 |
by Andrea James on (#2CY7Y)
Have 17.5 hours to kill? Watch this dude click his mouse 1 million times. He gets it done 5 hours faster than the initial estimate. Strangely impressive. (more…)
|
| Link | http://boingboing.net/ |
| Feed | http://boingboing.net/rss |
| Updated | 2025-01-11 10:18 |
 |
by Andrea James on (#2CY82)
Ali Harrison creates lacy, delicate paper cutouts of human organs, like this reproductive system. She then recreates those as laser-cut wood and T-shirts, like this one benefiting Planned Parenthood: (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CXT6)
Love puzzles, crypto, making, control panels and nuclear extinction? John Edgar Park has a maker project for you! (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CXR4)
Bitcoin's spiking prices have been driven almost entirely by Chinese money-launderers trying to beat the country's currency controls -- controls that have tightened so much that it's tanking the world's real-estate markets as offshore buyers abandon their deposits and disappear. (more…)
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CXR6)
The New Yorker made then then-and-now split screen video of Los Angeles. On the left side, LA as it was 70 years ago. On the right, LA as it is today.[via]
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CXGV)
Here's puzzle master and logician Raymond Smullyan on the Tonight Show from 1982. It starts a bit awkwardly but gets good around the five minute mark. Smullyan died last week (I posted about it here).[via]
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CXDF)
If anyone speaks Baby, please provide a translation.
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CX7N)
Yesterday, the president says it's all the "fake media's" fault for the extremely short duration of his national security advisor's tenure. That makes no sense, but speaking coherently has never been one of the president's strong points. In any case, CNN's Jake Tapper decided to show the president what fake news really is - by trotting out the crazy conspiracy theories spread by the president: Obama's birth certificate and Ted Cruz's father's role in the assassination of JFK.
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CX3T)
Toiletpaper Magazine's Toiletpaper Paradise show at New York's Caddilac House is a series of "domestic interiors" filled with the art and sculptures from the magazine. (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CX2Z)
Yuhuang Shannan -- an hour's high-speed train journey from Shanghai -- is a newly formed, walled village in which only hedge fund employees and their visitors are allowed to venture, a kind of Canary Wharf with Chinese characteristics, with schools staffed by non-Chinese teachers, a private club, and its own health care facilities. (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CX2P)
Alibaba subsidiary Taobao has given rise to "Taobao Villages" -- 18 villages that were once among China's poorest places, where former peasant farmers have attained prosperity by working in factories that produce a single class of goods (for example, Daiji township, a remote town in Shandong where most working age people have moved away, is now a high-speed-fiber linked booming factory town dedicated to "acting and dance costumes"). (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CWZQ)
China's nightmarish "citizen scores" system uses your online activity, purchases, messages, and social graph to rate your creditworthiness and entitlement to services. One way your score can be plunged into negative territory is for a judge to declare you to be a bad person (mostly this happens to people said to have refused to pay their debts, but it's also used to punish people who lie to courts, hide their assets, and commit other offenses). (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CWZ8)
Cambridge Analytica is a dirty, Dementor-focused big data research outfit that provided the analysis and psych profiles that the Trump campaign used in its electioneering; because its parent company is in the UK, it is required (under EU law) to send you its dossier on you for £10. (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CWX1)
The nonprofit Unchained At Last analyzed US marriage license data from 2000 to 2010 and learned that 167,000 children (almost all girls, some as young as 12) in 38 states were married off to older men: 31% of the girls were married to men who were 21 or older. Extrapolating from their data-set, Unchained at Last estimates the true total of child-marriage 2000-2010 as 248,000. (more…)
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#2CWVY)
William Osman built a toast-buttering robot. It's really something: "I'm not sure how to mount the butter to the jigsaw." (Jump to 6:35 or so just to see The Buttering)
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#2CWTV)
Locksmith Bosnian Bill experienced deja vu upon seeing a new padlock offered in stores by Brinks. It looks awfully similar to a Master-brand padlock withdrawn from sale due to a critical flaw that makes it easy to spring open. And wouldn't you know, the same trick works!It's advertised as "medium security," but all you need is a mini boxcutter and you're in."I can't believe it," Bill says. "The battle we won to tell everyone about this master, here we are again. Don't buy this even for your kid's tricycle. ... Brinks, stay out of the lock business." [via]
|
 |
by Boing Boing's Store on (#2CWAF)
Learning new skills is a great way to improve your resume and stand out from other candidates. Especially in a workforce in which many job-seekers have a wide variety of qualifications. With lifetime access to Virtual Training Company, you won’t have to choose a specific focus. You can pick up new expertise whenever you deem it necessary for a career change or new job.Whether you want to brush up on your multimedia creation abilities, or learn a specific application for work, their course catalog is loaded with expert-led instruction to help you master a skill.Developing new skills and expertise doesn't require repeatedly paying for individual classes—these video courses are based around the idea that anyone can learn software on their own with the right materials. Lifetime access to their videos usually costs $2,500, but you can get a perpetual subscription to Virtual Training Company for just $89 for a limited time.Explore other Best-Sellers in our store:
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#2CVD6)
This has not been a good week for Donald Trump. Today, seemingly at random, the FBI released hundreds of pages of documents related to the 1970s investigation into racial discrimination at Trump Management Company. The firm rented out apartment homes in New York, and was founded by President Donald Trump’s late father, Fred. The young Donald J. Trump carried on his dad's legacy, in every respect.“This release consists of FBI materials on an investigation conducted between 1972 and 1974 into allegations that the Trump Management Company had discriminated against applicants for apartment rentals on account of their race,†reads the introductory statement on the FBI.gov records archive.The files contain 389 pages of interviews, notes, and other material generated by or used by the Justice Department in its 1973 housing racial bias case in New York against Fred Trump and his son, Donald J. Trump.More at The Washington Post and The Hill.From WaPo:
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#2CV7Z)
“Until Trump can remedy his problem of credibility and faith, the truth will find a way.â€(more…)
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#2CV6Z)
The Defense Department is expected to propose that the United States send ground combat forces into northern Syria for the first time, expand the assault on ISIS, CNN's Barbara Starr reports.(more…)
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#2CV5T)
A scorching analysis of the unprecedented last few days in America from Joshua Marshall of Talking Points Memo, following the Russia-clouded resignation of Trump national security Michael Flynn, who follows the Russia-scandal resignation of Paul Manafort, and other advisors who've stepped aside under various clouds of suspicion.(more…)
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CTZV)
The taller the wall, the farther catapults like these will be able to fling bundles of drugs. This one was found at the Mexico-Arizona border.From KVUE:
|
by Peter Sheridan on (#2CTYP)
At last, the darkest scandals of the Trump family are revealed."Melania and Ivanka Trump's private lives!" promises the cover of this week's 'National Enquirer' in a "special investigation."The standard 'Enquirer' exposé would dig up old boyfriends to dish the dirt, scour criminal records, probe Melania's murky Eastern European origins and revel in Ivanka's lap-of-luxury childhood of spoiled excess.What scandal does the 'Enquirer' dig up?"The pain and persecution they overcame to finally stand beside the seat of American power!" As if.The 'Enquirer' claims that its two-month investigation "in a manner never accomplished before" concluded, in the words of an unnamed source, that Melania and Ivanka "will restore grace to the White House and guide this president in a way that likely has never been seen before!" That must have been one heck of an investigation.Despite its headline, the 'Enquirer' can't come up with any way in which Melania was ever persecuted, though it reveals that a pre-teen Ivanka had to endure questions from reporters (most likely 'Enquirer' reporters) about her father's extra-marital affair with Marla Maples.Shocking.It's an astonishingly sycophantic propaganda piece, quite different from 'Us' magazine's cover this week revealing "Melania's Struggle - A Life She Never Wanted." As the story explains, "feeling isolated and unprepared, the reluctant first lady is secretly miserable."As is anyone who felt that the tabloids once served a use as the slumdog scavengers of news others were too respectable or reluctant to research, exposing O.J. Simpson's incriminating Bruno Magli shoes, John Edwards' love child, Gary Hart pictured aboard 'Monkey Business' with model Donna Rice, and Rush Limbaugh's OxyContin addiction.If the bottom-feeding tabloids serve any purpose at all, it's to hold accountable power in all its forms, so after years of attacking and undermining every celebrity, authority and establishment figure they encountered, it's disappointing to see the tabloids willingly become neutered lap-dogs of the White House.Of course, for every story the tabloids get right there are hundreds that miss the mark, and this week is no exception.The 'Globe' reports that Jennifer Aniston is "dying to dump" husband Justin Theroux, while the 'Enquirer' tell us that Aniston's "marriage explodes" as Theroux is caught with five women "in one day!" It's what's known outside the tabloids as greeting friends at awards shows, and an allegedly exploding marriage doesn't explain why Aniston and Theroux celebrated her February 11th birthday with friends in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.Ben Affleck has reconciled with estranged wife Jennifer Garner, the 'Enquirer' claims, "as these world exclusive aerial photographs prove." Perhaps the word "prove" has changed its meaning since I was at school, because the 'Enquirer' photos simply show overhead shots of a home, with captions assuring us that the guest house is now empty and Affleck's den is being renovated as a play area - none of which is evident in the photos, proving nothing, even if the story happens to be true.The 'Globe,' which must have a permanent hot line to Kensington Palace, reports that Prince William's wife Kate, at 93 lbs (down from 97 lbs last week) is "Shopping for IVF Surrogate!" Claiming that the Duchess of Cambridge is both "bulimic and anorexic," the 'Globe' decides that she must be too thin to conceive a child (two previous children notwithstanding) and therefore must be considering test-tube pregnancy. Right.Start the countdown: Former TV host Regis Philbin has "5 Weeks to Live!" according to the 'Globe, which notes that the 85-year-old has lost weight and is therefore on his "last legs." He actually looks in the best shape of his life, so let's see how long he lasts. Actress Eva Longoria, on the other hand, "packs on 27 lbs" according to the 'Globe.' How do they come up with such accurate measurements? This week we find out: New York internist Dr Stuart Fischer, who has not treated Longoria, reportedly viewed "before and after photos" of her and "estimates" that she has "piled on at least 27 pounds." Well, it doesn't get more scientific than that, does it?Fortunately we have 'Us' magazine's crack team of investigative reporters to tell us that Suki Waterhouse wore it best, actress Rose Leslie carries tangerines, hair ties and a silver penguin charm in her Kurt Geiger tote, and that the stars are just like us: they push supermarket carts, test lipsticks, and wear hats. It's so reassuring to know that celebrities wear hats - who would have thought it? 'Us' devotes too many pages to photos of over-dressed celebrities celebrating at the Grammy Awards, as does 'People' magazine, which dedicates its cover to the Duggar clan welcoming another baby. Is this really news in a family that seems to spawn with the profundity of sea turtles? I think we need a two-month "special investigation" by the 'Enquirer' to unearth the truth behind this nefarious family. How are Jessa and Ben part of the Duggar clan when their last name is Seewald? And what terrible bet did they lose that forced them to name their eldest son Spurgeon? Enquiring minds want to know.Onwards and downwards . . .
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CTNF)
I bought this $25 non-electric bidet last month and without going into detail, I have to say it's a game changer. I just bought another one for the other bathroom. The water is not heated like with those high-tech Japanese toilets, but there's something to be said for a refreshing blast of cold water. Installation took less than 15 minutes.
|
 |
by Xeni Jardin on (#2CTDS)
Trump's pick for Labor Secretary is reported to be withdrawing his name from consideration. (more…)
|
 |
by Peter Bebergal on (#2CTAA)
I am not that interested in speculation on whether aliens have ever visited the Earth. What I am excited about, however, are all the ways we have imagined them, from the earliest grainy photos of saucer shapes in the sky to the orchestral-minded, big-eyed aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In the 1950s and 1960s, UFOs became ubiquitous in the pulp magazines and cheap popular paperbacks. With their lurid cover and claims that “Flying Saucers Have Landed,†these publications would set the popular consciousness afire. They also opened up theories of ever sort as to the origins of UFOs and what role the government might play in covering them up. From the hollow Earth, to Mars, to other dimensions, the UFO myth could contain almost any form of conjecture. Jews? Maybe. Men in black? Most certainly. Spiritual avatars leading us to a new age? Let’s hope so. “Flying Saucers Are Real†by Jack Womack collects the science fiction author’s personal collection of UFO-related ephemera, and reveals what William Gibson describes in the book’s introduction as the “source code†of the UFO idea that has been programmed into all of us. Womack introduces the popular UFO myth as starting with what is known as the Shaver mystery, the strange tales of Richard Shaver who claimed to have visited the great civilization that lives in the hollows of the earth. Their brethren fled our planet on spaceships, but those left behind—the Dero—seek to kidnap and enslave human beings for the own (usually sexual) means. The editor Ray Palmer published these in “Amazing Stories†in the 1940s, and he would soon go on to make a career of publishing the most garish stories about flying saucers and invading aliens. His magazine “Fate†and books like “The Coming of the Saucers†lead the way for decades to come. Womack’s collection is startling in its variety: “The White Sands Incident†by Dr. Daniel Fry in which the authors claims to have been inside flying saucers; “Men From the Moon in America†by W.V. Grant explains that the devil lives on the moon and the space race with the Russians is a race to the power of evil; and “Ceto’s New Friends†by Leah Hadley that teaches children not to be afraid if they are ever abducted. Womack’s collection contains book covers with all manner of saucer-shaped craft, amateur drawings of aliens, and those ubiquitous grainy photos. If the images weren’t enough to recommend this book, Womack’s discussion and examination is a smart and funny travelogue through the forest of this wonderful material.Flying Saucers Are Real
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CT54)
Shoulder surfers will be totally blown away by your movie hacker skills![via]
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CT56)
Katherine Ellen Foley reports on the curious phenomenon of sexual cannibalism in the animal kingdom.
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CT2Z)
Trump made a big deal about saving the dying coal industry. “[We’re] bringing back jobs, big league. We’re bringing them back at the plant level. We’re bringing them back at the mine level. The energy jobs are coming back.â€But in recent weeks, owners of two coal-fired power plants announced they were going to cease operations, including the largest coal-fired facility in the western United States. They can't compete with natural gas price, which "have made it more expensive to produce electricity at the facility than to purchase it from cheaper sources," according to the Washington Post. It reminds me of my friend who sells novelty items on his website, but stopping because Amazon's retail price of the same items is usually less than the price he pays to buy the items from manufacturers.
|
 |
by Jason Weisberger on (#2CT1C)
Bang & Olufsen's H5 Bluetooth, water resistant, in-ear buds are pretty damn great. For $220 they had better be. (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CSZN)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGuZjOoArRwAddress space layout randomization is an important first line of defense against malicious software: by randomizing where in memory instructions are stored, ASLR makes it much harder to overwrite memory with new code that will be jumped to as a program executes, offering significant protection against buffer overflow attacks. (more…)
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#2CSXY)
Q: What's E.T. short for?A: His legs aren't very long.(modified from /r/jokes)
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#2CSX7)
One of the two women suspected of assassinating Kim Jong-un's brother wore a shirt with "LOL" written on it.CCTV images released by Malaysian authorities show the suspects lurking in Kuala Lumpur airport; reports variously have them using needles or a spray to poison Kim Jong-nam, who died en-route to hospital.
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CSX9)
Edinburgh's Nahid Akram installed a CCTV system that let him record his downstairs neighbours Debbie and Tony Woolley in their back garden, capturing both images and audio of their private conversations, with a system that had the capacity to record continuously for five days. (more…)
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CSVM)
Quincy Larson asks you to image "What’s the worst thing that could happen if the Customs and Border Patrol succeed in getting ahold of your unlocked phone?"
|
 |
by Mark Frauenfelder on (#2CSV9)
A heat-wave hit Oklahoma, sending temperatures into the high 90s. Norman, Oklahoma was 99 degrees F (37 C) on February 11.From ThinkProgress:Many people may welcome a temperate day in February, but warm weather in normally cold months disrupts ecosystems. Trees may bloom after an unseasonably balmy spell — and then suffer frost damage when cold weather returns. Flowers may blossom and shed their petals before bees arrive to pollinate them. These minor destabilizations have a ripple effect, impacting flora, fauna, and the industries built around them.In Oklahoma, the spike in temperature is particularly ironic, given the state’s political climate. [Sen. James "Snowball" Inhofe (R-OK)] is Washington’s most vocal climate denier, having published a book alleging that climate change is a hoax while serving as the ranking Republican member of the Senate Environment Committee.Image: Mesonet
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CSVB)
Motherboard says a source told them that "an Apple representative, staffer, or lobbyist will testify" against the state's Right to Repair bill, which requires companies to make it easy for their customers to choose from a variety of repair options, from official channels to third parties to DIY. (more…)
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#2CSS4)
Taco Bell will soon offer fully-catered weddings at its Las Vegas flagship restaurant. Key selling points of this elegant offering are that this Taco Bell Cantina location has a DJ booth, pours booze, and has big digital displays. The $600 wedding package includes:
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CSC2)
Mine eyes have seen the orgy of the launching of the Sword;
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#2CSC4)
Trampolines Down Under sells in-ground trampolines that are level with the grass. The $1700, 14' trampolines include a special plastic retaining wall system. According to the company, "Our ground level system dramatically reduces the injuries associated with trampolines, by eliminating falls to the ground, reducing the height above the ground while jumping, and eliminating injuries to children walking under the trampoline while others are jumping."I'd be surprised if home insurance providers would agree. They frown on trampolines big time, and most will drop you if they're aware that you have one at your home even if it has a net enclosure.(via Geekologie)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoXJ9aTdggQ
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CSC7)
Since the neoliberal reforms of the Reagan era; the rollback of trade unions; the elimination of defined-benefits pensions (in favor of "market-based" SIPPs and 401(k)s); the termination of national minimum wage increases and real earnings collapse for working people; the finance-industry fraud that stole so many working peoples' homes during and after the subprime bubble; the massive increases in healthcare costs, the possibility of retiring after 45 or 50 years in the workforce has been snuffed out for nearly everyone. (more…)
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CS9J)
Disney's "skybuckets" are fondly remembered as the best place in the themepark to do some sneaky kissin', but they were also a magnet for antisocial behavior, from smoking weed to spitting on people to jumping out of them -- and they proved lethal to park maintenance crews. (more…)
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#2CS9M)
The legendary lightsaber that Obi Wan passed on to Luke in Star Wars: A New Hope was actually a modified battery tube from a 1940s Graflex camera flash. Once that was known, prop recreators drove up the price of the flashes, frustrating vintage camera geeks who appreciate the elegant gear for a more civilized age.
|
 |
by Cory Doctorow on (#2CS7M)
The introduction of "shitgibbon" into America's political discourse is a teachable moment for English classes studying the evolution of language. (more…)
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#2CS5P)
https://twitter.com/codinghorror/status/831650861461893120"Say hello to my little friend!" [via @codinghorror.]Previously: Flamethrower trombone
|
 |
by David Pescovitz on (#2CS59)
That's not dust on the stylus, that's Uncle Fred!Andvinyly presses cremated remains into a vinyl record.
|
 |
by Andrea James on (#2CRYE)
The island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean has remarkable geologic formations, but one of the most stunning is Torrent de Pareis, a meandering stream that cuts through a steep gorge, emptying into the ocean at Sa Calobra. Max Winter captured this lovely drone footage. (more…)
|
 |
by Andrea James on (#2CRYG)
TEAMLAB created this beautiful installation reminiscent of Chinese sky lanterns, except the color of each can be controlled. The result is simply gorgeous. (more…)
|
 |
by Ruben Bolling on (#2CRYJ)
FOLLOW @RubenBolling on the Twitters an' a Face Book.JOIN Tom the Dancin' Bug's es-steamed club, the incredibobble INNER HIVE, for 'sclusive early accessive-ness to comical stuffing, extry comics, and a lotta perfiffle.GET R. Bolling’s new series of books for the chiles, The EMU Club Adventures. Book One here. Book Two here.Mo' Tom the Dancin' Bug comics up on the Boing Boings! (more…)
|
 |
by Rob Beschizza on (#2CRWD)
Nokia's 3310 is said to be the most reliable phone ever made. It's a classic plastic-and-silicon brick from the turn of the century, long consigned to the recycling bin in the age of smartphones and tablets. But because people actually like and appreciate technology that works, as opposed to all the modern internet-of-shit frippery that doesn't, they're bringing it back. (more…)
|