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Social graph analysis reveals criminal conspiracy of slumlords Pulse-sensing headband Righthaven domain sells for $3300 The photographic fascination with twins, by Martin Schoeller Photos of snake handlers and faith healers of the 1940s Supercute! "Dumb Dumbs" Canadians: tell Parliament to preserve Canada's public domain! Delicious rotten cheese Gingerbread cuckoo clock with gingerbread gears Papercraft Paris HOWTO make a custom snowglobe of your house Ben Marcus's The Flame Alphabet novel and short film Artist Robert Brandenburg "hijacks" found oil paintings Friday Freak-Out: Os Mutantes perform "Caminhante Noturno" Super Punch: "Dell laptops are terribly low quality and you shouldn't buy one" Zombie head decanter in Boing Boing Shop Jack Kerouac's 1957 letter to Marlon Brando: "I'm praying that you'll buy On the Road and make a movie of it." Hamster-powered sub PCs with no pre-installed crapware are now a special product category with a marketing campaign How to train children to not vomit when they become astronauts Quasicrystals win Nobel for discoverer Village Voice cover Novel way to apply lipstick HOWTO make a gory, exposed brain cap Sponsor Shout-Out: Watchismo Congress wants to limit open access publishing for the US government's $28B/year subsidized research Huffington Post adds science section Fish mimics mimic octopus Earthrise + 2001: A Space Odyssey Social graph analysis reveals criminal conspiracy of slumlords
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 06, 2012 10:23 pm OrgNet, a data-mining consultancy, describes how it mined the social graph of the interlocking, every changing owners of several slum-buildings to show that they were all in a criminal conspiracy to avoid having to do the legally required maintenance necessary to keeping their buildings habitable and safe. Figure 6 shows the complete conspiracy. It was ...
Read in browser Pulse-sensing headband
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 06, 2012 10:04 pm [Video Link] Becky Stern made this video about her cool pulse-sensing headband, which makes a heart-shaped LED array flash in time to your heartbeat. You can build one yourself by following the instructions at Make: Projects. It's also one of many cool "DIY Superhuman" projects that we have in Make Vol 29, which is will ...
Read in browser Righthaven domain sells for $3300
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 06, 2012 09:41 pm After a few days on the block, copyright troll Righthaven's domain name sold for $3,300 this afternoon. The funds go to creditors of the bankrupt firm, which tried -- and failed -- to build a business shaking down websites that excerpted content from its clients' publications. We almost bought it just so we could redirect ...
Read in browser The photographic fascination with twins, by Martin Schoeller
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 06, 2012 09:36 pm The January 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine, on newsstands now, features fascinating photos of twins by Martin Schoeller. Loretta (left); Lorraine (right) When Loretta was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago, Lorraine was in the doctor's office with her. Loretta asked if Lorraine should be checked as well. The doctor discovered that Lorraine ...
Read in browser Photos of snake handlers and faith healers of the 1940s
By David Pescovitz on Jan 06, 2012 09:22 pm "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them." "Snake Handlers, Faith Healers of the 1940s" (Life.com)
Read in browser Supercute! "Dumb Dumbs"
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 06, 2012 09:08 pm [Video Link] The wait is over! Here's a new Supercute video, called "Dumb Dumbs." According to Alec Cumming, dad of Supercutester Julia Cumming, "Dumb Dumbs" is "a uke-driven cautionary tale about the addictive qualities of sugary treats vs. drugs, or something like that."
Read in browser Canadians: tell Parliament to preserve Canada's public domain!
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 06, 2012 09:04 pm Michael Geist sez, Canada celebrated New Year's Day this year by welcoming the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Carl Jung into the public domain just as European countries were celebrating the arrival of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, 20 years after both entered the Canadian public domain. Canada's term of copyright meets the international standard ...
Read in browser Delicious rotten cheese
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 06, 2012 08:46 pm "The maggots, starved for oxygen, writhe and jump in the bag, creating a 'pitter-patter' sound. When the sounds subside, the maggots are dead and the cheese can be eaten" [Wikipedia]
Read in browser Gingerbread cuckoo clock with gingerbread gears
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 06, 2012 08:00 pm Instructables virtuosa Mezcraft made a (sadly non-working) geared gingerbread cuckoo clock with internal gingerbread gearing. She kind of beats herself up for the mechanical unsoundness of gingerbread, but that's hardly her fault! Well - this is a bit of a fail so this is where it gets sad. After all my research and all of ...
Read in browser Papercraft Paris
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 06, 2012 07:30 pm This tiny, adorable papercraft Paris playset is a free download. Good fun for a weekend's pretend voyage -- spice up your romantic life by bringing your loved one a Continental breakfast in bed with a miniature Paris on the tray, and deliver it wearing a beret and nothing else. Or use 'em to decorate the ...
Read in browser HOWTO make a custom snowglobe of your house
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 06, 2012 06:13 pm A clever fellow called Qarl figured out how to make a custom snowglobe of his family's house as a surprise gift for his wife. He auto-modelled it in Google Sketchup, cleaned it up some, added a snowy hill, sent the model to a 3D printing company, and popped it in a snowglobe kit. Voila! 1) ...
Read in browser Ben Marcus's The Flame Alphabet novel and short film
By David Pescovitz on Jan 06, 2012 05:49 pm Author Ben Marcus sent me a link to this video based on his new novel due out next week, titled The Flame Alphabet. Judging by this animation and Ben's description, I expect it to be a delightfully dark and weird tale. Ben says: The novel is about a toxic language that comes from children. It ...
Read in browser Artist Robert Brandenburg "hijacks" found oil paintings
By David Pescovitz on Jan 06, 2012 05:33 pm Ohio artist Robert Brandenburg "hijacks" existing mass-produced oil paintings to great effect. He has a solo show, appropriately titled "Pooh… and Other Sh*t," opening tomorrow at Gallery 1988 in Venice, California. From his artist statement: These pictures began as a family tradition of giving each other 'gag gifts' for Christmas; I took cheap oils from ...
Read in browser Friday Freak-Out: Os Mutantes perform "Caminhante Noturno"
By David Pescovitz on Jan 06, 2012 05:23 pm Friday Freak-Out: Tropicália-psych heroes Os Mutantes perform "Caminhante Noturno" on TV in 1969. (Thanks, Mark!) Friday Freak-Out: The 13th Floor Elevators perform "You're Gonna ... Friday Freak-Out: The Cryin' Shames perform "Please Stay" (1966 ... Friday Freak-Out: Eric Burdon and War play "Tobacco Road" (1970 ... Friday Freak-Out: The Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee" (1966 ...
Read in browser Super Punch: "Dell laptops are terribly low quality and you shouldn't buy one"
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 06, 2012 05:06 pm John at Super Punch had such a farcically bad time trying to get service on a new Dell laptop that turned out to be a lemon that it prompted him to document it in eye-watering detail in a post called "Dell laptops are terribly low quality and you shouldn't buy one." I'm convinced. I called ...
Read in browser Zombie head decanter in Boing Boing Shop
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 06, 2012 04:30 pm What is a zombie head decanter? According to the description, it's a "decanter shaped like a zombie's head." Only $19.95 in the Boing Boing Shop!
Read in browser Jack Kerouac's 1957 letter to Marlon Brando: "I'm praying that you'll buy On the Road and make a movie of it."
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 06, 2012 04:13 pm Marlon didn't bite. But this May, the movie On the Road is coming out. The clip below looks like it was shot surreptitiously by someone who sneaked on the set. Potrzebie: Jack Kerouac writing to Marlon Brando in 1957
Read in browser Hamster-powered sub
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 06, 2012 04:04 pm Two (unnamed?) Ocean Engineering students created a "hamster-powered submarine" from "materials derived from common household objects" that connected a hamster wheel in a sealed, air-supplied vessel to a propeller, allowing hamsters to take themselves on aquatic jaunts. They documented the build in some detail, and supplied a video of the maiden voyage. One of the ...
Read in browser PCs with no pre-installed crapware are now a special product category with a marketing campaign
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 06, 2012 04:03 pm Microsoft's "Signature" PCs come without pre-installed crapware. Many new PCs come filled with lots of trialware and sample software that slows your computer down—removing all that is a pain, so we do it for you! Every PC the Microsoft Store sells is put on a software diet and performance is tuned to run the best ...
Read in browser How to train children to not vomit when they become astronauts
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 06, 2012 03:58 pm (Via Phil Are Go)
Read in browser Quasicrystals win Nobel for discoverer
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 06, 2012 03:50 pm Ars Technica's Matthew Francis: "The 2011 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Dan Schechtman for his discovery of quasicrystals, materials that do not have the regular lattice structure of crystalline solids."
Read in browser Village Voice cover
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 06, 2012 03:49 pm The cover of the latest Village Voice, art directed by John Dixon. I like the way the top line information is in the reflection along the top of the bin. How fun would it be to go through airport security and put this issue in a security bin, with nothing else? (Via coverjunkie, a great ...
Read in browser Novel way to apply lipstick
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 06, 2012 03:34 pm Every Friday, artist Mitch O'Connell runs a T.G.I.F. post featuring an image from his massive collection of vintage ephemera. This time, it's an old lipstick add, in which a woman is practicing her lipstick applying skills with no hands and closed eyes. The author of the 1974 book, Subliminal Seduction, which I loved reading as ...
Read in browser HOWTO make a gory, exposed brain cap
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 06, 2012 02:58 pm Hallowe'en has come and gone, but it's always the right time for hats that make you look like your skull has been removed, exposing your brain! It's best to study pictures of the human brain before tackling this project in order to best mimic the brain's convolution patterns when caulking the cap. Weighing a little ...
Read in browser Sponsor Shout-Out: Watchismo
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 06, 2012 02:50 pm Our thanks to Watchismo for sponsoring Boing Boing Blast, our once-daily delivery of headlines by email. Check out the DEFAKTO Inkognito. The idea is to display the time with the minimum information while being exact, as needed. This new German-made one-handed watch collection is stripped down to the core, removing all branding from the dial, ...
Read in browser Congress wants to limit open access publishing for the US government's $28B/year subsidized research
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 06, 2012 01:55 pm A new bill in Congress, H.R. 3699 ("To ensure the continued publication and integrity of peer-reviewed research works by the private sector"), creates a regulation that make it hard-to-impossible to publish open access scholarly journals. These are journals that are paid for directly by researchers, who pay a fee that helps pay for peer review, ...
Read in browser Huffington Post adds science section
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 06, 2012 01:54 pm I don't know much about the editor they've hired, former CBS.com health editor David Freeman, but color me cautiously optimistic. Will this move clean up the HuffPo's notoriously woo-filled science coverage? Cross fingers.
Read in browser Fish mimics mimic octopus
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 06, 2012 01:48 pm This is a great find by Not Exactly Rocket Science's Ed Yong. A tourist and a couple of researchers from the California Academy of Sciences have documented an instance of Pacific-dwelling jawfish hiding from predators by blending into the stripes of well-known camouflage guru, the mimic octopus. This relationship is probably a rare occurrence. The ...
Read in browser Earthrise + 2001: A Space Odyssey
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 06, 2012 01:26 pm Another great example of NASA footage set to sci-fi movie scores. Apparently, we have a thing going here now. Video Link Thanks, Avi Solomon! Previously: Comet Lovejoy + Total Recall = awesome
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