DIY low-poly mask, now with glowing edges! Berlusconi sentenced Interactive art installation: Bird on a Wire HOWTO make a really well-tucked bed Bald for Bieber If Twitter was like Facebook TechCrunch launches Crunchgov to craft and pass better tech laws Doggie warning system In Greece, financial tragedy creates horrific conditions for cancer patients Children of tech executive slain in New York; nanny accused of murder and attempted suicide Cory in Toronto today, Boston tomorrow The inane Randroidism of "disruption" Alien is pooped Get a copy of the Web Game writer out of a job after libel complaint NYPD officer planned to kidnap and eat women [trigger warning] Bleeding skull candles HOWTO make a rainbow-flag Eagle Scout Medal Unlace: rubber shoelaces for taming your cables Gweek 073: Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn Decapitated heads Conquering Graymail With Outlook.com How Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology works English town wins its war against chain coffee Apple now owns the Beatles' Apple logo Miniature wearable Bluetooth camcorder Random Penguins! Dale Chihuly at VMFA, and photography and accessibility of art Website asks you to rate fashion sensibility of unwitting pedestrians Pepper spray iPhone case DIY low-poly mask, now with glowing edges!
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 26, 2012 12:45 pm Remember this cool "low poly" papercraft mask by BB reader kongorilla? Check it out, he modified it with glow-in-the-dark tape strips, so it... glows in the dark! Make it yourself.
Read in browser Berlusconi sentenced
By Rob Beschizza on Oct 26, 2012 12:05 pm Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is off to the clink for four years for tax evasion—pending appeals and whatnot, of course. [RT]
Read in browser Interactive art installation: Bird on a Wire
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 26, 2012 11:49 am My friend Matt Richardson is part of a group from New York University's Interactive Technology Program that's launching an interactive window installation in Manhattan tonight call Bird on a Wire.
Read in browser HOWTO make a really well-tucked bed
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 26, 2012 11:39 am From the Art of Manliness website, instructions for "How to Make a Bed You Can Bounce a Quarter Off Of." I have to say that I hate sleeping under tightly tucked sheets (especially at the bottom! The feet must be free to poke out and catch a breeze when the internal temperature spikes!), but there's ...
Read in browser Bald for Bieber
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 26, 2012 11:39 am Internet assholes managed attempted to trick gullible young fans of Justin Bieber into believing the pop idol had cancer. Teens were asked to shave their heads as a gesture of support, and posted those photos online with the hashtag #baldforbieber. Word to the wise: I have cancer and treatment made me lose all my hair, ...
Read in browser If Twitter was like Facebook
By Rob Beschizza on Oct 26, 2012 10:04 am People give Twitter plenty of guff, but at least its promoted tweets program is straight-up advertising--unlike the awful "pay to reach your own followers" stunt that Facebook is pulling.
Read in browser TechCrunch launches Crunchgov to craft and pass better tech laws
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 26, 2012 10:00 am Greg from TechCrunch sez, TechCrunch has launched a beta version of a new technology policy platform, Crunchgov. Crunchgov (beta) is designed to source the most thoughtful people and ideas for the purpose of crafting smarter tech policy. The tech industry is great at getting headlines for things like SOPA but haven't been successful at passing ...
Read in browser Doggie warning system
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 26, 2012 09:43 am It gets loud, you've been warned.
Read in browser In Greece, financial tragedy creates horrific conditions for cancer patients
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 26, 2012 09:40 am In the NYT today, a report on the plight of cancer patients in Greece who cannot afford treatment. The profile of a woman with breast cancer who delayed medical care for lack of funds is gruesome, and similar to stories one hears in the United States. [BB: breast cancer archives]
Read in browser Children of tech executive slain in New York; nanny accused of murder and attempted suicide
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 26, 2012 09:02 am Two of the three children of Kevin Krim, a CNBC Digital senior vice president, and Marina Krim, a mom who maintained a blog about their family life, were stabbed to death by their nanny last night in NYC. Nanny Yoselyn Ortega (50) is reported to have stabbed Lulu (6) and Leo Krim (2), shown in ...
Read in browser Cory in Toronto today, Boston tomorrow
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 26, 2012 09:00 am Hey, Toronto! It's my last night in town -- I'll be at Harbourfront's International Festival of Authors doing a double-act with China Mieville (there's still some tickets available). Tomorrow I'm off to the Boston Book Festival for the very last stop of the Pirate Cinema tour -- come on out and watch me attempt to ...
Read in browser The inane Randroidism of "disruption"
By Rob Beschizza on Oct 25, 2012 11:03 pm The failure of cab-hailing service Uber to take Manhattan reveals Silicon Valley's capacity for entitlement thinking—and for worshipping "Ayn fucking Rand"
Read in browser Alien is pooped
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 25, 2012 10:58 pm Here's HR Giger's Alien, deep in thought after a hard day on the set, from a Retronaut set of "Behind the scenes of 'Alien' movies." Behind the scenes of 'Alien' movies
Read in browser Get a copy of the Web
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 25, 2012 10:33 pm Want 80 terabytes of web-crawl? The Internet Archive will give you a copy of (an appreciable slice of) the Web, for research purposes: "we would like to experiment with offering access to one of our crawls from 2011 with about 80 terabytes of WARC files containing captures of about 2.7 billion URIs. The files contain ...
Read in browser Game writer out of a job after libel complaint
By Rob Beschizza on Oct 25, 2012 10:25 pm Photo: Shutterstock A game writer who criticized his beatmates' journalistic shortcomings no longer has his job. Rab Florence, formerly with top gaming site Eurogamer, resigned from his position at after it received "legal threats" and gutted much of his scathing article. "I am utterly staggered by today's events," Florence wrote on Twitter. " ... Today ...
Read in browser NYPD officer planned to kidnap and eat women [trigger warning]
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 25, 2012 09:56 pm Gilberto Valle, an NYPD officer, has been arrested after details of a plot to kidnap and eat women came to light. Officer Valle is alleged to have used NYPD databases to locate 100 potential victims, and left detailed notes on his plans to murder and eat them. He also offered to kidnap women for money, ...
Read in browser Bleeding skull candles
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 25, 2012 08:54 pm ThinkGeek's bleeding skull candles are filled with red wax that drips out of the eye socket as it burns down.
Read in browser HOWTO make a rainbow-flag Eagle Scout Medal
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 25, 2012 08:08 pm Rachel sez, "Instructions on how to replace the red-white-blue ribbon on the eagle award with a rainbow hued ribbon in support of LGBT rights. There is also a surprisingly passionate discussion on both sides of the issue in the comments section." How to Hack Your Eagle Award
Read in browser Unlace: rubber shoelaces for taming your cables
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 25, 2012 06:48 pm I like the look of Unlace, Cindy Glass and Dante Pauwels's fully funded Kickstarter project to make rubber-over-wire faux-shoelaces that can be used to tame cable tangles.
Read in browser Gweek 073: Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 25, 2012 06:32 pm Interview with Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn.
Read in browser Decapitated heads
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 25, 2012 06:04 pm A late addition to my New York Comic-Con posts: the Lulubell/Velocitron Decapitated Heads, which I knew I loved from the moment I clapped eyes on 'em. Decapitated Head - NYCC GID/blue rub
Read in browser Conquering Graymail With Outlook.com
By Advertiser on Oct 25, 2012 06:02 pm ADVERTISEMENT This post sponsored by Outlook.com: Go and look at your inbox right now. Go on, I'll wait. Done? Good. For the majority of you, over 80% of the email you receive is something called graymail. It's not spam, but it's also not higher priority messages from friends, family or colleagues that you're more likely ...
Read in browser How Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology works
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 25, 2012 05:01 pm An officer from the Long Beach Police Department shows how automatic license plate recognition technology works.
Read in browser English town wins its war against chain coffee
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 25, 2012 04:42 pm Totnes, the English town with no chain coffee shops, has won its fight to keep Costa Coffee out of town. Although Costa was given approval to open its shop, they have voluntarily agreed not to: "Chris Rogers, managing director of Costa, said the company had 'recognised the strength of feeling' against national brands in the ...
Read in browser Apple now owns the Beatles' Apple logo
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 25, 2012 04:32 pm According to Cult of Mac, "the Canadian IP office has just disclosed that the Beatles' iconic recording label is now an Apple Inc. registered trademark."
Read in browser Miniature wearable Bluetooth camcorder
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 25, 2012 04:27 pm I don't know about the video and sound quality of this little bluetooth camera, but it seems like it would be fun to use when you are riding a bike, hiking, or engaged in some other activity you would like to record. It's on sale for $70 including shipping. Here's a video from the manufacturer.
Read in browser Random Penguins!
By Cory Doctorow on Oct 25, 2012 04:15 pm John Scalzi, on the news that Penguin Books and Random House are contemplating a merger: If the (possible) merger of Penguin and Random House isn't called Random Penguin, they'll have failed.— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 25, 2012 (via IO9)
Read in browser Dale Chihuly at VMFA, and photography and accessibility of art
By Xeni Jardin on Oct 25, 2012 04:06 pm I visited a new Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA today. A guard told me that while photography is generally prohibited in the museum, Chihuly explicitly demands photography of his work be allowed, and that there be no physical barriers between visitors and the glass creations. This desire for accessibility and openness made me appreciate his work in a new way. Here are some snapshots I took of the show.
Read in browser Website asks you to rate fashion sensibility of unwitting pedestrians
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 25, 2012 03:39 pm Styleblaster is a website that takes photos of people walking down a street in Williamsburg and invites visitors to click a top-hat icon if they think the hapless pedestrian is fashionable. (Via The World's Best Ever)
Read in browser Pepper spray iPhone case
By Mark Frauenfelder on Oct 25, 2012 03:29 pm $40 at The Fancy
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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