Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing

Link to Boing Boing

Now you, too, can quit like JetBlue guy: The SlipQuit™

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 09:29 PM PDT

The 35th anniversary of global warming

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 08:52 PM PDT

badegg.jpg

Thirty-five years ago this month, Columbia University geologist Wallace Broecker published a paper in the journal Science that correctly predicted the carbon dioxide-linked warming trends we are now experiencing as part of climate change and, for the first time, used the term "global warming."

He wasn't the first to predict that rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere would alter climate patterns, but, explains scientist Stefan Rahmstorf, Broecker was the first to take predictions of CO2-linked warming and put them into the context of other, ongoing, climate trends—coming to the conclusion that the cooling experienced from the 1940s through the 1970s was about to reverse itself in a big way.

It's worth reading Rahmstorf's full explanation of Broecker's work, because it does a good job of explaining the basics of climate science that we're still grappling with today. As Rahmstorf puts it:

"Even today, many lay people incorrectly assume that we attribute global warming to CO2 basically because temperature and CO2 levels have both gone up and thus correlate. Broecker came to his prediction at a time when CO2 had been going up but temperatures had been going down for decades—but Broecker (like most other climate scientists at the time, and today) understood the basic physics of the issue.

Real Climate: Happy 35th Birthday, Global Warming!

(Via Emma Farrell)

Image: Some rights reserved by azrainman



Zombies victorious over City of Minneapolis

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 08:17 PM PDT

zombiecomp4.jpg

It's a good week to be a zombie.

Back in 2006, a horde (What's the word for a group of zombies?) of seven Minneapolitans were arrested when they donned not-particularly-convincing zombie garb (I mean, look at those photos.) and staged a protest of brainless consumerism at an outdoor mall in downtown Minneapolis. Given that the protest took place during Aquatennial—an annual celebration of the fact that Minnesotans are rather fond of their various bodies of water—I can almost guarantee that they were not the most ridiculous-looking people hanging around downtown.

Nevertheless, somebody called 911, and the zombies ended up spending two days in jail, told they were being held for carrying equipment (an iPod hooked up to portable speakers) that resembled "weapons of mass destruction". They were eventually released without charge. Then came the lawsuit, a loss in District Court and a resurrection in a Court of Appeals.

This Monday, the zombies emerged from four years of legal limbo victorious, as the City of Minneapolis agreed to pay out $165,000 as a settlement in lieu of going back to court.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Minneapolis will pay $165,000 to zombies

Wall Street Journal law blog: Attack of the plaintiff zombies



Penguins that projectile poop

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 07:44 PM PDT

whyyesIpoophard.jpg

Adelie penguins may lack the opposable thumbs, big brains and Home Depot charge cards necessary to build themselves a working plumbing system. But that doesn't mean they are forced to poop where they live. Instead, these birds can launch their own feces out of their bodies like a Howitzer. OK, it's really not that dramatic, but the Adelie penguins do manage keep a clean nest.

Naturally, the first question Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow and Jozsef Gal had about this behavior in Adelies is "what kind of pressure do these birds generate when launching?" As the UK undergraduate who blogs as "SamW" noted, Adelie penguins are a protected species, so researchers aren't able to perform the invasive and potentially harmful observations required to directly measure the forces. Instead, Meyer-Rochow and Gal examined photographs.

When Adelies poop, they stand on the edge of their nests, their rear ends facing outward, and expel the fecal matter as far as possible. The researchers estimated the penguins' range at about 40 cm--not as far as the caterpillars, but still considerably better than the average human can do. Unlike humans, Adelies have a single "vent" for all bodily excretions (and sex)--the cloaca. Based on the size of the cloaca and the viscosity of penguin poo, Meyer-Rochow and Gal calculated the internal pressure at poo-launching at as high as about 600 grams per square centimeter (compare this to about 100 grams per square centimeter for humans). As SamW puts it, "no matter how hard you try to poop, a penguin can do it harder." The research was published in 2003 in Polar Biology.

You can read more about the delightfully odd pooping habits of animals—including a caterpillar that can shoot it's feces as far as 4.5 feet—in this article at Seed by Dave Munger.

Image: Some rights reserved by winkyintheuk



Adorable kitten fails mirror self-recognition test (adorably)

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 07:22 PM PDT

This incredibly cute Persian kitten is hell-bent on destroying its new archenemy—its own reflection in a linoleum floor.

This is not a proper example of the Gallup Mirror Test—a classic tool for gauging animal self-awareness. (In the real test, researchers put two dye dots on the animal—one that it can see when it looks in the mirror and one that it can't—and judge whether the animal is aware that the image in the mirror is itself based on how it reacts to the dot it can see. Basically, does seeing that dot on itself in the mirror make it realize the dot is on its body?) Nevertheless, this kitten's response to its reflection isn't surprising, given that cats are not on the very short list of animals that can pass the Mirror Test.

Who does pass? Great apes, dolphins, elephants, magpies, and humans over the age of 18 months old. That last bit is particularly interesting in light of a couple of studies that have found a correlation between babies that can pass the mirror test, and babies that can "get" the concept of empathy with another individual.

(Thanks to John Pavlus!)



Slow-motion video of Lindy Hop dancing

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 09:04 PM PDT

What could possibly be sexier and dreamier than those slo-mo videos of female tennis stars, Boinged earlier today? Why, this Discovery Network slo-mo video of professional dancers Nick Williams and Carla Heiney, doin' the Lindy Hop. Speed gives them the momentum they need to execute dance moves like the spin. Slowth gives us the ability we need to—well, to drool over how physically impossible it all seems. For audio accompaniment, may I suggest some Sigur Rós, or a Justin Bieber Xanax Remix?

Discovery Channel Video: Time Warp: Lindy Spin

[via Submitterator, thanks chuko]



And now, a word from our lemurs.

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 04:43 PM PDT

Wikirapes: Assange cleared in Sweden; Pentagon/CIA "sex trap" theories now limp, flaccid

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 06:13 PM PDT

The Associated Press reports that Wikileaks frontman Julian Assange has been cleared of all allegations of rape and "molestation" in Sweden. From all available reports, it sounds like the story involved a trip down the drama-hole between Assange and two female acquaintances, one of whom apparently volunteered with Wikileaks—not any act of physical coercion, and not any crime. Reason deftly debunks the conspiracy theories of Pentagon/CIA "dirty tricks," "smears," and "sex traps," which Assange himself blamed as the scandal spread this past weekend. Newsweek reports way, way, way more than I wanted to know about Mr. Assange's (alleged) intimate habits.



Pet rat takes a bath in a basin

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 04:55 PM PDT


Awwww.

Link (Via Cynical-C)



New marketing trend: "Unbranding"

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 03:30 PM PDT

Simon Doonan at New York Observer says that celebrity swag has become anti-swag in the case of some downmarket sub-lebrities. Using Jersey Shore's Snooki as an example, Doonan says that luxury houses are allegedly sending out competitors' products to keep their own brands from being associated with people in the news who don't match their brands' carefully-crafted images. Sounds as if Mary Bale is going to have a new wardrobe next week!

How Snooki Got Her Gucci: The Dirt on Purses
[observer.com] via Business Insider

(Image via Wikimedia Commons. Fake memo 'shooped in for funzies.)



Found: Soviet moon rover

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 03:18 PM PDT

Socvietrobot
Above is Lunokhod 1, a Soviet robotic rover that landed on the moon in 1970 and eventually died, leaving its final resting place unknown. That is, until a few months ago when UC San Diego astrophysicist Tom Murphy fired off laser pulses at the moon and detected the photons reflected back in the ultrasensitive telescope at the Apache Point Observatory. It turns out that Murphy had found Lunokhod 1. Now, he's planning to use it to precisely measure lunar motion and test theories of gravity. From IEEE Spectrum:
Murphy suspected that (Apache Point Observatory's) superior capability might allow him to find the long-lost rover, and he decided to devote just a small percentage of telescope time to test this whim. At first, his attempts to locate the rover were fruitless. Because of atmospheric divergence, the laser pulse forms a beam footprint on the moon of 2 km. He later found out that he was working with coordinates 4.5 km off target. Then, in March, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter beamed back photographs of the Russian lunar landers Luna 17 and 21. "It was really fantastic imaging," Murphy says. "You could even see the rovers' tracks. You could trace out where they went and what their journey looked like."
"Forgotten Soviet Moon Rover Beams Light Back to Earth"



Slate publishes Kanye West "interview" based entirely on his tweets

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 03:17 PM PDT

Slate's clever "interview" with Kanye West is constructed entirely from the rapper's tweets. It's the opposite of an exclusive, but it's a terrific read.

KPCC interview with Mark about Made by Hand

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 03:16 PM PDT

Coconut-DayDavid Lazarus of the LA Times interviewed me for KPCC about my book, Made by Hand (Also available on Kindle).

Here's the audio file (Photo: Coconut day in Rarotonga)



Printing wings for microrobotic flying insects

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 02:45 PM PDT

 Sites Default Files Cimg0818
Researchers from Cornell University are using 3D printers, which squirt out physical objects layer by layer, to develop wings for tiny flying micro-robots. Their latest robot, built from polyester stretched over a carbon fiber frame, weighs just 3.89 grams and can hover for almost 90 seconds. From New Scientist:
What's so special about 3D printers? They make it possible to create complex structures, such as wings that are warped to improve performance, like the manually curved wings of a paper aeroplane, says Richter. Their printer is capable of producing features just 40 micrometres wide, and thin films just 16 micrometres thick.

The other advantage of printing is speed, says Lipson. Once they have arrived at a new wing design, printing a set takes under an hour.

"For insects, press print"



Female tennis players hitting the ball in slow-motion

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 04:07 PM PDT

After sitting through this New York Times gallery with ultra-slow-mo video of female tennis stars doing their thing at Sigur Rós speed, the thought occurs that Serena Williams should star in the next Kill Bill sequel, should there ever be one. Then, my next thought is, like, since when is the Times in the business of publishing internet jerkoff videos? Rule 36, people, you know I'm right!

Police nab driver using sex toy behind the wheel, etc.

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 01:44 PM PDT

When police pulled over Colondra Hamilton near Cincinnati, Ohio last week, they noticed that she had a "female sex toy" in her lap and her fly was undone. She admitted to using the device, and watching an unspecified video on her passenger's laptop computer, while driving. Apparently, Hamilton also had a crack pipe handy. But it was broken. From WCPO.com:
Hamilton is charged with driving with misdemeanor impaired alertness and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. According to court records, Hamilton has a lengthy criminal history...

Charges against the passenger do not appear to have been filed.

"Driver distracted by sex toy" (Thanks, Rick Pescovitz!)



RSA Animate - 21st century enlightenment

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 01:45 PM PDT


RSA's Animate videos -- in which a talented illustrator draws images as as a speaker presents a topic -- are incredible. In this one, "Matthew Taylor explores the meaning of 21st century enlightenment, how the idea might help us meet the challenges we face today, and the role that can be played by organisations such as the RSA."

RSA Animate - 21st century enlightenment



Tom the Dancing Bug: Odious in the Uterus

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 12:33 PM PDT

foetuses.jpg

ttdbAugust26.jpg



NYC cabbie slashed after assailant asked, "Are You Muslim?"-- suspect worked for web video company

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 08:57 PM PDT

(Image from the Flickr Stream of stabbing suspect and web video producer Michael S. Enright, who traveled to Afghanistan's Helmand province earlier this year on an internet video project involving U.S. Marines.)


Update, 9pm PT: New York Times article with new details here.

New details are emerging today on the horrible news of a cabbie in New York City stabbed by a man who hated Muslims. The victim: 43-year old Ahmed H. Sharif of Queens, who is a practicing Muslim. The man who assaulted him is said to have started out friendly, then screamed, "Assalamu Alaikum. Consider this a checkpoint," and slashed the cabbie across the neck and on his face from his lips to his nose. The suspected stabber has been charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, assault, aggravated harassment and criminal possession of a weapon. According to police reports, he was "very drunk" at the time of arrest.

Mr. Ahmed received stitches in his neck, and has been released from Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. What is most bizarre about the whole story, to me, is the background of the 21-year-old suspect. He is reported to be a film student at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, and his social media profiles state that he is an employee of Intersections International, a multifaith, multicultural peace group, though they have denied he was ever "an employee" (sounds like he was a volunteer). The project's website includes a statement of support for the Cordoba House project in lower Manhattan (smeared by detractors as the "Ground Zero Mosque"). Videos of Cordoba House/Park 51 backer Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf are posted on intersectionsinternational.org, and Enright's work history suggests that he may have been involved in producing them (though the organization's website does not currently list him as a staff member). From TPM:

The 21-year-old aspiring filmmaker had been to Afghanistan recently, working on a documentary on a high school buddy of his who enlisted in the Marines. His efforts to embed with his friend were the subject of a profile in the local paper.
Here is Enright's Flickr stream, and here is his Facebook profile. The New York Post adds this:
Enright told police he works for an Internet media company who had recently spent time with a combat unit in Afghanistan filming military exercises until this past May. He has been charged with attempted murder.
That "Internet Media Company" Enright worked for as a photographer and reporter would appear to be USVets.TV, a video project serving veterans and their families. This press release trumpets Michael Enright's involvement with "TV Worldwide Live NAB 2010 'Salute the Troops' Webcast Featuring USVets.TV Reporter Michael Enright Embedded With Marines in Afghanistan in Demo of Streaming Technology."

A graphic photo of the cabbie's injuries follows.

[ Image: a photo released by the New York Taxi Worker Alliance shows Ahmed H. Sharif at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, after he was slashed across the neck, face and shoulders. ]



Enright's Flickr profile reads:

I was raised in beautiful upstate New York, where there is no shortage of photogenic material. I am blessed to have been able to train my eye through its many seasonal changes, and apply those techniques I've learned to the many subjects I've had the privilege of shooting.
Salon has much more, including videos shot and produced by the alleged cabbie-stabber. And the local paper in Enright's home town has published this.


In a statement released by the New York City taxi workers' alliance, the stabbing victim today said:

I feel very sad. I have been here more than 25 years. I have been driving a taxi more than 15 years. All my four kids were born here. I never feel this hopeless and insecure before. Right now, the public sentiment is very serious (because of the Ground Zero Mosque debate.) All drivers should be more careful.


In related news, anti-Islam ads will be removed from Chicago taxis, according to this local news report.

[via Sepia Mutiny, and via BB Submitterator, thanks pbump]




(Image: Mr. Enright [L] with a friend in the Marines, in Afghanistan's Helmand Province earlier this year, from Enright's Flickr stream. Enright is holding his video camcorder, and the Marine he is with is holding a weapon.)




How I'd hack your password: tips on stronger password security

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 11:30 AM PDT

"Adding one capital and one * changes the time to hack a password from 2.4 days to 2.1 centuries." —John Pozadzides, at Lifehacker. (via @dylan20)

Ding dong, the (species) is dead. Bell ringing for biodiversity

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 07:41 AM PDT

201008250738 In an effort that reminds me a little of Earth Hour (where folks are encouraged to turn off their lights and appliances for one hour), there is now a suggestion that a concerted attempt at bell ringing would be a fitting (and possibly worthy annual) tribute to biodiversity.

This is largely being mediated by the Church of England, International Year of Biodiversity UK, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, with inspiration provided by the MEMO project. What is the MEMO project? Well, this is pretty cool - basically:

MEMO is a collaboration of scientists, sculptors and stonemasons dedicated to communicating the reality of the current extinction crisis by creating a perpetual memorial. The aim is to erect a stone sculpture featuring the carved images of the species being made extinct, which also supports a huge bell. The bell and sculpture will be built on the cliffs of the Isle of Portland. This is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site whose 95 miles of fossil rich cliffs already record 185 million continuous years of the history of life. The great bell will be tolled whenever a species is declared extinct.

I think the effort to coordinate the sound of bells throughout England (and the world) is especially great. Plus, with the Church of England on board, hopefully many of the bells in their church towers will have a chance to become involved. Extra cool if St. Paul's Cathedral gets on board, since it also happens to have the largest bell on the British Isles - this being "Great Paul" at a massive 16 and a half tons.

It's also worth noting that this effort isn't just limited to the Church of England. It looks like they're game to include any advocate of Campanology (i.e. studies usually pertaining to large bells). In that vein, why not Big Ben? Or if we're going for a more international flavour, how lovely would it be to include a bell like the Gotenba Bell, the largest functioning swinging bell in the world. In fact, there's even a handy list of "notable bells" at Wikipedia.

A side bonus would be if folks actually designed a specific mechanism of change ringing just for this event. This is a term commonly applied to the type of ringing you hear in church bells, whereby the sounds are produced by sets of bells following specific mathematical patterns (this is where the science geek in me, is itching for someone to use something like species extinction rates as a mathematical inspiration!)

Anyway, when is the bell ringing set to happen? Well, a smaller MEMO bell (see image above) has been cast already and will be taken to New York on September 22 to ring in the first UN General Assembly meeting ever on biodiversity. Consequently, organizers are hoping for folks to earmark September 22, between 12noon and 2pm, for the ringing to occur.

Link to Press Release and contact information. Link to MEMO project and their Facebook page.



Wikileaks publishes CIA "Red Cell" memo on risks of US perceived as "exporter of terrorism"

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 03:01 PM PDT

Wikileaks has just published what it identifies as a CIA "Red Cell" report from February 2, 2010. The single, three-page document—much smaller than previous, highly-publicized leaks from Wikileaks— discusses the potential foreign policy consequences of perceptions that the United States "exports terrorism."

The leak is the third to hit Wikileaks since Assange faced a storm of allegations in Sweden, just four days ago.

From the overview:

[The document] looks at what will happen if it is internationally understood that the United States is an exporter of terrorism; 'Contrary to common belief, the American export of terrorism or terrorists is not a recent phenomenon, nor has it been associated only with Islamic radicals or people of Middle Eastern, African or South Asian ethnic origin. This dynamic belies the American belief that our free, open and integrated multicultural society lessens the allure of radicalism and terrorism for US citizens.' The report looks at a number cases of US exported terrorism, including attacks by US based or financed Jewish, Muslim and Irish-nationalism terrorists. It concludes that foreign perceptions of the US as an "Exporter of Terrorism" together with US double standards in international law, may lead to noncooperation in renditions (including the arrest of CIA officers) and the decision to not share terrorism related intelligence with the United States.

CIA Red Cell Memorandum on United States "exporting terrorism", 2 Feb 2010 [wikileaks.org]

Spencer Ackerman at the Wired defense blog Danger Room is not one bit impressed:

[I]f not for the controversial transparency organization WikiLeaks, we might never have known that the CIA can occasionally bore policymakers to tears with its time-wasting obviousness.
And Kevin Poulsen of the Wired blog Threat Level is even more blunt: "WikiLeaks publishes SECRET//NOFORN memo by CIA. But real message is UNCLASS//FUCKYOU."



Madagascar: The Rape of the Rosewood Forests (and lemur soup)

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 10:53 AM PDT

Via the BB Submitterator, Boing Boing reader Marilyn Terrell of National Geographic points us to a just-published feature article by Robert Draper (with an amazing accompanying photo-essay), and explains:

Roughly 90% of the flora & fauna of Madagascar is found nowhere else on Earth. lllegal logging of the island's endangered rosewood trees has escalated dramatically due to the collapse of the government in March, 2009—and "the insatiable appetite of Chinese timber procurers, who imported more than 200 million dollars' worth of rosewood from the country's northeastern forests in a few months." Now forests are "unpoliced and filled with organized gangs, a free-for-all of deforestation."
All that and lemur soup. :-(

Madagascar's Pierced Heart

(Image courtesy National Geographic / by Pascal Maitre)



Itty bitty hydroponic grow box

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 10:25 AM PDT

201008251021 201008251021-1 201008251021-2

The Micro Grow Project's LabBox Grower is a small automated hyrdoponic growing system that uses a microcontroller to automates watering cycles, light schedules, and temperatures. It can be controlled and monitored via the Web or mobile phone, and can tweet about its condition.

Imagine, growing your favorite plant, herb or medicine in a micro container utilizing advance hydroponic technologies. A fully contained system that uses an automated drip system and high intensity LEDs to deliver everything your plant needs to mature to harvest.  An open source software and product design where we all can collaborate to grow an endless supply of fresh greens and herbs year round.
Micro Grow Project's LabBox Grower



Google launches ability to call phones directly from Gmail

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 10:10 AM PDT

Infographic: The history of Google's acquisitions

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 10:09 AM PDT

Infographic designer Jess Bachman has a new piece of work out, and explains: "There are so many long lists of Goolge's acquisitions out there that I really wanted to take that info further. So I combined tons of variables and data points about each acquisition into a chart which hopefully should provide some prospective on Google's past, where they are going and how they will get there. I also acknowledge that I only know what I have researched, and am certainly looking to improve the chart if viewers had information or corrections about any of the acquisitions." Here's the image—it's pretty large, as is Google's acquisition history.

Guatemala Snapshot: Birdies, Corn, Papaya, Plantain (at Sabe Rico, la Antigua)

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 10:13 AM PDT

I was in Guatemala last week, and passed briefly through the town of la Antigua, where I spotted this little scene at the back door of a restaurant kitchen (photo link). Nothing fancy; an iPhone snapshot. I think the birdies would like you to believe that they are just one of the melons.

The restaurant/chocolateria/pasteleria, Sabe Rico, is superb and I enthusiastically recommend it. Vegetarian-friendly. They have a beautiful, sprawling, verdant terrace in the rear with little tables and canopies where you can sit and enjoy your meal (or a tisane from herbs grown in that garden, or some local coffee, or a truffle from cacao beans farmed a few miles away). It's like eating cake in the garden of Eden: fig and cherimoya trees, fragrant herbs and flowers, and a white rabbit frolicking around in the grass. Here are some snapshots.

If you go, order the chocolate cake for dessert, and tell proprietor Juan Carlos that Xeni from Boing Boing sent you.



Convert an iPhone into a little pinball machine

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 09:38 AM PDT

 Bestbuy Us Images Products 9913 9913343 Ra

Best Buy is selling a fun-looking little gadget that turns an iPhone or iPod Touch into a pinball machine. It would be neat to have one for the iPad.

This Pinball Magic [App]cessory includes a miniature pinball machine and a free application for realistic pinball gaming action, compatible with select Apple iPhone and iPod touch models. The LED lights light up during multiball play.

New Potato - Pinball Magic [App]cessory for Apple (Via TUAW)



Tripod fish: a fish that stands

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 07:20 AM PDT


Video link

The other day, I went through the Deep Sea exhibit at the Natural History Museum. Deep Sea ecology is pretty interesting and especially great for the variety and oddness in creatures that dwell there. Case in point are Tripod Fish.

These deep sea beauties have long extensions coming out of their fins (two from their pelvic fins, and one at the back from the caudal fin), such that they are able to "stand still" on the ocean floor. Here they can wait very patiently for prey to come wandering into their vicinity.

Presumably a great way to conserve energy, although it would be interesting to examine whether there is a reason for the stilts being a certain height (i.e. do the crustaceans that the Tripod Fish feed on, prefer to hover at a certain depth, or do currents close to the ground uplift material in a certain way?)



Freaks & Geeks creator Paul Feig interviewed on "Put This On"

Posted: 25 Aug 2010 09:10 AM PDT

I'm a big fan of Jesse Thorn's podcasts and video proejcts. The latest episode of "Put This On," a web video series focused on pragmatic fashion advice for gents, features an interview with Paul Feig, creator of Freaks & Geeks, writer and director. "He always wears a suit on set," notes Jesse.

Put This On, Episode 3: Work.



No comments:

Post a Comment

CrunchyTech

Blog Archive