The Latest from Boing Boing |  |
- Landing page for blocked sites in the UAE
- Bring back blimps!
- Malaria-carrying mosquitoes = Nature's frat boys?
- So about that deadly fungus...
- Does Earth Day matter?
- Some gadget reviews for you: Intuos 4 Wireless, Envy 13, MusicSkins
- Twitter is the history of the everyperson
- Have photo fun the corrosive chemical way!
- White robber wore lifelike black mask
- Win a 3D printer from Make and Makerbot
- Trenchant and graphic UK electoral commentary
- Icelandic woman plays ukulele to teach us how to pronounce Eyjafjallajokull
- Restore Stephen Baldwin by giving him your money
- Elham Al-Qasimi en route to become first Arab woman on solo mission to the North Pole
- Hand-painted lamps by Tim Biskup
- World's oldest cloned pig dies
- Contact lenses fix vision while you sleep
- Police encounter drunk woman bitten by parrot, yapping dogs, thrown inhaler, etc.
- Secret play room uses armoire as hidden doorway
- Evil Witch from Snow White added to Apple logo on back of iPad
- Android installed on iPhone
- The domestic disasters of As Seen on TV
- Hatetris: the meanest Tetris clone you've ever played
- Pink Floyd as chiptunes
- Los Angeles: Birdwatching with Star Trek stars
- Charity auction for Jeanne Robinson's cancer fund
- India's copyright bill gets it right
- Bronzemurder v. Oggez Rashas: a beautifully illustrated Dwarf Fortress tale
- Pokemonification of the US C-note
- Hitler's pissed off about fair use
| Landing page for blocked sites in the UAE Posted: 23 Apr 2010 02:02 AM PDT  This is the page you land on when you try to access Flickr, porn, or any other web sites that are banned in the UAE. |
| Posted: 22 Apr 2010 10:38 PM PDT The New York Times asked me and three other people the following question: "The Icelandic volcano that disrupted global air travel last week raised a concern: should we be thinking of alternative ways to move masses of people and goods?" My answer: bring back blimps (and dirigibles).
They even ran a photo of me piloting the Fujifilm blimp back in ought-four. |
| Malaria-carrying mosquitoes = Nature's frat boys? Posted: 22 Apr 2010 07:08 PM PDT It's hard to follow the bisexual killer fungus, but how about this: A new study suggests that Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes (the main carriers of malaria in Africa) are attracted to the smell of beer and prefer victims who've been drinking. Quote the Conclusions: "These results suggest that beer consumption is a risk factor for malaria." |
| So about that deadly fungus... Posted: 22 Apr 2010 06:55 PM PDT Look, I don't mean to freak y'all out. But we may have a little issue with some killer tropical fungus adapting to North American climates. Oh, and it might also be getting more virulent, apparently thanks to bisexual fungus hedonism. |
| Posted: 22 Apr 2010 06:43 PM PDT  Treehugger interviewed 22 eco-centric bloggers and activists for a "True Meaning of Christmas"-style round up, asking, "With all the commercialization and greenwashing, is Earth Day still important to people who actually care about the Earth?" The answers cover a nice range of opinion. I rather like journalist Alissa Walker's take:
OK, so that's a rather Utopian image. I certainly don't see all of America suddenly getting the day off for Earth Day any time soon. But the idea of returning to the holiday's very Maker-y, self-education beginnings is do-able, fun and actually productive. Gives me ideas for next year. Also, my 2 cents: Has Earth Day become a watered-down consumerbration for the non-activist masses? Yup. Is that necessarily a totally bad thing? I think not. Look, you can't do anything to change the way we treat this planet—and each other—on one day a year. But neither can you achieve that goal by keeping environmentalism cloistered away as something only for the truly dedicated who "do it right". Earth Day attracts corporate greenwashing and wasteful silliness, but it also attracts crowds. And some of them stick around for the other 364 days. Earth Day is partly responsible for the mainstreaming of environmentalism (which is good) and it continues to be partly responsible for further mainstreaming. This year, my mother—a nice, Conservative lady who lives in the Ozarks and thinks Glenn Beck is a hoot—is in the process of getting wind power installed on her land. She's using CFLs. She's got a rain barrel and she's concerned about energy efficiency. We can't make a difference without people like my mom on board. Earth Day plays a role in that. |
| Some gadget reviews for you: Intuos 4 Wireless, Envy 13, MusicSkins Posted: 22 Apr 2010 07:37 PM PDT  Intuos 4 Wireless graphics tablet There are two notable improvements here to Wacom's pro-grade graphics tablet. First, it's wireless, hooking up to computers via BlueTooth and recharging via USB. Secondly, the on-tablet buttons and controls are vastly improved on the third-gen models: there's a configurable iPod-like scrollwheel (draw circles to change brush size, zoom, rotation, or working layer) and eight buttons assignable to special commands. Tiny LCD displays indicate what each is set to do. The "Precision Mode" button, for example, slows tracking speed down while depressed--great for fine detail work in shoop. Also super is the menu system: hit an appropriately configured button, and a radial set of options appears around your pointer, offering common keyboard shortcuts, app switching and all that jazz. It (and its wired-only brethren) also looks much nice than earlier models. Black and clean-lined, it makes the utilitarian and space-filling nature of the device more tolerable to those who like minimal clutter on their deskspace. The pen holder comes with a bunch of differently-textured nibs, too, which is great. The benefit of the 16:9 surface ratio I felt, but the 2048 levels of sensitivity (double the Intuos 3's) I did not. Working wirelessly, its not as smooth or precise as when hooked up by USB. If you don't notice the difference between Bluetooth and wired mice, you won't notice this, either. But myself, I think I'd have been happier with a custom RF dongle, like Logitech and Microsoft use with decent wireless mice. The wired connection, however, is of course perfect. It never presented any technical woes, tested with a current-gen iMac, except when running out on battery power after a few hours' untethered use. One nit: with the default nib, the click occasionally stayed "down" even (like having a sticky left mouse button) after lifting the pen tip off the tablet. Changing sensitivity settings didn't seem to fix this, but switching to a different nib did. Product Page [Intuos] - Amazon 
Music Skin Product Page [Music Skins]
HP Envy 13 Unless you really want that high-def display, I can't recommend it over a 13" MBP (itself freshly upgraded and still cheaper, even when you add in a copy of Windows 7). But it's a close-run thing! Product Page [HP] |
| Twitter is the history of the everyperson Posted: 22 Apr 2010 04:16 PM PDT Twitter archives at the Library of Congress—along with the Internet, in general—will offer future historians a new way to write about the past, argues Slate's Christopher Beam. For the first time, we'll have the story of average people—rather than just the "Great Men" or the upper classes—recorded as it happens, by the people it happened to. Imagine how a perspective like that would change our understanding of Ancient Rome, or even early-20th century cooking. |
| Have photo fun the corrosive chemical way! Posted: 22 Apr 2010 03:28 PM PDT  I've been doing a daily photoblog project and have become a fan of Photojojo, a site with an infectiously enthusiastic attitude toward the act of shooting. Like Salt & Fat, the cooking blog I wrote about here a couple of days ago, Photojojo seeks to strip the mystery away from its subject, and to knock down the idea that its practitioners are a kind of priesthood average people can never hope to join. It accomplishes this partly through its newsletter and partly via its store, which sells a wide array of cool and useful tools. Case in point: Smoke drops. A touch of smoke can add mystery to an image, can add visual variety, can even help in constructing a narrative. But where does the average amateur go to get smoke that's dense and long-lasting enough to shoot? Italy, as it turns out. That's where Photojojo sources this useful set of chemical drops. Combine a squirt from Bottle A and a dash from Bottle B, and voila -- Smokiness. The site is also thoughtful enough to provide a FAQ, which includes the helpful advice that "The drops are quite corrosive," so as a general rule you don't want to get them mixed up with your contact lens solution. That caution aside, the drops provide a quick and easy way for any home shooter to add a touch of noir without burning his house down. |
| White robber wore lifelike black mask Posted: 22 Apr 2010 03:11 PM PDT  Alleged bank robber Conrad Zdzierak is said to have used a $650 mask called "The Player" to fool security cameras. Check out a video of the mask here. Investigators believe Zdzierak likely removed the mask between the robberies in order to confuse the cops who believed they were looking a black man. White robber nabbed wearing African-American 'Hollywood' mask (Via Steve Silberman) |
| Win a 3D printer from Make and Makerbot Posted: 22 Apr 2010 03:02 PM PDT Becky says: To celebrate (one last time) the success of our Desktop Manufacturing issue of MAKE, we've teamed up with the folks at MakerBot Industries. We're going to be giving away a CupCake CNC, in the first ever official MakerBot CupCake CNC giveaway and Thingiverse design challenge! One lucky 3D designer will win a Deluxe CupCake CNC kit for his/her contribution to Thingiverse, and five runners up will receive something special too!  Contest details here. |
| Trenchant and graphic UK electoral commentary Posted: 22 Apr 2010 02:44 PM PDT  Trenchant commentary on Rupert Murdoch's no-holds-barred blitz to get the Conservatives into office in the upcoming UK election. Posted by @_Jameslloyd to TwitPic. Vote Cameron...Get Murdoch (Thanks, Alice!) Previously: |
| Icelandic woman plays ukulele to teach us how to pronounce Eyjafjallajokull Posted: 22 Apr 2010 01:14 PM PDT Icelandic musician Eliza Geirsdottir Newman starts playing about two minutes in. (Thanks, Syd!) |
| Restore Stephen Baldwin by giving him your money Posted: 22 Apr 2010 01:09 PM PDT Here's a website asking you to give your money to Stephen Baldwin, who recently declared bankruptcy. The Stranger has more: According to the completely awesome website Restore Stephen Baldwin, Stephen Baldwin = Job. He has been forced into poverty by refusing to take acting roles he didn't like (just like Job!), and now it's up to the Christians of the world to save him so he can yell at people some more and still pay for soul-patch wax and pouting cream. According to the Q&A section of restorestephenbaldwin.org, "the site was built by SPX Studios, SPX is Stephen's and other celebrities outsourced internet design company." |
| Elham Al-Qasimi en route to become first Arab woman on solo mission to the North Pole Posted: 22 Apr 2010 01:09 PM PDT  This is Elham Al-Qasimi. She is a 26-year old from Dubai who is currently en route to the North Pole. Elham is on a solo mission to get there over three weeks on cross country skis — if successful, she will be the first Arab woman to do so. Her endeavor is a bit too aggressively sponsored for my liking (every other photo of her seems to show the brand name of her skis, her gloves, her Land Rover beanie) but I am nonetheless rooting for her success, and excited to see a local hero defy traditional female roles to do something totally empowering and out of the box. You can track her progress via her journal; she's also @polarbent on Twitter. |
| Hand-painted lamps by Tim Biskup Posted: 22 Apr 2010 12:04 PM PDT  Janet of Poketo says: "We have an art show coming up this Saturday, April 24. It is called 'Los Angeles, I'm Yours' and the concept is a living art market -- we have invited artists to take found and vintage objects and reinterpret them. Tim Biskup has done a pair of amazing hand painted lamps for Poketo and the show!" "Los Angeles, I'm Yours" will create the same joy of the hunt and sensory overload experienced every month at Los Angeles' famed Rose Bowl outdoor market. Found objects are given new life as an impressive roster of artists will reinterpret and exhibit pieces ranging from vintage glass ware, old vinyl records, antique lamps, and odd knick knacks. Imagine these vintage finds, drawn on, painted on, and manipulated by the artists into a new form."Los Angeles, I'm Yours" A Poketo + Kitsune Noir Market, April 24 |
| World's oldest cloned pig dies Posted: 22 Apr 2010 12:04 PM PDT Xena, the oldest living cloned pig in the world, was euthanized at the age of 9 years and 8 months after becoming unable to stand on her own. The average lifespan of a pig is 10-15 years, and researchers at the institute in Tsukuba that cloned her claim she died of natural causes. |
| Contact lenses fix vision while you sleep Posted: 22 Apr 2010 11:58 AM PDT A Spanish optometrist has invented a type of contact lens that fixes farsightedness while you sleep. |
| Police encounter drunk woman bitten by parrot, yapping dogs, thrown inhaler, etc. Posted: 22 Apr 2010 11:54 AM PDT Police in Middletown, Ohio responded to a domestic disturbance call last Friday only to find Janice McCoy-Nuttle, 49, drunk on a bed with "one large white parrot... standing on her forehead, biting her in the face. There was another smaller bird on her chest." According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, "This was in addition to as many as 10 cages with other birds, all of them squawking and causing (six small) dogs to bark. The woman appeared to be so intoxicated, (Sgt. Steve) Ream said, 'that she could not remove the bird off her face.'" After the police arrived, the woman, flipped out, throwing an inhaler at her husband, kicking at the windows of the squad car, and generally causing quite a ruckus. Where is COPS when you need them. "Parrot bites woman, and she throws inhaler" (Thanks, Rick Pescovitz!) |
| Secret play room uses armoire as hidden doorway Posted: 22 Apr 2010 11:33 AM PDT   Via Apartment Therapy: "The home's owner found the old armoire secondhand. He then hired a woodworker to take out the back and install it up against a doorway into his children's play room. The result is a simple-enough-looking armoire that opens to a hidden room of magic and play." It was designed and built by Maple Seed Renovation in Portland, Oregon. |
| Evil Witch from Snow White added to Apple logo on back of iPad Posted: 22 Apr 2010 11:16 AM PDT  I want this laser-etched on the back of my iPad. |
| Posted: 22 Apr 2010 10:49 AM PDT iPhone hacker Planetbeing of Dev-Team reports installing Android OS on an iPhone: "Android is in control," he says on the demo video. I've been working on this quietly in the background. ... Hopefully with all this groundwork laid out, we can make Android a real alternative or supplement for iPhone users. Maybe we can finally get Flash. ;)It's in alpha, however, which means you don't get to install Android OS on an iPhone--unless you're very adventurous indeed. Linux on the iPhone via App Advice |
| The domestic disasters of As Seen on TV Posted: 22 Apr 2010 10:10 AM PDT I've fallen into YouTube and I can't get back up. |
| Hatetris: the meanest Tetris clone you've ever played Posted: 21 Apr 2010 06:42 PM PDT  Sure, Achewood and xkcd have joked about it, but it took the sadism of Sam Hughes to make Hatetris -- a one-off Tetris clone that spits out the statistically worst possible piece with every move -- a reality. As it damn well would, it starts with a ton of 'S' blocks -- the bane of every Tetris champ -- but just as you learn patterns to cope with that, it throws something more unmanageable your way. Hughes has added a replay feature which allows you to view skillful runs -- here meaning those that score over 10 cleared lines -- by other players. Hughes himself has only managed a top score of 5. My own is 3. It really is mean. Hatetris [Sam Hughes] Previously: |
| Posted: 22 Apr 2010 10:28 AM PDT  "Have you ever wondered what Dark Side of the Moon would sound like if Pink Floyd had written it for NES, instead of for a rock band?" Vidgame programmer and musician Brad Smith did, so he created a chiptune version of the entire album. MOON8 |
| Los Angeles: Birdwatching with Star Trek stars Posted: 22 Apr 2010 01:33 PM PDT   My sister-in-law Mary Loquvam is organizing a fantastically geeky fundraiser for the Los Angeles Audubon Society involving bird watching and, er, Star Trek. To celebrate LA Audubon's 100th anniversary, the group is hosting a week-long "Bird A Thon" where you can sign up on a team to visit hot birding spots in the area with an experienced birder. The teams will compete to see who can spot the most species. Mary is pals with John Billingsley of Star Trek: Enterprise and he kindly gathered some of his Trek friends to form the Bald(ing) Eagles of Star Trek Team. For a $150 donation to Audubon, 30 people will spend the afternoon birding with Billingsley, Armin Shimerman (ST: Deep Space Nine), Robert Picardo (ST: Voyager), and Ethan Phillips (ST: Voyager), eating a catered lunch, and then celebrating at the LA Audubon's Centennial bash. The deadline to reserve a spot is May 1. (The bird above is a Solitary Sandpiper.) Bald(ing) Eagles of Star Trek, Special Birdathon 2010 Team Invitation |
| Charity auction for Jeanne Robinson's cancer fund Posted: 22 Apr 2010 08:38 AM PDT  Brian sez, "Talk show podcast Sci Fi Saturday Night is helping to raise funds on behalf of author Spider Robinson's wife Jeanne, who is battling cancer and needs assistance with her medical costs. On Saturday May 8th, Sci Fi Saturday Night will have a special benefit episode starting at 8pm eastern time featuring Spider Robinson, during which several pieces of original artwork will be auctioned off on eBay. Among the many artists donating to the auction are Mike Mignola, Sergio Aragones, Joe Michael Linsner, Ben Templesmith, Mike Lilly, Bob Almond and Frankie B. Washington; several more have contributed original artwork, signed prints, and limited-edition comics. Currently, donations for Jeanne Robinson can be made . Please visit www.scifisaturdaynight.com to see scans of the auction items. Help Jeanne Robinson win her battle against cancer!" Charity Auction for Jeanne Robinson (Thanks, Brian!) Previously: |
| India's copyright bill gets it right Posted: 22 Apr 2010 07:09 AM PDT India's new copyright bill sounds like a pretty good piece of work: it declares private, personal copying to be "fair dealing" (like US fair use) and limits the prohibition on breaking DRM so that it's only illegal to do so if you're also violating copyright. That means that you can break the DRM on your iPad to move your books to your Kindle or vice-versa. It also makes it legal to make, distribute and sell tools to accomplish this. |
| Bronzemurder v. Oggez Rashas: a beautifully illustrated Dwarf Fortress tale Posted: 21 Apr 2010 06:48 PM PDT  Someday, maybe, by some manner of communal Herculean effort, we will find a way to take the peerlessly rich/complex but almost entirely unapproachable game Dwarf Fortress and match it with a style as gorgeous as Tim Denee's illustrations above. The image is part of a children's book style retelling of one of Denee's in-game travails, whereby a newly founded fortress had everything it needed to thrive but its water pump switch flipped. Unfortunately, legendary beast 'Oggez Rashas' rested directly on top of that switch. The story's enough to make me want to have my tenth or so go at getting my feet wet in the game, as terrifyingly dense as it is. My hope is that Mike Mayday's recently updated graphical edition, available here, helps ease me in. |
| Pokemonification of the US C-note Posted: 22 Apr 2010 06:58 AM PDT Check out the description of the security features on the new US $100 bill: it really sounds like the deluxe bonus card in a pack of bubblegum cards: Government goes high-tech to redesign $100 bills (via /.) (Image: H23 BB00934850 * ...my $100 'star note', a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from gi's photostream) |
| Hitler's pissed off about fair use Posted: 22 Apr 2010 06:49 AM PDT Hitler's back and he's pissed to discover that parodies of the bunker scene from Downfall have been removed without regard to the fair use provisions of US copyright law. Hitler reacts to the Hitler parodies being removed from YouTube (Thanks, Nathan and everyone else who suggested this!) Previously:
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Benjamin Franklin is still on the C-note. But he has been joined by a disappearing Liberty Bell in an inkwell and a bright blue security ribbon composed of thousands of tiny lenses that magnify objects in mysterious ways. Move the bill, and the objects move in a different direction... | You are subscribed to email updates from Boing Boing To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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