Music: "You're All Talk," The Pandoras (1985)
-The Pierce led Pandoras.
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Blog
WATCH: Torturing virtual people with crowd simulation software
-Dave Fothergill had some good fun with the Maya crowd simulation stuff in this cheerfully apocalyptic video -- it's even better with Waxy's soundtrack.
Play videoJailed former dictator Manuel Noriega suing game maker Activision
- The former leader of Panama says he's entitled to compensation because his image appears in "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" without his consent. Read the rest
If you don't agree to the new Wii U EULA, Nintendo will kill-switch it
-When you bought your Wii U, it came with one set of terms-of-service; now they've changed, and if you don't accept the changes, your Wii seizes up and won't work. That's not exactly what we think of when we hear the word "agreement."
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The "weirdest lock on earth" has a key like a tiny mechanical snake
-That's how this remarkable design is described by lockpicker John Coulter, whose efforts have been stymied by its peculiar design: instead of being a straight, flat piece of metal, the key is a flexible chain similar to a watch strap, housed in a hard slip-casing that allows it to be inserted into the snaking design of the lock itseld.
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Music: "Soul Deep," The Box Tops (1969)
-"It's too big to hide and it can't be denied."
Play videoCTO of NSA is moonlighting for Keith Alexander's blue-chip rent-a-cybercops
-Former NSA boss Alexander charges $1M/month for cybersecurity advice, but promises that he's not selling any of the state secrets from his career as a long-serving, all-seeing top spook.
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Umbrella Revolution protesters retake the streets
-After the brutal eviction of protesters from the Mong Kok protest camp by Hong Kong police, the protesters came back strong, surging into the streets and beating back the police lines, preservering in the face of batons and pepper-spray.
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Justin Hall at XOXO
-Justin describes his life as an early Web writer, why it made him happy and how it nearly destroyed him, and who it turned him into.
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Why the Clarice/Hannibal scene works so well
-Brilliant analysis that's part of Tony Zhou ongoing Every Frame a Painting series.
Play videoComcast not welcome in Worcester, Mass thanks to bad customer service
-The City Council told its manager not to transfer the town's cable license from Charter to Comcast (Comcast is in the process of borging Charter and assimilating its customers).
Read the restNebraska state senator's bill would make churches pay property tax
-Ernie Chambers, a long-serving, African-American state senator, has proposed a bill that would strike the word "religious" from the list of groups that are property-tax-exempt.
Read the restWriters condemn UK book censorship order
-A large group of writers, including Stephen Fry, Jeffrey Archer, Katharine Norbury, Will Self, and others (include me!) have signed onto an open letter condemning a UK court decision that banned publication of a memoir because it revealed that the writer's child has autism and ADHD.
Read the restMind-controlling parasites (and the parasites that infect them)
-A great, full-body-squick-inducing article in National Geographic provides an overview of the current research on parasites that use a combination of techniques to control their hosts' behavior, making them sacrifice themselves for the sake of the parasites and their offspring.
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Watch this highly effective redneck furniture moving technique
-Video Link [via: Reddit]
Play videoSanta Letter, 1984
- If you were a kid in that year, this may ring familiar. Read the rest
Benefit for Locus Magazine with Garth Nix and Ysabeau Wilce, Oct 25, SFO
-The two will read from their latest titles; tax-deductible admission is $20 ($10 under 15), with proceeds to the Locus Science Fiction Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes Locus Magazine.
Read the restNew Zealand police raided home of reporter working on Snowden documents. Here's how you can support his defense.
Read the restFlorida man murdered unarmed black teen
-Michael Dunn, the Florida man who shot a black teen dead over "loud music," was convicted of first-degree murder and jailed for life without parole.
Read the restCanadian government threatens bird watchers for writing concerned letter about bee die-off
-Dave writes, "A birdwatching group sent a letter to two federal cabinet ministers citing concerns over the effects of certain chemicals on the life of bees.
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Music: "Devil's Dance Floor," Flogging Molly (2000)
-Flogging Molly was my favorite reason to go Molly Malone's in LA.
Play videoFree event in SF, Sat. Oct. 18: Give Me Fiction
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This Saturday, October 18th, catch a special free Litcrawl edition of Give Me Fiction, the prose reading series hosted by Ivan Hernandez.
Read the restEron Gjoni, unrepentant jerk
-The man who kicked off Gamergate and the brutal harassment of untold women by posting a 9,000-word screed about his ex-girlfriend's sex-life says he'd do it again (can't make an omelet without breaking ovaries, you know).
Read the restIowa cops use excessive force to apprehend speeding woman in labor
- "'I was in the middle of the highway having contraction with guns pointed at me,' Rachel Kohnen noted."(via) Discuss
Massive, tentacle-covered annotated works of HP Lovecraft
-Les Klinger's enormous volume has earned critical praise from Neil Gaiman, Gahan Wilson, Peter Straub and Harlan Ellison; the book is big enough to stun an (eldritch demon) ox, and is introduced by none other than Alan Moore.
Read the restGamergate's heroes disappoint it
- Andy Baio covers Gamergate's bewilderment and frustration as gamer heroes "disappear one by one into their blacklists." You'd think it might cause a little self-reflection, but that's not how the mob mind works. DiscussKickstarting Starshipsofacon, an online SF convention
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With Joe Haldeman, Kim Stanley Robinson, Pat Cadigan, Charlie Stross, David Brin and many more!
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Giant green butt plug looks suspiciously like a christmas tree
-A massive, 80ft sex toy in the center of Paris has some locals convinced that it's actually an inflatable Christmas tree. The design is by artist Paul McCarthy. [Photo via You Had One Job.]
Read the restWhisper's privacy promises scrutinized
- The Guardian reports that Whisper, an app that lets people post anonymous missives to the world, isn't so anonymous: it allegedly monitors some users' location, shares their information with the US Department of Defense, and collects personal data indefinitely. Read the restiPad and iMac updated
- The iPad Air 2 is thinner and has a fingerprint sensor; the 27" iMac goes Retina. DiscussHomer's Last Theorem
- A look into the deep, dark, strangely complicated world of Simpsons mathematics. By Simon Singh. Read the restGadgets
LISTEN: Travel gadgets for your next trip
- This week, Xeni, Mark and Jason talk TSA-friendly backpacks, aromatherapy to help you sleep, and two travel must-haves for your phablet and vehicle batteries. Read the restStreet Angel
Street Angel 003: Ninja Basketball!
- Street Angel searches for Dr. Pangea's secret lair, with the help of her friend, the Bald Eagle. By Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca Read the rest
Stanford engineers built an earthquake-resistant house. Watch the shake test.
-Stanford Engineers build an earthquake-resistant house
Engineers at Stanford have designed, built, and tested an earthquake-resistant house which has stayed upright even when subjected to three times the intensity of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Play videoFlorida Governor Charlie Crist has a fan that blows him every day. No. Wait.
-Florida Governor Charlie Crist insists on bringing an electric fan to campaign appearances. One GOP operative calls the fan Crist's "teddy bear."
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The lost cyber-crayolas of the mid-1990s
-Circuit board green, cyber space orange, floppy yellow, graphic green, green.com, infra red, megabyte blue, megahertz maroon, on-line orange, plug & play pink, point & click green, transistor yellow, ultra violet, web surfin' blue, world wide web yellow, www.purple.
Read the restTor Browser goes 4.0
-The 4.0 version of the secure, anonymized, private browser disables SSL3 (in deference to the POODLE attack) and uses new transports that are intended to defeat the Great Firewall of China and other extremely restrictive firewalls.
Read the restFBI chief demands an end to cellphone security
-If your phone is designed to be secure against thieves, voyeurs, and hackers, it'll also stop spies and cops. So the FBI has demanded that device makers redesign their products so that they -- and anyone who can impersonate them -- can break into them at will.
Read the restSF Book Review: "They Tell Me I'm The Bad Guy," by R.D. Harless
-RD Harless' They Tell Me I'm The Bad Guy is a fantastic story of a pre-Apocalyptic Earth barely managing its mutant menace.
Read the restPlease, Disney: put back John's grandad's Haunted Mansion tombstone
-John Frost writes, "It's been 46 years of happy haunts at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, an attraction both Cory and I share a certain affinity for; when the attraction first opened, the exterior queue featured a small graveyard full of tombstones with humorous epitaphs."
Read the restSmoke dreams: the paintings of Henrik Aarrestad Uldalen
- The work of self-taught artist Henrik Aarrestad Uldalen focuses on “classic figurative painting, presented in a contemporary manner,” exploring the dark sides of life. Read the restS&L Podcast: Kiss from a Queen (on the Face)
-In Neil Gaiman’s new book, The Sleeper and the Spindle, Sleeping Beauty gets woken by a Queen’s kiss. And there’s pictures so it did happen.
Read the restGame dev Brianna Wu on what it's like to be forced from your home by sexist hate
-“I've Been Forced Out Of My Home And Am Living In Constant Fear Because Of Relentless Death Threats From Gamergate,” reads the headline for Brianna Wu's first-person account of the unbelievably cruel harassment she's been subjected to for the crime of, more or less, being a woman who works in games.
Read the restSolitary Vices: Mikita Brottman on the Books in Her Life
- Mark Dery talks with the critic and psychoanalyst about the terrors of reading. Read the restFeatures
Homer's Last Theorem
A look into the deep, dark, strangely complicated world of Simpsons mathematics. By Simon Singh. Read the rest
Solitary Vices: Mikita Brottman on the Books in Her Life
Mark Dery talks with the critic and psychoanalyst about the terrors of reading. Read the rest
Street Angel 003: Ninja Basketball!
Street Angel searches for Dr. Pangea's secret lair, with the help of her friend, the Bald Eagle. By Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca Read the rest
LISTEN: Travel gadgets for your next trip
This week, Xeni, Mark and Jason talk TSA-friendly backpacks, aromatherapy to help you sleep, and two travel must-haves for your phablet and vehicle batteries. Read the rest
Intro to measuring tools
As Steve Hoefer's uncle would say, "I cut it twice and it's still too short." Read the rest
Prog rock: the sound of history's future
In the 1970s, a new wave of bands looked beyond the drugginess of psychedelia to classical music as the true guide. Peter Bebergal explores the occult roots of the prog-rock genre. Read the rest
What are the best Halloween candies?
This is the real reason we dress up like zombies giant bottles of catsup. David Ng and Ben Cohen present a survey to determine your favorites in anticipation of this year's all-important hierarchical delineation of candy goodness. Read the rest
New York City's Placebo Buttons and The Post Hoc Fallacy
David McRaney explains why placebo buttons surround you, pretending to do your bidding. Read the rest
Apps bring new possibilities to board games
Matt M. Casey on Golem Arcana, one of the new offerings whose gameplay leaps from tabletop to tablet. Read the rest
An NFL Fan Defends the "R" Word
Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH a team named after an ethnic slur is defended. Read the rest
Ladies Love Cool James
This week's Hip Hop Family Tree strip introduces LL Cool J into the fold. By Ed Piskor Read the rest
When Art Rocked: San Francisco Music Posters, 1966-1971
Ben Marks explores the history of the psychedelic rock poster. Read the rest
Best ever cooperative boardgames
Joshua Glenn and Elizabeth Foy Larsen recommend their favorite cooperative board games. Read the rest
Paolo Bacigalupi's "The Doubt Factory"
From one of science fiction's most versatile writers comes a caper novel about corporate sleaze and net-savvy guerrilla activists that is as thrilling as it is trenchant. Cory Doctorow reviews Paolo Bacigalupi's The Doubt Factory. Read the rest
Extreme Haunted Houses are actually Jackass Escape Houses
Haunted Houses are made to entertain you as you laugh and scream at startle scares. Jackass Escape Houses are physical and sexual assault simulations with little to no story or world-building. By haunted attraction expert Oni Hartstein Read the rest
How to stay safe in the workshop
Steve Hoefer still has all his fingers. Read the rest
Five Tribes -- a twist on the worker placement game
Worker displacement games will soon pack the shelves at your local tabletop game store. For that, you can thank Five Tribes’ designer Bruno Cathala. By Matt M. Casey Read the rest
Walking Dead vs Wildlife: the intro
A parody to remind us who'll have our backs during tomorrow's zombie holocaust--if we have theirs today. Read the rest