Boing Boing is proud to welcome EST Gear as a sponsor!

Finding great tools is difficult, but this awesome shovel from EST Gear is said to be the world’s most capable camping and adventure tool and we can see why because, wherever your journeys take you, it’s not going to let you down and it can get you out of a fix or two.

With The EST Shovel Multi-Tool you’ll be prepared for anything. This packable lifesaving survival tool is ideal for any camping adventure. Plus, the EST shovel is easy to keep anywhere, such as your car, truck or your bug-out bag. Featuring 18 tools in one, it combines a shovel, ax, saw, spear, knife, fire starter, wire-cutter and nail puller. It also features a bottle opener, whistle, compass and more. Made of 420 hardened-steel, the reinforced shovel head is strong enough for any situation and the military-grade aluminum handle makes the multipurpose adventure tool lightweight and easy to use.

You can save 50% off when you pre-order on indiegogo, the campaign is already over 250% funded and it ships in June. Read the rest

This post was sponsored by Glowforge. Click here to get $100 off a Glowforge Basic, $250 off a Glowforge Plus, or $500 off a Glowforge Pro.

This is the second of two videos on how to make a Raspberry Pi based tabletop retro-video game arcade machine. (Here's the first.)

Once we bought the components and made sure everything worked it was time to design and cut the cabinet.

Any graphics program will work with the Glowforge. You can even use a hand-drawn image because the Glowforge has a built-in camera that scans your drawings and converts them to cutting, scoring, and engraving lines.

Cutting

Once we had a design we liked, we uploaded it to the Glowforge app. It’s as easy as dragging and dropping the image file onto the page, then placing the design on the photo of the material You can move the images around the material in order to fit multiple components onto the same piece of stock.

The first prototype we made had sharp corners, and they poked into our palms when we used the buttons and joystick. So for our second design, we used a living hinge, which is a cool way to bend wood. With these kinds of hinges, you can make beautiful and functional things.

Customization

The Glowforge not only cuts material, it also engraves designs - even photos - in high resolution. We engraved one of our favorite characters  -- Q*Bert, the famous cussing cube-hopper. And my daughter and I took a cue from the original Macintosh team and engraved our names on the inside of the cabinet. Read the rest

[This post is sponsored by Glowforge. To get $100 off a Glowforge Basic, $250 off a Glowforge Plus, or $500 off a Glowforge Pro use the link glowforge.com/boingboing.]

My 15-year-old daughter and I love retro video games. We often go a retro video game arcade in Pasadena, California, and we also play a lot of computer games from the 1980s and 1990s. We thought it would be fun to build a dedicated machine at home that we could use to play these retro games.

After a bit of online searching, we found out it’s easy to use a Raspberry Pi, which is a $35 single board computer the size of a credit card, along with a free Linux based operating system called RetroPie that has emulators for every arcade and console imaginable. We could use a Raspberry Pi and RetroPie to play every arcade game we want. And with our Glowforge laser cutter, we could easily make an arcade cabinet for ourselves as well quickly make them for friends and family.

In this 2-part video series, which was underwritten by our friends at Glowforge, I’m going to show you how we did it.

Parts and Materials

First, we bought all the parts and materials we needed to make the cabinet. We got a Raspberry Pi Model 3 B+, a 32GB MicroSD card, a power supply, a 10-inch HDMI monitor, a set of arcade buttons and a joystick, a pair of speakers, some cables and a box of various machine screws and nuts and standoffs. Read the rest

The following is a sponsored post produced by WIRED Brand Lab for Hennessy.

Joy Buolamwini is a poet.

But she isn’t the kind of poet who fills journals with purple prose hoping to some day be published in an obscure literary magazine. Instead, the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League is a self-proclaimed “poet of code” who combines engineering with powerful language and compelling performance to ask urgent social questions of tomorrow’s technology.

In July, Buolamwini was invited by Hennessy to be one of the bright minds visiting company headquarters in Cognac, France, as part of a celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège. And this was a party with a purpose.

Hennessy gathered masters in arts and design, science, technology, music and entertainment, business, aerospace, and the culinary arts for a series of conversations, workshops, and experiences to explore a single question: What is the future of mastery? How does poetry in code relate to the intuition, skill, and tradition flowing through Hennessy’s own distilleries?

Part of the answer is in Buolamwini’s moniker, which juxtaposes the art of poetry with the applied science and research of code. This is also where Hennessy’s mastery lies, in the realm between unquantifiable yet perfect taste—and an expertise in using all technology has in order to offer to iterate and improve.

Buolamwini uses poetry and science in a very distinctive and important way: “I use art alongside rigorous technical research to highlight overlooked ways AI can inadvertently propagate stereotypes of gender and race and other kinds of discrimination,” she says. Read the rest

Boing Boing is proud to welcome Outvote.io as a sponsor.

Want to get Dems and progressives elected in the 2018 midterm elections? In 5 minutes? From your couch? There’s an app for that.

The majority of registered voters missed the last midterm. Unsurprisingly, most people won’t admit it. Young people are the worst when it comes to pretending that they’ve voted.

So how can we get people into the voting booth this November? It turns out that reminding your friends to vote is surprisingly effective.

The bottom line is that people trust their friends. If your longtime pal tells you something about a candidate, you’re much more likely to trust their opinion than a TV ad. In fact, during the 2018 primaries, friends that got a single text via Outvote became 10% more likely to vote.

The Outvote app shows you which of your contacts have missed a recent election by matching them to publicly available voting data provided by the state they live in. It then makes it easy to send reminders to everyone that needs them.

The app will even tell you which of your friends live in the critical swing districts that are needed to take back the House this November.

The average person has about 500 contacts. You could easily have 50 votes sitting in your pocket that aren’t going to show up unless you text them.

MoveOn, Swing Left, Flippable and Democratic State Parties across the country are all using Outvote to get Democrats and progressives to the polls this year. Read the rest

Boing Boing is proudly sponsored by David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs!

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Bullshit Jobs.

Is your job bullshit?

David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, analyzes the rise of the menial, hapless, unfulfilling jobs and their consequences.

There are millions of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs. Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation.

Enter here to win a free copy of David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs! Read the rest

Boing Boing is proud to welcome Wellbots as a sponsor!

DJI Spark is the best and most affordable drone on the market. It has a sophisticated design, latest technology and can serve all of your amateur or consumer based purposes. Spark is super easy to fly and shoot incredible videos. Check it out right there! (link: https://www.wellbots.com/dji-spark-mini-drone/)

Don’t forget to look at the combo pack to get the full range of accessories: smart flight battery, charging hub, propeller guards…

If you’re feeling like flying, let us help with a $30 coupon using the code BOING30.

For the DJI Spark Fly More Combo, with the code BOING40, users get $40 off.

The DJI Spark on Wellbots! Read the rest

What’s the next step in your career? If it’s landing a better job, you need to start growing your network to make sure that when the ideal position opens up, you're the first name that comes to mind. If you aspire to be your own boss or run a business, you need to meet the right people to help you, such as cofounders or marketing gurus. If you have no idea what your dream career path is, maybe it’s time to start meeting other interesting professionals and get inspired by their trajectories. No matter where you see yourself in five years, one thing is clear: you will need help and inspiration from other professionals to get there. Luckily for you, there is an easy way to start making the right connections for your career.

Shapr is a free app that makes networking simple. It connects people based on their interests, skills, and professional goals, facilitating useful conversations with potential mentors, future colleagues, and collaborators.

The way the app works is deceptively easy. Every day, members of the Shapr community are algorithmically matched with a few relevant people who share their interests or career paths. Then, you can swipe to either connect or pass. If you connect, Shapr will initiate a chat, encouraging you and your new connection to meet up for lunch or coffee. It’s simple, fast and efficient, and you can build a meaningful network in a few swipes a day.

“This app is a game changer,” says Sarah Yuro, an entrepreneur based in Atlanta. Read the rest

Boing Boing welcomes our new sponsor Hydrosys!

Having great success keeping that fern in the corner of your apartment alive? Thinking you might want to step up your gardening game, but have no outdoor space? Afraid your neighbors might object to what you are growing in those buckets on your deck? Relax. Things just got a whole lot easier...

Growing things at home is fun, safe, and doesn't have to be complicated! Hydrosys hydro- and aeroponic kits can help you become a master indoor farmer with ease! Ten or fifteen years ago it was enough to brew your own beer, now if you want to be cool you probably need to cultivate your own hops.

Hydrosys stocks and sells, everything you might need to start growing anything you could possibly imagine, like really almost anything... maybe tomatoes? Or some basil? Perhaps you may even grow some mandrake root!

Small home kits can throw off a bounty of salad fixings, flowers or other things that might entertain your guests. I am considering growing a crop of wheat and baking my own bread.

Seriously, Hydrosys has an incredible selection of gear for whatever your needs may be. If you are planning a small tabletop hydroponic selection of spices, or want to start your own cartel in your garage, Hydosys has you covered. They sell everything, even media and nutrients, irrigation systems, and seedling nurseries, Hydrosys is your online any-kind-of-plant you wanna grow hydro- and aeroponic superstore.

Based in merry old London Town, in the UK, Hydrosys ships from a warehouse in beautiful Spain. Read the rest

Boing Boing proudly welcomes our newest sponsor, Toothstars!

Sure draining the blood from an innocent is a heck of a lot of fun, but it really stains your teeth. If you want to stalk prey on the streets of a major metropolitan center you will need to hide the demon that lives inside you by keeping your smile pearly white. You need Toothstars!

Toothstars has a massive library of information that can help whiten and brighten any smile, even yours you blood sucking, awful monster. Coffee? Nicotine? O+? Toothstars has a solution, and chances are it will work. There is an entire blog of tips, tricks and secret methods to hide even the most outward signs of your dark secret. Try all their DIY tooth whitening, teeth cleaning, and dental hygiene recommendations. You can also read detailed reviews of dental hygiene and tooth care tools, like water picks, sonic tooth brushes and floss! There is nothing these Toothstars won't try!

You have already tried all of those suggestions? Your teeth are permanently the muddy brown of a vein puncturing immortal? Guess what? The super stars at Toothstars have created an incredible directory of licensed and certified dental care professionals. Read reviews, consider locations and find a doctor that suits your needs. While they do not specifically indicate which dentists happily service the undead, simply use your supernatural eye sight to read between the lines.

Additionally, Toothstars employs a huge team of experts to review and rate dental care products. Which floss is flossiest? Read the rest

Boing Boing proudly welcomes our new sponsor, LIWTS!

One of the positive trends sweeping the nation appears to be marijuana legalization! Regardless how you feel about the state of the world, it is nice that marijuana is becoming more and more available to help you cope with whatever ails you.

Marijuana, THC and CBD are fast becoming recognized as very effective in treating pain, appetite, anxiety, insomnia and even cancer, but there is a lot of quackery out there. Where do you look? Who do you trust? Who really knows what is what in the world of weed?

LIWTS is looking to become your source for news, reviews and stories about this budding new world!

Full of reviews of the latest, and greatest, vaporizers, strains, oils, edibles and awesome snacks, Legalize It We Think So has dedicated itself to being the go-to site for your marijuana and THC related content.  There are forums for discussion and advice, a head shop full of toys and tools, and news about legalization efforts around the world. A quick glance at the entertainment sections shows everything from specialty weed to enhance female orgasms, to which cheese grants you a pot-like high. LIWTS covers all the bases.

You can also use their strain database to find out more about that flower you wanted to grow, or if that indication will put you out instead of just make the couch really comfortable.

Unlike myriad other MMJ/THC sites, LIWTS treats their audience as marijuana enthusiasts who want to be informed, rather than raging stoners thrilled every time someone flies a cannabis leaf flag! Read the rest

Boing Boing proudly welcomes our new sponsor Eversign: Legally binding electronic signatures at work, at home or on the go!

Taking your company paperless is a wonderful goal, but without a fantastic electronic signature system you will create problems faster than you solve them. Enter Eversign!

Eversign is a full-suite electronic document management system non-pariel! Beyond merely allowing you to identify signature blocks on documents, and securely send documents to another signing party, Eversign adds a world of features and integration. So many features you'll be kinda shocked this is just a document signing service!

Eversign easily manages any document. From simple agreements for your first born to complex documents with long lists of signators. Documents can be signed serially, or in parallel, enabling folks to sign in a precise order if desired, just like the Lesser Key of Solomon requires.

Documents can be signed with any device, and in-person signing options also exist for times when you and a colleague want to mutually execute a document in the field! The second your client agrees to that crazy idea? Get them to sign on your phone right there! The only signing option Eversign seems to lack is blood.

Eversign also allows users to type, upload, or draw their thoroughly authenticated and unique digital signatures. Forget cursive! Want to use a sketch of your favorite 70s Saturday morning cartoon character superimposed with an image of the devil? That is your legally binding signature now, baby!

Eversign is also packed with conveniences like document editing, when you need to correct a last minute mistake, contact management and document management databases. Read the rest

Happy Mutants! All hail Boing Boing’s new sponsor Herbtools!

Ever wonder why J. R. "Bob" Dobbs wears that perpetual smile? It's the habifropzipulops mariphasa lupina in his pipe. When smoked, this remarkable herb, which grows on yeti droppings in Tibet, succeeds where science fails: removing the terror of the The Gods.

When that fear grabs you, grab a bong o' 'frop, my friend!

Bikini bongs not only offer a shortcut to Slack, they look great too! Let other natty psychonauts know you’re flying the flag of cognitive freedom, right in the middle of your very own living room, cell, or bathysphere on the floor of the Marianas Trench! Bongs are great for attracting fellow Discordians, Happy Mutants, and SubGenii, as well as scaring off the pinks and gorps.

Some find power in their bong! Legend has it that Yog-Sothoth, his own bad self, hit the 'frop from a bong fashioned from a yeti skull.

Well mannered 'frop-heads know that being cool is the rule! Revel in your Slack. Embody it. Feel the vibrations of the universe as you vigorously bubble fumes of Klaatu himself though the wondrous head of a grey overlord! Remember your youth, or your future, with a Bikini bong! I know I left mine around here some place...

Remember, with frop as with everything: too much is always better than not enough!

Herbtools has amazing bongs! Read the rest

I have a soft spot for crapgadgets. During my first stretch living in Silicon Valley, one of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday was to get a friend to drive me to Fry's and just buy a whole whack of stuff from the impulse aisle: stuff that some optimistic entrepreneur had made an unsuccessful bet on, sold off to a jobber, who then split it into lots that were sold on to import/export places that eventually dumped it into Fry's: black-and-white digital cameras without a viewfinder (I called it the "point-and-pray"); stuffed bootleg Windows 2000 logo plushies; digital walkie-talkies that looked like the Incredible Hulk.

Boing Boing is sponsored in part by Meh.

Our sponsor Meh is a daily deals site that deals in a wide range of gadgets, gizmos, geegaws, widgets, stuff, gear, goods, and, of course, things. Recently, they sent me a big box of items they've previously sold for me to "review." But before I even got a chance to open the package, my ten-year-old son had torn into it, tried out each item (for at least one minute), and formed strong opinions that I will now share with you. -dp

Ion Audio Vinyl Motion Portable Suitcase Turntable: "I collect vinyl, and I can tell you that as a rule, new turntables that sell for less than $100 are crap. This one is surprisingly much better than the crappy ones that most people end up buying. The Ion turntable is actually a great bang for your buck, especially if you're playing $1 bin records that you don't care too much about."

Evriholder Beer Chill'R Mug: "I don't drink beer, but even if I did... this thing is stupid."

Haan HandiPro HS-22 Hand Held Steam Cleaner: "I guess this could be useful for cleaning up cat pee from rugs and other messes. But it would be better modded into a Ghostbusters Proton Pack for Halloween."

Banana Boat Rechargeable Wireless Floating Sound System: "This waterproof bluetooth speaker sounds good, but unfortunately we don't have a pool. I am listening to the new Green Day album in the bathtub though. So that's pretty cool."

"Overall, this was an OK haul.

Read the rest

Boing Boing is proudly sponsored in part by Meh.

Our sponsor Meh is a cool daily deals site that doesn't over-promise, but delivers thoughtfully curated mostly cheap off-brand gadgets. Read the rest

Boing Boing proudly welcomes our sponsor, Meh.

I was completely unprepared for how disappointed I was going to be with my random box of crap from Meh.

The folks at Meh told me I didn't have to like anything they sent. Dave told me over and over, it is ok if we hate the stuff. Having tried out most of what they sent me, I can safely say I was entertained, then frustrated, scared, confused, frustrated again, kinda bored and slightly angry. A box of crap indeed!

When I opened the cardboard box, I still thought maybe I'd get something really great. I didn't think this was impossible! I'd seen some items listed that I was sure would be a lot of fun to play with. Right on top, first thing out of the box was something I thought would be great: the CAP Clip-A-Phone!

This looked like a lot of fun! A SmartPhone mount for the brim of a baseball cap? What could go wrong? I grabbed an old hat, some hair clips and my Great Pyrenees. Amazing fun, right? I envisioned a hilarious Dog's Eye view of the world revealed through a camera clipped to my best friend's head. Luckily I didn't destroy my phone.

CAP turns your hat into an unbalanced weight dangling just above your face. There is no way a dog, even with lots of hair clips, and a bandana tied over his head holding it on, could walk with it on. Putting the hat on my 9 year old daughter allowed my phone to drop about 3 1/2 feet to the ground, luckily, the hat and clip protected it from taking the brunt of the fall. Read the rest