Once a year or so I buy another dozen of these cotton kitchen towels to replace the stained ones (which go into the cleanup rags drawer). They're large (26 x 15 in.), absorbent and comfortable to use. They look really nice, too. At $11 for a dozen, they are a bargain, too.

Jimmy Fallon does a great impression of Bruce Springsteen singing his parody song "Robert Mueller's Comin' to Town."

Barrow, Alaska (pop. 4,335) sits on the northernmost tip of the state. Because of its remote location, groceries are expensive -- really expensive. This friendly couple takes us on a tour of the local supermarket, which also sells hand made dresses and all terrain vehicles. A bag of Tostitos tortilla chips here are "on sale" for $10.74. A single roll of toilet paper is $2.60. A box of Froot Loops is $9.73. A gallon of milk is $10. A gallon of water is $9.59. A tomato is $4. And one half of a watermelon is $37. I'm going to watch this video again before going to Whole Foods.

Puzzle designer Fleb shows how to solve a "cave puzzle," which is a logic puzzle that reminds me a bit of sudoku. It looks fun!

Earlier this year Columbus Ohio police officer Randall Mayhew, a 17-year veteran, was charged with three counts of prostitution, three counts of soliciting, and one count of dereliction of duty. At least one of the woman he was accused of having sex with while in uniform said she was afraid Officer Mayhew would take her to jail. This week, according to the Columbus Dispatch, "Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Cynthia Ebner sentenced Mayhew to two years’ probation, 30 hours of community service and fined him $150 in addition to court costs. She also sentenced him to 90 days in jail, which she immediately suspended." He will keep his job. The paper also reports that Mayhew was "one of three officers who faced similar accusations in 2015."

Behold the magic of compaction dynamics. Scientists from Mexico and Spain dumped 25,000 tiny dice (0.2 inches) into a large clear plastic cylinder and rotated the cylinder back and forth once a second. The dice arranged themselves into rows of concentric circles. See the paper and the videos here.Image: Asencio et al., Phys Rev Lett 2017

Bravo, sir.(via DIGG)

Though already released from the very light sentence imposed on him by a sympathetic judge, Stanford rapist Brock Turner wants to have his verdict overturned all the same. Turner's lawyers argued in their appeal filed Friday that the initial trial was "a detailed and lengthy set of lies."They are also hoping to overturn the lifetime requirement that Turner register as a sex offender.Turner's case became a flashpoint in the debate on campus sexual assault after an impassioned victim impact statement from the accuser went viral.He served only three months of his six-month sentence. One of the high notes in the appeal is its objection to his being described in court as assaulting his victim behind a "trash bin," when it was in fact a "garbage receptacle." In either case, Turner was gotten off his victim by passers-by who then chased him down.Just before 1 a.m. on Jan. 18, 2015, Jonsson and Arndt were riding their bikes along a path near the Kappa Alpha fraternity. Jonsson told the cops that movement by a dumpster caught his eye, and he saw a guy on top of a female who was lying on her back, according to a police report.At first, Jonsson and Arndt assumed the interaction was consensual. But Jonsson said he noticed that the female wasn’t moving as he peddled by. “Something seemed weird,” he told police, because the woman appeared to be unconscious.Jonsson and Arndt approached the dumpster and yelled “Hey” to the guy who was later revealed to be Turner. He took off running, according to the police report. Jonsson realized the woman was passed out and chased after Turner, eventually catching and tripping him, the police report said.

In the age of omnipresent keyboards and computers and the internet lurking behind all of them, the idea of a handwritten journal might seem quaint or pointless. But there are good reasons to keep one, writes Alan Henry.Writing can do wonders for your health. Beyond keeping your creative juices flowing—a separate topic we'll get to shortly—regular writing can give you a safe, cathartic release valve for the stresses of your daily life. We've discussed some of those mental and emotional benefits of writing before, from the angle of creative writing—but you don't have to write fiction to get them. For example, we've mentioned that keeping an awesomeness journal can do wonders for your self-esteem. Not only does regular writing make you feel good, it helps you re-live the events you experienced in a safe environment where you can process them without fear or stress.Using a brightly-lit, internetworked, general-purpose consumer computer for everything puts everything you do just a single decision away from being in the same place as everything else.So I strongly recommend a paper journal over an app, at least for those looking at journaling as a way to shake free of the spell of life spent constantly reading and writing online. Skip Moleskines, at least the expensive ones, if you're just starting out. Cheap is the freedom to experiment. You can buy a box of 25 notebooks for about $30 shipped at Amazon.com, and they're just fine. Heres a box of ruled ones. Upgrade to a nice hardbound A4 journal as a reward for getting through the first set!

Remember that "shame" video of the kid getting a Nintendo as a gift in 1988? Well, my former child actor friend Jared Hirsch saw it too and shared his own "shame" video from 1998 with me. His nearly two-hour long submission captures the splendor, joy, and robot sunglasses of his Bar Mitzvah reception on Staten Island. I asked Jared if he had anything he'd like to say about the video. This is what he wrote back:In 1988, I was a 13 year old growing up in Staten Island, the curious fifth borough in New York City. As all good young Jewish kids my age, my devoted parents threw me a classic 80s Bar Mitzvah. It was like a wedding, but for horny pre- and just-turned teens. Rented hall, live band, videographer, catered dinner, dancing, games, and all the attention I craved. I remember later that night sitting on their bed, counting all of the savings bonds I was gifted for becoming a man and feeling like a thousandaire. In 10 years, I cashed them and paid for a whole month of college. Behold in all it's transferred from VHS glory, my Bar Mitzvah party. Don't miss the Bar Mitzvah rap at 1hr10min, or my relatives not understanding how a video camera works. Delight in the snazzy renditions of your favorite 70s and 80 party songs. Cringe at the hair. Laugh at me for my overinflated ego, but don't forget that you too were 13 once.

The Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government has published a nonpartisan Cybersecurity Campaign Playbook, as part of its Defending Digital Democracy project (previously, "designed to give you simple, actionable information that will make your campaign’s information more secure from adversaries trying to attack your organization—and our democracy." (more…)

A Florida ICU staff faced a difficult ethical dilemma concerning a 70-year-old patient and a tattoo on his chest — ultimately reaching a decision that still doesn’t set a precedent for similar situations. The patient was brought by paramedics to the hospital unconscious with a high blood alcohol level, along with a history of medical issues, according to a newly published article in The New England Journal of Medicine. When the patient's health began to further decline, the staff was forced to consider the man’s “Do Not Resuscitate” tattoo along with what was believed to be a tattoo of his signature underneath. The staff originally decided against following the tattoo's orders saying it was an “irreversible” decision that shouldn’t be left to potential body art or a drunken mistake. Due to his inability to verbally communicate his wishes, the staff called for an ethics consultation, and in the end they decided to follow the tattooed request. After the order was given, the hospital was able to locate the man’s out-of-hospital Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order from the Florida Department of Health, which matched his tattoo. The patient later died without undergoing CPR or anymore life-saving efforts. The doctors considered it a “relief” to find the written DNR order. Via New England Journal of Medicine. Despite the well-known difficulties that patients have in making their end-of-life wishes known, this case report neither supports nor opposes the use of tattoos to express end-of-life wishes when the person is incapacitated.

Donald Trump deliberately hides the sex scandals and indiscretions of Washington, D.C. lawmakers, keeping the shameful information as potential blackmail material, reveals the National Enquirer this week.The president has amassed Nixon-style “dirt files containing damaging information on roguish elected officials, top military officials, top military officers and high-level bureaucrats,” claims the report.Trump’s “little black book” is “filled with the dirty sex secrets of top politicos – and he’s not afraid to use it.”It’s an extraordinarily damning report from the Enquirer, which has been one of Trump’s staunchest supporters, fed inside information from the White House, and whose reporting has been lavishly praised by Trump.Of course, they don’t openly call him a “blackmailer” who is immorally keeping sex scandals secret to manipulate powerful lawmakers, though that’s clearly what the story suggests. Rather, the Enquirer seems to be praising Trump for having power over sleazy politicians. Sure sounds like he’s protecting scumbags with a view to blackmail, however.Pregnant Princess Kate “takes off her ring in war with William,” reports the Globe, claiming that the British royal is battling her husband over potential kidnap threats to their children. Why else would a pregnant woman take off her engagement ring? With all the rent-a-quote doctors, psychologists, private eyes and voice-stress analysts at their disposal, could the Globe not find a physician to explain that a pregnant woman’s hands can swell and she may need to remove rings when they feel too tight? No such problems for this week’s thin brigade, those unfortunates targeted by the Enquirer Guess Your Weight team who this week attack 93 lb “skeletal” Sharknado star Tara Reid, allegedly so thin she is "facing jaws of death" (Sharknado! Jaws! Geddit?!) and “walking skeleton” singer Faith Hill “at a shocking 99 lbs.” These women are almost as thin as the reporting on these stories.Hillary Clinton “demands $350 million divorce” as “new sex assault scandal rocks Bill,” reports the Globe. What? One more sex harassment accuser is going to push Hillary over the edge, after Monicagate, impeachment, and a string of sex assault and harassment allegations against her husband? Wishful thinking.Us magazine devotes its cover to Anna Nicole Smith’s 11-year-old daughter opening up about “My Life Without Mommy,” which seems unnecessarily intrusive, mawkish and unedifying. Dannielynn was five months old when her mother died of a drug overdose, so it’s not as if she has much in the way of memories of Anna Nicole. Dannielynn may be a child model and tabloid darling, but the fact that she struggles to wake up in the mornings, wants to become a dolphin trainer (because who doesn’t love a wild animal trapped in a tiny aquarium?) and has puppies named Chewie and Pop Tart, hardly seems revelatory.Us gives four pages to the impending Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle, predicting that the Queen will want the nuptials at Westminster Abbey (they’ll be at Windsor Castle). People magazine gives its cover and six pages inside to “Harry’s American Princess,” rehashing old stories as if they’re new again.At least it’s better than the National Examiner, whose cover declares: “Queen Forbids Harry’s Wedding!” Oh the joys of early deadlines overtaken by reality.Fortunately we have the crack investigative team at Us mag to tell us that Angelina Jolie wore it best, Mandy Moore is “a fan of sour candy,” that Ashley Johnson fills her Patagonia backpack with a Nintendo Switch, retro headphones and pumpkin-shaped Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, and that the stars are just like us: they eat pizza, snap photos, and sit on Santa’s lap. Hang on a second . . . why is Derek Hough sitting on the knee of a fat bearded guy in a red velvet suit? Definitely not just like us.The Examiner reports that “levitation is real,” citing scientists studying the phenomenon of “sleep floating,” in which people wake from dreams to find themselves in mid-air above their beds. Should we be concerned that there is no discernible trace of the “top neurologist” claimed to be investigating these incidents in his British laboratory, nor any obvious trace of levitators they name in Georgia and New Jersey? It’s probably all part of a massive government cover-up that’s all noted in Donald Trump’s little black book. Of course not. You can bet that the president is levitating near the ceiling of the Lincoln bedroom at this very moment.Onwards and downwards . . .

My guest on the Cool Tools Show podcast this week is Jennifer Pahlka. Jennifer is the Founder of Code for America, a nonprofit dedicated to proving that government can work for all people in the digital age. She served as the U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer under President Obama, and founded the United States Digital Service dedicated to the same idea.Subscribe to the Cool Tools Show on iTunes | RSS | Transcript | Download MP3 | See all the Cool Tools Show posts on a single pageShow notes:Phaxio, a modern fax platform“I will have to admit upfront, I'm not actually a coder, but I do work with our coding teams here at Code for America, and what I like about Phaxio is that it's sort of a hack, not just on sort of services, but on government. What we do here is we try to make services that work much better than the government services as it's offered. For instance, if you want to apply for food stamps in California and you want to do it online, you’ll go through an application form that’s over 50 screens long. … One of the things we started doing was just making a better online form and then having that form create a fax and then faxing it into the office. It turns out the place where faxes are still really, really useful is in government services, in government offices. I never would’ve said, 10 years ago, that fax was key, but it really is for the work that we do and it really helps us hack bureaucracies."Selenium WebDriver“I’d say [this is] like the next steps in making services that can sit on top of government services a lot easier to use. … Now, instead of creating a fax that goes to the office, we just drive that data using Selenium right into the system of record. … It doesn’t entirely close the loop because at the end of the day, what you want to do is actually redo those systems of record to be much simpler and have clearer, easier front ends and ask fewer questions and have fewer data problems. For now, that is a very effective way that you can hack online applications to government services and really anybody can do this. … The way I describe it to folks who aren’t developers and I know you’re both more technical than I am but it's like you take little robots take the data that we collected from the people and then put them in the online form that actually exists."Lyft hack“I’m a big fan of Lyft and one day I realized that when my daughter was calling from her school … it was raining and she wanted me to come get her and I said, "Well, I'm not going to come get you, but I'm going to send you a Lyft." I just used my finger to move the map to where her school was, dropped the pin there and called the car. Then I could just ... for a minute I thought, "Oh my gosh, is this dangerous?" But I realized I could actually watch the car arrive and pick her up, watch the driver drive her here and knew exactly when she would arrive. … The great thing is I can also do that when I’m in New York and my kid is stranded and needs to go home and when I’m in another country, I can get her a car whenever she needs one."Japanese Copper Tamagoyaki Pan ($30)"This is just my favorite thing in my kitchen just because it's kind of unique. Tamago is what you get at a sushi restaurant that's basically egg. It comes sort of nigiri style, there's like a little slice of scrambled egg, essentially, but it's done in a very Japanese way. To make Tamago, you have to have a small rectangular pan. This one happens to be copper. It just looks beautiful, it has a wooden handle and then this beautiful copper body. Basically what you do is you make this mixture of egg and dashi and a little salt and a little sugar, and then you have to sort of pour it in bit by bit and then roll it up, sort of sticking it at the end. What it makes is this very rectangular piece of egg that you can then slice and it looks very pretty when you lay it on the rice.”

Munktiki's $20 Octopus mug comes in red or purple, and nicely complements their Bell-Buoy mug (sold out, but we can hope for a resupply!). (via Super Punch)

Not all holiday gifts have to be game consoles, premium smartphones, or professional camera equipment. To help you find a great stocking stuffer (a gift apéritif, if you will) for under $25, we’re discounting some of our favorite items from the Boing Boing Store by 15% with coupon code GIFTSHOP15:IllumiBowl 2.0All joking aside, this motion-activated toilet nightlight is the perfect gift for anyone who likes to drink a big glass of water before bed. Installation is easy — just clip it to the side of your bowl, and choose between one of nine luminous colors, or set it to cycle through all of them. We usually have the IllimuBowl 2.0 for $12.99, but you can save an extra 15% off with code GIFTSHOP15.XXL Shower Speaker (Green)The XXL Shower Speaker is the best way to give your morning routine a backing track without subjecting your phone to irreparable water damage. It sticks to any smooth surface, and gets up to a month of battery life on a single charge. Get it for 15% off the normal $20 price when you use GIFTSHOP15 at checkout.Loot Crate Mystery Bundle: 5-6 ItemsLoot Crate’s subscription boxes come filled to the brim with geeky artifacts every month, and you can do a trial run with a single mystery box. They usually feature 5-6 items including t-shirts, books, and figures, but you won’t know for sure until it comes! Use code GIFTSHOP15 to take 15% off this $17 bundle.FRESHeBUDS Pro Magnetic Bluetooth EarbudsYou can finally retire your sweat-encrusted workout headphones with these FRESHeBUDS Bluetooth earbuds. They turn themselves off when their magnets snap together, and pair automatically with your device when you pull them apart. Normally $24, save an additional 15% when you enter coupon code GIFTSHOP15.UltraBright 500-Lumen Tactical Military Flashlight: 2-PackIt’s always a good idea to have an emergency flashlight around the house, and these Tactical Military Flashlights are more than capable. Rated at 500 lumens, they let you see up to a mile ahead when focused, or light up your immediate surroundings. Two of these durable aluminum torches typically cost $12.99 in our store, but code GIFTSHOP15 will save you an extra 15%.Scientific Magnetic Space PuttyThis Silly Putty successor is filled with iron shavings, so it reacts to any strong nearby magnetic force. Watch it devour small magnets, stick to the fridge, and bounce off the walls whenever you need a break. Grab a tin of Scientific Magnetic Space Putty for 15% off it’s $9.99 price with code GIFTSHOP15.Universal 3-in-1 Lens Kit for Smartphones & TabletsGet creative with your smartphone’s photos with a Universal 3-in-1 Lens Kit. It clips on to any mobile device to provide a sturdy mounting point for the included fisheye, wide angle, and macro lenses. Save a few dollars off our standard $11.99 price when you enter code GIFTSHOP15 at checkout.Endoscopic Android CameraIt’s easy to get a view inside tight spaces with this Endoscopic Android Camera. It’s got a flexible, waterproof 1 meter cable length, and it works with any desktop computer over USB just as well as your Android device. Normally $18.99, you can get 15% off with code GIFTSHOP15.8x Dual Focus Monocular LensSpy on your neighbors, go birdwatching, or get a better view from the nosebleeds with this 8x Dual Focus Monocular Lens. It fits easily in your pocket, and the eyepiece is rubberized, so you can use it with your glasses. Save 15% on this $8 Monocular when you enter GiFTSHOP15.Universal Waterproof Solar ChargerA portable battery pack is a must-have when you’re far away from any source of alternating current, and this Universal Charger is waterproof, shock-proof, and rechargeable from the sun’s rays. It’s compatible with almost any USB-powered device, and can charge 2 of them at once. It usually costs $13.99, but it can be yours for 15% less with code GIFTSHOP15.

Game designer Chad Walker is crowdfunding his latest game: SIGMATA: This Signal Kills Fascists, shooting for USD10,000 in pre-orders to produce "a cyberpunk tabletop role-playing game about ethical insurgency against a fascist regime, taking place in a dystopian vision of 1980's America." (more…)

Want to climb a tree with ease? Put on these "Ninja Hand Claws" (shuko) and "Ninja Foot Spikes" and go to town (see video). Of course, you first need to be in shape. Also, f*ck that tree. (reddit)

The Data Security and Breach Notification Act (S2179) was introduced by three Senate Commerce Committee Democrats, Bill Nelson [D-FL], Richard Blumenthal [D-CT] and Tammy Baldwin [D-WI] in the wake of the revelation that Uber hid a breach involving 50,000,000 riders and 7,000,000 drivers for over a year after paying hush-money to the criminals who stole the data. (more…)

You may have heard that Mount Agung, an active volcano in the Indonesian island of Bali, started erupting Saturday. It just so happens that my friend Kyle Kesterson is currently traveling there. He's staying in Ubud, about two hours away from the volcano.On Wednesday, he shared his experience of getting to and witnessing the eruption, alongside some really stunning photos:While I appreciate the concern for my safety as messages have been pouring in about Mt Agung’s current eruptions the last few days, FEAR is the common underlying theme.Those who know me, know that even the slightest whiff of fear must be faced head on and transformed into excitement. So at 2am, my fearless friend Valeria and I found a bold and curious taxi driver to drive us 2.5hrs in the direction of Mt. Agun, cameras in hand. As we pulled up around 4:30am, we saw the glow from the magma lighting up the slow billowing ash entering the atmosphere. Underneath it, our entire horizon was made up of the ghostly shape of this restless, commanding, all powerful giant. We sat, stunned in the deepest sense of awe, underneath the clearest Milky Way and longest shooting stars I’ve ever witnessed.Instantly, I was small. Weak. Absolutely nothing against the formidable nature of nature. Nothing, but a spectator and participant in this collision of living energy.Fear would have kept me tucked warmly in my sheets with the illusion that I was safe to begin with. But stepping through it, with complete reverence and heightened to the situation and ready to act, I am forever changed and more alive.Later, he wrote,Up until now, the news has been overly sensationalized with how they are reporting on Mt Agung’s activity. Life right at the base of the volcano was calm, people carrying on with their daily duties. No panic. No hysteria. It was surprisingly calm. However as of yesterday, rocks and debris have started to fall from the sky in the surrounding villages, starting to make the threat very real. Now people are starting to truly be displaced. There are a couple effective organizations helping with this process. Please join me in sharing a few dollars to help these people.photos by Kyle Kesterson, used with permissionPreviously: Artist Kyle Kesterson draws the faces he sees in things

After dodging security, photographer Nina Richard quietly hung Lorde's well-reviewed, sophomore album Melodrama onto the walls of Le Musée du Louvre in Paris, France. Presenting her photographic evidence, she tweeted: https://twitter.com/NinaRichard_/status/934885527630868481Why the Louvre?According to Slate, the act of displaying the album in the museum is a way of bringing the lyrics of its fourth track, "The Louvre," to life:But we're the greatest, they'll hang us in the LouvreDown the back, but who cares, still the LouvreMelodrama was recently nominated for a 2018 Grammy Award. (Slate)

Everett Ruess and Barbara Newhall Follett were born in March 1914 at opposite ends of the U.S. Both followed distinctly unusual lives as they pursued a love of writing. And both disappeared in their 20s, leaving no trace of their whereabouts. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the brief lives of two promising young authors and the mystery that lingers behind them.We'll also patrol 10 Downing Street and puzzle over when a pigeon isn't a pigeon.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon!

In most examples of sci-fi horror, a desperate human protagonist must evade, hunt and vanquish the unspeakable alien creature. But what if you were a horrific amorphous nightmare blob, crawling around the red-cast darkness of a failing space colony in search of prey to devour?This is the premise of Sebastian Krośkiewicz's "Carrion", and it looks amazing. Part John Carpenter's Katamari Damacy, part Shoggoth simulator, all gore, the prototype animations depict a claustrophobic industrial scenario with our hero sliming and slorping around its terrified human victims.https://twitter.com/gynecomaster/status/936431441545777152https://twitter.com/gynecomaster/status/936431441545777152https://twitter.com/gynecomaster/status/934220512536023041https://twitter.com/gynecomaster/status/931748776699625472It's early days, by the looks of it; Krośkiewicz's BUTCHER, a more traditional bug hunt, is already on offer for $10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXntoTverSg&feature=youtu.beYouTube stars Alissa Violet and Ricky “FaZe” Banks were ejected Saturday night from a Cleveland pub. FaZe ranted on his stream. Violet, selfying her way to hospital, sported a fat lip. The couple immediately went on an online offensive, identifying the Barley House and claiming to have been innocent victims of its bouncers. What happened next is all too predictable: their army of millions of social media fans formed an "unrelenting internet harassment campaign," issuing insults, death threats, some even driving hours to intimidate staff in person.Violet’s fans view her not as just a celebrity but one of their closest friends. She posts daily videos about her life in Los Angeles, photos of recent modeling shoots, jokes, and personal stories on Twitter and Snapchat. She tends to her legion by faving tweets, shouting out fans, and making her followers feel like they’re intimately involved in every detail of her life.Her online army dedicates an enormous amount of time to watching her videos, commenting on her posts, and setting up stan accounts in her likeness. When they saw someone had hurt her on Saturday night, that fanbase didn’t ask questions.But the Barley House has the receipts, and, it turns out, the gumption to post them in public: security footage recorded that night that shows the pair instigated all the trouble, were ejected without harm, then got into a fight outside with other patrons. Banks even appears to throw a glass into the crowd.After a crazy few days of cyber bullying including death threats to our employees, our website being hacked, our social media channels forced to be privatized, and false online review efforts to punish our reputation, we finally get the opportunity to put the facts together of what really happened and clear our name of Ricky Banks' and Alissa Violet's accusations towards Barley House.It seems almost a caricature of the narcissistic, talentless YouTube star — the sort of inexplicable fame that turns everyone over the age of 18 into an out-of-touch curmudgeon.But what's interesting is that hardly anyone over the age of 18 even knows about these people. Neither the media nor mainstream America is watching the massive, invisible personality cults of YouTube form. It's inconceivable to us that children (let alone ourselves) would watch losers like Violet and Banks jabber on, every available hour they have.The rambling vanity of YouTube's angry alt-right nerds gives us a mistaken impression of the medium's power, especially given the obvious danger of their IRL brethren on the far right. But if this is what a pair of bullshitting numpties like Banks and Violet can summon, imagine what a person with genuine charisma and drive could do. Soon, a YouTuber is going to take an audience of millions places.

A man in China was fined $125 after painting his own road signs to expedite his daily commute.The Modern Express reports that a 28-year-old man surnamed Cai, was fined 1,000 yuan (£112; $151) in the eastern city of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. He was captured on camera on 27 September with a can of white paint painting new arrows onto the road to redirect traffic, and told police it was the result of frustrations over the long delays on his daily bus journey to work."I saw that the straight lane was always packed with cars, while the lane that turns left has a lot of space," he told the police."I thought changing the signs would make my commute smoother."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH0hHZA0U5cWorking from a traditional score by Ron Grainer, Delia Derbyshire created one of television and electronica's most distinctive works of music: the theme tune to Doctor Who. For her pioneering work with synthesizers, often in crudely sexist and exclusionary workspaces, she is being posthumously awarded a degree by Coventry University.Due to BBC policies at the time, Grainer – unwillingly – is still officially credited as the sole writer.Derbyshire stayed at the workshop for 10 years, recording sound for Inventions for Radio and Cyprian Queen – all in the days before modern synthesisers and machines. She was later approached by Paul McCartney to work on a backing track for the Beatles hit Yesterday.But despite her talent and credit from her peers, Delia failed to gain widespread recognition during her lifetime, eventually becoming disillusioned with the industry and finding work as a radio operator in Cumbria.Photo: BBC

Even when your audience is small enough to fit inside a conference room, presentations can be absolutely nerve-wracking. If you get physically nauseous at the sight of a podium, check out this public speaking course in the Boing Boing Store.With this 16-hour workshop, you’ll discover a wealth of strategies to build engaging speeches and exude confidence. Aside from refining your body language and delivery, you’ll learn how to appropriately tailor your talks and identify with everyone who’s watching. It includes several exercises that you can practice ahead of time to focus your brain, as well as some handy PowerPoint slide templates.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jgUYx3drA64Whether you’re a nervous lecturer, or just have a job that involves frequent client pitch meetings, the Complete Presentation and Public Speaking Course will help you feel more comfortable. You can get lifetime access to this professional training for $15 from the Boing Boing Store.

We've done our share of tiny-face politicians, so why not tiny-face kittehs? (more…)

Martin Molin traveled to Speelklok Museum in Utrecht for a demonstration of the Gavioli Dance Organ, part of his wonderful series on old-timey mechanical instruments. (more…)

Pan Pan is a panda who was rescued from starvation in the wild when he was a cub, in 1986. Since then, he has gone on to father 120 of the 520 pandas alive in captivity. (more…)

The first time I interacted with the US medical system was when I was a student at Michigan State University with a comprehensive travel insurance package my bank sold me before I left Canada: the cafeteria food gave me my first case of acid reflux and after it had persisted for several days, I went to the walk-in clinic on campus. (more…)

Chris Vickery from Upguard found an Army Amazon Web Services instance with no password or encryption, containing 100GB of data on a defunct NSA program called Red Disk. (more…)

News came out this morning that NBC has fired Matt Lauer over "inappropriate sexual behavior." NBC News chairman Andrew Lack says, "While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”You can bet it's not an isolated event. Here is a video from 2012 that shows Katie Couric telling Andy Cohen that Lauer's most annoying habit is that he "pinches me on the ass a lot." Image: Joella Marano

"Light Up Someone's Holiday" is Improv Everywhere's latest mission and it's a heartwarming one. ...We created a custom-built set that allowed random New Yorkers to instantly deliver a card and light up someone’s holiday. Participants were surprised as Christmas lights lit up the plaza and their message was displayed on a 30-foot wide screen above.This project is a collaboration with Hallmark, who provided us with an assortment of Hallmark Signature Cards for the project.See how they pulled off this stunt on their blog.

British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned President Trump Wednesday over his sharing of Islamophobic videos posted by a UK fascist group's deputy leader.“It is wrong for the president to have done this,” the spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said.“Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law-abiding people.”Reuters was unable to immediately verify the videos and Fransen herself said they had come from various online sources which had been posted on her social media pages.But May did not rescind her invitation of a state visit, despite demands to do so from MPs angry at Trump's publicizing of the Britain First group and his erratic behavior.Britain, facing a £50bn "Brexit bill", is reportedly desperate to secure a new U.S. trade agreement with Trump to help make up for the impending loss of access to European markets.Photo: Reuters.

NBC fired Matt Lauer after learning Monday of The Today Show presenter's "inappropriate sexual behavior".Co-host Savannah Guthrie announced the firing on-air, flanked by Hoda Kotb. A statement, attributed to NBC News chairman Andrew Lack, described a "a detailed complaint" that "represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company’s standards. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment.""While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he’s been at NBC News," Lack continued, "we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”A New York Times exposé of The Today Show presenter is also expected imminently; questions related to it may have informed the decision to fire Lauer without delay. "We just learned this moment ago, this morning," said Guthrie. "As I'm sure you can imagine, we are devastated. ... We do not know more than what we shared with you. ... I'm heartbroken for Matt. He is my dear, dear friend and my partner and he is loved by many people here. And I'm heartbroken for my brave colleague who came forward to tell her story."Photo: David Shankbone

Facebook is planning to request a "clear photo of your face" on pain of lockout, reports Wired's Nitasha Tiku. It wants you to prove you are a real engagement node, not a bot.In a statement to WIRED, a Facebook spokesperson said the photo test is intended to “help us catch suspicious activity at various points of interaction on the site, including creating an account, sending Friend requests, setting up ads payments, and creating or editing ads.”The process is automated, including identifying suspicious activity and checking the photo. To determine if the account is authentic, Facebook looks at whether the photo is unique. The Facebook spokesperson said the photo test is one of several methods, both automated and manual, used to detect suspicious activity.Soon, Windows 95 Tips will be reality:

Dan from the Journal of Ride Theory sez, "This is great. Conducting an interview while this cartoonishly expressive, hyperrealistic Lincoln silently pulls cray-cray Jim Carrey faces is simultaneously one of the coolest, unintentionally funniest and creepiest things ever. Also, all his movements have that weird swoop-to-new-pose weirdness of bad CGI. Swoop-hold, swoop-hold, swoop-hold."

A group of investors led by Softbank have put in a bid to buy $6B worth of Uber stock -- at a valuation of $48B, 30% lower than the company's valuation at its last finance round, which was followed by string of ghastly scandals including the removal of its founder, Travis Kalanick, from the CEO's office. The company has 20 days to respond.

Remember that guy with the Jerry Orbach tribute car? Well, this is his 2017 holiday card design. For the past few years, artist Brandon Bird has put sets of "T-mas" cards for sale in his online store. All the cards feature eighties icon Mr. T in a variety of holiday scenes. This year's card is called Precious Snowflake, as it imagines the gold-chained, mohawked A-Team star's as a paper snowflake design.Bird shares the "T-mas" origin story:The T-mas card tradition began with "Peace" in 2006 and "Believe" in 2008, and since 2011 I've tasked myself with creating a new design every year... But the tradition of T-mas itself goes back further, to my sister, who decided we needed a holiday to celebrate America's only true folk hero. T-mas activities include the writing of Pity Lists, the construction of wooden "fools" from sticks which are tossed onto an open fire, and of course a hearty meal including lots of nutritious vegetables and milk. Though usually held in winter, T-mas can be celebrated any day. But remember, if you disrespect anyone's mother, T-mas is cancelled and you have to wait another year!(I pity the fool who disrespects anyone's mother.)Here's a look at some of his past year's T-mas card designs (most are still available for purchase):Ginger T, art by Dyna MoeWinter Wonderland, a collaboration with Erin PearcePeace on Earth (the original T-mas card)A Hero Rides ForthSee the rest at Bird's online shop.Merry T-mas, y'all!

Expandable NecklaceDirector David Lynch is an avid meditator. His twice daily Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice spans over 40 years. In fact, he's such a fan of TM that he started a foundation in 2005 to "ensure that every child anywhere in the world who wanted to learn to meditate could do so."He writes: It has given me effortless access to unlimited reserves of energy, creativity and happiness deep within. This level of life is sometimes called “pure consciousness”—it is a treasury. And this level of life is deep within us all.But I had no idea how powerful and profound this technique could be until I saw firsthand how it was being practiced by young children in inner-city schools, veterans who suffer the living hell of post-traumatic stress disorder and women and girls who are victims of terrible violence.The David Lynch Foundation now serves both children and adults around the world, teaching them the healing power of meditation. Through the end of the year, 20% of the proceeds from his line of "Meditating Eye" jewelry goes to the foundation to help them with their mission. The entire gold and silver tone collection is available at online retailer ALEX AND ANI.Charm bangleMen's cuff

Cody from Cody's Lab had 640 pounds of liquid mercury lying around, so he devised an experiment to see if he could stand on it. (more…)

The best way to learn anything is by imitating the masters, and the same goes for game development. To help you dive into Unity 3D and get your hands dirty right away, we’re offering the Unity A to Z Game Development Bundle in the Boing Boing Store.This collection features 7 complete courses, each one with a different self-contained game project. With over 80 hours of content, you’ll be more than ready to start creating your masterpiece after you finish these in-depth studies. Here’s what you’ll cover:Build and Model a Super Mario Run Clone in Unity3DMake a 2D Endless Flyer Game in Unity: Code in C# & Make ArtMake an Angry Birds Clone in Unity: Complete 2D Puzzle GameLearn to Code by Making an Air Hockey Game in UnityMake a Portals Clone in Unity 3D and Blender From ScratchBuild The Legend of Zelda Clone in Unity3D and BlenderMake a Ninja Survival Game for Mobile in Unity and BlenderWhen you order from the Boing Boing Store, you can get all these courses for $49. Plus, you can save an additional 70% when you use the coupon code, CYBER70, at checkout.

I was honoured to be invited to address the University of Waterloo on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Cheriton School of Computer Science; my father is a proud Waterloo grad (and I'm a proud Waterloo dropout!), and so this is indeed a very special opportunity for me. (more…)

EFF's long, hard-fought campaign at the World Wide Web Consortium over its plan to standardize a universal DRM for the web was always a longshot, but we got farther than anyone dared hope before we lost the web to corporate interests and cynical indifference in September. (more…)

Australia is one of the world leaders in internet adoption and usage, and it's also been one of the worst offenders in bad internet policy, with a track record to rival even America's reckless indifference to the internet's overall importance. (more…)

Remember the story about the two NYPD narcotics detectives -- Eddie Martins and Richard Hall -- who said a teen girl they handcuffed and put into an unmarked van "consented" to have sex with them? Her lawyer said that when she went to the hospital, nine NYPD officers went into her room and tried to intimidate her into not pressing rape charges against the officers.From Huffington Post:“Nine cops came initially from the 60th Precinct and then another four or five from another precinct,” [lawyer Micheal] David said. “They were basically trying to intimidate [victim Anna Chambers (a pseudonym)] and her mother ... to get them to say it wasn’t cops.”David said he only learned of the alleged intimidation attempt earlier this month during a meeting with Chambers’ mother. She mentioned that cops had “bullied” them at the hospital on the night of the assault, he said.According to David, the group of officers interrogated Chambers and her mother after the hospital had filed a report about the rape allegation with the police. One cop spoke to Chambers’ mother in Russian, her native language, and allegedly told her that Chambers often filed complaints against police. But David said his client had “never” filed a complaint ― until that day.When the victim and her mother refused to back down, Detective Martins and Detective Hall decided to slut shame and victim blame the girl. From the Kansas City Star:Martins and Hall allegedly tried to attack the woman’s credibility by pointing out her raunchy social media posts and a $50 million claim against the city. The letter, obtained by The NY Post, also mentioned that the accuser had “rebranded herself as a wannabe rapper named ‘Fi5ty Milli,’ an obvious reference to her lawsuit.”Martins and Hall have pleaded not guilty of rape. It's not illegal for NYPD police officers to have sex with people in their custody.

In 1973, the US government helped the brutal dictator Augusto Pinochet overthrow Salvador Allende, Chile's democratically elected socialist president, and then leading libertarians like Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek flew to Santiago where they helped Pinochet with his program of mass extermination, torture and terror, including 2,279 known executions, 27,255 verified torture victims, and 200,000 known exiles, with countless more uncounted and uncountable. (more…)

An investigation by the (generally terrible) Daily Mail claims that the Russell Group, which includes top UK universities like Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, the LSE, and 20 other universities, hired "wealth screening firms" that illegally spied on students, grads and their families and friends to determine who to ask for money, and how much to ask for. (more…)

Evolution missed its chance Saturday at ridding the round planet of a “self-taught” rocket scientist bent on proving the earth is flat by launching off in his homemade rocket. “Mad” Mike Hughes claims the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) told him he wouldn’t be able to conduct his launch at his preferred location in Amboy, Calif. There also was of course some technical difficulties with his motorhome rocket launcher. The 61 year old plans on continuing his launch sometime next week. It’s incredibly stupid if Hughes' plans to go through with his mission and this isn’t just a minor publicity stunt being picked up by major news outlets, but still, I commend you “Mad” Mike Hughes for being so blinded by your ignorance that you're willing to risk your life (and possibly others) to set the heavily proven scientific record straight. The BLM should step out of Hughes’ way and let this odd maniac prove once and for all if the earth really is round, spherical, flat or just a pyramid functioning as a grain silo. Either way Hughes' expedition will guide us toward the truth or at the very least prevent the gene pool from becoming further contaminated should there be more mechanical issues mid flight. Via the Desert Sun: Not having the required federal permits plus mechanical problems with his "motorhome/rocket launcher" have forced self-taught rocket scientist "Mad" Mike Hughes to put his experiment on hold.The United States Bureau of Land Management "told me they would not allow me to do the event ... at least not at that location," Hughes said in a YouTube announcement, amid international attention over his plans to launch into the 'atmosflat.' "It's been very disappointing," he said.https://youtu.be/IWapLcMh6kwImage: Blanko