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Hey you! I'm driving to the Playa this Thursday, and there's a small but significant chance that you'll be there too! If you're around, come and say hi! (more…)

Lightning cables typically fray at the ends. These cables have connecters at right-angles to the cable, which might reduce the wear and tear. The cables themselves are braided, too, for additional robustness. They are MFi Certified and on sale at Amazon for $13 for 2 if you use code AUKEYAL5.

The blackest of black pigments is a substance called Vantablack. It reflects almost no visible light, so anything painted with it looks like a 2D cutout of nothingness.British artist Anish Kapoor licensed the worldwide exclusive rights to use Vantablack in art, which makes him kind of an asshole, but we've already complained about him on Boing Boing and that's not the point of this post. The point is that Kapoor has n work of art at the Serralves Museum in Porto, Portugal called Descent Into Limbo. It's an eight-foot deep pit and because Kapoor painted the interior of the pit with Vantablack, it looks like a two-dimensional black circle painted on the floor of the museum. You can guess what happened next. A 60 year old visitor (probably the kind of guy who can't pass by a "wet paint" sign without poking his finger at whatever the sign is referring to) ignored the warning signs and stepped into the hole, falling eight feet to the bottom of the pit. He was hospitalized, treated for minor injuries and released. https://youtu.be/LRSjuKibFMsImage: ANISH KAPOOR: OBRAS, PENSAMENTOS, EXPERIÊNCIAS YouTube Screengrab

Museum of Modern Art film curator La Frances Hui narrates this fascinating introduction to the genre of Kung Fu films:

https://youtu.be/ajGX7odA87kJames Mickens (previously) has a well-deserved reputation for being the information security world's funniest speaker, and if that were all he did, he would still be worth listening to. (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQZjaosDToUThe Smarter Bridge is a project led by Mix3d, which makes robotic 3D printers that can sinter stainless steel structures and inch their way along the surfaces as they are completed. (more…)

Kay Longstaff said she sang songs to stay awake while floating and treading water 60 miles off the coast of Croatia. The 46-year-old British woman says she fell from the deck of Norwegian Star cruise ship on Saturday night. She was rescued 10 hours later by the Croatian coast guard. On Facebook, a Norwegian crew member wrote that Longstaff had "jumped" and had been "arguing with her fella the whole time."Image: Pjotr Mahhonin/Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osPL8b-nTegSurfsafe is a browser extension that compares all the images you load in your browser to images that appear on "trusted news sites," fact-checking services, and Snopes, and pops up a tool-tip warning when you hover over known hoax images with links to more information. (more…)

Zephyr Teachout (previously) is a netroots pioneer, a leading competition law scholar, and a progressive candidate for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General of New York State. (more…)

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi was briefly called "Revenge of the Jedi." Apparently screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan had told Lucas that "Return of the Jedi" was a "weak title." In December 1982 though, Lucas went back to his original title but not before promotional posters had already been released, such as the one above that is currently up for auction at Sotheby's with an expected hammer price of 1,400 - 2,600 GBP ($1800 - $3200 USD).From Wikipedia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lFybhRxoVMLast night's Hugo Awards ceremony featured a significant first: Nora Jemisin became the first novelist in science fiction history to win three consecutive Best Novel Hugos, once for each volume in her Broken Earth trilogy (the concluding volume, The Stone Sky, won last night's prize); in addition to the unprecedented honor, Jemisin had another first, with her acceptance speech, which may just be the best such speech in the field's history. (more…)

Music of Mind Control with Micah is a weekly radio program on WFMU that bills itself as an "exploration into the musical output of religious cults, new religious movements, and individuals of a spiritually inspired and divine nature." In between songs (most of which are very listenable) the host provides information about the different cults from around the world whose music is featured on the show.WFMU has good smartphone apps that let you listen to all of their different weekly shows.

PepsiCo is buying SodaStream for $3.2 billion.

https://youtu.be/cHo-ZJdxH_cWhen fire ants dig out a new nest underground, a small number are actually doing most of the work while the rest dilly-dally. Apparently this is actually an effective division of labor because it prevents the insects from getting in each other's way. Now, Georgia Tech researchers suggest this approach could be help future robot swarms be more efficient in cramped areas like collapsed buildings or construction sites. From Science News:

A woman insured by Anthem was paying $285 for a generic heart medication prescription. Recently, she was planning to go overseas for months and wanted to stock up on the medicine, but Anthem wouldn't give it to her because her previous prescription had not yet run out. So she went to Costco and bought the medicine. She was surprised that is cost only $40.A spokesperson for the company that Anthem uses to manage its prescription drug program had no explanation for the price difference, other than the fact that Costo sometimes offers generic drugs for a lower price. No shit, sherlock.From PBS:

In an "unprecedented" letter to the the laity, Pope Francis described priestly child abuse as an atrocity and the Catholic Church's protection of abusers as complicity.

A 12-person jury in Texas found Shafeeq Sheikh, a former physician at Baylor College of Medicine, guilty of raping a heavily sedated patient. The jury recommended that Sheikh receive no prison time, and state law compelled the judge to comply.From Fox News:

Andreas Wannerstedt, a motion graphics designer and animator from Sweden, has an Instagram account of delightful endlessly looping virtual kinetic machines. I instantly followed his account as soon as I saw them.

On Game Terrain Engineering, Jim Kelly posted this great tutorial on building a wall-mounted display for your lovingly-painted fantasy miniatures collection. The display, while looking quite elaborate and substantial, is little more than a cheap wooden picture frame, some foam board, and lots of time and hot glue. The Archdevil Moloch statue in the middle was 3D printed. That is, of course, optional.https://youtu.be/T0PTvqKX_NEMonths ago, well-known dungeon crafter, DM Scotty, posted some similar wall displays on Facebook that used a printed image on their back walls (relevant to the theme of the minis on display) and simpler shelving. Scotty's might be an overall better solution for displaying your minis in a less busy but still thematic way. Jim admits that the lighting/viewability of some of the miniatures on his dungeon-themed display is not the best. He’s considering adding LED lighting.I am definitely going to build some of these displays. With all of the time I’m putting into painting minis these days, I don’t want to hide my hard work away in cases when it could be enjoyed by others. I think this is a really fun way to do it. I can’t wait to plan out and create thematic frame-displays for my Frostgrave, Gaslands, Blood Bowl, and All Quiet on the Martian Front minis. For displaying years of collected Warhammer 40,000 armies? We’re going to need a bigger boat.BTW: The latest D&D game book, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, includes the exiled Archdevil Moloch in its bestiary, with great artwork, background, and stat block. Old school roleplayers will remember the gem-eyed Moloch statue being looted on the cover of the first AD&D Players Handbook. Mordenkainen’s bestiary also includes Eidolons, the undead spirits that get bound into statues, and even a stat block for Sacred Statue, the Moloch statue featured on that early D&D cover.

Kevin Spacey's once-illustrious movie career came to an end this weekend with the release of Billionaire Boys Club. The movie, filmed in 2015 before numerous accusations of sexual assault and misconduct were brought against Spacey, made less than $500 on its opening weekend. No, that's not a typo. Less than $500. There are yard sales that made more this weekend. Lemonade stands that did better. The guy who sells long-stemmed roses outside of your local nightclub probably did better than this movie. Released in only ten theaters across the entire country, Billionaire Boys Club had a bit of hype around it when first announced thanks to an ensemble cast of Hollywood up-and-comers including Ansel Elgort, Taron Egerton, Emma Roberts, and Billie Lourd. But that all came crashing down when Spacey was revealed to be a predator. The Hollywood Reporter breaks down the math:

https://youtu.be/JjuqRmFPOAEJuly 29-August 2, 2020: even the (no-foolin' awesome) Prime Minister is getting in on the act!

In the 1970s, there was a boom in pocket calculators, driven by the plummeting costs of their electronic components, and an industry that had once prided itself on its high-end offerings for serious business users found itself rethinking the nature of the calculator, producing "ladies' calculators," calculators for kids (accompanied by bestselling books of "calculator games") and all manner of weird form-factors. (more…)

The September National Geographic cover story follows Katie Stubblefield as she is given the face of 31-year-old donor Adrea Schneider, a woman who died of a cocaine overdose. 21-year-old Katie had been waiting three years for a donor face after a self-inflicted rifle injury and, last year, she became the youngest person ever to get a face transplant. Her procedure took 31 hours to complete and many more operations and months of rehabilitation are still required.

Doja Cat has declared herself a cow, a hamburger-eating one at that, in her recently-released, now-viral music video titled "Mooo!."Noisey on the 22-year-old Los Angeles-based pop singer:

At Worldcon yesterday, as recounted by Steph Herman: What did one snowman say to the other snowman? (more…)

America's Orange Menace has spoken! In response to most social media outlets shutting down Alex Jones, recently referred to as the gateway drug to white supremacy, the President of the United States has decided to defend free speech for people who hate. (more…)

Coffeeman 500's Useless Box - Multi Switch project is an open-source hardware project that's an ambitious variant on the beloved "Useless Machine" -- 2010, 2010 (Lego)), 2010 Political edition), 2011 (HOWTO), 2012 (politics), 2013 (fancy), 2013 (advanced) (vs human), 2016 (most useless), 2017 (vs twisty vase). (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYEbhDXgElQAt this week's B-Sides Manchester security conference, James Williams gave a talk called "Next-gen AV vs my shitty code," in which he systematically revealed the dramatic shortcomings of anti-virus products that people pay good money for and trust to keep them safe -- making a strong case that these companies were selling defective goods. (more…)

Bill Donohue, the president of the ultra-conservative Catholic League, has called the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's report on the official coverups of the priestly rape of children an "obscene lie," insisting that rape was relatively rare, because most of the sexual abuse committed by the priesthood doesn't qualify as rape, because the priests didn't penetrate their victims.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWb5tNZUe5sWhen you die, your relatives will be sad and (depending on the circumstances of your death) possibly left scrambling to make arrangements for your remains, effects, and estate. (more…)

"Once marijuana is legalized in Canada, how will police test for pot impairment?"CBC Comedy sketch comedy series 22 Minutes humorously imagines what a pot sobriety test might look like, cookie dough and all.

Whether you're set to give the toast at your best friend's wedding or a presentation at work, you'll be relying on those public speaking lessons you slept through during high school. Scary thought, right? Thankfully, the Public Speaking Bundle is loaded with hacks, tips, and techniques that will get you speaking more naturally and with confidence, and it's on sale today for $19.Comprised of four comprehensive courses, this collection tackles the skills and techniques you'll need to properly prepare a speech, deliver it, and handle the Q&A that follows. You'll explore the art of persuasion and how to drive people to action, and you'll learn about mind mapping and how it can be used to give speeches without relying on tons of notecards.The Public Speaking Bundle retails for $639, but it's on sale in the Boing Boing store for $19, more than 90% off the usual price.

As spotted at 1st and Franklin yesterday by my friend Justin Wolfe.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) filed a complaint [PDF] against Facebook on Friday. HUD accuses the social media company of violating the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in print and online advertisements on the basis of race, religion, physical ability, gender, and other attributes. (more…)

Invest in popcorn stocks.Omarosa Manigault Newman “has a stash of video, emails, text messages and other documentation” of rampant fear and loathing inside the Trump White House, The Associated Press reported on Friday. (more…)

In secret court proceedings, the U.S. government is trying to force Facebook to help wiretap Messenger. Facebook has declined, so the Justice Department is asking a judge for an order of contempt. (more…)

About five years ago I got this Moleskine business card holder and I love it. It has two accordion pockets and is kept closed with an elastic strap. It looks just like a little Moleskine notebook.It looks like they are back in production. Amazon is selling a dark green one for $10.

My friend Mitch O'Connell (that's O'Connell, the world's greatest artist, not McConnell, the invertebrate fascist symp), sent me a cache of Trump Tijuana Bibles, secreted in Tony Schwartz's 1987 book, The Art of the Deal.Tijuana Bibles are little 8-panel pornographic comic books that were popular during the Great Depression, and usually starred famous comic strip characters, like Blondie, Popeye, Dick Tracy, and Mickey Mouse, engaging in all manner of carnal congress.Mitch is selling copies from his stash of Donald Trump in "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?", by I.P. Freely, on his Etsy shop for the low price of $5 a copy!Here's what Mitch has to say about it:

The Queen of Soul at the Fillmore West, March 5, 1971.

A Salt Lake City-area lawyer named Walter J. Plumb III is trying to remove Utah's medical marijuana initiative from the ballot in November. Plumb, who owns a pharmaceutical company called Pharmics Inc., asserts that his religious right to be intolerant of sick people who use cannabis to treat their illness is guaranteed by the constitution. He has spent over $100,000 of his own money in his effort to prevent allowing Utahans from voting on the issue. (more…)

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published a free graphic novel titled "The Junior Disease Detectives: Operation Outbreak," some of which is set at a state fair where a teenage 4-H member is infected with swine flu. As CNN reports, the comic's plot is similar to what actually happened this summer at two state fairs. From CNN:

About 7 or 8 years ago, I started experiences episodes of smelling a burning paper odor, even though there wasn't any source for the odor. It would last for a few days, then abruptly stop, and return a few weeks later. I started tracking these episodes, and found that they are very loosely correlated with lack of sleep and stress. Sometimes the weird smell starts while I'm feeling great, though, so I really didn't know what the cause was. I asked Oliver Sacks about it when I was interviewing him about his book Hallucinations, and said he had no idea why I smelled things that weren't there.Today, Gizmodo linked to a newly published paper from the the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey called "Factors Associated With Phantom Odor Perception Among US Adults" and it describes my experience perfectly -- an "unpleasant, bad, or burning odor when no actual odor exists."The study found that phantom odor perception was more prevalent among "among women, younger age groups, and those of lower socioeconomic position," and was "more common among those with poorer health, a history of head injury, or dry mouth symptoms."Head injuries as a possible cause might explain why I experience this. When I was 13 or 14 I was skateboarding down a steep hill in Boulder Colorado without a helmet (Columbine street, for those who know it). I don't remember falling off the board. I woke up in the ambulance with a broken nose, a torn chin, and knocked out teeth. I spent a couple of days in the hospital being treated for a concussion.Image: Jenov Jenovallen/Shutterstock

Steve Tamblyn of Adelaide, Australia was frustrated at his neighbors that didn't pick up after their dogs. So he set up a security cam, captured an image of a dog and its lazy walker, printed out the evidence, and posted it by the poop. So far, the funny but passive aggressive technique hasn't actually led to the individual cleaning up the mess but he's hoping it will deter others from shirking their responsibility. (ABC)

This enterprising kid uses a crushed soda can as a kazoo to imitate the sounds of a race car, much to the amusement of his classmates.

From 7 News Australia: "A man fed up with dogs pooing on his verge has set up CCTV to catcowners and their four-legged friends in the act. After the act, he laminates a photo to shame the owners."Image: 7 News Australia

Members of the Satanic Temple held a "Rally for the First Amendment” yesterday at the Arkansas State Capitol, where they unveiled an 8.5-foot bronze statue of Baphomet with two adoring children at his side to the Arkansas State Capitol. The Satanic Temple is suing the Federal Government for the right to permanently install the statue on the Capitol grounds, arguing that since the Capitol has a Ten Commandments monument, other religions must be allowed to display their symbols there, too.A group of Christians also attended the rally, and those interviewed by KATV were articulate and respectful of the Satanists and their statue. "God loves them, and we love them," said one. "These people are here in support of their beliefs, and I'm here in support of mine," said another. "Fortunately we live in a country that allows freedom of speech, freedom of religion. I may not necessarily agree with their faith, but I respect it."The only person who came off as a nutcase was Senator Jason Rapert (R), the lawmaker who successfully led the unconstitutional campaign to erect a Ten Commandments monument on the Arkansas State Capitol grounds. He said in a Facebook statement, "No matter what these extremists may claim, it will be a very cold day in hell before an offensive statue will be forced upon us to be permanently erected on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol."

The scientist/artists in NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio created this magnificent video to accompany a recent performance by the National Symphony Orchestra Pops of Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune." From NASA:

This video is the first time I've seen or heard of Fox News host Trish Regan, so I don't know anything about her, other than the fact that she thinks Denmark is a very bad place because it is socialist just like Venezuela. I don't know if she's been to either country, but she spouts a lot of facts about Denmark, all of which happen to be very fake news, beginning with, “Denmark – like Venezuela – has stripped people of their opportunities,” and follows with zingers like “Not only is school free, they actually pay you. You know what happens then? Nobody graduates from school. They just stay in school. Because that’s the reality of socialism… Nowadays all the kids graduating from schools in Denmark, they want to start cupcake cafes.”Dan Jorgensen, a former government minister from Denmark, takes delight in using statistics to demolish every one of Trish Regan's bogus claims.

There'll be no triumph for Trump: a day after its price tag was reported to be heading toward $100m and the Pentagon delayed the festivities, he has "cancelled" the forthcoming military parade that, all in all, could never have matched the totalitarian splendor of his imagination.

The game platform Steam has an anything-goes policy toward what it publishes. But the resulting kelp mat of smut has spread enough to lead it to institute moderation by the back door: freezing approvals in certain genres while it develops 'filters.' Targeted most clearly are visual novels, manga and erotica. Fans and developers of erotic manga visual novels are most displeased!