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Monday, April 30, 2001

What song was #1 on

What song was #1 on the charts the day you were born? (July 17, 1971: It's Too Late by Carole King) Link (via Six DIfferent Ways)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:50:48 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Crackpot inventor's business card with

Crackpot inventor's business card with Free Energy machine diagram. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:52:10 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Great Amazing Randi article on

Great Amazing Randi article on the art of "cold reading" -- the trick that fortunetellers use to fool their victims into thinking they're psychic. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:32:11 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The Amazing Randi's amazing site

The Amazing Randi's amazing site debunks all manner of paranormal claims, and offers $1,000,000 to anyone who can put one over on ole Randi. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:20:16 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The ultimate Red Diaper baby.

The ultimate Red Diaper baby. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:01:31 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

There's something creepy about My

There's something creepy about My Rich Uncle. Instead of providing kids with crippling student loans, they make "investments" in students, in return for which, said students are expected to pay a royalty on their post-college earnings for a decade or more. Does this strike you as a form of indentured servitude? Four years of Ivy League school at $20k per means you give MRU up to 40% of your income for the next fifteen years. Link (via Metafilter)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:53:58 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Move over Maslow! The Wide

Move over Maslow! The Wide World of Slack has a much cooler heriarchy of needs. Link (via Markzilla)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:51:08 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Crackpot British pastor blames homosexuals

Crackpot British pastor blames homosexuals for foot-and-mouth. Link (via Metafilter)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:45:59 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

American Heritage article about the

American Heritage article about the late Carl Barks, the best Disney duck comic book creator on earth. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 02:24:44 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Apropos of the Larry Ellison

Apropos of the Larry Ellison link: Dogland by Will Shetterly is the best genre novel about the Fountain of Youth, ever. I haven't read it in three years and I can still taste it in my mind. What a book! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:43:06 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

From the Guardian: What kind

From the Guardian: What kind of May Day protestor are you? Link (Thanks, evang!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:37:57 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Funny paper on the failings

Funny paper on the failings of science-fictional alien tongues. Link (Thanks, Elisabeth!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:31:12 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"In hopes of stopping the

"In hopes of stopping the process of aging, Larry Ellison, the brassy 55-year-old chief executive of Oracle, is quietly pumping millions of dollars into research and other investments. He's now the single largest private supporter of research in aging, and he's opening the spigot further." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:02:49 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Browse-Up is a cool little

Browse-Up is a cool little Win-only app that allows you to embed arbitrary links in any Web page that any other Browse-Up user can see, follow and edit. It's kinda ThirdVoice for links. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:28:05 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Mesh Networks of Orlando, FL,

Mesh Networks of Orlando, FL, have produced a wicked-cool 802.11-alternative, using declassified military tech. In addition to all the WiFi goodness you know and love, Mesh handles Quality of Service, relaying, dynamic routing, non-GPS geolocation, and tons of error-correction stuff. There's even some cross-compatibility with existing 802.11 cards and access points! I am so all over this. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:23:25 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Dogcows are these obscure iconic

Dogcows are these obscure iconic animals from early versions of the MacOS. This Apple TechNote has a poem about them. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:15:34 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Norwegian Linux nerds implement IP-over-Carrier-Pigeon.

Norwegian Linux nerds implement IP-over-Carrier-Pigeon. Link (via Slashdot)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:54:46 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Coming soon to an America

Coming soon to an America near you: Brazilian mutant hip-hop. Link (via Robot Wisdom)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:52:30 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Sunday, April 29, 2001

Vintage "Mark Eden Bust Developer"

Vintage "Mark Eden Bust Developer" ad. Link (via Metascene)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:02:55 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Disney's auctioning off a bunch

Disney's auctioning off a bunch of props from their science fiction movies, including Tron, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and (shudder) The Black Hole. If I had a million dollars... Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:31:08 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tons of Tokyo Disneyland stuff

Tons of Tokyo Disneyland stuff for sale through eBay. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:18:31 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Obsessive spacestation model. Link (via

Obsessive spacestation model. Link (via Robot Wisdom)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:05:50 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

I get vast assloads of

I get vast assloads of spam, but this piece caught my eye, mostly because it came on as an invitation to join something called the World Currency Cartel. Who could resist the opportunity to join an Illuminatus? Unfortunately, it turns out to be a banal variation on envelope-stuffing pyramid schemes. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:51:53 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

In today's NYT there's an

In today's NYT there's an article about employees posting corporate gossip and complaints on Internet message boards. The best quote is from a posting by an employee of the 24-hour tweeker paradise known as Home Depot: "It's a free-for-all orgy behind the scenes in some of these stores." Link (Thanks Steve!)

posted by David Pescovitz at 11:41:57 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Great collection of SF pulps

Great collection of SF pulps for sale on eBay. If anyone has the April 1963 ish of Worlds of Tomorrow and is willing to part with it, drop me a line. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:07:19 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Saturday, April 28, 2001

I wrote an article about

I wrote an article about IPv6 a while back.The current Internet protocol, IPv4, will eventually run out of addresses to assign to machines connected to the Internet. Sony's announcement that it plans to assign IP addresses to all its new products will undoubtedly heat up interest in IPv6. How many addresses can you get from IPv6's 128-bit header? Here's one way to look at it: Imagine 1 trillion Bill Gateses standing in a circle (not a pretty picture, but play along for a moment). Now ask each one to convert his fortune into pennies and toss them in a collective pile. If each penny contained 1 trillion tiny computers and each computer had its own IP address, you'd still have used only a fraction of IPv6's potential space. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 12:17:41 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

If you live in the

If you live in the Bay Area, you might want to check out the 8th Annual 'Ukulele Festival of Northern California on Sunday in Hayward. Gee, I wish I could go! Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:54:14 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Karl Schroeder's Ventus gets raves

Karl Schroeder's Ventus gets raves at the New York Times! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:42:33 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Friday, April 27, 2001

London slang! Link (Thanks, Dennis!)

London slang! Link (Thanks, Dennis!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:25:03 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Braholster! Link

Braholster! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:58:21 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Amazon refuses to remove joke

Amazon refuses to remove joke scathing reviews of Windows (by "Bill Gates") and Red Hat Linux (by "Linus Torvalds") Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:56:01 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

ShortNews is another gangbang blog,

ShortNews is another gangbang blog, with some cool slashdotty rating features that bubble the cool stuff up to the top of the list. Good linkage! Link (auf Deutsche: Link)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:50:06 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

I love Skymall. It's like

I love Skymall. It's like an attention-defecit version of the Sharper Image, with inspirational kitten posters thrown in. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:39:23 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Vintage robot porn! No commentary

Vintage robot porn! No commentary necessary. Link (Thanks Judith!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:32:51 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Cab Calloway's hepster lingo glossary!

Cab Calloway's hepster lingo glossary! Are you hep to the jive? Link (Thanks, evang!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:30:19 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Transparent tower cases for your

Transparent tower cases for your PC. Kinda like the transparent toilets they use in Federal prisons. Want! Link (via Slashdot)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:52:06 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Infoporn! Every stat imaginable in

Infoporn! Every stat imaginable in the American statistical universe! They're gathering info on you right now! Link (via Metafilter)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:48:59 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Great techie piece detailing the

Great techie piece detailing the specs of Google's ~8,000 Linux boxen. Link (via Slashdot)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:47:27 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

This ICANN Shockwave parody is

This ICANN Shockwave parody is excellent. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:18:43 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Stefan sez: "A TV documentary

Stefan sez: "A TV documentary on quackery aired a few years back showed that an ear candle stuck in a sterile bottle ended up with just as much gunk inside as one stuck in an ear." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:34:41 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

CNN recently hired former NYPD

CNN recently hired former NYPD Blue star Andrea Thompson as a news co-anchor. The netowrk then found out that nude pictures of Thompson are on the Net, and now CNN might fire her, saying she should have disclosed this before she took the job. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:24:07 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The music industry's thuggish RIAA

The music industry's thuggish RIAA has bullied a Princeton professor into canceling his talk about defeating its music watermarking scheme.Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:19:18 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Great piece on old-skool wrestling

Great piece on old-skool wrestling legends and where they are now. Link (Thanks, Steve!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:14:31 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Thursday, April 26, 2001

Stefan sez: "Hey, cool! The

Stefan sez: "Hey, cool! The person behind the 'Hyakugojyuuichi!!' Flash video turns out to be a fifteen year old kid." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:43:01 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Nifty Yiddish glossary. (Thanks, Dave!)

Nifty Yiddish glossary. (Thanks, Dave!) Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:51:46 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

A new Sak's ad features

A new Sak's ad features those weird Chemtrails, "fuel" for conspiracy theories galore! Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 07:17:10 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wednesday, April 25, 2001

Speedle is a cool little

Speedle is a cool little app that allows you to seamlessly forward a link to other people, then collaboratively filters who's forwarding what to whom and comes up with other cool stuff you should be looking at. It's kind of a distributed blog. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:59:59 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The EFF releases its Public

The EFF releases its Public Music License -- a sorta GPL-for-music, one that preserves fair use and encourages artists and audiences to see their interests as aligned, not adversarial. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:41:36 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Bruce Schneier, crypto-god, reviews a

Bruce Schneier, crypto-god, reviews a tell-all book about the NSA on this morning's Salon. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:40:33 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tuesday, April 24, 2001

The latest TiVo update reads

The latest TiVo update reads like a wishlist of all the features I've ever dreamed of having. Swoon! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:41:31 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

So it wasn't the titanium

So it wasn't the titanium in that guy's laptop that triggered security devices at Burbank Airport on Friday. Apparently, his laptop bag "contained residue of a chemical commonly used to make explosives." Link Best detail: "Airport officials said the man was 'very drunk,' which may have complicated the investigation. He was still carrying a bottle of vodka as he attempted to pass through the security checkpoint, said Susan Manukyan, Southwest's assistant security manager."

posted by David Pescovitz at 04:34:28 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Jakob Nielsen on online Reputation

Jakob Nielsen on online Reputation Managers. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:13:09 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

This video clip one of

This video clip one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. Can someone explain to me what is going on? (Warning: contains nudity) Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 04:08:40 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Scurrilous rumors: go2mac.com has inside

Scurrilous rumors: go2mac.com has inside dirt on the new iBooks -- I sense a new computer in my future (but only if the RAM ceiling turns out to be 256MB or higher) Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:57:16 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Phew! I feel safer already:

Phew! I feel safer already: "The Supreme Court ruled today that the police can handcuff and arrest people even for minor offenses, like failure to use seat belts, which are normally punished by fines. (from the New York Times.) Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 03:26:23 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Funny classified ad found on

Funny classified ad found on the wonderful filepile.org Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:38:55 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Dear Aunt Nettie: Advice from

Dear Aunt Nettie: Advice from the oldest living Netizen. (Don't miss the Galleries of Despressionist Art and Unidentifiable Objects!) Link (Thanks, Ditty!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:28:01 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The Japanese Gnutella project discussed

The Japanese Gnutella project discussed in depth in this month's J@pan, Inc. magazine. Link (Thanks, Sam!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:18:19 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Linus Torvalds' autobiography reviewed by

Linus Torvalds' autobiography reviewed by Andrew Leonard on this morning's Salon. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:16:58 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The Monorails Society! You gotcher

The Monorails Society! You gotcher Monorail news, yer Monorail tech, yer Monorail videos, und zo weiter. Monorails kick ass. Link (via Memepool)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:13:44 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Monday, April 23, 2001

Google madness. A search for

Google madness. A search for "Nike Boing Shoes" at Google turns up boingboing.net as the third link. Nike.com isn't even listed on the first page. The result? We get tons of visitors who came to us seeing info on Nike Boing Shoes. Tip for webmaster@nike.com: Make your page indexable by Web spiders or suffer the humiliation of redirects to mutant blogs. Link (Nike Shox "Boing" Shoes: Link)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:55:43 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Slashdot for pot smokers and

Slashdot for pot smokers and drug-warriors: Smokedot! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:14:54 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Snotty, gloating editorial on the

Snotty, gloating editorial on the death of dotcoms in NYTimes (free registration required).

...it is refreshing to turn on the television or pick up a magazine without being confronted with a maddening profile of a twenty- something zillionaire who does not own a tie and who spends all day playing Foosball in a hip loft space that passes for an office. The destruction of wealth has cleansed society of a lot of envy... ...Tim Koogle... wore a suit last month... on CNBC... It was like seeing a 12-year-old dressed for a funeral.

Link (Thanks, Ronks!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:02:45 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

FIXED Dotcom downturn be damned.

FIXED Dotcom downturn be damned. Plenty of tech-jobs in the most rescession-proof industry around: Internet porn! Link (LA Times piece -- disable Javascript first or face the dreaded popup ad)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:57:07 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

More self-promotion! OpenCola -- the

More self-promotion! OpenCola -- the soda -- made Memepool today. Slashdot effect, here we come! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:30:29 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

OpenColans Helen Waters, Diti Diena,

OpenColans Helen Waters, Diti Diena, and Suzanne Rollen are the GirlGeeks of the week! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:27:40 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

R.I.P. Richard E. Schultes, the

R.I.P. Richard E. Schultes, the ethnobotanist who reluctantly ingnited the psychedelic revolution. (Even though he happily ingested hallucinogenics plants and coca leaves whenever he had the chance.) Here's the LA Times obit. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:47:38 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Happy Mutant Jon Lebkowsky's started

Happy Mutant Jon Lebkowsky's started his own blog! Full of linky goodness. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:10:37 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Saturday, April 21, 2001

I've seen two or three

I've seen two or three digital pedometers -- devices with pendulums that count the number of steps you take, calculating your caloric burn-rate, charting your activity over time. This is the coolest one yet. Why? Because it snaps into your Handspring Visor and dumps its count directly to your PDA, where the data can be graphed, sorted and synched. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:58:56 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Titanium chassis of the new

Titanium chassis of the new G4 Powerbooks may trigger false positives for bombs in airport security checks -- leading to a six-hour lockdown at Burbank airport. Link (Tip: disable Javascript before clicking link to avoid truly obnoxious popup ad) (Thanks, Jet!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:57:56 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Survivor: Monster Island. Geez --

Survivor: Monster Island. Geez -- who'd a thunk that Mechagodzilla would get booted off the island in week two? Link (Thanks, Pat! Welcome home!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:18:30 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

More in(s)anity from the lawyers

More in(s)anity from the lawyers at the RIAA: After inviting people to crack the Secure Digital Music Initiative, they've nastygrammed one of the academics who accomplished it and published his methods, citing the DMCA's anti-circumvention clause. Morons. Link (via Slashdot)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:13:11 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Those Commie 802.11 networks! Ruminations

Those Commie 802.11 networks! Ruminations on the future of P2P. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:01:34 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Long NYT article by James

Long NYT article by James Glieck (Faster, Chaos) on being connected and staying connected. Lotsa food for thought. Link (Thanks, Amanda!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:50:54 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The new TRG PalmOS device

The new TRG PalmOS device looks incredible: lots of expansion slots, 90 degree rotation, minimizable graffiti area... I'm blown away. Link (via Slashdot)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:43:02 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Friday, April 20, 2001

Teenage myths exposed! The Harper's

Teenage myths exposed! The Harper's Index of Teenage Myths. Link (via Metafilter)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:17:42 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Car-Freshener® is my new favorite

Car-Freshener® is my new favorite trademark. When they discovered someone using their trademark without permission, they nicegrammed him, thanking them for spreading the word and offering to send him freebies. Link (via Metafilter)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:15:07 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Potty-mouth hacker vandalizes cybernanny.com site,

Potty-mouth hacker vandalizes cybernanny.com site, leaves lots of Anglo-Saxon monosyllables behind. Link (Thanks, Judith!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:42:20 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

This has got to be

This has got to be a joke. Salon.com excerpts the new Rules book in an interview with Ellen Fein. This is either uproariously funny or deeply offensive. Can someone tell me which? Link (Thanks, carolen!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:24:50 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Couple days ago, we had

Couple days ago, we had the IRS for kids -- now here's the FBI's site for 5-10 year olds Link (via Speedle, thanks Dan!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:43:11 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

NASA spysat animations, zooming into

NASA spysat animations, zooming into various cities. Amazing! Don't miss Orlando for a spy's eye view of Disney World! Link (via RobotWisdom)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:12:32 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Why XML and Metadata are

Why XML and Metadata are broken, courtesy of Bob Cringely. Link (Thanks, Scott!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:37:10 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Philip K. Dick wrote paranoid

Philip K. Dick wrote paranoid letters to the FBI, denouncing his academic champions as communist spies attempting to take over the USA with the help of Stanislaw Lem. Link (Thanks, James!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:51:19 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

New flashlight can "detect a

New flashlight can "detect a human's presence through doors and walls up to 8 inches thick." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:20:48 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Bizarre record album cover page

Bizarre record album cover page made by an old college buddy of mine. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:16:07 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

This downloadable Desktop Theremin is

This downloadable Desktop Theremin is sure to delight your friends and annoy your neighbors!Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 09:29:51 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Interview with Billy Dogma comic

Interview with Billy Dogma comic book artist Dean Haspiel. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 08:56:27 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

CubeSolver is a Lego robot

CubeSolver is a Lego robot that solves Rubik's Cube. (Thanks, Dave!)Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 08:37:29 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Ever since a group of

Ever since a group of McKinsey consultants recommended to Disneyland that they save money by slashing preventative maintenance budgets, accidents and even deaths at the Park have been way up (remember the woman who got her head bashed in a couple years ago when a stanchion for the Sailing Ship Columbia tore loose from the pier?) Now, Disney's decided to station paramedics at the Parks -- I wonder when they'll go back to regular preventative maintenance? Link (Thanks, Amanda!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:26:42 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Thursday, April 19, 2001

Now this takes the prize

Now this takes the prize for the world's most obsessive underwater marriage proposal (9MB QuickTime). Link (via NoGators)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:33:35 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

This Shockwave isn't gonna get

This Shockwave isn't gonna get dated for a long time. It's stick-figure kung-fu, sorta reductio-al-fisticuffs. I'm blown away. Link (Thanks, Justin!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:00:29 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"Internet Killed the Video Star."

"Internet Killed the Video Star." This Shockwave vid seems sadly dated, though it can't be more than a few months old. Link (Thanks, Laura!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:42:52 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

A new buzz-killing drug prevents

A new buzz-killing drug prevents THC from doing its thing. Scientists think it could be good for tea-heads who are, er, hooked and want to kick that habit, man. Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 11:50:39 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"Human brain loves surprises, research

"Human brain loves surprises, research reveals"

"We find that so-called pleasure centers in the brain do not react equally to any pleasurable substance, but instead react more strongly when the pleasures are unexpected," Berns said. "This means that the brain finds unexpected pleasures more rewarding than expected ones, and it may have little to do with what people say they like."

Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:12:31 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Idiotic headline for study by

Idiotic headline for study by American Educational Research Association: "Rural students experience longer, rougher bus rides" Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:06:10 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Butt-candles! Erm, you use a

Butt-candles! Erm, you use a candle to create a vacuum to purify your intestinal tract. Why? Link (Thanks, Chet!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:38:49 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wednesday, April 18, 2001

A day in the life

A day in the life of a TiVo. Funny! Link (via kottke.org)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:24:05 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Jud Jud are an a

Jud Jud are an a capella hardcore band. That's right, a group of guys going "Jud jud judjudjudjudjudjud" and making drum noises. It's surprisingly good. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:05:34 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Our prolific pal Terre Thamelitz's

Our prolific pal Terre Thamelitz's "Eyes, Ears & Pups" series of new illustrations focuses on "children with eye and ear deformities and the attack dogs who love them." That Terre is a real laugh-riot. Seriously. Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 01:48:24 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Look what arrived today from

Look what arrived today from Tiki Farm! This looks so good in my place, I'm plotzing. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:46:47 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

From this morning's Wired News:

From this morning's Wired News: There are more tech jobs than ever -- the sky ain't falling! Link (Thanks, Dan!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:52:26 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Crad Kilodney is this writer

Crad Kilodney is this writer who used to sell his self-published chapbooks of twisted, often sophomoric short-stories on the streets of Toronto, bearing a sign that read "Famous Canadian Author: Buy My Books" or "Excrement" or "Stories for Morons." Of course, his stuff is now online. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:50:04 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Taxidermied kittens in amber, on

Taxidermied kittens in amber, on eBay. Link (Thanks, Drue, Chet!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:38:04 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Lamprey Cyborg! "Researchers in Chicago

Lamprey Cyborg! "Researchers in Chicago have built a cyborg, a half-living, half-robot creature which connects the brain of an eel-like fish to a computer and is capable of moving towards lights." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:19:00 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Custom welding-masks -- for the

Custom welding-masks -- for the Mexican wrestler in you! Link (Thanks, Jet!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:17:36 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Internet Pinball Database: Backplates, gameplay,

Internet Pinball Database: Backplates, gameplay, lots of pinball porn. Link (via Memepool)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:03:22 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Great piece from today's Onion:

Great piece from today's Onion: "Song About Heroin Used to Advertise Bank" Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:52:53 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

John C. Dvorak used to

John C. Dvorak used to have a clue. Not anymore. His painfully stupid article at Forbes compares TiVo timeshifting and commercial-skipping to MP3 download, calls TiVo users thieves, and TiVo itself a contributory infringer. Lots of sloppy fact-checking (wrong price, no mention of Betamax, nor of the fact that TiVo's major investors are the TV networks themselves, no mention of fair use, no mention of the fact that TiVo users spend an average hour/day extra watching the tube, and that TiVo is the first tech since the Internet that increases television viewership). Link (via Slashdot)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:50:50 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Finally! ThinkGeek has agreed to

Finally! ThinkGeek has agreed to retail OpenCola, the GPLed soft-drink that my company produced. Get a spare case for the kids! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:56:13 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tuesday, April 17, 2001

Living Dead Dolls are like

Living Dead Dolls are like 3D, goth Garbage Pail Kids. Must-haves! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:04:52 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

This is a fun time-waster.

This is a fun time-waster. Build a custom superhero by clicking on the buttons. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 05:28:47 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Objective cost-benefit analysis of advantages

Objective cost-benefit analysis of advantages to calling the Psychic Friends Network for tech-support instead of Microsoft. I'm convinced! Link (also via 10 things etc)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:54:43 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Monkey Calls! Finally a dotcom

Monkey Calls! Finally a dotcom idea that has real growth potential. They're a Simulated Monkey to Consumer shop like no other! Link (also via the last 10 things etc.)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:46:36 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Ha><or bootcamp: Pulltheplug is a

Ha><or bootcamp: Pulltheplug is a collection of open boxes, routers and systems that you can connect to and hack, in order to learn more about how various exotic systems work. Link (via The last 10 things martian's frendz thought not too uncool...)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:39:06 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Cat and Mouse: Cuehack for

Cat and Mouse: Cuehack for the :CueCat turns your barcode scanner into a device that gives you consumer information on the company providing the barcode. Turnabout:Fair-play. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 03:26:50 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"What we're trying to do

"What we're trying to do is educate the population about what is appropriate, both from an ethical standpoint and from a legal standpoint," said Ken Jacobson, MPAA senior vice president of worldwide anti-piracy.

The MPAA is nastygramming people who run Gnutella sites and their ISPs. Lovely. Lessons on ethics and law from the noted fair-use advocates at the MPAA. Argh. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:06:28 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Big Science + Big Tobacco

Big Science + Big Tobacco = Smokes that heal! Link (Thanks, Joey!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:02:21 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Who knew that Cosmo was

Who knew that Cosmo was this racy? Damn! Link (Thanks, Amanda!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:58:25 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

An amazing collection of antique

An amazing collection of antique microscopes from the 1760s through the 1920s. Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 10:52:40 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Humorist Dave Barry is going

Humorist Dave Barry is going to be audited by the IRS. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:09:52 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

West Wing writer busted for

West Wing writer busted for shrooms at Burbank airport. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 08:59:13 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Spielberg quits the Scouts over

Spielberg quits the Scouts over gay-exclusion. Roll over, Baden-Powell! Link (Thanks, Amanda!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:55:29 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Monday, April 16, 2001

Fantasma, a startup doing R&D

Fantasma, a startup doing R&D on (physicist/starlet) Heddy Lamarr's Ultra Wideband wireless tech, closes its door. RIP. Link (Thanks, Dan!) More on Heddy Lamarr: Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:12:17 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Script and notes for the

Script and notes for the Disney/GE "Carousel of Progress"

The Carousel of Progress was perhaps the most entertaining home appliance commercial ever created. Derided by imagineers as "the refrigerator show," it was unabashed in its attempts to enhance General Electric's image and market the company's consumer products. To find an attraction more brazen in its commercialism, one would have to return to the dark days of Tomorrowland's first year, when financial constraints forced Walt to resort to county-fair-style attractions like The Bathroom of Tomorrow in order to fill his pavilions. And yet, the Carousel somehow rose above its agenda and became one of the most fun attractions in Tomorrowland. Originally created for the 1964 New York World's Fair, The Carousel was part of Walt's campaign to prove that Disney theme park entertainment would play on the east coast, and no chances were taken. When the Carousel of Progress opened at the World's Fair, its use of Audio-Animatronics was more extensive than in any previous Disney attraction. The story was propelled by a diabolically catchy song by the Sherman brothers ("There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow"), and the revolving theater was an attraction in itself.

Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:19:17 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Extreme Tampax ad at AdCritic.

Extreme Tampax ad at AdCritic. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:14:58 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

smallstd is an intiative to

smallstd is an intiative to create small, lightwieght and useful standards without the horripilations and greasy dullness of the W3C. Link (Thanks, Steve!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:00:10 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Historic events (assassinations, etc) as

Historic events (assassinations, etc) as Sims screenshots. Eerie. Link (Thanks, Dennis!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:42:40 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The Potty-Putter. Maybe you've seen

The Potty-Putter. Maybe you've seen the infomercial. I sure haven't. Practice putting on the can. I have The Fear. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:39:43 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Ikea may be Swedish for

Ikea may be Swedish for "smudges easily," but their Organized Neighbors ad is high-larious. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:30:53 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

My friend Lin's first book

My friend Lin's first book -- a slim volume of kick-ass poetry -- is out. Way to go, Lin! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:24:15 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

eBay's "Vintage" Apple category. Link

eBay's "Vintage" Apple category. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 04:45:01 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Does anyone know wtf this

Does anyone know wtf this is? They sent me spam fax, then followed up with this twist-o-gram. The voxmail message at the other end of the phone number is way effed.

No, u didnt want 2 tok 2 P-a aneway. She duznt 1/2 ane anserz u need, if she did, she woodnt giv them 2 U. 2 hr, theez r masheenz. 4 startrz, u mit considr geting of this brutle unsecur lin. dont feel bad, tho. P-az not 2 Rmrd up ithr. We 1/2 a recording uv th@ litl bird singing @ (702)-387-2350 On 2nd thot, dont col. Ur alrede in ovr ur hed.

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:33:11 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Ideo designs the coolest stuff

Ideo designs the coolest stuff (Apple mouse, Powerbook, Leap chair, standup toothpaste tube, Visor, Palm V, etc etc etc) in the universe. This new coffee-table book filled with their work is extremely lustworthy. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:44:09 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

If you're into blogs, chances

If you're into blogs, chances are you've heard that Pyra, the Blogger people, were having some hard times. They've weathered them admirably, and now Trellix, Dan Briklan's shop, has licensed their code -- presumably, a development that's led to a serious cash infusion. Congrats, Ev! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:01:13 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

This SUV isn't some gold-trimmed

This SUV isn't some gold-trimmed yupmobile. It's a street-legal assault vehicle. Link (Thanks, Jet!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:28:01 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Real-life seven-league boots lets you

Real-life seven-league boots lets you jump 6' in the air, run at incredible speed. German engineering at its finest! Link (via Metafilter)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:03:59 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Sunday, April 15, 2001

The Reverend Billy is a

The Reverend Billy is a consumer activist/theatre-guy with a hate-on for Disney, Starbucks, and any number of other love-to-hate-'em megacorps. Salon's coverage of his work is excellent. Link (Thanks, Joey!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:52:13 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Even if your exercised stock-options

Even if your exercised stock-options are worthless today, you still need to pay taxes on 'em, apparently. You wacky, wacky Americans! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:40:35 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Joey Ramone, rest in peace.

Joey Ramone, rest in peace. Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 07:35:34 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Fancy a Soviet flagpole fineal?

Fancy a Soviet flagpole fineal? How about a Lenin flask? Stalin t-shirt? CCCP hockey jersey? Soviet Army uniform? Born in the USSR puts the commie in dotcom. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:27:26 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Disreputable Conduct: a lone crank

Disreputable Conduct: a lone crank has basically shut down all discussion on this formerly active message board devoted to discussions of the works of Terry Pratchett. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 12:10:10 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Leon Trotsky, B2B visionary:Here is

Leon Trotsky, B2B visionary:

Here is where the American soviets can produce real miracles. "Technocracy" can come true only under communism, when the dead hands of private property rights and private profits are lifted from your industrial system. The most daring proposals of the Hoover commission on standardization and rationalization will seem childish compared to the new possibilities let loose by American communism. National industry will be organized along the line of the conveyor belt in your modern continuous-production automotive factories. Scientific planning can be lifted out of the individual factory and applied to your entire economic system. The results will be stupendous.

(From If America Should Go Communist, 1935) Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:52:38 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

I so dearly love the

I so dearly love the coders at OpenCola. One thing I especially adore are their public development journals, with entries like this one:

All the strappend() methods in oc_support are BOGUS, dangerous, deadly, morose, unworthy and INSECURE!!!! I'm starting to replace char[]'s with oc_filebuffers and use the oc_filebuffer::Append() functions instead...

Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 10:38:37 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Why haven't you subscribed to

Why haven't you subscribed to FutureFeedForward yet? This week's installment is even better than usual, and that's really saying something:

Aniston, Pitt Anonymized, Key Lost MALIBU--Spokespeople for celebrity activists Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston confirmed today that the longtime couple is currently anonymized and that the decryption keys have been lost or damaged. "Brad and Jennifer have always enjoyed mixing with the public," explains a spokesperson for the couple. "They're very down to earth that way. They had just turned on their anonymizers for a trip down to Pizza Bell to pick up some dinner. When they went to turn them off, they found that something had gone wrong. They've both remained encrypted for the past couple of weeks or so. We're hopeful that the technical people will be able to recover the keys in due course."

Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:47:53 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Racial tolerance goes by the

Racial tolerance goes by the wayside when the Chinese demand an apology. The SJ Merc details the rise in Chinese-bashing, from Oliphant's editorial cartoon where a Chinese waiter screams "Apologize Lotten Amellican!" to a gathering of the American Society of Newspaper Editors where the entertainment featured a "comedian" in a black wig and thick glasses saying "ching, ching, chong, chong." The editors ROFLed. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:48:44 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Saturday, April 14, 2001

Online Bullshit Detector -- an

Online Bullshit Detector -- an idea whose time has come! Purportal lets you search urban legends/hoax FAQs and debunks before you forward on any dopey-ass chain-letters. I think use of this should be mandatory. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:46:57 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Our friends at RTMark bring

Our friends at RTMark bring us some juicy stuff from the Harvard Journal on Legislation concerning "commercial terrorism." Link (Thanks, Dan!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:33:39 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Comprehensive list of every "pirate"

Comprehensive list of every "pirate" e-book posted to various spots on the Internet. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:31:05 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Factoid of the day: Novelist

Factoid of the day: Novelist Anthony Trollope invented the mailbox. Link (Thanks, Ray!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:50:28 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Friday, April 13, 2001

The Easter installment of the

The Easter installment of the comic strip B.C. is creepily antisemitic. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:33:45 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Thrilling tales from the tech-trenches!

Thrilling tales from the tech-trenches! James Hong explains the evolution of Am I Hot or Not? Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:22:07 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Best hit counter yet. Link

Best hit counter yet. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 12:54:18 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"Asteroids could be used to

"Asteroids could be used to destroy enemy cities in what astronomers describe as a deadly game of 'cosmic golf'. Lumps of rock weighing millions of tons could be nudged out of their normal orbit and guided towards particular cities on Earth by a string of nuclear explosions." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:50:17 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

MarchFirst, the Gobosh-addled Web consultancy

MarchFirst, the Gobosh-addled Web consultancy firm, is about to go under. MarchSecond explains why. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:45:49 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Thursday, April 12, 2001

From bottom-feeder photo clearinghouse Rotten.com

From bottom-feeder photo clearinghouse Rotten.com is this series of a dozen subsequent mugshots taken over the years of a "pretty girl in New York City" as she falls into a "downward spiral." Freaks me out. Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 09:18:08 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Anxious hand-wringing about multitasking teens.

Anxious hand-wringing about multitasking teens. Grownups suck. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:17:09 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Everyone -- Micros~1 included --

Everyone -- Micros~1 included -- hates the Talking Paper Clip. He's been fired. And it turns out that all along, he had the voice of Gilbert Gottfried. I knew it. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:16:27 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

OpenCola makes it into the

OpenCola makes it into the MIT Tech Review. Goddamn, that cola is pure PR gold. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:15:00 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Andy O'Meara created G-Force, a

Andy O'Meara created G-Force, a groovy music-visualization app that turns MP3s into tripware. Apple licensed it, universities offered him research fellowships. One snag: the Navy's ROTC program paid his way through school and now he's off to spend 5 years (or several technological centuries) on a nuclear sub. God. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:10:33 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Rael Dornfest is O'Reilly Publishing's

Rael Dornfest is O'Reilly Publishing's official maven. His weblog is a marvellously nerdy tour through the cutting edge of groovy content distribution. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:27:28 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

1000 Journals is a project

1000 Journals is a project to distribute 1000 blank diaries, hand to hand. With each stop, the current owner is invited to report on the journal's current location and contents. Way, way cool. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 05:25:40 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Nostalgic illustration from S. Britt,

Nostalgic illustration from S. Britt, reminiscent of old kids' books or even our own Mark. Link (Thanks, Joey!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:11:59 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Worm from a pork taco

Worm from a pork taco crawls into woman's brain, dies there, begins to rot, gives her seizures. Ewww. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:11:21 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The Wherify Personal Location System

The Wherify Personal Location System is a next-generation consumer version of those electronic tracking bracelets worn by prisoners under home arrest! Perfect for wayward toddlers and troublesome teens! Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 12:21:20 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Pee-Wee Herman ruminates on his

Pee-Wee Herman ruminates on his career, describes his plan to get Lawrence Fishburne back in the saddle:

I've written more than a little part for Laurence Fishburne, but I haven't had a conversation about it with him because I want to give him the completed script. I want him to see what a great part it is, then talk to his kids and let them guilt trip him into it.

Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:58:49 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wired's new top editor, late

Wired's new top editor, late of the Economist. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:54:09 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Justice League of America's help-wanted

Justice League of America's help-wanted ad on Headhunter.net. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:51:21 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wednesday, April 11, 2001

Look at these amazing handcarved

Look at these amazing handcarved wooden canes and skull gearshift knobs. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 04:42:06 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Clowns in England are being

Clowns in England are being forced to get liability insurance. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 03:49:29 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tuesday, April 10, 2001

Cease-and-desist mania! Mastercard demonstrates its

Cease-and-desist mania! Mastercard demonstrates its lack-of-clue by nastygramming the moderator of rec.humor.funny over a parodical joke. The moderator responds in style. Link (From Slashdot)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:16:52 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"Server of Amontillado:" a missing

"Server of Amontillado:" a missing -- but still running -- server at UNC is discovered sealed up behind drywall, years later. Link (From Slashdot)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:14:33 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Stefan Jones's guide to Vegas.

Stefan Jones's guide to Vegas. ASCII maps, buffet reccos, kitsch rants! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:42:11 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

$1 opening bid for my

$1 opening bid for my friend Peter's Camaro rockets to $10K in hours on eBay. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:25:36 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Black and White's unbelievably lovely

Black and White's unbelievably lovely artwork. Link

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

Playing God with the world's

Playing God with the world's best AI is what makes Black and White kick so much ass. James Au reviews the new game -- whose sole interface is a "a giant hand hovering above the planet ... controlled by the mouse, the hand can move over the surface by gripping the ground; it can rip trees from the earth and lob boulders across the island" -- online. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:02:35 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tad Williams, author of bestselling

Tad Williams, author of bestselling and world-denuding fantasy potboilers, is publishing his next book online, too. Looks like commercial fiction's trending digital. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:58:20 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Sex-positive ero-queen Susie Bright is

Sex-positive ero-queen Susie Bright is self-publishing her next book online. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:57:15 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Penn Jilette (of Penn and

Penn Jilette (of Penn and Teller) read's Negroponte's hoary digerati classic, "Being Digital" in this 10 minute MP3 from Salon.com. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:56:15 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Monday, April 9, 2001

Bullet-catching is an amazing magic-trick,

Bullet-catching is an amazing magic-trick, and it's Penn and Teller's Vegas finale to boot. Wanna ruin the effect by finding out how it's done? Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:57:35 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Coin and money gimmicks for

Coin and money gimmicks for sale. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:50:48 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Magic-trick gimmicks professionally reviewed. Mystify

Magic-trick gimmicks professionally reviewed. Mystify and annoy your friends! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:49:26 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Readership on boingboing.net is up,

Readership on boingboing.net is up, up, up! Tell your friends! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:37:28 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Apologies on behalf of Dubya

Apologies on behalf of Dubya to the Chinese government. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:31:22 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Headline-writing guidelines from legendary usability

Headline-writing guidelines from legendary usability fascist guru Jakob Nielsen. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:27:48 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Sanyo Fashions' new raincoat sports

Sanyo Fashions' new raincoat sports purpose-built, antimagnetic-shielded pockets for cellphones, PDAs, plane tix, shades, wallets, etc -- all labelled for clarity. Think of 'em as cargo-pants for salarymen. Link (Requires free NY Times registration)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:05:45 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Trotsky's assassination according to the

Trotsky's assassination according to the FBI -- 909 pages of Freedom of Information docs. Link (Thanks, Dad!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 07:01:20 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Modem Media acquired vivid.com, then,

Modem Media acquired vivid.com, then, years later, sold the domain to Vivid porn productions. When Vivid's founder emailed Modem's chief and upbraided him for not offering to sell vivid.com back to him, the Modem honcho inadvertently broadcasted a note to the entire company which ended with:

The only thing that could have made it better is if he attached a picture of the cardboard box he's living in, with the home-made sign hanging out front, 'Experience Strategist -- Will Work for Head.'

Of course, the letter has now spread all across the Internet. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:57:54 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Man caught dumping human feces

Man caught dumping human feces into Manhattan salad-bars. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 06:54:52 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Raymond Loewy's design for a

Raymond Loewy's design for a teenager activity room aboard a 1950s cruise ship. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 04:52:02 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Excellent PBS interview with George

Excellent PBS interview with George Jung, the former drug-smuggler that Johnny Depp plays in Blow. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 03:08:42 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Predictably, people are freaking out

Predictably, people are freaking out over a brilliant bit of schwag New Line Cinema passed out to promote Blow: handheld souvenir mirrors. Link (Thanks, Gil!)

posted by David Pescovitz at 02:30:58 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Dave Lovelace, creator of this

Dave Lovelace, creator of this hilarious "Jot and Jab" cartoon series, says that only 50 people or so gave seen them, so this is something of a Boing Boing world premiere! Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 01:24:14 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Save the Tiki Bars! Link

Save the Tiki Bars! Link (Thanks, Grad!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:17:22 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Scary, paranoid warnings for tourists!

Scary, paranoid warnings for tourists! Link (Thanks, Pat!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:14:05 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Floppy-disk stained-glass windows! Link

Floppy-disk stained-glass windows! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:56:23 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Friday, April 6, 2001

Super-groovy Hawaiiana ephemera images. Link

Super-groovy Hawaiiana ephemera images. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 04:52:55 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

This came from Dave Farber's

This came from Dave Farber's IP mailing list:

On the Chin Napster's founder Shawn Fanning took it on the chin at a pro-Napster conference in Washington, D.C., the night before this week's Senate hearing where Napster, the recording industry, and recording artists like Don Henley and Alanis Morissette aired their grievances before lawmakers. Mr. Fanning, 20 years old, took the hit over his company's efforts to protect its copyrights: its software code. A programmer in the audience demanded to know why Napster's "source code" for its software wasn't freely available. "That's a great question," Mr. Fanning stammered, "and one I was hoping you wouldn't ask." His answer: "Once the [Napster] user base grew ... we had to raise money to pay for bandwidth and for servers, and it became a business issue." -end- So, we finally can understand Napster's business plan: "I can help other people steal copyrighted material from you, but you can't steal copyrighted material from me....."

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:13:05 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Mercury News on the Billboard

Mercury News on the Billboard Liberation Front. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:57:18 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Fortune and Jeff Bezos are

Fortune and Jeff Bezos are the latest lucky recipients of an advertisement redesign by the Billboard Liberation Front. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:50:39 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

NapCameBack is a utility that

NapCameBack is a utility that encrypts song names so Napster can't block them. Napster sent them a nastygram, but you can still get the program here. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:47:40 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

LA Times obit for Ed

LA Times obit for Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Read it now, before the Times archives it and starts charging to view it. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:34:10 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Notice: The old "discuss" function

Notice: The old "discuss" function is back up. But we are working on getting a better one. Thanks Cory, for all your help!

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 09:31:55 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Thursday, April 5, 2001

Cool interview with Palm Springs

Cool interview with Palm Springs archiect Albert Frey, who died at the age of 95 in 1998. He was an assistant to Le Corbusier in Paris, and moved to California in the 1930s. Quote: "I think you should get more results for the least amount of effort, like the principal of the egg." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 04:34:19 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Notice: The "discuss" function is

Notice: The "discuss" function is temporarily down. We are trying to install a better one. I hope it doesn't take long.

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 04:30:26 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Article about Kokomo Jr., a

Article about Kokomo Jr., a TV chimp from 1957. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 03:42:15 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Jon Lebkowsky asked me if

Jon Lebkowsky asked me if I had the Gerald McBoingBoing book (I sure do), which reminded me of the guy who illustrated it, Mel Crawford. Born in 1925, he drew some great pictures for Golden Books, like this one. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 03:40:02 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Could this be the next

Could this be the next All Your Base? Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:22:29 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tucker writes: "Ed 'Big Daddy'

Tucker writes: "Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth died yesterday of a heart attack. He had a huge impact on American art and popular culture through his car designs, pinstriping and popular Rat Fink character. His influence is evident in the works of many contemporary artists." Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 12:07:37 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wired News reporter Declan McCullagh

Wired News reporter Declan McCullagh is a reluctant witness in the criminal trial of cypherpunk Jim Bell, accused of stalking federal agents. Bell is the author of an essay called "Assassination Politics", which speculates on how an "organization could be set up to legally announce that it would be awarding a cash prize to somebody who correctly 'predicted' the death of one of a list of violators of rights, usually either government employees, officeholders, or appointees. It could ask for anonymous contributions from the public, and individuals would be able send those contributions using digital cash." Here's the story from The Register. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:21:38 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Celebrate Passover with the Jesus

Celebrate Passover with the Jesus of the Week! Link (Thanks, Dad!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:14:34 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

An "earthquake rose" is the

An "earthquake rose" is the pattern that a pendulum traces during an earthquake, like the recent shakeup in Seattle. It's eerily beautiful. Link (Thanks, Dad!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:33:13 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The new Disney park in

The new Disney park in Tokyo's going all gigabit Ethernet. Mmmm, nerdy and fanboy-y! Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:14:39 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Among the many rising agents

Among the many rising agents that you may not eat during Passover is Viagra, which contains both yeast and animal products. Link

posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:05:10 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Wednesday, April 4, 2001

Squicky first-person account of a

Squicky first-person account of a love-affair with Free Software guru and polygamist Richard M. Stallman. Link (Thanks, Joey!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:24:45 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"Plastination" is an amazing new

"Plastination" is an amazing new taxidermy-esque process that replaces a bodypart's water with acetone and plastic. The result looks like a Visible Man model brought to life, er, death! I wish I could fly to Berlin right now to see Body Worlds, an art exhibit of plastinated human corpses. Here's a Feed article about the show: Link And, even cooler, some images! (Thanks, Jenn Shreve!)

posted by David Pescovitz at 12:28:17 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Totally kick-ass Infographic from The

Totally kick-ass Infographic from The Onion on recent Disney layoffs. Link (Thanks, Jef!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:51:39 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Tuesday, April 3, 2001

Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2001

Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2001 21:09:16 +0000 (+xxxx) From: "Pete Halvorson, Director of Services" Subject: Trepanation Update To: trepanation update Reply-to: info@trepan.com Organization: I-TAG Priority: normal X-Distribution: Bulk Comments: Authenticated sender is The account of Betty Lyons being trepanned at the ITAG Monterrey clinic will be shown on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM on Ripley's Believe It or Not. Betty was trepanned this past August 23rd at the clinic. The surgeon trepanned four people on that morning. The program features some conversation with Betty before the surgery, having the surgery and the day afterwards shot by the ITAG film crew. Ripley's follows up by interviewing Betty at her home five months after the actual operation. This is a VHS tapers alert. Three more people were trepanned this last March 6th in Monterrey by the same surgeon. All are doing well. They too were filmed in conversation before, during and after the surgery. The total medical expense including a before and after MRI is $2500. More trips are planned in the near future. Read the remarkable stories of all who have been recently trepanned at the Monterrey facility at: Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 09:42:38 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Our beloved Stefan Jones builds

Our beloved Stefan Jones builds an out-of-production Estes rocket -- the Astron Avenger -- from scratch! Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:33:46 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

More news about the strand

More news about the strand of "Yeti" hair. Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:38:21 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Here are a bunch of

Here are a bunch of articles about modern Japanese life from The Guardian, including an essay by William Gibson. "Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 10:30:06 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Monday, April 2, 2001

This guy claims that psychoexgirlfriend.com

This guy claims that psychoexgirlfriend.com is phony, and that it's just a way to launch time-delay pop-up ads. One reason: "[T]he PsychoEx domain name was registered on February 15, after the first of the messages but well before the final message. It seems likely, therefore, that the plan for the site was drawn up before the messages were received, which again suggests a hoax." (A few days ago, I got a pop-up that I coudn't trace. Could psychoexgirlfriend.com be the culprit?)Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:48:18 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

The porn industry can only

The porn industry can only pray that there are more religion-based protests like this one. (Thanks, Dave!)Link

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 11:15:25 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

"Beginning in the 3rd century

"Beginning in the 3rd century B.C., people started compiling lists to promote how much they knew to show how smart they were." — Anne-Marie Knoblauch, who teaches a class on the Seven Wonders of the World I love that idea! It reminds of me one of those grade-school lists that start with "The following is a list of people that I like...." Here's the article the quote came from, about another campaign to pick seven new wonders. Link

posted by David Pescovitz at 10:01:36 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Sunday, April 1, 2001

Fiendishly addictive backgammon variant Shockwave

Fiendishly addictive backgammon variant Shockwave game with Sumo wrestlers. Link (Thanks, Paul!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:28:06 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

Funny, paranoid rant on e-cash.

Funny, paranoid rant on e-cash. Link (Thanks, Tony!) (More detail: Shortly after writing this, Bell was imprisoned on tax evasion charges.)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:16:30 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

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