The science of flu season "Nerds are one of the most dangerous groups in this country" How to clip your fingernails in space How chili peppers can kill A helpful reminder: Video game consumption is not correlated with gun violence Great moments in pedantry: Canada puts the wrong maple leaf on its $20 bill 2600 radio tribute to Aaron Swartz Strange fruit (and veggie) art True facts about the seahorse Garage converted into modernist apartment Manchurian robots (ok, they're "non-lethal") rising from the ocean floor It's Internet Freedom Day: time to share MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech Harper's publisher says Teletubby Bye-Bye The Fickle Fame of Twitter Dan Bull song tribute to Aaron Swartz Free Steven Gould/Laura Mixon reading in San Francisco this Saturday Edible horror installation in London Debunking DoJ statement on Aaron Swartz's prosecution Behold: the stupid face I will make in the 3D scanner Government surplus DNA Sequencer, $200 to a good home Tell us about the games you always wanted but never got. I'll start with OutRun Nights The two parts of pain WTF, evolution? Aaron Swartz memorial in NYC this Saturday Utensils probably gave us all overbites Neil deGrasse Tyson on pi and other constants An epidemiology alphabet North Dakota natural gas fields can be seen from space Get Your Shit Together: improve your life by planning for your death Kickstarter to revive Tunnels and Trolls, the sillier, more casual early cousin of D&D The science of flu season
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 18, 2013 12:46 pm Flu season is in winter. Okay, great. But why? (Consider this an open thread for all your favorite humidifier recommendations.)
Read in browser "Nerds are one of the most dangerous groups in this country"
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 18, 2013 12:33 pm This gentleman has an opinion. And he can see you, you little rats.
Read in browser How to clip your fingernails in space
By Dean Putney on Jan 18, 2013 12:23 pm Astronaut Chris Hadfield shows us how to clip your fingernails in space! It's a bit different in zero gravity.
Read in browser How chili peppers can kill
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 18, 2013 12:20 pm In the latest "dose makes the poison" news: If you consume enough chili peppers (or even chili powder), it can act as a neurotoxin.
Read in browser A helpful reminder: Video game consumption is not correlated with gun violence
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 18, 2013 12:12 pm The focus on video games as a source of American gun violence is driving me a bit crazy, so I just wanted to toss some evidence out there. Even though most of you have likely long suspected the two things were not related, you'll be happy to know that science agrees with you. Consider this ...
Read in browser Great moments in pedantry: Canada puts the wrong maple leaf on its $20 bill
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 18, 2013 11:51 am Hey, that's not a Canadian sugar maple leaf! That is very clearly the leaf of the invasive Norway maple.
Read in browser 2600 radio tribute to Aaron Swartz
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 18, 2013 11:49 am Emmanuel Goldstein from 2600 magazine sez, "We've gotten such a strong response to this and wanted to make sure anyone who knew Aaron - or who simply knew OF him - got a chance to hear the hour-long tribute from Wednesday's 'Off The Hook' radio program in New York, a show he was a guest ...
Read in browser Strange fruit (and veggie) art
By David Pescovitz on Jan 18, 2013 11:34 am "Strange Fruits" by Berlin-based artist Sarah Illenberger. (via Neatorama)
Read in browser True facts about the seahorse
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 18, 2013 11:30 am A hilarious description of one of nature's weirder-looking creations. All true. All weird.
Read in browser Garage converted into modernist apartment
By David Pescovitz on Jan 18, 2013 11:27 am Lovely example of a garage converted into a modernist apartment. Of course, it begs the question: Where do you park? (I'm kidding.) Provenance unknown. (via Reddit)
Read in browser Manchurian robots (ok, they're "non-lethal") rising from the ocean floor
By David Pescovitz on Jan 18, 2013 11:05 am The US Department of Defense is launching a research effort to develop underwater robots/sensor platforms that would hibernate on the ocean floor until they "wake up when commanded, and deploy to surface providing operational support and situational awareness." DARPA has dubbed the research effort the Upward Falling Payloads program. (The image below, from the DARPA ...
Read in browser It's Internet Freedom Day: time to share MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 18, 2013 10:33 am To celebrate both Internet Freedom Day and MLK Day, we made a video containing the complete 17-minute 'I Have a Dream' speech... so people can share it on Facebook, Twitter, and their blogs. Doing just that is a small act of civil disobedience to celebrate the freedom that Dr. King fought for and make sure his words reach people around the globe this weekend. Dr. King said, 'one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.'
Read in browser Harper's publisher says Teletubby Bye-Bye
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 18, 2013 09:34 am The silence of Harper's is again broken for one of publisher John R. MacArthur's rants about the internet age. This time, Google is the target; he regards it as a parasite whose "logistical support for piracy" has destroyed the media. Well, perhaps this will get to a useful discussion of Google's relentless cheapening of advertising ...
Read in browser The Fickle Fame of Twitter
By Michele
Catalano on Jan 18, 2013 09:00 am After Twitter added me to its "suggested user" list, my follow count skyrocketed from a thousand to a million in a few months. But artificial popularity turned a conversation into a stand-up show, I lost my voice, and it took me a long time to find it again.
Read in browser Dan Bull song tribute to Aaron Swartz
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 18, 2013 08:58 am Nerdcore rapper Dan Bull has recorded a moving musical tribute to Aaron Swartz, and produced an accompanying video.
Read in browser Free Steven Gould/Laura Mixon reading in San Francisco this Saturday
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 18, 2013 06:00 am Rina writes, "Join SF in SF as they begin their 8th year of presenting science fiction authors and films in the Bay Area, this Saturday, January 19th. Steven Gould, author of JUMPER, and the new sequel, IMPULSE, will be joined by his wife, Laura J. Mixon, author of ASTROPILOTS and the the Avatar's Dance trilogy. ...
Read in browser Edible horror installation in London
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 18, 2013 05:45 am Last night I finally got to see one of Evil Miss Cakehead's edible horror installations in person. The Helpers is a grotesque, edible pop-up shop in Bethnal Green Road near Brick Lane, which opened last night. It features dismembered bodies, murder weapons, cigarette butts, car batteries with wires, blood-spattered knives, bags of vomit, Chinese takeout ...
Read in browser Debunking DoJ statement on Aaron Swartz's prosecution
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 17, 2013 08:42 pm Carmen Ortiz, the US Attorney who hounded Aaron Swartz, threatening him with 35 years in prison for downloading scholarly articles from MIT's open WiFi network, has released a statement explaining how harmless and pleasant she had been with Aaron. Mike Masnick just shreds the claims Ortiz makes in her release: If Ortiz truly believed that ...
Read in browser Behold: the stupid face I will make in the 3D scanner
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 17, 2013 05:34 pm The people have spoken. I offered to have my head 3D-scanned while making a ridiculous face originated by John "Rubberface" Scalzi if enough was donated to Jay Lake's cancer treatment fundraiser. After an exhaustive poll, the Internet chose this face. I've started practicing already. Dear Cory Doctorow: The Masses Have Decided That This is the ...
Read in browser Government surplus DNA Sequencer, $200 to a good home
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 17, 2013 05:23 pm Jon found this $200 DNA sequencer on GovDeals, a site listing government surplus equipment. He notes, "I figured I should share this so that maybe some do-gooder out there might be able to use the device to better humanity or their personal cause and hopefully keep Dr. Moreau types away." Buyers must complete the (FDA) ...
Read in browser Tell us about the games you always wanted but never got. I'll start with OutRun Nights
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 17, 2013 05:13 pm OutRun was a great game, a true classic that came to define the mid-80s renaissance of arcade culture. As its buzz died down, though, my friends and I, arcade rats all, traded (and invented) rumors about the forthcoming sequel. One of the beautiful lies one of my pals came up with was OutRun Nights, which ...
Read in browser The two parts of pain
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 17, 2013 04:38 pm TIL: That what we think of as "pain" is actually two different things. The most basic sense is called nociception — a non-subjective reflex that drives lots of animals to pull away from dangerous things. Pain — actual pain — is what happens after nociception, and different individuals perceive it differently under different situations. So, ...
Read in browser WTF, evolution?
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 17, 2013 04:24 pm A blog which offers helpful critiques of some of the weirder parts of nature.
Read in browser Aaron Swartz memorial in NYC this Saturday
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 17, 2013 04:20 pm Aaron Swartz's New York friends are planning a memorial service and tribute to him this Saturday at The Great Hall of The Cooper Union. Use the link below to RSVP. If you knew Aaron and are interested in speaking, please email rememberaaronsw@gmail.com with "NYC memorial service" in the subject line. The Great Hall of The ...
Read in browser Utensils probably gave us all overbites
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 17, 2013 04:18 pm According to a new book, the human overbite developed at different times, in different places — and was always coincident with the widespread use of eating utensils. In Europe, for instance, evidence suggests that humans have only had an overbite for about 250 years.
Read in browser Neil deGrasse Tyson on pi and other constants
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 17, 2013 03:59 pm Both the Bible and the Indiana State Legislature have tried to redefine pi to equal something much more simple than 3.14159265358979323846264338327950 ...
Read in browser An epidemiology alphabet
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 17, 2013 03:41 pm Learn your letters — from "anthrax" to "zoonoses".
Read in browser North Dakota natural gas fields can be seen from space
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Jan 17, 2013 03:28 pm NPR's Robert Krulwich circled this bright spot on a night-time satellite image of the United States. As Krulwich points out, this cluster of lights is new — it wasn't there in 2005. And it's not a city. Instead, that bright spot is a shining reminder of the natural gas boom. What you're seeing are the ...
Read in browser Get Your Shit Together: improve your life by planning for your death
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 17, 2013 03:18 pm Jeff sez, "My friend Chanel Reynolds's husband Jose Hernando was killed while cycling in 2009. She's created the Get Your Shit Together website to help you prepare for the worst now so that your family doesn't have the experience that she faced. Get Your Shit Together is a straightforward web guide to the documents, questions ...
Read in browser Kickstarter to revive Tunnels and Trolls, the sillier, more casual early cousin of D&D
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 17, 2013 02:08 pm Long before I was finally able to get my hands on a "white box" edition of
Dungeons & Dragons, I was able to get my own copy low-rent competitor,
Tunnels & Trolls.
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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