Fantasy novel by an eight-year-old How the White House shield law makes it *easier* to subpoena reporters Genghis Khan and climate NMA on Rob Ford's crack video Amazing images of salt harvest in Ethiopia Kai the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker arrested in Philadelphia, charged in NJ lawyer's murder Will robots take all the jobs? Printing a gun is hard Help Young Knives get their record finished The Rob Ford files A timely and topical single-serving site, part II A timely and topical single-serving site 3D printing for kids, this weekend in Toronto! London's getting a blood-filled swimming pool strewn with floating body parts Gawker reporter claims to have seen video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack AaronSw on Jeopardy! Woman smacks cop so she can go to jail and quit smoking Haunted Mansion wallpaper and fabric Company that oversees US "six-strikes" copyright shakedown has its company status revoked Denial-of-Service attacker tells Brian Krebs he's working for the FBI Toronto mayor sprints out of community council event to stick fridge magnets on cars in the parking lot Is new stem cell research super important, or kind of a big yawn? Why science needs silly-sounding research More on the accused child pornographer arrested after US sought help from online public Hacking Politics: name-your-price ebook on the history of the SOPA fight Kickstarting the next Girl Genius volume with Kaja and Phil Foglio Amazing old HOWTO book: "Lee's Priceless Recipes, a collection of famous formulas and simple methods." Chasing away the big black bird: a monologue on cancer and depression by Jeff Simmermon Teenage chemistry enthusiast won't be charged with felony, will go to space camp EFF beats the Trans Pacific Partnership to Peru, sounds the alarm about upcoming brutal, secret copyright treaty meeting Fantasy novel by an eight-year-old
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 12:42 pm Jaime sez, "In honor of Children's Book Week, I'm sharing a link about a book written by 8-year old Griffin Hehmeyer. His mom tells the story of how Griffin wrote a book, enlisted his friends and classmates for help editing and illustrating it, and eventually published it. The book serves as a model for children ...
Read in browser How the White House shield law makes it *easier* to subpoena reporters
By Xeni Jardin on May 17, 2013 12:10 pm Writes Trevor Timm at the Freedom of the Press Foundation blog: "The law certainly wouldn't help the AP, and national security journalists, the only reporters that get subpoenaed by the federal government, would be at *more* risk of being forced to give up their sources in some situations, not less."
Read in browser Genghis Khan and climate
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on May 17, 2013 12:05 pm New research is suggesting that the rise of the Mongolian Empire might have been linked to natural variation in the climate cycle.
Read in browser NMA on Rob Ford's crack video
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 12:05 pm Taiwan's Next Media Animation -- basically, news-of-the-weird, made weirder with instant machinima-esque videos -- weighs in on the allegation that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was caught on video smoking crack. Crack smoking Toronto mayor Rob Ford caught on tape!
Read in browser Amazing images of salt harvest in Ethiopia
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on May 17, 2013 11:57 am National Geographic calls Ethiopia's Danakil Depression "the cruelest place on Earth." It's a desert wasteland, where temperatures can push past 120 F, where ancient and current lava flows impede movement, and where water is so scarce that that people build rock domes over the top of volcanic vents to trap and condense steam. It's also ...
Read in browser Kai the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker arrested in Philadelphia, charged in NJ lawyer's murder
By Xeni Jardin on May 17, 2013 11:51 am "They met, an unlikely pair, in Times Square last Saturday night," begins the New Jersey Star-Ledger's account of how Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, better known as "Kai the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker," is alleged to have met, had consensual sex with, then killed a 73-year-old man who was a partner in a New Jersey law firm. Kai ...
Read in browser Will robots take all the jobs?
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 11:46 am In a fascinating installment of the IEEE Techwise podcast [MP3], Rice University Computational Engineering prof Moshe Vardi discusses the possibility that robots will obviate human labor faster than new jobs are created, leaving us with no jobs. This needn't be a bad thing -- it might mean finally realizing the age of leisure we've been ...
Read in browser Printing a gun is hard
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 10:38 am Caleb sez, "The Department of Defense ordered that 3d printed gun removed from the Internet. That didn't work out. You can still download it and print it. I did, and found that the files are a mess and not really functional. I also took a cool timelapse video of the printing." 1. the scale on ...
Read in browser Help Young Knives get their record finished
By Amy Seidenwurm on May 17, 2013 10:35 am I'm still mad that Young Knives' fantastic last record Ornaments from the Silver Arcade never got released in the U.S. (though we featured a song from it). They've been doing a lot of experimenting with ambient sound recording and have even created a custom synthesizer from all of the sounds they gathered. Their extremely entertaining Kickstarter ...
Read in browser The Rob Ford files
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 10:24 am In handy spreadsheet form! (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)
Read in browser A timely and topical single-serving site, part II
By Rob Beschizza on May 17, 2013 10:18 am Rob Ford Smokes Crack
Read in browser A timely and topical single-serving site
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 09:49 am Has Rob Ford Resigned Yet? (Thanks, Ryan!)
Read in browser 3D printing for kids, this weekend in Toronto!
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 09:36 am Back in January, I blogged my visit to Toronto's MakerKids, a wonderful makerspace for kids. Now, MakerKids is running a 3D printing weekend for kids at Toronto's Harbourfront centre. Andy from Makerkids writes, "This weekend, at the 11th annual Toronto International Circus Festival (from May 16th-18th at the Harbourfront Centre), MakerKids will be helping kids ...
Read in browser London's getting a blood-filled swimming pool strewn with floating body parts
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 09:00 am Miss Cakehead writes, "This set of Zombie Swimming Pool Rules was comissioned from graphic designer Pictographik to promote the Resident Evil Revelations blood swimming pool, and was based on an the iconic traditional British swimming pool rules. The pop up 'blood' filled swimming pool opens in London next week to mark the release of Resident ...
Read in browser Gawker reporter claims to have seen video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 01:28 am Gawker's John Cook was contacted by a tipster who offered to sell him a video of Toronto mayor Rob Ford smoking crack for more than $40K. As proof, the tipster provided a photo of Ford posing with Anthony Smith, recently murdered in a gang-style shooting. The tipster claimed that Ford buys his crack from a ...
Read in browser AaronSw on Jeopardy!
By Cory Doctorow on May 17, 2013 12:23 am Noah Swartz writes, "Aaron Swartz was the 'answer' to the final 'question' in the 'Techie Dropouts' category on last night's episode of Jeopardy, preceded by other famous techie drop outs like Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg."
Read in browser Woman smacks cop so she can go to jail and quit smoking
By Cory Doctorow on May 16, 2013 10:43 pm Sacramento's Etta Lopez apparently waited outside the Sacramento County Jail for a cop to emerge and then slapped him, so that she could be thrown into jail. She wanted to go to jail because she believed it would help her give up smoking. According to deputies, Lopez knew she'd immediately be arrested, and slapped a ...
Read in browser Haunted Mansion wallpaper and fabric
By Cory Doctorow on May 16, 2013 10:19 pm Kristen sez, "The DoomBuggies website has released a version of the Haunted Mansion Corridor of Doors wallpaper in fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap, and according to the DoomBuggies facebook page, it's the same graphic that has been used by Disney. 'This is created from the same artwork that we created for Disney's official Haunted Mansion ...
Read in browser Company that oversees US "six-strikes" copyright shakedown has its company status revoked
By Cory Doctorow on May 16, 2013 08:44 pm The Center for Copyright Information -- a company established by the RIAA, MPAA and various ISPs -- to oversee the American six-strikes copyright enforcement status has had its company status revoked and faces fines and other penalties. It appears that they forgot to file their government paperwork and pay their fees; they promise that they'll ...
Read in browser Denial-of-Service attacker tells Brian Krebs he's working for the FBI
By Cory Doctorow on May 16, 2013 08:23 pm Last week, I blogged Brian Krebs's amazing piece on AsylumBooter, a cheesy denial-of-service-for-hire site apparently run by a 17-year-old Chicago-area honor-roll student named Chandler Downs, whose PayPal account was flush with more than $30,000 paid by people who'd launched more than 10,000 online attacks. Now, Krebs has uncovered an even weirder booter story: Ragebooter is ...
Read in browser Toronto mayor sprints out of community council event to stick fridge magnets on cars in the parking lot
By Cory Doctorow on May 16, 2013 06:39 pm Rob Ford, Toronto's laughable bumblefuck of a mayor, attended a community council meeting in the district of Etobicoke on Tuesday night, but didn't stay. After a few minutes, he "sprinted" down the aisle and ran into the parking lot, where he compulsively began slapping "Rob Ford Mayor" fridge-magnets on the cars of the people attending ...
Read in browser Is new stem cell research super important, or kind of a big yawn?
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on May 16, 2013 06:01 pm It depends on who you ask. Earlier this week, researchers announced that they'd successfully turned adult skin cells into embryonic stem cells. Headlines were made — including more than one that heralded this as the first step in human cloning. If you believe The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Fox News, this ...
Read in browser Why science needs silly-sounding research
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on May 16, 2013 05:55 pm Earlier this week, scientists announced that they'd found evidence suggesting malaria-carrying mosquitoes are more attracted to the smell of human flesh than healthy mosquitoes. This research — which, I'm sure you'll agree, has some important implications — grew out of research that could be deemed very silly. In fact, this new finding was built on ...
Read in browser More on the accused child pornographer arrested after US sought help from online public
By Xeni Jardin on May 16, 2013 05:39 pm Child pornography suspect arrested May 16, 2013 by Homeland Security officers in Salinas, CA. Photo: HSI/ICE. A Salinas, California man believed to be the "John Doe" child predator sought in a nationwide manhunt this week appeared in federal court today following his capture Wednesday, about 24 hours after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland ...
Read in browser Hacking Politics: name-your-price ebook on the history of the SOPA fight
By Cory Doctorow on May 16, 2013 05:37 pm Hacking Politics is a new book recounting the history of the fight against SOPA, when geeks, hackers and activists turned Washington politics upside-down and changed how Congress thinks about the Internet. It collects essays by many people (including me): Aaron Swartz, Larry Lessig, Zoe Lofgren, Mike Masnick, Kim Dotcom, Nicole Powers, Tiffiny Cheng, Alexis Ohanian, ...
Read in browser Kickstarting the next Girl Genius volume with Kaja and Phil Foglio
By Cory Doctorow on May 16, 2013 05:00 pm Kaja and Phil Foglio have launched a Kickstarter to fund the printing of volume 12 of the wonderful Girl Genius webcomic, and to reprint the older books. These are multi-award-winning, independent steampunk delights, and $30 gets you "an actual, dead-tree, SOFTCOVER copy of Girl Genius Volume 12: Agatha Heterodyne and the Siege of Mechanicsburg. 192 ...
Read in browser Amazing old HOWTO book: "Lee's Priceless Recipes, a collection of famous formulas and simple methods."
By Xeni Jardin on May 16, 2013 04:57 pm My mom recently found and scanned this fantastic family heirloom, a 1917 edition of "Lee's Priceless Recipes, A Collection of Famous Formulas and Simple Methods For Farmers, Dairymen, Housekeepers, Mechanics, Manufacturers, Druggists, Chemists, Perfumers, Barbers, Chiropodists, Renovators, Dyers, Bakers, Confectioners, Woodworkers, Decorators, Painters, Paper-hangers, Metal-workers, Hunters, Trappers, Tanners, Taxidermists, Stockmen, et cetera, and all people ...
Read in browser Chasing away the big black bird: a monologue on cancer and depression by Jeff Simmermon
By Xeni Jardin on May 16, 2013 04:41 pm My friend Jeff Simmermon talks in this video about cancer and depression. He nails it. Jeff explains, I had testicular cancer in the spring of 2009. The cancer wasn't really the hard part, it was mostly the depression, combined with all the dumb shit that people had to say about it. I told this story ...
Read in browser Teenage chemistry enthusiast won't be charged with felony, will go to space camp
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on May 16, 2013 04:40 pm Kiera Wilmot — the Florida 16-year-old who created a small explosion just outside her school before classes started by mixing cleaning solution and tin foil (she was just curious, nobody was harmed) — will not be charged with a felony, after all. Florida State Attorneys dropped the charges against Wilmot yesterday. After her case garnered ...
Read in browser EFF beats the Trans Pacific Partnership to Peru, sounds the alarm about upcoming brutal, secret copyright treaty meeting
By Cory Doctorow on May 16, 2013 04:00 pm Danny O'Brien from the Electronic Frontier Foundation sez, The latest round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership starts today in Lima, Peru. Embedded in the trade agreement is an IP chapter that, according to leaks, exports the worst of US copyright law -- DRM blocks, extended copyright terms, ISPs as copyright cops -- without even of the ...
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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