Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things

Wednesday, January 31, 2001

My friends and I have

My friends and I have relaunched our television program recommendation service, called TV Ultra. Every day, you can go to tvultra.com and find out which show we think is the best to watch (my pick for February 1 is A Raisin in the Sun). You can also sign up for the TV Ultra mailing list, and get the pick emailed to you in plenty of time to program your VCR. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 12:49:17 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tuesday, January 30, 2001

Truly excellent picture of a

Truly excellent picture of a little car nearly crushed under a load of plywood its owner was attempting to drive away with. Note the sleeping pasenger in the car! (Read the accompanying story, too.) Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:24:05 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Monday, January 29, 2001

Excellent rent from Suck explaining

Excellent rent from Suck explaining why WAP sucks: WAP sucks. WAP devices suck. Anybody with the initials "WAP" sucks. A capital "W" next to a capital "A" even kerns badly. WAP-enabled devices (and the acronym menagerie that goes along with them) combine the rock-solid reliability of the Internet with the rock-solid reliability of a cell phone. Plus per-minute usage charges, the elegant legibility of a calculator wristwatch and the handy convenience of a portable sink for hand-washing obsessive-compulsives. The act of offering WAP as a "feature" rather than "some sort of extravagant expression of self-hatred" should be considered fraud. (Thanks, jbrewer!) Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:34:03 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Oh. My. God. The "Things

Oh. My. God. The "Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About" page is not only high-freakin-larious (funny enough to give Adrian Mole a run for his money), but it's also charming, British, and obsessive as hell. I love -- love -- cranks. (Thanks, Drue!)

Margret's four-hundred-and-fifty-second most annoying habit is to stealthily turn off the central heating (then light the gas fire in the room she's in, natch.). I'll suddenly notice that, sitting typing at the keyboard, I can see my own breath while from the bedroom one of the kids will call out "Papa, I can't feel my legs." And I'll shiver down the stairs to find the central heating set to 'Summer/Hypothermia/Cryogenic Suspension, and Margret in the living room watching the TV in a door frame warping furnace. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:17:27 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Some guy sold an empty

Some guy sold an empty PlayStation 2 box on eBay for $425. The item description read: "This is a [sic] auction for the playstation 2 original box and receipt."

On the feedback page, the buyer complained: "Buyer beware!!! Misleading information about item. Paid $425 for an empty box!"

The seller replied: "I sent what was promised in the auction.I do not rip people off. Shes [sic] a liar." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 04:25:20 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

One of my favorite novels

One of my favorite novels by Rudy Rucker, The Secret of Life, is now available as an eBook. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 02:53:25 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Sunday, January 28, 2001

Inveterate zinester, former Adbusters editor,

Inveterate zinester, former Adbusters editor, and science fiction writer Jim Monroe hosts No Media Kings, a guide for the indie media lover in you. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:31:00 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"Sam" and "Zak" give us

"Sam" and "Zak" give us the lowdown on all things that can be smoked -- courtesy of the (sadly defunct) Webzine Open Letters. (Thanks, Kato!) Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:45:04 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Friday, January 26, 2001

Thirteen Ways of Looking at

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackout
Bruce Sterling on the origins, the outrages, and the lessons of California's energy muddle. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 05:23:52 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

It turns out that if

It turns out that if you ask a rat to negotiate a maze all day, it'll dream about negotiating mazes all night. This from MIT, yet! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:57:38 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Thursday, January 25, 2001

This is pretty funny. Some

This is pretty funny. Some guy recorded samples of Arnold Schwarznegger's movie dialog and then used them to make prank phone calls. (In MP3 format.) Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 02:33:01 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Excellent long Wired article on

Excellent long Wired article on human cloning. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:35:18 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

New York Times Magazine writer

New York Times Magazine writer recounts his early experiences with ecstasy. "A half-hour later a feeling came over me somewhere between the looseness that follows a good workout and the euphoria of winning the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:52:44 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wednesday, January 24, 2001

Duelling bloggers! Congrats to Bob

Duelling bloggers! Congrats to Bob and Eileen Parks, oldtime digerati and swell folks, on the birth of a new generation of Wired editors. Awwwwww. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:58:13 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Good LA Weekly cober story

Good LA Weekly cober story of Max More and Natasha Vita-More, transhumanist/extropians. " Max's first extropian principle is Perpetual Progress: 'Seeking more intelligence, wisdom and effectiveness, an indefinite life span, and the removal of political, cultural, biological and psychological limits to self-actualization and self-realization. Perpetually overcoming constraints on our progress and possibilities. Expanding into the universe and advancing without end.' Other extropian principles include Practical Optimism, Intelligent Technology, Open Society and Rational Thinking." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:21:40 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Emulsional Problems - Wacked out

Emulsional Problems - Wacked out Polaroids of the Stars is Michael Dare's gallery of celebrity polaroids that have been messed with. Some of the pictures are accompanied by good anecdotes. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:11:44 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

O'Reilly's peer-to-peer info-site. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:34:12 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The White House Guide to

The White House Guide to street drug jargon. "Are you anywhere? = Do you use marijuana?" Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:45:27 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

What do you get when

What do you get when you extrude a Mobius strip into the third dimension? A fractional-dimensional object with zero volume: a Klein Bottle! And who manufactures and sells the world's finest Klein Bottles? Hippie-cum-Physicist-cum-Sysadmin-cum-International Crime Fighting CyberSleuth-cum-Author, Cliff Stoll. What a wonderful freak! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:23:53 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Andrew Leonard has a great

Andrew Leonard has a great review of Steven Levy (Hackers, Insanely Great)'s new book, Crypto on Salon today. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:21:16 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

I'm all the time writing

I'm all the time writing about military exoskeletons in my science fiction -- seems like the military likes the idea, too. DARPA's looking for design and manufacturing proposals for powered armor. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:13:02 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Monday, January 22, 2001

I reviewed Karl Schroeder's wonderful

I reviewed Karl Schroeder's wonderful novel Ventus in the current ish of Mindjack. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:25:52 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The world's most obsessive Star

The world's most obsessive Star Wars page reveals the truth about the holocaust on Endor. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:40:37 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Rick Lieder is a spectacular

Rick Lieder is a spectacular painter/digital artist who's best known for his science-fiction illustration and covers, but his fine art is, well, fine. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:26:20 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

I'm back! I've been incommunicado

I'm back! I've been incommunicado (stuck in a crappy hotel in rural Michigan with lines too dirty to connect to any ISP) since Friday, so I've been neglecting the blog a bit. But here's some tasty waves for you. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:24:17 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Thursday, January 18, 2001

Simson Garfinkel changes his tune

Simson Garfinkel changes his tune about Java. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:45:32 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wednesday, January 17, 2001

Groovy po-mo Socialist Realist posters

Groovy po-mo Socialist Realist posters and stickers from Shepard Fairey, a king-hell guerilla artist and reclaimer of the public spaces. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:42:57 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

If the Gerber Legend isn't

If the Gerber Legend isn't the multitool for you, why not try the Gerber Demolition Explosives Tool? Includes a C4 punch and a blasting-cap crimper."For professionals only." Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:02:34 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The ABA Xtreme Stab(tm) Body

The ABA Xtreme Stab(tm) Body Armor meets and exceeds California Icepick Standards! "Because of the new technologies in fibers and fabric construction, armor can now meet ballistic, puncture and stab threats and still be lightweight and comfortable to wear." Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:58:43 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The writings of "Red" Emma

The writings of "Red" Emma Goldman, collected with old Hearst newsreels, letters, and criticism. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:53:43 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tuesday, January 16, 2001

Bill Shunn hasn't been excommunicated...yet.

Bill Shunn hasn't been excommunicated...yet. But he did once threaten to blow up a plane on behalf of the Mormons, and was deported from Canada for his trouble. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:47:56 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Teresa Nielsen Hayden's formal excommunication

Teresa Nielsen Hayden's formal excommunication from the Latter Day Saints is a fascinating read. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:46:35 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

While I'm on the subject,

While I'm on the subject, Soren deSelby's journal is the diary of another magnificent weirdo. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:43:35 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Peter Vermeren is a beautiful

Peter Vermeren is a beautiful freak. His ruminations on vintage smut, hotrods, and a childhood that is at some lightyears' remove from The Wonder Years will amaze you. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:41:37 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Time to throw away your

Time to throw away your Leatherman Wave tool -- the Gerber Legend is here: the world's coolest multitool. It's lightweight, has torque for days (and bevelled grips for those deep, deep squeezes), swappable hacksaw and cutter blades (will snip 1/16" piano wire!), and rubber insets. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:04:57 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Hey, the company I helped

Hey, the company I helped found just got a gargantuan ass-load of money! And the press noticed! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:01:12 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Monday, January 15, 2001

It has been brought to

It has been brought to my attention (through Chris Cummer) that not enough tech-companies have good, old-fashioned goofy Company Songs. Asera, a company that makes something called "an e-business operating system," has a strong lead on the competition in that regard. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:33:06 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Adrianna is witty, articulate, pregnant,

Adrianna is witty, articulate, pregnant, and addicted to heroin. Her journal -- an account of street life in San Francisco -- is touching, horrifying, and rarely enters the realm of After-School Specials. It was found on the street by a stranger just before Christmas. He was unable to locate Adrianna, so he transcribed the journal and posted it on the Web. Link (voyeur kicks courtesy of Memepool)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:27:13 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Sunday, January 14, 2001

Jeff Baham is the single

Jeff Baham is the single most obsessive fan of the Haunted Mansion at the Disney theme parks that I've ever found, and I've found a few. (Link)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:20:27 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Brady the Clown is a

Brady the Clown is a hell of a balloon artist, but she's an even better balloon pornographer. Warning! Contains balloon nudity! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:14:07 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Saturday, January 13, 2001

The U.S. Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice has posted its guidelines for "Searching and Seizing Computers�and Obtaining Electronic Evidence�in Criminal Investigations." Scary stuff. The EFF is gonna have a field day with this. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:43:09 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Naked News is just what

Naked News is just what it sounds like: the news, being read by naked women. I think that's what they call "sticky content." Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:03:41 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

After reading this essay by

After reading this essay by Bruce Sterling, I dropped out of university. Woo the muse of the odd! Link.

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:02:40 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Hey, Mark made me a

Hey, Mark made me a guest editor! Those junk rockets were damned cool -- how about a junk clock to accompany them? Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:52:34 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Friday, January 12, 2001

No more linky-linky till January

No more linky-linky till January 24. I'm headed to Maui. With my new Fluke uke -- Aloha!

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 05:46:55 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Think-tank wonk Paul Saffo on

Think-tank wonk Paul Saffo on the Ginger: "I can't help but feel that we are victims here. I have a feeling that someone is out there having a big laugh over this. I just don't know who it is." (From CNet article). Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 02:50:04 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Here's a complete list of

Here's a complete list of the 70 patents issued to Dean Kamen, inventor of the Ginger/IT. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 02:31:02 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Boing Boing usually gets about

Boing Boing usually gets about 400 visitors a day. Today, nearly 5,000 people have visited. Where did you learn about this blog? (Please click the [discuss] link to let me know.)

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 02:25:10 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

If I owned one of

If I owned one of these La-Z-Boy e-cliners I'd gain a pound a day. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:52:32 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"Ashcroft's nephew got probation after

"Ashcroft's nephew got probation after major pot bust. Although his arrest for growing 60 plants could have landed him in federal prison, Alex Ashcroft was tried in state court and avoided jail -- despite his uncle's crusade for tougher federal drug laws and mandatory prison sentences" Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:12:44 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

New York Times on Ginger/IT.

New York Times on Ginger/IT. (I linked this throughthe NYT's AvantGo server, so you don't have to be registered to read the article.). Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:04:29 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Washington Post's look into the

Washington Post's look into the IT/Ginger. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 08:07:28 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Thursday, January 11, 2001

Neat rocket models made from

Neat rocket models made from castoff junk. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:54:33 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

I've added blogvoices to Boing

I've added blogvoices to Boing Boing. If you want to comment on a certain entry, just click on "[discuss]" at the end of that entry.

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:09:03 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The Big Gulp Picture Gallery:

The Big Gulp Picture Gallery: another reason to love the World Wide Web. (Contains nudity.) Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:30:50 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Cory Doctorow found this excellent

Cory Doctorow found this excellent list of "Things to Say When You're Losing a Technical Argument." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:14:25 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wednesday, January 10, 2001

Jason Kottke hit the jackpot

Jason Kottke hit the jackpot on "IT" images. Says Jason: "It looks like they may have perfected realtime balance control that machines have been lacking up to this point. Cool stuff." I love the picture of the one-wheeled sideways skateboard vehicle!

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 04:42:03 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Stefan Jones sent this to

Stefan Jones sent this to me:

Rumors that it's a hoverbike or glorified scooter are just noise. ITs real powers are almost beyond belief:

IT . . . cleaned out the monkey cages in the Bronx Zoo before the inhabitants could even take aim.

IT . . . elminates toe jam.

IT . . . solved Fermat's Lost Theorem during its first POST.

IT . . . emits a pleasant hum that neuters mosquitors for miles around.

IT . . . triples the gas efficiency of SUVs and prevents rollovers.

IT . . . amuses the most hyperactive of children on rainy days.

IT . . . is approved by both the Red Communist Chinese and the inhabitants of Freeland.

IT . . . is the chum of the cat inside your mouth.

IT . . . plays cards with elderly Romainian lepers while regenerating their lost fingers and toes.

IT . . . knows the score.

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 03:28:10 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Drawing of "IT" from Kamen's

Drawing of "IT" from Kamen's patent. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:52:50 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

This must be "IT." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:50:39 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

More on the Independence Transporter

More on the Independence Transporter from Google's cache. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:33:00 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Is "IT" the Independence Transporter,

Is "IT" the Independence Transporter, "the first model of a new class of mobility devices?" Look at the Google cache of DEKA's site. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:28:22 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

More on Kamen's "IT" Some

Here's a Wired article from

Here's a Wired article from last fall about "IT" inventor Dean Kamen. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:15:35 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

I did a patent database

I did a patent database search on the inventor mentioned below. He has three patents, all for kidney dialysis devices. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:07:05 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

What is IT? "Harvard Business

What is IT? "Harvard Business School Press has just paid $250,000 for a book about IT � but neither the editor nor the agent, knows what IT is. This is all they know: IT, also code-named Ginger, is an invention developed by 49-year-old scientist Dean Kamen and the subject of a planned book by journalist Steve Kemper. According to Kemper's proposal, IT will change the world, and is so extraordinary that it has drawn the attention of technology visionaries Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs and the investment dollars of preeminent Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr, among others." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 07:26:42 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tuesday, January 9, 2001

Vintage Commodore 64 porn. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:10:09 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Stefan Jones writes: "It's way

Stefan Jones writes: "It's way cool to learn that Zippy's creator Bill Griffith is into diners, and way surprising to hear that he grew up on Long Island, and way, way amazing to discover that he spent his childhood in ur-suburb of Levittown. But who could ever imagine that his next door neighbor was Golden Age SF artist Ed Emshwiller, and that members of the Griffith family were called upon to model for the covers of pulp magazines?" Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:45:45 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wonderful story: "The Scab's Progress"

Wonderful story: "The Scab's Progress" by Paul Di Filippo and Bruce Sterling. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:38:59 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Email forwarded to me from

Email forwarded to me from my journalist friend:

Hello Sir. My name is M**** S****** and I work with ******* in New York City. I am currently researching for a conference that we will eventually host on Biometrics. It will probably focus on security or commercialization. I was reading your article, "Put a Finger on It", and I was hoping that we could do a research call, and that you could recommend people to contact. I look forward to hearing from you.
M**** S******

My friend's reply:

Mr. S*****, Thanks for your email. Indeed, I have a large number of contacts in this field as I've been following it closely for some time now. My consulting rate for this kind of project is $500/hour. Please let me know when you'd like to schedule the call. Thank you, D******

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:22:14 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Monday, January 8, 2001

Simson Garfinkel hates the Java

Simson Garfinkel hates the Java programming language. He explains why in Salon. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 05:17:37 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Out of Control author Kevin

Out of Control author Kevin Kelly launches an effort to catalog every living species on earth. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:52:03 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Good article about electronic music

Good article about electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:41:22 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Excellent gallery of outr� product

Excellent gallery of outr� product packaging from cardhouse. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:37:31 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Friday, January 5, 2001

Bruce Sterling pointed me to

Bruce Sterling pointed me to this amazing look inside an abandoned NSA spy station. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 08:25:45 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The Degree Confluence Project. "The

The Degree Confluence Project. "The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures and stories will then be posted here." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 03:24:08 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Thursday, January 4, 2001

Article from Inside magazine: "A

Article from Inside magazine: "A just-released industry proposal would prevent consumers from recording digital-video versions of their favorite shows and movies. Meet the 'obliteration' application." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:13:03 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wednesday, January 3, 2001

Here's a bunch of fun

Here's a bunch of fun short science essays, by some guy in Australia who goes by the name of Dr. Karl. I learned here that bullets fired straight up in the air, do indeed pick up enough velocity on the way down to penetrate a human skull. (Thanks for the suggestion, Cory!) Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:25:44 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

James Lileks makes fun of

James Lileks makes fun of international currency. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:12:47 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Short article about Little Annie

Short article about Little Annie Fanny with nice picture of Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:09:42 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tuesday, January 2, 2001

Google co-founder says Palms are

Google co-founder says Palms are no good. "Once you have an assistant, you don't need anything anymore except a cell phone." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:40:00 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments