The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. HOWTO erase about 15 drives Boeing workers busted in drug sweep. Don't worry, they were only making aircraft for Iraq, Afghan wars. HOWTO bake an apple pie with no apples Percussive high-speed garlic-peeling made simple Goodbye letter from Borders employee(s) (?) spills secrets of bookselling trade Salvador Dali Gets Surreal with Mike Wallace (1958) Indiana police seize California woman's medical marijuana Being Elmo: documentary on Elmo's human Fractal Menger sponge made from Post-Its Watch the Ig Nobel Awards, live Broken-hearted boat-builder seeks garage Send a free get-well Postagram to Photojojo's Amit Gupta Yes Men plan to publish "Occupy Wall Street Journal" Encoding text with GM bacteria Chewy Vuitton In India, the sari with a mobile phone pocket Privacy and security implications of Amazon's new "Silk" browser Imaginary images PR firm boss will fire you if you don't replace milk in fridge after using the last drop Pilot hits wrong button to open door for co-pilot returning from toilet, sends plane into nosedive Hunky librarian catalog to benefit It Gets Better Project Wall Street people in suits drink champagne as protests rage Occupy Wall Street protesters to focus on NYPD next Sony to cinemas: no more free 3D glasses The Ig Nobel Awards on BoingBoing Meet a paleontologist Why I love Kate Beaton's "Hark! A Vagrant" At Moscow's Alternative Hair Show, hairstyles you would never be able to pull off Red Shirt insignia depicts the fate of all redshirts Washington Monument engineers, rappelling way up high Watchismo Vintage & Modern Horology -  so be sure to check out The Vault at Watchismo. HOWTO erase about 15 drives By Cory Doctorow on Sep 30, 2011 05:13 am A Slashdot user posed a question: how to conclusively destroy 15-some hard-drives without spending big bucks on a degausser or wasting a lot of time waiting for DBAN to run. I like this response from Plover (who also recommends protective gear): If you're looking for fast production-line destruction, take a three pound hammer and punch. ... Read in browser Boeing workers busted in drug sweep. Don't worry, they were only making aircraft for Iraq, Afghan wars. By Xeni Jardin on Sep 30, 2011 04:25 am Dozens of current and former Boeing workers were arrested today in a federal drug bust. The workers are accused of illegally dealing prescription drugs (including Actiq, Oxycontin, and Xanax) at a plant that makes aircraft used in America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The DEA press release is here, and FBI press release is here. ... Read in browser HOWTO bake an apple pie with no apples By Cory Doctorow on Sep 30, 2011 04:02 am Stephany Aulenback tried out a recipe for "Chemical Apple Pie," a beloved science experiment that uses cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) to trick the human tongue into tasting apples, though no apples are, in fact, used in the pie. The pie tasted pretty good, and Aulenback unearthed a lot of interesting history of the dish: ... Read in browser Percussive high-speed garlic-peeling made simple By Cory Doctorow on Sep 30, 2011 02:52 am Here's Todd Coleman, exec food editor for Saveur, explaining a 10-second percussive method for separating garlic peels from the cloves. Handy! (Thanks, Fipi Lele) Read in browser Goodbye letter from Borders employee(s) (?) spills secrets of bookselling trade By Cory Doctorow on Sep 30, 2011 02:02 am A large handwritten poster (purportedly) from a laid-off employee of the defunct bookselling chain Borders entitled "Things we never told you: Ode to a bookstore death," reveals several key truths of bookselling (and some cranky griping): Things we never told you: Ode to a bookstore death • We hate when a book becomes popular simply ... Read in browser Salvador Dali Gets Surreal with Mike Wallace (1958) By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 30, 2011 12:29 am [Video Link] This Mike Wallace interview is a beautiful performance by Dali. From Open Culture: In 1958, [Mike] Wallace tried to demystify "the enigma that is Salvador Dali," and it didn't go terribly well. It turns out that surrealist painters give surreal answers to conventional interview questions too. Pretty quickly, Wallace capitulates and says, "I must ... Read in browser Indiana police seize California woman's medical marijuana By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 30, 2011 12:21 am The TSA and airport police in Indianapolis saved the world from total annihilation this week by seizing a breast cancer patient's medical marijuana. Indiana police seize California woman's medical marijuana (Via The Agitator) Read in browser Being Elmo: documentary on Elmo's human By Cory Doctorow on Sep 30, 2011 12:09 am Being Elmo is a documentary on the live of Kevin Clash, who was raised on Sesame Street and dreamed of being a Muppeteer with Jim Henson. He went straight from high school to New York to throw himself at the Henson studios, came up with Elmo, and the character became his life. The film has ... Read in browser Fractal Menger sponge made from Post-Its By Cory Doctorow on Sep 29, 2011 11:32 pm Nicholas Rougeux made this fabulous Menger sponge fractal out of mini Post-its, which he swears by for erecting fractals: Each Post-It was torn into 16 equal squares, then folded into units and assembled into the sponge. Post-its offer surprisingly structural durability and are easy to get in large quantities making them ideal for assembling structures ... Read in browser Watch the Ig Nobel Awards, live By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 29, 2011 11:28 pm The Ig Nobel Awards honor scientific research that is simultaneously silly-sounding and thought provoking. This years' awards ceremony, in Boston, is sold out. But you can watch the whole thing here, starting right ... about ... now (7:30 Eastern). If you miss the show, never fear. The YouTube video embedded here will automatically switch from ... Read in browser Broken-hearted boat-builder seeks garage By Cory Doctorow on Sep 29, 2011 11:26 pm A broken-hearted person in Heather's neighbourhood is building a boat. He wants your help, your garage, and your company. Read in browser Send a free get-well Postagram to Photojojo's Amit Gupta By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 11:10 pm Doc Pop shares the news that our mutual friend Amit Gupta (founder of the terrific online photography shop Photojojo, and lots of other cool photography-related projects) has been diagnosed with leukemia. "There's a big push on the blogosphere to keep Amit's hospital room filled with postcards and we wanted to help out," Doc writes, "So ... Read in browser Yes Men plan to publish "Occupy Wall Street Journal" By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 10:56 pm The group of merry populist pranksters The Yes Men have a Kickstarter going to raise funds for Occupy Wall Street Journal, "a four-page broadsheet about the 99% represented at Liberty Plaza." (NYO) Read in browser Encoding text with GM bacteria By Cory Doctorow on Sep 29, 2011 10:14 pm Science Now reports on a project from David Walt (Tufts) and George Whitesides (Harvard) to come up with a steganographic text-encoding scheme that uses bacteria to encode messages and selective antibiotics to reveal them. It was conceived of in response to a DARPA challenge to devise non-electrical text-encoding, but its applications include adding text-based information ... Read in browser Chewy Vuitton By Cory Doctorow on Sep 29, 2011 09:09 pm Nice one, MyGayDads! (Thanks, Fipi Lele!) Read in browser In India, the sari with a mobile phone pocket By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 08:21 pm Old meets new in Chennai: "The sari with a pocket – pre-stitched and embroidered, appearing just below the waist on the left – that can carry a mobile phone or even the stray iPod or lipstick." (NYT) Read in browser Privacy and security implications of Amazon's new "Silk" browser By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 08:19 pm "Amazon will capture and control every Web transaction performed by Fire users. Every page they see, every link they follow, every click they make, every ad they see is going to be intermediated by one of the largest server farms on the planet. People who cringe at the data-mining implications of the Facebook Timeline ought ... Read in browser Imaginary images By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 08:15 pm "A Terry Richardson photo of Jay-Z and Thom Yorke dressed in tuxedos eating Swedish fish while wearing Hulk hands"—one of an infinite number of images that would be awesome, if they existed. (via @nopattern) Read in browser PR firm boss will fire you if you don't replace milk in fridge after using the last drop By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 08:12 pm "I am gravely serious when I write this - if I catch someone not replacing the milk, or at least, in the case where the downstairs store has close [sic] already, not sending an email to the office so the first person that arrives (usually Christa or me) can pick one up upon arrival - ... Read in browser Pilot hits wrong button to open door for co-pilot returning from toilet, sends plane into nosedive By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 08:10 pm Derp. "A Japanese airline says one of its jets nose-dived and rolled almost upside down earlier this month because the co-pilot hit the wrong controls while trying to open the cockpit door so the captain could return from a restroom break." (via @nickbilton) Read in browser Hunky librarian catalog to benefit It Gets Better Project By Cory Doctorow on Sep 29, 2011 08:05 pm "Men of the Stacks" is a beefcake calendar featuring hunky librarians, with proceeds to the It Gets Better project. (Thanks, Fipi Lele!) Read in browser Wall Street people in suits drink champagne as protests rage By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 07:52 pm Ken Layne at Wonkette points to this provocative video. Not entirely sure of its true provenance, or who's doing what, but it's definitely struck a popular chord, and gone viral. I remember protesting on Market Street in San Francisco a decade ago or so, near financial firms, and seeing bankers and business-folk sneer and mock ... Read in browser Occupy Wall Street protesters to focus on NYPD next By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 07:49 pm The activists behind Occupy Wall Street plan to demonstrate Friday on the streets outside the New York City police department's operations center. They're adding "excessive police force against protesters and police treatment of ethnic minorities and Muslims to its grievances list, which includes bank bailouts, foreclosures and high unemployment." Read in browser Sony to cinemas: no more free 3D glasses By Cory Doctorow on Sep 29, 2011 07:07 pm Now here's some good news for movie-goers: Sony has informed theatrical exhibitors that it will no longer pay for 3D glasses, and will now expect the cinemas to pay the $0.50/customer for the specs, presumably passing this on to cash-strapped customers who are already paying a $3-4 premium to see movies in 3D. Why is ... Read in browser The Ig Nobel Awards on BoingBoing By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 29, 2011 06:37 pm Check back here tonight to watch a live broadcast of the Ig Nobel Awards, starting at 7:05 Eastern time. Read in browser Meet a paleontologist By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 29, 2011 06:33 pm What does a scientist do all day? The Smithsonian's Matthew Carrano explains his job as a paleontologist, what he hopes to discover, and why he made a career out of dinosaurs. Read in browser Why I love Kate Beaton's "Hark! A Vagrant" By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 29, 2011 06:23 pm On April 6, 1909, Robert Peary claimed to be the first person to reach the North Pole. Of course, there were some issues with his claim. For one thing, Inuit had almost certainly been through the area before. For another, a guy named Frederick Cook said he'd reached the Pole in 1908. And, last but ... Read in browser At Moscow's Alternative Hair Show, hairstyles you would never be able to pull off By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 06:10 pm Above and below: models at the Alternative Hair Show in Moscow's Kremlin, September 28, 2011. (REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov) Read in browser Red Shirt insignia depicts the fate of all redshirts By Cory Doctorow on Sep 29, 2011 06:04 pm Love this Ian Leino Red Shirt t-shirt design, whose Star Trek insignia bears a frank and unmistakable icon depicting the fate of all redshirts in the landing party. (via Making Light) Read in browser Washington Monument engineers, rappelling way up high By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 05:55 pm Dan Ruff shot this wonderful photograph of structural engineers rappelling down the face of the Washington Monument to inspect possible earthquake damage. More shots here. Shared in the Boing Boing Flickr Pool. Maggie wrote about this the other day, but it's neat to see a Boing Boing reader out on the scene taking photos! Read in browser More to read:  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Sent by 2011 Boing Boing, CC. You are subscribed to email updates from Boing Boing. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe immediately. 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The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Mickey Mouse milk ad is a relic of olde worlde naiveté (or it's just rude) China space launch "all systems go" for Thursday Podcast: my story "The Brave Little Toaster" HOWTO rubberize origami Settlers of Catan accessory to prevent board mishaps A thermite reaction on 9/11? Can magnets make you lie? Taxonomy of Big Bird HOWTO be desaturated Hartley Hoskins makes steel cable sound cool New Mexico couple says no to DEA drug raid Harvard-supported Harvard Grad Mitt Romney Criticizes Obama for being a Harvard-supported Harvard Grad Meltdown - The men who crashed the world Inside Alvin: Scientists as Makers Andy Warhol in Pioneer stereo ad Quake's vibration, not power loss, shut off VA nuclear plant PBS reporter jailed while covering "Occupy Wall Street" protests in NYC Baby pandas need a nap Great photographs re-created in LEGO Hey baby, what's cookin'? Kitty has two faces Ice-cube molds shaped like penguins and polar bears standing on ice-bergs Andy Rooney on Letterman, 1982 Exploding toilet injures woman at US govt. building Men and Motorcycles, Nairobi, Kenya (photo) Who killed videogames? Beautifully written account of behavioral economics and social games Boing Boing's "B-Side" Frying pans that resemble planets Portal 2 warning sign coasters TOM THE DANCING BUG: On Re-Fighting The Wrong Wars Watchismo Vintage & Modern Horology -  so be sure to check out The Vault at Watchismo. Mickey Mouse milk ad is a relic of olde worlde naiveté (or it's just rude) By Cory Doctorow on Sep 29, 2011 12:24 pm This undated old Grad Rapids Milk ad features a bit of dialogue from Minnie and Mickey Mouse that either contains a rude double-entendre or is a relic of an era of unbelievable naiveté. Either way: snigger snigger snigger. (Thanks, Fipi Lele!) Read in browser China space launch "all systems go" for Thursday By Xeni Jardin on Sep 29, 2011 05:34 am A spacecraft named Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace, is set to blast off Thursday from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province. "The launch will mark the start of China's first spacecraft rendezvous and docking mission," China Daily reports. The unmanned spacecraft will be directed into an orbit about 350 kilometers above Earth. Read in browser Podcast: my story "The Brave Little Toaster" By Cory Doctorow on Sep 29, 2011 01:00 am I've just returned to podcasting after a summer holiday, kicking it off with my story "The Brave Little Toaster" (part of a series of stories that share titles with famous stories, in this case, the Disch story of the same name), just published in MIT Tech Review's TRSF. It's a story about when the "Internet ... Read in browser HOWTO rubberize origami By Cory Doctorow on Sep 28, 2011 10:55 pm Instructables user Blightdesign has developed a method for rubberizing paper origami creations by dipping them in Plastidip, using them for Christmas tree ornaments. This HOWTO explains how to rubberize your own paper toys. (via Make) Read in browser Settlers of Catan accessory to prevent board mishaps By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 28, 2011 10:43 pm I've reviewed the Settlers of Catan and the Settlers of Catan Portable Edition. The nice thing about the portable edition's board is that it's not wont to fall apart like the standard edition's is. SJ Brown is taking a different approach to the flimsy Catan board problem by creating a beautiful wooden gameboard accessory for ... Read in browser A thermite reaction on 9/11? By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 28, 2011 10:09 pm Still think that something other than a mere plane crash brought down the World Trade Center towers? According to a Norwegian materials expert, you may be right. Just ... you know ... not in the way most Truthers probably expect. Christian Simensen thinks the Twin Towers were ultimately felled by a thermite reaction. "If my ... Read in browser Can magnets make you lie? By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 28, 2011 09:27 pm A small Estonian study is offering some hints that our brains could be even weirder than we'd imagined. Researchers found that magnetic pulses directed at a certain part of the frontal cortex affected whether people were more willing to fib, or more likely to tell the truth. Only 16 people were involved in the study, ... Read in browser Taxonomy of Big Bird By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 28, 2011 09:12 pm In this Pecha Kucha presentation from Christchurch, New Zealand, Zoologist Mike Dickison talks about where a certain large, yellow, flightless bird fits into the tree of life. Via Erin Kane Read in browser HOWTO be desaturated By Cory Doctorow on Sep 28, 2011 09:09 pm From BrodyQat, whose infamous desaturated Santa outfit made her the toast of the Internet, advice on how to make yourself a monochrome costume: You have to think in shades of gray, not black & white. And all your grays need to complement each other, which is freaking HARD. There's blue-grays, red-grays, etc. Find neutral ones, ... Read in browser Hartley Hoskins makes steel cable sound cool By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 28, 2011 08:53 pm Hartley Hoskins is a geophysicist and communications engineer who has worked for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute since 1958. Last month, he gave me a behind-the-scenes tour of the places where WHOI's maker/scientists build the research equipment they use from scratch. In this short clip, aboard the research vessel Oceanus, he talks about the special ... Read in browser New Mexico couple says no to DEA drug raid By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 28, 2011 08:53 pm Couple in shock after drug raid: krqe.com Acting on a "citizen's tip," a team of assault-weapon toting DEA agents were denied entry into a married couple's home in New Mexico. "There came this huge bang on the door, front door, sounded like the door was going to fall in," recalled [Nancy] Parker. She said her ... Read in browser Harvard-supported Harvard Grad Mitt Romney Criticizes Obama for being a Harvard-supported Harvard Grad By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 28, 2011 08:33 pm You can't really get upset with Harvard man Mitt Romney for disparaging Obama for being a Harvard man. After all, Romney is just reciting words on a card that someone (probably a Harvard grad) has instructed him to read aloud. IvyGate points out the following facts, among others: Mitt Romney holds not one, but two ... Read in browser Meltdown - The men who crashed the world By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 28, 2011 08:16 pm [Video Link] "The first of a four-part investigation into a world of greed and recklessness that brought down the financial world." From Open Culture: Doc Zone, a documentary series produced by CBC Television, is now airing a four part investigation into the great financial meltdown of 2008. Along the way, the CBC's Terence McKenna takes ... Read in browser Inside Alvin: Scientists as Makers By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Sep 28, 2011 08:16 pm There are things you can't buy at Radioshack. There is not always an App for that. Sometimes, the only way to make something work is to build it yourself. Nobody knows that better than scientists. From physicists tracking a particle, to taxonomists identifying a new species of wasp, to chemists creating a useful molecule—nearly every ... Read in browser Andy Warhol in Pioneer stereo ad By Mark Frauenfelder on Sep 28, 2011 08:12 pm "We asked Andy Warhol to paint a picture of a Pioneer high fidelity receiver. He can't seem to finish. He says he gets so wrapped up up in the beautiful sound of the subject that he can't concentrate on the way it looks." Andy knew they'd pay him all the same, so why should he ... Read in browser Quake's vibration, not power loss, shut off VA nuclear plant By Xeni Jardin on Sep 28, 2011 07:57 pm Here's a first: a nuclear power plant in Virginia shut down by the earthquake last August was effectively "switched off" not by a loss of power, as previously thought, but by the actual seismic vibrations from the quake. Read in browser PBS reporter jailed while covering "Occupy Wall Street" protests in NYC By Xeni Jardin on Sep 28, 2011 07:48 pm While working on a story about citizen journalism at the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York for PBS affiliate WNET Thirteen, John Farley was arrested, along with the demonstrators whose stories he was covering. My arrest gave me a unique vantage point on the risks and rewards of citizen journalists, those non-professionals who capture ... Read in browser Baby pandas need a nap By Xeni Jardin on Sep 28, 2011 07:27 pm Giant panda cubs lie in a crib at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province September 26, 2011. (REUTERS/China Daily) Read in browser Great photographs re-created in LEGO By Xeni Jardin on Sep 28, 2011 07:25 pm Artist Mike Stimpson recreates iconic photographic images in LEGO. (via Russ Marshalek) Read in browser Hey baby, what's cookin'? By Dean Putney on Sep 28, 2011 07:24 pm The New York Times photography department is really on a roll with this deliciously absurd photo of a chicken. Read in browser Kitty has two faces By Xeni Jardin on Sep 28, 2011 07:23 pm This Massachusetts cat with two faces has become the world's longest surviving so called "janus" feline at 12 years of age. The cat, who is named Frank and Louie, has two mouths, two noses and three eyes. Frank and Louie have one brain, so the faces react in unison. (REUTERS/David Niles) Update: via the comments, ... Read in browser Ice-cube molds shaped like penguins and polar bears standing on ice-bergs By Cory Doctorow on Sep 28, 2011 07:04 pm I love these "polar ice" molds from the Japanese site Monos; they resemble penguins and polar bears perched on icebergs, and are balanced so they stay upright in your drink. (via Super Punch) Read in browser Andy Rooney on Letterman, 1982 By Xeni Jardin on Sep 28, 2011 06:39 pm [Video Link]. From a longer appreciation of Andy Rooney on Woot. The veteran television commenter, whose complaints and annoyances somehow comforted the rest of us, will announce this weekend on 60 Minutes that he is retiring. He was like, the world's kindest internet troll, only on TV instead of a blog comment thread. He philosophized ... Read in browser Exploding toilet injures woman at US govt. building By Xeni Jardin on Sep 28, 2011 06:06 pm At a General Services Administration building, a toilet exploded and injured a woman so badly, she had to go to the hospital. Things have since improved. It's not funny if you're the one on the toilet. Read in browser Men and Motorcycles, Nairobi, Kenya (photo) By Xeni Jardin on Sep 28, 2011 05:57 pm "Nairobi, Kenya," a photo from Boing Boing reader Biketripper shared in the BB Flickr Pool. On the bikeflaps of one rider, "A Strong Enemy Is Better Than a Weak Friend." Read in browser Who killed videogames? Beautifully written account of behavioral economics and social games By Cory Doctorow on Sep 28, 2011 05:53 pm Tim Rogers's essay "Who killed videogames? (a ghost story)" is one of the most interesting pieces of technology reporting I've ever read. It's a long (long!) account of the mechanics of "social games" where psychomathematicians or behavioral economists or engagement designers (all variations on the same theme) create systems to make games compelling without being ... Read in browser Boing Boing's "B-Side" By Xeni Jardin on Sep 28, 2011 05:45 pm There are a number of delightful little easter eggs baked in to our redesign by Boing Boing's managing editor, Rob Beschizza. Among them, a section we're calling B-side, "a place where we'll post unwieldy or alarming amusements that don't fit well on the homepage because of file size, formatting or other reasons." Now go have ... Read in browser Frying pans that resemble planets By David Pescovitz on Sep 28, 2011 05:35 pm Christopher Jonassen photographed well-used frying pans that resemble alien planets. The series is titled "Devour." (via @wonderosity) Related, the "'Fried Egg' nebula cracks open rare hyper giant star" (Thanks, Ariel Waldman!) Read in browser Portal 2 warning sign coasters By Cory Doctorow on Sep 28, 2011 05:21 pm ThinkGeek's got a set of funny Portal 2 warning-sign coasters, which may serve as a minatory presence in your home for careless visitors who leave rings on the furniture. (via Red Ferret) Read in browser TOM THE DANCING BUG: On Re-Fighting The Wrong Wars By Ruben Bolling on Sep 28, 2011 05:00 pm Read in browser More to read:  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Sent by 2011 Boing Boing, CC. You are subscribed to email updates from Boing Boing. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe immediately. Our mailing address is: Boing Boing 905 Wettach St Pittsburgh, Pa 15122 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences