The Latest from Boing Boing

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• Color perception among XKCD readers
• Enormous, fetishistically annotated hand-drawn map of London
• Rupert Murdoch dabbles in Socialist Realism
• Turn a Super Boy spray into a Super Girl spray
• Terry Pratchett: Doctor Who isn't science fiction
• Dot-to-dot wallpaper
• Composite hero/villain masks made from bits of multiple iconic characters' costumes
• Skin-tone-matched hospital gowns make it easy to spot color-shifts
• Space Invaders propaganda poster
• HOWTO live out of your car
• Warning stickers for the Daily Mail
• The Deepwater Horizon disaster for visual learners
• Dinner Dancing with Frank Pacholski
• Collapsible fabric Yagi antenna
• Giant auction of mid-century magazine illustration in Beverly Hills
• The elements of videogames, illustrated
• Dr. Jack Kevorkian's oil paintings
• BP tries to get Louisiana fishermen to sign indemnification waivers
• Infographic: Facebook's "anti-privacy monopoly"
• Darwin's Beetle goes in search of a mate
• Tim and Eric: The Tairy Greene Machine
• 8-bit PSA: D-Pad Hero 2 set for May 16th release
• Bumpology: The science of pregnancy
• Photographer who documented LA graffiti artists faces felony charges
• Easy reader: Save in-depth journalism to read for later
• SpinFlyer desktop wing toy in Boing Boing Bazaar
• Holiday in Jonestown
• Switching Thumbs animated gif
• Fun with a bank's secret questions and answers
• Chair made from Coney Island wood slabs

Color perception among XKCD readers Posted: 04 May 2010 04:58 AM PDT Randall Munroe subjected readers of his XKCD webcomic to a fun and informative survey on color perception and categorization. The results are both informative and extremely XKCDish. Basically, women were slightly more liberal with the modifiers, but otherwise they generally agreed (and some of the differences may be sampling noise). The results were similar across the survey--men and women tended on average to call colors the same names. So I was feeling pretty good about equality. Then I decided to calculate the 'most masculine' and 'most feminine' colors. I was looking for the color names most disproportionately popular among each group; that is, the names that the most women came up with compared to the fewest men (or vice versa). Here are the color names most disproportionately popular among women: 1. Dusty Teal 2. Blush Pink 3. Dusty Lavender 4. Butter Yellow 5. Dusky Rose Okay, pretty flowery, certainly. Kind of an incense-bomb-set-off-in-a-Bed-Bath-&-Beyond vibe. Well, let's take a look at the other list. Here are the color names most disproportionately popular among men: 1. Penis 2. Gay 3. WTF 4. Dunno 5. Baige I ... that's not my typo in #5--the only actual color in the list really is a misspelling of "beige". And keep in mind, this is based on the number of unique people who answered the color, not the number of times they typed it. This isn't just the effect of a couple spammers. In fact, this is after the spamfilter. I weep for my gender. Color Survey Results

Enormous, fetishistically annotated hand-drawn map of London Posted: 04 May 2010 02:25 AM PDT Artist Stephen Walter's enormous, fetishistically annotated hand-drawn map of London, entitled "The Island" (a comment on Londoners' tendency to view themselves as separate from the rest of the nation) is entrancing. Zoom way in and mouse around and get lost. Stephen Walter, 'The Island', 2008 (Thanks, @wineandgolover!) Previously: Transport for London censors anagram Tube map Victorian London poverty map - from "semi-criminal ... Zoomable paper London streetmap Victorian "poverty maps" of London Map of London's quietest spaces London mapped in Warcraft II style Tube map re-labelled with anagrams of station names

Rupert Murdoch dabbles in Socialist Realism Posted: 04 May 2010 05:04 AM PDT Sinister media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has decided that England's Britain's next ruler should be David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, and he's turned his empire of "news" outlets to producing this outcome (for example, his YouGov survey of voter impressions of a leader's debate was timed to coincide with LibDem leader Nick Clegg's speech; unsurprisingly, those surveyed didn't have much of an opinion on Clegg's fitness). The latest is this Socialist Realist full-cover ToryPorn shot of David Cameron's Nostrils and Fist Vanquishing the Forces of Liberalness, in today's Sun. Apparently, the Tories have invented something called a "Battlebus," presumably some variant on the appropriately ancient and obsolete blunderbuss. (Thanks to commenters for pointing out that "Battlebus" is actually a time-honoured tradition and not a Tory invention) Rupert Murdoch dabbles in Socialist Realism, David Cameron SUN cover shot, London, UK Previously: Trenchant and graphic UK electoral commentary Murdoch-Microsoft deal in the works

Turn a Super Boy spray into a Super Girl spray Posted: 04 May 2010 03:08 AM PDT If you've got a Super Boy bandaid spray with a little boy on it and you'd prefer a little girl mascot, you can use a Sharpie to effect a simple mod. Clever! The creator explains: "Lou was playing chase and scraped her knee pretty bad. I told her we would go get Super Boy and a band-aid. As usual she was unhappy with it being a boy and asked for a Super Girl instead, but the stores don't have Super Girl spray. So out came the Sharpie. Lou opted for low down ponytails. She was pleased." The Sharpie Helps Again (via Parent Hacks)

Terry Pratchett: Doctor Who isn't science fiction Posted: 03 May 2010 10:54 PM PDT Writing in SFX Terry Pratchett explains why Doctor Who, whatever its other merits, isn't very good science fiction. A provocative hypothesis, but it's hard to argue with his reasoning: The unexpected, unadvertised solution which kisses it all better is known as a deus ex machina - literally, a god from the machine. And a god from the machine is what the Doctor now is. A decent detective story provides you with enough tantalising information to allow you to make a stab at a solution before the famous detective struts his stuff in the library. Doctor Who replaces this with speed, fast talking, and what appears to be that wonderful element "makeitupasyougalongeum". I don't know about you, but I don't think I would dare try to jump-start a spaceship that looks like the Titanic by diving it into the atmosphere... but I have to forgive the Doctor that, because it was hilariously funny. People say Doctor Who is science fiction. At least people who don't know what science fiction is, say that Doctor Who is science fiction. Star Trek approaches science fiction. The horribly titled Star Cops which ran all too briefly on the BBC in the 1980s was the genuine pure quill of science fiction, unbelievable in some aspects but nevertheless pretty much about the possible. Indeed, several of its episodes relied on the laws of physics for their effect (I'm particularly thinking of the episode "Conversations With The Dead"). It had a following, but never caught on in a big way. It was clever, and well thought out. Doctor Who on the other hand had an episode wherein people's surplus body fat turns into little waddling creatures. I'm not sure how old you have to be to come up with an idea like that. The Doctor himself has in recent years been built up into an amalgam of Mother Teresa, Jesus Christ (I laughed my socks off during the Titanic episode when two golden angels lifted the Doctor heavenwards) and Tinkerbell. There is nothing he doesn't know, and nothing he can't do. He is now becoming God, given that the position is vacant. Earth is protected, we are told, and not by Torchwood, who are human and therefore not very competent. Perhaps they should start transmitting the programme on Sundays. Terry Pratchett vs Who (via IO9) (Image: Doctor Who Exhibition, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from 33124746@N04's photostream) Previously: Tesla coils sing the Doctor Who theme in orgy of electric ... Dalek propaganda poster Doctor Who Exit Interview: David Tennant + Russell T. Davies, with ... Retro: Doctor Who advertises Prime Computer Doctor Who meets the Beatles, 1965 Dr. Who's "regeneration" meant to be like bad acid trip BBC sends legal threat over fan's Dr Who knitting patterns - Boing ...

Dot-to-dot wallpaper Posted: 03 May 2010 10:48 PM PDT Cox & Cox's connect-the-dot wallpaper starts off as a subtle design but grows as complex as you want it to be -- just add lines! Join the Dots Wallpaper - NEW! (via Babygadget) Previously: Atomic age wallpaper Hollis Brown Thornton, Atari & Flower Wallpaper Disney-logoed DDT-impregnated wallpaper for the kids' room (1947 ... Steampunk wallpaper artist wants your ideas Crawly critter wallpaper Urinary tract wallpaper

Composite hero/villain masks made from bits of multiple iconic characters' costumes Posted: 03 May 2010 10:39 PM PDT Artist Seven Hundred has created composite "Hero Masks" and "Villain Masks," each assembled from elements of seven comic book and sf masks. Show here, the "Hero" model, combining Batman, Luke Skywalker, Tron, Robocop, Spiderman, Optimus Prime and Rorschach. He's selling tees, too. Hero and Villain Masks (via Geeklogie) Previously: Band Geek Heroes: T-shirts for every sort of musical dweeb - Boing ... Jason at Epcot, 1989-2005, hero's journey to sysadminhood - Boing ... Ode to Snow-blower Man, hero of winter Klaus Pierre, French-German Action Hero in Training in America at ...

Skin-tone-matched hospital gowns make it easy to spot color-shifts Posted: 03 May 2010 10:33 PM PDT A paper by Mark Changizi in Elsevier's journal Medical Hypotheses cleverly suggests that hospitals issue gowns matched to skin-tone for new patients, so that it's easy to tell if skin-tone has shifted (an urgent warning sign of many urgent health conditions): One potential solution, Changizi said, is for hospitals to outfit patients with gowns and sheets that are nude-colored and closely match their skin tone. Another solution is to develop adhesive tabs in a large palette of skin-toned colors. Physicians could then choose the tabs that most closely resemble the patient's skin tone, and place the tabs at several places on the skin of the patient. Both techniques should afford doctors and clinicians an easy and effective tool to record the skin tone of a patient, and see if it deviates - even very slightly - from its "baseline" color over time. "If a patient's skin color shifts a small amount, the change will often be imperceptible to doctors and nurses," Changizi said. "If that patient is wearing a skin-colored gown or adhesive tab, however, and their skin uniformly changes slightly more blue, the initially 'invisible' gown or tab will appear bright and yellow to the observer." Nude-colored hospital gowns could help doctors better detect hard-to-see symptoms Harnessing color vision for visual oximetry in central cyanosis (PDF)

Space Invaders propaganda poster Posted: 03 May 2010 10:25 PM PDT Artist Steve Thomas's latest in a series of vintage video game propaganda posters is his ad for the Space Invaders laser gunners' corp. Makes me want to sign up and defend the homeworld. Arcade game propaganda: Part VII (via Super Punch) Previously: Röyksopp's Space Invaders-enhanced music video Space Invaders cutting board Space Invaders techno video Human space invaders Animated Space Invaders welcome mat HOWTO knit Space Invaders sox Space Invader war photography

HOWTO live out of your car Posted: 03 May 2010 10:14 PM PDT Reddit user xenophone has some practical, hard-won tips for living out of your car. His list has sparked a long and pretty interesting thread of tips, tricks and theory that runs from "how to live off the grid" to "how to hang on by your fingernails." # Staying clean is very important. Trust me on this. People trust you more when you're clean and you'll have an easier time spinning yourself as "adventurous" rather than "destitute." More on this later. # If you can find a restroom with a lock, you can take a fairly complete bath with a washcloth and a sink. # If you can't actually bathe, do a whore's bath once a day. Get some hand sanitizer, the gel with high alcohol content, and rub yourself down, especially in the stinky areas. It won't get you clean per se and the alcohol will dry out your skin, but it'll disinfect you and kill all the smell-causing microorganisms. Follow this with deodorant and baby powder. # The easiest way to LOOK clean and safe is to keep your hair and beard trimmed. The simplest and cheapest way to do this is to get some inexpensive hair clippers and clip it short once or twice a week. I'm 25. My marriage just ended, I have no job and am living out of my car. All I want to say is - (via Consumerist) (Image: Homeless Victim, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from 23905174@N00's photostream) Previously: Group moves homeless people into foreclosed homes Homeless people relocated out of Whister, Canada, ahead of ... Vermont cop tases and tases a mentally ill homeless 59 year old ... Starbucks: homeless people can't drink coffee in stores Homeless people and the Internet RIAA's lawsuit against homeless man not going entirely smoothly ... Homeless World Cup

Warning stickers for the Daily Mail Posted: 03 May 2010 10:07 PM PDT England's Daily Mail isn't just a source of funny Internet posts, it's also a veritable font of hysterical, nutso reporting about "epidemics" of child abuse, immigration, welfare cheats, violent crime, etc and so forth. They're not solely responsible for the rise of authoritarianism and surveillance and the erosion of civil liberties here, but they're sure in the vanguard. Here's some sticker template for decorating the free copies of the Wail that you encounter in your life. I wish these were a) funnier and b) better designed. I have a feeling that, like the cigarette-pack ads they're meant to ape, they're just going to come across as finger-wagging. Got ideas for improving them? Hit the comments. Take back our country from right-wing tabloids (Thanks, Fipi Lele!) Previously: Exhaustive index of fearmongering Daily Mail stories about cancer ... Perfect Daily Mail headline

The Deepwater Horizon disaster for visual learners Posted: 03 May 2010 06:56 PM PDT Americablog has a breathtaking series of photos, taken by a DOE contractor, that show the final hours of the Deepwater Horizon. Also worth taking a look at: The Times-Picayune's animation of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which shows the blob growing and shifting on the waves.

Dinner Dancing with Frank Pacholski Posted: 03 May 2010 09:04 PM PDT Robert Popper, whose internet goldmining skills are provably unmatched, says: When I first saw this clip, words failed me. In fact, I can only use numbers to describe the full mentalness of what you're about to see: 9999999999.9999999. Please Enjoy Your Meal. (robertpopper.com) Mr. Pacholski is based in Los Angeles, and his MySpace profile identifies him as an interpretive dancer. He reminds me of "John Kilduff," aka "Let's Eat, Paint, and Excercise TV."

Collapsible fabric Yagi antenna Posted: 03 May 2010 05:10 PM PDT Leave it to fashion designer and radio geek Diana Eng to make this stylish collapsable Yagi antenna. She has a complete how-to at Make: Online. One of my favorite ham radio activities is making contacts on satellites. It's really fun to know that you're controlling something that's receiving and sending communications from space. But communicating with satellites means carrying a big Yagi antenna around. So, I decided to use my fashion sewing skills to make a collapsible fabric Yagi antenna that's much easier to transport. You can only transmit radio if you have a ham radio license, but you can listen to communications on satellites without a license. If you don't have a license, you only need to build the receiving part of the antenna. You can read all about how to listen to satellites in my previous post, "Catching satellites on ham radio." Make: Online - Collapsible fabric Yagi antenna

Giant auction of mid-century magazine illustration in Beverly Hills Posted: 03 May 2010 03:36 PM PDT Heritage Auction Galleries is previewing paintings from "the epic Charles Martignette Estate," which will be sold at auction on Thursday, May 6 in Beverly Hills, CA. The current bid on Gil Elvgren's 1962 Bear Facts (above) is $100,000 (not including the 19.5% buyer's premium). There are also paintings by Rockwell, Petty, Finlay, Bolles, St. John, Vargas, Leyendecker, and Frazetta. Lot viewing is available Monday, May 3 through Wednesday, May 5, 10am-5pm PT. 2010 May Signature Illustration Art Auction - Beverly Hills, CA.

The elements of videogames, illustrated Posted: 03 May 2010 02:12 PM PDT Above, artist Liselore Goedhart's unbelievably adorable illustration of the basic elements of all games, itself part of a card game meant to help designers "bring new characters and game ideas to life", from the Utrecht School of the Arts (the program that brought you indie-cum-commercial hit de Blob), Monobanda and Metagama. Click through for a larger view, while I try to figure out how to get my hot little hands on a deck of these.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian's oil paintings Posted: 03 May 2010 02:49 PM PDT Signed and numbered prints of Dr. Jack Kevorkian's oil paintings are available from Ariana Gallery in Michigan. Some of his descriptions are even trippier than the images. Shown here, "Very Still Life." The message here, though somewhat capricious, nebulous, and indefinable, is clearly underscored by intense feeling and brilliant colors. These highlight the melancholy age-old balance between the warmth of life and the iciness of death, spiced with the sardonic humor of irony. The disquieting mood portends inescapable doom for the frail symbol of individual life and through seemingly callous extinction of its evanescent aura. The age-old balance is certainly skewed. He may or may not love life, but Lordy, he does love him some adjectives! Jack, you're killin' me. (via Eric Steuer)

BP tries to get Louisiana fishermen to sign indemnification waivers Posted: 03 May 2010 02:43 PM PDT Fishermen in Louisiana, whose livelihoods are on the line after the catastrophic BP oil spill, are desperate for cash. According to this report, hundreds appear to have been tricked into signing documents swearing that they will "hold harmless and indemnify ... release, waive and forever discharge the BP Exploration and Production, Inc., its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, regular employees, and independent contractors ... from all claims and damages" arising from helping to clean up the mess BP made. (via Clayton Cubitt)

Infographic: Facebook's "anti-privacy monopoly" Posted: 03 May 2010 02:35 PM PDT In an essay and handy infographic, DeObfuscate lays out the inverse relationship between Facebook's growing market share and the erosion of user privacy. Related: rocket.ly's list of 10 reasons you should delete your account on Facebook, and why Primevector thinks canceling out of Facebook is a great idea right about now. Finally, words of wisdom tweeted by Tim Spalding over the weekend: Why do free social networks tilt inevitably toward user exploitation? Because you're not their customer, you're their product. (via EFF)

Darwin's Beetle goes in search of a mate Posted: 03 May 2010 02:11 PM PDT Christ, what an asshole. (Via Fogonazos)

Tim and Eric: The Tairy Greene Machine Posted: 03 May 2010 02:05 PM PDT The 5th season of Tim and Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job ended last night—and lo, what a season it was. One of my favorite episodes focused on the legacy of Hollywood Actor Tairy Greene (Zach Galifianakis), of "Little Dancin' Man" (not to be confused with "Little Danson Man"), and included an informercial for the all-new Tairy Greene Machine. This device contains every piece of media Tairy Greene ever did, ever. It's like a giant, celebrity-branded iPad powered by tap water, with coin tokens and brown-flooded floors where DRM would otherwise be. Watch video here (video.adultswim.com / unfortunately, not on YouTube, so non-USA folks may be regionblocked).

8-bit PSA: D-Pad Hero 2 set for May 16th release Posted: 03 May 2010 01:46 PM PDT It's been well over a year since the release of the original D-Pad Hero -- the homebrewed 8-bit Nintendo take on Guitar Hero with lo-bit versions of Daft Punk, Guns N' Roses, A-ha and Michael Jackson hits -- but the creators have just teased the release of the long-awaited sequel. Though it's not due for another two weeks, I post this here now hoping someone can make better sense of the music lineup this time around based on what I'm assuming are pixel portraits of the six included artists? It's entirely possible I might be way off base. Previously: UUDDLRLRBA-Rock: 8-bit Guitar Hero comes to the NES

Bumpology: The science of pregnancy Posted: 03 May 2010 01:45 PM PDT New Scientist reporter Linda Geddes is knocked up. Instead of simply marveling at the f&*#@ing miracle of birth, Geddes is tracking the science behind her pregnancy, in a weekly column called Bumpology. The most recent entry focuses on the facts behind a variety of (non-medical) tricks that are supposed to help you predict the sex of your baby. Fascinatingly, researchers in Sweden and Denmark have found that horrific bouts of morning sickness are correlated with girl babies—possibly because of higher levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in women carrying girls.

Photographer who documented LA graffiti artists faces felony charges Posted: 03 May 2010 02:08 PM PDT Jonas Lara, a photographer in Los Angeles, could face up to a year in prison if convicted of aiding and abetting two graffiti artists whose work he was documenting when all three men were arrested earlier this year in South Central LA.

Easy reader: Save in-depth journalism to read for later Posted: 03 May 2010 01:36 PM PDT I constantly find myself with five or six (or 10) tabs open on my browser, most of which are saving long, in-depth magazine or blog stories that I can't read right when I find them—but know I won't remember to read at all if I don't keep them open on my desktop. Hilarity Clutter ensues. So I like the solution provided by Instapaper and Longform.org. Instapaper is an app that saves stories you want to read later and automatically syncs them to a device like a smart phone, iPad or Kindle. Longform.org curates great journalism from magazines and the web and puts it all in one easy place, using a format that works with Instapaper, or without. Very cool!

SpinFlyer desktop wing toy in Boing Boing Bazaar Posted: 03 May 2010 12:43 PM PDT The SpinFlyer Classic Wing is a perfect companion to your desktop drinky bird and radiometer. It's $29 in the Makers Market / Boing Boing Bazaar. SpinFlyer Classic is a desktop flying wing designed to be played with while taking a break, on the phone, or just for fun and it comes in a custom case. It's engaging and relaxing to fly and see it perform perfect landings every time. It's small enough to fit on any desk or table top and a cool addition to any living room, cubicle, or office. Usually friends won't stop playing with it if located within reach during their visit. This flying wing is the first of a series of SpinFlyers I plan to introduce at Makers Market and is offered in two presentations; this version comes in a custom case and the standard version comes in a tube. SpinFlyer is carefully handcrafted, CNC machined, and sequentially numbered. SpinFlyer Classic WING $29.00

Holiday in Jonestown Posted: 03 May 2010 12:34 PM PDT Some people want to transform the Jonestown, Guyana site of Jim Jones' tragically-fated People's Temple into a "dark tourism" destination.

Switching Thumbs animated gif Posted: 03 May 2010 11:58 AM PDT From Gif Bin.

Fun with a bank's secret questions and answers Posted: 03 May 2010 11:50 AM PDT Laszlo Thoth's bank has a security procedure that uses customer-created questions and answers. When you call the bank, the customer service rep asks you the question, and you provide the answer. Here are some sample Q&A's that Thoth and his readers came up with. Q: Need any weed? Grass? Kind bud? Shrooms? A: No thanks hippie, I'd just like to do some banking. Q: What the hell is your fucking problem, sir? A: This is completely inappropriate and I'd like to speak to your supervisor. Q: Are you really who you say you are? A: No, I am a Russian identity thief. Q: Your voice is really turning me on. A: I like where this is going. Tell me more. Q: Do you know the answer to your secret question? A: I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you. Can you repeat that? Feel free to add your own in the comments. Fun With Secret Questions & Answers

Chair made from Coney Island wood slabs Posted: 03 May 2010 11:29 AM PDT This undulating lawn chair is made from reclaimed wood slabs from the Coney Island boardwalk; the design pays homage to the Cyclone, the last remaining roller coaster there. Link via Inhabitat

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