The Russians: "Human DNA can be changed and rearranged with spoken words and phrases" Three more Merchant Princes books due Introducing the 64GB 23GB Surface Pro Titanium multitool ring with five tools Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order) interview streaming live tomorrow "I Give God 10%. Why Do You Get 18" TOM THE DANCING BUG: YOU Are a Computer Criminal! Blackberry Z10 reviewed Names for bands Child's "World War II evacuee" costume Makies custom 3D-printed toys, now in color! Apple launches new 128 GB iPad, in stores Feb. 5 Boeing knew of 787 Dreamliner's battery woes before jet crisis YouTube to launch paid subscriptions to video channels Watch the motorcycle marriage proposal that shut down a Los Angeles freeway Astronaut Chris Hadfield's otherworldly Earth landscapes, from space Color film of the Three Stooges from 1938 Chief game designer leaves Zynga Trailer for season 2 of Black Mirror, scariest/best sf on TV Stranger Than Science: "Astounding stories of strange events - all absolutely true!" Guide to this year's crop of 3D printers Portlandia just keeps getting better. Profess your love with a new Dodocase for his/her iPad Death Valley Dreamlapse at peak of 2012 Geminid meteor shower Brad Bird's new movie is called "Tomorrowland" California man who "sextorted" over 350 women online is arrested Insanely labor-intensive Gangnam Style flipbook animation video Kickstarting a free, open version of Livecode Knit scarf with a hidden TARDIS For sale: no-name Chinese attack drones The Russians: "Human DNA can be changed and rearranged with spoken words and phrases"
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 30, 2013 12:41 pm Telepathy, remote healing and Einstein-Rosen bridges: Our DNA stores data like a computer's memory system. Not only that, but our genetic code uses grammar rules and syntax in a way that closely mirrors human language! They also found that even the structuring of DNA-alkaline pairs follows a regular grammar and has set rules. It appears ...
Read in browser Three more Merchant Princes books due
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 30, 2013 12:39 pm Here's a bit of good news: Charlie Stross has sold another trilogy in his fantastic Merchant Princes series, a highly original take on heroic fantasy, with the DHS and real-world economics thrown in for spice. "
Read in browser Introducing the 64GB 23GB Surface Pro
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 30, 2013 12:23 pm If Microsoft designed the world's greatest toaster, it would put full-bore Windows on it and call it the Oxidizing Thermodynamic Energy Transfer Platform for Bread Pro. CNET's Luke Westaway: Only a third of the available storage on Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet will be available to customers, with hefty software clogging up the upcoming tablet's hard ...
Read in browser Titanium multitool ring with five tools
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 30, 2013 11:52 am Etsy seller boonerings has a $385 titanium "utility ring" with five in-built tools: "a working bottle opener, a straight blade perfect for cutting packing tape or fishing line, a serrated blade for tougher things like nylon strapping or those tough to open electronics heat sealed packages, a saw for cutting plastic and wood, and it ...
Read in browser Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order) interview streaming live tomorrow
By David Pescovitz on Jan 30, 2013 11:50 am Tomorrow night, I'll be interviewing Peter Hook, the legendary bassist for Joy Division and New Order, live on stage at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. Peter has a fascinating new memoir out titled Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division. As I previously posted, it's a well-written, deeply personal, informative, and quite witty story of ...
Read in browser "I Give God 10%. Why Do You Get 18"
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 30, 2013 11:49 am Gateflan posted this remarkable item to Reddit, where the hunt is on for the allegedly mean-spirited customer. He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. Haha, just kidding! Let them eat bibles.
Read in browser TOM THE DANCING BUG: YOU Are a Computer Criminal!
By Ruben Bolling on Jan 30, 2013 11:30 am Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH you can receive helpful information about the fact that YOU are a computer criminal.
Read in browser Blackberry Z10 reviewed
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 30, 2013 11:20 am RIM's long-awaited Blackberry Z10 was revealed today. Reviews are up, too: "good enough to buy time" seems to be the general consensus. Joshua Topolsky : "The Z10 is a good smartphone. Frankly, it's a better smartphone than I expected from RIM at this stage in the game. It does everything a modern phone should do, ...
Read in browser Names for bands
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 30, 2013 11:00 am Eric Andre offers the Internet-visiting public a compendium of up-for-grabs band names. Band names are the original Twitter: hyper-compressed witticisms meant to leap off a poster wheatpasted to a telephone pole and lodge in the mind forever. Here are some of my favorites from Eric's list: Jesus and the Christs Lionel Nitsche Polyamorous Brazilian Atheist ...
Read in browser Child's "World War II evacuee" costume
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 30, 2013 09:48 am Here's a thing: a kid's WWII evacuee costume, including a little routing tag, which is just the thing if your kids want to cosplay the trauma of being separated from their parents, who might die in the Blitz. World War II Costume - Girls (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)
Read in browser Makies custom 3D-printed toys, now in color!
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 30, 2013 08:55 am Makies are the custom, 3D printed dolls that come from MakieLab, the company my wife Alice founded. The first couple revs of the doll were all bone white, due to limitations of the high-wearing, kid-safe plastics. But after a lot of R&D, the Makies have figured out how to do color, starting from today: Fantastic: ...
Read in browser Apple launches new 128 GB iPad, in stores Feb. 5
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 30, 2013 12:06 am Apple announced a new update to its iPad line Tuesday: a 9.7-inch Retina iPad with 128 GB of storage, twice its previous maximum capacity. "Everything else about Apple's tablet is the same, including the dual-core A6X processor, 2 gigabtyes of RAM, and 10 hours of battery life," reports CNN. The 128 GB Wi-Fi model will ...
Read in browser Boeing knew of 787 Dreamliner's battery woes before jet crisis
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 29, 2013 11:58 pm According to this NYT report, Boeing officials knew the lithium-ion batteries used on the 787 Dreamliners "had experienced multiple problems that raised questions about their reliability." Two battery failures led to the grounding of all Boeing 787 jets this month. Some of the issues could be compared to what happens if you leave your car ...
Read in browser YouTube to launch paid subscriptions to video channels
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 29, 2013 11:42 pm Get ready for YouTube pay-per-view: the online video service is planning to launch paid subscriptions for individual channels on its video platform, reports AdAge. "The first paid channels will cost somewhere between $1 and $5 a month," and YouTube is also considering charging for "content libraries and access to live events, a la pay-per-view, as ...
Read in browser Watch the motorcycle marriage proposal that shut down a Los Angeles freeway
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 29, 2013 11:36 pm Cyclists in Los Angeles effectively closed the 10 freeway in West Covina for about ten minutes on Sunday, as one of them proposed to his girlfriend in a cloud of pink smoke.
Read in browser Astronaut Chris Hadfield's otherworldly Earth landscapes, from space
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 29, 2013 10:56 pm "Venezuelan valley framed by misty clouds - mysterious, beautiful and surreal."—Chris Hadfield As I've blogged before, Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield is currently living in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as Flight Engineer on Expedition 34 and he has been tweeting absolutely stunning photographs of Earth. Follow him on Twitter, for daily photo updates. ...
Read in browser Color film of the Three Stooges from 1938
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 29, 2013 10:38 pm Amazing color footage from 1938. The Three Stooges at the Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Film by George Mann of the comedy dance team, Barto and Mann.
Read in browser Chief game designer leaves Zynga
By Rob Beschizza on Jan 29, 2013 08:52 pm Photo: Shutterstock Bloomberg, via @Cabel: Reynolds founded and led the Baltimore studio known as Zynga East, which produced the game "FrontierVille." Prior to Zynga, he earned acclaim as the lead designer of Sid Meier's "Civilization II," a strategy game developed by MicroProse Software Inc. Reynolds didn't respond to requests for comment. Zynga shares declined 8.5 ...
Read in browser Trailer for season 2 of Black Mirror, scariest/best sf on TV
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 29, 2013 08:35 pm Here's the trailer for the new season of Charlie Booker's Channel 4 science fiction series
Black Mirror.
Read in browser Stranger Than Science: "Astounding stories of strange events - all absolutely true!"
By Mark Frauenfelder on Jan 29, 2013 08:28 pm Yesterday I mentioned a book I'd read as a child called Strangely Enough, by C.B. Colby. It got me thinking about a similar book that I enjoyed as an 11-year-old called Stranger Than Science, by Frank Edwards. It was first published in 1960. I remembered that I still had a copy and found it in ...
Read in browser Guide to this year's crop of 3D printers
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 29, 2013 08:27 pm Brian sez, "At CES, someone told me that there are something like 15 consumer 3D printers on the market. Turns out that was a low-ball. Kits included, there are 24 in this roundup -- and that's not including some that didn't make the cut for a variety of reasons..." CES 2013 proved to be something ...
Read in browser Portlandia just keeps getting better.
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 29, 2013 07:33 pm Portlandia's new season is just unbelievably, astonishingly good. Here are two standout clips from recent episodes: Nerds, and Fart Patio.
Read in browser Profess your love with a new Dodocase for his/her iPad
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 29, 2013 07:13 pm San Francisco-based mobile device case company Dodocase has a handsome-lookin' iPad 2/3/4 case for Valentine's day. The "Vintage Love" DODOcase is handcrafted using traditional bookbinding techniques, and costs $ 84.90 (with optional personalization starting at an additional $ 9.95). More about the special edition case here.
Read in browser Death Valley Dreamlapse at peak of 2012 Geminid meteor shower
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 29, 2013 07:01 pm A beautiful time-lapse of the starry, Gemenids meteor filled skies over Death Valley, California.
Read in browser Brad Bird's new movie is called "Tomorrowland"
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 29, 2013 07:00 pm A terse Disney press release announced yesterday that the new Brad Bird movie will be called "Tomorrowland," and star George Clooney. It's not clear what it'll be about, but I have hopes for something gloriously, Gerbackianally retrofuturistic. The Walt Disney Studios has announced that its live-action release previously known as 1952 will be titled Tomorrowland. ...
Read in browser California man who "sextorted" over 350 women online is arrested
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 29, 2013 06:44 pm What, exactly, is "sextortion"? "It's a familiar script: boy chats up girl (or sometimes boy) online, hacks her or his e-mail, asks for or steals nude photos, and threatens the victim with the possibility of publicizing those photos, before eventually getting caught," Cyrus Farivar at Ars Technica writes. The latest online "sextortion" suspect has just ...
Read in browser Insanely labor-intensive Gangnam Style flipbook animation video
By Xeni Jardin on Jan 29, 2013 06:37 pm An incredibly labor-intensive animated flipbook version of PSY's "Gangnam Style."
Read in browser Kickstarting a free, open version of Livecode
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 29, 2013 05:34 pm The company behind Livecode has a Kickstarter up to create an open source version of Livecode with many improvements over the current closed version.
Read in browser Knit scarf with a hidden TARDIS
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 29, 2013 05:26 pm From Brilliant Knitwit's Tumblr, an optical illusion TARDIS scarf, knitted as a gift. From the front, it just appears to be a striped scarf; at the right angle, the hidden TARDIS heaves into view. Look at this scarf. Nothing here but stripes. Until you look at it from this angle…. (via Neatorama)
Read in browser For sale: no-name Chinese attack drones
By Cory Doctorow on Jan 29, 2013 04:24 pm Jeffrey sez, The algorithmic overlords of Alibaba are sending me astonishing stuff via their "suggested crapgadgets you might be interested in" hourly email. Wireless car key duplicators and GPS jammers came first. But today they have truly outdone themselves, suggesting that I might be interested in a "small attack UAV". Yes, you heard right. This ...
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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