TIme-lapse of a particularly intense aurora borealis display English school (briefly) bans triangular desserts, citing food-fight shuriken risks Thursday: White House/Tom Kalil Google Hangout about the maker movement Watch the latest video posts in our Boing Boing video archive Naming the anonymous victims of US drone attacks University in Kansas offers Bachelor of Science degree in Drones Two-headed bull shark Winny Puhh: through YouTube, bizarro Estonian punk band finds new global fame Ocean scientists say 19-year-old's "realistic" plan to clean up the ocean isn't actually realistic Lightest-ever aerogel is only twice as heavy as hydrogen Calling out Jane Goodall for a plagiarism and error-filled book Are "theory" and "hypothesis" dead? TOM THE DANCING BUG: Super-Fun-Pak Comix, featuring "How to Draw Doug," and more, More, MORE! Telekinesis' latest video has a romantic ghost in the machine Rap Quotes: site-specific street art with official-looking signs bearing hip hop lyrics Calculating product placement in hip hop songs: CDZA's $56 million musical shopping spree Back issues of the NSA's secret, in-house mag "Fake" tax-scam movie won film award No rest for Richard III's bones Charges dropped against groundhog T-Mobile ditches cellphone contracts Teen who pointed laser at aircraft jailed for 30 months Troll comments on YouTube video by sending comment via postal mail to uploader's home Beautiful photos of cellphone masts disguised as ugly trees Controversy over Esquire profile of the SEAL who shot bin Laden (or maybe didn't) DDoS storm breaks records at 300 Gbps Cody R Wilson's 3D-printed guns: the VICE documentary CIA director promotes woman who approved destruction of CIA "harsh interrogation" videos To watch: PBS NOVA on Russian Meteor Strike debuts tonight, March 27 Nuts-and-bolts look at password cracking TIme-lapse of a particularly intense aurora borealis display
By David Pescovitz on Mar 27, 2013 12:53 pm Göran Strand created this stunning time-lapse video made from photographs of the aurora borealis as seen from Östersund, Sweden on March 17, 2013.
Read in browser English school (briefly) bans triangular desserts, citing food-fight shuriken risks
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 27, 2013 12:52 pm Castle View School in Canvey Island, Essex, England, briefly banned triangular flapjacks (not pancakes; the English call granola-bar-like food "flapjacks") after a student sustained an injury when another student threw a cornersome flapjack at him. The school authorities required that all flapjacks must be served in rectangular portions, to increase the safety of food-fights. The ...
Read in browser Thursday: White House/Tom Kalil Google Hangout about the maker movement
By David Pescovitz on Mar 27, 2013 12:33 pm On Thursday (3/28) at 3pm ET, Boing Boing pal and White House innovation advisor Tom Kalil is hosting a Google Hangout to talk about the maker movement! Tom has been instrumental in helping President Obama and the administration understand the value of maker culture in sci/tech education. Joining Tom in the Hangout will be folks ...
Read in browser Watch the latest video posts in our Boing Boing video archive
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 12:25 pm We've gathered fresh video for you to surf and enjoy on the Boing Boing video page. The latest finds for your viewing pleasure include: • Your WiFi-enabled camera might be spying on you. • Cody R Wilson's 3D-printed guns: the VICE documentary • Troll comments on YouTube video by sending comment via postal mail. • ...
Read in browser Naming the anonymous victims of US drone attacks
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 12:24 pm Less than 20% of drone victims have been named. UK-based NGO The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has a new project: Name the Dead. There's a fundraiser here. (HT: @ggreenwald)
Read in browser University in Kansas offers Bachelor of Science degree in Drones
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 12:24 pm "K-State is one of the first two Universities in the U.S. to offer a Bachelor of Science in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Our program uses a hands-on approach for learning and attaining the skills needed to safely operate and manage UAS -- it's what sets K-State apart from the rest." [HT: @WilliamJDobson]
Read in browser Two-headed bull shark
By David Pescovitz on Mar 27, 2013 12:02 pm A Gulf of Mexico fisherman opened the uterus of an adult bull shark and found a two-headed shark pup inside.
Read in browser Winny Puhh: through YouTube, bizarro Estonian punk band finds new global fame
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 11:48 am Estonian punk/metal Winny Puhh have been around since 1993 or so, but online audiences around the world are discovering them by way of this video
Read in browser Ocean scientists say 19-year-old's "realistic" plan to clean up the ocean isn't actually realistic
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 27, 2013 11:44 am Earlier this week, Jason told you about a TEDx talk in which 19-year-old Boyan Slat presents a plan to remove plastic from the world's oceans. Lots of people are excited about this, which is reasonable. Particulate plastic in the ocean is a big problem that has, thus far, evaded any reasonable clean-up plans. There's just ...
Read in browser Lightest-ever aerogel is only twice as heavy as hydrogen
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 27, 2013 11:43 am In a Nature paper called "Solid carbon, springy and light, scientists from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China introduce a record-breakingly light aerogel, lighter than helium, only twice as heavy as hydrogen: Gao Chao's team had already been building macroscopic graphene materials in one and two dimensions; to create the new aerogel, the researchers branched out ...
Read in browser Calling out Jane Goodall for a plagiarism and error-filled book
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 27, 2013 11:29 am Jane Goodall's new book isn't just filled with plagiarism, writes Michael Moynihan at The Daily Beast, it also drastically misconstrues agricultural science and presents poor sources — for instance, books published by the Maharishi University of Management and written by people with no scientific training at all are probably not the best sources to use ...
Read in browser Are "theory" and "hypothesis" dead?
By Maggie Koerth-Baker on Mar 27, 2013 11:21 am Do you understand the difference between a "hypothesis" and a "theory"? Physics professor Rhett Alain thinks you probably don't. But he says that's not your fault. The words just aren't terribly precise, at least in the public parlance, and they only serve to make discussions about science confusing. He has a modest proposal: Let's replace ...
Read in browser TOM THE DANCING BUG: Super-Fun-Pak Comix, featuring "How to Draw Doug," and more, More, MORE!
By Ruben Bolling on Mar 27, 2013 11:11 am Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH you can learn How to Draw Doug, Woman-Man continues his/her thrilling adventures, Phil Collins has a close call, and MORE Super-Fun-Pak Comix!!
Read in browser Telekinesis' latest video has a romantic ghost in the machine
By Rob Beschizza on Mar 27, 2013 11:00 am Have you loved a computer so much as much as your first?
Read in browser Rap Quotes: site-specific street art with official-looking signs bearing hip hop lyrics
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 10:49 am Artist Jay Shells combines his love of hip hop music and his formidable sign-making skills in "Rap Quotes."
Read in browser Calculating product placement in hip hop songs: CDZA's $56 million musical shopping spree
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 10:41 am How do you calculate the value of product placement in hip hop songs? With a $56 million dollar hip-hop shopping spree.
Read in browser Back issues of the NSA's secret, in-house mag
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 27, 2013 10:40 am The National Security Agency has released an archive of back issues of Cryptolog, its secret, in-house magazine, in a repository spanning 1974 to 1997. The issues are heavily redacted in places, but still look like a promising source of interesting and curious facts. Cryptologs Mirror (via Schneier)
Read in browser "Fake" tax-scam movie won film award
By Rob Beschizza on Mar 27, 2013 10:09 am When British authorities began to suspect that a movie production was in fact a massive tax scam, the producers were forced to cover their tracks by actually making the movie. It even won an award from the 2012 Las Vegas Film Festival; an award only rescinded after tax inspectors nevertheless swooped in. The movie's name? ...
Read in browser No rest for Richard III's bones
By Rob Beschizza on Mar 27, 2013 10:01 am Weeks after his remains were discovered under a car lot, Richard III's bones are yet to be put to rest. The University of Leicester, which led the exhumation project, plans to inter Richard at the local cathedral. But York, the seat of his branch of the House of Plantagenet, wants him back. Previously. [Reuters]
Read in browser Charges dropped against groundhog
By Rob Beschizza on Mar 27, 2013 09:55 am The Ohio prosecutor who called for Punxsutawney Phil's indictment and execution has dropped the charges, saying that "I have really serious work to do." Previously.
Read in browser T-Mobile ditches cellphone contracts
By Rob Beschizza on Mar 27, 2013 09:51 am Cyrus Farivar: "T-Mobile's offering, dubbed "Simple Choice," makes the company the first of the big four US-based carriers to drop one-year or two-year contracts in favor of purely month-to-month-based arrangements. T-Mobile outlined the new plan on its website Monday."
Read in browser Teen who pointed laser at aircraft jailed for 30 months
By Rob Beschizza on Mar 27, 2013 09:45 am CNN's Aaron Cooper reports on the consequences for aiming laser pointers at aircraft. U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson sentenced a 19-year-old man on Monday to 30 months in federal prison for shining a laser pointer at a plane and police helicopter, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the ...
Read in browser Troll comments on YouTube video by sending comment via postal mail to uploader's home
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 09:41 am Electrical engineers get married, in a "Circuit and Swirls" themed ceremony. Some jerk on YouTube trolls them. By postal mail.
Read in browser Beautiful photos of cellphone masts disguised as ugly trees
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 27, 2013 09:39 am Wired visits Dillon Marsh's photos of cellphone masts (badly) disguised as trees, and asks why they even bother. "There were already a wide variety of designs by the time I started photographing," says Marsh, who completed the project over six months in 2009. "The designs loosely mimic trees that are found in the local environment." ...
Read in browser Controversy over Esquire profile of the SEAL who shot bin Laden (or maybe didn't)
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 09:25 am Was Phil Bronstein's 15,000-word Esquire profile of the SEAL Team 6 member who killed Osama bin Laden, a Navy SEAL who is "now retired and struggling to make ends meet while dealing with the psychological and physical scars of war," a bunch of "Complete B-S"? That's what some of "The Shooter's" fellow SEALs told CNN's ...
Read in browser DDoS storm breaks records at 300 Gbps
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 27, 2013 09:22 am The Internet has been groaning under the weight of a massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on the Domain Name Service, apparently aimed at anti-spam vigilantes Spamhaus, in retaliation for their blacklisting of Dutch free speech hosting provider Cyberbunker. At 300 mbps, the DDoS is the worst in public Internet history. "These things are ...
Read in browser Cody R Wilson's 3D-printed guns: the VICE documentary
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 09:17 am Defense Distributed's Cody R Wilson "figured out how to print a semi-automatic rifle from the comfort of his own home."
Read in browser CIA director promotes woman who approved destruction of CIA "harsh interrogation" videos
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 09:05 am A woman has been placed in charge of the CIA's clandestine service for the first time in the agency's history, reports the Washington Post. She's a veteran officer whom many in the agency support, and the high-level appointment is seen as a step forward for women in Washington. That's the good news! The bad news ...
Read in browser To watch: PBS NOVA on Russian Meteor Strike debuts tonight, March 27
By Xeni Jardin on Mar 27, 2013 08:53 am "A blinding flash of light streaked across the Russian sky, followed by a shuddering blast strong enough to damage buildings and send more than 1,000 people to the hospital." Tonight, the PBS program NOVA explores the science questions behind the mysterious events of February 15, 2013, when a 7,000-ton asteroid crashed into Earth's atmosphere. "Is ...
Read in browser Nuts-and-bolts look at password cracking
By Cory Doctorow on Mar 26, 2013 11:05 pm Ars Technica's Nate Anderson decided to try cracking passwords (from a leaked file of MD5 hashes), to see how difficult it was. After a very long false start (he forgot to decompress the word-list file) that's covered in a little too much detail, Anderson settles down to cracking hashes in earnest, and provides some good ...
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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