As is our newly minted tradition, Boing Boing tv ends the holiday week with a Unicorn Chaser.

In today's edition, Boing Boing Gadgets' Joel Johnson, who trekked out into the wilderness for this previous episode, returns there to perform the nerdcore anthem embedded above -- UHHHH. (MP4 Link).

Not a single one of these grunts was repeated. All were taped in the order they appear in this remix, the morning after Joel was nearly bitten by a snake, doing a gadget review out in the wilds.

---

Perhaps you were too busy stuffing yourself with turkey this week to catch all of this week's BBtv goodness. I'll embed a recap below.

BBtv/Offworld: Status Report Edition, Brandon's Still a Death Gnome

Boing Boing Gadgets: Joel Reviews T-Mobile Cameo Picture Frame

Boing Boing tv Update: Virgin WiFi, Obfuscated Code, Comment Poetry, Downfall Housing Remix

arcticstoat writes "Game developer Rockstar has revealed that the forthcoming PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV will feature the controversial SecuROM 7 DRM system. Unlike some of EA's recent titles, such as Spore and Mass Effect, GTA IV won't limit the number of times that you can install the game, although SecuROM will be impossible to remove without leaving 'some traces' on your PC. Anyone hoping to avoid SecuROM by downloading the game form Steam will also be disappointed, as Rockstar says that all versions of the game will feature SecuROM, including digital versions online. On the plus side, Rockstar says that it's 'working with SecuROM to post information on our support pages regarding how to remove these inactive traces of the program for users who wish to do so.' Has Rockstar gotten a better balance between draconian DRM and fair copy protection here?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mr. Leinad writes "Do you add Easter Eggs to the software that is produced at the office? I mean, if you have complete control over the final product, do you spice it up with that little personal touch, which, as unlikely as it is that anyone will see, carries with it an 'I was here' signature? I've just finished the development of a large software product, and I have a couple of days left to try to add my own personal Easter Egg code, but given that the software is quite professional, I don't know if I should. What do you think? Should we developers sign our creations?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Earlier in the fall, I had the opportunity to visit Douglas Repetto in his office at Columbia University in New York. The founder of Dorkbot and organizer of ArtBots, Doug is an artist and maker and he writes the "Art Work" column for Make magazine. When I visited Doug, he was working on a piece about Squirrel Cages. These cages are quite beautiful constructions, made out of wood with the assistance of a laser cutter.

At the time, I wasn't familiar with the term "squirrel caging", which means to turn things over in your mind without end. One writer describes squirrel caging as the "act of rumination on negative thoughts." Whether they are good or bad thoughts, we all have had the experience of not being able to stop thinking about SOMETHING.

Click on the above photo picture to go to a short movie of the squirrel cages in action.

The completed work, "Distributed Squirrel Cage for Parallel Processing" was later exhibited at the Main Street Museum in White River Junction, Vermont. Doug explains:

Humans are invited to write obsessive thoughts on scraps of paper, deposit them in squirrel cages, and turn the crank, thus offloading the actual work of obsessing to the mechanism. This cutting-edge apparatus applies the latest techniques in distributed, massively parallel processing to the age-old problem of broken human minds.

Maybe Doug could set up a Squirrel Cage installation somewhere down on Wall Street.

The mother of the disabled child who may lose his miniature pony -- his only means of moving independently -- because his neighbours (who live next to a cow farm) complained about the smell -- has established a PayPal account to fund the legal work of keeping the pony. That address: antoniaspiteri82@hotmail.com .

She has had numerous Caledon businesses ask if they can post a petition for her, has received a number of offers from local stables who would like to house Emily the pony for her, and is constantly fielding calls and letters from people who would like to meet and lend support to Sam and Emily.

"One thing we are considering is planning some sort of meet and greet," said Spiteri. "We have had so many people ask to meet with us, that we want to plan a day where people can visit our property and meet Sam and Emily themselves, see where we house her, and the situation we're in."

According to Spiteri, the Town informed her that the next available committee date will be November 12. Until then, she will work on finishing all of her paperwork, and raising the funds needed for the application. Spiteri said she needs to pay a fee of $800 for the application.

Mother begins work to keep her son's pony (Thanks, Jeremy!)

Jesse Brown from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Search Engine has written a stirring editorial about the ways in which Canada's internet infrastructure is being turned into second-rate cable TV by greedy telcos and incompetent regulators.

Every time I think about moving back to Canada some day, I remind myself of how miserable the national Internet infrastructure is -- and how awful the big telcos are, and how weak-kneed and ass-licking the telcoms regulator is -- and I realize I can't possibly move home. The Internet's where I live, it's how I earn my income. Living on Canada's Internet would be better than living on China's Internet, say, but that's a pretty low bar to hurdle.

1. Last week the CRTC sided with Bell against a group of small Internet Service Providers who want to offer their customers unthrottled connections where what they download is their own business and not subject to interference.

2. In last week’s throne speech the Conservative government renewed their intention to “modernize” Canadian copyright law. Their effort to do so last session was Bill C-61, a woefully unbalanced and retrograde piece of legislation that led to the greatest citizen backlash to any proposed bill in recent memory. Yet there has been no indication from new Industry Minister Tony Clement that a much-needed public consultation will take place. The best he has offered is the possibility of a “slightly different” version of the bill.

3. Twitter has just announced that they are killing outbound SMS messaging in Canada due to exorbitant and constant rate hikes from Canadian cell providers (former Industry Minister Jim Prentice vowed to get tough on SMS price gouging, then backpeddled). Cell phone rates in Canada are among the highest in the world, and the result is that mobile penetration is pathetically low and that emerging new cultural platforms like Twitter are being hobbled.

Is Canada becoming a digital ghetto? (Thanks, Jesse!)

A worker at a New York Wal-Mart location was crushed to death this morning, "Black Friday," when hordes of shoppers overwhelmed to get inside for bargain-hunting. Snip from AP account:

At least four other people were injured, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island was closed. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," co-worker Jimmy Overby, 43, told the Daily News. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too. ... I literally had to fight people off my back."

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, which represented the deceased worker, has called for a investigation by OSHA and the NY State labor department.

Director of Special Projects for Local 1500 Patrick Purcell called Wal-mart's comments in response to the incident both "cold and heartless." "If the safety of their customers and workers was a top priority, then this never would have happened," Purcell stated. "Wal-mart must step up to the plate and ensure that all those injured, as well as the family of the deceased, be financially compensated for their injuries and their losses. Their words are weak. The community demands action," Purcell concluded.

Purcell also suggested that people visit the website walmartcrimereport.com to review other incidents of Wal-mart not providing a safe work and shopping experience.

(Thanks, Derek Bledsoe)

NewScientist has a story about the "hydrogen economy" that has been resting on the horizon for a decade or more. Despite a great deal of enthusiasm for and research into hydrogen-based power systems, the technology seems just as far away from everyday use as it's always been. A British startup, ITM Power, has recently claimed a breakthrough in lowering production costs by using a nickel catalyst (rather than platinum) with a membrane small enough for home use. But, even if their method is proven and adopted, it still wouldn't address huge energy efficiency problems in the process. "The point was made forcefully by Gary Kendall of the conservation group WWF in a recent report called Plugged In (PDF, pgs. 135-149). Kendall, a chemist who previously spent almost a decade working for ExxonMobil, highlights how the energy losses in the fuel chain - from electrolysis to compression of the hydrogen for use to inefficiencies in the fuel cell itself — mean that only 24 per cent of the energy used to make the fuel does any useful work on the road."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I've been listening to the audiobook, Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama, which has the additional benefit of being read by the author. Obama's baritone has become a familiar voice in my head. What might surprise some people, beyond Obama's ability as a writer and storyteller, is that each of his characters becomes a distinct voice that he brings alive, not just in his writing but even more so in this audiobook. They come alive for us because they are so alive to him.

Each person's unique voice -- from the lyrical African-English of his father or half-sister Auma, from his independent-minded and concerned mother to the voice of the South-side of Chicago's preachers, political organizers and young black men on the street, to his Kansas-bred grandparents and his Indonesian stepfather -- these are people that Obama carries with him. These aren't stock characters like Joe-the-plumber or Joe-Six-Pack. They aren't the subjects of morality tales like the historical characters in Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage." They are complex characters with hardships and conflicts, plagued by self-doubt and inspired by high ideals. They cuss and they cry.

I am so grateful that our democracy has elected a leader who can write like this, think and feel so deeply, with great subtlety and sympathy, and who will bring with him to the White House such a new assortment of interesting people -- not in his Cabinet but in his head.

Over at Boing Boing Offworld, Brandon links to videos of Ken Moore's delightfully DIY Wii Theremin.
"The Face of the Wii Theremin"

What is open source hardware? Briefly, these are projects that creators have decided to completely publish all the source, schematics, firmware, software, bill of materials, parts list, drawings and "board" files to recreate the hardware - they also allow any use, including commercial. Similar to open source hardware like Linux, but hardware centric.

This is one of the new and emerging trends we've seen really take off over the last few years. Each year we do a guide to all open source hardware and this year there are over 60 projects/kits - it's incredible! Many are familiar with Arduino (now shipping over 60,000 units) but there are many other projects just as exciting and filled with amazing communities - we think we've captured nearly all of them in this list. Some of these projects and kits are available from MAKE others from the makers themselves or other hardware manufacturers - but since it's open source hardware you can make any of these yourself, everything is available.

You can also call this guide... "The Open source hardware gift guide - The one and only, 3rd annual celebration of open source hardware!" - we think these are some of the best things to consider for the holidays and it supports an exciting development in hardware design.

So sit back and get ready to scroll through the list! Here we go!

Arduino Duemilanove - The new classic
Arduino is a tool for making computers that can sense and control more of the physical world than your desktop computer. It's an open-source physical computing platform based on a simple microcontroller board, and a development environment for writing software for the board. "Duemilanove" means 2009 in Italian and is named after the year of its release. The Duemilanove is the latest in a series of USB Arduino boards.

Features:

• Microcontroller ATmega168
• Operating Voltage 5V
• Input Voltage (recommended) 7-12V
• Input Voltage (limits) 6-20V
• Digital I/O Pins 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)
• Analog Input Pins 6
• DC Current per I/O Pin 40 mA
• DC Current for 3.3V Pin 50 mA
• Flash Memory 16 KB (of which 2 KB used by bootloader)
• SRAM 1 KB
• EEPROM 512 bytes
• Clock Speed 16 MHz

Price: $34.99

Keep reading for the rest of the projects and kits!

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Open source hardware | Digg this!

We have a Black Friday sale at MAKE - 10% off all kits - today only - use code OSHGG for any kit in our kit section and you'll get 10% off at checkout in the Maker Shed store. The code OSHGG is to celebrate our third annual Open Source Hardware guide for 2008. Please take check out our guide with many of the kits that are on sale, visit the Maker Shed kits and save 10% off. Offer expires tonight at 11:59pm PST 11/28/2008.

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Announcements | Digg this!

Over at the Cool Tools blog, Kevin Kelly just reviewed How to Build an Igloo: And Other Snow Shelters by Norbert E. Yankielun. I really wish I had this book as a kid; snow forts are so much fun!

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Holiday projects | Digg this!

Apartment Therapy found a fantastic LIFE magazine photo series from the 1970s of rock stars at home with their folks. Above is Frank Zappa. Also included are the likes of David Crosby, Grace Slick, Donovan, Jackson 5, Elton John, and Eric Clapton. "Look! 70's Rock Musicians and Their Parent's Homes" (Thanks, Richard Metzger!)

KIdPanda writes "Prompted by pictures of man-made structures in the Utah desert, a SETI astronomer explains the sometimes-ambiguous difference between seeing the hand of God, alien intelligence, or nature. 'In my photographs, Shostak's SETI-trained eye — standing in for a pattern-crunching computer program — searched for an unexpected increase in visual order (or, in thermodynamic terms, a decrease in entropy caused by the rebellion of life against universal decay.) A road or a tended field is mathematically simpler than a mountainous jumble or naturally varied vegetation. ... But there's an obvious problem: nothing is simpler than a sweep of blue sky, or the inky blackness of space. If simplicity is the benchmark, space itself is evidence of design."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

My Institute for the Future colleagues Lyn Jeffery and Jason Li's outstanding Virtual China blog has been reborn as 88 Bar. That's where I spotted this image of a photographer taking a shot of a massive pumpkin in a ultra high-tech green house in Tianjin, north China. According to a translated article in SINA, the demo greenhouse is "a model of modern sightseeing agriculture."

Artist Marco Perego sculpted a lifesize scene of Amy Winehouse shot dead in the head. William Burroughs is holding the shotgun. The installation, titled "The Only Good Rock Star Is A Dead Rock Star," is on view at Half Gallery in New York City until January 23, 2009. "Shocking tribute to Amy Winehouse" (3news.co.nz, thanks Tara McGinley!)

My birthplace of Cincinnati, Ohio has a rich musical history centered around King Records, a tremendously influential record label founded in 1943 by Syd Nathan. King Records began as a hillbilly music label and eventually took a soulful turn into "race records." James Brown's career was launched at King. Other artists on the roster included Ralph Stanley, Hang Ballard, The Platters, the Dominoes, Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker, and The Stanley Brothers. Almost forty years after King shut, the city is finally recognizing the label with, well, a plaque at the abandoned warehouse where the record plant once operated. Eventually though, a local group hopes to build a King Records Center complete with a working recording studio. My old friend John Curley, former Afghan Whigs bassist and music producer, has signed on to run the studio. Let's hope they can raise the dough to make it happen! The city's alt.weekly, CityBeat, has a feature on the label and the efforts to celebrate its importance. From Cincinnati CityBeat:

“What we’d want to do with the recording studio is provide opportunities for internships and workshops and do more community outreach to get kids interested in learning about recording, performance and all aspects of the music business,” Curley says...

Nathan died in 1968 and the label was sold, moving out of town as many studio musicians faded into clubs and other cities. A couple generations thus grew up with little local awareness of the studio.

Actually, the mainstream (white) media didn’t do much at the time to tout the studio’s work. Little attention was paid in the local media to King’s artistry, especially the R&B acts....

While Nathan was catering to niche audiences, he created a musical stew rarely replicated in the recording world. Black and white session players worked together in what was likely the only truly integrated business in Cincinnati of the ’50s. They often recorded a song with a Country artist, then did it again for the R&B market.

As (Cincinnatian) Bootsy Collins remembers, “He never had a neon sign out front. If you didn’t know it was King Records, you wouldn’t know it. He just wanted to get the music done and get it out. He wasn’t trying to be a star. He was like the man behind the camera. He just wanted to make the movie and make it happen.”

King Records celebrated in Cincinnati

Rachel @ CRAFT points us to Virginia Fleck's artwork using recycled plastic bags to create amazing (and really big) patterned mandalas.

From the pages of CRAFT:09:

Betz White's fused plastic creations and how to make them!

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Arts | Digg this!

Slatterz introduces us to the first major study on "cyberchondria" by Microsoft researchers (abstract, paper [PDF]). The news that it can be a bad idea to search the Internet to see if you have a terrible disease should come as no surprise. According to the NYTimes article, the syndrome has been known as "cyberchondria" since at least the year 2000 (we discussed it a few years back). It refers to increased anxiety brought on when people with little or no medical training go searching for answers to common medical complaints on the Web. The article compares cyberchondria with a phenomenon well known among second-year medical students, called "medical schoolitis." The researchers note that Web searchers' propensity to jump to awful conclusions is "basic human behavior that has been noted by research scientists for decades."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Ilan Schifter, a recent graduate of NYU's ITP, came up with a inflatable game-space for toddlers called ToddlePuff. Here's how Ilan describes it:

ToddlePuff is an inflated interface that incorporates 16 proximity sensors and acts as a game controller for toddlers. It surrounds the child and encourages full body motion. It blocks the toddler's eye sight to create an immersive experience and is wider than a toddler's arm span to encourage movement. An animated children's story is displayed on a screen and told through the speakers. Images of characters from the story are placed on different locations inside the interface. When a character blinks on the screen, the child needs to find the matching image on the surrounding inflated walls and touch it to resume the story. The interaction inside ToddlePuff develops orientation, coordination and speed.

Here's a link to a video of two young sisters playing ToddlePuff. Even without the inflatable environment, kids may enjoy the "Flat for Rent" story, available, ToddlePuff.com.

Here's an Instructable on building primitive batteries, interesting not so much for its (low-current, low-voltage) results but as a nice overview of a different way of making batteries. Also check out this Wikipedia entry on earth batteries, which I found via this Instructable.

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Instructables | Digg this!

Here's an Instructable on building primitive batteries, interesting not so much for its (low-current, low-voltage) results but as a nice overview of a different way of making batteries. Also check out this Wikipedia entry on earth batteries, which I found via this Instructable.

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Instructables | Digg this!

Everything is such a futz, but it's nice when these things have happy endings. I have my thumbnail creating app up, and while it's not linked into the RSS its going to be used in, that's the easy predictable stuff, the stuff that requires no futzing, at least not for me.

Here's a folder of thumbs that ImageMagick is adding to every five minutes.

I'm doing it by launching the ImageMagick convert app, once for each picture. The fixed width is 100 pixels, I compute the height to be proportional. My script makes sure not to start another conversion until the previous file exists, because the process is unfortunately asynchronous. However it is easily synchronized. I have a 15 second timeout. Then I wait 5 seconds between conversions to let the CPU catch up processing other tasks. Image processing, esp for very large images, is a very CPU-intensive thing, apparently.

I hooted out loud (HOL) when I got it working. This one has been on my to-do list for a very long time!

lkcl tips his in-depth article up at Advogato on the difficulties for the MVC programming model that are introduced by Javascript and AJAX, and solutions for them. He writes: "This article outlines how the MVC concept is made incredibly awkward by the gradual but necessary introduction of Javascript and AJAX. A solution is found in the form of Javascript Compiler Technology such as GWT or Pyjamas (PyPy's JS backend or Rb2Js could be used, with some additional work). The article outlines how and why the traditional MVC patterns are fragmented by Javascript and AJAX, advocating that if a site is programmed purely in a high-level language that is then compiled to Javascript for the Web Browser sections, the same high-level source code can be executed either client-side on the browser, or server-side, or even both, depending on the requirements. The implications of this approach are discussed in depth."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

CNet: ""If you've ever used a Netbook and used a 10-inch screen size -- it's fine for an hour. It's not something you're going to use day in and day out."

To which I say -- well hmm. I think the first part is right. And you will use your netbook every day, for about an hour or so, sounds just right. Inbetween things. Kind of the way you use an iPhone, but for people who like more of a computer.

For real work, I use a full setup with lots of hard drive space, and two big screens and comfortable seating.

A netbook is for the coffee shop or airplane or subway ride. For watching a movie, checking email, updating Twitter, fast, mobile stuff.

But it's good that Intel is checking in with the users. And eventually I think netbooks will evolve into market-expanding machines. We're still in the first year of netbooks. Give it a chance.

CNet: ""If you've ever used a Netbook and used a 10-inch screen size -- it's fine for an hour. It's not something you're going to use day in and day out."

To which I say -- well hmm. I think the first part is right. And you will use your netbook every day, for about an hour or so, sounds just right. Inbetween things. Kind of the way you use an iPhone, but for people who like more of a computer.

For real work, I use a full setup with lots of hard drive space, and two big screens and comfortable seating.

A netbook is for the coffee shop or airplane or subway ride. For watching a movie, checking email, updating Twitter, fast, mobile stuff.

But it's good that Intel is checking in with the users. And eventually I think netbooks will evolve into market-expanding machines. We're still in the first year of netbooks. Give it a chance.

As is our newly minted tratition, Boing Boing tv ends the holiday week with a Unicorn Chaser.

In today's edition, Boing Boing Gadgets' Joel Johnson, who trekked out into the wilderness for this previous episode, returns there to perform the nerdcore anthem embedded above -- UHHHH. (MP4 Link).

Not a single one of these grunts was repeated. All were taped in the order they appear in this remix, the morning after Joel was nearly bitten by a snake, doing a gadget review out in the wilds.

---

Perhaps you were too busy stuffing yourself with turkey this week to catch all of this week's BBtv goodness. I'll embed a recap below.

BBtv/Offworld: Status Report Edition, Brandon's Still a Death Gnome

Boing Boing Gadgets: Joel Reviews T-Mobile Cameo Picture Frame

Boing Boing tv Update: Virgin WiFi, Obfuscated Code, Comment Poetry, Downfall Housing Remix

merg717 writes "Six weeks ago, the Gonzo Scientist challenged researchers around the world to interpret their Ph.D. research in dance form, film the dance, and share it with the world on YouTube (Science, 10 October, p. 186). By the 11 p.m. deadline this past Sunday, 36 dances — including solo ballet and circus spectacle — had been submitted online." The vitamin D dance is particularly strange.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

shopsin's general store
baby leo
funkyzilla
sumolounge
demeter fragrance
mudpuppy magnet monsters
butter ny
green chair press
field notes: the kit
bird song organ
chicken bag
krappy
gun rack organizer
elsewares
global home

previously on web zen:
shopping zen 2007

Permalink for this edition. Web Zen is created and curated by Frank Davis, and re-posted here on Boing Boing with his kind permission. Web Zen Home and Archives, Store (Thanks Frank!)

Here is where I would attempt to summarize the meaning behind Bram Knaapen's "Technology Context Communicator". It's a fairly complex subject matter, so I think I will let him do it for me:

The non face-to-face communication of social and emotional experiences between people usually happens through phone or other media like e-mail, IM (instant messaging or webcam (e.g. Skype). The context in which the experiences were experienced plays an important role. Neither the technology nor our way of describing enables us to communicate this context in a way it can be "experienced" by the other person. There still are a few layers of formulation & interpretation in between: you can only imagine. This project focuses on the design of a system that is able to communicate the real-time context of a remote user so that the receiving person is able to " feel" as if he/she is there without the translation steps that are required when describing an experience. Emphasis is on the visual element in experience and thus imaging technology. The final concept is a modular system of connectable triangles that can be mounted to the wall and can project a real-time abstract display of a remote visual context.

More about the "Technology Context Communicator" made from 5 Arduinos [arduino.cc]

In the Maker Shed:


Make: Arduino

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Arduino | Digg this!

Now these are some cute turkey cupcakes, as seen in Bridgett Lee's Flickr stream.

turkey cupcakes (Thanks, Marilyn!)

killmofasta notes an LA Times story on a severe and widespread attack on US military computers that may have originated in Russia. Turns out the military's recent ban on flash drives was a precursor to this attack, which was significant enough that the President and the Defense Secretary were briefed on it. "The 'malware' strike, thought to be from inside Russia, hit combat zone computers and the US Central Command overseeing Iraq and Afghanistan. The attack underscores concerns about computer warfare. 'This one was significant; this one got our attention,' said one defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity when discussing internal assessments. Although officials are withholding many details, the attack underscores the increasing danger and potential significance of computer warfare, which defense experts say could one day be used by combatants to undermine even a militarily superior adversary. ... [A defense official said] 'We have taken a number of corrective measures, but I would be overstating it if I said we were through this.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Dorkbot-sea December meeting is coming up:

Haven't you always wanted to take all those noisy, furry, half-broken toys in your closet, tear them apart and put them together as something just a little bit evil? Well, now's your chance! Dorkbot and Santarchy are combining forces to host an evil toys workshop. If you bring electric toys that make noise, we'll show you how to circuit bend them to make eerie sounds. Don't forget your batteries! If you don't want to deal with electronics, that's ok, you can re assemble your furry toys too. WHAT: December 2008: Santa's Evil Toys Workshop and Holiday Party WHEN: Weds, December 3rd, 7:00pm - 10:00pm WHERE: 911 Media, 402 9th Ave N. ADMISSION: Free! But bring a few bucks for the eggnog and rum jar, it will be donated to 911 Media Arts Center

(photo from Hacked Gadgets)

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Announcements | Digg this!

Makers from around the world gathered to share their "green" inventions and technology at Maker Faire in Austin. Make plans now to attend the next Maker Faire.
To download Maker Faire Austin 2008 - Green Tech MP4 click here or subscribe in iTunes.

More Weekend Projects are on the way.

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in MAKE Video | Digg this!

Isac Zal's Harmonic Generator instrument is an impressively visual beast of a device, complete with wheels for mobility -

• 64 piano strings on the outside of the device are chromatically tuned to 32 notes.
  
• 32 corresponding motors with bristle paint brushes beating the strings at controlled speeds
  
• a homemade keyboard, played like a piano, controls motors.
  
• 12 pick-ups that focus on one octave of strings
  
• a transducer at the end of the instrument that feeds back the sound of the pick-ups into the large resonance hull

- Harmonic Generator

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Music | Digg this!

sumj sends in word out of a Taiwanese research institute of a folding display on a smartphone that allows its screen to double in size to 5 inches (slideshow here). It's a prototype at this point. Don't bother clicking for the article's second page — it's one sentence with an interstitial before.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

What happens when the spider car drag races the big wheel... who will win?

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Arts | Digg this!

Jed Berk has a lot of shows going! Jed makes our Blubber bot kit in the MAKE store, if you want to make a autonomous blimp, you can!

In the pursuit to evolve and grow the biotopes, some of the species have bred forming 500 hundred new young, The Blubber Bots are offspring of the Autonomous Light Air Vessels (ALAVs). The Blubber Bots call for participation from the audience. Through educating an audience from a more hands on experience, Blubber Bots can be assembled and let loose into the world by anyone willing to do so. I am working toward a more ambitious biotope imagining hundreds of Blubber Bots inhabiting a central location. With your help, this vision maybe upon us soon

What is a Blubber Bot?
Blubber Bots are floating DIY robotic species that navigate autonomously and intelligently. Blubber Bots float, dance, seek and sing. They are light-seeking hellium-filled balloons that graze the landscape in search of light and cellphone signals. Designed into the inflatable form is a set of light sensors enabling them to seek out the brightest light source. They are also equipped with a phone flasher and can recognize cellphone activity. You can interact with a Blubber Bot by making a call and waving your phone near it. In response, it will go into a flocking dance or sing you a special tune.

Brandts, Odense, Denmark
35 Blubbers in a solo exhibit
"Beluga Pod", Opening Reception Nov. 13, 5pm-7pm
Dates: 11.13.2008 - 11.30.2008

MOCA, Taipei
Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei
DEF, group exhibit (ALAVs 2.0)
Dates: 9.12.2008 - 11.09.2008

Blubber Bot Robotic Inflatable
Part of a family of "Transitional Species," Blubber Bots are Do-It-Yourself robotic inflatables that navigate autonomously and intelligently. They are light-seeking helium-filled balloons that graze the landscape in search of light and cellphone signals.


Features:

• Designed into the inflatable form is a set of light sensors enabling them to seek out the brightest light source. They are also equipped with a phone flasher and can recognize cellphone activity. You can interact with a Blubber Bot by making a call and waving your phone near it. In response, they will go into a flocking dance or sing you a special tune.
• Social and friendly in nature, Blubber Bots like to play. You can invite other Blubber Bots over for a party to watch them flock and mingle. They propel themselves using helium buoyancy and two-directional motors. They are a little clumsy though and tend to bump into things. Fortunately, Blubber Bots are born with a feeler (bump switch) to help them out of tricky situations. At a flick of the "feeler", they back up and head in a new direction.
• Not only do they like to play, but they love to sing. Blubber Bots have a unique voice generated from a vibrating motor and a small piezo speaker attached to their mylar bodies. They bellow sounds similar to a whale's song and serenade you with melodies. When not being played with, they rest while tooting periodic sounds in their sleep, dreaming until they once again are awakened.

You can also get MAKE 12 - Featuring the Blubber bot.
Make, Vol 12 features our special section on digital arts and crafts called "Upload," where you'll learn how to take infrared photographs, shoot movies with custom backgrounds, and make fun-to-watch slideshows of your digital family photos. You'll also learn how to make an extremely loud air whistle, a solar-powered xylophone, and a TV remote control that's powered by your muscles. As usual, you'll find plenty of other exciting how-to projects inside.

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Arts | Digg this!

wiedzmin writes "In response to the recent resurrection of the Srizbi botnet, an Estonian ISP has shut down the hosting company that was housing its new control servers. Starline Web Services, based in Estonia's capital Tallinn, had become the new home for the Srizbi botnet control center after the McColo hosting company (which was taken down earlier this month) has briefly come back to life last week, allowing the botnet to hand-off control to the Estonian network. After Estonia's biggest ISP Linxtelecom demanded that Starline Web Service be taken offline, the newly acquired Srizbi control servers went down with it. However, as the rootkit is armed with an algorithm that periodically generates new domain names where the malware then looks for new instructions, it is only a matter of time before a new set of control servers is created and used to manipulate one of the biggest spam botnets in the world."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Here's part three of the ongoing BB holiday giving guide, where I round up the bestselling items from this year's reviews on Boing Boing. Today it's gadgets and stuff (basically, anything that's not a book or a DVD or CD) and Boing Boing Gadgets's Joel Johnson's kicked in some of his faves, too!

Don't miss part one: kids' books and books and media about kids and part two: fiction!

Uranium Ore

Uranium ore for sale on Amazon
Original Boing Boing post

Gloom

Gothy card-game challenges your ability to create misery
Original Boing Boing post

Fluxx

Nomic card game
Original Boing Boing post

Alice in Wonderland Tattoos

Alice in Wonderland temporary tatts
Original Boing Boing post

Gerber 22-41770 Artifact Pocket Keychain Tool

Adorable Gerber pocket multitool
Original Boing Boing post

Leatherman 830850 Skeletool CX Multitool

A full-featured Leatherman tool whose every non-essential surface has been swiss-cheesed with holes to lighten its weight to a mere five ounces.
Original Boing Boing post

Nexcare Duct Tape Bandage

Nothing butches up your wounds like an official duct tape band-aid.
Original Boing Boing post

686 Original Snow Toolbelt

Belt buckle with integrated toolkit
Original Boing Boing post

MSI Wind U100 Netbook Most netbooks have about the same specs, but the Wind is a favorite for how easily it can be hackintoshed into running OS X. Original BBG coverage
Lippi Selk' Bag 1 It's a sleeping bag you can wear around the house, footie PJs for adults. Original BBG review
Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG9 Camcorder More functions than a Flip Mino, with replaceable flash memory and a real optical zoom. Original BBG Coverage

Matt Asay writes "On October 13, 2008, Hewlett-Packard (HP) sent a complaint to an open-source competitor, GroundWork, asking GroundWork to stop revealing HP's 'confidential' pricing. CNET has posted the letter, which indicates that HP doesn't want its pricing revealed, but which doesn't question the veracity of the pricing (which, not surprisingly, is 82 percent higher than the open-source vendor's). Does HP think its pricing is really a secret? It's publicly available at GSA Advantage. Guess what? HP software costs a lot of money, but presumably feels that it can justify the high prices. Why try to hide the pricing information?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Photography by Jens J. Selvig III

Gary Bates grew up plowing the fields of his grandfather's farm in tiny Manhattan, Mont., where he now lives. Making passes on the tractor each day bored the young Bates, but he did enjoy lying on the grass and watching the windmills. And it was there that he found the inspiration for his kinetic sculptures.

In his early 20s, Bates began building large, wind-powered structures from recycled farm machinery. He placed these sculptures on the edge of the field so he could watch them while he drove the tractor, sometimes looking at them from a mile away.

Today, a telescope points from Bates' living room to his 1986 sculpture Lunar Ketcherschmitt, a 14-foot-high piece marking the edge of his property. Ketcherschmitt is made of an old steel boiler cut in two, with one 2,300-pound half spinning atop the other. Engineers from Stanford University have visited to study how the wind can start the heavy top half spinning, but they remain baffled. Bates doesn't necessarily understand it either. "I don't know why it works," he admits, "but I'm happy that it works."

Like many of Bates' sculptures, Ketcherschmitt makes visible the pulse of the environment. Each one reacts to some natural force -- in this case, wind -- and transmits the information in a visual way. Bates peers through the lens to Ketcherschmitt each morning to see what the weather might be like. Similarly, an engineering professor at Montana State University watches the spin of Bates' Wind Arc from his office window to determine whether it's too blustery to ride his bike home.

Bates' next public work, Rain Scale, will be installed this year at Green River Community College in Auburn, Wash. Bates will perch an 18-foot-wide horizontal ring of stainless steel atop a 25-foot-high arch. Three-eighths of an inch of rain, or 29 pounds of water, will set the 2,000-pound ring into seesawing motion for almost an hour, depositing water into the pond below. It's sure to be a glorious sight -- just remember to bring your umbrella.

>> Monumental Kinetic Sculpture: http://sculptorgarybates.com

From the column Made on Earth - MAKE 14, page 17 - Linda Permann.

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Made On Earth | Digg this!

If you have been following the story of the MasterNewMedia internship program, you know already that at the end of the summer I have selected two new candidates to jump into this unique learning and working opportunity. MasterNewMedia intern Andre Deutmeyer In their learning path leading to a professional publishing position, I personally guide my scholars to try out and become familiar with all phases, tools and methods of new media communication. And video interviewing is one of these. Thanks to the amazing new video technologies and services available today, the technical part of a video interview) is now within most everyone reach leaving while the key challenge for most is the ability to develop an effective editorial approach and a credible, genuine personal communication style. This time is Andre Deutmeyer's turn to be under the spotlight and to share his learned lessons after a couple of months inside inside the MasterNewMedia internship program. By all means this is both a real learning opportunity for both Andre and Daniele to try firsthand what it means to be on either side of a video camera and what it takes to be oneself in front of it. As you will see in this video, Andre, the interviewee is naturally very spontaneous and believable, as he apparently answers questions just like he was talking to a friend sitting in front of him. No fancy terminology, no difficult tech terms, no stiff position, outfit or attitude. The way to go! On the other hand, Daniele, who you have met in another video interview a few weeks ago, has a much harder time being credible, because of his very own conscious effort to be "alive" and "entertaining". In my eyes, Daniele comes out as being a lot more fake than he really is, showing clearly that to have video impact on the web you really need to be yourself 110%. Easy to say, but not so much to do, unless you get to have lots of opportunities to try out, experiment and let yourself go. My best advice to both Daniele and you is not to fret. Take your time and experiment, while making your best effort of visualizing a true, intimate friend in front of you. Tell your story or ask your questions as you would do if you met that person inside an airport lounge with little time available and a great curiosity to find out more about the person you have in front of you. The beauty of video on the web, is that it opens up a new approach to communication, drastically different from the stiff, pre-packaged mass-media delivery that traditional television programming has long brainwashed us to expect. Here the name of the game is

"take down all formalities, institutionalized attitudes and speak in your natural true voice. Say what you think, be spontaneous, don't hold back, make mistakes but be real. Just like you are when in the midst of your best and closest friends".

Here the video interview:

Interns Interview Each Other - Andre Deutmeyer Under The Spotlight

Duration: 8' 48"
Full English Text Transcription

Intro

Daniele Bazzano: Hello everyone, my name is Daniele Bazzano and I'm intern at MasterNewMedia. I'm here with my friend and colleague Andre Deutmeyer who's connecting live with us from Seoul, South Korea. Hi, Andre, how are you doing?
Andre Deutmeyer: Hey Dani, how are you? Daniele Bazzano: I'm doing great thank you.

Why Andre Joined MasterNewMedia

Daniele Bazzano: Andre, I want to chat a little bit with you about your internship experience here, about MasterNewMedia. Just tell me, how did it all start? Andre Deutmeyer: Dani, to tell you the truth, the way I got started with MasterNewMedia was a few months back. I think it's about three months now. Three months ago I was looking for something new to do. The reason for that is that my job here in Seoul is... I'm an English teacher here. It gives me quite a bit of free time on the side to pursuit some of the things that I enjoy, some of the things that I cannot really want to do. One of the things that interested me is web publishing, online technology and more. About three months back I was reading blogs and as I was going through some of that stuff I saw a link to Robin Good's MasterNewMedia page and he was saying that he was looking for interns. I read it and I thought: "wow, this is interesting, this is something that might be really good for me". I thought about it for a while, and then about a week or two later, I think I read your post Dani. After reading that post I was like: "this sounds really good. This sounds like something that I really want to do". So, I wanted to head to that point. I sent Robin Good an email, and then he called me. We chatted a little bit, and the rest is history. Now here I am!
Daniele Bazzano: That's great! So, I was the one who introduced you to MasterNewMedia... That's cool man!

Finding The Time

Daniele Bazzano: Andre, you said you're an English teacher. How do you manage to find the time to stay with your friends, your girlfriend, work, and at the same time do this internship at MasterNewMedia, which many times can be very time-consuming? Andre Deutmeyer: That's really a good question Dani. A lot of times I'm actually wondering how I can stick with it myself. I think the biggest thing for me, the reason I stick with this internship, to MasterNewMedia, is this is what I really want to do. Teaching is fun, I enjoy it, but I personally don't want to go into education as a teacher. I don't think that's where my future lies. I think something like independent web publishing is what I would like to do in the future. That's the reason I kind of stick with this. As far as finding the time goes, it's just like anything else in life. If you want to do it, then you have to make time for it. I make sacrifices in other areas: personal life being, the biggest one. I still have to work my job because it pays me, and pays the bills and stuff. But lots of times now when I spend time with my girlfriend, it would be doing something productive together. I'll be working on an article, perhaps she will be studying or doing internship applications of her own. That's kind of where we get to spend time together now. And every once in a while, I do save time for myself. I still go out, watch the occasional movie, I actually watched... what was the last movie? It doesn't really matter, but I do have time to go out and do things, have dinner with my girlfriend, go to movies. It's just I have to be a little more careful now with how I spend my time.

Pros and Cons About The Internship

Daniele Bazzano: That's great Andre, thank you for sharing your experience here! But now, let's get this straight: just tell me three pros and three cons about your internship experience here. Straight, just don't think about it. Andre Deutmeyer: Oh yeah, that's a harder question than you might think. Let's go with the three pros, because I think that's a lot easier.

1. Like I've already said, first thing is the opportunities available here. I'm learning a lot of stuff and I'm learning a lot of stuff that interests me, which is one big pro why I'm here.
2. The second one is the people. I love the atmosphere, I like how white and black it can be. There's very few places in the world where I can wear a beanie to work, and that's great for me. Robin, Dani, and all the people working at MasterNewMedia, are all great people.
3. As for the third reason, it can provide a future for me. This is something where I can be my own boss, in the future, and that's really kind of what attracts me to MasterNewMedia, and what I'm doing right now.

As far as the cons, that's a little bit more difficult... three cons? Honestly I can only really think of one off the top of my head, and that's the whole sacrificing all those things that I used to do: going out and going to karaoke until 6am, or drinking at the local pub with my friends. I've given up those things, and that's the real con. I'm not going to play down and act like it is not a bad sacrifice, because I think it is a sacrifice. But it's one that I'm going to make. I hope that answers your question. The other two cons, I'd just give you that back later on Dani.

Andre's Advices For Future Interns

Daniele Bazzano: Sounds great Andre, you really answered my questions, there was no need to go to the other two cons. I think this internship is a difficult path that you are walking, but it's definitely something that you would advise to someone else who wants to become a publisher. What are your advices to them? What would you advise? Andre Deutmeyer: For others who are interested in this internship I would say that you have to be willing to... you have to know in your mind, and right in your heart, this is something nice you want to do. There's no one telling you that you have to come to work everyday. This is a choice that you make. You have to know in your heart that this is what you want to do. Especially in my position where I have another job, it's even more necessary to realize that this is something you want to do, this is something that's important, and something that you want to learn how to do. You get to really decide before you start, before you jump into this, that this is something that you see yourself doing in the future, being a productive relationship for you in the future. Once you've made that decision, I think the internship would go smoothly. You'll have some difficulties, you'll be learning a lot of new stuff, you'll be making some mistakes, but overall as long as you have that idea in mind: "this is what I want to do, and I want to to stick with it, no matter the obstacles that face me, no matter the problems I encounter, I'm going to stick with it". If you have that attitude, I don't see how you can fail, this would be a great opportunity for you to learn something new. And on top of that, Robin is flexible. He's a nice guy, he understands that you can have all the commitments in your life. You just have to tell him, you have to work with him, work things out, and that sense is great. I really can't ask for a better mentor internship.
Daniele Bazzano: That was great Andre. Thank you very much for sharing your experience and it's been a real pleasure talking to you. I'll chat with you later, or we'll prepare another article together! Ciao! Andre Deutmeyer: I had a great time Dani. Thank you very much for having me, see you later man!

N.B.: Internship positions at MasterNewMedia will open again on December 1st 2008. To list yourself up or find out more about this internship opportunity please see: "New Media Internships - MasterNewMedia New Apprentice Positions Open"

Originally shot by Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia and first published on November 28th as "New Media Internship At MasterNewMedia: Interns Interview Each Other - Andre Deutmeyer Under The Spotlight".

I am definitely adding this to the top of my list of "things I have to build". It looks like an extremely simple solution for displaying video via an Arduino. If any of our readers try this out before I do, post a link in the comments or email me. I would love to see the results. Thanks!

More about Arduino composite video

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Arduino | Digg this!

Roland Piquepaille writes "NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy have teamed up to operate the future Joint Dark Energy Mission. As you probably know, recent astronomical measurements have showed that about 72% of the total energy in the universe is dark energy, even if scientists don't know much about it, but speculate that it is present almost since the beginning of our Universe more than 13 billion years ago. The JDEM 'mission will make precise measurements of the expansion rate of the universe to understand how this rate has changed with time. These measurements will yield vital clues about the nature of dark energy.' The launch of a spacecraft for the JDEM mission is not planned before 2015."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

This is a really easy solution for replacing a missing knob on your classic amplifier. These knobs become brittle over time and can easily break when being moved around. The replacement knobs can be made in a few minutes from some scrap materials.

Few weekends ago I was trying to find on the net some knobs to put on a[n] old JVC amplifier [me] and my girlfriend found on the street.....The small ones (2.5cm) where reasonable cheap and easy to find but I couldn't find any of 5cm.....So at last I decided to do them myself.

More about How to: Make wooden Amplifier Knob

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Instructables | Digg this!

This project is perfect for the Maker/Crafter household. They describe how to make a wooden bobbin, a weaving loom, and finally, how to weave a bag from recycled materials. Make sure to check out all 3 pages.

More about French Knitting [part 2] [part 3]

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Crafts | Digg this!

Homemade strobe photography by Tom Anderson and Wendell Anderson...

JUMPIN’ JACKED FLASH

We built a strobe flash out of a Kodak disposable camera and then designed a circuit that triggers the flash when it detects a sound or other measurable event. The strobe flash will freeze motion!

We use a digital camera set for a long exposure (two seconds or more), and shoot the picture in a dark room. When the balloon pops, the sound-activated trigger circuit fires the flash, and the camera captures the incredible event.

Why not just take the picture of the balloon with a digital camera and its built-in flash? First, getting the timing right is a hard problem: the camera’s exposure, its flash, and the event itself need to be synchronized. (Try it yourself and see what luck you have.) The second problem is that a stock camera flash doesn’t make a very good strobe because it flashes too long, causing blurry high-speed photos.

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Photography | Digg this!

Slatterz writes "The IT backbone for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is to be cut. According to the Games' chief integrator, Michele Hyron of Atos Origin, each section of the computing infrastructure will be made more efficient in order to minimise redundant equipment and hopefully reduce energy consumption. Unlike the Beijing Games, the results will be relayed via the public wireless network which will be available in the Olympic Park — this means cutting out the 2,500 results terminals. The team of workers will deliver more than 1,000 servers, 10,000 PCs and 4,000 printers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

With some of my family overseas, Skype and iChat have become important tools for voice communication, second only to the cell phone and face to face protocol. It occurred to me that outside of telemarketers and the very occasional late-night pizza dial, the land line has become a relatively unused service. Unused, yet a consistent and not insubstantial monthly bill.

With thoughts of finally ditching the land line, but still a bit resistant to going completely phoneless in the home (what about when my cell battery dies?), I came across an article in Linux Journal by Andrew Sheppard, author of Skype Hacks, that shows you how to reconfigure your home telephone system to be completely routed through a server running Skype and Linux.

My solution was to build a Skype server that provides 24/7 phone service with the minimum of hassle and fuss. By dumping your regular phone company and taking back control of your home phone wiring using a Skype server, you will have not only a phone system with nearly the same capabilities as before--indeed, in some ways better--you will also save a bundle of money! In my case, I save a little less than $700 US each year (this year, next year, and the year after that, and so on), or about 82% off of my old phone bill.

Using a Skype server plugged in to the existing copper phone wiring of your home means that you can lift a receiver anywhere in your home, at any time, and get a regular dial tone. Incoming calls either from Skype users or regular phones ring all handsets throughout your home. Basically, you can make Skype behave like a regular phone line, but at a tiny fraction of the cost.

There are some big benefits to switching to a Skype server. It's likely a lot cheaper and if you're a regular Skype user, you can now use the service with any handset in the house instead of sitting at your computer.

There are also some downsides. The phone system still remains one of the most reliable services. It's more likely that I'll lose electricity than I won't have a dial tone, which may be of some concern for fire and bugler alarm systems. You also wouldn't have 911 service in this scenario, but if you have a cell phone anyway, this may be a moot point.

What are the rest of you hackers doing for phone service these days? Is it time to give up the land line entirely, simulate it with a Skype server or VoIP service, or are you still happily rocking the POTS? Give us a shout in the comments.

Build a Skype Server for Your Home Phone System
Andrew Sheppard's Skype Hacks - Tips & Tools for Cheap, Fun, Innovative Phone Service

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Telecommunications | Digg this!

Jenny @ CRAFT posted up this odd appetizer, and I'm strangely fixated on its almondy, spiny pinecone-ness. Maybe it's because I haven't seen a real pinecone in a while. Anyway, the pinecone cheeseball by Heidi Kenney certainly has visual interest on its side!

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Holiday projects | Digg this!

Toren Altair writes "SpaceX made good progress with their Falcon 9 rocket. Check the progress with pictures. 'Today we fitted the F9 skirt to the fuel tank end of the 1st stage. Also had movement on the erector, with the upper aluminum truss just coming back from being painted. Activity on the floor is constant and will remain so throughout the week and weekend as we prepare the F9 structures for shipping to Texas for testing before they head to the Cape.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

From the MAKE Flickr pool, user pixl8ed printed his own business card holder out of FDM plastic from his own 3D design. Neat! Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Computers | Digg this!

Today's NYT has an op-ed by Roger Cohen giving thanks that our next president is a constitutional lawyer.

Of the 770 detainees grabbed here and there and flown to Guantánamo, only 23 have ever been charged with a crime. Of the more than 500 so far released, many traumatized by those “enhanced” techniques, not one has received an apology or compensation for their season in hell.

What they got on release was a single piece of paper from the American government. A U.S. official met one of the dozens of Afghans now released from Guantánamo and was so appalled by this document that he forwarded me a copy.

Dated Oct. 7, 2006, it reads as follows:

“An Administrative Review Board has reviewed the information about you that was talked about at the meeting on 02 December 2005 and the deciding official in the United States has made a decision about what will happen to you. You will be sent to the country of Afghanistan. Your departure will occur as soon as possible.”

That’s it, the one and only record on paper of protracted U.S. incarceration: three sentences for four years of a young Afghan’s life, written in language Orwell would have recognized.

We have “the deciding official,” not an officer, general or judge. We have “the information about you,” not allegations, or accusations, let alone charges. We have “a decision about what will happen to you,” not a judgment, ruling or verdict. This is the lexicon of totalitarianism. It is acutely embarrassing to the United States.

That is why I am thankful above all that the next U.S. commander in chief is a constitutional lawyer. Nothing has been more damaging to the United States than the violation of the legal principles at the heart of the American idea.

Roger Cohen on Guantánamo

An anonymous reader writes "Thinking about upgrading to an HDTV this holiday season? The prices might be great, but some people won't be appreciating the technology as much as everyone else. A report by Leichtman Research Group is claiming that 18% of consumers who are watching standard definition channels on a HDTV think that the feed is in hi-def." (Here's the original story at PC World.)

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Barry Kudrowitz, a Ph. D. has a great page on his website that chronicles the design process that lead him to create the Nerf Atom Blaster.

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Digg this!

There are many Instructables about changing your oil, but only one starts like this:

I learned to do oil changes in high school speech class. One of the boys worked in a garage. He gave a really great how-to demonstration/speech about changing oil. He gave another about rotating tires, but there isn't anything complicated about that. After each speech the teacher had the other students critique the performance. I didn't understand one of the speeches given by a boy who had polio or cerebral palsey. He thought I was unkind to his speech when I asked what it had been about, so he beat me up after class. My karate was not effective against polio-based techniques.

Check out the rest of Tim Anderson's oil-changing Instructable here. In addition to catching the rest of what happened with the "fight," pay attention to how Tim turns a mundane topic into an engaging Instructable!

Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Instructables | Digg this!