WATCHISMO TIME MACHINES - Timing is everything...
Android dock charges, plays music, controls all music apps for many phones and connectors, without an app Dragon made from disposable dollar-store cutlery Robert Anton Wilson Week on Boing Boing Ron Paul Newsletters, 140 characters at a time Crocheted Vulcan ears TSA's brags about not catching any terrorists, proves its own irrelevance Why the raw cannabis juicing trend may not be all it's juiced up to be Lego Heroica: fun adventure gaming for kids Monster-movie drive-in poster Run your business like a crime-boss Testament of humanitarian aid worker who spent seven years being held and tortured in Gitmo Inside NASA's Venus machine Tonsillectomy Confidential: doctors ignore polio epidemics and high school biology Chalkboard banquet-table What happens to your luggage after you check it at the airport? Giancarlo Esposito (Gustavo Fring on Breaking Bad): Reddit AMA with video Marijuana is the new Wheatgrass 30 hornets vs. 30,000 bees = "300" with flying insects (video) Intel fakes Ultrabook demo. 1937 Chevy Newsreels Pets - Pussyweight Boxing Cats Battle State Dept. of Transportation Archaeologists forced to use ground penetrating radar and magnetometers to dispute location of cemetery located by man dowsing with wires Texas schoolchildren get criminal citations for cussing in class, shouting within 500' of school Trash Talk – "Slander" music video The terribly wonderful storefront murals of East Hollywood Rick Santorum doesn't understand sex Global No Pants Subway Ride 2012: gallery of photos larger than you might actually wish to view Lockdown: The coming war on general-purpose computing No More SOPA: mobile app scans barcodes to tell you which products are made by SOPA supporters Steve Jobs, the Inhumane Humanist Apps for Kids 004: Toca Hair Salon Android dock charges, plays music, controls all music apps for many phones and connectors, without an app
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 11, 2012 12:50 pm This "first ever" Android speaker dock does some pretty clever mojo to get compatibility with a wide variety of Android shapes, connectors, and OSes without sacrificing useful functions. JoeBorn from Neuros sez, "The dock charges via USB and gets sound from the headphone jack. Licensing beta technology from Sonr it also uses the headphone jack ...
Read in browser Dragon made from disposable dollar-store cutlery
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 11, 2012 08:59 am DeviantArt's ~toge-NYC hot-glued this awesome dragon out of plastic disposable cutlery and cups, slaving over it for 80 hours, "completely freestyle - no plans/blueprints/drafts." Plasticdragon (via Craft)
Read in browser Robert Anton Wilson Week on Boing Boing
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 11, 2012 06:23 am "I regard belief as a form of brain damage." ― Robert Anton Wilson Tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of Robert Anton Wilson's death. Bob was a writer of fiction and non-fiction, most notably the Illuminatus! trilogy (co-written with Robert Shea) and the non-fiction memoir Cosmic Trigger: The Final Secret of the Illuminati. In all, he ...
Read in browser Ron Paul Newsletters, 140 characters at a time
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 11, 2012 01:55 am Following the RP_Newsletter account is great, because 140 characters of the Ron Paul Newsletters is about as much as I can stand in one gulp. The Twitter account publishes actual quotes from the presidential candidate's publications. Here's one: "I've urged everyone in my family to know how to use a gun in self defense. For ...
Read in browser Crocheted Vulcan ears
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 11, 2012 01:48 am Croshame's just posted a pattern for making your own crocheted Spock ears, which are both logical and very toasty-warm. Well, Christmas has come and gone and you've already gotten all the fancy stun guns and tricorders and communicators your heart could desire, so why not try out some of that fabulous Star Trek fashion sense ...
Read in browser TSA's brags about not catching any terrorists, proves its own irrelevance
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 11, 2012 01:07 am Bruce Schneier looks at the TSA's brag sheet, documenting the "Top 10 Good Catches of 2011" and finds "mostly forgetful, and entirely innocent, people. Note that they fail to point out that the firearms and knives would have been just as easily caught by pre-9/11 screening procedures." That's right; not a single terrorist on the ...
Read in browser Why the raw cannabis juicing trend may not be all it's juiced up to be
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 11, 2012 01:03 am Earlier today, I posted a quick link to an LA Weekly item about a new round of media attention devoted to Dr. William Courtney, and his research on juicing cannabis for health benefits. The tl;dr of his idea: with raw cannabis juice, you don't get high, but you do get various health benefits. Hmmm. I ...
Read in browser Lego Heroica: fun adventure gaming for kids
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 11, 2012 12:13 am In episode 34 of the Gweek podcast, I mentioned Lego Heroica and how much my 8-year-old daughter enjoys it. It's a simple-rule-set role playing game that uses Lego pieces for the characters, board, and even the six-sided die. We have the 101-piece Draida Bay ($14.99 on Amazon). It took Jane about 15 minutes to put ...
Read in browser Monster-movie drive-in poster
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 10, 2012 11:58 pm A near-perfect example of the monster-movie drive-in poster-maker's art. "The Biggest THING in Town!"
Read in browser Run your business like a crime-boss
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 10, 2012 10:55 pm Donald DeSantis explains how an unnamed "crime boss" mentored him through his first high-tech startup. The piece is a little oblique, thanks to a lack of specifics ("The other business was transactional and lacked any customer loyalty or love." -- OK, what was it?), but it's still an entertaining read: Cut out the middleman As ...
Read in browser Testament of humanitarian aid worker who spent seven years being held and tortured in Gitmo
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 10, 2012 09:00 pm The NYT gives space to Lakhdar Boumediene, a humanitarian aid worker who was arrested on secret evidence that he was planning to blow up the US embassy in Sarajevo. Despite the fact that the case was found without merit by Bosnia's highest court, he was kidnapped to Guantanamo Bay by US forces and held for ...
Read in browser Inside NASA's Venus machine
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 10, 2012 08:38 pm This chamber, currently under construction at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, will be able to reproduce the temperature, pressure, and chemical conditions on the surface of Venus. Scientists will use it to find materials and lander designs that can withstand the 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures on that planet. In a story on the chamber ...
Read in browser Tonsillectomy Confidential: doctors ignore polio epidemics and high school biology
By Seth Roberts on Jan 10, 2012 08:29 pm Seth Roberts is the author of The Shangri-La Diet and posts at Seth's Blog about personal science, self-experimentation, and the scientific method. In 2008, Rachael Hoffman-Dachelet's eight-year-old son started having frequent sore throats. He'd run a fever, feel stiff and tired, and miss a few days of school. After six sore throats in a year, ...
Read in browser Chalkboard banquet-table
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 10, 2012 08:24 pm I like this idea for a banquet table: cover it with black construction paper and then chalk on place-settings and namecards for all the guests. Fall 2006, Blackboard-Chalk Reception Table (via Craft)
Read in browser What happens to your luggage after you check it at the airport?
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 10, 2012 07:47 pm Okay, yes. This is an ad for a Delta "track your luggage" app. And, yes, it blacks out the part where your luggage goes through security. But it's also a nifty little video that reminds me of the how's-it-made genre of Sesame Street videos that I loved as a child. There's just something about stuff ...
Read in browser Giancarlo Esposito (Gustavo Fring on Breaking Bad): Reddit AMA with video
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 10, 2012 07:41 pm "I am Giancarlo Esposito. I've had a few people tell me Reddit would be a great place to have a discussion with fans. And what does a man do? A man provides." Reddit AMA here. Response videos shot by BB pal Joe Sabia are embedded below: one in which Esposito lovingly recounts stuff he stole ...
Read in browser Marijuana is the new Wheatgrass
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 10, 2012 07:36 pm Drink your cannabis, say some raw-pot advocates. It won't get you high, but it's good for you. I'm skeptical, but I know one thing: unless you're growing your own, it is likely not good for your wallet.
Read in browser 30 hornets vs. 30,000 bees = "300" with flying insects (video)
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 10, 2012 07:29 pm [Video Link] Spoiler: the hornets win. Above, snip of BBC documentary with narrator commentary. Below, the EPIC MUSIC REMIX VIDEO. (Via The Daily What)
Read in browser Intel fakes Ultrabook demo.
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 10, 2012 07:04 pm Hey, something interesting happened at CES! Intel got caught faking a graphical demo of a video game supposedly running on an ultra-portable laptop. Watch for the little popup when the "game" starts. [via Gizmodo]
Read in browser 1937 Chevy Newsreels Pets - Pussyweight Boxing Cats Battle
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 10, 2012 07:01 pm [Video Link] Animal cruelty as entertainment in 1937. (Thanks, Felipe Li!)
Read in browser State Dept. of Transportation Archaeologists forced to use ground penetrating radar and magnetometers to dispute location of cemetery located by man dowsing with wires
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 10, 2012 06:57 pm "By walking lengthwise down the grave, he can tell the height of the deceased, he said. The rod in the right hand swings to the right if the remains belonged to a male and left if female, he said. A person born in the Southern Hemisphere has reversed polarity, Estes added." (Thanks, Puggy J. Jones!)
Read in browser Texas schoolchildren get criminal citations for cussing in class, shouting within 500' of school
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 10, 2012 06:53 pm In The Guardian, Chris McGreal looks at the horrific state of policing in Texas schools. The age of criminal responsibility in Texas is 10, and many schools have uniformed police officers on site who ticket small children for throwing paper airplanes or flipping the teacher off. The tickets carry steep fines, and if you graduate ...
Read in browser Trash Talk – "Slander" music video
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 10, 2012 06:51 pm [Video Link NSFW language] EightyFour says: "I recently finished animating this music video for the LA based punk group, Trash Talk. My good friend, Jay Howell, did all of the illustration too (you may recognize his work from Bob's Burgers). Trash Talk is known for their insane live shows, this is our take on cartoon ...
Read in browser The terribly wonderful storefront murals of East Hollywood
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 10, 2012 06:47 pm Evohollywood says: "Over the weekend I took a day trip over to my old neighborhood of East Hollywood to document the super entertaining professional and amateur murals that cover many of the storefronts East of Western and North of Melrose in Hollywood." The terribly wonderful storefront murals of East Hollywood
Read in browser Rick Santorum doesn't understand sex
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 10, 2012 06:27 pm Over at Psychology Today, psychologist Christopher Ryan states the obvious. My favorite part: Given the number of days a human female is actually fertile each month, it's a pretty safe bet that the Santorums have had their fair share of non-reproductive sex over the years. (Thanks to CB!)
Read in browser Global No Pants Subway Ride 2012: gallery of photos larger than you might actually wish to view
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 10, 2012 06:22 pm (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson) A young boy looks up at a woman with no pants on while riding in the subway system during the annual No Pants Subway Ride in New York on January 8. The event is organized by Improv Everywhere, and involves participants who strip down to their underwear as they go about their normal ...
Read in browser Lockdown: The coming war on general-purpose computing
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 10, 2012 05:55 pm General-purpose computers are astounding. They're so astounding that our society still struggles to come to grips with them, what they're for, how to accommodate them, and how to cope with them. This brings us back to something you might be sick of reading about: copyright.
But bear with me, because this is about something more important. The shape of the copyright wars clues us into an upcoming fight over the destiny of the general-purpose computer itself.
Read in browser No More SOPA: mobile app scans barcodes to tell you which products are made by SOPA supporters
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 10, 2012 05:49 pm No More SOPA is an Android app that lets you scan the barcodes of the products on the shelves at stores to determine (more or less) whether the manufacturer has backed SOPA. Unfortunately, manufacturing is so concentrated, and manufacturers' associations are so Internet-hostile, you might have to hunt quite a while for a SOPA-free alternative. ...
Read in browser Steve Jobs, the Inhumane Humanist
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 10, 2012 05:11 pm The current print issue of Reason has a wonderful, thoughtful piece by Mike Godwin about the Walter Isaacson biography of Steve Jobs. I know it's hard to imagine there's anything new to say about this hyper-covered book about a hyper-covered popular figure, but: Godwin shows that yes, there is.
Read in browser Apps for Kids 004: Toca Hair Salon
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 10, 2012 04:58 pm Today, we talk about a great fictional video series for kids called Recess Stories, and review a hair salon simulation app for the iPad called Toca Hair Salon. Thanks to everyone who has written us to let us know they enjoy Apps for Kids! If you're an app developer and would like to have Jane ...
Read in browser 
No comments:
Post a Comment