Hatch's Fugus are the cutest digital pets ever Dave Winer: Some people like to eat out Woman gets stem-cell "wrinkle treatment," grows extra bones in her eye-socket Denny's "The Hobbit" Menu Video Review Red-nosed reindeer are real TOM THE DANCING BUG: Judge Scalila, in "A Legal Carol" A steep drop into a bad place Actual USGS science feature: "Will the World End on December 21?" How snowflakes get their shapes It's time to start asking serious questions about the safety of lube Disney Princess Armored Backpack, with carbon nanotubes A suicide draws attention to the ethics of psychiatric drug testing Free Live Streaming: "Letters to Santa: The Second City That Never Sleeps" 24-Hour Improv and Music Benefit Muvizu Christmas Treasure Hunt Found: a child's drawing for creating a prosthetic limb Instagram responds to TOS outrage: "Thank you, and we're listening" Atoms - smart bricks for kids to build interactive projects An easy way to make moonshine Math Fleet: command a space squadron and defend planet Earth with the power of math How to make giant bubbles My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf is Time's #4 non-fiction book of the year The giant bubble people of Central Park Childrearing advice from the Kansas State Board of Health, 1900-1920 New Seth Godin book could stun an ox Python for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Programming Are you aware of Colonel Meow? Comics Rack: Boing Boing's comic books picks for December New awesome things to watch in our video archives! Lessons from an author who switched from a commercial publisher to an audience-funded Kickstarter book Generic gun-control debate cartoon Hatch's Fugus are the cutest digital pets ever
By Dean Putney on Dec 19, 2012 12:36 pm More than a year ago, my friend Phill showed me an iPhone app he was working on: a revamp of Tamagotchi, an adorable little pet you take care of on your phone. My digital pets normally starve alone in a huge pile of their electronic feces, but Hatch was different. It was detailed and rich, ...
Read in browser Dave Winer: Some people like to eat out
By Xeni Jardin on Dec 19, 2012 12:22 pm Dave Winer writes about what it means to be creative with technology, and what it means to just sort of accept the technology we're given, รก la Flickr and Instagram and the changing-without-notice photo rights issues we're discussing around these services now.
Read in browser Woman gets stem-cell "wrinkle treatment," grows extra bones in her eye-socket
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 19, 2012 12:21 pm A woman who had a $20,000 stem-cell "enhanced" facelift at a posh Beverley Hills clinic experienced a bony clicking sound and excruciating pain every time she opened or shut her right eye. The bony clicking sounds turned out to be bones. About three months earlier the woman had opted for a relatively new kind of ...
Read in browser Denny's "The Hobbit" Menu Video Review
By Rob Beschizza on Dec 19, 2012 12:15 pm What could be more enchanting to a J.R.R. Tolkien fan than hearty meals which evoke the rustic grandeur of The Shire?
Read in browser Red-nosed reindeer are real
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Dec 19, 2012 12:07 pm It's true! Science proves it! And it's more than just an effect of infrared imaging. If you duck over to Joseph Stromberg's post at the Surprising Science blog, you'll see a photo of a real, live reindeer with an adorably red nose (and upper lip). Turns out, it's the result of an evolutionary adaptation. Some ...
Read in browser TOM THE DANCING BUG: Judge Scalila, in "A Legal Carol"
By Ruben Bolling on Dec 19, 2012 12:00 pm Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH Judge Scalia learns a lesson from the Ghost of Sexual Orientation.
Read in browser A steep drop into a bad place
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Dec 19, 2012 11:46 am If you think the fiscal cliff is bad, Kodiak, Alaska is dealing with a "fecal cliff" — a crisis in where to put raw sludge from the local sewage treatment plant. (Via Charles Homans)
Read in browser Actual USGS science feature: "Will the World End on December 21?"
By Xeni Jardin on Dec 19, 2012 11:35 am Nope.
Read in browser How snowflakes get their shapes
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Dec 19, 2012 10:25 am Some snowflakes are unique. Other's aren't. Chemistry is why.
Read in browser It's time to start asking serious questions about the safety of lube
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Dec 19, 2012 09:17 am The stuff you use to make sex a little more smooth might have some serious drawbacks. Nothing has been proven yet — most of the data comes from disembodied cell cultures and animal testing, which doesn't necessarily give you an accurate picture of what's happening in humans — but several studies over the last few ...
Read in browser Disney Princess Armored Backpack, with carbon nanotubes
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 19, 2012 09:14 am This is a thing. It claims to be bulletproof: "The backpack can be quickly brought to the front as a shield or can serve as center of mass protection while fleeing the scene of the shooting." Apparently officially licensed by Disney. $300. There you go. Ballistic Backpack | Amendment II (via Super Punch)
Read in browser A suicide draws attention to the ethics of psychiatric drug testing
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Dec 19, 2012 08:47 am This is a really important long read that we all need to pay attention to. It concerns how we treat people with who are suffering from paranoid delusions — and how we treat people whose families worry that they are a threat to others. It concerns the relationships between doctors and the pharmaceutical industry. It ...
Read in browser Free Live Streaming: "Letters to Santa: The Second City That Never Sleeps" 24-Hour Improv and Music Benefit
By Maureen Herman on Dec 18, 2012 11:46 pm If you’ve always wanted to go to a real Second City improv show in Chicago, this is as close as you’ll get -- and then some. The world-famous theater that spawned (and continues to spawn) all of our Saturday Night Live favorites is hosting its 11th annual “Letters to Santa: The Second City That Never ...
Read in browser Muvizu Christmas Treasure Hunt
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 18, 2012 09:20 pm I've been looking into Muvizu a way to do simple animation with my kids. It's a "free software application that lets you make 3D animated movies on your home computer." Kerry Kasim of Muvizu says: Muvizu, in a nutshell, uses game engine technology (Unreal 3 to be exact) to allow for easy, real-time animation. To ...
Read in browser Found: a child's drawing for creating a prosthetic limb
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 18, 2012 08:55 pm My friend Bob Knetzger, who is a toy inventor and does amazing preliminary sketches of his creations, came across some hand-drawn plans for a prosthetic limb. He says: While on my usual lunchtime walk last summer I saw this piece of paper on the ground and picked it up. I love this drawing, obviously done ...
Read in browser Instagram responds to TOS outrage: "Thank you, and we're listening"
By Xeni Jardin on Dec 18, 2012 08:47 pm "I'm writing this today to let you know we're listening and to commit to you that we will be doing more to answer your questions, fix any mistakes, and eliminate the confusion," writes Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, responding to a big brouhaha on their updated TOS. "As we review your feedback and stories in the ...
Read in browser Atoms - smart bricks for kids to build interactive projects
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 18, 2012 08:45 pm Michael Rosenblatt says: Wanted to tell you about my latest project, ATOMS - plug and play functionality for kids and Makers. No programming or electronics experience necessary to get started. You just plug sensors into actuators, and stuff starts working. We even have a Bluetooth 4.0 brick, so you can control and read ATOMS from ...
Read in browser An easy way to make moonshine
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 18, 2012 08:11 pm In Cool Tools, Gweek co-host Michael Pusateri recommended the $200 Easystill as an inexpensive and simple way to make moonshine from mash. I stumbled upon a device called an Easystill. Basically, it is a water distillation unit that can also be used to distill alcohol as well. The idea of spirit distillation is simple. Alcohol ...
Read in browser Math Fleet: command a space squadron and defend planet Earth with the power of math
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 18, 2012 07:53 pm Kevin Kelly told me about Phil Scale's new iOS application to teach kids arithmetic. It's called Math Fleet and it sounds great. (Phil created Kevin's Asia Grace photobook app, which is also wonderful.) Phil says: I've been an independent iOS app developer for four years, and my wife, Jennifer, and I work together from our ...
Read in browser How to make giant bubbles
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 18, 2012 07:25 pm This post is brought to you by The New Santa Fe from Hyundai. When my family and I had our epic fun day at the beach recently, we brought along a bottle of bubble solution. The included wand made wimpy bubbles, so we made a larger wand out of sticks and strands of seaweed. It ...
Read in browser My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf is Time's #4 non-fiction book of the year
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 18, 2012 07:24 pm Congratulations to Derf Backderf for getting his graphic non-fiction book, My Friend Dahmer, selected as Time's #4 non-fiction book of 2012! Derf was a guest on Gweek in February. His interview is not to be missed!
Read in browser The giant bubble people of Central Park
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 18, 2012 06:46 pm Scott Matthews saw my post about making giant bubbles and said: Perfect timing! My daughter and I were just walking through Central Park and noticed a sudden proliferation of giant bubble people. She was totally transfixed, an so was I. Here's a photo I took, I got lucky with the shot.
Read in browser Childrearing advice from the Kansas State Board of Health, 1900-1920
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 18, 2012 06:45 pm From the Kansas Memory project, a collection of childrearing public information posters issued by the Kansas State Board of Health from 1900 to 1920. I like this advice for how to give your kid fresh air: Don't put him in a wheelbarrow, you dope! Build him a cage! Baby will be well and happy (via ...
Read in browser New Seth Godin book could stun an ox
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 18, 2012 06:22 pm Today's post brought quite a treat: a box containing (among other things), Seth Godin's massive new book, called "This Might Work/This Might Not Work," which he launched via Kickstarter. At 800 pages and 19 lbs, this book is ridiculous. In a good way. I'm not sure if this is an article of commerce at this ...
Read in browser Python for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Programming
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 18, 2012 06:17 pm My 9-year-old daughter Jane likes playing with Scratch, a kids' programming language developed at MIT. (I recently reviewed a great book called Super Scratch Programming Adventure.) Python for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Programming is another programming book for kids. I've been going through it myself, and enjoying it. Unlike Scratch, which lets you write ...
Read in browser Are you aware of Colonel Meow?
By Xeni Jardin on Dec 18, 2012 05:14 pm Well, now you are. (thanks, Tara McGinley!)
Read in browser Comics Rack: Boing Boing's comic books picks for December
By Brian Heater on Dec 18, 2012 05:10 pm All of the following comics were purchased at the wonderful Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest. That’s the main thing they have in common, aside from all being comics and all being good. Also, all but one (The Collected John G. Miller) would fit nicely into most standard Christmas stockings, if you’re reading this, Santa. The ...
Read in browser New awesome things to watch in our video archives!
By Xeni Jardin on Dec 18, 2012 04:55 pm There's no way you're really gonna be productive this week. Give up. It's the pre-holiday slide into sugar-fueled oblivion, and you need goofy and/or interesting internet videos to lubricate your downtime. Check out our video page. You'll find: — The world's oldest known educational film strip — Survival Research Laboratories' robot-death-mecha-explodeyness — A new Louie/Charlie ...
Read in browser Lessons from an author who switched from a commercial publisher to an audience-funded Kickstarter book
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 18, 2012 04:54 pm Tobias Buckell's "How I used Kickstarter to reboot a book series, and my career (and maybe my life?)" is a fantastic, detailed postmortem on his experiment with continuing his commercially flagging science fiction series by raising money directly from his fans on Kickstarter. As always, the most important part is the mistakes made/lessons learned: I ...
Read in browser Generic gun-control debate cartoon
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 18, 2012 04:47 pm Katie sez, "'This Modern World' generic gun control cartoon perfectly describes the discussion regarding the Newtown shooting. It was made for the Tucson shooting but, sadly, applies equally to all gun massacres in the USA." Generic cartoon
Read in browser Meet SparkTruck, an “educational build-mobile” for the twenty-first century.
Dreamed up by a group of Stanford d.school students and funded through Kickstarter, SparkTruck is a mobile maker space currently traveling across the United States. At schools and summer camps and libraries around the country, the SparkTruck team offers workshops to help kids “find their inner maker” as they design and build projects like stamps, stop-motion animation clips, and “vibrobots.”
[video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmRKXqDwieY&feature=plcp]
This might seem all shiny and new. And it is—but only in part. What’s so striking (and exciting) about SparkTruck is the way it combines old and new. It does so in the tools it gets kids using, which range from pipe cleaners to laser cutters. It does so in its educational approach, which combines cutting-edge (get it?) STEM and design pedagogy with the fundamentals of an old-school shop class. And it does so in its method, which combines the iconic, century-old technology of the bookmobile with the hot new form of the maker space.
In doing so, SparkTruck joins a growing number of libraries which are combining time-tested principles (like equal access to information) with new technologies (like 3-D printers), putting in maker spaces and media production labs alongside bookshelves and meeting rooms. As I’ve argued over on bookmobility.org, these combinations make sense because reading and making actually have a lot in common. They’re both creative processes that take existing materials and combine them in new ways. Getting people engaged in those kinds of processes—through imaginative thinking, contemplation, hands-on problem-solving, and collaborative learning—is what both maker spaces and libraries are all about.
Taking that commitment on the road with scissors and hammers and 3-D printers and a great big bookmobile-like truck, SparkTruck serves as a laboratory for new approaches, as well as a reminder that trying new things doesn’t have to (and probably shouldn’t!) necessarily mean tossing old ones out.
After all, what would those vibrobots be without classically crafty pipe cleaners and tongue depressors? And what would a library be without the creative, participatory, straight-up awesome experience of reading?
SparkTruck schedule [sparktruck.org]
How to arrange a visit from SparkTruck [sparktruck.org]
SparkTruck YouTube channel [youtube.com]
Signature: --Derek Attig, bookmobility.org
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