Apple market capitalisation briefly exceeds Exxon's U.K. officials call for BlackBerry network shutdown; RIM hacked after offering help to authorities Video of a river rock balancer Cool medical models from Japan Canadian scholars & public interest groups oppose Canada's Internet spying law Bored by math class, student turns to squiggling Man, too poor to pay fishing fine, sent to jail NYC pizza primer The Apocalypse repeats itself When bacteria infect parasites that infect humans Typewriter-part penguin "If it wasn't for gravy and coffee, we'd starve to death": Interview with a cowboy Scan of "They Crawl by Night" comic book story by Basil Wolverton Swimming is the deadliest part of a triathlon Video: wasp deals with annoying ant Weird laws (or lack thereof) How To: Make a pet dinosaur Plant eats bird Tea in Camden Town, London Cube-faced LCD watch Merry Pranksters go to the movies Anti-cable TV campaign, circa 1970 TouchPad gets price cut Lady in the Water Credit ratings for every country EA tried to buy Minecraft studio No Nokia N9 for America or UK Android-powered tank Phantom cam shoots 1 million frames per second Choosing Android because you don't trust Google 
Watchismo Vintage & Modern Horology - So many cool watches, so few limbs to put them on
Apple market capitalisation briefly exceeds Exxon's
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 11:55 pm For a few moments today, Apple was the most valuable company in the world. If we permit ourselves to measure human history in such simple terms, the age of fossil fuels is about to end, and that of technology finally …
Continue reading → Read in browser U.K. officials call for BlackBerry network shutdown; RIM hacked after offering help to authorities
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 11:40 pm The official blog of Research in Motion was hacked today by Team Poison. The Canadian company had earlier promised to help British authorities track down BlackBerry users suspected of involvement in the local unrest. From AFP: "If you do assist …
Continue reading → Read in browser Video of a river rock balancer
By Mark Frauenfelder on Aug 09, 2011 11:06 pm I was in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado over the weekend for a family reunion. On Friday afternoon we had a picnic at Eben G. Fine Park, which is bordered on one side by Boulder Creek. I noticed some stone …
Continue reading → Read in browser Cool medical models from Japan
By Mark Frauenfelder on Aug 09, 2011 10:36 pm When I traveled to Japan last summer on a family vacation, we stopped at one of my favorite places, a toy store called Kiddyland. I really liked the medical models for sale there. I asked Max Hodges about them, and …
Continue reading → Read in browser Canadian scholars & public interest groups oppose Canada's Internet spying law
By Cory Doctorow on Aug 09, 2011 09:18 pm Christopher sez, A group of academics and public interest organizations released a joint letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper today, voicing their grave concerns about legislation that would allow for warrantless online spying on Canadians ("Lawful Access" legislation). The letter …
Continue reading → Read in browser Bored by math class, student turns to squiggling
By Mark Frauenfelder on Aug 09, 2011 08:51 pm [Video Link] To alleviate the boredom of math class, Vi Hart has taken to experimenting with squiggling. Be sure to check out Vi's other delightful math geek videos. (Via Cynical-C) Many more posts about Vi Hart on Boing Boing here.
Read in browser Man, too poor to pay fishing fine, sent to jail
By Mark Frauenfelder on Aug 09, 2011 07:10 pm A story about a modern debtors' prison in Michigan. Kyle Dewitt spent three days in jail because he was too poor to pay a fishing fine. Last spring, Dewitt was ticketed and fined $215 for fishing smallmouth bass out of …
Continue reading → Read in browser NYC pizza primer
By Cory Doctorow on Aug 09, 2011 07:04 pm Serious Eats' primer on NYC pizza is a mouth-watering education in the many ways that a delicious pie can be made and consumed. Pizza being my most deadly downfall, I'm finding this hard to read. One thing you might not …
Continue reading → Read in browser The Apocalypse repeats itself
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Aug 09, 2011 06:51 pm "Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the …
Continue reading → Read in browser When bacteria infect parasites that infect humans
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Aug 09, 2011 06:41 pm Meet the viruses and bacteria that infect parasites, which infect people. It's like a Russian nesting doll of microbial pests. As a human, I'm not sure whether to feel a bit of schadenfreude at parasites getting what's coming to them, …
Continue reading → Read in browser Typewriter-part penguin
By Cory Doctorow on Aug 09, 2011 06:31 pm Jeremy Meyer, who sculpts beautiful animals and humans out of typewriter parts and other romantic twen-cen junque, has just completed this commission, a typewriter-part penguin. He says, "My latest- a penguin about 13 inches tall, made from typewriter parts. A …
Continue reading → Read in browser "If it wasn't for gravy and coffee, we'd starve to death": Interview with a cowboy
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Aug 09, 2011 06:28 pm In 1937, someone from the Worker's Project Administration interviewed an aging cowboy, L.M. Cox of Brownwood, Texas, as part of an effort to record America's oral history. At the Ptak Science Books blog you can read the full interview with …
Continue reading → Read in browser Scan of "They Crawl by Night" comic book story by Basil Wolverton
By Mark Frauenfelder on Aug 09, 2011 05:57 pm A fine, freaky tale from Journey Into Unknown Worlds #15 (1953). They Crawl By Night by Dan Keyes and Basil Wolverton
Read in browser Swimming is the deadliest part of a triathlon
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Aug 09, 2011 05:55 pm It's the shortest third of a triathlon, and the first event, but it's swimming that has claimed the most triathloners' lives. Scientific American interviews cardiologist Kevin Harris to find out why. (Via Bora Zivkovik)
Read in browser Video: wasp deals with annoying ant
By David Pescovitz on Aug 09, 2011 05:37 pm In this video from Victoria University researchers, a wasp is having a meal when an ant interrupts. So the wasp picks up the ant, flies into the air, and drops it. Guess what? The ant stops bugging the wasp. From …
Continue reading → Read in browser Weird laws (or lack thereof)
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Aug 09, 2011 05:36 pm Technically, it's not illegal to distribute Salmonella-tainted food.
Read in browser How To: Make a pet dinosaur
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Aug 09, 2011 05:32 pm If you don't have a house in Vancouver to trade for a year of personal dinosaur services, but you still really want a dinosaur, perhaps you should consider science. But don't listen to Michael Crichton. In this fun TEDTalks video, …
Continue reading → Read in browser Plant eats bird
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Aug 09, 2011 05:23 pm This is a photo of bird being eaten by a plant. According to a story from the BBC, it's not unusual for a carnivorous pitcher plant, such as this one, to get its "hands" on a frog, a mouse, or …
Continue reading → Read in browser Tea in Camden Town, London
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 05:15 pm "As looters and rioters smashed up shops, looted and fought with police in Camden Town, Philippa Morgan-Walker, 25 and her husband, Jonny Walker, 31, made tea for the police who were protecting their street. Some of the officers had been …
Continue reading → Read in browser Cube-faced LCD watch
By Cory Doctorow on Aug 09, 2011 05:15 pm TokyoFlash's new 3D Unlimited watch is a mirror-backed LCD watch with an EL backlight that displays time as faces on a cube. I'm inordinately fond of this kind of slightly impractical time-display, a kind of unapologetic use of time as …
Continue reading → Read in browser Merry Pranksters go to the movies
By David Pescovitz on Aug 09, 2011 04:58 pm In 1963, Ken Kesey and his Merry Band of Pranksters outfitted a school bus with state-of-the-art film cameras, tape recorders, and high-tech trip toys and hit the road. All that's left besides the acid-drenched memories are photos and 40 hours …
Continue reading → Read in browser Anti-cable TV campaign, circa 1970
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 04:43 pm In this anti-cable TV campaign from the early 1970, theater operators agitate against the prospect of competition in their customers' own living rooms. The strategy: present its own prime product—movies for mature audiences—as something no-one would want to see at …
Continue reading → Read in browser TouchPad gets price cut
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 04:12 pm HP cut the price of its TouchPad tablet to $400, following earlier rebates and software freebies. Too little, too late? [Wired]
Read in browser Lady in the Water
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 03:48 pm Rowers navigate around a sculpture in the Binnenalster, an artificial lake in Hamburg, last week. Apparently not well-received by locals, the installation will remain in place until August 12. Photo: Morris Mac Matzen / Reuters. More.
Read in browser Credit ratings for every country
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 03:27 pm The agencies currently rating the U.S. below prime are Standard and Poor's and Beijing's Dagong. Standard & Poor's Credit Rating for each country [Chartsbin via horhito@Reddit]
Read in browser EA tried to buy Minecraft studio
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 02:55 pm "Riccitiello soon 'picked up the vibe' that Mojang, the studio he created to grow Minecraft, is not for sale" — Michael French, Develop.
Read in browser No Nokia N9 for America or UK
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 02:47 pm Nokia's N9, the long-awaited MeeGo Linux cellphone, won't be coming to the U.S. after all. Engadget's Darren Murph received the "disheartening" news, echoed in UK reports, after asking the company to offer a firm release date. "After the very positive …
Continue reading → Read in browser Android-powered tank
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 02:32 pm As you can see, this is a tank operating under the command of a cellphone. It's quite a small tank, granted, but should be enough to regain control of the living room from kittens, puppies, etc., without congressional approval. Tamlyn …
Continue reading → Read in browser Phantom cam shoots 1 million frames per second
By Rob Beschizza on Aug 09, 2011 02:24 pm Vision Research's Phantom v1610 shoots 1m fps, albeit at the rather low resolution of 128x16. At a more modern 1280x800, however, it still packs in 16,000 shots every second. A 10Gb ethernet link and other high-end connections will keep the …
Continue reading → Read in browser Choosing Android because you don't trust Google
By Cory Doctorow on Aug 09, 2011 01:04 pm My latest Guardian column, "Android and iOS both fail, but Android fails better," explains why I prefer Android to iOS -- not because I trust Google more than I trust Apple, but because Android requires less trust than iOS. I …
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