Pea Hicks writes, "This is an album of scans I made from the 1931 Los Angeles University High School, CHIEFTAIN - 'Martian Number.'" (more…)

What a delight: NASA itself published a series of retrofuturistic tourism posters for other worlds. Better yet, the images are less unfree, though they also sell prints. I'm off to the exoplanets, see ya!

Relitigating the 1980s is always fun. Up today: did the Commodore 64 or the Amstrad CPC have the best colors?Both machines were technically similar, with the most practical option being a 320x240 screen resolution limited to 16 colors picked from a slightly larger palette. But whereas the C64's colors (top left) were muted and subtle, the Amstrad's (top right) were bright and garish.Indie Retro News collected a set of artworks rendered by both machines. For lovers of these old systems, it's a great versus-battle, where the same limitation resulted in two entirely different styles of minimalism.The plain fact of the matter: the Amstrad looked great when you want to do brightly-colored cartoony scenes (particularly appropriate for a certain arcade-style look) but was very much limited in its expressive potential by the bizarre, almost broken set of shades to choose from: there are 7 nearly-identical bright greens, no truly dark colors, and only a single grey. The Amstrad "grey problem" is well-illustrated by the above picture.The Commodore allowed for subtle gradients—three greys!—making it more painterly, more versatile. In the following image, for example, Kirk and Spock get recognizable skintones on the C64, whereas on the Amstrad they seem like glowing orange caricatures despite it literally being the same underlying pixel art. All of the colors are dull, though. Compare the explosions in this Commando art: the CPC's looks like a nice glowy arcade explosion, whereas the C64's looks like a spreading puddle of dog vomit.On the other hand, Commodore commando isn't horrifically sunburned. So there we go.Here's my "Amstrad cheat sheet" for trying to get gradients out of its hot 'n' nasty color scheme:As a childhood Amstrad owner, I have to admit that the question itself is a little misleading. The Amstrad tended to look great in screenshots like these, at least for arcade games, but the Commodore's faster sprite-handling meant that it usually had better frame rates and scrolling.Check out the rest of the set.P.S. Keep walking, Spectrum/Tandy owners.

Scarfolk, you will recall, is a Wyndhamesque horror-town in the English countryside, trapped in a continuous loop from 1970-1980, whose strange artifacts slowly leak into our world. (more…)

It's no secret that "resisting arrest" is the go-to excuse for violence committed against suspects by corrupt cops -- it's practically a running gag. (more…)

Hackers are people too. And sometimes, they’re the good guys. The fundamentals of hacking have created an entire new level to the security industry and one that you can totally dominate with this certification training course that’s 98% off now. To know how to protect something, you have to be able to see how it’s vulnerable and that’s where professional hacking skills come in. This course will walk you through it all, and teach you that you’ve got to understand the bad to protect the good.There’s over fifty hours of advanced technical training here that will get you prepped for certification in CompTIA Security+, Ethical Hacker (CEH) & Cisco's CCNA Security. You’ll learn how to secure multiple systems from attacks and do in-depth studies on passwords and how to create, guess, crack and restore them to break different security methods in the Windows OS. You’ll also dive into the activities performed and countermeasures for spyware. The courses also cover keyloggers’ software, hardware and kernel/driver. You’ll need to know it all for the exams.Each of these three certifications lays a step by step path in place for you to rocket up the career hierarchy. Security jobs are in greater demand than ever, and these bullets on your resume will allow you to name your price after taking this course for 98% off. If you diligently invest just one to three hours per week studying this material up and down, you can easily pass all three certification levels within four to six weeks. Go get ‘em.Take 98% off IT Security & Ethical Hacking Certification Training in the Boing Boing Store

The only thing better than getting a package in the mail is getting a package filled with awesome, DIY kits! That’s why we have teamed up with Quarterly to curate their inaugural Maker Box. Think of all the awesome projects that have been featured on Boing Boing, now in a box delivered directly to you. Quarterly’s Maker Box hits your doorstep once every three months and will feature a variety of projects, from tech-influenced kits to gardening. We know that everyone can be a Maker and we’re excited for you to start seeing the world as your very own DIY kit.Each package will include at least three kits, save one for each month of the quarter or do them all at once! The choice is yours. The kits will vary in theme and final product, but each kit will be hours of hands-on fun! The cost is $100 every 3 months with this first box shipping out at the end of February.So what’s going to be inside the very first Boing Boing x Quarterly Maker Box, #MKR01? Well, here’s a teaser for what to expect!When’s the last time you sat down and made something with your hands? If you are a Maker, probably an hour ago. Or if you are new to making, it may have been a while ago. Or maybe you cooked a meal, drew your own art, or just finished a puzzle. There are many different types of Makers out there from hackers, tinkerers, independent inventors and traditional artisans. Whether or not you define yourself as a Maker, you can definitely be one and this box is the perfect starter kit.MKR01 is all about celebrating DIY in all aspects of your life. You’ll receive three kits, each with a new twist on life (*Hint, hint!). And if that weren’t exciting enough, there will be a puzzle included in the box. You will have to solve it in order to receive the letter from us and Quarterly! Think of it as your very own treasure hunt.There’s only a limited number of boxes available, so subscribe now, before you miss out on this fun, creative, and engaging box.

I got quite a treat yesterday afternoon when my email and Twitter filled up with people letting me know that I was mentioned in a Jeopardy! clue! (more…)

The Force of the Sun Ladies is an all-woman brigade of fighters who were formerly enslaved by ISIS during the occupation of Mosul. (more…)

Science fiction titan Nalo Hopkinson appears in this week's Geek Guide to the Galaxy podcast, talking about race, diversity, and sf. (more…)

This is found net.stuff, but my cursory research suggests it might come from Manama, Bahrain. That dude is s-m-o-o-t-h. (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

A New York State Supreme Court judge has confirmed that Staten Island Borough President James Oddo can name three streets in a new property development with words that imply greediness and deceitfulness on the part of the developers. (more…)

Light used to just be one of two things: on or off. Simple as that. Either a flood of yellow or total darkness. Then the dimmer switch happened and you could adjust the brightness to meet your seductive needs and suddenly everyone looked a little better in the gentler light. And now your luminary universe has evolved for the third time into something completely new and awesome: Blue Pine Studio's 3D-Illusion Lighting Sculpture. For 36% off you can nab one of the sweetest light developments since the invention of candles and have the apartment that everyone will be talking about.What looks like a flat black box is actually a platform for the three dimensional light display that looks simply mesmerizing. Once it’s turned on, the light contorts into incredible shapes like pure artwork that can be set in sixteen different colors and four different modes. Like its predecessor in light history, the dimmer, this too can dull down to set the mood for reading, dancing, drinking or snuggling. You can make all these color and light adjustments using a simple remote control so you never have to leave your couch again, which should be the goal of any awesome product. The LED light has a super long lifespan of over thirty thousand hours of use.It’s lightweight and small enough to go anywhere in your home on any surface. It looks as good in the bedroom as it does in the kitchen or social living room. And there’s no question this is a lamp people are going to freak out about. Get it now for 36% off and completely wow your guests when they think you’re just turning on the old light switch again. Joke’s on them, you’re lighting the way to the future.Take 36% off a 3D-Illusion Lighting Sculpture in the Boing Boing Store

A man who decided to shoot a bunch of puppies was himself shot by one of his intended victims. NBC News reports that Jerry Allen Bradford, 37, of Pensacola, Florida, sustained a gunshot to the wrist when "one of the dogs put its paw on the revolver’s trigger."

The Barbuzzo Banana Flask is perfect for your drinking needs. Just look at it!

Rogue archivist Carl Malamud writes, "Third year Harvard Law School student Kendra Albert did a very nice job on her powerful opinion piece in the Harvard Law Record, the student-run newspaper." (more…)

Projects will always need management. And now with the tech gold rush it feels like there are more projects than ever with fewer managers than there’s demand for. But it takes too much time and money to go back to school full time so luckily the Project Management Professional certification training course is now 96% off and will get you trained up in no time, on your own time. Take your career up to a whole new level with this feather in your cap and new bullet on your resume. These valuable skills will more than pay for themselves.You’ll have lifetime access to over thirty five hours of training that cover over seventy five courses, which means you can absorb all that information whenever works best for your schedule, 24/7, and revisit the material as often as you’d like. The criteria to meet the PMP and CAPM certifications are super strict and these lessons meet all the necessary requirements. The PMP certification even requires thirty five contact hours, all of which you’ll get here too. You’ll also meet the Professional Development Units to maintain your certification.All you need is internet and the rest is up your flexible schedule and desire to earn this distinction. The huge and helpful course pack is 96% off and can launch your career to a whole new level. No matter what your experience level is, you can start today.Save 96% on Project Management Professional Certification Training in the Boing Boing Store

When a prick on Twitter attacked Gamergate arch-nemesis Brianna Wu's game dev credentials, sneering that her latest game looked "like something that would've been shitcanned on the ps1," Wu proceeded to shred the fool with a masterclass in the technical capabilities of the PS1 and their relationship to Revolution 60, Wu's new game. Female Video Game Developer Snaps at Twitter Troll, Results Are Fantastic [Mike Dever/Vice]

Looking for something to do this Valentine's Sunday? Nothing says I love you like silence. Cinefamily is screening Charlie Chaplin's City Lights, matched with a live performance of Lindsay Benner's amazing Book of Love!If you haven't seen a film in the Cinefamily Silent Theater, Charlie Chaplin's City Lights is a pretty fantastic choice! Lindsay Benner's Book of Love is an exceptional, hilarious interpretation of your favorite 1950s instructional videos. Lindsay keeps the audience laughing, and charms their socks off, all without saying a word! Her daredevil juggling is also phenomenal.Give the gift of silence this Valentine's Day!City Lights + Book of Love @ The Cinefamily Silent Theater3:30 pm, February 14th611 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles

I can’t tell you how many times over the past five decades I needed a bookmark when none were around. Bookmarks are designed to reside most comfortably between the pages of a book, which makes them awkward to keep in your pocket, wallet, or purse, which is really where you want them when you suddenly need one.This results in lots of corners being torn off magazines and newspapers to use in a pinch. But the bookmark you get from tearing off a corner is small and often slides either out of the book or down between the pages. And don’t mention folding the corner of the page over – don’t go there. Book publishers (that’s me) don’t like to hear that.Of course, origami will solve your problem. Before you give up and think, “I can never get those damn paper folds right,” let me soothe your anxiety by explaining that making one of these cute and clever origami bookmarks is easy as pie and takes about a minute.The Origami Resource Center online teaches oodles of methods for simple square origami bookmarks, or more decorative versions including pandas, penguins, peacocks, and Santas. From that website is a simple square fold that you can make even if you’ve never folded a piece of paper before. I’ve simplified it a bit more, making it (hopefully) even easier.First, you need a piece of paper, exactly square – anywhere from 4 to 8 inches will do. And I’ll use a piece of origami paper in the photos so it’s easier for you to keep track of which side is which (commonly found origami paper is colored on one side and white on the other). Once you understand how to do the folding, be creative and use some other kind of pretty paper—even an interesting page from a magazine, when folded, can have great character.Watch this video first, then read the steps below and try to follow them, pausing your second pass-through of the video step by step. You should get it after a few tries because it’s pretty simple.https://youtu.be/ovirYnkRGFIStep 1: Put the square paper on the table in front of you with the white side upward. Note that it’s in, let’s say, the diamond orientation. Remember to crease each fold as you make it!Step 2: Grasp the innermost corner and fold it over and onto the outermost corner to create a triangle, red side outward. Crease the bottom fold (okay, won’t say that after each fold).Step 3: Grip the very tip of the upper layer of the outermost corner and fold it inward (so the white side shows), over and onto the bottom portion of the triangle. You’ll find that it’s pretty easy to make the tip perfectly even with the horizontal inner side of the red triangle.Step 4: Grasp the extreme right corner of the triangle and fold it diagonally to the left and upward until its tip meets the tip at the top. Crease.Step 5: This is the one tricky little fold, the pebble on which you might stub your toe, so follow closely. A moment ago you folded the right corner over and onto the center portion. Now grasp the extreme tip (at the top) between your right thumb and first finger.Step 6: Use your left thumb and first finger to grasp the horizontal crease on the white side just to the left of the center fold.Step 7: Your right thumb and first finger begin to fold the tip they hold away from you. The main body of the paper is steadied by your left thumb and first finger, which also pull open the horizontal fold they’re holding.Step 8: Continue to use your right first finger to push the tip downward into the pocket.Step 9: Note that your right thumb has moved onto the lower portion of the piece that your first finger is folding, and is now beside your left thumb.Step 10: Once your right first finger has pushed the corner all the way downward and into the pocket, its tip should nestle perfectly against the tip of the inner end of the folded paper. Press it flat.Step 11: Repeat exactly the same steps (4 to 10) with the corner that’s sticking out to the left. Fold it over and onto the base piece.Step 12: Then use your left first finger to fold the tip down inside the pocket.Tuck it in all the way and press the whole thing flat. You’ve created a nice pocket.To use it as a bookmark, you can keep either side upward, but it’s easier if the pocket side remains in view as you slide the outer corner of a group of pages neatly into it.And there you are.Source: Rocket News, Original Source (in Japanese, but will translate to English automatically with Chrome)

LADY: Cody! Coooodyyyy!CODY: *scream of despair and terror*CODY: *wags tail*

In celebration of Charles Darwin's birthday today, our friends at Imaginary Foundation reprinted their classic "Natural Selecta" t-shirt! The IF Director kindly provided BB readers with a site-wide 10% off code too: boingboing

See sample pages from this book at Wink.I saw the sour plums on the cover of Preserving the Japanese Way calling out to me from the highest bookshelf at teeny-tiny Moon Palace Bookstore, Minneapolis. As the Master Food Preserver for my county, I’m a sucker for beautiful books on food preservation. Angela, the owner, clapped and oohed as I plunked it down. “I love this book. I can’t cook, but this book makes me want to eat!”I’m authorized by the State of Wisconsin to teach the safest scientifically proven methods of food preservation. In my teaching, I’ve heard lovely stories of immigrant grandmothers and their favorite recipes and the joy keeping these traditions alive brings to people. This connectivity to our shared and adopted cultures is one of the most compelling aspects to Preserving the Japanese Way. Nancy Singleton Hachisu is a wonderfully opinionated ex-pat who embraced rural Japanese culture with her marriage to a Hokkaido farmer nearly thirty years ago. Her notes and recommendations are informed by her American “keep trying” attitude, coupled with the Japanese concept of perfecting a singular thing.Hachisu follows her insatiable curiosity in discovering the old ways. Her vignettes of meetings with artisanal makers are entertaining and informative. Her explanations and definitions of very specific Japanese ingredients are profoundly useful; for the first time ever I understood the nuances of soy sauces. She also acknowledges that artisanally made food is expensive. She recognizes that not everyone has the monetary luxury of purchasing small-batch regional soy sauces and offers accessible and easily available substitutes.I’ve taught classes in making Tsukemono (Japanese-style quick pickles) and am familiar with both the techniques and concepts on why preservation food-science works. Hachisu doesn’t dwell on the science of Why, which might be off-putting to both food scientists and beginners. Beginning food preservers will want to take a basics class or contact their local Master Food Preserver to give you the rules for fermentation. That being said, if you have interest in Japanese cuisine and culture, not to mention food preservation, Preserving the Japanese Way is book that you will return to many times.– Christina WardPerserving the Japanese Way: Traditions of Salting, Fermenting and Pickling for the Modern KitchenPreserving the Japanese Way: Traditions of Salting, Fermenting, and Pickling for the Modern Kitchen

Forrest J Ackerman -- editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland, collector, agent, writer, and superfan -- died in 2008. (more…)

Has-been rock musician Ted Nugent made shockingly anti-semitic and idiotic posts to Facebook this week, spurring many pro-gun advocates to call for his removal from the board of the National Rifle Association.

https://youtu.be/m9daxtL90XYI love this hand-cranked shell game automaton, built by Per Helldorff.And here's a flesh-and-blood shell game artist plying his trade on Westminster Bridge in London:https://youtu.be/kM61RPgUYIMThe person who secretly recorded him wrote on YouTube:

This is Edgar Latulip of southwestern Ontario. The developmentally disabled man has been missing since 1986 but was just found about 120 kilometers from his hometown. Or rather, he found himself. Latulip had lost his memory due to a head injury after he disappeared and had created a new identity. Last month, he realized he wasn't who he thought he was. From CBC:

The critically acclaimed War Is Beautiful: The New York Times Pictorial Guide to the Glamour of Armed Conflict examines the ways in which the newspaper happily propagated the Bush Administration's lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that resulted in a senseless war that hurt millions of people and immensely enriched Halliburton, Blackwater, the Carlyle Group and other companies with close ties to the Bush and the Cheney families.As Ben Collins of the Daily Beast writes, "The book makes an artful, journalistic point: Photography on the front page of the paper of record depicted the conflict in rosy, gorgeous, cinematic ways, like the first scene in Apocalypse Now." And the book's author, David Shields bought the rights to use all the photos in the book. Why then, is the The New York Times suing the publisher for $19,000? Because the inside back cover of the book is decorated with 64 thumbnail photos from the front pages of the NYT.“We didn’t expect we’d have a First Amendment fight,” Daniel Power, owner of Powerhouse Books told The Daily Beast. “Plus, we licensed the damn images and compensated these photographers for their work.”

https://youtu.be/N682eopajzAIn this first episode of Scamalot, a new weekly series from Mashable, comedian James Veitch trolls a scammer who wants to give Veitch 50kg of free gold.

Trendy idea: America's bookstores—Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc—failed not because of Amazon, but from adopting a doomed big-box retail model that cannot be escaped. The evidence: UK bookstore chains are thriving, having located themselves in smaller units surrounded by foot traffic. And it turns out that wee used bookstores are doing great in the U.S, too.Drew Nelles writes that The Used Bookstore Will Be the Last One Standing, focusing on Topos, a bookcafé in Queens.

He sent Kanye West a public offer of $10M for West's next studio album, which Shkreli alone would be able to listen to and enjoy. (more…)

In this video, employees at the Carrier Air Conditioner factory in Indianapolis are gathered together by a manager who explains that the company's profit-margins dictate that all 1400 of them will lose their jobs as their factory is moved to Mexico. (more…)

Before resiliency was a buzzword, it was an area of serious psychological study. (more…)

Here's how you actually get fired sharpish if you're a bad cop: you go up to your ex-wife's new husband, put your service gun in his face, then tell him you're going to kill him.

Ayn Rand's personal life was an unmitigated disaster, fueled by personality cultists who literally, legally, changed their names in tribute to her and her fiction, whom she alternately possessively clutched to herself or expelled in purges worthy of Josef Stalin. (more…)

Patchtogether's Chumbuddies are a full range of plush marine animal sleeping bags that you crawl inside of before bed. (more…)

Results from What-Dog.net have become awful exciting, in my family. Submit photos via the website or app for instant results of widely varying accuracy.My dogs both got great matches the first time, but my sister has had some fun results. Evidently my father is a Pekinese.

Sinbad certainly looks like he's having fun too.

Gravitational waves are real, and scientists have detected them. In the video above, PBS Space Time explains the discovery by researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). From the New York Times:

[My friend Peter Sheridan is a Los Angeles-based correspondent for British national newspapers. He has covered revolutions, civil wars, riots, wildfires, and Hollywood celebrity misdeeds for longer than he cares to remember. As part of his job, he must read all the weekly tabloids. For the past couple of years, he's been posting terrific weekly tabloid recaps on Facebook and has graciously given us permission to run them on Boing Boing. Enjoy! - Mark]Why let facts get in the way of a good story?Princess Diana was assassinated with a lethal injection administered by a British agent on the orders of Prince Charles, who could face murder charges, concludes an “explosive new autopsy” conducted “after her body was exhumed last year,” reports the Globe.Only one problem with the story. Diana’s body has never been exhumed. So there’s no new autopsy report, and no murder charges. In fact, her grave has been allowed to grow over with foliage and return to nature, giving the lie to any “secret” exhumation.The Globe's laissez-faire attitude to facts is summed up in its story on the CIA’s “X-Files” allegedly proving that “UFOs are visiting Earth.” Tucked away in the final paragraph is a so-called "intelligence insider” saying: “While these reports don’t actually confirm the sightings - they sure don’t disprove them either.”It’s a philosophy evident in the Globe's “world exclusive” interview with fugitive jet hijacker D. B. Cooper, missing for 44 years since he parachuted from a plane over Oregon with $200,000 in ransom money. The Globe interviews “Cooper,” now calling himself Alex and living “like royalty” in remote Nepal, which presumably means he’s trying to get British agents to inject his wife with poison. At the conclusion of its three-page report, the Globe acknowledges that there have been numerous people claiming to be Cooper through the years, but “Alex insists he’s the real deal.”Well, if that’s good enough for the Globe, that’s good enough for me. Alex wouldn’t be lying, would he?It takes a brave editor to tell millions of Americans that their eyes are lying, but the plucky Globe goes for it anyway, reporting: “Guy in bear suit raped DiCaprio.” The conceit that the CGI bear in ‘The Revenant’ raped DiCaprio’s character Hugh Glass was quickly quashed by filmmakers when first reported before the movie's release. But now that millions have seen the movie and we all know there’s no rape scene - it’s a female bear, for crying out loud - it requires immense journalistic fortitude to repeat the story in the face of all evidence to the contrary. That’s surely the sort of journalistic independence that wins awards.The National Enquirer, not to be outdone, claims that O.J. Simpson’s murder weapon was in a bag hidden by Kris Jenner, now the Kardashian klan momager. The cover teases: “Simpson’s mystery bag buried - where she put it.” But the story inside says that Kris “had no idea” what was in the locked bag - so why would any sane person bury a perfectly good Louis Vuitton briefcase? Okay, so the cover promises to tell us “where she put it.” The answer, according to an Enquirer source: “Where that buried bag is today remains a mystery.” No kidding. Which makes it all the more wonderful that the Enquirer’s front page features a giant photo of “the bloody knife,” still covered in fresh bright red blood, like some kind of holy relic where blood miraculously doesn’t darken with age. At least we now know where the murder weapon is - in the Enquirer’s offices.Back in the real world, Us magazine tells us that TV’s ‘Bachelor’ Ben Higgins “goes too far” by telling two women “I love you.” As if falling in love with a serial cheater who simultaneously dates 20 women might not bring a little heartache along the way.Lorde and Chloe Grace Moretz wore it best, Craig Ferguson reveals “I think I’m a ‘Rachel,’ but I know I’m a ‘Monica,’” and the stars are still just like us: they share umbrellas, they cleanse their skin, they pick produce and they jog - though not all at the same time, I imagine.People magazine anoints Ryan Reynolds the “Sexiest Dad Alive” on its cover, which also promises: “Gwyneth Paltrow - Sex, Beauty & Feeling Younger Than Ever!” But inside the mag, while Gwynnie talks about her new skin-care line, finding gray hairs and wrinkles, she doesn’t come close to mentioning sex. People magazine - they’re just like the Globe.Actress Maggie Grace carries keys, lip balm and a phone in her purse, and yet again I never fail to be surprised by the contents of celebrity bags. Maybe Us magazine should have Kris Jenner empty her handbag, and see if O.J.’s bloody knife falls out.Onwards and downwards . . .

See sample pages from this book at Wink.The Who: 50 Years: The Official History charts the history of what some claim is “the greatest live rock band” from infancy to now by way of text and pictures. Long before there was a band, there was childhood. That is where the book starts after a brief introduction by music and film producer Bill Curbishley. It begins with a section recounting events in the last days of World War Two. Pete Townsend was born two weeks after VE Day (Victory in Europe) and four months before VJ Day (Victory in Japan). The themes of war such as unresolved aggression, hate, cynicism clashing with idealism, and more were part of those days and became the band’s themes. Along with pictures of some of the band members in childhood, there are numerous pictures of the aftermath of the war. Civilians struggling to survive a daily existence in bombed-out rubble and wreckage. The time shaped the music and became a cornerstone for the band. As the years passed and new events happened, those events further shaped their music.That progression forward through time based on the culture drives the format of the book. In sections delineated by time segments of anywhere from a year up to over twenty years, images of the band members aging as well as the culture changing and evolving supplement a text that explains how the music changed. This book offers a perspective on how the lives of those involved with The Who were changed, as was their music, by a world that was changing often at a break-neck pace.As a result, while the focus is on The Who, this coffee-table-sized tome also provides an in-depth pictorial history of the times themselves. A history book that begins in the dying days of World War Two and continues now as does the music. The over 300 page book also includes an index, a listing and detailed notes of all the albums, as well as the treasure trove of photographs and history sure to delight any fan of the band. It also serves as remarkable book that explains how the culture and society of the times shaped a legendary band. What is not charted and cannot be accurately assessed at this point is what influence their music has had on changing the culture. – Kevin R. TippleThe Who: 50 Years: The Official History

Though India's independent telcoms regulator has banned services like Facebook's "Free Basics" -- which bribed phone companies to exempt Facebook's chosen services from the carriers' punishing data-caps -- the debate rages on, as Free Basics has taken hold through many poor countries around the world. (more…)

https://youtu.be/1DHYbFpRMS4Clip'wreck says: "Birds can be jerks, and the internet is full of proof. Be they duck, ostrich, swan, goose, crow, parrot, penguin, chicken or seagull, none can be trusted. Enjoy this compilation video of birds being rude, destructive, crazy, selfish, and mean."[via]

Paul Strasburger sits in the House of Lords as a Libdem peer; he sits on the Joint Select Committee that is the latest Parliamentary group to scrutinise the Investigatory Powers Bill (AKA the Snoopers Charter) and, as with the previous investigations, he's concluded that the spying bill is a dangerous, poorly drafted, overbroad dog's breakfast. (more…)

January 30 was Nick Panayiotou's lucky day. He was standing in a boat shed in Sydney, Australia’s Oyster Bay filming the storm outside when...(Thanks, UPSO!)

Researchers used a huge dataset of Github activity, up to April 15 2015, to examine the relationship between gender and the acceptance of a suggested revision by a project's maintainer. (more…)

My pal Terry Ashkinos, a veteran of the San Francisco indie music scene (Elephone, El Terrible) keeps the dark wave dream alive with the deep and expansive new track "Close," from Fake Your Own Death's as-yet-untitled album due out in late spring. Listen below! Fake Your Own Death (Ashkinos, Scott Eberhardt, and Adrian McCullough) perform live on February 27 at Bottom of the Hill as part of the killer Noise Pop 2016 music festival. Don't sleep on it.Fake Your Own DeathPreviously on Boing Boing:• Music premiere: Dark noise pop from El Terrible• El Terrible: dark, spare noise pop from SF• Premiere: new video from SF noise pop trio El Terrible