 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#1RQCX)
Manygolf is similar to Desert Golfing, in that it presents a random two-dimensional course and simple controls to angle and power shots. But it's also multiplayer, which means there's always someone annoying you by proving an "impossible" shot is anything but. There's no nonsense: as soon as the page loads you're assigned a name and thrown into the slowclap-worthy action.The creator, Thomas Boyt, has an official Twitter account for the game at @manygolf; he's published the source code and his dev notes.manygolf is a massively multiplayer golf game. everyone plays together, simultaneously, in the same session. Whoever wins the round in the fewest number of strokes wins. in the event of a tie, the player who scores the fastest wins.EDIT: Updated the pic now it's nice and busy!
|
Boing Boing
| Link | https://boingboing.net/ |
| Feed | http://feeds.boingboing.net/boingboing/iBag |
| Updated | 2026-09-26 12:17 |
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#1RP95)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl-PRUQ1r6kI'm about to switch off my email until September 5 and drive to Black Rock City for 10 days of incinerating the dude. (more…)
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#1RNRV)
Jesse Singal requested this shoop, and I delivered. After all, who's downloading pirated papers? Everyone. (I've uploaded this to Redbubble if you'd like a poster—of course, you can just as well pirate it.)
|
by Peter Sheridan on (#1RNA8)
Prince Charles has confessed to his sons: “I had to kill Diana!†claims the ‘Globe.' “Your mother was out of control! She was a threat to the monarchy! She had to be stopped before she ruined everything!â€I wonder: which of the trio engaged in this private palace conversation - Charles, William or Harry - phoned the ‘Globe' to leak this information? My money’s on none of them.The “shocking face-to-face confrontation" allegedly occurred after Princes William and Harry had their mother’s body exhumed and conducted a second autopsy, uncovering “a Pandora’s box of cover-ups and conspiracies.â€There’s only one small problem with this story: Diana’s body has not been exhumed, there was no second autopsy, no secret report, and therefore no possible confrontation between Charles and his sons. Apart from those small quibbles, it seems like a cracking piece of journalism.I’m troubled by the 'National Enquirer' report claiming that Scientology leader David Miscavige’s big brother Ronald Jr. is the subject of FBI files “detailing a series of increasingly troubling encounters.†Among various sordid allegations of sex and drugs, the ‘Enquirer' lists this disturbing detail of Ronald Jr.’s alleged debauchery: “Asking a prostitute to stop at a McDonald’s and bring him a breakfast muffin to snack on during a motel tryst.†I’m confused. What’s so bad about asking a hooker to buy a breakfast McMuffin on her way to work? It’s not like she wasn’t going to be reimbursed. It’s probably the most innocuous thing she’d be asked to do all day. Was she asked to buy it after they stopped serving breakfast? Would it have made a difference if he’d asked the prostitute to buy him a four-cheese ultimate bacon Whopper at Burger King? Or did Ronald Jr. then make her eat the McMuffin - because there are some things that even a weathered hooker doesn’t want to put in her mouth? Sadly, the “explosive†FBI files don’t have the answers, but evidently the ‘Enquirer' considers this a “shameful secret.†I guess if I ate breakfast McMuffins I’d want to keep it a secret too.“Donald Still Trumps The Polls!†claims the 'Enquirer’s chief political reporter, former Clinton campaign staffer Dick Morris, in defiance of every opinion poll that puts Hillary Clinton ahead of her Republican rival. Donald Trump boasted endlessly about his polling numbers when trouncing his rivals in the Republican primaries earlier this year, but now he’s behind in the polls Trump apologist Morris calls reporting the results “one of the greatest attempts at disinformation in American political history.†No hyperbole there. Morris rightly points to past presidential polls that in August had indicated big wins for candidates who went on to lose, but you can’t have it both ways, Dick.Do ‘Enquirer' headline writers even read their own stories? The mag carries a headline about Johnny Depp’s “$15 million divorce scandal,†though the story below reveals that he made only a "$7 million settlement†- the same figure widely reported by mainstream media. I guess that $15 million just seemed like a better headline, the facts be damned.Fortunately we have ‘Us' magazine’s team of crack investigative reporters to tell us that Jamie Chung (Who she, Ed?) wore it best, Jessica Alba “can’t live without popcorn made with coconut oil and Himalayan sea salt†(well, who can?), Heather Locklear carries an “aphrodisiac-infused breath mist" along with deodorant and toothpaste in her fringed Cleobella tote bag, and the stars are just like us: they ride bikes, go snorkeling, drink beer and go boating.'Us' mag brings us the big story of the week, with 'Bachelor in Paradise’ reality show participant Amanda Stanton revealing “Why I Trust Josh,†despite allegations that Josh Murray was jealous, controlling and “emotionally abusive†to a former lover. “We’re living together!†they coo. Why the Wall Street Journal hasn’t picked up this story yet is beyond me.‘People' magazine devotes its cover to the Gosselins - remember ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’? No? I can’t blame you. - with the promise: “The Gosselins Tell All.†I read the story thoroughly, but the Gosselins don’t reveal where Jimmy Hoffa is buried, where D.B. Cooper is hiding, whether aliens created crop circles, or even who let the dogs out. Telling us all? I don’t think so.We have to rely on the 'National Examiner' to deliver the week’s only real news: an alien spaceship has been caught on video, after allegedly “circling the Earth for decades.†Evidently the UFO is a “dark object closely following the International Space Station,†which was filmed by astronauts aboard the ISS. Evidently the UFO, “dubbed the Black Knight Satellite in the 1960s . . . is one of many deployed throughout the galaxy to transmit data about life on other planets,†according to current theory. Hopefully inhabitants of their home planet won’t be too upset that the Gosselins haven’t really told all about life on Earth. Or perhaps it’s just an alien spaceship full of roving space-hookers sent out to buy a breakfast McMuffin on their way to a distant planet.Onwards and downwards . . .
 |
by David McRaney on (#1RN6C)
Here is a logic puzzle created by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky.“Linda is single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with the issue of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in demonstrations. Which of the following is more probable: Linda is a bank teller or Linda is a bank teller AND is active in the feminist movement?â€In studies, when asked this question, more than 80 percent of people chose number two. Most people said it was more probably that Linda is a bank teller AND active in the feminist movement, but that’s wrong. Can you tell why?This thinking mistake is an example of the subject of this episode – the conjunction fallacy. Listen as three experts in logic and reasoning explain why people get this question wrong, why it is wrong, and how you can avoid committing the conjunction fallacy in other situations.This episode of the You Are Not So Smart Podcast is the ninth in a full season of episodes exploring logical fallacies. The first episode is here.Download – iTunes – Stitcher – RSS – SoundcloudThis episode is sponsored by Bombas – game-changing socks. Bombas decided to take socks seriously, by designing the most highly engineered, best-fitting, comfortable socks humans have ever imagined – and they look cool too. Go to Bombas.com/SOSMARTfor 20% off your first order.This episode is also sponsored by Squarespace. Creating your website with Squarespace is a simple, intuitive process. You can add and arrangeyour content and features with the click of a mouse. Squarespace makes adding a domain to your site simple; if you sign up for a year you’ll receive a custom domain for free for that year. Head to Squarespace.com and use the offer code “SoSmart†for 10 percent off your first order.This episode is also sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. Get unlimited access to a huge library of The Great Courses lecture series on many fascinating subjects. Start FOR FREE with The Fundamentals of Photography filmed in partnership with The National Geographic and taught by professional photographer Joel Sartore. Click here for a FREE TRIAL.Support the show directly by becoming a patron! Get episodes one-day-early and ad-free. Head over to the YANSS Patreon Page for more details.Bob Blaskiewicz is an assistant professor who teaches, among other subjects, critical thinking at Stockton University. He also writes about logic and reasoning at skepticalhumanities.com, and is a regular guest on the YouTube show The Virtual Skeptics.Julie Galef is the president and co-founder of the Center for Applied Rationality, a non-profit devoted to training people to be better at reasoning and decision-making. She is also the host of the Rationally Speaking Podcast and writes for publications like Slate, Science, Scientific American, and Popular Science. This is her website.Vanessa Hill is an Australian science writer and stop-motion animator who hosts BrainCraft, a PBS series exploring psychology, neuroscience and human behavior. She previously worked for Australia’s national science agency, as a science reporter for ScienceAlert, and has appeared in TIME,The Huffington Post,Scientific American, and Brain Pickings. Her Twitter page is here.In every episode, after I read a bit of self delusion news, I taste a cookie baked from a recipe sent in by a listener/reader. That listener/reader wins a signed copy of my new book, “You Are Now Less Dumb,†and I post the recipe on the YANSS Pinterest page. This episode’s winner is Justin Near who sent in a recipe for Monster Cookies. Send your own recipes to david {at} youarenotsosmart.com.Links and SourcesDownload – iTunes – Stitcher – RSS – SoundcloudPrevious EpisodesBoing Boing PodcastsCookie RecipesBrainCraftCenter for Applied RationalitySkeptical Humanities Your Logical Fallacy IsPBS Idea ChannelA Guide to Logical FallaciesExtensional versus intuitive reasoning: The conjunction fallacy in probability judgment.Looking at “Lindaâ€: Is the Conjunction Fallacy Really a Fallacy?The Conjunction Fallacy at Bias123
|
 |
by Andrea James on (#1RN6E)
Hydraulic Press Channel shows why carbon fiber and variants like carbon nanotubes have so many uses: depending on the configuration, they can hold up against the hydraulic press. (more…)
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#1RMZW)
Business Insider's Chris Weller asked me to draw from our work at Institute for the Future, where I'm a research director, to take a long-distance look at the far future of what libraries could become:In 50 years' time, Pescovitz tells Business Insider, libraries are poised to become all-in-one spaces for learning, consuming, sharing, creating, and experiencing — to the extent that enormous banks of data will allow people to "check out" brand-new realities, whether that's scaling Mt. Everest or living out an afternoon as a dog....The definition of a library is already changing.Some libraries have 3D printers and other cutting-edge tools that makes them not just places of learning, but creation. "I think the library as a place of access to materials, physical and virtual, becomes increasingly important," Pescovitz says. People will come to see libraries as places to create the future, not just learn about the present.Pescovitz offers the example of genetic engineering, carried out through "an open-source library of genetic parts that can be recombined in various way to make new organisms that don't exist in nature.""Libraries of the future are going to change in some unexpected ways" (Business Insider)(image: "The Long Room of the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin")
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#1RMZY)
This silicone ice cube tray creates nine Moai statue ice cubes at a time. Even better, you can make chocolates and soap with it, too. Amazon has it for $10.
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#1RMXP)
From MDMA as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder to Ketamine for beating depression, there's a psychedelic revival afoot, one that is firmly rooted in science and medicine. In High Times, Natalie Lyla Ginsberg, policy manager of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), writes about the "Mainstreaming of Psychedelics":“What brings you to Canada?†the Border Patrol asked Dr. Michael Mithoefer in the spring of 2015. Mithoefer, a psychiatrist, and his wife Annie, a psychiatric nurse, are pioneers in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Mithoefer had been invited to Toronto to address the largest gathering of psychiatrists in the world—the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association—on the results of their research into treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using MDMA.Needless to say, if there’s ever a time to avoid ruffling feathers with the mention of psychoactive substances, international border-crossing fits the bill. Mithoefer succinctly explained that he was presenting his PTSD research at the APA conference.“PTSD? Did you know that researchers are using MDMA now to treat war veterans?†the border agent asked him incredulously.Mithoefer recounts this story to me with delight after he arrives at the APA conference. It’s a sign of how much the times are changing: Not only is the famously old-fashioned APA hosting a panel on the use of psychedelics, but a recognition of their therapeutic value seems to be seeping into the public consciousness.
|
 |
by Kevin Kelly on (#1RMXR)
See sample pages from this book at Wink.How to Wrap Five Eggs: Japanese Design in Traditional Packaging by Hideyuki Oka (author) and Michikazu Sakai (photographer)Harper & Row1967, 203 pages, 10 x 11.6 x 1.2 inches (hardcover)From $35 Buy a copy on AmazonThis book is a museum of traditional packaging artifacts from Japan. Before the age of plastic, the Japanese perfected the art of packing consumables in incredibly ingenious ways. They excelled in using natural materials such as paper, straw, clay, and wood. Much of the packaging looks astonishingly modern, even though the form may be hundreds, if not thousands of years old. In fact, packages in Japan today often are wrapped in the same way. I recently received a gift from Japan that contained seven layers of boxes within boxes, wraps within wraps, each layer its own exquisite art, the packing at least equal to the cost and worth of the gift inside. There is a mesmerizing variety of packing collected during the last years of traditional Japan on display here. Each artifact is featured in stunning black and white photographs. It is a real inspiration for both designer and maker. Long out of print, this masterpiece of design was first published in 1967; used copies can be found today at rare book prices. It has also been republished in a modified paperback form, that contains some of the original content at a smaller scale.
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#1RMSD)
Raven asks to drinkA polite bird asks a human to give it a drink from a bottle of water.[via]
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#1RMRG)
The only person who wouldn't approve of this doctor is Jenny McCarthy.
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#1RMP7)
Lancaster University's Aurora Watch issued an alert on Tuesday that the Northern Lights would be clearly visible in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, the alert was cancelled after the scientists determined that the data from one of their magnetometers was spurious. A surge in geomagnetic energy is indicative of auroras but this particular spike was likely caused by a lawnmower. "We believe the interference was caused by University staff mowing the grass on a sit-on mower," Aurora Watch stated. "We’ll work with the facilities team to try and avoid an incident such as this occuring in the future!"(via BBC)
|
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#1RMP9)
French artist Patrick Commecy transforms boring buildings into something elseVia Amusing Planet:French artist Patrick Commecy and his team of muralists transform dull and boring facades around France into vibrant scenes full of life. His hyperrealistic painted-on windows, balconies and tiles closely resemble their real-life counterparts. Hanging in the balconies and outdoor space, Commecy would often incorporate figures of famous and influential persons from the history of the town the mural is in.
 |
by Jason Weisberger on (#1RMN1)
One of my favorite management techniques, back during the dotcom boom and bust, was to have engineers on my team solve their differences with Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots!A quick check shows Rock 'em Sock 'ems aren't gone, but I haven't seen a set in years. Mine are in a box in my basement, marked for the last start-up wherein I attempted decision-making by robot duel. The controls? Kinda awful. Opponents sliding forward/back and side-to-side tends to keep the boxing ring bouncing about. Those buttons also take a lot of force, and over time one robot or another's head latch would get loose, giving the opposing color a sure win. Repairs were possible, but over time both robots would become incredibly sensitive. Sometimes, as the weary boxers aged, heads would break free and launch themselves into orbit! I miss knocking your block off.Current Era Mattel Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots via Amazon
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#1RMJT)
The Apple iCloud account of comedian and actor Leslie Jones was recently hacked, with nude photographs posted concurrently with racist threat messages. The incident is being investigated by federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security, according to reports. (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#1RMJW)
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that grad students working at private universities can form unions, something that the universities themselves have fought tooth-and-nail for years, with elite universities posted FAQs explaining why trade unionism was a bad match for academic institutions: that each academic institution was unique, and so unlike any other place, that collective bargaining just couldn't work. (more…)
|
 |
by Jason Weisberger on (#1RMFP)
In the past, saving a well worn pair of shoes or boots was a very frustrating mission. Freesole urethane shoe glue is amazing, and good for a lot more than shoes!I've had a lot of success using Freesole to repair wetsuit booties, flip-flops, and a pair of Asolo hiking boots. The booties and flip-flops were both cases of reattaching rubber to neoprene. The hiking boots had a crack in the sole. All three have been held together wonderfully by Freesole.Freesole is a urethane glue that remains super flexible after it cures. The Freesole creates a super strong bond between the surfaces and purportedly will handle extreme temperatures, and water, as well or better than your manufacturers glue. I believe it! The reattached soles on my wetsuit booties have lasted 2-3 months without peeling at all, with probably north of 10-15 hours in the water. Applying Freesole is pretty easy. First, just clean the two surfaces you need to attach with rubbing alcohol. Next spread a layer of Freesole on one side, making sure to get good coverage. I then use binder clips to clamp everything together and simply set it aside for 24-48 hours. The glue takes a day to cure, but when it does the seal is as permanent as when the shoes were new. You can get a few uses out of Freesole if you make sure to wipe the tip of the tube off, put the cap back on, and then stick it in your freezer! It'll keep if you are careful not to let it sit out for very long, and store it cold. The first time I bought Freesole I wasn't so diligent, and a small bit cured in the neck of the tube. I'm pretty sure this is a very similar formulation to AquaSeal, made by the same brand. I've been using the Freesole interchangeably with it. Packaging states that adding Cotol-240 cure accelerant will speed the drying time, and add additional strength to the bond. I've used it on wetsuits and it does work, but makes the glue harder to work with. You can fill in cracks, holes, and reattach separating surfaces with Freesole. There are plenty of videos about how to build up worn down soles as well, but I haven't tried it. Gear Aid Freesole Urethane Formula Shoe Repair 1oz via Amazon
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#1RMFR)
Uber lost at least $1.27 billion before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the first six months of 2016, Bloomberg reports today. (more…)
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#1RMFT)
These unusual "radio drama staircases" are inside the BBC's sound studios. When an actor is recorded walking up or down the stairs, the different surfaces (wood, carpet, cement) give the acoustic impression of unique locations for the radio drama. Samuel West shot the image above at BBC's Maida Vale Studios. Apparently, they are actually functioning staircases that lead somewhere in the building.(via Neatorama)
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#1RMDV)
Alexander Senko wrote Pure Data code that "produces a lissajous figure with different frequency ratios and a phase modulation. The curve generates pitch, harmonics and volume of sound. The inflection points on the curve create rhythmic structures."I don't always blog about figures, but when I do, they're lissajous ones.
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#1RMC1)
And you thought Stranger Things had a cool opening. (via /r/obscuremedia)
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#1RMC3)
The mobile messaging app will soon begin sharing with Facebook the phone numbers and analytics data for its more than one billion users. When messaging app WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook in 2014, WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum promised the deal wouldn't affect users' privacy. (more…)
|
 |
by Andrea James on (#1RM8P)
Explore.org has a very relaxing live feed of bears feeding on salmon at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska. At night, they run a highlight reel. Great for having on as you work. (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#1RM47)
Once it became clear that a US-backed militia coalition was going to chase Isis out of the northern Syrian city of Manbij, Isis planted at least 14,000 mines, boobytrapping refrigerators, onion-baskets, rocks, appliances, tea-kettles, "everything." (more…)
|
 |
by Joel Johnson on (#1RM49)
Hey, it's your ol' pal Joel! Used to write a gadget blog that wasn't about gadgets? Man, great to see you. No, no, have a seat. Can we get a couple of...yeah, no ice, thanks.So let's get business out of the way before we eat: One of my clients is launching a Kickstarter today and I hope you'll check it out.(I have clients now! I started a company. It isn't a media company or even a gadget blog. Just a regular, ol' fashioned intragalactic-HUMINT-and-covert-ops-themed strategic comms company, where people hire me to help them solve problems. I like it.)The Kickstarter is set at $500k, which is a lot of money; it's also how much is needed to build a dedicated printing facility under one roof that can provide 20 museum-quality, ad-supported prints to tens of thousands of customers for free each month. That's what they need to increase production, in both volume and speed. Bear in mind this is a company that took an initial $160k Kickstarter success and 1) made a functional iPhone app 2) established a printing process that exceeds all other consumer printing quality, and 3) spun up production that is putting out 80-100k prints a month. There were many pitfalls along the way—screwed up batches of prints that had to be reprinted before delivery, equipment that was promised that didn't work, greater-than-expected software delays—but they didn't walk away from it. They pushed through it and have built a company. They've got major advertisers lined up to start sponsoring prints. They've got a plan for expansion. They're focused on making people really excited to hold memories in their hands again.If that has caught your eye, go click on their Kickstarter and read through all stuff, maybe watch that "Robots & Lasers" video which sounds like a cheesy faux nerd reference but is quite literal, maybe kick the tires on the business model and ask some questions.Hrm, I guess that was all business! No, ha ha, let me get it. In fact, I've got to get to another meeting. Yeah, no, for sure! Let's do this again.
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#1RKXX)
The dystopian satire site Scarfolk (previously) has scored another direct hit, this time on the human-rights-hating new, post-Brexit Prime Minister and the savage faction she's stacked her cabinet with. (more…)
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#1RKPC)
Millionaire presidential candidate Donald Trump has a knack for projecting criticisms of himself back onto his opponents, however hamfistedly. The latest: Hillary Clinton is a bigot."Hillary Clinton is a bigot who sees people of color only as votes, not as human beings worthy of a better future," Trump said, reading from prepared remarks.Unlike past lines that have drawn scrutiny, including Monday's comments in Ohio about African Americans not being able to walk the street without being shot, this one was not a Trump ad-lib. ...Clinton, for her part, has repeatedly declined opportunities to call Trump himself a racist, despite repeated questioning on the subject and multiple labelings of some of his campaign statements as racist by her campaign.Trump's guest for the evening was UK far-right leader Nigel Farage, who as a younger man boasted that his initials matched those of the white supremacist National Front and sang jaunty ditties about gassing jews.
|
 |
by Andrea James on (#1RKPE)
TeamLab creates gorgeous interactive art installations, like this beautiful piece poetically titled Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People. It's not a video loop, but a program where the swimming koi interact with each other as well as the people wading among them. (more…)
|
 |
by Andrea James on (#1RKPG)
Francesca4me has created arguably the best Poop Emoji Cookie Cutters on the market, and they come in four different sizes. They include depressions for the eyes and mouth that can be filled with white icing, and the thin lines they cut halfway into the cookie give them the most accurate-looking result. (more…)
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#1RJ2C)
After half a century of war, the Colombian government and Farc rebels say they have reached a historic peace agreement. The two sides have been meeting in Havana, Cuba since November 2012. Both signed a bilateral ceasefire in June, which was needed before a final agreement could be reached.An estimated 220,000 people have died in the decades-long conflict, and millions have been displaced. (more…)
|
 |
by Jason Weisberger on (#1RH89)
Two anti-yoga candidates are seeking seats on the Encinitas Union School Board. Both candidates feel the district spending $400k on yoga, while other programs struggle, is out of balance. Via the Encinitas Advocate:In June, the board approved spending $416,000 for a health and wellness program centered on yoga practice, as part of the district’s 2016-17 budget. That amount was scaled back from the $800,000 that Superintendent Tim Baird initially wanted to spend on district-wide yoga instruction, after losing grant funding that previously paid for the program.The decision to devote school funding to yoga infuriated many parents, who said they must raise money constantly to pay for services including science, art, music and physical education instruction. District money would be better spent on those programs, or on class size reductions, rather than yoga, they said.
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#1RH14)
The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party has issued an apology to attendees at a 3-day, $300-400 Conservative Leadership Foundation seminar where attendees experienced sexist epithets, thrown shoes, and denial of food and drink. (more…)
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#1RH16)
Former NYC mayor and current nut Rudy Giuliani says he has proof Hillary Clinton is too sick and frail to be president of the US: "Go online and put down Hillary Clinton illness, take a look at the videos for yourself."Stephen Colbert did that and said, "when you look it up on the internet, it says that Giuliani says she’s not healthy and to look it up on the internet. It’s an endless loop. It’s like a snake with its tail in its mouth. Or a man with his head up his own ass.â€
|
 |
by Jason Weisberger on (#1RH18)
Indian Country Today shares the decades long investigation into Effigy Mounds National Monument's missing bones. A large number of human remains went missing, and no one could track them down. Turns out park superintendent Thomas Munson had stashed them in his garage. Munson hid the bones to avoid returning the funerary objects they were buried with, and were on display in the parks museum, to their ancestors. Via ICTMN: It’s like something out of a Stephen King story. An aging National Park Service superintendent steals the remains of hundreds of ancient medicine men and leaders and sticks them under a workbench in his garage in cardboard boxes. It’s 1990 and NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, is about to go into effect. The superintendent suspects the remains will have to be returned to the Native tribes in the area because of NAGPRA. He’s not worried about that so much, but he fears also having to return the funerary objects that were buried with them thousands of years ago, objects now on display in the park’s museum. He hides the bones in his garage.Then, after sitting there for years, the bones suddenly come to life and possess the park superintendent, taking control of his body and forcing him to start killing people.Ok, so, that last part didn’t really happen. But the first part did, according to a timeline prepared by current Effigy Mounds National Monument superintendent Jim Nepstad. The timeline shows how approximately 2,200 human bone fragments where stolen from the park’s museum collection and hidden in former superintendent Thomas Munson’s garage for over 20 years while park employees and several state agencies half-heartedly searched for them.The timeline reads like testimony from the 1973 Senate Watergate Hearings, with letters, phone conversations and in-person meetings being documented between park administration, the Office of the State Archaeologist, the Midwest Archeological Center and the Midwest Regional Office of the National Park Service. Boiled down to its essential elements, the timeline sounds more like a government version of the Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s on first?â€â€œWho’s got the bones?†“I don’t know. I thought you had ‘em.†“No, we sent them to you.†“Are you sure? Our records say we sent them to you.†“Ok, let me check. Nope. We definitely don’t have them. Seems like I remember sending them to Lincoln, Nebraska.†And so on... for years!Seems like the kind of mystery the Scooby gang would solve.
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#1RGY3)
Singapore, fearing cyberattacks -- especially ones related to the ongoing South China Sea cold war -- will, as of next May, disconnect its entire civil service from the internet, airgapping the whole government. (more…)
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#1RGXJ)
I took Ghent University's vocabulary test, and according to the results, I know 83% of the English words.The Minnesotan took the test and got a 94%. He said:The test does not require you to define or spell words. Instead you are asked to determine whether an entry ("glyph," "moktam," "macrophage," "wookel" etc) is or is not a word in the English language.There seemed to be about a hundred words in the test, which you can proceed through at your own pace, and you can retake it if you wish (with a different group of words on the retest). At the end you can review your errors and see the definitions of the words you missed.
|
 |
by Boing Boing's Store on (#1RGXP)
If you're looking to earn a top salary in the tech industry, there's no better career than coding. However, sometimes the hardest part of entering this career path is knowing where to begin.We took the Complete Web Developer Course because it took that decision out of our hands. This course teaches beginner-friendly coding languages that will also help land an immediate position. We didn't want to spend hours studying a language only to realize it isn't even used anymore, and this course avoids that common mistake completely.Packed with over 28 hours of course content, this course is awesome because it has you building sites yourself the entire time. By the end, you'll have a portfolio of work that will turn heads at companies like Twitter and Facebook. Course material includes:Getting Started & HTML - You'll learn to code with HTML, often thought of as the "build blocks" of the Internet.CSS - You'll use CSS to control the layout and style of sites and apps.JavaScript - You'll become fluent in JavaScript, the language that is responsible for the front-end of practically every site on the Internet.You'll need to know all three of these languages to land any major coding position, and we think this course does a great job of laying them out in a digestible manner. For a limited time, you can grab lifetime access to The Complete Web Developer Course for just $14.99.
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#1RGRN)
France has banned women in their country from wearing full-body, head-covering bathing suits. And "burkini police" are patrolling the beaches to catch violators, making them remove their swimwear. People are expressing their opinion on social media. Examples:Just let this sink in. Men with guns forcing a women to undress, with the weight of the law behind them. pic.twitter.com/4BI16Bbss9— Abdul-Azim আজিম (@AbdulAzim) August 23, 20161925 vs 2016. 90 years later and we're still policing women on what they wear to the beach. #BurkiniBan pic.twitter.com/gOUKM8H8NZ— Matthew Ruddle (@RuddleMatthew) August 24, 2016Handing themselves in to the French police. pic.twitter.com/JvOLrRfcHs— Giles Fraser (@giles_fraser) August 24, 2016Time for a swimwear quiz: Banned in France or not? 4 photos to highlight the hateful idiocy of the #BurkiniBan pic.twitter.com/ZGaGDbOhmY— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) August 18, 2016Armed french cops force woman to remove clothing on Nice beach. Has it come to this? #BurkiniBan pic.twitter.com/xMg71qC111— Ian Fraser (@Ian_Fraser) August 24, 2016[via]
|
 |
by Boing Boing on (#1RGK2)
Boing Boing has teamed up with MorningSave to offer this deeply discounted collection of House of Marley watches! House of Marley is committed to building superior, eco-friendly products, and every sale supports the Marley family's charitable organization, 1Love.I really like the wood accents on these watches!Boing Boing & MorningSave's House of Marley watch collection
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#1RGH8)
Most states have no maximum temperature standards for their prisons: combine that with a succession of hottest-months-on-record and a prison system that provides less water than is medically recommended even when it's not hotter than blazes, and you've got a carceral state that is roasting prisoners alive. (more…)
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#1RGFZ)
The Airlander 10 hybrid airplane-airship, the world's longest aircraft that resembles a massive ass, crashed on landing at Cardington Airfield in Bedfordshire, England. Video below. Fortunately, the crew was uninjured. It was the aircraft's second test flight. "The flight went really well and the only issue was when it landed," said a spokesperson for Hybrid Air Vehicles, the company that developed the aircraft over the last decade, originally supported by a US Army contract.Sir Mix-A-Lot had this to say about the accident: "I like big butts but this one can't fly..."(BBC)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg-RPTiVa_Q
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#1RGDY)
Natural color! Shake well! Named after a city in eastern Thailand!
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#1RG91)
8Bitdo's prototype Desktop Arcade Joy Stick is a) an entire retrogame cabinet, complete with controls, display and guts, b) excellently crafted from wood, c) a surprisingly beautiful re-contextualizing of the experience of play. I'd like to own an entire arcadeful of these, in sizes ranging from 6 inches to 6 feet tall, in a colossal building the exact same shape, with anarchoprimitivist propaganda and classic arcade slowruns depicted on its vast screen. The real thing, though, is perfectly desktop-sized: about 12" across. (more…)
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#1RG1P)
Artist Peter Doig, accused of damaging the value of a painting simply by denying that he was its creator, prevailed in court this week. U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman found that there no evidence that Doig created the work, but plenty that it was by someone else: one Peter Doige, with an "e". Doig maintained from the beginning that he was the victim of a opportunistic "scam" enabled by similarity of the two artists' names and the recent death of Doige. Meanwhile, the plaintiff claimed Doig was "embarrassed" by a juvenile work that happened to expose a youthful stint in prison [Doige, not Doig, was imprisoned.]Doige's sister, Marilyn Doige Bovard, testified that the painting was her brother's work.As Doig's work sells for millions of dollars, much was at stake; the case was watched closely by artists and dealers concerned about an outcome that made it dangerous to discuss their own work lest they be sued by hungry speculators.Many was also angry that the judge had let the case go to trial in the first place, costing Doig heavy sums to defend himself even after producing ample evidence the painting could not possibly be by him.The case is unusual because disputes over the authenticity of a work of art normally arise long after an artist has died. When artists are alive, it is widely accepted that their word on whether a work is theirs or not is final. Mr Fletcher claimed Mr Doig had renounced the work to avoid admitting he had spent time in prison. Mr Doig's painting Swamped sold for $25.9m last year He said he had bought the painting from Mr Doig for $100 in 1976 when the artist was serving a sentence for LSD possession at Thunder Bay Correctional Centre in Ontario, where Mr Fletcher was working. But Mr Doig insisted he had never been jailed and had actually been attending high school in Toronto at the time.Doig, in a statement, said that justice prevailed "but it was way too long in coming.""That a living artist has to defend the authorship of his own work should never have come to pass," he wrote. "That the plaintiffs in this case have shamelessly tried to deny another artist his legacy for money is despicable."
|
 |
by Andrea James on (#1RFPT)
Omnivore Salt is apparently so delicious that filmmaker Werner Herzog not only did a blurb on the package, but he even narrated a mini-documentary about its creator, blacksmith Angelo Garro, in his classic style: (more…)
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#1RERM)
“Martin Luther Trump stumbles through a teleprompted message of hope for absent black people.†(more…)
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#1REJ6)
The head of the pharmaceutical company that makes EpiPens raised the price of the life-saving device by over 400%. She was rewarded with a 671% raise. (more…)
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#1REGC)
Late Tuesday in Thailand, two explosions are reported to have killed two people and wounded dozens at a hotel popular with tourists. The car bombs went off minutes apart in Pattani, in Thailand's deep South. “It was unclear whether the bombs were set off by timers or electrical signal,†the Bangkok Post reported. (more…)
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#1RDMY)
Frequently seen in the pages of 1950s-era Popular Mechanics magazines, the Bensen B-8 was a small gyrocopter that was in production until 1987. Download the plans and build your own two-person gyrocpter fleet to compete with Uber and Lyft! (via Weird Universe)
|