The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. WATCHISMO TIME MACHINES - Timing is everything... John Shirley's seminal "Song Called Youth" back in print Kevin Smith on why you, too can be an indie success HOWTO get rich from carny rides, 1945 Sociopathic Superman comics Security companies and governments conspire to discover and hide software vulnerabilities that can be used as spyware vectors Spiders made from TSA-confiscated scissors Bubblegum label-writer 130 Simpsons episodes at once Make: Talk 011 - Yury Gitman, Toy Inventor How a high roller took millions off three Atlantic City casinos without cheating Sponsor shout-out: ShanaLogic Regina Spektor: new video for "All the Rowboats" Building spilling books   John Shirley's seminal "Song Called Youth" back in print By Cory Doctorow on Mar 31, 2012 11:10 am BB pal Gareth Branwyn sez, "Just wanted to alert you, in case you were unaware, that my old cyberpal John Shirley's seminal series A Song Called Youth just came out in a new omnibus edition with a new introduction by Richard Kadrey and a biographical note by Chairman Bruce Sterling." In a near-future dystopia, a ... Read in browser Kevin Smith on why you, too can be an indie success By Cory Doctorow on Mar 31, 2012 09:03 am Here's Kevin Smith discussing his success as an independent, and rebutting critics who say that his go-it-alone strategy for his Red State (which is, by the way, excellent) was only possible because he'd made a name for himself: Anyone that tells you "oh he could do it because he's Kevin Smith"—tell 'em horseshit, man. That's ... Read in browser HOWTO get rich from carny rides, 1945 By Cory Doctorow on Mar 31, 2012 03:35 am In this 1945 Mechanix Illustrated article, Harold S. Kahm sets out the facts for any would-be ride-designers looking to hit the jackpot with a new high-speed thrill. Starting with the origin story of the bumper car (a WWI munitions plant worker built a miniature truck for hauling parts, the plant workers went crazy riding it, ... Read in browser Sociopathic Superman comics By David Pescovitz on Mar 31, 2012 12:47 am Superman can be a real jerk! "Comics Showing Superman Crazy Sociopath WTF Funny" (Happy Place) UPDATE: Ah! Turns out, this is a dupe of Cory's 2006 dupe of Mark's 2005 post pointing us to Superdickery where it seems this gallery first appeared! A natural classic! Read in browser Security companies and governments conspire to discover and hide software vulnerabilities that can be used as spyware vectors By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 06:42 pm The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Marcia Hoffman writes about security research companies that work to discover "zero day" vulnerabilities in software and operating systems, then sell them to governments and corporations that want to use them as a vector for installing spyware. France's VUPEN is one such firm, and it claims that it only sells to ... Read in browser Spiders made from TSA-confiscated scissors By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 06:05 pm Sculptor Christopher Locke makes the most amazing spiders out of scissors -- but not just any scissors. Scissors that the TSA confiscated and auctioned off. Although the TSA website says scissors with blades less than four inches are allowed on airplanes, the individual officers conducting the screening have the authority to confiscate anything they think ... Read in browser Bubblegum label-writer By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 05:31 pm In the Boing Boing store, a bubblegum-based label-writer. Feed it with any standard bubblegum tape, and stamp your message into it before you begin your chewy chewing for choosy chewers. Bubble Roll Message Maker Read in browser 130 Simpsons episodes at once By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 04:10 pm Romssonson created a single YouTube video displaying a grid of 130 miniature Simpsons episodes: About the video: -Top to bottom: each row shows a season (from season 1 to season 10) -Left to right: each column shows an episode (from episode 1 to episode 13) A total of 130 episodes is displayed, framerate is 25fps, ... Read in browser Make: Talk 011 - Yury Gitman, Toy Inventor By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 30, 2012 03:30 pm Here's the 11th episode of MAKE's podcast, Make: Talk! In each episode, I interview one of the makers featured in the magazine. Our maker this week is Yury Gitman. Yury's a toy inventor and a product designer who teaches physical computing and toy design at Parsons The New School for Design in New York. In ... Read in browser How a high roller took millions off three Atlantic City casinos without cheating By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 03:26 pm Mark Bowden's Atlantic article tells the story of Don Johnson, a high-rolling gambler who broke the bank at three Atlantic City casinos without card-counting or other "cheats." Years ago, I was mildly obsessed with understanding casino economics and cheats, and read a bunch of books on how to win (or at least lose slowly) at ... Read in browser Sponsor shout-out: ShanaLogic By David Pescovitz on Mar 30, 2012 02:47 pm Thank you to our sponsor ShanaLogic, sellers of handmade and independently designed durable goods, apparel, delightful gifts, and other fine kit. Check out this clever unisex " Read in browser Regina Spektor: new video for "All the Rowboats" By David Pescovitz on Mar 30, 2012 02:06 pm Regina Spektor is a Russian-born, classically-trained pianist who started making the downtown NYC avant-folk scene as a singer-songwriter in the late 1990s. She eventually rose to international prominence with her exquisite fourth album, "Begin to Hope" (2006), featuring the popular single "Fidelity." My whole family has enjoyed her music for years and so I was ... Read in browser Building spilling books By David Pescovitz on Mar 30, 2012 01:33 pm "Biografias," an installation by Alicia Martin at Casa de America, Madrid. "5,000 Books Pour Out of a Building in Spain" (via Imaginary Foundation) Read in browser More to read: Canada to stop issuing pennies, businesses told to round off to nearest 5 cents, or "work it out for themselves" New York City Dept of Education's "banned" words list Classics of Internet Art Suzanne Ciani: music of Atari, pinball, and Star Wars Disco Perfect illustration in a 1941 shaving cream ad  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Sent by 2012 Boing Boing, CC. You are subscribed to email updates from Boing Boing. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe immediately. Our mailing address is: Boing Boing 905 Wettach St Pittsburgh, Pa 15122 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. WATCHISMO TIME MACHINES - Timing is everything... Canada to stop issuing pennies, businesses told to round off to nearest 5 cents, or "work it out for themselves" New York City Dept of Education's "banned" words list Classics of Internet Art Suzanne Ciani: music of Atari, Next, pinball, and Star Wars Disco Perfect illustration in a 1941 shaving cream ad 3 days until the release of "The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist"! (…plus your chance to win an autographed copy today) Drunkard's serenade: "Bohemian Rhapsody" from the back of a police car CC-licensed boardgame about demonstrators and cops seeks Kickstarter funds Gendered toy-ad remixer Maggie in Boston next week Underground press history event in San Francisco this Saturday Bruce Schneier hands former TSA boss his ass Motorized kazoo-equipped Hall and Oates cover 1942 Donald Duck cartoon funded by the US Treasury exhorts you file your tax-return Gorgeous photos of jets flying too close to the beach Stary eyeball hair Matt Stone on the corruption in the MPAA's ratings board 3D printed shoes Best Buy to close 50 stores Annihilator: a multifunction demolition tool Bulgarian married, with Bulgarian children, in Bulgarian US Fed judge: it might be unconstitutional to go fishing through your hard-drive at the border just because you support Bradley Manning Insulated eyeball lunch-bag Historic Apollo 11 rocket engines found on ocean floor by Jeff Bezos and team Sentry gun controller Webcam Tears Invisible Robota: the robots who ate our jobs Open source "tricorders": handheld sensor packages for everyone Apple CEO Tim Cook visits Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, China 4 days until the release of "The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist"! (…plus your chance to win an autographed copy today)   Canada to stop issuing pennies, businesses told to round off to nearest 5 cents, or "work it out for themselves" By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 01:00 pm The Canadian Tory government has announced that it's discontinuing the minting of new pennies, as the coins are expensive and considered a "nuisance" by businesses and their customers. As Steven Chase writes in the Globe and Mail: "It costs taxpayers a penny-and-a-half every time we make one," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told the Commons, adding ... Read in browser New York City Dept of Education's "banned" words list By David Pescovitz on Mar 30, 2012 12:57 pm You've likely heard that the New York City Department of Education wants to avoid the user of certain words or phrases on standardized tests if "the topic is controversial among the adult population and might not be acceptable in a state-mandated testing situation; the topic has been overused in standardized tests or textbooks and is ... Read in browser Classics of Internet Art By David Pescovitz on Mar 30, 2012 12:42 pm Over at MyLifeScoop, a site created by one of our sponsors, Intel, I wrote about Ken Goldberg's Telegarden (1995), Eric Paulos's Limelight (2004), and other classic Internet artworks. Cyberspace is no longer a place we go to through our desktop or laptop screens, but an overlay on top of our physical reality. In fact, the ... Read in browser Suzanne Ciani: music of Atari, Next, pinball, and Star Wars Disco By David Pescovitz on Mar 30, 2012 12:34 pm If you've ever heard Meco's classic space disco version of the Star Wars theme, or played the Xenon pinball machine, or saw the original Atari TV commercials, then you've heard the pioneering electronic music of Suzanne Ciani. From her earliest days studying with Don Buchla at UC Berkeley and Max Mathews at Stanford to her ... Read in browser Perfect illustration in a 1941 shaving cream ad By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 12:00 pm The illustration in this 1943 Listerine shaving ad is totally perfect, and really makes the case that the MAD Magazine parodies of old time ads were basically faithful recreations. I love that they gave the guy a double chin. Listerine Shaving Cream Read in browser 3 days until the release of "The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist"! (…plus your chance to win an autographed copy today) By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 30, 2012 11:20 am …and our countdown continues with more Clowes oddities that couldn’t be included in the book. Design dept: Daniel Clowes: “The only valuable class I took in art school was from a guy who taught display lettering which was literally like sign painting. Everybody else was like, ‘Aww man, I can’t believe I have to take ... Read in browser Drunkard's serenade: "Bohemian Rhapsody" from the back of a police car By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 11:00 am Here is a man who has apparently been arrested for intoxication in an unknown jurisdiction, disputing the charge from the back of a police cruiser by belting out a genuinely soulful rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Skip to 3:40 for "Scaramouche! Scaramouche!" Arrested Drunk Guy Sings Bohemian Rhapsody (Thanks, Fipi Lele!) Read in browser CC-licensed boardgame about demonstrators and cops seeks Kickstarter funds By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 10:23 am Justin Nichol sez, "Black Flag Games is currently running a Kickstarter to produce a radical boardgame project called 'A Las Barricadas'. It is a boardgame about conflict between state police and anti-authoritarian demonstrators. It is a two-player game with each player representing one of these social forces. The theatre of the conflict is street demonstration. ... Read in browser Gendered toy-ad remixer By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 08:57 am Zarkonnen sez, "The Gender Remixer lets you set the video of one toy ad to the audio of another aimed at the opposite gender, with hilarious/disturbing results." It's true. The heavily gendered world of toy ads are as formalized as a legal proceeding. Hearing the audio for one and seeing the video for another is ... Read in browser Maggie in Boston next week By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 30, 2012 08:52 am I've got two speaking gigs in Boston coming up. Both are free and open to the public, but you'll need to RSVP. On April 2nd at 7:00 pm, I'll be speaking to the Boston Skeptics in the Pub about energy. RSVP for Boston Skeptics. On April 4th at 4:00 pm, I'll be at MIT, talking ... Read in browser Underground press history event in San Francisco this Saturday By Cory Doctorow on Mar 30, 2012 12:28 am Rina writes, "Join SF in SF and PM Press for an evening with ON THE GROUND: An Illustrated Anecdotal History of the Sixties Underground Press in the U.S. with Trina Robbins, Billy X. Jennings, Judy Gumbo Albert and Terry Bisson. Join contributors to the original underground press movement in discussion, reading, and what's bound to ... Read in browser Bruce Schneier hands former TSA boss his ass By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 10:10 pm As the Economist's debate between Bruce Schneier and former TSA boss Kip Hawley draws to a close, it's clear that Schneier has crushed Hawley. All of Hawley's best arguments sum up to "Someone somewhere did something bad, and if he'd tried it on us, we would have caught him." His closing clincher? They heard a ... Read in browser Motorized kazoo-equipped Hall and Oates cover By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 09:28 pm Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers cover Hall and Oates's "I Can't Go For That" while crammed into a van, with Bluhm driving, singing, and playing a kazoo, and seeming to do a rather good job at all three. Talent! Hall and Oates - I Can't Go For That - Cover by Nicki Bluhm and The ... Read in browser 1942 Donald Duck cartoon funded by the US Treasury exhorts you file your tax-return By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 08:50 pm Here's a great 19412 Donald Duck toon funded by the Treasury, explaining to war-torn America why they need to all file their taxes to defeat tyranny. Help Donald Duck File His 1941 Federal Tax Return Read in browser Gorgeous photos of jets flying too close to the beach By Amy Seidenwurm on Mar 29, 2012 08:26 pm Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) on St. Maarten has an extremely short runway (7152 feet) that forces jets to get mighty close to people at Maho Beach.  Photographer Josef Hoflehner has taken some amazing shots of this phenomenon.  Read in browser Stary eyeball hair By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 08:26 pm An unsourced photo on Biglilkim's Tumblr shows a woman whose back-flip has been turned into an awesome, starey eyeball. Anyone know more about the picture? (via Neatorama) Update: In the comments, Copacetic says, "Yes. The stylist's name is Seaborn (known as Celebrity Seaborn) and the woman in the photo is known as Pastor Dot or ... Read in browser Matt Stone on the corruption in the MPAA's ratings board By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 07:20 pm In this 2000 clip from a presentation at the Paley Center, South Park co-creator Matt Stone discusses his experience with the MPAA's ratings board, and explains how, as an independent, he found himself playing a kind of high-priced censorship guessing game with the board, who wouldn't tell him which scenes to change in order to ... Read in browser 3D printed shoes By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 06:14 pm The Smithsonian's Design Decoded blog reports on the latest developments in 3D printed footwear, including the fashion designers and students who are experimenting with printing out shoes using cheap materials that only last for "one lap down a runway." As Andrew writes on the Makerbot blog, "the artist worked with what was available to push ... Read in browser Best Buy to close 50 stores By Rob Beschizza on Mar 29, 2012 06:05 pm Photo: jiazi. Shoop: Rob. Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy is to close 50 stores and cut 400 jobs, mostly at its corporate HQ. Thomas Lee of the Star Tribune: In the past, as Best Buy's stores lost market share, [CEO Brian] Dunn emphasized the retailer's profit margins and driving sales through its multi-channel operations, including ... Read in browser Annihilator: a multifunction demolition tool By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 05:06 pm I've been satisfied with the Stanley FuBar demolition tool that Mark reviewed in 2008 (available in safety yellow!), but I am sorely tempted by the Annihilator Wrecking Bar, which sports all the same features as the FuBar, along with a bottle-opener, a board-straightener, a "multi-purpose nail-puller," a demolition axe, and a chisel. Plus, it's called ... Read in browser Bulgarian married, with Bulgarian children, in Bulgarian By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 03:52 pm Even though I don't speak Bulgarian, I can tell that the Bulgarian version of Married With Children is awfully faithful to the dreadful American original. It really seems like the cast spent a long time studying the mannerisms and schtick of the US actors. And though I wouldn't swear to it, I'm pretty sure that's ... Read in browser US Fed judge: it might be unconstitutional to go fishing through your hard-drive at the border just because you support Bradley Manning By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 03:23 pm A rare moment of sanity from the US courts relating to Bradley Manning: David Maurice House, an MIT researcher and high profile supporter of Manning has been given the go-ahead to sue the US government for punitively searching his stuff when he came back to the USA after a holiday in Mexico. "Although the agents ... Read in browser Insulated eyeball lunch-bag By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 02:49 pm In the Boing Boing Store, our eyeball lunchbag, insulated to keep your eyeball sandwiches fridge-cool until you're ready to eat 'em. Eyeball Lunch Bag Read in browser Historic Apollo 11 rocket engines found on ocean floor by Jeff Bezos and team By Xeni Jardin on Mar 29, 2012 02:47 pm Amazon founder and space entrepreneur Jeff Bezos announces on his blog that the Apollo 11 rocket engines which propelled Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon in 1969—making them the first humans on the moon—have been found on the bottom of the Atlantic ocean by Bezos' research team. Next step? Finding a way to ... Read in browser Sentry gun controller By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 29, 2012 02:45 pm Thanks to Bob's open-source Sentry Gun controller, now anyone can build a gun that "autonomously tracks, aims, and shoots at targets using a webcam." (Via Dangerous Prototypes) Read in browser Webcam Tears By Xeni Jardin on Mar 29, 2012 02:40 pm Via Gawker's Adrian Chen, a Tumblog of Greatness: Webcam Tears. Works best if you play all of them at the same time. Read in browser Invisible Robota: the robots who ate our jobs By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 02:30 pm Joe Posner sez, "A month ago Marketplace told me they're doing a weeklong special called "Robots Ate My Job" this week and asked if I could make videos to go with it. Where to start? "Even though we don't see them with anthropomorphic features and two arms and legs walking down the streets, there are ... Read in browser Open source "tricorders": handheld sensor packages for everyone By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 02:23 pm For the past five years, Peter Jansen, a Canadian scientist whose PhD is in neural computation and cognitive modelling, has been developing a series of open source hardware "tricorders" -- handheld sensor packages running GNU/Linux that can be used by everyday people to make and record observations about the world around them. There are several ... Read in browser Apple CEO Tim Cook visits Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, China By Xeni Jardin on Mar 29, 2012 02:17 pm Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook speaks to employees during a visit to the iPhone production line at the newly built Foxconn Zhengzhou Technology Park, in Henan province, China. Photo taken March 28, 2012 (REUTERS). Reports and analysis on the significance of the visit: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Wired News, IBT, Christian Science ... Read in browser 4 days until the release of "The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist"! (…plus your chance to win an autographed copy today) By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 29, 2012 02:09 pm …and our countdown continues with more oddities that they couldn’t include in the book. The Chicago Years… Here are some things from Clowes’s time in Chicago during the mid-1980s and early '90s. This is an unpublished color version of the first page from the first Lloyd Llewelleyn story. Clowes sent the comic to Fantagraphics and, ... Read in browser More to read:  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Sent by 2012 Boing Boing, CC. You are subscribed to email updates from Boing Boing. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe immediately. Our mailing address is: Boing Boing 905 Wettach St Pittsburgh, Pa 15122 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. WATCHISMO TIME MACHINES - Timing is everything... Repairing a Victorian hat-fitting Conformateur with 3D printed parts Rick Santorum tells boy not to use pink bowling ball Pink slime in the context of history When was Super Mario Bros. released? Bald eagle, fox, and cat are porch friends User uploads to YouTube hit one hour per second Dummies guide to Fallout 2 Anything an Ultrabook now Bacon-themed coffin Because we are all mature adults How to: Replace unnecessary antibiotics with a good dose of empathy Destruction by numbers Want superconductivity? Add red wine. Virgin boy piss eggs a treat in China Paul Vixie's firsthand account of the takedown of DNS Changer EyeWire: a videogame to help scientists trace the neurons in a retina Sponsor Shout-Out: Watchismo Before the Lights Go Out: Maggie's energy book is thoughtful, timely, necessary UK tories embroiled in Cornish Pasty row Potato removed from clergyman's anus Original MC Frontalot CD art for sale Padlock daisy-chains NatGeo Adventure iPad app: Greatest Stories Ever Told Behold! Our new mascot Czechoslovakian tank helmets Rolling on the river: The future of local energy 5 days until the release of The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist! (…plus your chance to win an autographed copy today) Trailer for Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope Speculations on the origins of the Disney Haunted Mansion organist and hitchhiking ghosts Java Rings from 1998   Repairing a Victorian hat-fitting Conformateur with 3D printed parts By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 01:00 pm A followup to yesterday's post about the Conformateur, a 19th century hat-fitting device acquired by Tricia Roush to aid in her millnery. Here is a post from La Bricoleuse, another proud Conformateur owner, whose gizmo needed some TLC to get into good running shape: specifically, it needed new parts that were output from a 3D ... Read in browser Rick Santorum tells boy not to use pink bowling ball By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 29, 2012 12:51 pm “You’re not gonna use the pink ball. We're not gonna let you do that. Not on camera. Friends don’t let friends use pink balls.” (Via Cynical-C) Read in browser Pink slime in the context of history By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 29, 2012 12:27 pm I haven't written much about pink slime—that creamy mixture of meat and animal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of industrial meat processing. Most of what's being written about this lately comes from a place of outrage. And I'm really not sure I can get outraged about pink slime. Why not? After all, we're talking ... Read in browser When was Super Mario Bros. released? By Rob Beschizza on Mar 29, 2012 12:24 pm At Gamasutra, Frank Cifaldi tries to pin down a fact that's suprisingly slippery: when was Super Mario Bros. released in the U.S.? The official date—October 19, 1985—is somewhat unconvincing. The console industry crash turned the era into a crater of press inattention and poor record-keeping, showing that even in the computer age, the hard facts ... Read in browser Bald eagle, fox, and cat are porch friends By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 29, 2012 12:02 pm [Video Link] Contented creatures on a porch in Unalaska, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands. See how the fox, eagle and cat are all just fine hanging out and no one is trying to attack anyone and they are getting along just fine? Notice the eagle in the background on the lamp post down by the ... Read in browser User uploads to YouTube hit one hour per second By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 12:00 pm User uploads to YouTube have hit one hour per second -- that is, sixty hours per hour. It's a testament to how much latent expression there is in the world, waiting for a distribution platform to make it possible to share it. Before you dismiss this with the shibboleth about YouTube being nothing but illegal ... Read in browser Dummies guide to Fallout 2 By Rob Beschizza on Mar 29, 2012 11:58 am Joe Martin plays through classic RPG Fallout 2 with a character of the lowest possible intelligence: "Confidently, I lead Al out of his village, ignoring the hurled insults by the useless NPCs and staying focused on my destination; Klamath. The nearby town is the first stop everyone makes in Fallout 2 and I know it's ... Read in browser Anything an Ultrabook now By Rob Beschizza on Mar 29, 2012 11:49 am To help other PC manufacturers replicate the MacBook Air's runaway sales, Intel defined its specifications as the Ultrabook: slim, lightweight SSD-based laptops without the performance compromises of a netbook. But as soon as they became successful, the vendors slid, applying the hot branding to any old thing in their lineup: Samsung now has 4lb "Ultrabooks" ... Read in browser Bacon-themed coffin By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 29, 2012 11:45 am Is there a better way to show your love of bacon forever than to be buried wrapped in it? We don't think so. This genuine bacon casket is made of 18 Gauge Gasketed Steel with Premium Bacon Exterior/Interior, and includes a Memorial and Record Tube, Adjustable Bed and Mattress and Stationary and Swingbar handles. It ... Read in browser Because we are all mature adults By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 29, 2012 11:41 am And now: The science of farting. (via Hannah Waters) Read in browser How to: Replace unnecessary antibiotics with a good dose of empathy By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 29, 2012 11:20 am A key component of antibiotic resistance is the over-use of antibiotics. We talk about this a lot in the context of over-the-counter antibacterial cleansers, but there's a doctor's office side to this story, as well. When sick people come into a doctor's office, part of what they are looking for is psychological wellness. They want ... Read in browser Destruction by numbers By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 29, 2012 11:09 am In nine years of filming, the show Myth Busters has burned through 33,500 yards of duct tape. (Via Katherine Nelson) Read in browser Want superconductivity? Add red wine. By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 29, 2012 11:04 am Why does electricity move along wires? This is one of those questions where the answer is relatively simple—the wires are made of conductive metal—but the meaning behind the answer isn't always well-understood. Conductive metals are conductive because of things going on at the tiny scale of atoms and electrons. If you want to understand superconductivity, ... Read in browser Virgin boy piss eggs a treat in China By Rob Beschizza on Mar 29, 2012 11:03 am "[It's] the start of busy times for dozens of egg vendors across the city, deep in coastal Zhejiang province, who ready themselves to cook up a unique springtime snack favored by local residents. Basins and buckets of boys' urine are collected from primary school toilets. It is the key ingredient in "virgin boy eggs", a ... Read in browser Paul Vixie's firsthand account of the takedown of DNS Changer By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 11:00 am Carl Malamud sez, "Paul Vixie tells a real-life action adventure about the DNS Changer and Conficker plagues that are still active on the Internet and how he ended up running a center for disease control in addition to his day job. His day job, in case you're not familiar with isc.org, consists of helping keep ... Read in browser EyeWire: a videogame to help scientists trace the neurons in a retina By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 10:00 am Robert sez, "The gamified EyeWire project, now in open beta, is about using human computation to help trace the neurons in a retina. Tracing the neurons will help nail down the computation that goes on inside the retina leading up to the optic nerve, and lead to better methods of brain mapping. Come and help ... Read in browser Sponsor Shout-Out: Watchismo By Rob Beschizza on Mar 29, 2012 09:00 am Our thanks go to Watchismo for sponsoring Boing Boing Blast, our once-daily delivery of headlines by email. These brand spanking new Projects TOWARDS watches are as unique in construction as they are in style. The case is tilted toward the wearer at an angle, making for an ergonomic timepiece with large numbers and an easy-to-view ... Read in browser Before the Lights Go Out: Maggie's energy book is thoughtful, timely, necessary By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 08:43 am Boing Boing science editor Maggie Koerth-Baker's debut book comes out today. It's called Before the Lights Go Out, and I was lucky enough to get to read an early copy back in January. If you read Boing Boing, you already know about Maggie's wonderful ability to make scientific subjects accessible without sacrificing nuance -- and ... Read in browser UK tories embroiled in Cornish Pasty row By Cory Doctorow on Mar 29, 2012 02:46 am UK chancellor George Osborne was confronted on his government's decision to charge value-added tax (VAT) on hot take-away food like pasties. Labour MP John Mann asked Osborne when he'd last had a pasty from Gregg's, a chain of bakeries. Osborne couldn't recall. But PM David Cameron was ready for the question when it next arose ... Read in browser Potato removed from clergyman's anus By Rob Beschizza on Mar 28, 2012 11:19 pm "He explained to me, quite sincerely, he had been hanging curtains naked in he kitchen when he fell backwards on to the kitchen table and on to a potato," said Sheffield, England A&E nurse Trudi Watson. "But it's not for me to question his story." [Metro] Read in browser Original MC Frontalot CD art for sale By Cory Doctorow on Mar 28, 2012 10:39 pm MC Frontalot sez, "The unstoppable Eliza Gauger is selling off the original back-cover painting that she did for my album Zero Day. A little bit of nerdcore history available to the aspiring archivist, with about two days left to bid." ZERO DAY Read in browser Padlock daisy-chains By Cory Doctorow on Mar 28, 2012 07:20 pm Sculptor Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's piece "Nothing is more optimistic than Stjärnsund" is a curator's playset of modified, daisy-chain-able padlocks. I like the idea of a necklace of these things, lying flat like an industrialized, faux-Egyptian burial ornament. This piece consists of twenty modified padlocks which can be interconnected to create chains or assemblages, as the collector ... Read in browser NatGeo Adventure iPad app: Greatest Stories Ever Told By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 28, 2012 07:18 pm (Photo by Will Steger) In a sea of sunlight and drifting snow, huskies awaited their handler's call on the first leg of the traverse. Because dogs were banned from the continent after April 1, 1994, the TAE stands as Antarctica's last dogsled expedition. Here's a gallery of photos from the new National Geographic Adventure: Greatest ... Read in browser Behold! Our new mascot By Rob Beschizza on Mar 28, 2012 06:29 pm From Boston Dynamics: "Sand Flea is an 11-lb robot with one trick up its sleeve: Normally it drives like an RC car, but when it needs to it can jump 30 feet into the air. An onboard stabilization system keeps it oriented during flight to improve the view from the video uplink and to control ... Read in browser Czechoslovakian tank helmets By Cory Doctorow on Mar 28, 2012 06:16 pm From the Joseba Revuelta collection, photos and commentary (in Spanish) on vintage Czechoslovakian tank-helmets, which were apparently accessorized to the nines. CASCOS CARRISTAS CHECOOSLOVACOS (via Making Light) Read in browser Rolling on the river: The future of local energy By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 28, 2012 05:49 pm Today, most of the electricity in the United States is generated in very large facilities—capable of serving millions of homes—far away from the people who will actually use that electricity. We do it this way because it makes financial sense. It's cheaper to produce electricity in bulk and ship it over transmission lines, than it ... Read in browser 5 days until the release of The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist! (…plus your chance to win an autographed copy today) By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 28, 2012 05:44 pm …and our countdown continues with more Clowes extras that couldn’t be included in the book. Joey Ramone talks about Clowes and I Don’t Want to Grow Up & the Launch of the danielclowes.com YouTube Channel [Video Link] Alvin says: "Daniel Clowes drew the art for the Ramones animated music video for their cover of Tom ... Read in browser Trailer for Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope By Mark Frauenfelder on Mar 28, 2012 04:59 pm [Video Link] I'm looking forward to seeing this documentary. Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope -- a film by Morgan Spurlock explores this amazing cultural phenomenon by following the lives of five attendees as they descend upon the ultimate geek mecca at San Diego Comic-Con 2010: -- Eric, an aspiring illustrator, is hoping to ... Read in browser Speculations on the origins of the Disney Haunted Mansion organist and hitchhiking ghosts By Cory Doctorow on Mar 28, 2012 04:12 pm The Long Forgotten blog -- my best source for scholarly discussion of the Disney Haunted Mansion and spook houses more generally -- tackles the historical origins of the rides' haunted organ and the ghostly hitchhikers. It's a timely piece, as I published the long-mothballed comic that Christopher and I made in 2007 to explain the ... Read in browser Java Rings from 1998 By David Pescovitz on Mar 28, 2012 04:09 pm At the JavaOne 1998 conference, Sun gave out rings like this one. It's embedded with an iButton chip containing a Java Virtual Machine. Based on the 1-Wire device communications bus system, IButtons can act as a token for access control, e-cash, data logging etc. 1-Wire systems are still in common use and someone is selling ... 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