WWJD 3 - Results! - Engadget

Monday, February 27, 2006
08:19 PM

WWJD 3 - Results! - Engadget: ""

(Via .)

RIP, Octavia Butler, "genius" science fiction writer

Sunday, February 26, 2006
09:30 PM
my oldest brother recently died in the same manner

RIP, Octavia Butler, "genius" science fiction writer: "Cory Doctorow:
Octavia Butler, the brilliant science fiction writer, reportedly died on Saturday following a fall that gave her a fatal concussion. Butler was the incredible writer who was the first genre author to win the MacArthur Foundation's 'Genius' grant. She was the first prominent African-American woman in the field, and her novels and short stories were an inspiration to a generation of writers of all backgrounds and both sexes (I was ready to give up writing after a five-year bout of writers' block in my mid-twenties when I read the introduction to her short story collection in which she recounted her own block and decided to keep trying). I recently reviewed her wonderful novel Fledgling here, a vampire book that, like all of Butler's work, was a disturbing, light-touch allegory about race and sex politics skinned with a fast-moving, heart-wrenching storyline.

Butler was only 58 when she died on Saturday. Her oeuvre is too modest, but will never be forgotten. She had many amazing books left in her. I only met her once, very briefly, and I was tongue-tied in her presence, but she was gracious and friendly. The field and the world has lost someone wonderful this weekend.

Several people have confirmed this now, though nothing authoritative has been published. I'll update this post if something firmer emerges.

Link

(Thanks, Bill, Jeff and Steve!)

(Photo from NikolasCo/Flickr)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Loren Coleman in the Boston Globe

Sunday, February 26, 2006
09:29 PM

Loren Coleman in the Boston Globe: "David Pescovitz:
My cryptozoologist pal Loren Coleman of Cryptomundo is the subject of a long profile in today's Boston Globe. The reporter visited Loren in his wunderkammer home, also known as the International Cryptozoology Museum. From the article:

To believers, doubters, even skeptics, Bigfoot makes a big impression. The replica 8 1/2 - foot hairy hominoid -- crafted from the fur of musk oxen and buffalo, a hulking presence on the porch of a brown-and-yellow home in Portland, Maine -- scares the bejesus out of the UPS man. Still, it's right at home here on the doorstep of a man who has spent a lifetime investigating mysterious animal sightings. 'I don't particularly feel like a strange person,' Loren Coleman says. 'It's the subject I study that's strange.'



He is a leading figure in the world of cryptozoology, a field whose legitimacy is disputed. Coleman has trekked to 49 states, as well as Canada, Mexico, and Scotland, gathering physical evidence and eyewitness accounts of Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman, the Loch Ness Monster, Mothman, thunderbirds, and other legendary beasts not verified by conventional science but storied enough to make us wonder: What if?



'Eighty percent of all the accounts that come to me are misidentifications, are mundane animals - a few fakes, a few hoaxes,' Coleman acknowledges. 'But it's that 20 percent of the core unknowns that keep me going.'

Link(free reg. required or BugMeNot: me@privacy.net / boston)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Don Knotts dead at 81

Sunday, February 26, 2006
09:28 PM
man, those lips

Don Knotts dead at 81: "Cory Doctorow:


Don Knotts -- AKA The Incredible Mr Limpet, Deputy Barney Fife, and Ralph Furley -- has died at 81 from pumonary and repsitory complications. Good night, Barn, and sleep well.

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Florida cops threaten people who ask for complaint forms

Sunday, February 26, 2006
09:27 PM
maybe I am on medication

Florida cops threaten people who ask for complaint forms: "Cory Doctorow:
A CBS undercover reporting team went into 38 police stations in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in Florida, asking for a set of forms they could use to complain about inappropriate police behavior. In all but three of the stations, the police refused to give them forms. Some of the cops threatened them (on hidden camera, no less) -- one of them even touched his gun.

officer: Where do you live? Where do you live? You have to tell me where you live, what your name is, or anything like that.

tester: For a complaint? I mean, like, if I have --

officer: Are you on medications?

tester: Why would you ask me something like that?

officer: Because you're not answering any of my questions.

tester: Am I on medications?

officer: I asked you. It's a free country. I can ask you that.

tester: Okay, you're right.

officer: So you're not going to tell me who you are, you're not going to tell me what the problem is.You're not going to identify yourself.

tester: All I asked you was, like, how do I contact --

officer: You said you have a complaint. You say my officers are acting in an inappropriate manner.

officer: So leave now. Leave now. Leave now.

Link

(via Why, That's Delightful!)

Update: Alex sez, 'The Lauderhill cop who was shown intimidating an individual looking to file a police complaint on hidden camera took the news station to court to stop the story from airing.'

Update 2: Lee sez, 'The Police Complaint Center exists to help citizens file complaints against officers and departments -- an important service, as police officers are supposed to be serving the public.'

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

New filter keeps iPod videos to yourself

Wednesday, February 22, 2006
10:39 PM
1 4 me pleez

New filter keeps iPod videos to yourself: "

You know, I'm getting really tired of all those morning commuters leaning in to check out my video iPod. After all, I was the one who paid $1.99 so I could watch last night's Lost on the D train. I guess I should get me a PodCowBoy, a filter that you stick over an iPod's screen that'll ensure anyone trying to eavesdrop from the side will see nothing but gray — you have to look head on to see anything. Seems kind of backwards to develop something that actually reduces a display's viewing angle, but for anyone who doesn't want to reveal to the world your taste in portable video, the filter should help reclaim a smidge of privacy. Made by Japanese company Digital Cowboy, it also comes with an A/V cable for hooking your iPod up to a TV. — Peter Pachal

iPod Video Privacy Filter, via Gizmodo

"

(Via SCI FI Tech Blog.)

Cheney, Whittington, and peppered quailtards -- in Lego

Wednesday, February 22, 2006
10:28 PM
really not funny

Cheney, Whittington, and peppered quailtards -- in Lego: "Xeni Jardin:

Link (Thanks, minifig)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Salon interviews Anya Kamenetz, author...

Tuesday, February 21, 2006
08:44 PM
depressing

Salon interviews Anya Kamenetz, author...: "

Salon interviews Anya Kamenetz, author of Generation Debt: Why Now Is a Terrible Time to Be Young.

What it is all really about for me is realizing that we are part of the first generation in America that does not expect to and probably won't do better than our parents. It's about taking a step down, and that is a feeling that is terrifying. The American dream has always been about progress and about going up and up -- but we are not making as much money as our parents, and maybe we are a little bit less educated than our parents. We are not achieving the milestones of adulthood at the same time that they did.

(Thanks to Leela for the link.)

"

(Via blog.)

The Raw Story reports that Scott McClellan,...

Tuesday, February 21, 2006
08:41 PM
lol

The Raw Story reports that Scott McClellan,...: "

The Raw Story reports that Scott McClellan, displaying his trademark brand of stammering ineloquence, dodged a question about President Bush's meeting last year with wingnut airport-novel king Michael Crichton. Meanwhile, Clean Air Watch President Frank O'Donnell says the meeting 'would be laughable if the consequences weren’t so dire.' In a related story, the Bush administration has reportedly canceled plans to prepare the country for the possible avian flu epidemic, choosing instead to start inoculating all Americans against the Andromeda strain.

"

(Via blog.)

Fun with liquid nitrogen

Monday, February 20, 2006
10:06 PM
tricksy

Fun with liquid nitrogen: "David Pescovitz:
Here's a massive list '1001 things to do with liquid nitrogen.' Two examples:

Freeze a can of shaving cream and then peel the can away from the
cream. Put the canless cream into someone's car. Let the oven-like
heat from the car's sitting in the sun defrost the shaving cream.
2 cans will fill an entire car. (Coulter C. Henry, Jr.)...


Try taking a ping-pong ball and poking a small hole in it. The hole has to be tangent
to the sphere of the ball. When poking the hole use a pin and the pin should be almost
flat agianst the ball. Basiclly you want a hole in the side of the ball that will cause
the ball to spin. Submerge this ball into the liquid nitrogen and let it fill up.
Place the ball on a table and watch it spin. As the nitrogen goes back to a gas it will
rush out the hole and presto!! It's pretty cool. If it does not spin try placing your
hand on it to warm it to get it started.

Link

UPDATE: Thanks to all the readers who point out that the shaving cream prank doesn't seem to work. Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Batman vs. Bin Laden: What do...

Batman vs. Bin Laden: What do...: "

Batman vs. Bin Laden: What do you think?

"

(Via blog.)

$1 garage sale score: treasures in an old Skippy jar

Monday, February 20, 2006
10:01 PM

$1 garage sale score: treasures in an old Skippy jar: "Mark Frauenfelder:
Mister Jalopy bought this glass peanut butter jar filled with little treasures at a garage sale for $1, and photographed each item individually, using his great close-up photography set-up. A dirty rubber band never looked so good.

This jar houses the collected treasures of Mr. Frankie Bartoli of Chicago, Illinois and was sold to me by his family for $1. I bought it because the Smithsonian had not stopped at the garage sale prior to my arrival. But, like the Smithsonian would have, I took a photo of every single item inside.

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Bug Vacuum sucks pest problems away

Saturday, February 18, 2006
10:43 PM
I'll need a laser with mine

Bug Vacuum sucks pest problems away: "

An actual ray gun would be my preferred method of spider extermination, but unfortunately, the Bug Vacuum just looks like one. An ecologically friendly device, the handheld vacuum sucks up stray bugs and secures them in a chamber to be released unharmed into the wild. For the naturalist in all of us, a built-in magnifier lets you get a close-up look at the bug while it's trapped. I've always leaned to the tissue-grab-and-flush method for insect control, but I guess I could learn to be a bit more green for 25 bucks. — Trevor Noren

The Bug Vacuum, via The Red Ferret Journal

"

(Via SCI FI Tech Blog.)

Tiki fireplace

Saturday, February 18, 2006
10:40 PM
maybe for my birthday

Tiki fireplace: "Cory Doctorow:


This gorgeous, homemade tiki fireplace complete with smoking nostrils is lavishly documented in this build log.

Link

(via Neatorama)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

web zen: photo zen

Saturday, February 18, 2006
10:36 PM

web zen: photo zen: "Xeni Jardin:

snow crystals'| ice'| tall tales'| camera mail'| fire escapes'| abandoned bikes'| abandoned theme parks'| floating logos'| age'| time'| human clock'| thoughts'| unphotographable

Web Zen Home, Store (Thanks Frank!)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

County Homeland Security Officers Try To Police Porn, Fail

Saturday, February 18, 2006
10:34 PM
who ARE the brain police

County Homeland Security Officers Try To Police Porn, Fail: "Mark Frauenfelder:
Mo 'Here's a story in today's Washington Post about two Montgomery County Homeland Security officers who try to police porn at a public library. After one patron is targeted and asked to step outside, the librarian resists. The police are called and the only ones ushered outside are the failed porn cops. I hope the librarian gets the librarian-of-the-month award for standing up for free speech and privacy.'

Two uniformed men strolled into the main room of the Little Falls library in Bethesda one day last week and demanded the attention of all patrons using the computers. Then they made their announcement: The viewing of Internet pornography was forbidden.

The men looked stern and wore baseball caps emblazoned with the words 'Homeland Security.' The bizarre scene unfolded Feb. 9, leaving some residents confused and forcing county officials to explain how employees assigned to protect county buildings against terrorists came to see it as their job to police the viewing of pornography.

It's sad to see what happens when you give some people a tin badge and a cap. Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

New word: quailtard

Saturday, February 18, 2006
10:33 PM
stupid stupid bird

New word: quailtard: "Mark Frauenfelder:
Jim says: 'I don't know if you've been following The Daily Show this week, but one of the funniest terms to come out of the Cheney shooting incident has been the term, 'quailtard,' which was used on Monday's program.

'The term described the farm-raised quail released for the hunters to fire at.

'Somebody on the WELL expressed sadness that Wikipedia didn't show an entry for 'quailtard,' so I created an entry. And of course, the nannies immediately showed up to list it for deletion, on grounds that it's not significant enough.

This is one of the best coined words of all time! And it's got significant historic significance in this story. I think that more than qualifies it. After all, Colbert's 'truthiness' qualifies!'

Quailtard is a word combining 'Quail,' a mid-sized game bird of the pheasant family, and 'tard,' a contraction of the noun 'retard,' an often offensive word used to describe the mentally challenged, or retarded. First used on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]. The word was used in humorous reference to the farm-raised quail released for hunting by Vice President, Dick Cheney, and others on Katharine Armstrong's south Texas ranch. On February 11, 2006, while hunting these quail, Cheney accidentally shot hunting companion, Harry M. Whittington, a lawyer from Austin, TX, with his 28 gauge shotgun from a reported distance of thirty yards.

Link

Reader comment: Robert says: 'Alas, the short happy life of 'quailtard' has already ended. Wikipedia has placed a redirect on the page to 'Dick Cheney hunting incident.'

'Of course, if everyone were to start blogging about quailtards and it enters the modern parlance, then Wikipedia would *have to* allow it, wouldn't they? . . .

a la 'santorum' . . . [insert evil laughter] '

Reader comment: Robert says: 'I was wrong - it's back. A user just redirected it and it was promptly un-redirected. The quailtard is dead. Long live the quailtard!'

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

DNA evidence at odds with Mormon scripture

Saturday, February 18, 2006
10:32 PM
just don't make a comic book of this

DNA evidence at odds with Mormon scripture: "Mark Frauenfelder:
Yesterday the LA Times ran a fascinating story about DNA and Mormon scripture. For decades, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been very successful in converting Native Americans and Pacific Islanders to Mormonism because these people have been told by Mormon missionaries that they are decedents of a blessed lost tribe of Israel.

But in recent years, DNA tests have shown that Pacific Islanders and Native Americans are of Asian descent, not Middle Eastern descent, as claimed in the 'infallible' Book of Mormon transcribed 175 years ago.

In this excerpt from the Times, it sounds like the Book of Mormon was written by a racist Harry Potter fan:

According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an angel named Moroni led Joseph Smith in 1827 to a divine set of golden plates buried in a hillside near his New York home.

God provided the 22-year-old Smith with a pair of glasses and seer stones that allowed him to translate the 'Reformed Egyptian' writings on the golden plates into the 'Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.'

Mormons believe these scriptures restored the church to God's original vision and left the rest of Christianity in a state of apostasy.

The book's narrative focuses on a tribe of Jews who sailed from Jerusalem to the New World in 600 BC and split into two main warring factions.

The God-fearing Nephites were 'pure' (the word was officially changed from 'white' in 1981) and 'delightsome.' The idol-worshiping Lamanites received the 'curse of blackness,' turning their skin dark.

According to the Book of Mormon, by 385 AD the dark-skinned Lamanites had wiped out other Hebrews. The Mormon church called the victors 'the principal ancestors of the American Indians.' If the Lamanites returned to the church, their skin could once again become white.

The apologists for the Mormon scripture have the following explanation for the DNA evidence:

The latest scholarship, they argue, shows that the text should be interpreted differently. They say the events described in the Book of Mormon were confined to a small section of Central America, and that the Hebrew tribe was small enough that its DNA was swallowed up by the existing Native Americans.

'It would be a virtual certainly that their DNA would be swamped,' said Daniel Peterson, a professor of Near Eastern studies at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, part of the worldwide Mormon educational system, and editor of a magazine devoted to Mormon apologetics. 'And if that is the case, you couldn't tell who was a Lamanite descendant.'

(Isn't 'delightsome' a great word?)Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

US tech firms and China: 2 more "Gang of Four" parody logos

Saturday, February 18, 2006
10:31 PM
heh heh

US tech firms and China: 2 more "Gang of Four" parody logos: "Xeni Jardin:

Erik Derr says,

I emailed you in the past to let you know about the Cafe Press shop I set up for 'Goolag' parody products, with all proceeds going to Human Rights in China. I've now added products with parody logos for Yahoo!, MSN, and Cisco -- all companies grilled by Congress over their collusion with the Chinese government in suppressing freedom of speech.

Previously on Boing Boing:
# Harsh words for US tech firms from House at China 'net hearings
# Yahoo logo parodied over China: what's good for the Goolag...
# NPR 'Xeni Tech': Yahoo may have aided in jailing of 2nd China writer
# cDc's China/Internet hearings post-mortem: The Gang of Four
# Exiled Tibetans in Dharamsala protest Google censorship in China

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Man coughs up nail after 35 years

Saturday, February 18, 2006
10:30 PM
don't let me tell you what I coff up

Man coughs up nail after 35 years: "David Pescovitz:
Guy 'Bud' Hart, 84, of Placerville, California, coughed up an inch-long nail earlier this month. It had been in his body since 1970. He had been mowing grass when the nail pierced his body. Doctors found it inside his ribcage, gave Hart penicillin, and decided to leave the nail where it lay. From News10:

Three weeks ago, an internal camera captured an image of the nail during a routine doctor's office visit. But it wasn't in Hart's ribcage area as he'd always thought -- the object was actually in Hart's lung. As Hart and his doctors made plans to remove the nail once and for all, natural physiology took over.



Hart was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth last week when the 35-year partnership finally came to an end.



'I'd been having this tickle in my throat,' Hart said. 'Pretty soon, I started coughing. And it plopped right out....'



Hart keeps the nail in a small plastic bag but doesn't have any long-term plans about what to do with the strange artifact.

Link(via Fark)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Moment of haute couture zen.

Saturday, February 18, 2006
10:27 PM
buh-neee

Moment of haute couture zen.: "Xeni Jardin:
Oh dear. Link. Model is wearing a design from the Fall, 2006 Gareth Pugh ready-to-wear collection. Photo by Marcio Madeira, via Style.com.

Reader comment: sputnik says,

As you might know, that black latex outfit from the Gareth Pugh collection is a direct steal from the work of japanese latex fetish wear designers Karin & Wanco. (Relatively SFW) Link, and Link.

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

News: iPod used to steal $100 million...

News: iPod used to steal $100 million...: "News: iPod used to steal $100 million in 'Firewall' movie"

(Via iPodlounge.)

Bathroom cleans itself with Aussie tech

Sunday, February 12, 2006
09:23 PM
t

Bathroom cleans itself with Aussie tech: "

Australians are on fire today. First, they tell me my eye-numbing 2.5-inch video iPod screen might become a thing of the past. And now, I may never have to scrub my bathroom again. Aussie scientists claim a simple coating can do the job of cleaning and disinfecting. Made up of modified titanium-dioxide particles combined with an ion tonic containing everything from iron to oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon, the coating absorbs high-wavelength light (like the kind emitted by your bathroom bulb) and uses it to kill bacteria, degrade volatile organic compounds, and prevent the growth of fungus. Before tossing out the mop and saying adieu to your Clorox, research is still trying to determine whether there would be negative environmental affects. — Trevor Noren

"

(Via SCI FI Tech Blog.)

Cheney shoots 78-year old lawyer with shotgun, story held 24h

Sunday, February 12, 2006
09:02 PM
ha ha

Cheney shoots 78-year old lawyer with shotgun, story held 24h: "Xeni Jardin:



'Harry Whittington, 78, was 'alert and doing fine' after Cheney sprayed Whittington with shotgun pellets on Saturday at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong. (...) The vice president's office did not disclose the accident until nearly 24 hours after it happened.' Link

Reader Comment: Om says,

The important questions raised by this hunting accident are:

1) *Are* lawyers in season right now?


2) Was the lawyer at least a 4-point?


3) Was Cheney within his permit limit?


4) Was the Cheney aide misquoted about the lawyer's hunting suit having a target on the back, or that he'd bought it at Target a while back?


5) Will Disney adapt this into a cartoon about a baby lawyer having to adjust to living in the wild without his parent?


6) Is this what you should expect if you don't contribute enough to a political reelection fund in the future?

One more: Or is this the administration's new plan for tort reform, No Lawyer Left Behind?

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Pirates of the Caribbean breakfast cereal, starring Johnny Depp

Sunday, February 12, 2006
08:32 PM

Pirates of the Caribbean breakfast cereal, starring Johnny Depp: "Cory Doctorow:


Johnny Depp will star in an exciting new brand of cinema-inspired breakfast cereal: Pirates of the Caribbean!

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Bradbury: LA needs monorails!

Sunday, February 12, 2006
08:31 PM
now isn't there a monorail already around there

Bradbury: LA needs monorails!: "Cory Doctorow:
Ray Bradbury has written an editorial for the LA Times calling on the city of Los Angeles to build a monorail network before the city's traffic becomes completely unmanageable.

If we examine the history of subways, we will find how tremendously expensive and destructive they are.

They are, first of all, meant for cold climates such as Toronto, New York, London, Paris, Moscow and Tokyo. But L.A. is a Mediterranean area; our weather is sublime, and people are accustomed to traveling in the open air and enjoying the sunshine, not in closed cars under the ground.

Subways take forever to build and, because the tunnels have to be excavated, are incredibly expensive. The cost of one subway line would build 10 monorail systems.

Along the way, subway construction destroys businesses by the scores. The history of the subway from East L.A. to the Valley is a history of ruined businesses and upended lives.

The monorail is extraordinary in that it can be built elsewhere and then carried in and installed in mid-street with little confusion and no destruction of businesses. In a matter of a few months, a line could be built from Long Beach all the way along Western Avenue to the mountains with little disturbance to citizens and no threat to local businesses.

Compared to the heavy elevateds of the past, the monorail is virtually soundless. Anyone who has ridden the Disneyland or Seattle monorails knows how quietly they move.

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Funny Star Wars Valentines

Sunday, February 12, 2006
08:22 PM
I thought it funny
but I'm still worrying about the neutral zone

Funny Star Wars Valentines: "Cory Doctorow:


The Something Awful photoshopping army has spent the day posting an awesome and hilarious collection of Star Wars themed Valentines.

Link

(Thanks, Bonnie!)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Classic B&W horror film stills with photoshopped color

Sunday, February 05, 2006
10:21 PM

Classic B&W horror film stills with photoshopped color: "Cory Doctorow:


Today on the Worth1000 photoshopping contest: colorize stills from classic black-and-white horror films.

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein: "'We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.'

"

(Via Motivational Quotes of the Day.)

Western Union Sends Its Last Telegram

Saturday, February 04, 2006
10:56 PM

Western Union Sends Its Last Telegram: "After 150 years, the era of the telegram came to a quiet end last week. Romanticized in film and song, the hand-delivered paper messages were made useless by telephones and e-mail."

(Via NPR News: Business.)

You should see his silhouette dance

Saturday, February 04, 2006
10:29 PM

You should see his silhouette dance: "First Al Gore invents the Internet, and now George W. Bush invents the iPod!

...The Internet has changed us. It's changed the whole world. It's an amazing example of what a commitment to research dollars can mean. The iPod -- I'm a bike guy and I like to plug in music on my iPod when I'm riding along to hopefully help me forget how old I am. [laughter] But it was built -- when it was launched, it was built on years of government-funded research and microdrive storage, or electrochemistry, or single compression -- signal compression. See, the nanotechnology research that the government is helping sponsor is going to change the way people live.

"

(Via Geekable.com.)

Quote of the day

Saturday, February 04, 2006
10:28 PM

Quote of the day: "'Don't talk to me about the post-modern age. We're not even in the modern age yet for Christ's sake. There are still 150 million people in America who believe in Genesis.'
— Simon Critchley

[Found on onegoodmove]"

(Via Geekable.com.)

Enough of your liberal math

Saturday, February 04, 2006
10:27 PM

Enough of your liberal math: "As Josh Marshall himself would say, noted without comment."

(Via Geekable.com.)

Sitting on your stove

Saturday, February 04, 2006
10:22 PM

Sitting on your stove: "

City folk learn easy ways to maximize the space they have: under-the-bed storage, hanging shelves, futons. But using your couch as a cook-top? Admittedly, I hadn't heard of that one until now. With two electric burners on one side and a 30-inch cushion on the other, the DoubleSpace Kitchenette lets a lounger cook up an omelet without having to make the harrowing trip to the kitchen — just rotate and cook. The burners can't ignite with the unit in couch mode, so the whole 'fire hazard' question should be put to rest. Transformer furniture opens up a whole new world of possibilities: How about a bath/dinner table? A refrigerator/bed? Or my personal crown jewel, a Lazyboy/toilet! — Trevor Noren

Sit and simmer, via The Red Ferret Journal

"

(Via SCI FI Tech Blog.)

Celebrating Boris Karloff, the Monster and the Man

Saturday, February 04, 2006
10:20 PM

Celebrating Boris Karloff, the Monster and the Man: "Film Forum is celebrating the 75th anniversary of 'Frankenstein' with a weeklong retrospective devoted to the odd career of its unlikely star, Boris Karloff."

(Via NYT > Movie Reviews.)

Lovecraftian Lego build

Saturday, February 04, 2006
10:05 PM

Lovecraftian Lego build: "Cory Doctorow:



A Lego builder has constructed an elaborate tableau out of HP Lovecraft's tales of terror, cleverly dubbed 'Cthulego.'

Link

(Thanks, Krazmo!)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Urban Legends of the Super Bowl

Wednesday, February 01, 2006
10:17 PM

Urban Legends of the Super Bowl: "In an LA Times article a few years back, renowned folklorist Alan Dundes ventured to explain why Super Bowl Sunday has become the focus of so many larger-than-life 'urban beliefs' in the United States — beliefs such as: Every year..."

(Via Urban Legends and Folklore.)

UK Government Predicts Global Meltdown

Wednesday, February 01, 2006
08:05 PM

UK Government Predicts Global Meltdown: "The Greenland ice sheet will almost certainly melt, according to a new book published by the UK government today. The BBC is running this as today's main headline."

(Via Kuro5hin.org.)

Teen tech survey

Wednesday, February 01, 2006
08:02 PM

Teen tech survey: "David Pescovitz:
The 2006 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, a survey about American attitudes toward invention and innovation, has gathered some interesting data about teenagers' opinions of technology and science. The survey of 500 teens indicated that they're optimistic about technology's potential to improve the world. They consider engineering to be the third most attractive career choice. And science? Not so much. From the MIT News Office:

The 2006 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index... found that a third of teens (33 percent) predict the demise of gasoline-powered cars by the year 2015. One in four teens (26 percent) expects compact discs to be obsolete within the next decade, and roughly another one in five (22 percent) predicts desktop computers will be a thing of the past.



Teens are also optimistic that new inventions and innovations will be able to solve important global issues, such as clean water (91 percent), world hunger (89 percent), disease eradication (88 percent), pollution reduction (84 percent) and energy conservation (82 percent)...


When asked to select the career field in which they are most interested, arts and medicine were teens' top choices (17 percent each). Teen girls were significantly more likely to be interested in medicine or health-care careers than teen boys (25 percent vs. 9 percent). Engineering was the third most-attractive career choice (14 percent of all respondents), but it was significantly more popular with teen boys than girls (24 percent vs. 4 percent). Only 9 percent of respondents chose science and only 8 percent chose business as their top career choices.

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Human-Animal Hybrid t-shirt

Wednesday, February 01, 2006
07:59 PM

Human-Animal Hybrid t-shirt: "David Pescovitz:
Inspired by George W. Bush's State of the Union Address last night, this Human-Animal Hybrid t-shirt is now being sold through Cafe Press. From Bush's Address:

'Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids, and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos. Human life is a gift from our Creator -- and that gift should never be discarded, devalued or put up for sale.'

Link(Thanks, Jason Tester!)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Attaboy's new book of postcards

Wednesday, February 01, 2006
07:55 PM
mmmmm high fructose

Attaboy's new book of postcards: "David Pescovitz:

Attaboy is the co-founder and editor of Hi-Fructose, the excellent new magazine about candy, toys, and monsters. He also creates his own incredibly-inspired and beautiful illustrations. Last Gasp has just published a book of 32 postcards by Attaboy titled Floating Submerged. I can't wait to get my copy! From the Last Gasp description of the book:

Thirty-two full-color, removable, oversized postcards, perforated for your pleasure. Attaboy's maniacal undersea creatures and otherworldly vermin are together here for the first time. This postcard set features fans' favorite images seen the world over, along with characters from Atta's Vinyl Toy and Plush line, including the Axtrx and Gooberry! A great gift to send anyone for their next goo-filled visual vacation.



A renegade toy designer whose goo-filled images glow with an eerie, distrubed, childlike sensibility, Attaboy has emerged as a one of the many leading talents in a toy and design movement that might be called 'Creaturism.' His images appear in galleries, magazines, comics, strange candy devices, calendars, and toys all over. His T-shirts are sold in Japan, his art has appeared in numerous galleries, and his candy-coated stickers and eyesore-causing books are sought after by young and bold. Enter the toof-decayed and festering Yumfactory of Attaboy!

Link(via Laughing Squid)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

The Daily Monkey

Wednesday, February 01, 2006
07:53 PM
oh
eww

The Daily Monkey: "Mark Frauenfelder:


It's all monkeys, all the time at Brian Biggs' Daily Monkey weblog. Brian is a talented illustrator who takes time away from his critically important drawing work to post a new monkey related photograph and quotation each day. For this, I am thankful.

'I'm shooting a special for MTV and they told me all I had to do was push my lips out a little and the monkey would give me a peck, but instead she rammed her tongue inside my mouth and swept it all around in a circle.

She touched every inch in there! It was the most disgusting thing ever!'

- Jessica Alba

Link

"

(Via Boing Boing.)