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Updated 2024-11-27 03:17
700 acres of California coastline to be returned to Native Americans
For generations, members of the Kashia band of the Pomo people have been landlocked. For the first time in 200 years, the coastal tribe will once again have unmitigated access to the sea. (more…)
Sony licensed stock footage, then branded its creator a pirate for using it himself
Mitch Martinez licensed a stock footage clip to a Sony music label to use in a video; when the company proceeded to file a Youtube copyright complaint against him and refused to take his calls, he filed a copyright claim against them, told them he was cancelling their license to his footage, and threatened to make them re-edit the music video, removing his footage from it. (more…)
Clips from Dish Network's "Pirate TV" scold channel (c.2008)
"Hello, you're watching Dish Network's Pirate TV Channel." Apparently only viewers with unauthorized access to Dish Network would see the "Pirate TV" channel that consisted of this message, looping forever.Below, a version from around 2009: "Hello, you're watching Dish Network. Did you know you're a satellite pirate?"https://youtu.be/X_cAzTn3c0Y(via r/ObscureMedia, thanks UPSO!)
The first drawings of neurons
In 1837, Italian physician Camilo Golgi devised a reaction to stain the wispy dendrites and axons of neurons, making it possible to see brain cells in situ. In 1875, he published his first scientific drawing made possibly by his chemical reaction, seen here. It's an illustration of the never fibers, gray matter, and other components of a dog's olfactory bulb. "The First Neuron Drawings, 1870s" (The Scientist)
Americans are pretty mellow about climate change, terrified of everything else
A survey of 1541 randomly selected US adults ranked the country's fears as of 2015. Items that ranked above climate change included corruption, mass surveillance, cyber-terrorism, bio-warfare, identity theft, running out of money, economic collapse, credit card fraud, Obamacare, illness, nuclear attack, meltdowns and civil unrest and tornadoes. (more…)
Investing in David v Goliath: hundreds of millions slosh into litigation finance funds
Litigation finance (AKA champerty) is the practice of investing in other peoples' lawsuits, with the expectation that you will share in any court awards or settlements should your side win the case. (more…)
Botnets running on CCTVs and NASs
Researchers at Incapsula have discovered a botnet that runs on compromised CCTV cameras. There are hundreds of millions, if not billions, of these in the field, and like many Internet of Things devices, their security is an afterthought and not fit for purpose. (more…)
DoJ to Apple: your software is licensed, not sold, so we can force you to decrypt
The DoJ is currently trying to force Apple to decrypt data stored on a defendant's Iphone, and Apple, to its great credit, is fighting back, arguing that on the one hand, it doesn't have the technical capability to do so; and on the other, should not be required to do so. (more…)
Wytches – A terrifying trip into the dark heart of parental fears and malevolent forests
See sample pages from this book at Wink.Scott Snyder's Wytches really worked its creepy magic on me. This trade paperback edition collects the first six issues of the popular comic series, which has received widespread praise and counts Stephen King among its many vocal fans. (more…)
A gallery of swamp lust pulp paperback book covers
Pulp Flesh has a nice but too-small gallery of swamp erotica paperbacks.
Badfinger performs "Baby Blue" (1972)
Take good care, baby, let me know...
Does making fun of yourself make you look good or bad?
Is it a wise social strategy to make self-deprecating comments? Hopes and Fears asked this question to a psychologist, two personal-brand consultants, a motivational speaker, and a women's life coach. They all pretty much agreed that it's smart for high-status people to self-deprecate and not smart for low-status people to do so.Lindsay Han, life coach focusing on women:I would think one of two things of the high status person. "Wow, despite you being tough on yourself, you still are looked at as a success. You must be pretty fab to reach that level despite your critical self-talk because that hinders so many people." Or, "He/she is just like me! They have their critical thoughts, but it looks as if they've been able to use them in a way that doesn't hinder their success."For the low-status person I would think, "That's why you're stuck. You haven't moved past your critical self-talk. Consequently, you haven't achieved what you want because of it."
70% of CEOs' effect on company performance can be attributed to random chance
Texas A&M Professor of Management Markus Fitza used a technique called variance decomposition to evaluate the extent to which the performance of companies can be attributed to astute leadership versus the random chance, and concluded that in 70% of cases, CEOs can't be shown to add any value to the companies they run. (more…)
A beautiful data-drive Tube ad from 1928
This 1928 London Underground ad is a beautiful and witty example of using data to help people get the best use out of public services. By listing the tube's load at different times of the day, LU helped riders figure out how to avoid crushes, and by making the descriptions funny and insightful, the poster's creators created memorable hooks for putting the info in context. (more…)
Climate change science fiction contest: win $1000 and publication
Joey from Arizona State University writes, "ASU’s Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative is holding its first-ever Climate Fiction Short Story Contest. First prize is $1,000, and three more winners will receive book bundles signed by Paolo Bacigalupi, who was our annual Climate Futures lecturer last month. The best submissions will be published in an online anthology, and will also be considered for publication in the journal Issues in Science and Technology. The contest will be judged by Kim Stanley Robinson, along with a panel of experts from the Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative." (more…)
Fan of TV painting host Bob Ross? Watch the very first episode of his show.
What a gem was released upon the internet today! This video of Bob Ross: A Walk in the Woods, was Season 1 Episode 1 of his long-running “anyone can paint” television HOWTO show. (more…)
Real stories of psychiatric support dogs, and the people who rely on them
Hopes&Fears has a beautiful feature up today on the lives of service dogs for people with psychiatric disabilities and mental illnesses. (more…)
Read: Laurie Penny's BLUE MONDAY, class war and cute animal videos
Laurie Penny's science fiction story "Blue Monday" is a mean little kick up the ass. I workshopped this story with her last summer at the Clarion West workshop in Seattle and it doesn't get any less punchy on subsequent re-readings. (more…)
Fantastic gallery of old pinball arcade in Kansas City
Alex Q. Arbuckle of Retronaut published this gallery of 1968 photos of the Wonderland Arcade in Kansas City, Missouri.
People strip their clothes with green screen trick [NSFW]
Tim Fitzgerald shot video of naked people. Then he shot video of the same people holding the same pose, but wearing clothes. Then other people smeared and splashed green paint on the people's clothes, and Fitzgerald green screened the two superimposed videos to make this amusing and NSFW short film.
Sunglasses with built-in clip for your shirt
Oakley Latch sunglasses have an ingeniously simple special feature: a clip in the temple so you can attach them securely to your shirt when not wearing them. They were designed by skateboarders Eric Boston, Sean Malto, and Curren Caples and skate photographer Atiba Jefferson. Oakley Latch Sunglasses(via Uncrate)
Canada's new Liberal majority: better than the Tories, still terrible for the Internet
Justin Trudeau is certainly an improvement on outgoing Pherime Minister Stephen Harper. He's unlikely to go on burning Canada's archives and warring on its scientists, and he'll probably stop ignoring the murder of hundreds of aboriginal women and girls, and he's not a racist asshole who plays to other racist assholes to keep power. (more…)
Save over 40% on the limited matte-black edition of the SKEYE Nano drone
You don’t need years of drone-piloting experience to have a ridiculously fun time with SKEYE Nano. This smooth black quadcopter automatically calibrates each time it hits the sky, so you’re promised an enjoyable ride whether you choose beginner, intermediate, or advanced mode. Use the remote to hover and move through even the smallest of spaces, thanks to SKEYE Nano’s small and nimble design. And with its new, stealth black look, this limited-edition drone will have your fellow drone enthusiasts sick with envy. Throw your cares to the wind, literally, as you throw this drone in the sky and take flight.Epic throw-to-fly functionalityAdvanced 6-axis flight control system w/ adjustable gyro sensitivityBuilt-in LEDs for night flightsCapable of aerobatic flips & exciting maneuvers4 replacement rotor blades for stress-free crashesMatte-black design for a unique stealth styleMiniature size for nimble flight paths3 flight levels from beginner to expertSave 42% on the limited edition matte-black version of the SKEYE Nano Drone today in the Boing Boing Store. [embed]https://youtu.be/n5Hbb_vEw6g[/embed]
Complexity of financial crimes makes crooks unconvictable
Following a mistrial in the Dewey & LeBoeuf case -- a complex financial fraud involving a tony white-shoe law firm -- Bloomberg tries to analyze what happened to the jury, who were unable to convict despite four months of hearings and 22 days' worth of deliberations. (more…)
Half of Vanuatu's government is going to jail
On October 9, the Supreme Court of Vanuatu found that fourteen members of the government had accepted bribes from the opposition in exchange for a promise of support in a vote of no confidence. Vanuatu's president, Baldwin Lonsdale, was out of the country at the time, leaving speaker Marcellino Pipite as head of state in his absence. As Pipite was one of those convicted, he promptly pardoned himself and his co-conspirators and suspended the country's ombudsman. (more…)
Wikileaks hosting files from CIA director John Brennan's AOL account
Wikileaks has posted a collection of documents ganked from CIA director John Brennan's email account, which was reportedly hacked by a "teen stoner" earlier this week. (more…)
How the White House is celebrating Back to the Future Day!
Our man in the White House, Tom Kalil, Deputy Director for Policy for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, alerts us to the Administration's celebration of Back To The Future Day that includes:* The release of President Obama's updated Strategy for American Innovation* Tom's post on the White House blog about the power of imagination, titled "Science Fiction to Science Fact"* A series of online conversations with scientists and innovators about the future!
Entropy explained, beautifully, in comic-book form
Nick Sousanis became a Boing Boing favorite for his 2015 doctoral dissertation in graphic novel form, and since attaining his PhD, he's become a postdoctoral fellow in Comics Studies at the University of Calgary. (more…)
Cancer patient receives 3D printed titanium ribs and sternum
Melbourne, Australia's Lab 22 produced a 3D printed, custom set of ribs and artificial sternum that were implanted into a 54-year-old male Spanish cancer patient's chest-cavity at Salamanca University Hospital. (more…)
Helpful baby compliment generator
If you're experiencing difficulty coming up with appropriately benign things to say about a friend or relative's new offspring, this generator is here to help. [babycompliments.com] (more…)
WHAT IF: Hermione made Harry and Ron do their own goddamned homework?
Anyone who's paid close attention knows that the series should really be called "Hermoine Granger and the Repeated Rescue of the Lazy, Glory-Hogging Boys," but as usual, Mallory Ortberg (previously) brings it all home with some scathing and witty fanfic: (more…)
Terrorists torch five black Ferguson-area churches, nation yawns
St. Louis Fire Department captain Garon Mosby calls the fires "arson," but despite the shocking string of racist attacks, major media have hardly breathed a word about the fires. (more…)
Win the trip of a lifetime by entering the Tim Ferriss around the world giveaway
What’s your ultimate adventure? Bungee jumping in New Zealand? Learning Spanish with Costa Rican locals? Bottling vino in Tuscany? We want to take you on a trip of epic proportions—and handle the bill.But that’s not all…win a rare Q&A session with star of The Tim Ferriss Experiment, and author of #1 New York Times Best Seller The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss himself. Find out how a four-week trip to Europe changed his life forever, and how to keep your luggage under 10 pounds.We’re throwing in some of our favorite tech gadgets and gear, and for the first time ever, choosing three lucky winners click here to enter!Grand Prize (worth $3,355.95): The Tim Ferriss Round-the-World PrizeTrip Around the World from BootsnAll (worth $3000)Sample route: San Francisco > Boston > Munich > Athens > Istanbul > Dubai > Bangkok > Saigon > Hong Kong > San FranciscoCustomize your route to hit your must-see sitesClick here to map out your dream escape1-Hour Q&A Session with Tim Ferriss—The Ultimate Self-Hack Guru & Best-Selling Author7 Best-Selling Tech EssentialsLithiumCard Wallet Battery with Smartphone ChargerZeroLemon SolarJuice 20000mAh BatteryTwist World Charging StationFYL Built-In Charger BagsKarma LTE Hotspot Keysmart 2.0iFixit Tech Tool Bundle1st Runner Up (worth $1,034.95): The High-Flying DJI Drone PrizeAll hail the DJI Phantom 2—the king of the drones and true aerial photography trailblazer. 1st Runner Up will take home a brand new DJI along with 7 or our top-selling tech essentials!DJI Phantom 2 DroneLithiumCard Wallet Battery with Smartphone ChargerZeroLemon SolarJuice 20000mAh BatteryTwist World Charging StationFYL Built-In Charger BagsKarma LTE Hotspot Keysmart 2.0iFixit Tech Tool Bundle2nd Runner Up (worth $355.95): The Tech-Savvy Tastemaker PrizeScore the 7 gadgets you need this fall—all made by top innovators, all best sellers. Power up outside with a solar battery pack, charge around the world with one plug, and carry it all in the stylish FYL Bag.LithiumCard Wallet Battery with Smartphone ChargerZeroLemon SolarJuice 20000mAh BatteryTwist World Charging StationFYL Built-In Charger BagsKarma LTE Hotspot Keysmart 2.0iFixit Tech Tool Bundle
On saying "no": creativity, self-care, privilege, and knowing your limits
Austin "Steal Like an Artist" Kleon has posted a fantastic meditation on the idea that "creative people say no" -- the idea that you have to say no in order to get your work done. The piece includes a bunch of amusing, funny, sometimes a little smarmy form-letters that famous artists have used to rebuff correspondents, and I share Kleon's horrified, tempted fascination with these artefacts. (more…)
The wonderful features of this roll of brown packaging tape
It is multi-purpose.It is brown.It is tough.It is packaging tape.Give that copywriter a raise![via](Thanks, Andreas!)
Mysterium – A spirit and murder game spooky enough for Halloween fun
It’s like Clue meets Password, with a little Where’s Waldo thrown in, but with the addition of dreams, interpretations and séances. In Mysterium, a person was murdered in a house and their ghost now haunts the grounds. The ghost needs to communicate with psychics to solve its murder in an effort to be set free. The trick is, the spirit can only communicate through visions and dreams. These dreams are rather vivid and unique as you can see in the cards.One player takes over as the spirit, and it is their job to communicate with the living through dreams, which are represented with a set of beautiful and imaginative illustrations. The spirit draws cards each turn and passes those dreams to the players in an effort to give them each clues. The other players play the role of spirit mediums who must deduce the following, using only the images on the dream cards: who killed the spirit’s mortal formwhat room the horrid event took placewhat foul instrument of destruction was usedWhile the spirit is not allowed to communicate with the mediums or give any clues beyond the cards, the other mediums may talk amongst themselves in an effort to deduce if that dream card about the Knight and the tower means that the Magician was the Killer, or does the dream card with the ship in the tub in the ocean signify poison was used? Trying look for the hidden clues that the Spirit is using to communicate with you gives the game the Where’s Waldo aspect.The game is perfectly designed in 3 acts, and unlike Clue, every turn gives the players a chance to deduce one of the three mysteries. The inclusion of the sand glass timer and the 7 turns (via an imposing cardboard clock) ensures the game is fast paced, orderly despite the insane cards, and playable in 30-45 minutes. The game also includes a streaming sound track to add an extra layer of spookiness. The amazing diversity and quality of the illustrations and heavy stock of the cards and pieces reflect the care of the game design.– John E. WilliamsonMysteriumAsmodeeAges 10 and up, 2-7 players$39 Buy a copy on Amazon
Michelle Duggar’s Sacred Blessings 2016 Motherhood & Marriage Nature Calendar
Sean Tejaratchi, the excellent book designer and creator of the Crap Hound zine, made this parody calendar called Michelle Duggar’s Sacred Blessings 2016 Motherhood & Marriage Nature Calendar. It uses actual quotes from a post by Mrs. Duggar, and stock photos of animal mothers with a lot of babies.
Man who swerved into motorcyclists blames spider bite
https://youtu.be/swdBQ2nC4cA"All the sudden I felt this tremendous stinging in my left leg and I thought it was a wasp or something and I didn't know it was a spider bite," said William Crum (68), the Texas man who drove his car into a motorcycle. Sanders and his girlfriend were knocked off their motorcycle when Crum rammed in them as they tried to pass him on a two-lane road 5 miles north of Granbury. The woman suffered severe road rash, a broken wrist, and deep arm lacerations and was hospitalized in an intensive care unit.Brian Fisher, who was riding in a motorcycle behind Crum and Sanders, captured the ill-timed consequences of the spider bite. When Crum pulled his car over, Fisher went to Crum and said, "What were you doing? You hit them!" "I don't care," Crum replied repeatedly.When a reporter later asked Crum if the spider had left a mark on his leg Crum replied, "It’s swollen right now. It bit me right in the tendon, so right now I have a tendon that’s hurting if I stand. If I walk off I’ll limp."Crum was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the incident. The spider remains at large.Here is Fisher's full video on Facebook.
Top 50 most popular non-fiction podcasts in 2015
Kevin Kelly and I surveyed over 1600 people to come up with this list of the top 50 most popular non-fiction podcasts. From our introduction to the list:We made a list of the best factual podcasts by ranking the most popular factual podcasts from the results of an unscientific survey we posted online several months ago. We asked readers of this Cool Tools blog and our social followers to take our survey and rate some suggested podcasts — and to add ones we did not know about. More than 1,600 people filled out the survey, and by the end we had a list of 775 suggested titles. We combined the number of times a podcast was checked together with its average rating to come up with a total score. We then sorted the final list of podcast titles by rank. (The full data dump is here.) We wrote descriptions for the top 50, shown below. (The rankings in this list are biased to our original suggestion list; we’d do the survey differently if we did it again next year.)There are two broad types of factual podcasts; unscripted and scripted. Unscripted shows are usually interviews or discussions that play out as recorded. The producers don’t know, nor have much control, over where the show goes. Scripted shows, on the other hand, will carefully edit interviews after the fact, mixing them with narration, inter-splicing them with other interviews, maybe adding a soundtrack or ambient sounds. They craft the raw factual materials into a highly produced show in the way a reporter might craft a magazine article, rather than just run a Q&A. Scripted shows, on average, take much more energy, time, staff (and money) to make than unscripted shows (with some exceptions). It is no surprise that the highest ranked podcasts are scripted.Image: Tim Wilson from Blaine, MN, USA, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
“Mom, Dad, where do emoji come from?” The Unicode Consortium, son.
The New York Times profiles the Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit that “serves as the midwife to new emojis.” People who aren't nerds never cared much about the Unicode Consortium until everyone started caring, a lot, about emoji. (more…)
This 3D-printed, portable railgun fires slugs at 560 miles per hour
David Wirth 3D printed a 20lb railgun that fires copper-plated tungsten slugs with 1,800 joules of energy, firing them at 560mph, with so much force that they vaporize on contact with a steel-backed target. (more…)
The Welcome to Night Vale novel dances a tightrope between weird humor and real pathos
(more…)
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Largest martial arts display record set by Chinese city where 50,000 did Tai Chi
A Chinese national flag flies as students practice Tai Chi on a high school playground during a Guinness World Record attempt of the largest martial arts display ever. (more…)
Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" on bamboo flute and koto
Yoshimi Tsujimoto and company burn through Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" on shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and koto. Sure beats Alien Ant Farm's attempt.
Next time a government hacks your Facebook account, Facebook will let you know
Facebook says that starting today, they will notify users “if we believe your account has been targeted or compromised by an attacker suspected of working on behalf of a nation-state.” (more…)
Tiny anti-snoring gadget for people with sleep apnea looks promising
https://youtu.be/uEzvw9tfMJMIf this little gadget called Airing really does prevent obstructive sleep apnea, then it's a big deal. The Indiegogo-funded project is described as the first hoseless, maskless, micro-CPAP. (more…)
Long distance jammer knocks drones from the sky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX4XXLb_VuwPoint this gernsbeckian invisible ray gun at a drone, and it will drop from the sky, according to Battelle, the non-profit company that made it. The DroneDefender doesn't make a cool sound when you pull the trigger, though, so I don't like it. From Make:In a press release from Battelle, the gun is stated to use “radio control frequency disruption technologies to safely stop drones in the air, before they can pose a threat to military or civilian safety.” A video accompanying the post describes that it operates on standard GPS and ISM radio bands, allowing for it to interference with commercial UAV signals.Reportedly, the DroneDefender can hit objects up to 400 meters with an effective cone diameter of 30°. This is about as far as Battelle goes with the technical details, so the actual frequency ranges of the rifle still remain unknown.
See the cat in this image? You may be prone to enticing headlines
The Fuck Yeah Psychedelic Cats blog is honestly and accurately named. Note that the web design has the sensibility and orderliness of Louis Wain's crayon tray on a bad day (and flashing lights). If you are still low on psychedelic cats after your visit, I suggest dropping by this Giphy tag.
Western superheroes as Malaysian puppet art
I have no idea what this thread on a Malay web forum is all about, but the depictions of Western superheroes as Wayang Kulit shadow puppets are incredible. It's the work of Fusion Wayang Kulit, per photos in the thread: here's their Facebook page. Our objective is to revive this Malaysia traditional culture by merging it with fusion element & enhancing it with various multimedia components.Via postjung.com. [Thanks, Wendy!]
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