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National Day of Listening: A Better Use of a Friday

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:04:30 -0800

Whether the reasons are ideological, demophobia-based, or a little bit of both, many of us would rather avoid today's mass shopping chaos. As an alternative to Black Friday, Story Corps is promoting today as the National Day of Listening--an opportunity to sit down for an hour with family members and other people you care about, ask them about their lives and preserve their stories for future generations. At the National Day of Listening site, you'll find helpful How To's for recording and preserving family stories and a question generator, to help you get over that "what the heck do I as Grandma?" hump. Your family stories can also become part of the oral history archives at the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress. To do that, though, you'll have to get hooked up with a Story Corps professional recording session. They've got semi-permanent booths in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta, and they're traveling the country with a portable system all year. Image courtesy Flickr user Adam Selwood, via CC....

Epoch time: Herschel reveals VY Canis Majoris death throes

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:23:51 -0800

"It is colossal. If it was sited at the centre of our Solar System, it would extend beyond the orbit of Saturn." And it is ready to go supernova....

Corcordia University has a spy-squad that snooped on novelist for "bilingual interests"

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:54:11 -0800

Rob sez, "Documents recently obtained through access to information legislation show that author David Bernans was being spied upon by investigators at Concordia University in Montreal. In this first-person narrative, Bernans chronicles his experience dealing with Concordia's security apparatus, and questions the motivations of a university that spies on and censors its students." Christ, a university with its own private eye squad made up of failed Fed cops? What's next, a no-fly list for the campus shuttle-bus? Lookit these Keystone Kop bumblers, chasing people around because they're "interested in bilingualism." Hey, Concordia grads, is this how you want your alumni donations being spent?...

"Inequitable, unconscionable, vexatious and opprobrious"

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:56:42 -0800

A judge in New York has wiped out a $525k mortgage after OneWest bankers misled the court while trying to secure foreclosure....

Boing Boing Gift Guide 2009: gadgets! (part 3/6)

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:42:55 -0800

A girl at the 1978 comic-con

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:43:50 -0800

Comic fandom's rarely held to be a welcoming place for girls. But one correspondent remembers fondly her trip to the 1978 San Diego Comic-Con, when she was a wee 8-year old. Other females, however, were few and far between.

Vote early, vote often

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:07:15 -0800

Attention, readers! If you don't vote for Boing Boing in Adweek's "blog of the decade" poll, Perez Hilton may win. Do your duty....

WWI images from Library and Archives Canada

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:32:00 -0800

Library and Archives Canada has released a whole ton of WWI images to Flickr, including some stunning color paintings of Vimy Ridge and related places. LAC / BAC's photostream (via Resource Shelf) (Image: Anti-conscription parade at Victoria Square / Défilé anti-conscription au Square Victoria) Previously:Radiohead Song in memory of Harry Patch, WWI survivor and pacifist ... Satirical WWI maps - Boing Boing War Vegetable Gardening book from WWI - Boing Boing Draft cards of famous people from WWI - Boing Boing Boing Boing: Razzle-Dazzle: WWI cubist paint-jobs for battleships Boing Boing: Project Facade: Post WWI surgical facial reconstruction Fantastic gallery of WWI/WWII propaganda - Boing Boing...

JC Hutchins's sf novel 7TH SON serial, Part 6

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:06:41 -0800

Welcome to the sixth serialized installment of J.C. Hutchins' human cloning thriller 7th Son: Descent. If this is your first exposure to our free serialization of 7th Son, you can easily catch up by experiencing part one, part two, part three, part four and part five. You can also dive in right away, thanks to... THE STORY SO FAR: John, Kilroy2.0, Father Thomas and four other unwitting human clones have been assembled by the U.S. government to track their villianous progenitor, a psychopath responsible for the murder of the president. His plans of terror are just beginning. In the last episode, the clones continued to decipher John Alpha's Morse code clue. Meanwhile at a military base in the Russian wilderness, a former CIA agent named Doug Devlin reminisces about his past -- and his current alliance with Alpha. A much larger conspiracy is unveiled. Check out this week's installment below. If you're enjoying this serialized experience, support the book by purchasing a copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Borders, or printing this PDF order form and presenting it at your favorite bookstore. You can learn more about the book at J.C.'s site. Seventh Son, Part 6 Previously:JC Hutchins invents new audiovisual podcasting fanfic for Seventh ... JC Hutchins's sf novel 7TH SON -- first 10 chapters PDF - Boing Boing...

Game-themed Tetris cake

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:17:20 -0800

Clever Cake Studios made this smashing game-themed, Tetrisoid cake for the opening of a local Play'N'Trade store -- the little faces are caricatures of store employees. Clever Cake Studio (via The Boing Boing Flickr Pool)...

Search engines are teachers

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:42:34 -0800

Penn State researchers have conducted a study into the use of search engines and conclude that we don't just search to find out facts, but rather, to learn: The researchers sought to discover the cognitive processes underlying searching. They examined the search habits of 72 participants while conducting a total of 426 searching tasks. They found that search engines are primarily used for fact checking users' own internal knowledge, meaning that they are part of the learning process rather than simply a source for information. They also found that people's learning styles can affect how they use search engines. "Our results suggest the view of Web searchers having simple information needs may be incorrect," said Jim Jansen, associate professor of information sciences and technology. "Instead, we discovered that users applied simple searching expressions to support their higher-level information needs." Search Engines Are Source of Learning Previously:Digital Youth Project: If you care about kids and want to understand how they use technology and why, this is a must-read...

Camels terrorize Australian outback town

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:36:54 -0800

Nat sez, "Six thousand marauding camels have rampaged though a small Australian outback town. Apparently there are over a million in the outback, doubling their numbers every nine years, and despoiling the ecosystems, water supplies, and Aboriginal resources. Wikipedia knows all. One proposed solution involves an export-licensed, halal-certified abattoir to produce camel meat for export. Just goes to show that there's no tasty meat source so invasive and pestilential that it doesn't have an industry and lobby group. They have smashed water mains, damaged homes, buildings and the local airstrip - threatening emergency medical evacuations - and scared local residents from venturing outside. "The community of Docker River is under siege," said the Northern Territory's Local Government Minister, Rob Knight. "This is a dire situation which requires immediate action ...Central Australian Camel Industry executive officer, Peter Seidel, said camel meat was low in fat and cholesterol and tasted like beef. "There is substantial demand worldwide (for camel meat). An investor from Oman is already interested," Mr Seidel said. Feral camels ruling the roost in Outback (Thanks, Nat!) (Image: Deve (Camel), a Creative Commons Attribution photo from Veyis Polat's Flickr stream)...

McKinnon another step closer to extradition

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:54:24 -0800

British hacker Gary McKinnon, tinkerer in U.S. military systems, has all but lost his legal battle to avoid extradition. What's worse? That his real crime was to reveal his supposed victims' criminal incompetence and expose a lopsided extradition treaty, or that the British press will bullshit relentlessly about his likely sentence--and portray Aspergers sufferers as mental and moral infants--just to hype his story? And then there are his laywers, ready with the ultimate moral blackmail: He'll kill himself if forced to face American justice....

Cancer drug may treat diabetes

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:18:27 -0800

I've posted before about my brother Mark Pescovitz's fine art photography. In his spare time, Mark is a transplant surgeon and medical research scientist. Today, he and his colleagues published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine about a new way to slow and possibly even stop the progression of type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile-onset diabetes. The approach uses the drug Rituxan, normally indicated to treat non-hodgkins lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis. Is it nepotism for me to post about my brother's accomplishment? Nah, just nachas. Keep up the great work, Mark! From Reuters: "What this study does is open the door to a whole new way to approaching type 1 diabetes," Dr. Mark Pescovitz of Indiana University, who led the study, said in a telephone interview. Rituxan, known generically as rituximab, is made by Genentech, a unit of Roche Holding AG and Biogen Idec Inc. It was designed to wipe out immune cells known as B lymphocytes, which proliferate out of control in lymphoma. The same cells are also involved in the autoimmune destruction of healthy cells and tissue seen in rheumatoid arthritis and, in theory, in juvenile diabetes. Usually, by the time diabetes symptoms appear, 80 to 90 percent of those insulin-producing cells have been destroyed. The Pescovitz team gave Rituxan hoping to save the remaining cells. The treatment worked at first and the body produced more insulin. But over time, the effects faded, and insulin production began to decline at the same rate as among people who received placebo. Pescovitz said he was not disappointed. Further tests will show if repeated treatments with Rituxan or newer drugs that also eliminate B lymphocytes will keep insulin production up. "Cancer drug preserves insulin cells in diabetes" (Reuters) "Rituximab, B-Lymphocyte Depletion, and Preservation of Beta-Cell Function" (New England Journal of Medicine) Previously:Mark Pescovitz photo show in Indianapolis - Boing Boing Boston: photo show featuring Mark Pescovitz - Boing Boing Mark Pescovitz photo - Boing Boing...

Stop, or I'll shout stop again!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:39:58 -0800

British legislators have created new crimes at a rate of one a day since 1997....

How Britain's Pirate Finder General is trying to save the Analog Economy at the Digital Economy's expense

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:45:56 -0800

My latest Guardian column looks at Peter Mandelson's new "Digital Economy Bill," a sweeping piece of proposed British legislation that would give Mandelson broad powers to act as the Pirate-Finder General, with the implausible aim of reducing UK file-sharing by 70 percent in one year. Mandelson argues that Britain's Digital Economy will be based on the contrafactual premise of a steady decrease in computer speed, drive capacity, technical competence, network versatility and network ubiquity. Of course, the real digital economy is in those British companies that figure out how to thrive whether or not copying occurs - companies that use networks to reduce their costs, reach larger customer bases, and provide services whose demand and profitability grow with network use, companies such as Last.fm or Moo.com. These companies' businesses are inconceivable without the net, but they also risk being collateral damage in Mandelson's war on the British internet. Just increasing the liability for copyright infringement (and creating a duty to police user-submitted files for infringement) could bankrupt either company overnight. How would Moo sell business cards with your personal photos on them if they could be sued into oblivion should those photos turn out to infringe copyright? Mandelson is standing up for the Analogue Economy, the economy premised on the no-longer-technically-true idea that copying is hard. Companies based on the outdated notion of inherent difficulty of copying must change or they will die. Because copying isn't hard. Copying isn't going to get harder. This moment, right now, 2009, this is as hard as copying will be for the rest of recorded history. Next year, copying will be easier. And the year after that. And the year after that. Why does Mandelson favour the Analogue Economy over the Digital? Previously:BREAKING: Leaked UK government plan to create "Pirate Finder ... Brits: send a message to Mandelson and fight "three strikes ... Brit business secretary promises to punish accused file-sharers ... Britain's new Internet law -- as bad as everyone's been saying ... Britain's new Internet law -- as bad as everyone's been saying ......

Musician's open letter, sung to Peter Mandelson, Britain's Pirate-Finder General

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:37:05 -0800

Dan Bull (he of the musical open letter to Lily Allen about copyright) has recorded another open letter to Peter Mandelson, the UK Business Secretary who's set himself up to be Pirate-Finder General, with nearly unlimited powers to enforce copyright. Dan Bull - Dear Mandy [an open letter to Lord Mandelson] (Thanks, Toby!) Previously:Musician's open letter, sung to Lily Allen - Boing Boing Brits: send a message to Mandelson and fight "three strikes ... Britain's new Internet law -- as bad as everyone's been saying ... Brits: sign petition to kill three-strikes law - Boing Boing Dirty ISPs can sabotage the nation's digital future - Boing Boing BREAKING: Leaked UK government plan to create "Pirate Finder ......

A Mental_Floss Thanksgiving

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:16:16 -0800

Two bits of lighthearted holiday history from my old friends at mental_floss. About The Presidential Turkey Pardon The first official National Thanksgiving Turkey was presented by members of the Poultry and Egg National Board to Harry Truman in 1947. According to some reports, they ate him. Not that it necessarily matters, since the turkeys who get pardoned don't live for very long anyway. According to The New York Times, "Whether the turkeys come from a shelter or the White House, they don't live very long. Most adopted turkeys are commercially bred broad-breasted whites, genetically disposed to grow to a marketable size in about four months. Even on a diet of only a couple of cups of turkey feed a day, they become obese. They usually develop leg problems, congestive heart failure and arthritis." About Black Friday In 1939, the Retail Dry Goods Association warned Franklin Roosevelt that if the holiday season wouldn't begin until after Americans celebrated Thanksgiving on the traditional final Thursday in November, retail sales would go in the tank. Ever the iconoclast, Roosevelt saw an easy solution to this problem: he moved Thanksgiving up by a week. Roosevelt didn't make the announcement until late October, and by then most Americans had already made their holiday travel plans. Many rebelled and continued to celebrate Thanksgiving on its "real" date while derisively referring to the impostor holiday as "Franksgiving." State governments didn't know which Thanksgiving to observe, so some of them took both days off. In short, it was a bit of a mess. Mental_Floss: The Somewhat Dark History of the Presidential Turkey Pardon & A Brief History of Black Friday. Image courtesy Flickr user joiseyshowaa, via CC....

Scientist explains why climate scientists talk trash

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:49:37 -0800

Dr Peter Watts, a PhD biologist and a hell of a science fiction writer, talks about what it means that a bunch of climate scientists Science doesn't work despite scientists being asses. Science works, to at least some extent, because scientists are asses. Bickering and backstabbing are essential elements of the process. Haven't any of these guys ever heard of "peer review"? There's this myth in wide circulation: rational, emotionless Vulcans in white coats, plumbing the secrets of the universe, their Scientific Methods unsullied by bias or emotionalism. Most people know it's a myth, of course; they subscribe to a more nuanced view in which scientists are as petty and vain and human as anyone (and as egotistical as any therapist or financier), people who use scientific methodology to tamp down their human imperfections and manage some approximation of objectivity. But that's a myth too. The fact is, we are all humans; and humans come with dogma as standard equipment. We can no more shake off our biases than Liz Cheney could pay a compliment to Barack Obama. The best we can do-- the best science can do-- is make sure that at least, we get to choose among competing biases. That's how science works. It's not a hippie love-in; it's rugby. Every time you put out a paper, the guy you pissed off at last year's Houston conference is gonna be laying in wait. Every time you think you've made a breakthrough, that asshole supervisor who told you you needed more data will be standing ready to shoot it down. You want to know how the Human Genome Project finished so far ahead of schedule? Because it was the Human Genome projects, two competing teams locked in bitter rivalry, one led by J. Craig Venter, one by Francis Collins -- and from what I hear, those guys did not like each other at all. Because As We All Know, The Green Party Runs the World. (via Charlie Stross) Previously:Hacked climate scientists' emails in context - Boing Boing More Insight on Those Leaked Climate Change Emails - Boing Boing...

On the claimed prices of cellphones

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:23:45 -0800

Cellular carriers claim that their contracts offset heavy subsidies on handsets. They claim they'd love to sell phones contract-free at retail--you're just not interested. But there's a problem with this story: these "full price" handsets are grossly overpriced, suggesting that they want consumers in the contract rat trap after all. As hard as it is to prove, discount handsets often reveal the absurdity of list pricing. For example, Motorola's Renew, free with a 2-year agreement, is listed as $160 full-price at T-Mobile. Amazon has it for $70 unlocked, however, and Manufacturer Motorola charges just $50....

William S. Burroughs: A Thanksgiving Prayer

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:17:03 -0800

Boing Boing Gift Guide 2009: media! (part 2/6)

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:21:47 -0800

Mark and I have rounded up some of our favorite items from our 2009 Boing Boing reviews for the second-annual Boing Boing gift guide. We'll do one a day for the next six days, covering media (music/games/DVDs), gadgets and stuff, kids' books, novels, nonfiction, and comics/graphic novels/art books. Today, it's media! Here Comes Science: I am thoroughly smitten with the new They Might Be Giants kids' album, Here Comes Science, which ships with a charming DVD of videos and supplementary material. In the best traditions of awesome educational kids music -- Schoolhouse Rock, the Animaniacs, Electric Company -- Here Comes Science combines top-notch pop music with humor that's aimed at both kids and adults (I once heard the creators of Sesame Street discuss how the inclusion of humor targeted at adults meant that grownups were more likely to watch with the kids, and thus be on hand to answer questions and discuss the material; this should be gospel for everyone who makes media for kids). And, of course, the material is great. Better than great. Perfect. This is the album They Might Be Giants was put on Earth to record: they are genuine science nerds, and it shows. Full review | Purchase Rolling Stone Cover to Cover: The First 40 Years Every issue on three DVDs and works with Windows and Mac. It's fun to search on terms to see when they first appeared in Rolling Stone. "Punk Rock" made its debut in 1973 (though it was about garage punk, not the punk rock that began in 1975). An October 1977 article by Charley Walters called "Punk: Pretty Vacant Music" is the first to mention The Clash. (Walters has good things to say about The Clash, but dismisses punk rock music in general as "overly simplistic and rudimentary. It's also not very good.") Full review | Purchase...

Happy 90th birthday, sf legend Frederik Pohl!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:20:35 -0800

Bill sez, "Today, Thursday, is the 90th birthday of Fred Pohl, science fiction novelist, who has also been a literary agent, teenage magazine editor, political activist, globetrotting lecturer, and member of SF fandom." I recently wrote a Fred Pohl tribute story, "Chicken Little," for a forthcoming Tor anthology called "Gateways" -- stories in appreciation of Fred. Happy 90th Birthday, Frederik Pohl! (Thanks, Bill) (Image: The Way The Future Was by Frederik Pohl., from Jim Linwood's Flickr stream) Previously:Frederik Pohl, blogger - Boing Boing Jo Walton on THE SPACE MERCHANTS - Boing Boing...

HOW TO Make Some Truly Wonderful Sweet Potatoes

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:26:04 -0800

You! Stop! Drop those marshmallows! Before you make a mistake you'll regret, consider this recipe instead. Grammy Althea's Marshmallow-Free, Awesome-Full Stove Top Sweet Potatoes You'll Need Sweet potatoes, probably about two pounds, peeled and chopped into thick hunks. Two pounds is approximate. You should have enough sweet potatoes, when chopped, to fill your skillet. 1 stick of butter 1 pound of brown sugar Water Cast-iron skillet...

FedEx's cellular sensor-package for your important shipments

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:31:37 -0800

Senseaware is FedEx's cellular-connected sensor-package. Drop it in your super-important packages (they're targeting it at people who ship human organs around) (Matthew from FedEx sez, "We're not targeting shipping of organs. It's life sciences. So that's pharma, medical devices/equipment, diagnostic kits and samples.") and for $120/month it will tell you everything about that package -- where it is at this very second, whether it's been dropped, how hot/cold it is, and so on. Science fiction plot-device ahoy! Also, check out the awesomely jargony product description from the press-release: fedexvideo("http://cache.mediacenter.fedex.designcdt.com", "/sites/all/themes/fedex/FlowPlayerCustom.swf", "/sites/default/files/videos/SenseAware RGB color.flv", "http://cache.mediacenter.fedex.designcdt.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/video_screengrab/videos/screengrabs/SenseAware RGB color_1.jpg", 0) Available in the spring of 2010, SenseAware is an open, highly adaptive and easy-to-use sensor information sharing platform. It is a multi-modal solution that will serve customers who desire near real-time visibility and insight into their shipments. SenseAware will provide business decision makers the ability to quickly and easily collaborate on many types of information data across their global supply chain. SenseAware is permitted by the Federal Aviation Administration to be used during flight on FedEx aircraft and will allow customers to monitor in-transit conditions during ground transportation. A SenseAware device riding with a FedEx shipment can provide the following information: * Precise temperature readings * A shipment's exact location * When a shipment is opened or if the contents have been exposed to light * Real-time alerts and analytics between trusted parties regarding the above vital signs of a shipment SenseAware powered by FedEx (via OhGizmo) Previously:Smugglers clone FedEx and Border Patrol vans - Boing Boing Boing Boing: Kittens survive accidental FedEx shipment Fedex in Afghanistan: "Frighteningly Easy!" - Boing Boing Souvenir-hunting tourists FedEx their shells - Boing Boing Turn FedEx tracking into RSS - Boing Boing...

Famous portraits as mice

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:04:15 -0800

Alan F Beck paints watercolors of mice posed and modelled on classic and famous portraits -- including wonderful versions of Poe, Asimov, and Frankenstein's Monster as mice. Saw some of these last weekend at Philcon and was very amused -- so much so that I couldn't stop thinking of them and just bought a Poe one for Poesy's room (she's a big mouse nut, and has a stuffed mouse ["Chairman Mouse"] that goes everywhere with her). Classical Mouse Portrait Gallery Previously:Mouse Guard: kid-friendly RPG where you get to play a mouse with a ......

Wooden orrery

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:02:52 -0800

I love this simple wooden orrery from Muji's gift lineup. Sadly, their ecommerce-fu is about as terrible as it gets, but if you're near a Muji store, it's £16 well-spent. Wooden Solar System (Thanks, Alice!)...

Game-controller ornaments

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:23:31 -0800

Jazz up your Hannukah Bush this year with these gamer-themed ornaments -- game controllers, new-school and old-, laser-cut from acrylic. Available in red or white. Controller ornaments - Red (via Wonderland) Previously:Geeky xmas ornaments galore - Boing Boing Sculptural hood ornaments - Boing Boing Waterlogged Xmas ornaments grow from petri dishes - Boing Boing Flying spaghetti monster tree ornament - Boing Boing Felt game-inspired xmas ornaments - Boing Boing Offensive/inoffensive tree ornament - Boing Boing...