WATCHISMO TIME MACHINES - Timing is everything...
State of the arms race between repressive governments and anti-censorship/surveillance Tor technology (and why American companies are on the repressive governments' side) Linguistics, Turing Completeness, and teh lulz The golden age of journalists noticing new blogs is over Wednesday-Weird-Bible-Verse: 200 foreskins as a wedding price for a bride "Zilla March": flexing in the New York subways Dieter Rams, designer of Braun electronics 7 Habits of Highly Effective Marketting Priests fight with broomsticks at Church of the Nativity Charles Bukowski's 1971 letter outlines terms for poetry reading Joe Bussard talks John Fahey and Fonotone, the last 78 RPM label Scottish gentleman is bewildered by newsreader's amazing appearing pen Three inventions to keep livestock off railroad tracks LA's Lee Baca tied with Joe Arpaio as the worst sheriff in the Oort Cloud Video: Clerk knocks out robber Quest, a Saul Bass short fim based on Bradbury's "Frost and Fire" Robot that paints random graffiti TOM THE DANCING BUG: What Message Did We Receive From Outer Space?? Map shows when solar will be cheaper than grid electricity in North American areas Google given the finger Apps For Kids 002: Robot Wants Kitty Young girl rages over pink toys and gendered play-choices Load DRM-free media on the Kindle Fire with Miro State of the arms race between repressive governments and anti-censorship/surveillance Tor technology (and why American companies are on the repressive governments' side)
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 29, 2011 12:50 pm Last night's Chaos Computer Congress (28C3) presentation from Jacob Applebaum and Roger Dingledine on the state of the arms race between the Tor anti-censorship/surveillance technology and the world's repressive governments was by turns depressing and inspiring. Dingledine and Applebaum have unique insights into the workings of the technocrats in Iranian, Chinese, Tunisian, Syrian and other ...
Read in browser Linguistics, Turing Completeness, and teh lulz
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 29, 2011 06:35 am Yesterday's keynote at the 28th Chaos Computer Congress (28C3) by Meredith Patterson on "The Science of Insecurity" was a tour-de-force explanation of the formal linguistics and computer science that explain why software becomes insecure, and an explanation of how security can be dramatically increased. What's more, Patterson's slides were outstanding Rageface-meets-Occupy memeshopping. Both the video ...
Read in browser The golden age of journalists noticing new blogs is over
By Rob Beschizza on Dec 29, 2011 06:32 am Jeremiah Owyang writes that the golden age of blogging is over. The reasons, in brief: many top blogs have sold out; staff turnover saw "star" voices slip off the radar; younger audiences like social networking more; and advertising revenue is increasingly hard to get at. All the reasons given are true, but they're not reasons ...
Read in browser Wednesday-Weird-Bible-Verse: 200 foreskins as a wedding price for a bride
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 28, 2011 09:14 pm (Image of 1 Samuel 18:27 used with the kind permission of Brendan Powell Smith, from his book The Brick Bible, available on Amazon.com.) Dan Kimball is one of my oldest friends. We went to college together, moved to London, and played in a band in the 1980s. He's an excellent cartoonist, an amazing drummer, and ...
Read in browser "Zilla March": flexing in the New York subways
By Dean Putney on Dec 28, 2011 08:00 pm Flexing, or bone breaking, is a mix of street dancing and contortionist movements mostly specific to Brooklyn. This video in particular is mesmerizing, almost ritualistic with this group of shirtless guys in gas masks all dancing together in the subway. Other riders seem to either not notice them or look on in a trance. [Video ...
Read in browser Dieter Rams, designer of Braun electronics
By David Pescovitz on Dec 28, 2011 07:16 pm Over at Domus, my dear pal John Alderman reports on "Less and More: the Design Ethos of Dieter Rams," a retrospective exhibition about the German designer that's currently at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Rams is best known for the gorgeous electronic products he designed for Braun from 1961 to 1995. He defined ...
Read in browser 7 Habits of Highly Effective Marketting
By Rob Beschizza on Dec 28, 2011 06:53 pm 1. The Customer Is Usually Wrong. Ensure they understand this by sending them illiterate, angry emails. That bitch got told. 2. It's Not A Lie If You Believe It. Mayor of Boston come on Bud you run a show that's all you do. 3. Devote your hypothetical 125-strong PR team to a smear campaign of ...
Read in browser Priests fight with broomsticks at Church of the Nativity
By David Pescovitz on Dec 28, 2011 06:09 pm A priestly brawl broke out this morning at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. They did battle with broomsticks. Unfortunately, no video. (Video!) From CNN: Several dozen Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests were cleaning the interior of the church Wednesday morning when, according to witnesses, two of them began fighting. The fight quickly escalated, ...
Read in browser Charles Bukowski's 1971 letter outlines terms for poetry reading
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 28, 2011 05:55 pm "I am available for a poetry reading but don't know if you have the stakes. It would take round-trip air (which, I imagine would be a great deal from L.A. to Florida), plus $200." (Via This isn't Happiness)
Read in browser Joe Bussard talks John Fahey and Fonotone, the last 78 RPM label
By David Pescovitz on Dec 28, 2011 05:52 pm Joe Bussard, 75, has perhaps the world's greatest collectors of 78 RPM records. Back in 2004, I posted about Bussard and his remarkable collection of blues, folk, gospel, and Americana shellac records. But Joe wasn't just a collector. From 1957 to 1970, he ran Fonotone Records, the last 78 RPM record label, from his basement ...
Read in browser Scottish gentleman is bewildered by newsreader's amazing appearing pen
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 28, 2011 05:36 pm [Video Link] Via Arbroath
Read in browser Three inventions to keep livestock off railroad tracks
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 28, 2011 05:24 pm Why do cows and horses like standing on railroad tracks? Here are three inventions to encourage them to loiter elsewhere. One involves a jet of hot water, another adds a whistle to the water jet, and a third involves a humanoid automaton that waves its hands and strikes a gong. I agree with Greg of ...
Read in browser LA's Lee Baca tied with Joe Arpaio as the worst sheriff in the Oort Cloud
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 28, 2011 05:09 pm "Hundreds of people have been wrongly imprisoned inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department jails in recent years, with some spending weeks behind bars before authorities realized those arrested were mistaken for wanted criminals, a [Los Angeles] Times investigation has found." More recent misdeeds from the ongoing Baca debacle.
Read in browser Video: Clerk knocks out robber
By David Pescovitz on Dec 28, 2011 04:35 pm Mostafa Kamel Hendi, armed with what was later identified as a pellet gun, attempted to rob the We Buy Gold shop in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The store clerk, Derek Mothershead, punched him in the nose and knocked him out. While waiting for police to arrive, Mothershead handed Hendi a roll of paper towels and made ...
Read in browser Quest, a Saul Bass short fim based on Bradbury's "Frost and Fire"
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 28, 2011 04:32 pm [Video Link] Avi Solomon says: "Quest is a short film made in 1983 by Elaine and Saul Bass (the iconic designer) based on Ray Bradbury's 1946 story 'Frost and Fire.'" "Frost and Fire" was a memorable Bradbury story for me. I first read it in a 1966 paperback edition of R is for Rocket that ...
Read in browser Robot that paints random graffiti
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 28, 2011 04:13 pm [Video Link] This post offered another opportunity for auto spellcheck to point out my unwillingness to learn that it's not spelled "grafitti." The good stuff starts about 50 seconds in. (Thanks, onym!)
Read in browser TOM THE DANCING BUG: What Message Did We Receive From Outer Space??
By Ruben Bolling on Dec 28, 2011 04:10 pm Attention Earthlings: Visit the TOM THE DANCING BUG WEBSITE, and follow RUBEN BOLLING on TWITTER. End transmission.
Read in browser Map shows when solar will be cheaper than grid electricity in North American areas
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 28, 2011 04:08 pm Existing grid-supplied electricity is becoming more expensive. Electricity from solar panels is getting cheaper. Here's an animated map of North America that shows when the rising-grid-cost and falling-solar-cost curves will intersect for different metropolitan areas. We used the following assumptions in the construction of this animated map: The cost of solar in 2011 is $4.00 ...
Read in browser Google given the finger
By Rob Beschizza on Dec 28, 2011 04:07 pm Google removed journalist MG Siegler's avatar because of the posture of his middle finger. Representative Alex Joseph explained why: As the first point of interaction with a user's profile, all profile photos on Google+ are reviewed to make sure they are in line with our User Content and Conduct Policy. Our policy page states, "Your ...
Read in browser Apps For Kids 002: Robot Wants Kitty
By Mark Frauenfelder on Dec 28, 2011 03:03 pm Jane and Mark review the platformer, Robot Wants Kitty. Download Apps For Kids 002 as an MP3 | Subscribe via iTunes | Subscribe via RSS | Download single episodes as MP3s Apps for kids is on Stitcher!
Read in browser Young girl rages over pink toys and gendered play-choices
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 28, 2011 02:55 pm Young Riley, seen here in a video shot in a toy store, drops some science about the way that toys are marketed to boys and girls, and demands better from the world. Riley on Marketing (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)
Read in browser Load DRM-free media on the Kindle Fire with Miro
By Cory Doctorow on Dec 28, 2011 02:00 pm Nicholas from the Participatory Culture Foundation: Although Amazon tries to push their users towards DRM'ed media, the new Kindle Fire can in fact play your DRM free videos, if you can get them on there. Amazon doesn't make it easy to convert and sync videos and music to your device without going through their servers, ...
Read in browser 
No comments:
Post a Comment