdraft." Here's a bloke from New Zealand or Australia (I think) drinking one. The recipe, abridged from Wikipedia is as follows A saucer is placed on a counter or table. A shot glass is placed in the center of the saucer, filled with Sambuca A pint glass is filled with 1 - 2 shots of Cointreau. Swirl this in the glass to coat the sides The Cointreau is lit and allowed to burn until the sides of the glass become warm to the touch The lit Cointreau is poured into the shot glass, igniting the Sambuca. The pint glass is lowered over the flaming liquid. As the atmosphere cools inside the pint glass it will try to suck the alcohol on the outside back into the upside down pint glass. This backdraft effect is the origin of the drink's name. The glass is removed and a straw is used to suck up the alcohol from the saucer and shot glass. That seems a relatively straightforward preparation of a drink only a bit less goofy than a Flaming Moe. But I'm trying to understand the physics of the Backdraft. What causes the vacuum in the upside down pint glass? The Wikipedia explanation follows, but I'm not sure it's correct. Backdraft physics follows Once a gas has been warmed up, it tends to expand to fill a volume. It will replace other gases and expand due to its heat content. If this is done in an enclosed sealed space, and then the heat is taken away, as the gases cool, they condense, and decrease in volume, and create a vacuum. Thus when the flaming alcohol in a backdraft is covered with a pint glass over a saucer, the air (a heavier gas) is replaced with warm alcohol vapour (lighter gas)and warm air. As the remaining oxygen is used up, the fire in the pint glass goes out, and the heat source goes away. The alcohol vapor/air mixture now in the glass cools and begins to create a vacuum. This vacuum is responsible for sucking any liquid at the outside bottom of the pint glass further inside (as the seal of the glass and the saucer is not perfect). Once the majority of the liquid is inside the upside down pint glass, sometimes further oxygen can be seen to bubble up into the glass. At some point an equilibrium will occur, where the internal vacuum will hold the liquid inside the glass. This can be great enough at times, that the glass can be lifted, and the saucer will remain stuck to its underside. When the pint glass is removed, ice is immediately added, thus causing the condensation of the alcohol vapour, creating a white mist in the glass. By covering the glass with the hand, this vapour is trapped until it is extracted by the process of inhalation, usually through a straw.

The Invincible Kung Fu Legs Posted: 24 Feb 2010 06:18 PM PST Spotted in the dregs of YouTube, this spectacular opening sequence from a classic schlock-fu film. I love the opening credits. Stay with it through the vry srs bizness American-English VO around 1:30. I know this stuff is all over YouTube, and has been for some time, but I thought this one was a particularly fun specimen. Video: The Invincible Kung Fu Legs, part 1. The uploader has shared a number of other goodies from this same genre, including 8 other clips from that same film.

May this stylish purse be full of nutritious potatoes Posted: 24 Feb 2010 05:40 PM PST "How can this skinny model carry a handbag'? That's what my wife said to me after looking at her arm," says Boing Boing reader Alan Graham, who sent us this image he received in a promotional email from Coach.com. "I hope her bag is full of food."

Whistleblower site Cryptome.org shut down by Microsoft over leaked surveillance doc Posted: 24 Feb 2010 05:20 PM PST John Young and Deborah Natsios' whistleblower archive Cryptome has long been a thorn in the flesh of US government agencies. But if my memory serves correctly, none of them ever managed to do what Microsoft did today: shut the site down. Network Solutions shut off the lights in response to a DMCA notice, after Cryptome published a 22-page Microsoft document outlining how the company stores private user data in its web-connected servers. The document also explains how government agencies can access that personal data. More at Wired News, and you can download the disputed PDF here. More at ReadWriteWeb, with comments from the EFF. [ Photo: John Young of Cryptome, shot by Declan McCullagh, NYC, 2001.] Previously: Boing Boing: Cryptome founder John Young profiled in Radar ABC News story on Cryptome.org Cryptome: Eyeballing Katrina Cryptome gallery of Bush Bulge pics

Conan's on Twitter (don't tell Leno, he might take that away, too) Posted: 24 Feb 2010 04:49 PM PST "Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me."— Conan O'Brien, newly minted Twitter user. His bio reads, "I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account."

Get a P8TCH at the Boing Boing Bazaar Posted: 24 Feb 2010 03:25 PM PST New at the Boing Boing Bazaar! Attach a P8TCH to your tunic, jerkin, breeches, or panatloons! People can take photos of the unique QRcode with their smart phones and get redirected to your website. Isn't that much easier than handing out a business card? For $24.95, the buyer gets a 2x4-inch, velcro-backed commando patch with a cryptic design, and a unique QRcode.  Not "unique" as in "remarkable", but rather "unique" as in "each patch is different from every other".  Each patch has a short URL embedded on it that is controlled by the owner. You can choose to send it to your RSS feed, a PayPal donation page, or a YouTube video of last week's comedically inept attempt to sled down a hill. Since you control the unique QRcode, you can put the code on other crafts, and it will work the same way as your patch.  That's something you can't do with other link-shortening services. They (for good reason) won't let you change the target of a link after you've created it. Here, the power is ALL YOURS, for good... or for AWESOME. P8TCH: velcro-backed commando QRcode Previously: Miniboss T-shirt in the Boing Boing Bazaar Hine's felt camera cases in the Boing Boing Bazaar Boing Boing Hollow spy coins for all your micro-smuggling needs Boing Boing Knitted frog dissection

Yoo announces himself as gift to Obama administration Posted: 24 Feb 2010 02:43 PM PST John Yoo, the Bush administration lawyer responsible for justifying 'enhanced interrogation techniques,' launches a counter-attack on the agency that subsequently investigated him. His criticism of the Justice Department's bias and incompetence may convince, but it demonstrates well the problem with Yoo. No matter how strenuously he points out that his clever legal rationalization of torture was not professional misconduct, it doesn't address the question of how moral it was. The public knows the law can be gamed; and yet Yoo seems to have no idea why he is so loathed. [WSJ]

Ready Fire Aim: New Works by Shawn Wolfe Posted: 24 Feb 2010 01:57 PM PST My pal and bOING bOING illustrator Shawn Wolfe is having one of his first solo shows in a while. I love his work. Ready Fire Aim: New Works by Shawn Wolfe Opening Reception: Friday, February 26th, 6-10pm SUBTEXT GALLERY : 2479 KETTNER BLVD. SAN DIEGO, CA 92101 : 619-546-8800 Subtext's second show in 2010 marks Shawn Wolfe's first solo exhibition in San Diego. Wolfe is a multi-talented artist, designer and illustrator from Seattle, Washington whose work has taken the form of paintings, sculptures, screen prints, t-shirts and everything in between. His works are self described as, "ponderous, playful, and pointless". The show will mark the "initial public offering" of Wolfe's "brand new new brand" GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCTS™ (pictured).

Furniture with partial humans supporting it Posted: 24 Feb 2010 01:22 PM PST SAMALdesign knows that nothing says "evil emperor" like furniture that appears to be made from the petrified bodies of performance athletes, hence the "Human furniture collection." Seriously, I love this bookcase. SAMALdesign: Human furniture collection:collection (via Cribcandy) Previously: Sofa/bookcase - Boing Boing Cardboard bookcases - Boing Boing Lovely curved bookcases - Boing Boing Boing Boing: HOWTO build a secret bookcase door Fake bookcase wallpaper - Boing Boing Bookcase with built-in seat - Boing Boing Bookcase from beyond the Singularity - Boing Boing Boing Boing: Vertical bookcase -- stable, ceiling-high stack of books

Custom keypunch plates for sale Posted: 24 Feb 2010 01:20 PM PST eBay seller Surplusdealdude has a treasure-trove of magnificent customized keypunch card plates for sale. My mom helped put herself through university as a keypunch operator -- these things were the stuff of family legend when I was growing up. The Great Industrial Garage Sale (via Making Light)

Vice-principal denies using laptop to spy on student Posted: 24 Feb 2010 01:02 PM PST Lindy Matsko, the Harriton High School assistant vice principal named in Blake J. Robbins vs. Lower Merion School District as the school official who showed a student a photo taken covertly by his laptop's webcam during a disciplinary meeting, has strenuously denied that she ever spied on students using their laptops. She did not say whether the photo was captured covertly with Robbins's webcam. Though Matsko did not say whether or not she used photos taken from Robbins' webcam for disciplinary reasons-- the incident which sparked the chain of events leading to the class action suit, she said she looks forward to the day that she can respond to the allegations without pending legal action getting in the way. "I find the allegations and implications that I have or ever would engage in such conduct to be offensive, abhorrent, and outrageous," said Matsko. Principal Accused in "WebcamGate": I'm No Spy (Thanks, hotdoughnutsnow!) (Image: NBC) Previously: FBI investigating Lower Merion School District over laptop spying ... School spying: infected laptops mandatory, jailbreaking grounds ... School used student laptop webcams to spy on them at school and ... Laptop surveillance kid was disciplined when spying authorities ...

Mark Ryden's Snow Yak postcard set Posted: 24 Feb 2010 02:52 PM PST Last summer, I posted about Mark Ryden's wonderful and inexpensive Tree Show postcard set. The follow up, "The Snow Yak Show Microportfolio," is even more delightful in my opinion because the art is from his Tokyo show last year which included some of my favorite Ryden paintings ever. This $12 set contains 17 postcards that, like the Tree Show set, would look terrific all framed and hung on a single wall. The Snow Yak Show Microportfolio (Amazon)

From Gameboy to Armageddon: radio documentary Posted: 24 Feb 2010 12:04 PM PST My friend Ken Hollings, author of Welcome to Mars: Fantasies of Science in the American Century, 1947-1959, just produced a terrific radio documentary for BBC Radio 3 about war games, immersive simulations, and the "military-entertainment complex." From the description of the program, titled "From Gameboy to Armageddon": Men have always played at and with soldiers. Gaming has been an essential part of warfare and by the 19th Century it had been developed into the sophisticated "Kriegspiel", derived from the still influential theories of Von Clausewitz and played at military colleges in both Europe and America. These war games then became real games for table-top strategists by the early 20th Century. A remarkable synergy developed between colleges of war and devisers of such games, particularly in America. And in the think tanks of the RAND Corp gaming theory was used intensively to plot the future of war and nuclear destruction. But from the late 1970s computer strategy games started to form a powerful loop between gamers and warriors. With the creation of the SIMNET, the military began to develop hugely powerful simulators and now convergence is taking place between military and the entertainment industry. Some say we are living in what Stanford Professor Tim Lenoir has called 'the military entertainment complex', with military functions increasingly taking place online, using simulation for training and in the treatment of soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. But is this new realm of war truly a revolution - the shape of things to come - or just more virtual bangs for real bucks? From Gameboy to Armageddon Previously: Ken Hollings: Welcome To Mars radio series Philip K. Dick radio program by Ken Hollings Ken Hollings: Radio documentary on RAND Corporation

Yelp hit with class action law suit alleging "extortion scheme" Posted: 24 Feb 2010 11:43 AM PST TechCrunch reports that the review network Yelp is the subject of a class-action lawsuit alleging it amounts to an "extortion scheme" for companies who receive negative reviews and are invited to pay to make those reviews go away.

Drug informant busted with drugs Posted: 24 Feb 2010 12:22 PM PST Cincinnatian Gerald Craig, 26, was about to hit the streets as a drug informant for the Cincinnati police when the cops patted him down before he left the station. Not sure why they searched him, but they found 19 pills of Ecstasy in his pocket. Maybe he was just trying to blend in? (Thanks, Charles Pescovitz!) UPDATE: Searching the informant prior to a "controlled buy" is apparently standard practice. (Thanks, Bill Roehl!)

TWENTYWONDER - cool event to benefit people born with Down syndrome Posted: 24 Feb 2010 11:36 AM PST I had dinner with Jim Hodgson a couple of years ago. About a month ago we coincidentally sat together on a plane. He's a very interesting guy (his brother is the creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and they have worked together on other projects) and he has a kid with Down syndrome. He is organizing what promises to be a terrific event filled with surprises. It's called TWENTYWONDER and will benefit people born with Down syndrome: TWENTYWONDER is ALIVE!   At once a celebration of 21st Century creativity and an event to enhance the welfare of people born with Down syndrome (Trisomy 21), TWENTYWONDER will gather rarities and marvels of the cultural collective together for an unprecedented One Night World's Fair--a bursting expo of the unusual and unforeseen!    Fans of TWENTYWONDER's predecessor, SuperBalls 1-8, will recall summer nights when they perhaps witnessed Paul Fieg's classic interview with Will Wright's autonomous robot, or the detonation of The Atomic Reaction Simulator, or the spectacle of the original 1933 King Kong armature...where they perhaps bumped into the Flight of The Concorde guys, or Paul Reubens, or a gang of The Simpsons writers among the bedazzled crowds.   On Saturday, March 6, TWENTYWONDER debuts a brand new adventure in cultural fusion, combining such singular ingredients as: Cinematic Titanic (featuring the creator and original cast of MST3K), Sarah Silverman, a mega RockBand/Harmonix apparatus, Dana Gould, short films from Funny or Die, Grant Lee Phillips, The Amaze-Ment!!!, the Batmobile, and more!  In the end, the greatest marvel of TWENTYWONDER might just be the simple alchemy of human beings gathered together in creativity, curiosity, joy, and wonder.   Date: Saturday, March 6th, 2010 Time: 6 p.m. to Midnight Location: Culver City, CA   A minimum donation of $50 (per person) grants you entrance to the event, and helps fund important programs that benefit those born with Down syndrome living in the Greater Los Angeles area.   Learn more and buy tickets here

Global Lives Project video installation Posted: 24 Feb 2010 11:45 AM PST The Global Lives Project is a volunteer effort to create an online video library of human life experiences from around the world. My Institute for the Future colleague David Harris launched the project to "record 24 hours in the lives of ten people that roughly represent the diversity our planet's population," and it's grown in scope from there. (I interviewed David about Global Lives last summer for GOOD magazine.) This Friday is the world premier of the Global Lives immersive video installation at San Francisco, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The opening party (free with RSVP) is 7:30 - 11:30pm and will feature DJs, TCHO Chocolate, and a cash bar. Global Lives Project at YBCA

Popper's got a brand new bag: gypsy space-jive from "Look Around You" funnyman Posted: 24 Feb 2010 06:09 PM PST Comedian and writer Robert Popper has even more talent than I realized. Below, dig this upbeat Django-esque jig composed and performed with his collaborator Justin Spooner. The track previewed here is called "Chase." That's why there's a photo of a slug in this blog post. I love the tune. More about the project here. Also, here's more work from Spooner. Chase by Robert Popper and Justin Spooner

A comparison of banjo ukes Posted: 24 Feb 2010 10:56 AM PST Amy Crehore sent me this video of a fellow demonstrating the unique sounds of his four vintage banjo ukes. I love the sound and his strumming style. Matthew J Richards Plays His Banjo Ukes

IP Alliance says that encouraging free/open source makes you an enemy of the USA Posted: 24 Feb 2010 10:36 AM PST The US-based International Intellectual Property Alliance has asked the US Trade Rep to add Indonesia to its list of rogue nations that don't respect copyright. What did Indonesia do to warrant inclusion on this "301 list"? Its government had the temerity to advise its ministries to give preference to free/open source software because it will cost less and reduce the use of pirated proprietary software in government. According to the IPA, this movement to reduce copyright infringement is actually bad for copyright, because "it fails to build respect for intellectual property rights and also limits the ability of government or public-sector customers (e.g., State-owned enterprise) to choose the best solutions." This is like crack dealers campaigning against having a laugh with friends because happiness reduces the need for intoxicants. This is like... well, it's like a bunch of fat-cat scumbags behaving so shamefully that you want to smack them. Let's forget that the statement ignores the fact that there are plenty of businesses built on the OSS model (RedHat, Wordpress, Canonical for starters). But beyond that, it seems astonishing to me that anyone should imply that simply recommending open source products - products that can be more easily tailored without infringing licensing rules - "undermines" anything. In fact, IP enforcement is often even more strict in the open source community, and those who infringe licenses or fail to give appropriate credit are often pilloried. If you're looking at this agog, you should be. It's ludicrous. But the IIPA and USTR have form here: in recent years they have put Canada on the priority watchlist. When using open source makes you an enemy of the state Previously: Boing Boing: Take the copyright industry golfing Boing Boing: Hollywood's Canadian politician: history of a sellout US Trade Rep wants your input on ACTA Boing Boing 21 ways in which Canada's copyright law is stronger than US ... ACTA "internet enforcement" chapter leaks Boing Boing

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