US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, requested a $25,000-an-hour Air Force jet to take them on their honeymoon in Scotland, France and Italy earlier this summer. (more…)

Martin "Pharmadouche" Shkreli has been ordered to go to jail while awaiting sentencing for securities fraud, because he offered a $5,000 bounty for a single strand of Hillary Clinton’s hair.Via Reuters:U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn said the Sept. 4 post, which prompted a call from the U.S. Secret Service, showed Shkreli posed a danger to the public that warranted revoking his $5 million bail. U.S. prosecutors had moved to jail Shkreli last Thursday.

Cloudflare's joint research with "a large e-commerce site" and Mozilla found that between 4-10% of secure, encrypted web connections are "intercepted," largely by corporate antivirus software that inserts its own certificates into users' browsers, allowing it to scan all traffic entering workers' computers. (more…)

Our friends at Dangerous Minds write about on Steven Rhodes, a graphic designer from Brisbane, Australia. He is “the excellent individual responsible for the hysterical retro-style t-shirts in this post.” Loosely based on the popular series of exploitive riffs on Little Golden Activity Books that have made the rounds on the Internet, Rhodes has taken things one step beyond with his shirt designs by making up alternate scenarios involving young tykes experiencing their first knife fight or ritualistic cult sacrifice. Excellent.[Dangerous Minds via christiannightmares.tumblr.com

Mumsnet bills itself as "the UK's most popular parenting website," and it makes substantial revenues from the ads that run alongside the sprawling, vigorous discussions among the eponymous mums (and the occasional dad). (more…)

The $45.28 Learning Resources Anatomy Models Bundle Set is a well-reviewed set of anatomical models: a 5" heart, a 3.75" brain, a 4.5" body and a 9.2" skeleton, all of which disassemble into anatomically correct sub-components that you assemble into the finished pieces. (via Fun Finds)

From the Skyglow Project:Located in the High Plains of Alliance, Nebraska, this monument to England’s Stonehenge was conceived and created by Jim Reinders in 1987, as a memorial to his father. “Carhenge consists of 39 vintage American automobiles arranged in a circle measuring about 29 meters (95 ft) in diameter. Some are held upright in pits 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) deep, trunk end down, and arches have been formed by welding automobiles atop the supporting models.” More info: carhenge.comBecause of Carhenge's fortuitous positioning on the narrow "path of totality" of the 2017 eclipse, the site has seen an incredible explosion of media attention in recent days, with thousands flocking there to witness the event, including Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts and Carhenge creator Jim Reinders himself, now 89 years old.The STORMHENGE footage was captured during four different shoots between 2015-2017 by Harun Mehmedinovic and Gavin Heffernan as part of SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM, their ongoing quest to raise awareness about the damage and dangers of light pollution.The video gives a glimpse into the extreme weather volatility in the High Plains region, with extreme thunderstorms giving way to crystal clear skies overhead, seemingly at a moment’s notice.(via Daily Grail)

Handicorn is an $8 unicorn puppet with a difference: you mount the unicorn's dismembered head and legs onto individual fingers, then clop around to your heart's content unfettered by the swaddling confinement of a traditional glove.EXCUSE ME SIR, I MUST TELL YOU YOUR HAND IS MAJESTIC Your hand is fine, but it lacks a certain... magic. You need Handicorn! This set of five soft vinyl finger puppets (four hooves and a unicorn head) takes your humdrum human hand and terrifically transforms it into a unicorn! The hooves are 2" (5.1 cm), head is 2-1/2" (6.4 cm). Your hand is going to look majestic posed on a rainbow!

Parker Paul posted this video, in which the term "quadcopter" refers both to the drone (piloted by Alban Roinard) and the simple but effective mirror symmetry applied to the footage. The music is Zorch, by Oroboros.

Boing Boing got an email from a guy who created a smartphone app called the Bad Driver Database. The idea is to enter car license plate numbers of drivers that are doing something wrong. This is problematic, because the app doesn't verify that the driver did something wrong. It simply adds the license plate number to its database for "the world to see."Here's another problem - how does this app help drivers avoid the "bad drivers" on the database? I can't think of way that it could.Worst of all, the app makes people who are on the database pay money to the developer get their license plate number removed from the database. Does that seem like blackmail to you?How much longer will this app be available in the iTunes Store? Not very long, I'd wager.Are you like most of us who are sick of encountering fellow drivers with no courtesy on the road? You are not alone. Lucky enough, I have an app for that! Bad Driver Database encourages drivers to translate their road rage to something more relevant where their voices are heard. They add these drivers to the app for the world to see and watch out for.My name is Mitch Jansen, creator of Bad Driver Database, and an engineering graduate of the University of Iowa with a passion for tech startups. Since December 2016, this app has 2,200 app store downloads. The goal of the company is to create easy-to-use products that fill the needs people might not even realize exist.Your website is an excellent platform to have this app featured and get the news out there that there's a community to share your displeasure about nasty drivers on the lose. I asked Mr. Jansen what the purpose of charging 99 cents to reset the counter is. I'll let you know what he says.

The Borough Council of Chesterfield, a charming town in Derbyshire, England, commemorated the the 20th anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales, with this splendid display outside Market Hall.

"Jeff is a renaissance man, drilling down to the core issues and pushing the envelope." That's just one of the funny real-life examples of cliched and otherwise awful writing that cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shared in this entertaining presentation on poor language usage and how it affects the way we think (or cease to think).

In California, recreational marijuana is now legal, but a new law just made it illegal to deliver it, unless there is a human involved. In other words, weed cannot be transported with "unmanned vehicles," including drones, self-driving cars, or any kind of autonomous robot. According to The Daily Dot:The California Bureau of Cannabis Control has released the Commercial Cannabis Business Licensing Program Regulations, outlining various emergency regulations on selling marijuana in the state. That means businesses have to abide by the state’s rules if they want to hold a commercial cannabis business license. And one such rule is an outright ban on autonomous marijuana deliveries, forcing companies to use manned vehicles to reach customers.“Cannabis goods will be required to be transported inside commercial vehicles or trailers,” the bureau states. “Transportation may not be done by aircraft, watercraft, rail, drones, human powered vehicles, or unmanned vehicles.”Other new regulations include: •Drivers may not be stoned while delivering•Marijuana may not be visible to the public en route•Deliveries must be made in an enclosed vehicle (so no bikes or skateboards, people)•Weed is "not to be left in an unattended motor vehicle unless the vehicle has an active alarm system."Looking on the bright side, this is one job robots won't be taking over anytime soon.Image: Lipsonr1

https://youtu.be/aj3Hyxxo_LkJoshua Browder (previously) is the delightful teen computer science student who created a the Donotpay to fight parking tickets that saved millions for its users, then repurposed it to help homeless people apply for benefits. (more…)

The Force is apparently strong with JJ Abrams. Less than a week after Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow, um, parted ways, Abrams is returning to the Star Wars universe to finish the trilogy he started. He'll co-write, with Chris Terrio, and direct Star Wars: Episode IX, due out in December 2019. “With The Force Awakens, J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy,” Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said in a press release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=Az-l90RCns8Security research firm Armis has disclosed eight new Bluetooth vulnerabilities it collectively calls "Blueborne" that take less than 10 seconds to penetrate and take over device with Bluetooth switched on, without the user having to connect to a compromised device or take any other action. (more…)

FOLLOW @RubenBolling on the Twitters and a Face Book.JOIN Tom the Dancing Bug's subscription club, the Proud & Mighty INNER HIVE, for exclusive early access to comics, extra comics, and much more. GET Ruben Bolling’s new hit book series for kids, The EMU Club Adventures. (”Filled with wild twists and funny dialogue” -Publishers Weekly) Book One here. Book Two here. More Tom the Dancing Bug comics on Boing Boing! (more…)

Canine-loving fans of the 1998 stoner cult flim The Big Lebowski can rejoice.Pendleton, the creator of the original Westerley cardigan worn by the Dude, has created dog-sized versions of the movie's iconic acrylic sweater.The Westerley Dog Sweater is available for dogs size 3 lb to 40 lb in the $49 to $59 range.Thanks, Gary Peare!

I am mighty pleased with Gasolina's beautifully made leather motorcycle boots. I've had mine for 3 years.A lot of beautiful leatherwork comes from Leon, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. I was looking for a new pair of motorcycle boots, most of my gear is quite old, and Gasolina caught my eye. Their beautiful styles are built to be rugged and withstand the terrors of a fall.Picking a style was rough, but Gasolina's cafe racer inspired "Ton Up" model seemed perfect for me. Cafe style for a guy stuck on 70s bikes seemed a perfect choice. I also like the deep rubberized tread and Goodyear welt. I had the soles on my last set of boots replaced several times.Measuring is a bit of work. Gasolina makes shoes the old way and they'd like lots of info in picking the right patterns, forms and "lasts" to get you a great fit.After three years and around 12k miles of riding the left boot is showing some wear, where the shifter on my airhead rubs it. The toe protector pad is not placed in the right spot for my posture and riding geometry, but only I notice. There is no other wear evident. I certainly feel great about the $269 price tag.When it comes to rating this for motorcycle wear I'd say they meet my risk model for street and highway riding. The sole does bend or twist when I try. The toe cup is strong but not steel. These are fashionable street-able boots, not for track use. I treat these boots with Bickmore Bick 5 every 6 months or so.

Russian politician Vyacheslav Nikonov says U.S. “intelligence missed it when Russian intelligence stole the president of the United States.” (more…)

Billionaire Richard Branson has posted images on Twitter that show post-Irma damage to his island, Necker, as well as other surrounding islands. He's working on getting aid to the British Virgin Islands, which were wiped out by Irma. (more…)

In Montreal, Quebec, Gérald Collard and the Atelier Neon Family create intricate works of neon. Here's how they make that magical glow. (via Uncrate)

A 17-year-old Australian fashion designer is sending corpses into the afterlife with an environmentally-conscience wardrobe designed just for the dead. Pia Interlandi works with clients who are close to death to design personal shrouds and coverings, according to an interview with the Australian news service ABC News. The clothing is made out of cottons and linens, which decompose naturally or don’t pollute as much as other materials during cremation. Her work is based on the idea that clothing people wear while they’re alive shouldn’t be the same as when they’re dead. https://youtu.be/gDM3ACHuckQ

African wild dogs seem to be exercising more political freedom than most of the continent’s countries — all with the democratic power of a sneeze. A study published Wednesday in The Royal Society Publishing suggests the dogs vote with a sneeze to establish when to hunt. While analyzing five dog packs in Botswana, researchers determined higher-ranking dogs who introduced a vote required less sneezes than votes initiated by plebeian pooches. Still, the voting may not be as free and fair as these “democracy” loving dogs would hope. Via NPR:Unlike our own voting — in its ideal form, at least — each dog is not limited to one vote. "And the scientists don't know if it is voluntary or something that just happens, like a sneeze. So they can't say it's a true vote."Still, it demonstrates a pack of wild dogs — which operates an "otherwise despotically driven social system," researchers say — has at least a strain of democracy in its processes. While the dominant members may hold considerable authority, the study shows that authority is not absolute: Their underlings have a say in certain decisions, sometimes even determining them if they can cobble enough sneezes between them.

Last week's solution to the ages-old mystery of the Voynich Manuscript was offered in the Times Literary Supplement by TV history researcher Nicholas Gibbs, who claimed that his unique background in several fields meant that he could pierce the mystery where so many others had failed. (more…)

Last night during the Miss America pageant, Miss Texas' Margana Wood was asked whether she agreed with Trump that there were "very fine people on both sides," referring to last month's demonstration of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and the KKK, along with counter-protestors, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her answer surprised many, as she spoke her mind against Trump..@MissAmericaTX is up next and she will be answering a question from @MrJessCagle. #MissAmerica pic.twitter.com/WbSBx3c5Ul— Cara Mund (@MissAmerica) September 11, 2017“I think that the white supremacist issue, it was very obvious, that it was a terrorist attack. And I think that President Donald Trump should’ve made a statement earlier addressing the fact, and in making sure all Americans feel safe in this country. That is the number one issue right now.” The audience broke out in cheers and applause before she was finished speaking.She did not win the pageant – Miss North Dakota Cara Mund came in first place. Via Huffington Post

JeffHK mounted a camera on a cargo ship, and 80,000 photos later he had a fascinating timelapse of what it's like to be at sea for 30 days. (more…)

Maker Barry Abrams has been oxidizing steel discs to make them look like Mars. It's a multistep undertaking that incldes a black screen printing process and yields a cool result. (more…)

YouTuber TheStradman wanted to unload his 2006 orange Lamborghini Gallardo, so for kicks he took it to CarMax, thinking they probably would not do a free appraisal. They took a surprising amount of time on the challenge and eventually made an offer. (more…)

POLYBIUS: The Video Game That Doesn't Exist is an hourlong exploration of the ultimate arcade urban legend: play it, and it'll drive you insane. The documentary was made by Stuart "Ahoy" Brown, who has mastered a sternly British documentarian voice and applies it mercilessly to the subject of games. [via]Of the various efforts to implement the legend, Jeff Minter's is surely the best, though I love the more accurate (albeit rasterized) period stylings of this vectorbeam mockup:Previously: Gaming urban legends; Nomen Ludi

The Alphasmart ($30 on Amazon, but also ebay) is a low-end gadget much-loved by writers for its simplicity and enforced focus on the task at hand: writing. But among the many limitations is its cheap rubber-dome keyboard, the stuff of nightmares for serious typists. Enter Lazy Dog on the geekhack forums, who replaced his with a proper clicky 'board, all hacked into the original case. I designed the PCB in KiCAD. This was my first time using KiCAD or any EDA software. I found it surprisingly straightforward and accessible, but also like most open-source software, possibly designed for use by aliens. ... After carefully connecting the flex cables, screwing it all together, and placing the keycaps, I finally had a fully working machine! It produces predictably loud tock tock tock noises, and is an enormous improvement over the previous keys.What a beautiful monster.

The textures in this series of letterpress mockups by Hydro74 (aka Joshua Smith) are almost tangible. (more…)

Developer Operations engineers are absolutely essential for continuously deploying large web services. Beyond working closely with developers to push new code into service, they’re responsible for maintaining existing systems, and are the first on the line when things go wrong. You can learn the fundamentals of this fairly-new—and tremendously important—discipline in the Complete DevOps & Deployment Technologies Bundle.Here’s what’s included in this collection:Vagrant Essentials: Discover how to automate the creation of development environments with Vagrant.Understanding Chef: Develop cloud application architecture using Chef.Git and GitHub Essentials: Understand the most essential tool for software development collaboration.Learn Ansible From Ground Up: Deploy IT infrastructure automatically with Ansible.Learn Continuous Integration with Jenkins: Explore the practices of continuous integration and learn to orchestrate app builds.Practical NGINX: Get familiar with NGINX, a lightweight, high-performance HTTP server used by Github and Netflix.Docker for Professionals: Manage the containerization of your app’s separate components using Docker.The Complete DevOps & Deployment Technologies Bundle is available here for 86% off the usual price — just $39.

Nicholas Gibbs, a history researcher, says that he has decoded the Voynich Manuscript, a legendarily mysterious 15th century text whose curious illustrations and script have baffled cryptographers, historians, and amateur sleuths for decades. (more…)

If you buy a house in Australia -- where housing prices are out of control, even by global standards -- you can wait a couple months for the house's book value to go up, and then borrow against that "unrealised capital gain" to buy another house...and then you can do it again. (more…)

Before Equifax doxed 143 million Americans (but after it had suffered repeated smaller breaches that should have alerted the company to deficiencies in its security), it directed its lobbying body, the Consumer Data Industry Association, to pressure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to exempt credit-reporting bureaux from a soon-to-begin rule banning binding arbitration clauses in user agreements. (more…)

If Dracula needed a place to keep 60 twelve-oz.cans cool, this is probably what he'd use: an inflatable coffin float by holiday brand Beistle. Unfortunately it's not for using as a pool floatie. It's just for storing "buffet" items.Still, it would make a great goth-y addition to a Halloween party. Available for $17.89 on Amazon.(Dangerous Minds)

UT Austin sociologist Sarah Brayne spent 2.5 years conducting field research with the LAPD as they rolled out Predpol, a software tool that is supposed to direct police to places where crime is likely to occur, but which has been shown to send cops out to overpolice brown and poor people at the expense of actual crimefighting. (more…)

Lagrangeville, New York police found seven live sharks and three dead ones in a basement pool inside a home. The sandbar, leopard, and hammerhead sharks were between two and four feet long. According to the Associated Press, "marine wildlife experts took blood samples and measured and tagged the sharks before transferring them to the Long Island Aquarium in a truck equipped with water tanks, oxygen and climate control."An investigation is underway. Sounds to me like a low-budget supervillain's lair.

A windy day gives this trampoline the opportunity to escape from the mean primates who regularly stamp on it. My trampoline people need me!

https://youtu.be/ajFmgmUSYAc"This Sunday, Bannon’s making his first post-White House TV appearance right here on CBS," says Stephen Colbert, "Surprisingly, it is not as a corpse on NCIS. How long was this guy floating in the harbor?'"

Michael Goodwin, author of an excellent cartoon history of economics has a new comic about the Republican health care plan, and why its not about helping sick people get affordable medical care but about making rich people richer so they will keep donating money to the GOP. It's humorously illustrated by Dan E. Burr.

These fish flip flops (sandals? slippers? shoes?) are equally as quirky as that Big Mouth Billy Bass toy from years ago, but much quieter and for your feet. I approve (though feel a bit gill-ty for loving them so).Each pair will run you about $20, depending on the vendor.(LADBible)

After an exhaustive and uninterrupted search extending over many years, I have finally determined the worst K-Cup coffee. Target's Market Pantry Premium Roast ($15.98 for 48 pods) is about as cheap as Amazon's popular 30-cent K-Cup, but is far worse. It tastes nearly as good as own-brand instant coffee from British supermarkets. It's flavorless yet vile, catching in the throat like air from a house inhabited by forty cats.Imagine, if you will, old espresso grounds resteeped in sweat and sweetened with flakes of seborrheic dermatitis. You have imagined something no less unpleasant than Market Pantry Premium Roast. But no snarky turn of phrase or revolting comparison can do it justice. The more you know (or think you know) about coffee—and the more you despise the entire concept of these machines—you owe it to yourself to experience just how bad the K-Cup experience can get, a place whereof one cannot speak, an invitation to the true friend that will never betray, a silence steeped in medium-roast horror.

The Juno probe is recording incredible image data of Jupiter. Not least are the new aurora studies that are shaking up what we know of the planet's extreme weather systems. But it's the sheer painterly beauty of the world, up-close, that is most breathtaking. And then there's actual paintings, too...

Ta-Nehisi Coates (previously) is in characteristically amazing form with his new essay in the Atlantic, "The First White President," in which he posits that Donald Trump is "the first president whose entire political existence hinges on the fact of a black president" -- the first president elected by appealing to white supremacy to the exclusion of everything else. (more…)

Houdini would be jealous of Toscha Sponsler. The Texas woman was sought by police for allegedly shoplifting. They cuffed her and put her in the back of a police car, but Ms. Sponsler was not ready to stop having fun. While police were out of the car, she slipped out of the cuffs, crawled to the front and drove away. She led police on a high speed chase, and ended up crashing the police car. The police shot through the window to apprehend her.

A petition to change Hurricane Irma's name to Hurricane Ivanka has gathered nearly 8,000 signatures so far. It is hoping to collect at least 10,000 signatures. Posted online yesterday on the petition site Care2, the petition asks the World Meteorological Association to make the name change "to put pressure on members of Trump’s administration to take real a stand for the health and safety of our world and generations to come."Hurricane Harvey in Houston was a prime example of how climate change makes hurricanes more powerful and dangerous.Unfortunately, the Trump administration is on a fast track setting climate progress back, which will only exacerbate the effect of future storms. By packing the administration with climate change deniers, withdrawing from the Paris climate accords, dismantling a federal advisory committee on climate change, and dealing blow after blow to the scientific community, the Trump administration has shown that it is completely irresponsible when it comes to climate change.Even Ivanka Trump, who promised to try to influence her father on certain issues like climate change, has quietly accepted the administration’s lack of action on this very serious issue. Ivanka Trump can say what she wants about climate change, but as long as she quietly stands back, she remains complicit in the destruction we all face at the hands of her father’s administration.According to Newsweek, "Ivanka Trump has experienced widespread criticism due to her lack of response to Hurricane Harvey, given that she appears to prefer tweeting about Trump’s tax reform plan, according to Elite Daily."Newsweek is referring to this from Elite Daily:The White House is raising eyebrows once again — this time, for Ivanka Trump's response, or lack thereof, to Hurricane Harvey. In the past week, she has tweeted twice about Hurricane Harvey — and three times about tax reform. Both of Trump's Hurricane Harvey tweets are largely indifferent to the suffering happening in Texas, only offering thoughts and prayers; one points her followers to the government website for natural disaster preparedness. But that's it. No offers to help, no tweets about where to donate or how to help. And people are pissed.Image: Marc Nozell

A disk failed on my Drobo 5N2. Happens. (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkMQyAEpyuk Sneakerheads can rock a pair of fresh adidas even while covered in vomit and regret during Oktoberfest thanks to the company’s new adidas München Oktoberfest. The ~$240 shoe has already sold out through the German footwear website 43einhalb Sneaker Store, but shoppers can be notified when they become available. High-quality leather, made with a durable “puke- and beer-repellent coating” (DPBR), is designed to complement traditional Bavarian lederhosen, according to 43einhalb’s website. Slogging through the beer and puke-riddled streets of Munich has never been so easy and stylish.