The Latest from Boing Boing

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• NPR's pet toxic asset is dead
• Time-lapse of rotting food
• Microsoft's DRM makes your computer vulnerable to attack
• Tim Wu on Net Neutrality/Google-Verizon betrayal
• Foam printer makes floating foam shapes
• Buckyballs magnet magnates bully scrappy Zen Magnets: video response
• Cigarette ad featuring smoking, bat-winged pegasus
• Deer made from typewriter parts
• Soyuz departs Space Station, headed for Kazakhstan
• Olsen Twins sing "Pizza Song," slowed-up on sizzurp
• Artists attacked in Istanbul
• Xeni speaking in Minneapolis, MN on Sept. 28 at the MIMA Summit
• Bill Maher's rant about rich people who feel vilified about their tax stance
• Visit to Edward Gorey House Museum
• Urban foragers
• Biometric vending machine
• Dalek mysteriously appeared at elementary school
• Sea snot explodes near BP spill disaster site, threatening marine ecosystem
• Multinational copyright companies will require French ISPs turn over 150,000 subscriber names and addresses per day
• Fabric salad

NPR's pet toxic asset is dead Posted: 24 Sep 2010 11:14 PM PDT NPR's Planet Money bought a toxic asset for $1000 and named it "Toxie" and followed it closely, as a way of unravelling the recent econopocalypse. Now, less than a year later, Toxie is dead, killed by loan modifications. Though once a mighty producers, Toxie delivered less than 50% of her face-value in her short life on the NPR balance sheet. Toxie's Dead (via Consumerist) Economy will get a lot worse -- The Economist Obama's Critical Early Test: Corporate Arrogance Daily Show on the housing crisis: Why can't Geithner sell his ... Primer on "high frequency trading" -- AKA stockbots New York Times warns that new financial rules could "wreak havoc ... BP: "The solution will not be televised" / UPDATED Dr. Housing Bubble Interview Life Inc: Everything's Open Source but Money

Time-lapse of rotting food Posted: 24 Sep 2010 11:03 PM PDT In this brief clip from the BBC's "Bang Goes the Theory," Dr Yan narrates a timelapse of food rotting over several days. My favorite part is the exclamation of genuine delight when the maggots decamp from the minced beef and head for the softening fruit. Dr Yan's Rotting Food Time Lapse - Bang Goes The Theory - BBC One (via Kottke) There's more energy in wasted food than there is in the Gulf of ... Corpses are rotting more slowly than they used to -- is it because ... Happy Meal is ageless: no decay in a year on a shelf

Microsoft's DRM makes your computer vulnerable to attack Posted: 24 Sep 2010 10:59 PM PDT The msnetobj.dll library is an ActiveX control used by Microsoft's DRM; it is intended to prevent the owner of a computer from saving or viewing certain files except under limited circumstances, and to prevent the computer's owner from disabling it or interfering with it. As if that wasn't bad enough, it is also vulnerable to three separate attacks -- buffer overflow, integer overflow and denial of service -- any of which can compromise your computer's working, leaving your data vulnerable to crooks and vandals. Microsoft DRM Technology (msnetobj.dll) ActiveX Multiple Remote Vulnerabilities (Thanks, Freddie Freelance, via Submitterator) Microsoft dropping DRM from Zune Music Store Vista DRM is bad for Microsoft MSFT: Our DRM licensing is there to eliminate ... Cory's Microsoft DRM talk -- the video BBC recruits Microsoft DRM exec

Tim Wu on Net Neutrality/Google-Verizon betrayal Posted: 24 Sep 2010 10:53 PM PDT In this deep, engrossing Engadget interview, law professor Tim Wu talks about Net Neutrality and why it matters, and why Google has been willing to abandon its commitment to an open network in a deal with Verizon. Tim coined the term Net Neutrality and has a new book coming out in November, The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires, which I just read for review; not surprisingly, it's one of the best analyses of network policy and the history of telecommunications and media I've ever read. Engadget explains net neutrality -- and our full interview with Professor Tim Wu! Tim Wu to chair Free Press media reform org Homes with Tails: Homeowners providing their own fiber Network neutrality - why it matters, and how do we ... We need alternative sources of bandwidth just like we need ... Net Neutrality Showbiz Showdown: Hollywood unites against Google ... EFF's take on Verizon and Google's Net Neutrality Proposal - Boing ... AT&T executive supports Google-Verizon net deal Report: Google and Verizon to strike deal on 'tiered' internet ... Google and Net Neutrality Google, Verizon confirm talks over Net Neutrality, is this the end ... Google and the "capacity for audacity"

Foam printer makes floating foam shapes Posted: 24 Sep 2010 10:49 PM PDT I don't know anything about this foam printer -- it appears to be creating very crisp forms out of soap (?) bubbles, which are then lofted into the air. The printer was apparently on display at IFA Berlin. Anyone know more? Hit the comments. Foam Printer (via Beyond the Beyond) Flying carpet sofa PARC: What's w/the Shagadelic Carpet & Beanbag Chairs? What shall we do with a carpet sample? Carpet with built-in cable conduit Cowhide rug made out of vintage carpet Carpets that look like countries and continents HOWTO trick your printer into using ALL its ink Working Lego printer adorned with minifigs Cheap, portable personal 3D printer: the UP! HP to spam your web-connected printer Turn an inkjet into a 3D printer HOWTO make a t-shirt printer Toaster looks and acts like a printer

Buckyballs magnet magnates bully scrappy Zen Magnets: video response Posted: 24 Sep 2010 10:42 PM PDT In this youtubed open letter, a representative from Zen Magnets (small-fry makers of little round powerful magnets you can use to make interesting shapes) replies to a legal threat from Buckyballs (leading makers of little round powerful magnets you can use to make interesting shapes). It starts with a recorded voicemail from Buckyballs CEO Jake Bronstein threatening to sue Zen Magnets for selling a kit containing both Buckyballs and Zen Magnets on eBay with the claim that Zen Magnets are manufactured to a higher tolerance, are stronger, and have a brighter finish. From there, the Zen Magnets rep does a wonderful job illustrating the validity of his claims -- and making Buckyballs look like an anti-competitive bully who fights dirty with threats instead of superior products. According to this Slashdot article, the initial YouTube upload was taken down by a bogus DMCA copyright claim from Buckyballs CEO Jake Bronstein, which lends credence to the "bullying jerk" impression the Zen Magnets video delivers. Basically, this video's got everything: consumer advocacy, magnets, science, copyright abuse. It's about the classiest response I can imagine to a legal threat. Let's hope Zen sells a lot of magnets off the back of it. Zen Magnets vs Buckyballs Comparison Video Buckyballs: little magnetic metal balls that are fun to play with ...

Cigarette ad featuring smoking, bat-winged pegasus Posted: 24 Sep 2010 10:40 PM PDT They called 'em "Peacock cigarettes," but apparently the mascot was a bat-winged pegasus. Smoking a cigarette. Peacock cigarettes Graph of the way a cigarette tastes Recycle cigarette butts into anti-rust solution? "Hardcore vaping" electronic cigarette video review is full of ... Rug made out of cigarette butts Cigarette box from Thailand features photo of very ill person ... Steampunk monkey cigarette card set Blackened lung cigarette lighters Two year old smokes 40 cigarettes a day

Deer made from typewriter parts Posted: 24 Sep 2010 10:35 PM PDT Artist Jeremy Mayer created this sweet, delicate little deer out of typewriter parts. Deer III (via Super Punch) Prints made from typewriter parts Beautiful old typewriters in photos Typewriter key jewelry Typewriter repairmen in photos Old typewriters turned into beautiful, expressive animals and ... Humanoid sculptures made from old typewriters Vintage typewriter key jewelry NYC writer's space throws out last remaining typewriter user ...

Soyuz departs Space Station, headed for Kazakhstan Posted: 24 Sep 2010 09:16 PM PDT Two Russian cosmonauts and a US astronaut are tucked away safely into a Soyuz capsule, and heading home to Earth after successfully undocking from the International Space Station. This after the crew worked through technical problems that delayed their departure for a day. American astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson and Russia's Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko had been up there for a total of six months. Snip from AP: Undocking had been thwarted by signaling errors in the onboard computer system and a malfunction with the opening hooks and latches on the space station side of the capsule. More at Space.com. Image: NASA. "The Soyuz spacecraft undocked from the Space Station at 10:02 p.m. EDT with the three crew members aboard. A deorbit burn at 12:31 a.m. Saturday will put the Soyuz on track for a 1:21 a.m. landing in the steppe of Kazakhstan." More on the ISS mission at NASA.gov.

Olsen Twins sing "Pizza Song," slowed-up on sizzurp Posted: 24 Sep 2010 06:48 PM PDT We all know that slowed-down Justin Bieber produces Sigur Ros (though the reverse is not true). But what happens when Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen hit the purple drank before a pizza party song? This. Video Link. An excerpt from this, in which the celebrity twins also clearly slowed their roll. All of this comes from You're Invited To Mary-Kate and Ashley's Sleepover Party. And here is the original version of the Pizza Song. (via Submitterator, thanks Matt Staggs)

Artists attacked in Istanbul Posted: 24 Sep 2010 06:36 PM PDT Via the Submitterator, Boing Boing friend Doug Rushkoff writes: My friend and occasional collaborator, technology artist Burak Arikan, writes from Istanbul that he, the artists, and guests at galleries in the Tophane district of Istanbul were systematically attacked by thugs last week. According to Burak, there was blood "everywhere." From the press release prepared by the beaten artists: "In an organized attack on art galleries in the Tophane neighbourhood of Istanbul, guests attending exhibition openings were physically assaulted in a lynch attempt by a gang of 40-50 people. The audience subjected to this atmosphere of total terror featured artists, academicians, students, writers, local and international journalists and cultural attaches from consulates. The attackers used knives, batons, broken bottles and pepper spray. The injured include Polish, Dutch, German and English guests." Burak adds: "International support is urgent to enable the security in the Tophane district in Istanbul. The international visibility creates the chain pressure starting from the head of the government, which puts pressure on the mayor, which then affects the local police to investigate the criminal gang. Then hopefully we have a viable security in the district. Our press release is a collective effort, a statement from the Tophane art community." Now this all leaves us with the obvious question: why are the galleries of this section of Istanbul being attacked by small armed gangs? No one is quite sure. Some say it is loosely organized conservative radicals, others say it's state-sponsored terror against the emergence of a potentially counter-culturally inclined community. The works itself, such as Burak's piece entitled "When Ideas Become Crime," appear innocuous enough. Then again, when ideas become crime, no one is safe. Douglas Rushkoff is a media theorist and author. His new book, Program or Be Programmed, is being published this week by Or Books.

Xeni speaking in Minneapolis, MN on Sept. 28 at the MIMA Summit Posted: 24 Sep 2010 04:55 PM PDT Minnesotans! I will be speaking at the MIMA Summit next week in Minneapolis, the fine city which also happens to be home base for Boing Boing's Science Editor Maggie Koerth-Baker. So, here's info on my session. I'm delighted to be on the same bill as Baratunde and Gary Vaynerchuk!

Bill Maher's rant about rich people who feel vilified about their tax stance Posted: 24 Sep 2010 03:36 PM PDT Bill Maher's latest rant, about the tax bracket for the wealthy, is really funny. And let's be clear: that's 3.6% only on income above 250 grand -- your first 250, that's still on the house. Now, this week we got some horrible news: that one in seven Americans are now living below the poverty line. But I want to point you to an American who is truly suffering: Ben Stein. You know Ben Stein, the guy who got rich because when he talks it sounds so boring it's actually funny. He had a game show on Comedy Central, does eye drop commercials, doesn't believe in evolution? Yeah, that asshole. I kid Ben -- so, the other day Ben wrote an article about his struggle. His struggle as a wealthy person facing the prospect of a slightly higher marginal tax rate. Specifically, Ben said that when he was finished paying taxes and his agents, he was left with only 35 cents for every dollar he earned. Which is shocking, Ben Stein has an agent? I didn't know Broadway Danny Rose was still working. Ben whines in his article about how he's worked for every dollar he has -- if by work you mean saying the word "Bueller" in a movie 25 years ago. Which doesn't bother me in the slightest, it's just that at a time when people in America are desperate and you're raking in the bucks promoting some sleazy Free Credit Score dot-com... maybe you shouldn't be asking us for sympathy. Instead, you should be down on your knees thanking God and/or Ronald Reagan that you were lucky enough to be born in a country where a useless schmuck who contributes absolutely nothing to society can somehow manage to find himself in the top marginal tax bracket. Bill Maher rant about rich people who feel vilified

Visit to Edward Gorey House Museum Posted: 24 Sep 2010 10:31 AM PDT Morbid Anatomy's Joanna Ebenstein recently visited the Edward Gorey Museum in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts. The bad news is that apparently most of his clutter of curiosities has been "edited" and "organized." The good news is that quite a few amazing bits remain. (According to the museum's site, on October 30 the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Bass River will host the 9th Annual Goreyfest & Gala. "This event will be your last chance to see Edward Gorey's remaining fifteen fur coats before they depart to the four corners of the world via our special auction.") Joanna writes: Part of me wishes they had simply left the place as it was at Gorey's death, and allowed visitors the opportunity to wander around the famously idiosyncratic environment in which the man produced so many of his iconic works. However, I was quickly won over by the museum's small-town- quirky charm, and the pretty great displays, which included reproductions of his sketchbooks, amazing ephemera and souvenirs from Mystery and his Broadway production of Dracula, one of his raccoon fur coats, many of his Doubleday book covers, a number of his handmade stuffed animals, many coveted rare works such as his fantastic peepshow, and scores of other artifacts. Morbid Anatomy visits The Edward Gorey House Museum Image: If Edward Gorey did Gashlycrumb Games Photos of Edward Gorey's house Edward Gorey's Trouble with Tribbles Edward Gorey's house converted to a museum

Urban foragers Posted: 24 Sep 2010 10:18 AM PDT Urban foragers across the US are picking fiddlehead ferns, plums from public trees, and even edible flowers sprouting from sidewalk cracks. Researchers from the Institute for Culture and Ecology studied the old but growing practice, focusing on several dozen Seattle foragers. From National Geographic: This tiny group of foragers--just a small percentage of the people in Seattle who gather wild plants--together picks a whopping 250 different species of plants, year-round. Some have been gathering in Seattle for over 60 years. Most act as caretakers for their favorite spots, which they return to year after year. Foraging can be a risky business: in some municipalities, it's not allowed in public parks. Earlier this year, the New York Times' urban foraging columnist suggested that would-be gatherers pick day lily shoots from Central Park; the Times had to quickly post a clarification that picking plants from city parks was against the law. "If 15 people decide to go harvest day lilies to stir-fry that night, you could wipe out the entire population of day lilies around the Central Park reservoir," Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe told the Times. There's another risk: chemicals. "Most of the foragers we have talked to are expressing concerns about toxicity," Poe said. Public park managers aren't necessarily interested in preserving the edibility of the wild things that grow there--don't even start on whatever might grow in a median or alley. Park managers and city planners could make it easier for foragers, Poe suggested, by minimizing the chemicals sprayed or, at the very least, putting up signs to alert would-be foragers when pesticides are at their most potent. "Urban Foragers Cropping Up in U.S." Short documentary about urban foragers in Chicago It's urban vegetable foraging season! Scavenger's Manifesto: HOWTO be an urban scavenger

Biometric vending machine Posted: 24 Sep 2010 09:58 AM PDT This Wall Street Journal video shows a Japanese vending machine that uses a camera to identify (guess?) your gender and age. Based on that data, and the weather, it recommends a particular drink to you. Interestingly, this report also presents banana vending machines as innovative. (Yeah, yeah, just look at it, etc.) But I've seen fruit vending machines around the US for years. "In Japan, Tomorrow's Vending Machines Today" (via Submitterator, thanks CurseYouKhan!) A fun book about vending machines Marijuana vending machine Holy Vending Machine Vending machine sells ideas for things to do

Dalek mysteriously appeared at elementary school Posted: 24 Sep 2010 09:46 AM PDT A Dalek has mysteriously turned up at an Exeter, England elementary school. Nobody has claimed it. Davros could not be reached for comment. "We'd like to return him to his owner if possible because he's taking up quite a lot of room and is living in a cupboard at the moment." The value of the Dalek is not known but Ms Willey estimates that the replica could be worth hundreds of pounds. "He's a little bit damaged here and there, but he's still got to be worth hundreds," she said. "Someone out there must know where this Dalek has come from. And if the owner doesn't come forward, maybe we could give it to some charity or organisation that can do something with him." The school contacted police but officers say they have received no reports of a missing or stolen Dalek. "City school hasn't got time or space for lost Dalek" (via Fortean Times)

Sea snot explodes near BP spill disaster site, threatening marine ecosystem Posted: 24 Sep 2010 09:42 AM PDT Via the BB Submitterator, Marilyn Terrell of National Geographic says, Scientists studying the water surface near the BP rig explosion spotted relatively huge particles of sea snot, a mucus-like substance that phytoplankton produce when stressed. "It's possible that exposure to the Deepwater Horizon oil caused them to pump out more of the sticky stuff than usual." Sinking quickly en masse to the sea floor, the clumps of mucus may have temporarily wiped out the base of the food chain in the spill region. Adding oil to the snot makes marine mucilage, which can grow 100 mi. long. "Sea Snot" Explosion Caused by Gulf Oil Spill? (Image: National Geographic News / Arne Diercks)

Multinational copyright companies will require French ISPs turn over 150,000 subscriber names and addresses per day Posted: 24 Sep 2010 09:19 AM PDT France's "3-strikes" rule comes into effect this week, and multinational corporations are already flooding French ISPs with more than 10,000 requests a day for the personal information of accused infringers; they estimate that this number will go up to 150,000 users/day shortly. Once a user has received three unsubstantiated accusations of infringement, the entire household is cut off from the Internet for a year, and it becomes a crime for any other ISP to connect that family or household. The only opportunity to defend yourself from the charge is a brief "traffic-court"-like streamlined judiciary. ISPs that are not able to turn over 150,000 personal identities per day face a fine of €1,500 per accused infringer. The Internet providers will be tasked with identifying the alleged infringers' names, addresses, emails and phone numbers. If they fail to do so within 8 days they risk a fine of 1,500 euros per day for every unidentified IP-address. To put this into perspective, a United States judge ruled recently that the ISP Time Warner only has to give up 28 IP-addresses a month (< 1 per day) to copyright holders because of the immense workload the identifications would cause. All the major French ISPs have to cooperate with the identification process, and the first 'victims' are expected to be disconnected or fined in a few months when they receive their third warning. At this point it is doubtful whether Hadopi will in fact decrease the piracy rate. France Starts Reporting 'Millions' of File-Sharers

Fabric salad Posted: 22 Sep 2010 11:27 AM PDT Bon Bon Kakku allows people to design, sell, and vote on fabric designs they like. It's a "Meshy" business -- a shared space for encouraging crowd-sourced design. With her design, Vesa Savikko of Helsinki advises, "Create your own burger."

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