Monday, May 16, 2011

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing

Link to Boing Boing

Analytical Engine tech support

Posted: 16 May 2011 04:00 AM PDT


Today's Saturday Morning Breadfast Cereal webcomic posits a funny, notional correspondance between an unhappy Analytical Engine owner and the South Asian Technical Support Corporation.

Difference Engine Tech Support (Thanks, Pineapplecharm!)

Serendipity, the net and cities: are we living in bubbles? Do we have to?

Posted: 16 May 2011 03:59 AM PDT

Ethan Zuckerman's CHI (Computer Human Interaction) keynote, "Desperately Seeking Serendipity," is a thoughtful, nuanced discussion of the way that "cosmopolitans" (people who inhabit teeming, dense, multi-use spaces, be they cities or the Internet) experience serendipity. Zuckerman points out that we probably stick closer to our comfort zones than we care to admit -- cities and the net may offer a million choices, but chances are we select only a predictable few of them. He relates this to Pariser's new book The Filter Bubble (high up on my to-read list!), to Jane Jacobs, and to the history of the idea of serendipity itself. It's one of those essays/talks that reframes a familiar, polarized debate, introducing a new wrinkle to a question whose answers seem predictable and settled.
Desperately Seeking Serendipity

Philosopher Kwame Appiah points out that living as a cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world, has really only been possible in the past few hundred years. If you were one of the 97% of people living in rural areas in 1800, it's likely you would have had little or no contact with people who didn't share your language, culture or belief system. One of the reasons we have such difficulty living in a genuinely cosmopolitan way, Appiah suspects, is that we have vastly more experience as a species with parochialism than with cosmopolitanism.

If you wanted to encounter a set of ideas that were radically different than your own - say those of a confrontational homeless guy who sleeps in a tub - your best bet in an era before telecommunications was to move to a city. Cities are technologies for trade, for learning, for worship, but they're also a powerful communication technologies. Cities enables realtime communication between different individuals and groups and the rapid diffusion of new ideas and practices to multiple communities. Even in an age of instantaneous digital communications, cities retain their function as a communications technology that enables constant contact with the unfamiliar, strange and different.

To the extent that a city is a communications technology, it may not be a surprise that early literally portrayals of the internet seized on the city as a metaphor.

CHI keynote: Desperately Seeking Serendipity (via JoHo)

Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-134 launch: SpaceFlightNow webcast

Posted: 15 May 2011 08:47 PM PDT

Watch live streaming video from SpaceFlightNow webcast at livestream.com

sts134patch.jpg [Video Link]: Miles O'Brien, David Waters and Leroy Chiao host SpaceFlightNow's live webcast from NASA Kennedy Space Center of Endeavour's launch, for mission STS-134 to the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for today, Monday, May 16, 2011, at 8:56 a.m. EDT, lifting off from Pad 39A. Godspeed, Endeavour!

* You can buy the patch here.

Science fiction stories that'll poke you in the soft places

Posted: 15 May 2011 10:33 PM PDT

Kater Cheek, a talented new writer, has posted two short science fiction stories online for free. I've just read them both and they're the real deal -- scary, thought-provoking, and they get you right in the soft spots. "Emily's Fifth Birthday" is a story about parental guilt and the drive to make childhood perfect at any cost; "Alternative Medicine" is a very quick story about health as a zero-sum game. A highly recommended start to the week. Kater was one of my students at Clarion some years ago, and was a very promising writer then -- now she's got a lot more than promise.
"My niece is turning five," Rebecca said, expressing, she hoped, none of the horror she felt about that fact. She would have stopped it if she could, and was planning a strategy to keep her niece from turning six for a long time, but she couldn't expose that to Colette. Colette wasn't that sort of friend. "I'm taking the afternoon off to buy her a present."

Rebecca met Colette at their favorite bistro where they ordered salads and made a sly contest of under-eating one another. Today the birthday party dampened her appetite completely, so that Rebecca just picked at her parsnip and carrot salad. She didn't like it anyway. The raw vegetables tasted like nothing but vinaigrette.

Rebecca was thin, and petite, with a heart shaped face and light brown hair which she'd kept pale blonde for the past forty years of her life. She had arrested her age at twenty four, and planned to stay that young until she died.

"Emily's Fifth Birthday" and "Alternative Medicine"

Bitcoin: a new "peer-to-peer currency"

Posted: 15 May 2011 08:39 PM PDT

logo.jpg

The folks at LAUNCH put out a provocative edition of their email newsletter today focused on the open source internet currency system Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a P2P currency that could topple governments, destabilize economies and create uncontrollable global bazaars for contraband. (...) After month of research and discovery, we've learned the following:

1. Bitcoin is a technologically sound project.
2. Bitcoin is unstoppable without end-user prosecution.
3. Bitcoin is the most dangerous open-source project ever created.
4. Bitcoin may be the most dangerous technological project since the internet itself.
5. Bitcoin is a political statement by technotarians (technological libertarians).*
6. Bitcoins will change the world unless governments ban them with harsh penalties.

I haven't spent enough time poking around with Bitcoin yet to agree or disagree with the rather charged assertions above, but I'm definitely intrigued. More, including video, here.

Minuscule standard serving sizes considered harmful

Posted: 15 May 2011 01:16 PM PDT

Lazy Book Reviews has a great rant about serving-sizes and the genre of food/nutrition/health articles that breathlessly inform us that our intuition about servings is horribly wrong:
I'm sorry, a serving of bread should be two slices. You can run your mouth all you want about how in the 1940s cupcakes could only be seen with the aid of an advanced microscope, blah blah we're so indulgent blah blah portion control, but I have literally never seen a human being sit down to lunch and eat a single slice of bread. It's not plausible.

And you don't have to modify this to tell us to eat MORE, just tell us to eat FEWER SERVINGS once they've been brought in line with human standards.

Don't get me started with "you do know your protein is supposed to be the size of a deck of cards, right?" SAYS THE FUCK WHO? Oh, I'm so sorry, no one gave my salmon that memo. I'll just start ordering my chicken from the Hoyle factory, shall I?

So, Obviously, I'm Reading The New Issue Of O Magazine. (via Beth Pratt)

(Image: Food Pyramid, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from bethcanphoto's photostream)

Texas close to banning TSA searches, TSA invents desperate new constitutional interpretations

Posted: 15 May 2011 01:13 PM PDT

The Texas House of Reps just passed just passed a bill banning TSA searches without probable cause ("A person who is a public servant [acting under color of his office or employment] commits an offense if the person: (2) while acting under color of the person's office or employment without probable cause to believe the other person committed an offense: (A) performs a search for the purpose of granting access to a publicly accessible building or form of transportation;). The TSA has responded with headless chicken hysteria, making up gradeschool misinterpretations of the nature of US federalism.
This time, the TSA is on the defensive, and published an official statement about the Texas bill on their blog: "What's our take on the Texas House of Representatives voting to ban the current TSA pat-down? Well, the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article. VI. Clause 2) prevents states from regulating the federal government. "

The problem here? The statement is false. Ignorance from the TSA is unlikely, so I'll call a spade a spade. They're lying.

In public statement, TSA lies about the Constitution (via Reddit)

(Image: Waiting, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from cote's photostream)

Syrian dissidents use donkeys to smuggle videos to Jordan

Posted: 15 May 2011 01:06 PM PDT

Syrian dissidents are smuggling out videos of government crackdown atrocities using donkeys and old smuggler's routes into Jordan:
But desperate Syrians have been using a helping hand from smugglers to cross the border, either by walking or on the backs of donkeys, according to residents from Ramtha. Locals have centuries if not millennia of experience eluding officials.

"The two cities are connected more than anyone could think. For hundreds of years, the residents of Ramtha and Dara'a have been moving between the two towns easily through the farms and desert area. Now they rediscovered these ancient routes," says Ahmed Kareem, a Jordanian taxi driver from Ramtha.

Donkeys Take Over From DSL as Syria Shuts Down Internet (via /.)

(Image: 2009-09-16 at 11-33-01, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from rickmanwaring's photostream)

Anti-graffiti NYC politician wants to ban fat cap spraycan adapters

Posted: 15 May 2011 12:39 PM PDT


Queens, NY Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. has proposed a ban on fat caps, a spraycan adapter used by graffiti artists and others who need to cover a large surface quickly. Vallone's an anti-graffiti campaigner, and many graffiti writers have pointed out that there are plenty of legit uses for fat caps, including legal graffiti.
He previously helped pass laws that restrict the sale of spray-paint cans and broad-tipped markers. He has also sponsored a bill restricting the sale of etching acid.

"Vandals are now destroying homes and businesses and monuments like never before," Vallone said. "The more tools they come up with to destroy property, the more tools we have to give to law enforcement to protect properties."

Queens pol Peter Vallone Jr. seeks to crack down on 'fat caps,' a common graffiti tool (Thanks, billav!)

(Image: Grafcaps.com)

Walter Jon Williams uses pirate ebooks to rescue his backlist

Posted: 15 May 2011 04:37 PM PDT

Krid sez, "To save time and money in getting his out of print back catalog books into ebook format science fiction author Walter Jon Williams is asking his readers for help in proofreading pirated copies of the books he downloaded with Bittorrent."

Some of Walter Jon's books haven't been scanned by anyone -- not even dedicated bookwarez folks. So he's offering a reward to anyone who can produce a scan of these rare titles.

I discovered that my work had been pirated, and was available for free on BitTorrent sites located in the many outlaw server dens of former Marxist countries. So I downloaded my own work from thence with the intention of saving the work of scanning my books-- I figured I'd let the pirates do the work, and steal from them. While this seemed karmically sound, there proved a couple problems...

Should any of you volunteer to provide scans of Days of Atonement, Angel Station, and Knight Moves, that lucky individual will get a signed, personalized copy of the WJW book of his or her choice (assuming I actually have a copy, of course). Plus, whatever book you scan will spend digital eternity with your name in it, along with my eternal thanks. Sound good?

Crowdsource, Please (Thanks, Krid!)

Disney World Tiki Room to be restored to original glory?

Posted: 15 May 2011 12:29 PM PDT

Jim sez, "The Disney Parks blog has announced that the Walt Disney World Tiki Room (Under New Management) is going to be re-tooled again, bringing it more in line with the original theme of the show. Renovations are scheduled to be completed by this summer. No more Iago and Zazu!"

Regular readers will remember that the WDW Tiki Room caught fire earlier this year, burning out the revamped show (which was loathed by traditionalists, including me). Subsequent reports brought the news that the new, reviled animatronics had suffered the worst damage in the fire, which, in addition to being a kind of karmic justice, also led many of us to hope that the Tiki Room might be restored to its former glory. Hope blossoms anew!

The attraction was based on Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, which opened at Disneyland park in 1963. Its debut marked a huge milestone in Disney history, becoming the first attraction to ever feature Audio-Animatronics figures - a breakthrough that took 10 years to develop.

The latest version of the attraction, which will be called Enchanted Tiki Room, will debut at Magic Kingdom Park later this summer. Be sure to check the Disney Parks Blog for future updates on the attraction's progress.

Enchanted Tiki Room: Classic Attraction Transforms This Summer (Thanks, Jim!)

(Image: The Enchanted Tiki Room, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from disneyworldsecets's photostream)

Dancing anti-gravity plastic balls: happy!

Posted: 15 May 2011 12:25 PM PDT

Alan sez, "How to do 'happy' in a short film with microchips, soldering and... well, just watch."

"Happy" was the theme we were given by the organizers for this year's F5 Re:Play Fest, held in April in NYC, to create this edition's pieces, probably the hardest thing to convey in any artistic expression. After a good deal of introspection, and teaming up with awesome motion graphics artist Gerardo del Hierro, we decided that happy wasn't happy for Physalia unless pliers, microchips and a bit of soldering were involved, and with this idea we resolved to create the happiest machine Physalia has built to date.

F5 2011 RE:PLAY Film Festival. Inductance (Thanks, Alan!)

Safety Maps: where should we meet in a disaster?

Posted: 15 May 2011 11:59 AM PDT


Safety Maps are a simple tool to help choose a rendezvous spot in the event of a disaster -- it outputs a printable map with instructions and a clearly marked spot. Safety Maps users have produced little maps for use in the event of government crackdown on protestors, and another in case a sinkhole opens up.
Have you ever thought about how you'd stay in touch with your loved ones if your city experienced a natural disaster or other emergency?

Safety Maps is a free online tool that helps you plan for this situation. You can use it to choose a safe meeting place, print a customized map that specifies where it is, and share this map with your loved ones.

Safety Map (Thanks, Nurri!)

Vintage Jacko photos to fund miracle motor R&D

Posted: 15 May 2011 12:05 PM PDT

Jackssonononon
Reginald Garcia intends to sell 130 unpublished photos of Michael Jackson that he shot in 1978. Garcia will use the profits to fund commercialization of a motor he invented that, er, "generates more electricity than it uses," according to a CNN story:
"What we're essentially looking for is trying to take the photos that Reggie took of Michael Jackson, his legacy, use those funds to try to take our prototype to the market and ultimately clean up the environment and use less greenhouse gases as a result of a motor that's very highly efficient," (Garcia's business partner David) Mahronic said.

The motor buzzed as two voltage meters measured the energy going in and the power flowing out, back to the battery.

"It's generating more energy recharging the battery than it actually draws from the battery," Marohnic said.

Garcia reconfigured the brushes and rewound the copper in a standard motor "so it captures the negative electromagnetic field as it collapses, sends energy to a capacitor and recharges the battery," he said.

"Forgotten Michael Jackson photos could power the world, inventor says"

Man travels back in time 35 years, through reverse-chronological video clips

Posted: 15 May 2011 10:26 AM PDT

Video Link. By Sam Klemke. (Thanks, Joe Sabia!)

Space Shuttle Endeavour readies for Monday launch

Posted: 15 May 2011 09:54 AM PDT

Taibbi: "The People vs. Goldman Sachs"

Posted: 15 May 2011 09:46 AM PDT

RTR2D74H.jpg

"They weren't murderers or anything; they had merely stolen more money than most people can rationally conceive of, from their own customers, in a few blinks of an eye. But then they went one step further. They came to Washington, took an oath before Congress, and lied about it."—Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone, on why the US Justice Department should bring criminal charges against Goldman Sachs.

(Photo: Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Investigations Subcommittee hearing on "Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: The Role of Investment Banks" on Capitol Hill in Washington April 27, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Reed.)

TEPCO: meltdown occurred at Fukushima 16 hours after quake

Posted: 15 May 2011 10:18 AM PDT

RTR2MCHL.jpg

(In this Japan government photo handout via Reuters, a remote-controlled robot created by iRobot called "Packbot" is pictured by another "Packbot" near north side entrance of TEPCO's crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant No.3 reactor building. The image was captured on May 10, 2011.)

Z3N.tv: "Japan's Kyodo News has just reported that TEPCO, the nuclear power company in charge of the beleaguered Fukushima nuclear power plant, now claims that reactor number 1 had suffered a meltdown just 16 hours after the March 11 earthquake." The Z3N post translates and links to related news items from Japan news outlets.

NHK reports same here. And Japan Times also has an item up. A Wall Street Journal report here expands the story: three reactor cores have at least partially melted down at Fukushima.

(HT: Adario Strange.)

Amid global recession, new IMF strategy: raping commoners one at a time

Posted: 15 May 2011 10:19 AM PDT

RTR2LB0Y.jpg

Photo: "DSK" at the spring IMF-World Bank meetings in Washington April 16, 2011. (REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)

A 32-year-old hotel maid in New York City has filed charges against International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, accusing the 62-year-old of violent sexual attack, and attempted rape. He left the hotel shortly after the time of the alleged assault. NYPD caught up with him on an Air France flight at JFK, 10 minutes before the plane was to depart. They pulled him from his first class seat and arrested him on charges of a criminal sex act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment. A Socialist, Strauss-Kahn was anticipated to become a front-runner candidate in upcoming presidential election cycle in France. More: Reuters, New York Post, NYT, Associated Press.

Related: Anne Mansouret, a fellow Socialist politician in France, said on Sunday her daughter was the victim of a similar sexual assault by Strauss-Kahn in 2002. The alleged victim was DSK's god-daughter, by way of his second wife. Mansouret says she regrets pressuring her daughter not to file a complaint at the time. (via Julian Dibbell)

* Headline adapted from a Roger Ebert tweet.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

CrunchyTech

Blog Archive