The Latest from Boing Boing

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• Mark at Machine Project in LA, Saturday, August 7, 2010
• Spinout, by Colin Berry
• A visit to Iwatayama Monkey Park in Kyoto Japan
• Bizarre CNN op-ed accuses Craiglist of profiting from child sex trafficking; Craigslist responds
• Who does Google know that you know?
• Massive ice island 4x size of Manhattan separates from Greenland glacier
• Illustration Magazine #30 with remembrance of Frank Frazetta by Ralph Bakshi
• HP CEO resigns over sexual harassment claims
• Selling fake melted food as a seat saver
• Pulp Fiction scene redubbed with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse voices
• US court rejects warrantless GPS surveillance
• Hacks Foxed By Faked Fox Hunt
• Steampunk Soundsystem: Victorian-themed DJ rig
• Outside Lands contest: The Winnahs!
• German schools to teach children online privacy in school
• Styrofoam cup after 10,000 feet underwater
• Random video of the day: The President of Georgia, tossing a baby
• If an A-Bomb Falls
• America's first test-tube baby, now an adult, gives birth to baby of her own.
• Blackberry ban in Gulf States averted with agreement to distribute "Blackberry burqas"
• Campbell's Soup Exec Writes to Andy Warhol
• Retrocovers

Mark at Machine Project in LA, Saturday, August 7, 2010 Posted: 07 Aug 2010 12:57 AM PDT I almost forgot! I'll be at Machine Project in LA tomorrow to talk about beekeeping, guitar and amp making, and spoon carving! Join Mark Frauenfelder as he presents his new book, Made by Hand. Made by Hand is about the fun and fulfillment Mark got from raising chickens (in a coop he built himself), keeping bees (lured out of the attic of his new house and into a full-scale hive), growing vegetables (where his lawn used to be), hacking his espresso maker for the perfect brew, building musical instruments for impromptu home concerts, and more. Mark will also give a talk about beekeeping, guitar and amp making, and spoon carving. Made by Hand: Book launch and talk by Mark Frauenfelder

Spinout, by Colin Berry Posted: 06 Aug 2010 07:12 PM PDT My friend Colin Berry (above right, circa 1970) wrote a touching, tragic story about his older brother, Kevin, who competed in the Soap Box Derby and lost against a kid whose dad was found to have rigged his nephew's car with an electromagnet. His story first ran in MAKE, Vol. 7 and I'm glad it will be read by a new audience. Bobby Lange won in Akron, too; the Boulder Daily Camera printed a picture of him, smiling and waving and wearing the white jacket. Kevin's racer went up on blocks. We didn't pay much attention at first, but the next year, 1973, Bobby Lange's cousin, Jimmy Gronen, also won the Boulder race and went on to win Akron as well. Yet officials had noticed a strange lurch as Gronen's car came off the metal starting blocks, and the next day, they x-rayed it and discovered a powerful electromagnet hidden inside the nose of the car. It was wired to a switch Jimmy's head activated as he lay back in his headrest, and gave him a jump off the line. The scandal rocked the Derby. Gronen was stripped of his title, his winnings given to the second-place finisher. But the real blame fell on Jimmy's guardian uncle, ski-boot magnate Robert Lange, Sr.  Bobby's father. In legal documents and public statements, the elder Lange took full responsibility for the magnet's idea (though not its construction), pointing out with indignation that cheating was endemic to the Derby. At some point, officials asked to x-ray Bobby's 1972 car, too  the car that had beaten my brother's  which the D.A. found during his investigation had been built with $10,000 to $20,000 worth of engineering expertise. This was clearly beyond the rules. Though Derby cars are usually preserved for promotion, Bobby's car was nowhere to be found, and remains so today. Spinout, by Colin Berry

A visit to Iwatayama Monkey Park in Kyoto Japan Posted: 06 Aug 2010 05:18 PM PDT (In July, I went on a family vacation to Japan. Here are my posts about the trip: The Ghibli Museum | Watermelons in the shape of cubes, hearts, and pyramids | What happened to the Burgie Beer UFO of Melrose Avenue? | Shopping in Harajuku.) Who in their right mind would pass up a trip to a monkey park? Not me! During our stay in Kyoto we took a short train ride to Arashiyama to visit the Iwatayama Monkey Park. It was a hot day and the climb up the mountain was steep. Fortunately we had brought along some bottles of Pocari Sweat to guzzle along the way. Here we are at the top of the park. More photos and remarks after the jump. After paying the 500 yen admission, we started up the hill. Signs warned us along the way about not interacting with the monkeys. Here, a map has the warning, "Entrance office. Please put paper bag here. Some monkey want to get it." Another warning about even showing food to the monkeys. (No sight of monkeys yet.) The cartoon monkey is very cute. Who wouldn't want to give him a banana just to see his eyes turn into hearts? (Still no sign of monkeys.) Here is some information about the monkeys. Being from Japan, they are called "Japanese Monkeys." Now we are told the monkeys "hate being touched by us." (The sign indicates that the park is called Arashiyama Monkey Park, but most of the literature calls it the Iwatayama Monkey Park.) We looked, but we didn't see the bird nor did we see the deer. But it came as quite a surprise to learn that the "monkey park is not only a monkey." (My Japanese language skills are less than zero, so believe me when I say I'm not making fun of the grammar on these signs. The signs make me happy.) Still no monkeys to be seen. Someone put a lot of effort into hand painting the serifed letters on this sign! I think we went left. As we got near the top, we saw our final warning sign: "Please push this button if you are scared to walk up because of the monkeys. Staff will be coming." There was no button. Maybe the monkeys took it. Coming around the bend we saw our first monkeys! They paid us no mind. We walked into a small air-conditioned building at the top of the mountain. Inside, they sold bags of sweet potatoes and chestnuts for 100 yen. A lot of monkeys were hanging on the wire windows waiting for humans to hand them food. It was fun to feed the monkeys like this -- the humans were in a cage and the monkeys were outside! The monkeys snatched the food quickly from our hands. They acted like it was their food all along, and we had been caught trying to steal it from then. Ingrates. I tried to take a close-up shot of this red-faced monkey, but she swatted my hand and hissed at me. I think this is about the difference between a claw and a fingernail, and why it's a bad idea to try to take a close up photo of a monkey. My kids thought the baby monkey was cute, but I thought it looked like a tiny H. Ross Perot. Outside, the monkeys were bathing in a pond. And then we had ice cream.

Bizarre CNN op-ed accuses Craiglist of profiting from child sex trafficking; Craigslist responds Posted: 06 Aug 2010 04:59 PM PDT CNN recently published a sloppy op-ed that accuses Craig Newmark and the folks at Craigslist of enabling and profiting from child sex trafficking, with much hyperbole and bombast ("Craigslist has made selling children a virtual stop-and-shop for predators"). CNN has now published a rebuttal from Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster. It's well worth a read, and sheds some light on the specific steps they've taken to combat this and other forms of illegal activity. Personal disclosure here: I've known Newmark socially for more than 10 years. He's benevolent, conscientious, and kind. Accusing him of being a child sex crime mastermind is so dissonant— it's like saying Santa Claus invented AIDS, or that kittens are serial killers. All open systems are vulnerable to some abuse. I commend the actions Craigslist has taken to remain open, while attacking crime.

Who does Google know that you know? Posted: 06 Aug 2010 04:10 PM PDT This link will show you who Google knows that you know. [It] is the network of connections Google uses to identify relevant social search results. It is based on a combination of the following: • Direct connections from your Google chat buddies and contacts • Direct connections from links that appear on your Google profile • Secondary connections that are publicly associated with your direct connections In addition to web pages from your social circle, posts from your Google Reader subscriptions may also appear in your social search results. (via Ethan Zuckerman)

Massive ice island 4x size of Manhattan separates from Greenland glacier Posted: 06 Aug 2010 04:22 PM PDT Andreas Muenchow, an oceanographic researcher from the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, reports that an "ice island" four times larger than Manhattan has separated from the Petermann Glacier in Greenland (shown in the photo above from 2009). This "calving" is the largest single ice chunk loss in the Arctic since 1962. Snip from press release: Satellite imagery of this remote area at 81 degrees N latitude and 61 degrees W longitude, about 620 miles [1,000 km] south of the North Pole, reveals that Petermann Glacier lost about one-quarter of its 43-mile long [70 km] floating ice-shelf. Trudy Wohlleben of the Canadian Ice Service discovered the ice island within hours after NASA's MODIS-Aqua satellite took the data on Aug. 5, at 8:40 UTC (4:40 EDT), Muenchow said. These raw data were downloaded, processed, and analyzed at the University of Delaware in near real-time as part of Muenchow's NSF research. Petermann Glacier, the parent of the new ice island, is one of the two largest remaining glaciers in Greenland that terminate in floating shelves. The glacier connects the great Greenland ice sheet directly with the ocean. The new ice island has an area of at least 100 square miles and a thickness up to half the height of the Empire State Building. “The freshwater stored in this ice island could keep the Delaware or Hudson rivers flowing for more than two years. It could also keep all U.S. public tap water flowing for 120 days,” Muenchow said. Greenland glacier calves island 4 times the size of Manhattan, UD scientist reports (udel.edu) A related report in USA Today notes that last month, other scientists on a Greenpeace ship predicted the calving—and that a total of 1.1 trillion tons of ice would soon crumble from the glacier. [photo, top: Greenland's Petermann Glacier in 2009. Photo courtesy of Prof. Andreas Muenchow, University of Delaware]

Illustration Magazine #30 with remembrance of Frank Frazetta by Ralph Bakshi Posted: 06 Aug 2010 01:57 PM PDT Illustration is a magazine that has in depth profiles of mid-20th century illustrators. It's one of my favorite magazines. I just received my copy of issue number 30. I flipped through it and and am looking forward to reading about Ellen B.T. Pyle, Douglas Walters, and Edwin Georgi. I was moved by Ralph Bakshi's remembrance of Frank Frazetta (above). You can read Illustration #30 in its entirety online, or fork over $15 for the gorgeous paper edition.

HP CEO resigns over sexual harassment claims Posted: 06 Aug 2010 03:29 PM PDT Hewlett Packard CEO Mark Hurd abruptly resigned today, as an investigation began into allegations he sexually harassed a female contractor. Update: Hurd will reportedly receive a $40-50 million severance package.

Selling fake melted food as a seat saver Posted: 06 Aug 2010 11:52 AM PDT (Via PonyPonyShow)

Pulp Fiction scene redubbed with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse voices Posted: 06 Aug 2010 11:32 AM PDT "Descwibe what Mawcewwus Wawwus wooks wike!"

US court rejects warrantless GPS surveillance Posted: 06 Aug 2010 11:01 AM PDT Big news just in from EFF: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today firmly rejected government claims that federal agents have an unfettered right to install Global Positioning System (GPS) location-tracking devices on anyone's car without a search warrant."

Hacks Foxed By Faked Fox Hunt Posted: 06 Aug 2010 11:49 AM PDT During the recent election, the U.K. government promised a vote on overturning 2004's ban on fox-hunting, the psychopathic British bloodsport whereby foxes are ripped to shreds by dogs after being chased to exhaustion. Newspapers there have relentlessly worked the controversy, most lately as a media hysteria around the alleged danger that foxes present to humans. To prove that the "idiotic" British press will sensationalize anything fed to it on the matter without any fact-checking, two pranksters faked a deliberately ridiculous 'Urban Fox Hunt' and put the video on the Internet. It worked so well that their scalps included not just tabloids, but also the Guardian, the Times and the BBC. One of the pranksters told the Guardian: "We wanted to create something that would be so ridiculous that in any other area it would be immediately dismissed as a spoof, but that news outlets desperate to continue the media narrative against foxes would leap on without any thought as to its authenticity." Urban fox hunt video was hoax aimed at the media, say film-makers [Guardian]

Steampunk Soundsystem: Victorian-themed DJ rig Posted: 06 Aug 2010 10:37 AM PDT Boing Boing reader Lord Baron Joseph C.R. Vourteque of the group SteamPunk Chicago shares photos of this spectacular home-modded gizmo with us, and says, For the past month my friend Evad and I have been working on our (Extra-ordinary) Aural Fusionoscope & Amplification Machine, a glorified pseudo-Victorian way of saying "DJ rig." Do pray pass the smelling salts, for I believe I may faint from sheer delight. From the specs: [T]his was originally a Numark CD-Mix 2 which I purchased from my good friend Orvtronixx. We built a wooden box around it and then got down to the lengthy task of expanding the audio ins & outs from the back of the box. After much soldering (and gnashing of teeth) we successfully installed a balanced XLR out, three RCA line-ins and a 1/4 in" microphone line in. We re-routed the main RCA unbalanced master out to a small speaker that is housed just below the vintage cast-iron Phonogram horn to act as the DJs personal monitoring system and re-routed the main mic out into a small microphone housed in the the smaller 1920s Ford car horn (which we repainted in black and copper). We then took a 1940s radiator, took it apart and housed the transformer in it. All in all the entire rig is an all in one system; though for large clubs we highly suggest running the XLR outs to the main sound. Lots more photos and details here. If you're in Chicago, you can experience the rig in person at a local club tonight. With gypsies and belly dancers, of course. [ photos courtesy steampunkchicago.com ]

Outside Lands contest: The Winnahs! Posted: 06 Aug 2010 05:34 PM PDT We are thrilled to announce the winners of our Outside Lands 2010 ticket contest! We asked readers to compose a song about why they want to attend the massive music/culture festival in Golden Gate Park next weekend, August 14-15. Congratulations to the talented duo of Scott Perry and David Waldman! Congratulations to the wonderful singer/songwriter Miriam Speyer! Scott, David, Miriam, and her guest will each receive a 2-day pass to Outside Lands (a value of $140/ticket). Press play for the Perry/Waldman tune: We'd also like to recognize Michelle Rando and Margarita Camps who, as runners-up, will receive Boing Boing t-shirts and stickers. Thank you all for entering and special thanks to our friends at Outside Lands for the tickets! See you all in Golden Gate Park! Outside Lands 2010

German schools to teach children online privacy in school Posted: 06 Aug 2010 10:46 AM PDT The government of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia plans to teach children "media literacy and responsibility" fundamentals in school, including the privacy basics of the Internet, and the potentially negative consequences of posting personal details on Facebook and Twitter. [via BB Submitterator, from Gendun]

Styrofoam cup after 10,000 feet underwater Posted: 06 Aug 2010 09:57 AM PDT The coolest thing I own is a Styrofoam cup that went down to the bottom of the Palmer Deep, off the Palmer Peninsula in Antarctica. It was in a net bag tied to an oceanographer's water column sampler. I don't remember the name of the researcher, but she or he let everyone on the research vessel, including hanger-on science writers, send down a cup. The pressure of 10,400 feet of water compressed the tiny air bubbles inside the Styrofoam and turned a grande cup into an espresso cup. More reasons not to go scuba-diving at the bottom of the Palmer Deep.

Random video of the day: The President of Georgia, tossing a baby Posted: 06 Aug 2010 09:36 AM PDT Baby-tossing video of the day, featuring the president of Georgia. The former Soviet republic, not the US state, people. (thanks, Joe Sabia)

If an A-Bomb Falls Posted: 06 Aug 2010 09:29 AM PDT From Ethan Persoff's "Comics With Problems, this 8-page bomb scare tract: If an A-Bomb Falls. Good to know that a housewife who keeps her husband's home tidy and free of stray trash is also protecting her family from certain nuclear death. This week marks the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. For the first time in 65 years, the United States sent an envoy to the commemoration ceremony which took place today in Japan. More bomb comics from Persoff's collection: The Atomic Revolution, and The H-Bomb and You. An Inconvenient Nuke: Xeni interviews Lawrence Bender, Jeff Skoll ...

America's first test-tube baby, now an adult, gives birth to baby of her own. Posted: 06 Aug 2010 09:01 AM PDT Elizabeth Comeau was famous at birth: in 1981, she was the first "test tube baby" in America. The 29-year-old now works for the Boston Globe, and writes here about giving birth to a child of her own—the "normal way," as she puts it. (thanks, John Schwartz)

Blackberry ban in Gulf States averted with agreement to distribute "Blackberry burqas" Posted: 06 Aug 2010 08:54 AM PDT "The Blackberry burqa means that people can still use their phones,' said a Saudi government official, 'but the tiny niqab that covers the screen will stop them from reading emails or accessing the Internet." (thanks, Joe Sabia)

Campbell's Soup Exec Writes to Andy Warhol Posted: 06 Aug 2010 05:38 AM PDT Marylin Terrell writes in: The product marketing manager for Campbell Soup wrote this delightfully jargon-free letter to Andy Warhol in 1964 after Warhol rocked the art world with his silk-screen portraits of Campbell Soup. Instead of threatening to sue for copyright infringement, the exec sent Warhol a couple of cases of tomato soup. Read the rest at Letters of Note: I hear you like Tomato Soup [via Holykaw]

Retrocovers Posted: 06 Aug 2010 05:14 AM PDT Via Submitterator, pasq242 points to Retrocovered, Brendan Becker's chiptuney NES cover album of classic songs by The Cars, Men Without Hats, U2 and others. Download.

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