The Latest from Boing Boing

Every Day Carry Contest
Baladeo 22g and 34g Ultralight Knives
The Fine Bros. recap every episode of Doctor Who ever
FBI shuts down poker sites in online gambling crackdown
Baby Pygmy Goat Stampede: Cavalcade of Cuteness
CATURDAY: Royal Hello Kitty Naptime Edition

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 03:40 PM PDT

The tools you have with you are the ones that are going to get used, and so it is with great pleasure that we are announcing our newest contest seeking the best everyday carry (EDC) tools. The diversity of tools that people carry with them whether on keychains, in pockets and/or bags never ceases to astonish. From Moleskines to Leathermen, and flashlights to Buffs, the sheer number of tools we have to choose from is overwhelming. That's where you come in.

Send us reviews of your everyday carry tools, and explain why they have made the cut. There is no limit to how many you can include, and feel free to submit EDC tools from specific situations like camping or biking. Just remember every tool should be reviewed with the following five parts in mind:

1) a succinct description of what the tool is,
2) how it changed your behavior,
3) why Cool Tools should run the item,
4) why it is superior to other things, and
5) why we should believe you.

Submissions will be accepted until Friday, April 22nd. As usual, the author of the most publishable review gets to select a prize from the Prize Pool and will be published the following week. In addition to the current prize pool we have added a Baladeo 22g and 34g ultralight folding knife. So tell us all about the tools you have with you when it counts!

For inspiration, here are some previously reviewed EDC Cool Tools:
Split-Pea Lighter
Credit Card Survival Tool
Fisher Bullet Space Pen
Nite Ize S-Biner
Utili-Key

Good Luck!

-- Oliver Hulland, Editor, Cool Tools

Baladeo 22g and 34g Ultralight Knives

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 03:33 PM PDT

I love my Leatherman, and I would carry it in my pocket all the time if it didn't feel like a lead brick was trying to pants me every time I took a step. Given that gravity is, in most situations, unavoidable, I have been searching for a slim, lightweight knife I could keep in my pocket on an everyday basis. The 22g and 34g (their weight in grams) are minimalist folding knives. Like the previously reviewed lighter but still too-heavy Leatherman Skeletool, the Baladeos have skeletonized handles that leave just enough material to provide protection when the blade is closed. The blade itself has only a single edge so that it lays flat against the steel to prevent any accidental cuts when grabbing it in your pocket. The handle itself is designed with a surprisingly sturdy lock that I have found safe and easy to use. The only downside to the handle's design is that if you put too much pressure (read: significantly more than is required for most day-to-day activities) the lock can sometimes slip, causing the knife to unlock and shift which can be dangerous. It only happened once during my artificial tests, and when it did the blade stayed far away from my fingers.

Over the past year I picked up a Kershaw Vapor II that weighed 4.5-oz and a CRKT M16-10KZ 3-inch folding knife that weighed almost the same. Both were too bulky, and even at around 4.5-oz too heavy (not to mention I abhorred both locking mechanisms). After a while I started carrying around a disposable utility knife, but after nearly cutting myself for the third or fourth time I was ready to call it quits. That's why I was thrilled when I discovered the Baladeo 22g and 34g knives on Backpacking Light.

While I wouldn't use this blade for serious carving or any job that required a ton of force, it has found a welcome home in my pocket. The slim design of both knives coupled with their minuscule weights (.77-oz and 1.2-oz respectively) means that I hardly know they're there. With that being said, I know there are those out there who would advocate for a similarly light-weight full-tang knife like the previously reviewed Bird & Trout Knife, but I find the hassle and extra bulk of a sheath to be less desirable.

In the end, I have found that while both the 22g and 34g perform admirably, the 22g is the better investment. It is lighter, cheaper, and in almost every instance just as functional, all while taking up less space in my pocket.

-- Oliver Hulland

Baladeo 34g Knife
4.5-inch blade
$32

Baladeo 22g Knife
3.5-inch blade
$26 (temporarily OOS)

Don't forget to comment over at Cool Tools. And remember to submit a tool!

The Fine Bros. recap every episode of Doctor Who ever

Posted: 16 Apr 2011 08:59 AM PDT

[Video Link]. I suppose I should state the obvious: spoilers!

(thanks, Mark Day)

FBI shuts down poker sites in online gambling crackdown

Posted: 16 Apr 2011 08:43 AM PDT

On Friday, the FBI shut down three of the world's most popular online poker sites, replacing their home pages with the message: "This domain name has been seized by the F.B.I. pursuant to an Arrest Warrant."

Former Boing Boing guest-blogger Joe Menn at the Financial Times nails the story first and best, and describes it as "the largest crackdown since Congress banned electronic gambling transactions in 2006." More:

In an indictment unsealed on Friday, the government accused the creators of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker of illegal gambling, money laundering and bank fraud.
The government also filed a $3bn civil suit seeking to recover profit at the companies, which are based in other countries but have the three largest shares of the US market. They seized bank accounts and the website addresses used by all three, replacing the latter with warnings that managing or owning a gambling business is a crime.
None of companies could be reached for comment. The disruption of their sites and the seizure of funds could make it hard for them to do business and might dissuade some people from playing cards online.

Read the full FT story here. The LA Times also has coverage here and here, and here is a response by the owners of Full Tilt Poker.