Our Xeni visited MSNBC's 'All in With Chris Hayes' to explain that the Affordable Care Act helped her survive cancer, and why a thoughtless repeal will kill thousands of fellow Americans. (more…)

The terror attacks against Jewish folks in America continue. No one seems to care.(more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UljhWqC50QUThis week marks the 100th anniversary of the first jazz record ever released, or rather "jass" record. In a New York City recording studio, five white musicians called the Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded the "Livery Stable Blues" backed by the "Dixie Jass One-Step" on a 78 RPM disc. Of course, jazz music was actually "invented" primarily by black musicians in New Orleans as an evolution from ragtime in the 1910s. (But rather than recognize this long musical thread, Original Dixieland Jass Band leader/cornetist Nick LaRocca went on to make racist comments insisting he invented jazz.) At Smithsonian, John Edward Hasse looks at the history of this influential record:

In this video, Tucker Carlson keeps saying Bill Nye is not a scientist, but a "popularizer," which Carlson seems to think means global warming is bogus. Best part is near the end when Nye picks up his phone and shows the stopwatch with six seconds on it and says to Carlson, "This is how long it takes you to interrupt me."

The Raspberry Pi Zero W is is a tiny Linux computer that costs $10. It has built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Mini-HDMI, a USB On-The-Go port, and 512MB RAM. Here's the announcement on the Raspberry Pi Foundation website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcxNHgYUz6sSpiral Toys -- a division of Mready, a Romanian electronics company that lost more than 99% of its market-cap in 2015 -- makes a line of toys called "Cloudpets," that use an app to allow parents and children to exchange voice-messages with one another. They exposed a database of millions of these messages, along with sensitive private information about children and parents, for years, without even the most basic password protections -- and as the company imploded, they ignored both security researchers and blackmailers who repeatedly contacted them to let them know that all this data was being stolen. (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7xvqQeoA8cEvery time I post one of these, I see the near-future nightmare where conspicuously Boston-Dynamics robots law-enforce us in Gilead. On the other hand, it upsets me when the guy pushes Atlas-bot around with a hockey stick. I'm only human, after all.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVlhMGQgDkY

NHK's children's show Pythagora Switch features fiendishly clever, astoundingly amusing interstitial segments with beautiful little Rube Goldberg machines, possessed of a Miyazakiesque whimsy and a Mujiesque minimalism. These are wonderful -- and at 30 seconds each, you can watch a whole ton of 'em. (more…)

This cartoon, published in The New Yorker, is upsetting men today. The cartoonist is Will McPhail, who is good at capturing the moment.https://twitter.com/NewYorker/status/836272223870664708So:Robert Jeantet So, she's allowed to tell him what she thinks of it, but he's not allowed to tell her what he thinks of it ? What a great way to have a dialogue. To call it "mansplaining" is just as patronizing. Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander. And inversely.Angus Moorehead You expect them to wonder in silence rather than discuss the art. Really.Gary Wheat "I wonder" in conversation is commonly interpreted as an invitation for help in understanding something. If this were a date and I had some insight about the painting to offer and was met with such a passive-aggressive response, I would certainly reconsider a second dateOn and on it goes. Prints are available.

In Re-Western, painted Felice House reimagines scenes from classic westerns with the likes of James Dean, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne replaced with women in the starring roles. (more…)

Python is such a commonly used general-purpose programming language and features such (comparatively) simple syntax, that most veteran programmers consider it an excellent foundation for aspiring programmers. The Python 3 Bootcamp Bundle packs over 30 hours of training into nine courses to build that foundation for you.If you've never had any introduction to code at all, you'll be alright as the bundle starts you off with the absolute basics of Python 3, the newest version of the language. The fun part - and the part that should hook even expert programmers - is what comes after. Eight more courses using a variety of Python libraries and frameworks that make resolving complex coding problems a breeze. From designing a Reddit clone (without r/The_Donald, of course) using Django, to running Python BeautifulSoup to extract the HTML from fashion blog you guilt read because it's so elegantly designed, coders of all levels will find material worth studying here.Check it out in the store for $49.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-QLs8Z8GgEJose Torres and Kayla Norton terrorized a black kid's birthday party by leading a convoy of confederate-flag flying vehicles past it while shouting racial slurs and threats—and pointing a shotgun at the children. They blubbered in court Monday as a Georgia judge sentenced them to years in jail.

China's explosive growth as the world's factory powerhouse is almost impossible to overstate: the largest migration in human history took place when 80 million young women left the provinces to come to the Pearl River Delta for the new manufacturing jobs, and China began building new megacities across its landmass to serve as the hubs for new factories and industries, consuming as much cement between 2011 and 2013 as the whole US used during the whole 20th century. (more…)

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Similar to web page evolution, watch the New York Times' evolution from just text to images with every front page since 1852 in about one minute. (more…)

A group of law professors have sent a letter to the Office of Disciplinary Council at the D.C. Court of Appeals calling for sanctions against White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. “It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to [e]ngage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation,” the letter states.According to New York Daily News:

"The alligator's coming, Connor! The alligator's coming!"(Bass Masters and Fish Experts)

Richard Davies writes, "Einstein's childhood building blocks have been listed for sale on the AbeBooks.com marketplace for books and collectibles." (more…)

The "Beat the Boss phone" is an £27 micro-telephone built into a Bluetooth headset with only trace amounts of metal in its construction; it is lozenge-shaped and is designed to be rectally smuggled into prisons, jails and courtrooms. (more…)

This is dekotora (デコトラ), the Japanese maker culture that started in the 1970s of tricking out large trucks with garish lights, Gundam-inspired chrome mods, and eyeball-spanking paint jobs.(more…)

Old-school bOING bOING editor Jon Lebkowsky invites everyone to Cyberpunk2017, the Annual EFF/EFF-Austin SXSW Afterparty in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 11, 2017, from 5pm to 1am! It's free!Jon writes:

Sean Spicer -- spokesman for the leakiest White House in history -- summoned his staff to a surprise meeting where they were forced undergo a "phone check" where they unlocked their phones to prove they had "nothing to hide." (more…)

Last night, La La Land was mistakenly announced as the winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, forcing an excruciating on-stage reversal as millions watched cast and crew, Oscars in hand, realize they had in fact lost out to Moonlight.Embedded here is the full clip of the cock-up. It's weird to see the sudden frisson of oh shit activity around the stage immediately after the mistake is made, but translating all too slowly into action. Watch how the news filters quietly from participant to oblivious participant in the background as the speeches proceed.Pictured here, though, is the startled delight of Moonlight director Barry Jenkins realizing that his movie had, in fact, won the prize.

You've already made the smart choice (as Boing Boing did before you) by enlisting WordPress for your website. What you may lack, however, is the HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and, well every other coding proficiency to make your site pretty. That's alright. Don't hire the kid next door, he smells funny. Instead, use your resourcefulness and check out Theme Junkie, a library of responsive, SEO-optimized WordPress themes that are easily deployed without writing any code yourself.Whether you're running an online store, want to showcase your professional portfolio, or just need an attractive backdrop for your blog, Theme Junkie has something that will work for you. Their gallery lets you demo any theme before installing on your site, and each theme offers an array of customization options to meet your requirements.Lifetime access to Theme Junkie's 50 current themes, and every one added in the future is just $24.99 for a limited time, 74% off the usual price.

As warned last week, Nokia has relaunched its classic 3310 model candybar phone. The good news: it's a pretty little burner that honors and updates the original's design. The bad news: that's the only connection, and it's otherwise a modern dumbphone with no clear picture yet on how well-designed the interface and hardware is. It's not even made by Nokia, but under license. [via Daneel]

Romanian artisan Andreea Strete creates these delightful TinyRobots, charming anthropomorphic creatures made of recycled electronic components. (more…)

If you're going to fly a drone over a Siberian Tiger habitat, you'd better have quick reflexes. Meant to help them get more exercise, the drone was no match for their hunting skills. (more…)

The fully-funded Macchina project on Kickstarter is an Arduino-based, "open, versatile" gadget that bypasses the DRM in your car's network, allowing you to configure it to work the way you want it to, so you can customize your car in all kinds of cool ways. (more…)

I'm touring 20 US cities (plus dates in Canada and the UK!) with my forthcoming novel Walkaway; the full tour hasn't been announced yet, but I'm delighted to reveal that the NYC stop on May 3 will be at the New York Public Library, where my interlocutor will be the whistleblower Edward Snowden. Tickets are $10-25! (Reminder: there are also signed first-edition hardcovers available for pre-order in the USA and UK).

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Although there will never be a consensus about the best way to make coffee, any coffee connoisseur will agree that controlling the grind of your beans and balancing water temperature are the keys to a tasty cup. Since your plastic coffee pot doesn’t really allow for that kind of customization, going back to the French press is the first step in upping your coffee game.For a straightforward brewing process that yields full-bodied flavor, this Nuvita French Press is a great choice. Aside from its classy looks, this press is all business with a stainless steel frame and a heat-resistant, dishwasher-safe glass beaker. Unlike other models, this one features a double-screened filter to minimize sediment at the end of your cup.Because all it needs is hot water and grounds, it's great for home and travel alike. And unlike pour-over devices that only brew a single serving, It makes 34 ounces, or 8 cups at a time.Get this Nuvita French Press for just $14.99, 62% off retail.

Dale Beran's been writing about 4chan, /b/ and Anonymous for years, and lurking on their message-boards, and he traces the rise of the self-professed "betas" who embody fragile, toxic masculinity and have been important bellwethers for many internet and real-world phenomena, linking them to Trump as "the loser who won": "Someone who is all brash confidence and then outrageously incompetent at everything he does." (more…)

In Troubling issues at the frontier of animal tracking for conservation and management, Carleton University biologist Steven Cooke and colleagues describe a series of incidents in which poachers have used tracking tags placed on wild animals for conservation purposes to find and kill those animals. (more…)

The adult son of Muhammad Ali, the late Muslim-American boxing star and civil rights hero, was detained for hours at a Florida airport by U.S. immigration officials, the Courier-Journal reports.(more…)

The New York Times reports that it and at least two other media outlets, CNN and Politico, were barred today from a White House press event. Also locked out were the LA Times and Buzzfeed, writes Politico's Dan Diamond.

When two Wisconsin high school boys – sophomore JT Nejedlo and freshman Aidan Deaven – found themselves bored one summer, they decided to build a backyard roller coaster.

I first discovered David Neat’s work via his website where he delves deeply into all sorts of fascinating interests, from furniture design to natural history to art. Mainly what drew me there was his extensive tutorials on all aspects of miniature model-making. The amount of content he’s posted is staggering, as is the quality of everything. Read comments about David’s site (or this book) and you will hear from seasoned pros, surprised by how much they’ve learned from David’s work. Model-Making: Materials and Methods collects some of David’s best content from the site. While only 176 pages, this book manages to cram in a lot of eye-opening tips and techniques for building miniatures. David comes from the theater set-building world and teaches design and model-making, mainly with theater, TV, and movie models in mind, but the techniques in this book can be applied to all forms of model-making, from dioramas and dollhouses to tabletop miniature games and train layouts. Chapters cover model construction, molding and casting, working with metals, creating surfaces and textures (one of David’s strong suits), and finishing techniques. I love a book that has so much to offer, you can simply poke your head into it for a few minutes and you’ve added a few more wrinkles to your brain by the time you put it down. Model-Making: Materials and Methods is such a book.Model-Making: Materials and Methods

Announced today: So It Is, a new album of Cuban-inspired jazz from the monumentally amazing Preservation Hall Jazz Band (previously), due out on April 21. Available today: Santiago, an instrumental track from the album that will MAKE YOU DANCE. (more…)

Help wanted: Operations Manager (personable, resourceful, and demonstrates outstanding attention to detail); Civil Liberties Legislative Counsel (advocacy, public speaking, blogging and other social media, media appearances and legislative and regulatory matters related to a variety of high technology public interest legal issues); 2017-19 Frank Stanton Fellowship (recent law school graduates or law students who will be graduating this Spring and have an interest in developing an expertise in First Amendment issues as they relate to new technologies); Staff Technologist/Senior Staff Technologist; Membership Assistant (energetic and enthusiastic Membership Assistant to support fundraising operations and outreach to EFF's 30,000+ annual donors); Technology Projects Manager/Technology Projects Director.

Stephen Colbert had fun impersonating dumbass Alex Jones on last night's Late Show, offering lots of examples of Jones' idiocy.

This looks like a drip irrigation system on a pink farm.

p>REAL LIVE MEXICAN BURROSThe Gift of a Lifetime for Any YoungsterFrom South of the Border comes this soft-eyed gentle little pet of all Mexican children, and the hard-working friend of their parents... to make Christmas this year unforgettable for your youngster! You'll be the talk of the town! Everyone will want to pet your burro.What years of pleasure this real, live Mexican burro will bring you and your children, Lovable, huggable, long-earred, extra tame, extremely intelligent. Friendly to other animals. Easily hitched to small cart. Economical to raise. Eats anything -- straw, hay, alfalfa, corn, oats, grass, bread, etc. Hardy, select specimens -- sound, well-fed, clean.When fully grown at about 2 years, they stand about 43" high (size of a large dog) and weigh about 200 lbs. Live up to 25 years. Thrive in any climate.Send check or money order for amount of Burro now. Burro will arrive about 5 weeks from time we receive your order, unless otherwise specified. Comes uncrated, with food and water for the journey, by Railway Express, collet, F.O.B. Laredo, Texas. You pay express charge of $20 to $40 on arrival. Mexican and U.S. duties already paid. Sorry, no exchanges or refunds. Dipped and U.S. Gov't inspected before shipping. Guaranteed live delivery in their natural born colors.Baby -- For children up to 5 years (3 mos. old -- 38" high -- 50lbs)Female: $95 Male $85Youngster -- For children up to 10 years (7 mos. to 1 yr. -- 40" high -- 100lbs)Female: $95 Male $85Mother and Baby (Total weight about 200 lbs) Pair $175Male and Female (For breeding) Pair $180Female in Foal $155Saddle -- Handmade in Mexico, genuine leather $75Bridle -- $15Don't forget the "MESS LESS PET - the answer to anyone that wants a pet, but doesn't want the bother of a live one." 59 cents ppd.

Malaysian authorities revealed that Kim Jong-nam, brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, was murdered with VX after being pounced on by assassins at Kuala Lumpur airport.

An article at News From the Lab (pdf) has 30 pages of copy from the support chat of a ransomware app: desperate pleas from victims for their files back, or, failing that, discounts on the unlock fee. [via]

The existence of daggits, the original Battlestar Galactica's space-dog, bought that show a special place in my heart. I just learned Muffit the daggit was played by a chimpanzee, named Evolution, in a really uncomfortable suit.I spent a lot of years thinking "Galactica knew humanity couldn't survive without dogs!" not knowing they'd jammed a monkey in a hot suit to make the point.Sigh.

Gil Wizen (@Wizentrop) takes amazing macro photographs of animals and plants. Would you have guessed this was a freshly molted Madagascar hissing cockroach? [via Tettix]

Municipal employees would enjoy an hourlong paid shag break under proposals mooted by a local official. The latest wonder of Sweden's legendary social system seems contrived to mock puritanial Americans, but The New York Times reports that it's for real.

Working in an Australian restaurant has some region-specific duties, like dragging giant goannas off the patio dining area. Samia Lila was up to the task, earning the name Goanna Girl thanks to the viral video. (more…)

What happens when a whale dies? It sinks to the ocean floor, creating a whale fall, which becomes a fantastical garden of biodiversity. EVNautilus stumbled on a naturally-occurring whale fall during a live feed, an exceedingly rare find. (more…)

In this recruitment video for America's elite Bathroom Police, Officer Tammy Cox explains the duties and obligations of the crack force who will be carrying out Trump Administration mandates in public bathrooms. (more…)