Cory in Salt Lake City today FBI employees love the BitTorrent Finally, a cure for HIPSTER Seattle Mayor returns police drones to the manufacturer Constellation Tatsu micro-label's cassette and VHS releases Guerrilla Benchers replace street furniture removed to discourage homeless people What on Earth is that thing on Mars? Thundersnow Snowstorms inspire a blizzard of sex ads in Craigslist personals El Matador beach, California, at sunset (photo) Matt Richtel & Sophie Littlefield read in San Francisco tomorrow Astronaut and Barenaked Ladies sing together Mobile home rat hoarder who lived with 300 furry friends will be evicted Finally, Fu Dogs to call my own In Dorner manhunt, LAPD mistakenly shoot 2 female newspaper carriers Are these aerial photos of the secret US drone base in Saudi Arabia? PACER capers: the sordid story of America's for-pay lawbooks Paul Laffoley's "Alchemy: The Telenomic Process of the Universe" #NEMO update Undistinguished car, cut out Mullet jailed for cutting hair Interview with creators of "Escape from Tomorrow" Pirate Bay documentary TPB:AFK ready for download Buhlshit (n.) - A spurious legal threat concerning the reproduction of tweets Building a "bionic man" All-cheese grilled cheese sammitch Champions of wood planing Ben Venom's quilts stitched from vintage music tees Cory in Salt Lake City today
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 09, 2013 11:26 am As you read this, I'll be on a plane heading for Salt Lake City, where I'll be appearing at the Leonardo Science Museum at 2PM with my new novel Homeland. On Sunday, I'll be in Tempe at Changing Hands books, and then on Feb 12 I'll be in NYC for the Tools of Change conference ...
Read in browser FBI employees love the BitTorrent
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 09, 2013 09:23 am TorrentFreak used the ScanEye BitTorrent monitoring service to check what was being downloaded by IP addresses associated with the FBI. There's a lot: As can be seen above there is a particular interest in movies and TV-show downloads at the FBI's largest division. Some of the titles are relevant to the intelligence community such as ...
Read in browser Finally, a cure for HIPSTER
By Rob Beschizza on Feb 09, 2013 08:00 am "If you make things at home that you can easily buy at the supermarket ... see if Unpretentiousil is right for you." — guilty as charged, but hey, also paraben- and sulfate-free! [Video Link]
Read in browser Seattle Mayor returns police drones to the manufacturer
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 08, 2013 11:20 pm Seattle's police force were very hot-to-trot for a pair of new surveillance drones, an issue that became a lightning rod for criticism of the scandal-haunted force. After public outcry, the city's mayor simply returned the UAVs to their manufacturer Later this afternoon, Mayor Mike McGinn will announce that he is grounding the Seattle Police Department's ...
Read in browser Constellation Tatsu micro-label's cassette and VHS releases
By David Pescovitz on Feb 08, 2013 10:43 pm Constellation Tatsu is a music "micro-label" based in San Luis Obispo, California. San Luis Obispo is nicknamed SLO (for its acronym and lifestyle) which fits rather nicely with Constellation Tatsu's lovely ambient, drone, psychedelic offerings. I also appreciate that they keep prices down and the lo-fi aesthetic up by keeping physical releases relegated to tape, ...
Read in browser Guerrilla Benchers replace street furniture removed to discourage homeless people
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 08, 2013 09:17 pm The Camden Council in London removed many public benches, apparently in an effort to chase out vagrants. A group of Guerrilla Benchers were offended by this, and responded by reinstalling their own benches on the sites of the old street furniture. Camden council in London decided to remove several public benches, for the benefit of ...
Read in browser What on Earth is that thing on Mars?
By Rob Beschizza on Feb 08, 2013 09:10 pm A 'shiny protuberance', spotted on Mars by Curiosity Rover, has had the internet aflutter for days; theories range from erosion artifact to evidence of alien life. I asked my wife, Heather, and she figured it out right away. That is clearly the car from The Dukes of Hazzard leaping over a ravine. I consider this ...
Read in browser Thundersnow
By Xeni Jardin on Feb 08, 2013 08:41 pm "Video of thundersnow in Middle Island, Suffolk County, New York. Shot around 6:30pm with a Canon7D. Flash can be seen at 15 seconds."
Read in browser Snowstorms inspire a blizzard of sex ads in Craigslist personals
By Xeni Jardin on Feb 08, 2013 08:29 pm A quick NSFW! search in the craigslist personals classifieds for "nemo" turns up many gems, among them, "I want to get plowed harder than your driveway," and "I'm disease-free and recently tested; I'm as real as this storm." If you are an adult and you are also prepared to view poorly-lit photographs of strangers' genitalia, ...
Read in browser El Matador beach, California, at sunset (photo)
By Xeni Jardin on Feb 08, 2013 08:19 pm Photo of El Matador beach at sunset, shot by Shabdro Photo and shared in the Boing Boing Flickr pool.
Read in browser Matt Richtel & Sophie Littlefield read in San Francisco tomorrow
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 08, 2013 07:57 pm Matt Richtel & Sophie Littlefield are the next guests at the wonderful SF in SF free science fiction reading series in San Francisco, it's tomorrow at 6PM (details). (Thanks, Rina!)
Read in browser Astronaut and Barenaked Ladies sing together
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 08, 2013 06:47 pm Members of the Barenaked Ladies performed their song 'I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)' over a video-link with Chris Hadfield, who is on the International Space Station: Watch the video above as astronaut Chris Hadfield, from aboard the International Space Station, performs "I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)" with Ed Robertson, the rest of the Barenaked Ladies and the ...
Read in browser Mobile home rat hoarder who lived with 300 furry friends will be evicted
By Xeni Jardin on Feb 08, 2013 06:38 pm A Wisconsin woman who lived in a mobile home with 300 rats will be evicted, and her home and the rats will be destroyed. Wausau Daily Herald: "The problem began when Flatoff, 58, began buying domesticated rats at pet stores and bringing them home, according to health officials. Over time, the rats running loose bred ...
Read in browser Finally, Fu Dogs to call my own
By Jason Weisberger on Feb 08, 2013 06:28 pm New Fu. Photo: Jason Weisberger. In my early twenties, I became fascinated with the idea of having a set of Fu Dogs. They are beautiful and come chock full of fantastic magical powers. I like magic. They are typically made of stone in male/female pairs, with the male resting his paw on the world and ...
Read in browser In Dorner manhunt, LAPD mistakenly shoot 2 female newspaper carriers
By Xeni Jardin on Feb 08, 2013 06:28 pm One woman was 41, the other 71. "It sounded like the Fourth of July," said a neighbor. Without warning, thirty to forty rounds were fired at their vehicle. The women ducked down when the shots rang out, and in so doing, saved their lives.
Read in browser Are these aerial photos of the secret US drone base in Saudi Arabia?
By Xeni Jardin on Feb 08, 2013 06:17 pm From Noah Shachtman at Wired's Danger Room blog: "These satellite images show a remote airstrip deep in the desert of Saudi Arabia. It may or may not be the secret U.S. drone base revealed by reporters earlier this week. But the base's hangars bear a remarkable resemblance to similar structures found on other American drone ...
Read in browser PACER capers: the sordid story of America's for-pay lawbooks
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 08, 2013 06:14 pm Timothy B Lee has a gripping and thorough account of the work to tear down the PACER paywall, which requires that Americans pay $0.10 per page to access court files, which are necessary to understanding and interpreting the law. Aaron Swartz was investigated by the FBI for his part in extracting millions of these public ...
Read in browser Paul Laffoley's "Alchemy: The Telenomic Process of the Universe"
By Xeni Jardin on Feb 08, 2013 06:05 pm A short documentary from Imperium Pictures on artist Paul Laffoley's painting,
Alchemy: The Telenomic Process of the Universe,
Read in browser #NEMO update
By Xeni Jardin on Feb 08, 2013 05:21 pm Shit's getting real.
Read in browser Undistinguished car, cut out
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 08, 2013 05:12 pm Phil Are Go! has performed another public service by doing a nice cutout of the boxy, undistinguished Toyota Corona, the perfect stock art for any dull automotive piece. Toyota Corona - Good for the kids.
Read in browser Mullet jailed for cutting hair
By Rob Beschizza on Feb 08, 2013 04:43 pm Amish sect leader Samuel Mullet was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for ordering attacks on other Amish people in which their hair and beards were forcibly cut off. [BBC]
Read in browser Interview with creators of "Escape from Tomorrow"
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 08, 2013 04:09 pm Aaja sez, "The great Disney fan Podcast Wedway Radio has an interview with the cinematographer of the controversial film "Escape from Tomorrow". It's interesting to hear more about the film making experience and the relationship the film makers have towards the Disney parks." On this episode we are lucky enough to be joined by someone ...
Read in browser Pirate Bay documentary TPB:AFK ready for download
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 08, 2013 02:25 pm At long last TPB:AFK, the
Kickstarter-funded documentary about the persecution of The Pirate Bay is finished and online, and ready for you to download.
Read in browser Buhlshit (n.) - A spurious legal threat concerning the reproduction of tweets
By Rob Beschizza on Feb 08, 2013 02:17 pm A "smashmouth investigative journalist", Teri Buhl, claims that no-one may publish her tweets. Faced with widespread ridicule and criticism, she's doubled down, going as far as to threaten lawsuits against bloggers who wrote about her. The fuss started last week, when Buhl threatened to sue a lawyer who quoted a tweet of hers. After he ...
Read in browser Building a "bionic man"
By David Pescovitz on Feb 08, 2013 01:57 pm This is Rex, a $1 million "bionic man" built in the UK by roboticists Richard Walker and Matthew Godden. Rex was the star of a new Channel 4 documentary titled "How to Build A Bionic Man." Rex is outfitted with a variety of synthetic systems and appendages, from prosthetic limbs to a cochlear implant, artificial ...
Read in browser All-cheese grilled cheese sammitch
By Cory Doctorow on Feb 08, 2013 01:28 pm This grilled cheese sandwich, made by Dude Food's Nick, is made entirely of cheese -- the "bread" is Finnish "bread cheese," toasted in the skillet with American cheese within. It's an international sensation! Seeing this cheese really got me thinking. What if I were to make a grilled cheese sandwich that used this cheese in ...
Read in browser Champions of wood planing
By David Pescovitz on Feb 08, 2013 01:27 pm In woodworking, planing is the process of using a very sharp blade to shave off pieces of wood. The people in the video above are some of the best at it in the world.
Read in browser Ben Venom's quilts stitched from vintage music tees
By David Pescovitz on Feb 08, 2013 01:14 pm Stitch wizard Ben Venom continues his quilt magick with more large fabric artworks sewn from vintage band t-shirts. Tuck yourself into his blog and Instagram feed. Heavy metal quilts by Ben Venom - Boing Boing
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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