When Mark Tilbrook politely and peacefully distributed leaflets at venues where "psychic" Sally Morgan was performing, her son and husband threatened to beat him up (and even to have him… Read the rest of the article: Video: Death threats for skeptic who leafleted at Sally Morgan "psychic" show

Brechtbug's Halloween Costumes Vintage Photos collection is a triumph, and arguably what both infinite scroll and the Internet were invented for.

My latest Guardian column, Crypto wars redux: why the FBI's desire to unlock your private life must be resisted, explains why the US government's push to mandate insecure back-doors in… Read the rest of the article: There's no back door that only works for good guys

Jazz up your stretched-out lobes with these etched, double flared Stormtrooper plugs, $4.93 from Cherry BT. (via Geeky Merch)

Simply Secure, a nonprofit developing usable, free, open interfaces for cryptographic communications tools like OTR, is hiring!

From a motion related to the Speedy Trial Act: "The government cannot simply fail or refuse to respond to a motion and toll the Act 'to infinity and beyond.'"

"Noninvasive brain-computer interface enables communication after brainstem stroke" (Science Translational Medicine) reports on the successful use of a brain-computer interface to allow an individual with "lock in syndrome" (conscious and… Read the rest of the article: Brain-computer interface gives lock-in sufferers a way to communicate

The Laurens, GA County Sheriff's Dept broke down David and Teresa Hooks' door and fatally shot David Hooks on a tip from Randall Garrett, a burglar with multiple felony convictions,… Read the rest of the article: SWAT team murders burglary victim because burglar claimed he found meth

A 6-year study finds sexting is common, not correlated with future risky behaviors, and correlated with overall comfort with sexuality.

Etsy-based mold-maker Stexe has a store that's a delight — from the Melting Mandle (a melting zombie candle) to a black lagoonite, to a tar-zombie to a chainsaw-wielding pig, to… Read the rest of the article: Melting zombie candles (and other delights)

Once a security researcher discovers a new strain of malicious software — running a virtual machine on a test-bench — and adds its signature to anti-virus and network monitor blacklists,… Read the rest of the article: Malware needs to know if it's in the Matrix

My friend Patrick Ball turned me on to a wonderful piece of Serbian idiom: "Vukojebina," which literally means "where wolves fuck," but is used to denote any out-of-the-way place.

Silly Sockys's Etsy store is full of great, full-bleed tees with custom patterns, including this giga-cute Ewok shirt. (via Geekymerch)

Vadu Amka gave his old-school SNES a stunning Castelvania casemod makeover, with an attention to detail that demands our respect and admiration. SNES Castlevania – Dracula's castle Edition (via Kotaku)

Security experts have been haunted by the prospect of unpatchable, potent, fundamental bug in USB devices; the tension only heightened when sourcecode for an exploit went live last week.

John Kane, who'd lost a fortune to Video King machines, discovered a subtle bug that let him win big — so the casinos put him in handcuffs.

Michael sez, "As a volunteer climate change campaigner, over the years I've seen a number of lists of things people can do about climate change. They're often unconvincing."

If there's one thing Scott McCloud is better at than making comics, it's explaining comics, which makes him the best possible editor for this year's Best American Comics. McCloud's volume is surprising, delightful, diverse, brave and endlessly wonderful.

I've written here before about the marvellous, versatile, eclectic London indie band — and now I'm delighted to support the Kickstarter for their new double-album.

The eye-popping stat comes from Philip J Cook's 2007 booze-economics book Paying the Tab.