John Scalzi's smashing, existentialist sf novel Redshirts is out in paperback today (I reviewed it last June) Live action Toy Story "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song, Google-Translated Guitar picks made from coins A More Resilient Species Brain Rot: Hip Hop Family Tree, Uptown Meets Downtown pt 2, Malcolm Mclaren Star Wars titles evoked 1974 fabric ad in Vogue Cooking steak with freefall Aaron Swartz's friends and colleagues at the Internet Archive will be holding a memorial gathering for him on January 24 from 7PM onward at the Internet Archive, 300 Funston Avenue, San Francisco 94118, in the Presidio Why data-caps SUCK Github repository for Aaron Swartz memorials Free Freedom of Information Requests, in honor of Aaron Swartz Dread Cthulhu Leads His Cult to Milestone Year BitTorrent set-top box Not Pacman: a swiftly tilting Pacman variant Cat plays shell game, wins every time Whitehouse.gov petition to remove US Attorney Carmen Ortiz from office for overreach in the case of Aaron Swartz New MC Frontalot song and video: Nerd Life Eric Standley's intricate laser-cut "stained glass" paper windows ScanSnap iX500: a great scanner gets even better Have you ever wondered what castrated testicles would look like, if they were lovingly rendered in chocolate Who benefits if pubic waxing is an environmental catastrophe for crab-lice? Gweek 081: Wonderful apps, books, comics, and gear Snow art made with snowshoes Which silly John Scalzi face should I model in the 3D scanner? Star Wars game to feature gay relationships--but only on one world Beauty of overwrought repair Donald Trump: #FEUDWHORE, the chart How Internet copyright laws let Big Content get away with paying less to artists There is no crying in space John Scalzi's smashing, existentialist sf novel Redshirts is out in paperback today (I reviewed it last June)
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 15, 2013 12:53 pm John Scalzi's smashing, existentialist sf novel Redshirts is out in paperback today (I reviewed it last June). Caloo, callay!
Read in browser Live action Toy Story
By Dean Putney on Jan 15, 2013 12:48 pm Some incredibly dedicated and talented maniacs have created a shot-for-shot live action recreation of Toy Story.
Read in browser "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song, Google-Translated
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 15, 2013 12:39 pm "What happens when you translate
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song through every language on Google Translate.... and then BACK into english?"
Read in browser Guitar picks made from coins
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 15, 2013 11:43 am Etsy seller GuitarPickCollection sells handmade guitar (mandolin, banjo, etc) picks made from coins and slugs that have been formed to suit. I was never much of a guitar player and so I can't guess whether this would be good news for your favorite axe, but if you do fancy a coin-pick, this maker's stuff is ...
Read in browser A More Resilient Species
By Linda Stone on Jan 15, 2013 11:07 am "A playful brain is a more adaptive brain," writes ethologist Sergio Pellis in The Playful Brain: Venturing to the Limits of Neuroscience. In his studies, he found that play-deprived rats fared worse in stressful situations. In our own world filled with challenges ranging from cyber-warfare to infrastructure failure, could self-directed play be the best way ...
Read in browser Brain Rot: Hip Hop Family Tree, Uptown Meets Downtown pt 2, Malcolm Mclaren
By Ed Piskor on Jan 15, 2013 10:57 am Read the rest of the Hip Hop Family Tree comics!
Read in browser Star Wars titles evoked 1974 fabric ad in Vogue
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 15, 2013 09:45 am Virginia Postrel reports finding this ad in a 1974 issue of Vogue, three years before George Lucas's Star Wars was first released to theaters. Inspiration ... or common descent from a shared ancestor? [Dynamist]
Read in browser Cooking steak with freefall
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 15, 2013 08:37 am In today's XKCD What If?, Randall Munroe answers the question, "From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be cooked when it hit the ground?" posed by Alex Lahey: At supersonic and hypersonic speeds, a shockwave forms around the steak which helps protect it from the faster and faster winds. ...
Read in browser Aaron Swartz's friends and colleagues at the Internet Archive will be holding a memorial gathering for him on January 24 from 7PM onward at the Internet Archive, 300 Funston Avenue, San Francisco 94118, in the Presidio
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 15, 2013 07:11 am Aaron Swartz's friends and colleagues at the Internet Archive will be holding a memorial gathering for him on January 24 from 7PM onward at the Internet Archive, 300 Funston Avenue, San Francisco 94118, in the Presidio.
Read in browser Why data-caps SUCK
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 15, 2013 02:17 am I made an animated presentation about broadband and mobile data caps - specifically, how they discourage innovation, how the excuses used to justify data caps don't hold water, and the real reasons that ISPs and mobile providers are moving towards caps.
Read in browser Github repository for Aaron Swartz memorials
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 15, 2013 02:03 am Brian Guthrie writes, Aaron was a tireless supporter of the open internet and an old-school hacker. To honor his memory and his contributions to technical community, Aaron's family and friends wanted to provide a way to share their memories that: * uses free and open source software wherever possible * licenses its content under the ...
Read in browser Free Freedom of Information Requests, in honor of Aaron Swartz
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 15, 2013 12:00 am Michael, from Muckrock (a site that helps you make Freedom of Information Act requests) sez, "Aaron Swartz was one of MuckRock's earliest users, and a steadfast friend and advisor. He regularly suggested that we make the site free for anyone to file a request, and so in his honor, we're doing that. Many of his ...
Read in browser Dread Cthulhu Leads His Cult to Milestone Year
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 14, 2013 11:46 pm Under His unforgiving majesty Cthulhu, the Order of Dagon expanded more in 2012 than in any 12 months of its 180-year history. 2012 was a milestone year for the Dark Cult, with the dread message spreading to more than 10,000 conclaves and covens in 167 nations--figures that represent a growth rate 20 times that of ...
Read in browser BitTorrent set-top box
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 14, 2013 10:34 pm The BBK BitTorrent box is a €90 set-top Android box that can stream content downloaded over BitTorrent directly to your TV; it can pull programming from the wider Internet, or from computers on your local network: The first ever certified Android-powered BitTorrent box aims to change this. After the initial December launch was delayed, the ...
Read in browser Not Pacman: a swiftly tilting Pacman variant
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 14, 2013 09:24 pm Not Pacman is Stabyourself's Pacman variant in which the whole field is subject to wild rotations that cause all the game sprites to tumble.
Read in browser Cat plays shell game, wins every time
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 14, 2013 08:27 pm (Via Laughing Squid)
Read in browser Whitehouse.gov petition to remove US Attorney Carmen Ortiz from office for overreach in the case of Aaron Swartz
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 14, 2013 08:23 pm I don't think the "We the People" petitions at Whitehouse.gov have an effect on what the Obama administration decides to do, but I signed this one anyway: Remove United States District Attorney Carmen Ortiz from office for overreach in the case of Aaron Swartz It is too late to do anything for Aaron Swartz, but ...
Read in browser New MC Frontalot song and video: Nerd Life
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 14, 2013 07:57 pm They were pretty nice about my ruining their afternoon, except for a moment when I was talking smack about those flat/small/fashionable Mac keyboards and I think I heard nearby developers scoff at me pretty loudly. Nerdlife!
Read in browser Eric Standley's intricate laser-cut "stained glass" paper windows
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 14, 2013 07:50 pm Jane Kenoyer of Hi-Fructose says: Eric Standley works with hundreds of layers of colored paper creating intricate laser cut stain glass windows. These beautifully constructed works are made up of interlacing positive and negative spaces that seem to “float” in a fabricated suspension. He begins with a drawing, this helps him create the complex range ...
Read in browser ScanSnap iX500: a great scanner gets even better
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 14, 2013 07:33 pm For the last several years I've been using a Fujitsu S1500 ScanSnap scanner to digitaly store all my paper documents. As I've said before, the ScanSnap truly was a life changer for me. I had no idea that a sheetfed scanner could be so convenient, fast, and reliable. It accepts up to 50 sheets of ...
Read in browser Have you ever wondered what castrated testicles would look like, if they were lovingly rendered in chocolate
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 14, 2013 06:41 pm Have you ever wondered what castrated testicles would look like, if they were lovingly rendered in chocolate? Wonder no more.
Read in browser Who benefits if pubic waxing is an environmental catastrophe for crab-lice?
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 14, 2013 06:21 pm The crab-louse is in apparent decline, a situation that some doctors and entomologists attribute to widespread Brazilian waxing. Though, as Skepchick points out, there's a huge industry that stands to make a lot of money from this claim, and not a lot of evidence to back it up: "Pubic grooming has led to a severe ...
Read in browser Gweek 081: Wonderful apps, books, comics, and gear
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 14, 2013 06:20 pm Gweek is Boing Boing's podcast about comic books, science fiction and fantasy, video games, board games, tools, gadgets, apps, and other neat stuff. Subscribe to Gweek on iTunes | Subscribe via RSS | Listen via Stitcher | Download MP3 | Listen via Soundcloud My co-hosts for this episode: Joshua Glenn, a Boston-based writer, publisher, and ...
Read in browser Snow art made with snowshoes
By David Pescovitz on Jan 14, 2013 06:14 pm Simon Beck creates stunningly intricate patterns in the snow by walking (carefully) in raquettes à neige (snowshoes). "On average they take about 10 hours to really do it properly, some are a little unfinished, if my feet get cold or hurt too much," Beck says. "The setting out is done using handheld orienteering compass and ...
Read in browser Which silly John Scalzi face should I model in the 3D scanner?
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 14, 2013 04:51 pm As previously mentioned, I have committed to recreating a funny face made by John Scalzi, then getting my head 3D scanned while pulling said face, and releasing the scan as a CC-BY download on Thingiverse. It's all part of this most worthy fundraiser to help with the treatment and expenses from Jay Lake's cancer. Scalzi ...
Read in browser Star Wars game to feature gay relationships--but only on one world
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 14, 2013 04:39 pm Same-sex character romances will finally be added to Star Wars-themed online world The Old Republic—but on only one of the massively-multiplayer roleplaying game's worlds.
Read in browser Beauty of overwrought repair
By David Pescovitz on Jan 14, 2013 04:32 pm Industrial design student Paulo Goldstein's "Repair is Beautiful" project is about fixing broken items like lamps, headphones, and chairs with unusual bits of detritus like string, metal odds-and-sodds, and even bone.
Read in browser Donald Trump: #FEUDWHORE, the chart
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 14, 2013 04:17 pm Hilary "Chartgirl" Sargent has produced another amazing chart, chronicling the many feuds of the suspected orangutan and noted troll: "Donald Trump: FEUDWHORE." [UPDATE: Quite a popular chart! Chartgirl's website is down; here's an alternate link to large size.] Infographic: Understanding the Westboro Baptist How to follow the Petraeus CyberClusterFuck: a flowchart Check out the McAfee ...
Read in browser How Internet copyright laws let Big Content get away with paying less to artists
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 14, 2013 04:00 pm I've written an essay on how copyright enforcement laws let entertainment companies get away with paying less to artists for the O'Reilly Tools of Change blog. The ToC folks asked to to contribute something related to the keynote I'll be doing at their annual conference in NYC next month, as part of my tour for ...
Read in browser There is no crying in space
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 14, 2013 03:56 pm Or, rather, there can be. But it's really, really awkward.
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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