Scanxiety, or how waiting for cancer tests makes you crazy NYPD will arrest you for carrying condoms: the women/trans/genderqueer version of stop-and-frisk "Ten Little Indians" drug abuse PSA from 1972 Pyrobar: flaming, booze-dispensing art-car seeks Kickstarter funds for refurb Random House responds to SFWA on its Hydra ebook imprint The Sharing Economy SimCity DRM disaster: EA removes game features "to get servers working" Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think Rapture of the Nerds hits London on Mar 23 Canada's National Post pretends fair dealing doesn't exist, presents you with bill to copy a single word Science of hair testing for drugs questioned in Boston cop case; cocaine blamed on cookies, donuts Videos from DIY.org - a kids' project sharing site Bureaucrats of the world Very bad ways to wake up Star Wars trio to reprise roles in Disney/Lucasfilm "Episode VII" Interview with Aśka, designer of Wikileaks "hourglass" logo Short film about Ralph Baer, the "Father of Video Games" Watch the latest Boing Boing-curated videos in our video archive! Amazing opportunity to meet the designer of Disneyland's Monorail, Autopia, and Flying Saucers Coffitivity: ambient "coffee shop" sound to plug into for enhanced creativity Beach House video starring Ray Wise 1970 ad: "A waste of mail... and female." Lady talking on telephone, 1913 Are cats fooled by optical illusions? Some kinds of DNA ancestry tests are basically astrology Slow motion videos of various animals capturing prey Are you a pessimist or an optimist when it comes to giant snakes? Book about big data, predictive behavior, and decision making Mind-croggling deposition of a Prenda Law copyright troll Dr. Google proves himself somewhat useful Scanxiety, or how waiting for cancer tests makes you crazy
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 08, 2013 12:19 pm Photo: Me in an MRI, by Tara Brown I had a rough week, this week. I came back from a transformative, restorative trip to Hawaii, where I did lots of creative work for Boing Boing and for personal projects. The morning after my flight home, I dove in to a week of medical tests. My ...
Read in browser NYPD will arrest you for carrying condoms: the women/trans/genderqueer version of stop-and-frisk
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 08, 2013 11:57 am NYC has a law prohibiting "loitering for the purposes of engaging in a prostitution offense" which lets cops arrest whomever they feel like, on the strength of their conviction that the person is probably a sex-worker, on the basis of flimsy circumstantial evidence like carrying a condom, talking to men, or wearing tight clothes. Like ...
Read in browser "Ten Little Indians" drug abuse PSA from 1972
By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 08, 2013 11:08 am This drug-abuse PSA from 1972 fascinated me as a kid. It's much better than any contemporary PSA about drug abuse. (Via World's Best Ever)
Read in browser Pyrobar: flaming, booze-dispensing art-car seeks Kickstarter funds for refurb
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 08, 2013 10:56 am The Pyrobar, a roving, flaming, booze-dispensing art-car that's a staple of Burning Man, is nearing the end of its Kickstarter, and needs to raise another $4,000 or so in maintenance funds to help refurbish and improve it for this summer's festivities.
Read in browser Random House responds to SFWA on its Hydra ebook imprint
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 08, 2013 10:05 am Allison R. Dobson, Digital Publishing Director of Random House, has written an open letter to the Science Fiction Writers of America responding to the warning it published about Hydra, a new imprint with a no-advance, author-pays-expenses contract that SFWA (and I) characterize as being totally unacceptable. Dobson's letter doesn't do much to change my view ...
Read in browser The Sharing Economy
By Rob Beschizza on Mar 08, 2013 09:49 am Glenn Fleishman, in his first cover story for The Economist, tracks how technology is making it easier to share everything from bicycles to basement bedrooms—for a price. Such peer-to-peer rental schemes provide handy extra income for owners and can be less costly and more convenient for borrowers. Occasional renting is cheaper than buying something outright ...
Read in browser SimCity DRM disaster: EA removes game features "to get servers working"
By Rob Beschizza on Mar 08, 2013 09:26 am Jason Schrier at Kotaku reports EA's latest effort to get SimCity working involves removing "non-critical" features of the always-online game: "Hey, remember when video games came out and then you could actually play them?"
Read in browser Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 08, 2013 08:47 am Big Data is a new book from Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, a respected Internet governance theorist; and Kenneth Cukier, a long-time technology journalist who's been on the Economist for many years. As the title and pedigree imply, this is a business-oriented book about "Big Data," a computational approach to business, regulation, science and entertainment that uses data-mining ...
Read in browser Rapture of the Nerds hits London on Mar 23
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 08, 2013 06:13 am The UK edition of Rapture of the Nerds hits shelves on April 12, but we're having a sneaky early release at Forbidden Planet in London on Mar 23 at 1PM. Tell your friends! (I'm pretty sure that Forbidden Planet will take advance mail-orders for people who can't make it, and I'll sign and personalise every ...
Read in browser Canada's National Post pretends fair dealing doesn't exist, presents you with bill to copy a single word
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 07, 2013 10:54 pm Michael Geist sez, "If someone wants to post a quote from Selley or anything else written by the National Post, they are now presented with pop-up box seeking a licence that starts at $150 for the Internet posting of 100 words with an extra fee of 50 cents for each additional word (the price is ...
Read in browser Science of hair testing for drugs questioned in Boston cop case; cocaine blamed on cookies, donuts
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 07, 2013 08:59 pm Six police officers in Boston who were fired after testing positive for cocaine use will be reinstated, with back pay, now that a state board has struck down the science of hair testing for drugs as
unreliable. The ruling could have broad impact on drug testing for city workers, and other populations routinely subjected to ...
Read in browser Videos from DIY.org - a kids' project sharing site
By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 07, 2013 08:53 pm DIY.org is a site and app that encourages kids to make things. It also lets them share their projects and earn achievement badges. They've just released a few new videos that show some of the kids who are on the site.
Read in browser Bureaucrats of the world
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 07, 2013 08:50 pm Dutch photographer Jan Banning's book "Bureaucratics" is a collection of amazing photos of bureaucrats on five continents, each posed at his or her desk, in her or his office, with notes about rank and salary. Pictured above, "India bureau typeroom," Bihar. Below, Sheriff of Crockett County, TX. The photography has a conceptual, typological approach reminding ...
Read in browser Very bad ways to wake up
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 07, 2013 08:27 pm Pretty sure nobody died, but not positive.
Read in browser Star Wars trio to reprise roles in Disney/Lucasfilm "Episode VII"
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 07, 2013 08:16 pm In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek published today, George Lucas more or less spilled the beans: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher will reprise their roles as Hans Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in the new "Star Wars" film. All three had signed on for the forthcoming "Episode VII" project before Lucasfilm's $4 ...
Read in browser Interview with Aśka, designer of Wikileaks "hourglass" logo
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 07, 2013 08:09 pm Who designed the WikiLeaks logo? According to this Metahaven interview, a designer named Aśka. She created the WikiLeaks hourglass in 2006, and her story is most interesting. MH: How did the idea for the hourglass emerge? A: I made the logo in 2006, so it's hard for me to remember what I was thinking about ...
Read in browser Short film about Ralph Baer, the "Father of Video Games"
By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 07, 2013 07:59 pm PBS Digital Studios profiled Ralph Baer, the “Father of Video Games” Ralph Baer’s inventing career began following a two-year service in the military during World War II. Returning home from Europe, he went to school on the G.I. Bill and graduated with a B.S. in Television Engineering. In 1955, he joined an electronics firm called ...
Read in browser Watch the latest Boing Boing-curated videos in our video archive!
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 07, 2013 07:56 pm We've gathered fresh video for you to surf and enjoy on the Boing Boing video page. The latest finds for your viewing pleasure include: • Beach House video for "Wishes" directed by Eric Wareheim featuring Ray Wise. • Are cats fooled by optical illusions? • Postal Service band auditions from 2002. • Cyriak's Cobweb welcomes ...
Read in browser Amazing opportunity to meet the designer of Disneyland's Monorail, Autopia, and Flying Saucers
By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 07, 2013 07:50 pm LA architecture historian Chris Nichols says: "I am hosting an evening with Disney legend Bob Gurr next Wednesday at the Hollywood Heritage Museum. Bob designed the Monorail, Autopia, Flying Saucers, and all the ride vehicles at Disneyland starting in 1954 and is a really inspiring designer and super-cool guy. It's a small room and we're ...
Read in browser Coffitivity: ambient "coffee shop" sound to plug into for enhanced creativity
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 07, 2013 07:34 pm "Our team has delivered the vibe of a coffee shop right to your desktop, which means when your workspace just isn't quite cutting it, we've got you covered." Coffitivity promises "Enough noise to work" for those who are wired to experience increased productivity with some ambient noise around them. There's some science behind it. (HT: ...
Read in browser Beach House video starring Ray Wise
By Amy Seidenwurm on Mar 07, 2013 07:33 pm The new
Beach House video for "Wishes" was directed by
Eric Wareheim and features Ray Wise.
Read in browser 1970 ad: "A waste of mail... and female."
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 07, 2013 07:25 pm This ad was published in the year I was born, 1970. It's funny how unapologetically sexist so much marketing was, back then. These plastic plates "won't get tired or confused" like a dumb old woman always does, and they get the job done "for a fraction of her paycheck," which was of course a fraction ...
Read in browser Lady talking on telephone, 1913
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 07, 2013 06:58 pm "A bit of gossip." Scanned and shared on Flickr by Alan Mays, whose photo stream is full of wonderful old ads and ephemera from the 20th and 19th century US. Previously: "Our lady of telephones."
Read in browser Are cats fooled by optical illusions?
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 07, 2013 06:50 pm You can help! Try tricking your cat with this same illusion for the edification of the Internet.
Read in browser Some kinds of DNA ancestry tests are basically astrology
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 07, 2013 06:22 pm If you want to learn about your family tree, you're probably better off doing the work of compiling history than getting a $500 DNA test.
Read in browser Slow motion videos of various animals capturing prey
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 07, 2013 06:18 pm The Chinese Giant Salamander is mesmerizing.
Read in browser Are you a pessimist or an optimist when it comes to giant snakes?
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 07, 2013 06:09 pm Tired of measuring your relative pessimism/optimism by half-empty and half-full glassware? Try this new method, courtesy herpetologist Michael Dorcas. Read the following quote, then decide — is this fact comforting or distressing: "We've walked right past a 15-foot python without seeing it." Also potentially relevant to your interests: PBS' 2012 documentary about dissecting a giant ...
Read in browser Book about big data, predictive behavior, and decision making
By David Pescovitz on Mar 07, 2013 06:08 pm Kenneth Cukier was on NPR this morning talking about the new book he wrote with Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, "Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work and Think." It sounds fascinating and relevant to research I'm doing at Institute for the Future on newfound applications of systems thinking in what we're calling the ...
Read in browser Mind-croggling deposition of a Prenda Law copyright troll
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 07, 2013 05:53 pm I've covered Prenda Law off and on here for quite some time; they're the sleazy "law firm"/copyright trolls who use the courts to get the names and addresses of people whom they allege have downloaded pornographic videos with embarrassing names, and whom they then threaten with public humiliation and a lawsuit unless the victims pay ...
Read in browser Dr. Google proves himself somewhat useful
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 07, 2013 05:53 pm Googling what ails you sounds like a good and empowering idea — until you run into barren fields of Yahoo Answers, swamps of misinformation peddled by charlatans, and orchards of seemingly useful sites that yield only the bitter fruit of tiny bits of information you have already read 5000 times already. But, it turns out ...
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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