Having settled into orbit around Saturn, the Cassini probe has begun returning new images of the gas giant. The BBC reports that it will be "making a series of daredevil maneuvers" in the coming months, risking doom near Saturn's moons to get better shots of them and the rings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nViIUfDMJgSeth Bling built a functioning Atari 2600 emulator in Minecraft. Not just the processor, or the box, but the whole thing, complete with cartridges and a television. The white flashing line you see in it is the television's scanning electron beam being emulated. You can watch dirt blocks turn to stone and back: that's the ones and zeroes in the Atari's memory. You can edit the memory, bit by bit, by punching it!It takes Minecraft about three minutes to draw each frame, but Bling recorded a timelapse of it in action. Click through to the YouTube for a download of the Minecraft world housing the emulator. Here's a technical explanatory video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPRkjNDmTlchttps://twitter.com/SethBling/status/806197450394443776"It's a common theme in a 2600 games that the graphics are a little different than you're used to; the 2600 was quite a bit simpler than the hardware in arcade machines

Spectrograms of dolphin calls are closer to written English than the signatures I'm able to scrawl on credit card machines in grocery stores. We really should stop messing with these people—who knows what they might be up to?Voices in the Sea has recordings of twelve different species. Don't miss the selection of videos of acoustic research.

Nadieh Breme's Royal Constellations is a delightful starry visualization of a millenium of familial connections between European royals, and it gets right down to business: "Royal & aristocratic families are known for their fondness of marrying within their own clique."Pick any two and it draws a line between them, revealing ancestral lines going back to the beginning—from the kings of medieval Wales all the way to the Windsors.

Mark Marino writes, "Boingers might be interested in this new free 3-week course I'm co-teaching with UnderAcademy College founder Talan Memmott: How to Write and Read Fake News: Journalism in the Age of Trump. It starts Jan. 20, of course." (more…)

Two years ago, the NoPhone launched to rave reviews as the most minimalist yet secure handset on the market. The NoPhone Selfie is the long-awaited follow-up, adding the ability to picture the user themselves without adding significantly to the unit's price.At $18, the NoPhone Selfie remains among the cheaper options. Mine has a problem, though: the display seems to be stuck on a hideous morph between Chucky the Killer Doll and Brad Dourif, the actor who voices him.

Veronica Birkenstock is Practical Employee Solutions, a company that boasts of having brought "over 40,000" cheap H-2B workers from 80 countries to the USA to work in "hospitality, landscaping, welding, and construction" for companies like Marriott and Starwood Hotels, for whom it is the "preferred vendor." (more…)

I discovered Alton Brown during the last few seasons of Good Eats, and I was instantly a fan. You’ve got to appreciate someone who can make a good martini. Brown’s Monty Python humor and Bill Nye nerdiness was right up my alley. Since the show ended, he seemed to publicly take off his apron and put on a jacket, acting as host and performer in many popular shows, a podcast, and live road show. But, if you’re like me, and missed Alton behind the stove, then get excited. EveryDayCook feels like his triumphant return as a cook.The book’s a welcome evolution from what Brown did with Good Eats. While you won’t find yeast puppets, you will find his familiar humor and meticulous attention to detail. Each recipe is broken down with Brown explaining how to prepare the dish in a simple and clear way. It’s very apparent that this was a personal project for him, and that he had a hand in every aspect of the book, even the photography.Each and every picture in the book was taken using an iPhone. A 6s Plus to be specific. Why? Because he uses an iPhone. But then, because he’s Alton freaking Brown he takes it a step further, and uses a top-down perspective for all of the photos. Now for non-photographers out there, just know, this is an incredibly difficult angle to shoot at. There are lighting issues, shadows can be a nightmare, you’re left wondering what kind of masochist would do this? Alton Brown, that’s who. It shows how much he cares. This is no cookie-cutter cookbook – it’s uniquely his.The recipes are amazing. The photography’s delightful. Pick up a copy.Note: Fans have found some typos in the book (nobody’s perfect). A full list of corrections can be found here. And while a 2nd printing will of course fix all of these, if you grab a copy now, you’ll have a cool collector’s edition with a few fun Easter Eggs.See sample pages from this book at Wink.Alton Brown: EveryDayCook

UPDATE: As I had cautioned, The Mirror indeed had its "facts" muddled. According to this October article in Vice, the photos seen here are actually from the woods around the University of Virginia’s Mountain Lake Biological Station. No idea if the fellow was actually tripping or thought he was a Siberian tiger. Shame, as the below story is quite delightful.Original uncorrected post:This gentleman from Liberec, Czech Republic was reportedly tripping on LSD to combat depression when he began to hallucinate that he was a Siberian tiger. He then stripped naked and pursued imaginary prey for miles along the Czech-Poland border where he was spotted on trailcams. According to the Mirror, "police said that, because the man did not have any drugs with him, he was only fined and will not face any further charges."If this story is true, I hope the fellow had fun and that the experience alleviated his depression.

The ingenious design of the dippy bird heat engine is revealed in this thermal imaging video.The liquid inside dippy birds is called Dichloromethane. Commenters who were alarmed about the grave hazards posed by laser landscape projectors will enjoy complaining about the dangers of dippy birds. From Wikipedia: "Symptoms of acute overexposure to dichloromethane via inhalation include difficulty concentrating, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, headaches, numbness, weakness, and irritation of the upper respiratory tract and eyes. More severe consequences can include suffocation, loss of consciousness, coma, and death."

It appears to be a prop from the show Channel Zero, but I'm going to be spreading it virally with a caption about the plight of children born with supracutaneous dentata. [via r/wtf]

The Grammy nominations were announced today and along with Beyonce, Drake, Adele, and Kanye there was a nomination that went to music recorded by Ira D. Sankey, Winfield Weeden, Silas Leachman and the Rittersville Singing Club. No, those are not artists from today… In fact, those performers lived 125 years ago and their recordings have been newly compiled by a husband/wife team dedicated to bringing back to life the music of the post-Industrial Revolution 19th century.Richard Martin and Meagan Hennessey have one collective dream, and that is to preserve, expose and celebrate the earliest eras of recorded sounds for new generations of listeners. Their label Archeophone Records has produced dozens of releases showcasing music created even before electricity got in the way. These are acoustic recordings created when the music industry was still “cutting wax” and "the business” was in its infancy. John Phillips Souza’s marches were chart toppers, along with sappy ballads and jocular tunes. The world was introduced to “Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight,” and of course, “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.”Richard and Meagan collect the cylinders for each release, digitize the music found in the 100+ year old grooves, painstakingly master the tracks, rabbit-hole copious amounts of research about the recordings, the artists, and the era, and bring forth a truly amazing product that takes any listener back to a time long forgotten..an almost alien world.And while in many circles they are known for their Grammy-winning expert work, nothing can prepare an enthusiast for their latest epic deep dive. Waxing the Gospel: Mass Evangelism and the Phonograph is an incredible study of gospel recordings made from 1890-1900. Yes, two centuries since the earliest recordings were made, and ten years since Richard and Began began collecting and researching the material, they present 102 to be recordings and over 400 pages of notes telling the story of the birth of recorded gospel music and the true pioneers who recorded them. A few songs are still familiar even today, like the 1894 version of Swing Low Sweet Chariot or the 1895 version of Rock Of Ages. The the former, by the Standard Quartet, is an unfortunately rare early recording by an African-American ensemble.The set contains beautiful orchestral pieces like Holding’s Parlor Orchestra’s Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep, with an arrangement that almost sounds psychedelic as it comes alive 124 years after it was originally recorded. The same goes for the organ sounds in Frank Butts’ Almost Persuaded. The set also features hauntingly beautiful vocal quartets and captivating sermons that seem almost a drone mixed with captivating noises from the cylinders, reminiscent of Current 93/Nurse With Wound sound sculptures.Waxing the Gospel is definitely one of the highest musicology achievements of 2016. Regardless if you are a believer or an atheist, a sinner or a grinner, pure of heart or just plain funky, the music presented here -- much of it for the first time since it was released -- is an incredible sonic pulpit that makes history truly come back to life."Waxing the Gospel: Mass Evangelism and the Phonograph, 1890-1900" (Amazon)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAEo3S9s7CE

You might not know this, but the editors of Wikipedia maintain an automated list of all the world's cookies. The have everything from Germany's Aachener Printen to Neutrassian Zalgowafers, but somehow missed Mealy Grahams from good old England. [via]

In a new experiment at the University of Washington, test subjects navigated a virtual maze without seeing it. The only input they had were cues delivered in the form of magnetic zaps to the backs of their heads, stimulating particular regions of their brains. From UW Today:

The unprecedented denial-of-service attacks powered by the Mirai Internet of Things worm have harnessed crappy, no-name CCTVs, PVRs, and routers to launch unstoppable floods of internet noise, but it's not just faceless Chinese businesses that crank out containerloads of vulnerable, defective-by-design gear -- it's also name brands like Sony. (more…)

Private Snafu was the US Army's series of instructional cartoons from World War II, written and/or directed by the likes of Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, Chuck Jones, and PD Eastman. The voice of Private Snafu is performed by Mel Blanc (Buggs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc.). In this episode, written by Dr. Seuss and titled "Spies," Private Snafu learns a military secret but he can't seem to keep his lips sealed. Note the grossly racist depiction of an Asian man, sadly typical of the era.

Boeing stocks tumbled Tuesday after president-elect Donald Trump tweeted about canceling a $4bn Air Force One order. But it was a typical Trumpism: the number is plucked out of nowhere, and Boeing was forced to publicize the fact it's only got the U.S. Government on the hook for $170m, and that the two planes, if ordered, would be $850m each.https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/806134244384899072

No escape from reality. (Corridor)

The Pocket Tripod PRO had massive Kickstarter success in 2013, raising almost $85,000 in a single month. But this isn’t just another case of pre-release product hype.This ingenious little device folds out from a credit-card-shaped plastic slab into a sturdy stand with a surprisingly wide range of motion. In portrait orientation, your phone slides snugly into the two rotating brackets, allowing a full 90-degree tilt.To support a phone in landscape without blocking the screen or camera, the tripod splits in two to allow for attachment anywhere on the phone’s bezels. Since not all smartphones are created alike, this 2016 update features a newly designed universal bracket that fits a wide range of smartphones and cases.Having a dedicated tripod for a phone has always seemed kind of silly, even for the most dedicated mobile photographers, but this one completely changed my mind. When not in use you forget it’s even there. That’s a good thing. For a limited time, it’s on sale for $19.99 in the Boing Boing Store.https://youtu.be/Jrawq5Q1s7E

This fellow cut the polarizing film from a $20 thrift store monitor and put film on a pair of eyeglasses to make a display that looks like a black screen to everybody but him. This is a good way to enjoy photos of Rubik's Cubes without anyone catching you.

I’d like you to meet a man that I've worked with for over a decade. His artist name is Ekundayo and I'll be darned if I know what else to call him. He pours his life into his work - it's everything to him.His painting style style is emotion filled, kinetic, and unforgettable.I met Ekundayo in 2005 and since then, I’ve seen his work pop up on billboards, in movies and on murals around the globe.The content he chooses to create goes beyond our comfort zone, and because of that, it's impossible to mistake his artistic fingerprint.Each of his art pieces drips with emotion and has amazing stories buried within them.In 2007, Ekundayo helped our company create a mural for Trent Reznor’s, Year Zero. The piece was painted in London with other artists Johnny Rodriguez, Josh Clay and Mike Maxwell.Reznor's mural was stolen 2 days after it was completed and to this day, fans around the world are on the lookout for it.By the time the Year Zero project was complete, Ekundayo had become very special to me and as his technique evolved, I marveled at his ability to quickly fill vast spaces with his unique vision.I'd love to have a peek at the sketchbook in his head and see the art before it unfolds.My friend is truly a genius with a paintbrush and you can check out the rest of his work at Ekundayo.com.

Start your own odditorium by spending $15,000 on "Mike & Ike - they look alike," a purportedly real two-headed calf taxidermy mount that was previously part of the the Museum of Lost Arts – International Historical Exhibition. Only available for local pick up in New Castle, Pennsylvania. From the eBay auction description:

This week on HOME: Stories From L.A.:Who were we? How did we live, and what did it look like? The vast archive of castoff slides captures, in vivid colors, images of the American family at midcentury. But the stories that go with the pictures are most often lost, and we’re left to create our own, and reflect on millions of conscious decisions to untie the knot of memory.HOME is a member of the Boing Boing Podcast Network. If you like what you hear, please take a second to leave the show a rating and/or review at the iTunes Store. It's a little thing that means a lot, so thanks. And don't forget to subscribe, at any of the usual places:iTunes | Android | Email | Google Play | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS

RAWIllumination.net announced today that a manuscript by Robert Anton Wilson has been found and will be published by RVP Publishers in the first half of 2017. The manuscript appears to be substantial, weighing in at 340 pages.

Back in the early 1900s, the German biologist Jakob Johann Baron von Uexküll couldn’t shake the implication that the inner lives of animals like jellyfish and sea urchins must be radically different from those of humans.Uexküll was fascinated by how meaty, squishy nervous systems gave rise to perception. Noting that the sense organs of sea creatures and arachnids could perceive things that ours could not, he realized that giant portions of reality must therefore be missing from their subjective experiences, which suggested that the same was true of us. In other words, most ticks can’t enjoy an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical because, among other reasons, they don’t have eyes. On the other hand, unlike ticks, most humans can’t smell butyric acid wafting on the breeze, and so no matter where you sit in the audience, smell isn’t an essential (or intended) element of a Broadway performance of Cats.Uexküll imagined that each animal’s subjective experience was confined to a private sensory world he called an umwelt. Each animal’s umwelt was different, he said, distinctive from that of another animal in the same environment, and each therefore was tuned to take in only a small portion of the total picture. Not that any animal would likely know that, which was Uexküll’s other big idea. Because no organism can perceive the totality of objective reality, each animal likely assumes that what it can perceive is all that can be perceived. Each umwelt is a private universe, fitted to its niche, and the subjective experiences of all of Earth’s creatures are like a sea filled with a panoply of bounded virtual realities floating past one another, each unaware that it is unaware.Like all ideas, Uexküll’s weren’t completely new. Philosophers had wondered about the differences in subjective and objective reality going back to Plato’s cave (and are still wondering). But even though Uexküll’s ideas weren’t strictly original, he brought them into a new academic silo – biology. In doing so, he generated lines of academic research into neuroscience and the nature of consciousness that are still going today.For instance, when the philosopher Thomas Nagel famously asked, “What is it like to be a bat?” he thought there was no answer to his question because it would be impossible to think in that way. Bat sonar, he said, is nothing like anything we possess, “and there is no reason to suppose that it is subjectively like anything we can experience or imagine.” All one can do, said Nagel, is imagine what it would be like for a person, like yourself, to be a bat. Imagining what it would be like for a bat to be a bat is impossible. This was part of an overall criticism on the limits of reductionist thinking, and is, of course, still the subject of much debate.The siblings of these notions appear in the writings of everyone from Timothy Leary with his “reality tunnels” to J.J. Gibson’s “ecological optics” to psychologist Charles Tart and his “consensus trances.” From the Wachowski’s Matrix to Kant’s “noumenon” to Daniel Dennett’s “conscious robots,” we’ve been wondering about these questions for a very long time. You too, I suspect, have stumbled on these problems, asking something along the lines of “do we all see the same colors?” at some point. The answer, by the way, is no.The assumption in most of these musings is that we humans are unique because we can escape our umwelten. We have reason, philosophy, science, and physics which free us from the prison of our limited human perceptions. We can use tools to extend our senses, to see the background radiation left behind by the big bang or hear the ultrasonic laughter of ticklish mice. Sure, the table seems solid enough when we knock on it, and if you were still trapped in your umwelt, you wouldn’t think otherwise, but now you know it is actually mostly empty space thanks to your understanding of protons and electrons. We assume that more layers of truth reveal themselves to us with each successive paradigm shift.In this episode of the You Are Not So Smart podcast, we sit down with a scientist who is challenging these assumptions.Donald Hoffman, a cognitive psychologist at the University of California with a background in artificial intelligence, game theory, and evolutionary biology has developed a new theory of consciousness that, should it prove true, would rearrange our understanding of not only the mind and the brain, but physics itself.“I agree up to a point,” said Hoffman, “that different organisms are in effectively different perceptual worlds, but where I disagree is that these worlds are seeing different parts of the truth. I don’t think they are seeing the truth at all.”Hoffman wondered if evolution truly favored veridical minds, so he and his graduate students created computer models of natural selection that included accurate perceptions of reality as a variable.“We simulated hundreds of thousands of random worlds and put organisms in those worlds that could see all of the truth, part of the truth, or none of the truth,” explained Hoffman. “What we found in our simulations was that organisms that saw reality as-it-is could never outcompete organisms that saw none of reality and were just tuned to fitness, as long as they were of equal complexity.”The implication, Hoffman said, is that an organism that can see the truth will never be favored by natural selection. This suggests that literally nothing we can conceive of can be said to represent objective reality, not even atoms, molecules, or physical laws. Physics and chemistry are still inside the umwelt. There’s no escape.“If our perceptual systems evolved by natural selection, then the probability that we see reality as it actually is, in any way, is zero. Precisely zero,” said Hoffman.Well aware that these ideas come across as woo, Hoffman welcomes challenges from his peers and other interested parties, and in the interview you’ll hear what they’ve said so far and how you can investigate these concepts for yourself.Also in the show, Hoffman explains his ideas in detail in addition to discussing the bicameral mind, artificial intelligence, and the hard problem of consciousness in this mindbending episode about how we make sense of our world, our existence, and ourselves.Download – iTunes – Stitcher – RSS – Soundcloud

From the Akron Beacon Journal, January 1, 1948, as spotted by the esteemed curators of Weird Universe:

Muckrock has been sending Freedom of Information requests to state police forces to find out how they're using "cell-site simulators" (AKA IMSI catchers/Stingrays), and they hit the motherlode with the Virginia State Police. (more…)

The University of Toronto's Citizen Lab (previously) is one of the world's leading research centers for cybersecurity analysis, and they are the first port of call for many civil society groups when they are targeted by governments and cyber-militias. (more…)

Data journalists pulled 26,234 of Trump's 34,062 tweets (dating from Jun 1 2015 to Nov 17 2016) from the Twitter API and analyzed them for news-sources, producing a long, detailed analysis complemented by interactive graphics. (more…)

Jan Hoffman writes about recent research into the effects on psychedelics such as psilocybin on anxiety and depression: "About 80 percent of cancer patients showed clinically significant reductions in both psychological disorders, a response sustained some seven months after the single dose."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEzJTMf1ZF8&feature=youtu.beRobbo writes, "Peter Sellers recorded a series of performances, in a variety of voices, reciting the lyrics of popular Beatles songs. It is demented weirdness - and perfect in all its madness."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwvjZGKwKvYIn Does The Online Card Payment Landscape Unwittingly Facilitate Fraud?, a new paper in IEEE Security & Privacy, researchers from the University of Newcastle demonstrate a technique for guessing secruity details for credit-card numbers in six seconds -- attackers spread their guesses out across many websites at once, so no website gets enough bad guesses to lock the card or trigger a fraud detection system. (more…)

Though the October polls that predicted a great showing for the Pirate Party in the Icelandic elections turned out to be wrong, that election did end with a deeply divided parliament that has been unable to find enough common ground upon which to form a new government. (more…)

Trump's Muslim database promise was extreme, even by Trump's standards; worse news, the US tech industry has built out a surveillance capability that would let him do it. (more…)

Loot Crate is a totally different kind of subscription service that mails subscribers monthly boxes filled with curated geek, pop culture, and gamer paraphernalia. Its cult following awaits a box every month filled with everything from bobble heads to T-shirts to special edition collectibles. But nothing gets Loot Crate fans as excited as the limited edition mystery crates.Each mystery crate is valued at approximately $70, and is packed with about 7-9 hand-curated items. Past boxes have included items such as a Deadpool Tacos T-shirt, a Halo UNSC Sling Backpack, and a Back to the Future Part II Hoverboard Replica. You won't know what you'll get until it arrives, and that's half the fun.This mystery box can be yours for just $20; that’s a serious steal, considering the value of the stuff you’ll get inside. Just don’t wait too long to snap this deal up, these sell out fast!

Erik Knutzen of Root Simple tried out two ways to block telemarketers from calling his mother: the Sentry Call Blocker and Nomorobo.

Enjoy the third and final part of this year's gift guide: toys! Also included are everything else that doesn't quite fit into our picks among the books and gadgets to enchant and enwonderize us in 2016. What cool and weird objects of fascination did you find this year?Mark FrauenfelderMakey MakeyIt’s easier to understand what Makey Makey is by watching this video of it in action than by describing it, but I’ll give it a shot. Makey Makey is a printed circuit board that you connect to any computer with a USB cable (included). You don’t need to install any software. Your computer thinks Makey Makey is a keyboard. And it is a keyboard of sorts. But it doesn’t use standard keys. Instead, you connect wires from Makey Makey to anything that conducts electricity: a piece of fruit, a bowl of water, a cup of soup, a scrap of aluminum foil, blobs of Play-Doh. When you touch the object with your finger, your computer will think you are pressing a key on a standard keyboard. You can assign the object to be a spacebar key, an arrow key, or a letter key. And you can connect several objects to Makey Makey at the same time, so that you can create game controllers, musical interfaces, and other button-controlled devices.It might not sound like much fun, but the possibilities are endless, and Makey Makey’s ease of use encourages quick-and-dirty experimentation. My 12-year-old was instantly transfixed by Makey Makey and she started making all sorts of things with it, including a drum machine triggered by apple slices, and a game controller out of a cardboard box and bits of foil.Makey Makey also works with Scratch, the excellent kids’ software development platform. Check out the Makey Makey games people have created using Scratch.BUYCory DoctorowGiant Meteor 2016We told you to vote for it, but did you listen? Noooooo.BUYJason WeisbergerA Silly Putty 6 pack6 Eggs of Silly Putty, just as you remember it. I almost bought a print newspaper to lift some comics, and then remembered it just ruins the stuff and isn’t so impressive.BUYRob Beschizza3" Glass PyramidMade of "optically clear crystal" and three inches tall, Amlong's Crystal Pyramid is the best Crystal Pyramid. My bacon is fresh, my airspace dangerous, and my undertakings favored.BUYCory DoctorowWelcome to Night Vale Creepy Baby OnesieThey say "Creepy" because they come from Night Vale, where "creepy" is a superlative.BUYJason WeisbergerA Rube Golberg-ian good time for allFun for the whole family, Mouse Trap is a game that never gets old and rarely works as intended. BUYRob BeschizzaMini Steel SafeThe Schylling mini steel bank helps kids "learn the value of saving while keeping it safe," and, ultimately, the value of patience. Also comes in pink.BUYJason Weisberger2016 LEGO Star Wars Advent CalendarThis years Star Wars Advent Calendar does not end on Wookie Life Day, but I like the minifigs.BUYMark FrauenfelderMoog Werkstatt-01A 100% analog synthesizer kit based on the Moog units of yore. Drool-worthy video here.BUYJason WeisbergerA Rube Golberg-ian good time for allFun for the whole family, Mouse Trap is a game that never gets old and rarely works as intended. BUYRob BeschizzaBulk Generic LegoYou can get 1000 random pieces of off-brand building bricks for $30, guaranteed to "fit tightBUYRob BeschizzaBlank Playing CardsMake your own games! Or just stare at them. Whatever. BUYRob BeschizzaWolf Crotch UnderwearWith a "convex design, large space and breathable," the 3D Wolf Head Crotch Underwear "make man looks sexy and wild" and can be yours for as little as five American dollars.BUYCory DoctorowBeasts of BalanceKickstarted in 2016, Beasts of Balance is a smart-phone enable tabletop game that combines stacking/balancing (think Jenga) with smart, sensor-enabled blocks that talk to your mobile device as you play the game, creating fun and complex challenges.BUYMark FrauenfelderDraft-Matic Mechanical PencilI worked as an engineering intern for a couple of summers when I was in college. I shared a cubicle with a draftsperson named Laura. She was obsessed with two things - being part of an outlaw motorcycle gang, and her drafting materials, especially her mechanical pencil. I liked her very much, but one time I made the mistake of borrowing her pencil while she was on a cigarette break. When she came back and discovered me using it she was so mad I thought she was going to stab me with it. I remember her describing the pencI'm 99% percent sure the pencil she owned was an Alvin Draft-Matic 5mm.BUYCory DoctorowReflectacles: super-reflective glasses-frames that look amazingScott Urban's new Reflectacles glasses are Ray Ban-style frames that are embedded with the kind of retroreflective cat-eye materials used for highway markers, making them reflective at 500 yards at night, and nearly that visible by day. He's kickstarting them at an astoundingly cheap $85/pair, in seven colors.BUYJason WeisbergerSea MonkeysI remember lonely days in my 20s when Sea Monkeys were my only pet. My roommate at the time was a 6’6” pre-frontally lobotomized, homophobic, anti-semitic, epileptic children’s party clown. It was only through the love of my Sea Monkeys that I survived. BUYMark FrauenfelderLoog electric 3-string guitarI love Loog 3-string guitars. They use open-tuning, which makes them very easy to play.BUYJason WeisbergerSeconds of excitement, by EstesRemember the anticipation? Stuffing RECOVERY WADDING in your rocket? Putting in the engine, fitting in the tiny matchhead sized ignitor? Running 15-20’ of wire out to your tiny launch control device! Hitting the button and fizz... Nothing happens! Three seconds later, just as you are standing up to approach “the rocket.” ZZZZZZZIIIIIIIP! You mostly miss seeing the launch, and the rocket is already tumbling back to earth. The parachute having a) popped to early, b) far too late, or c) in a ball of flame. BUYMark FrauenfelderMonopoly Deal card gameMonopoly Deal is a $5 card game that takes 15-20 minutes to play and has lots of player interaction, and no mind numbing roll-and-move mechanic. Many of the 110 cards in the deck look familiar (money, properties, utilities). There are also action cards which can be used to collect rent, steal another players' property, cancel an action card, or used as money. Best of all, even the richest player is at risk of losing, so everyone stays interested in playing till the end.BUYMark FrauenfelderCopper mugs for Moscow MulesI didn't know what a Moscow Mule was until I saw the Bali Hai episode of Better Call Saul. The drink, made from vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice, poured over ice, was served to Kim Wexler (my favorite character on the show, played by Rhea Seehorn) in a copper mug. Recently, I went on vacation with my wife, and she ordered a Moscow Mule at a restaurant. It was served in a copper mug. It turns out you are supposed to serve them that way.The origins of the Moscow Mule are a bit murky, but it appears to have been invented in the early 1940s by the owner of a Hollywood pub on the Sunset Strip called the Cock 'n' Bull. The bartender wanted to clean out a slow-moving stockpile of Smirnoff's and bottled ginger beer that had been gathering dust on the shelves in the backroom, so he mixed them together and started serving them in copper mugs to the movie stars who frequented the pub. It became an instant hit, at least until McCarthyism scared people away from anything with the taint of Sovietism to it. But the Moscow Mule had a kick that people liked, and it made a comeback in the 1960s, which it enjoys today.BUYCory DoctorowTiffin Board GameMore than 250,000 of Mumbai's workers enjoy a home-cooked lunch every day thanks to the dabbawallas, who bring tiffins -- stacking lunchpails -- filled at each worker's family kitchen directly to their workplace, in a miracle of coordinated logistics that consistently beats Mumbai's legendary traffic jams and attains unheard-of accuracy despite the low levels of literacy among dabbawallas.Tiffin is a new tabletop game from Rael Dornfest -- RSS pioneer; creator of the Blosxom blogging tool; technologist for Charity:Water; former chair of the O'Reilly Emerging Technology conferences; and husband of Asha "Parent Hacks" Dornfest -- that challenges you to match the dabbawallas' logistical skill by building delivery routes that minimize waste and maximize delivery efficiency.Players compete to build more-efficient routes, while contending with slowdowns and flat tires, edging out the competition with short-cuts.BUYMark FrauenfelderTitanium Quasi SporkThe Light My Fire spork isn't technically a spork, but rather a handle with a fork on one end and a spoon on the other. Call it a spork in front of your friends for a free nerdrage lecture.BUYCory DoctorowScorched Star Trek:TOS redshirtsThese full-sublimation Star Trek redshirts allow you to LARP an expendable security team-member who's met a horrible end, or a character in an existential John Scalzi comedy.BUYRob BeschizzaBloxelsMake pixel art in meatspace! Bloxels is a physical 13x13 art board with 320 blocks, which come with a free app to turn your creations into actual video game characters and levels: "When creating game rooms, each color in your design represents a different element, like green for terrain, blue for water or red for a hazard. When working on art, the color blocks represent the pixel art."BUYMark FrauenfelderMickey Mouse WatchI've always wanted a Mickey Mouse watch. This model is $23 on Amazon, and looks better than more expensive ones.BUYJason WeisbergerBounce though the holidaysI went to my brother’s house a couple weeks back and was IMPRESSED. Rather than renting these from a party service, my brother just bought a bounce house for the kids. From age 2 to about 11, and then again from 19-35 or so, this’ll exhaust family and make every day kid management a lot easier. Tire them out!BUYCory DoctorowElenco 200-in-One Electronic Project Lab: A modern rebuild of the Radio Shack 150-in-One electronics kitElenco's highly rated 200-in-One Electronic Project Lab, which uses the same spring-wire and no-solder connectors as Radio Shack's classic, much-loved 150-in-One Electronics Kit, and adds a rack-mount chassis that lets your homebrew projects integrate with your home AV or networking gear.There are 200 projects in the kit, including "Build your own Radio, AM Broadcast Station, Burglar Alarm, Electronic Game, Ohmmeter, Telegraph, Rain Detector and Sound effects tool."BUYMark FrauenfelderHand blown pink glass tentacleIf Peggy Olson had one of these hand blown pink glass tentacle massagers on her desk, it would go nicely with her Hokusai.BUYCory DoctorowEric Harshbarger diceEric Harshbarger's weird, laser-engraved dice are a tour-de-force: a pair of D6s for figuring out where to go for dinner in NYC; another D6 to figure out which die you should roll; an all-20s critical hit D20; Sicherman D6s that have different faces to a normal D6 pair, but the same probability distribution; punctuation mark dice (I've had students who were definitely using these); dice for indecisive people, and so on.BUYRob BeschizzaJengaThis classic gift is just $7.50 and stacks up well against the others in this guide. BUYCory DoctorowCaped Wonder Woman onesieThough the Dawn of Justice movie was a disappointment, the $45 Wonder Woman Dawn of Justice onesie (with cape!) (and gold foil tiara on the hood!) is not a bad consolation prize (and the cape zips off).BUYJason WeisbergerThe Buddy Christ dashboard statuetteNo mid 70s sedan could possibly be complete without the Buddy Christ. I sort of thing my Vanagon needs one too.BUYRob BeschizzaMeaniesJust the sort of toys that kids love but parents would never get, Meanies are the perfect indiscreet gift for nieces, nephews, and other people's children. OG Meanie Splat the Roadkill Cat is "totally gross" but out of production.BUYCory DoctorowCthulhu ski masksWith more than a hundred positive reviews, Amurleopard's $4.23 Cthulhu ski mask seems to represent a kind of triumph in a narrow but important niche.BUYRob BeschizzaTactical Fun NoodlesWhy pay $14.99 for a brightly-colored fun noodle when 6ft of black pipe insulation is $5? BUYCory DoctorowTabasco packetsThe convenience of carrying your favorite hot-sauce in individual sachets -- think "McDonald's ketchup pouches" -- can't be overstated. It's a particularly great format if you're a frequent traveller, as TSA screeners don't recognize the shape as a "liquid" on their X-rays, meaning you can just stash them in your bags and pockets and not worry about getting them all out when you reach a checkpoint.BUYMark FrauenfelderCrossbow pistolI bought this crossbow pistol because my family’s favorite character on The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon, uses a crossbow to take out zombies, and we thought it would be fun for target practice. It was only about $25, and I didn’t expect it to be very powerful, but I was wrong. A bolt shot from this thing could kill someone. It easily penetrates plywood. I’m not sure if a bolt could go through someone’s skull, but it would definitely lodge itself in a leg, arm, abdomen, or neck.If you buy this, give it the same respect you would a firearm. It’s not a toy, but it sure is fun. That said, I don't think anyone under the age of 18 should use it without adult supervision.It doesn’t require a lot of effort to cock it, but a smaller kid would not be able to figure out how to do it. The safety automatically engages when you cock it, thankfully. The crossbow comes with three aluminum (very sharp) bolts. You can buy a pack of 36 additional bolts for $12.BUYRob BeschizzaPound o' DiceApproximately 100 dice in all sorts of types, styles and colors: 6, 8, 10, 12, 20 & 30-sided will comprise most of the bag. You can also order D6 only. BUY

Australia's Westfield ultramarathon had a surprising entrant in 1983: a 61-year-old potato farmer named Cliff Young who defied all expectations to win the 500-mile race against a field of professional runners. In today's show we'll learn about Cliff's unorthodox style and the remarkable strategy that carried him to victory.We'll also learn the difference between no and nay and puzzle over a Japanese baby shortage.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon!

LEGO is reviewing this nifty Addams Family mansion as a possible box set. It even has Morticia on her rattan chair with a black fan. (more…)

When the heat goes out during Finnish winter, it's a matter of life and death, so when two automated buildings controlled by Valtia systems suffered DDoS attacks that shut off the heat, Finns were understandably alarmed about the new threat. (more…)

Etsy seller Chet Phillips sells his amazing science-fiction/vintage Japanese matchbox art remixes as 5"x7" signed prints with mats and backing boards at $12 each. (via Kadrey) (more…)

Tragedy at the European Juggling Convention. A guy mistakenly thought he won the club balance endurance competition.[via]

The UK lumpenproletariat will surely accept, nay, cheer, the fact that their betters are too well-bred to be expected to follow the same rules as the rabble.From The Independent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duG55M8t0sc&feature=youtu.beHere's the 32 minute video of my presentation at last month's O'Reilly Security Conference in New York, "Security and feudalism: Own or be pwned." (more…)

I'm at Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, CA today (I'm on staff) at the Positive Platform Design Jam, where we had Cornell historian Louis Hyman give a presentation called "Unnatural Capitalism: How the New Deal Reinvented Capitalism and Why We Need to Do It Again." You can watch a video recording of his talk here.In his talk, Hyman explained why today's economic climate is like that of the Herbert Hoover era -- lots of money sitting in banks because investment was too risky and there weren't that many big things worth investing in. Hyman said depressions happen when investment fails to connect with new leading sectors. The FDR government made it easy for banks to invest in high-risk industries (by insuring the investments and giving investors tax breaks), which jumpstarted the economy. We need to get that money out of banks and into new technology, or we risk entering a new depression. Unfortunately, the federal government has cut science funding, and it's likely the new administration won't invest in basic science research, either.Hyman said his only choice is to remain optimistic:

The Telegraph created an interactive data visualization of cannabis use in countries around the world. Here are the winners:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has disclosed that it has won two key victories for clients who'd received the FBI's notorious, gag-ordered National Security Letters -- a form of secret warrant that has become the go-to way for law enforcement to avoid scrutiny since the Patriot Act's passage. (more…)

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon, was medically evacuated out of Antarctica where the 86-year-old hero was on a tourist expedition.The tour company, White Desert, issued a statement: