Boing Boing: August 11, 2006 Archives

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August 11, 2006

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3D prints of World of Warcraft avatars

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 11:46 PM | permalink

A World of Warcraft player has had her/his favorite character -- a gnome -- run off a Zcorp 3D printer. You could do a land office business if you could make these into articulated action figures, produced on demand for WoW freaks who want to immortalize their Level 60-mitzvah with a figurine. Link (via Futurismic)

Update: Pyrogenique sez, "At E3, anyone who went to Will Wright’s presentation on Spore saw 3D printouts of Spore creatures lovingly displayed in the presentation room. You'll be able to order color 3D models of the creatures and buildings you create in the game. Obviously the release of this game will bring with it the end of Western civilization."

Schwarzenegger sends Guard to California's airports

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 11:22 PM | permalink

Governor Schwarzenneger has deployed 300 National Guardswomen and men to California's airports to ensure that if liquid/gel/iPod terrorists escape from a British prison and fly to San Diego (without blowing up the plane), and then get off and start hijacking the entire airport, they can be shot.

"I can assure the people of California that we're doing everything to keep them safe and to return our airports to normal operations as quickly as possible," he said. "We need the public's help and their patience."

To make the state's airports more normal, it is necessary to first make them extraordinary and abnormal by filling them with armed, nervous teenagers.

I see.

Link (via Making Light)

Update: Sharon sez, "the Governator may have done that, but the city of Oakland has decided this is a political ploy and has turned down the offer of National Guardswomen & men for the Oakland Airport. Glad I live here in Oakland."

Merciless primate teases dog

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 4:51 PM | permalink

Picture 6-4

I'm sure Whiplash would never taunt his trusty mount like the naughty simian in this short video clip. Link

posted in:

Fake anti-Net Neutrality groups

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 3:42 PM | permalink

CommonCause has released its second list (the first list) of fake anti-Net-Neutrality activist groups created by big cable and phone companies that want to screw us by charging three times for every packet -- once for your DSL, once for Google (or whomever's) data-center, and a third time for the privilege of "guaranteed delivery" between the two. As Craig Newmark put it, it's as though the phone company had a preferred pizza vendor that you could always get through to, while the others' numbers went through a rock-tumbler and a random-number-generator before you were connected to them.

* Hands Off the Internet
* TV4US
* NetCompetition.org
* The Future... Faster
* Video Access Alliance

Link (via Making Light)

World to end on Aug. 22, 2006

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 3:29 PM | permalink

Crispinus says: "Here, in an op-ed piece for the WSJ, eminent Mideast Scholar Bernard Lewis suggests Iranian President Ahmadinejad might have a belligerent response in mind for Aug 22 of this year, the date he has chosen for giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development. Lewis wonders whether the answer might be an nuclear attack or some other apocalyptic gesture, since the date corresponds with an Islamic holy day.

"Maybe you should let BB readers know, as a public service.

"What's also interesting here is that the web and the blogosphere (right and left) have been all over this notion for some time -- just Google 'August 22, 2006' with 'Iran' and see for yourself -- and the notion has been marginalized for being considered in electronic media. But now that the WSJ gets involved the story gains steam."

What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to "the farthest mosque," usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind.
A passage from the Ayatollah Khomeini, quoted in an 11th-grade Iranian schoolbook, is revealing. "I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them. Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another's hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours."
In this context, mutual assured destruction, the deterrent that worked so well during the Cold War, would have no meaning. At the end of time, there will be general destruction anyway. What will matter will be the final destination of the dead--hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers. For people with this mindset, MAD is not a constraint; it is an inducement.

Link

Blu-Ray Drives won't play Blu-Ray discs

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 3:29 PM | permalink

Sony's new Blu-Ray ~~equipped PlayStations~~ drives won't be able to play Blu-Ray DVD movies, because they couldn't meet all the requirements set out by the cartel that controls Blu-Ray DRM.

Vincent Bautista, Sony's product manager for data storage, told CNET.com.au that due to copy protection issues and lagging software development, the drive will only play user-recorded high-definition content from a digital camcorder, and not commercial movies released under the BD format.
Bautista says that one of two reasons for this is the fact that commercial content is encrypted with High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), which can only be decrypted using a HDCP-compliant graphics card that offers DVI or HDMI connections. Since there are currently no PCs for sale offering graphics chips that support HDCP, this isn't yet possible.

Link (via /.)

Update: I misread the original article; it's Sony's drives, not Playstations, that won't play Blu-Rays.

Can Laura Bush pack lipstick onto Air Force One?

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 3:24 PM | permalink

Here's a question: Does Tony Blair get to bring his laptop on his government plane? Can Laura Bush keep her lipstick with her on Air Force One? Does Dick Cheney take off his shoes and get them x-rayed before he flies? How about Condi Rice's knee-high lace-up boots? Is her mission to Israel delayed while she tries to re-lace them while balancing her laptop bag on one shoulder and trying to get her watch back on?

It seems to me like our glorious leaders are pretty good at setting out the "minor inconveniences" that the rest of us have to put up with, but when was the last time you heard of any of them enduring the same measures?

Now, GW Bush may say, "But I'm no terrorist! Why shouldn't I be able to bring my hip-flask onto Air Force One with me?" But I'm no terrorist either. I don't see why the man should be exempt from his own rules. If it's sauce for the goose, it's sauce for the butcher.

These people tell us that these are the necessary austerity measures in the extraordinary times. If FDR told us to fast on Wednesdays and turn our furnaces off on Fridays to help the war effort, I’d expect him to do the same, even if he had a bunker full of canned goods and his own private free energy heater. As far as I can tell, 100 percent of the "security measures" to "fight terrorism" apply to 0 percent of the people who makes those decisions.

Update: Via Randomness blog, the Not a Terrorist card. Probably about as effective at stopping terrorists as CAPPS II.

Could the liquid threat be hydrogen cyanide?

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 2:47 PM | permalink

Wagner James Au says:

"Andrew Sullivan has an interesting take on [this], derived from Ron Suskind's recent book One-Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11, (which is, it's worth pointing out, generally and scathingly critical of the Bush administration):
Why liquids? What were these weapons? One possibility is hydrogen cyanide. Ron Suskind's book revealed the terrorist breakthrough in a device called a "mubtakkar" that can be easily concealed in a carry-on bag and once detonated, kills everyone in a confined space within minutes. It's a variant of the Zyklon B innovated by the Nazis.

"Takeaway: just because TSA staff are incompetently dumping passenger liquids in public doesn't mean there's not a legit concern here."

From the Wikipedia entry on Mubtakkar:

The mubtakkar is described as a small binary chemical device that would generate large amounts of hydrogen cyanide gas, which could potentially kill hundreds in an enclosed space. The components contained in two separate containers would not be lethal to humans if individually released, so these bombs can be assembled, stored, and transported without appreciable danger. However, when the device is put into operation it releases large quantities of a lethal gas.

So, it appears that dumping liquids together into the same bin in a crowded airport is just about the worst thing the TSA could be doing right now. Why not leave them in their containers? Link

Machinima film-festival open for submissions

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 2:42 PM | permalink

Paul sez, "The Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences has announced this year's Machinima Festival, taking place once again at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, on November 4th 5th, 2006. The Academy has also announced its call for entries for this year's Machinima Awards (the Mackies) which will awarded on the evening of November 4th. Deadline for entries is Sept. 22nd!"

Machinima movies are made by creating custom characters and levels in 3D video games, then moving the characters around, recording screen-movies, and adding in audio afterward. Link (Thanks, Paul!)

HOWTO fold a bottle opener out of paper

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 2:39 PM | permalink

Check out this boozy origami videa: a means of folding a piece of paper into a working beer-bottle opener. Link (Thanks, Garrett!)

Laptop sleeves like monster muppets

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 2:36 PM | permalink

I love these fuzzy, made-to-order laptop sleeves that look like monster-muppets and have a red, fanged mouth that yawns open when the sleeve is lifted. Link (Thanks, Realmwalker1!)

Hayden Christensen to star in film of Gould's "Jumper"

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 2:31 PM | permalink

There's a feature film being made out of Jumper, one of the best science fiction adventure novels I've ever read. Jumper is a textbook example of how to do sf adventure right: get a great conceit (a kid can teleport to any place he can visualize), work out some of the science implications (going from sealevel to a mountaintop can blow out your eardrums), the social implications (live in NYC, but jump to Disney World every morning to get a couple rides in before the crowds get thick), and the family implications (what would you do to your abusive alky dad if you were a 17-year-old teleport runaway?) -- throw it all together with one of the most memorable characters this side of Daniel Pinkwater, and you've got a fantastic novel.

Please, Hollywood, I know you and I don't get along, but I'd consider it a personal favor if you could make the film version not suck!

Star Wars' Hayden Christensen will star in Jumper, Regency Enterprises' big-budget SF thriller being directed by Doug Liman, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Regency has partnered with 20th Century Fox to finance the production, which sources told the trade paper is budgeted in the $100 million range.

Link

See also: Reflex: brilliant, page-turning sequel to Jumper (Thanks, Owen!)

Medley of Internet meme songs like All Your Base and Badger

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 2:31 PM | permalink

The Interweb Medley is a mega-mix of twelve maddeningly catchy Internet meme songs, from the Hamster Dance to All Your Base to Bananaphone to Badger Badger Badger. Listen and be earwormed. Link

Wikipedia's template language is Turing-complete

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 2:26 PM | permalink

Wikipedia's template system allows sophiticated users to greatly automate their most-common tasks -- and this automation has grown so complex that the template language can now be considered a full-fledged programming language:

This led us to hypothesize that Wikimedia’s template language had becoming Turing complete (the technical jargon for a full-powered programming language). We started digging and eventually were rewarded with recursive template substitution, which appears, at least at first glance, to be sufficient to implement the lambda calculus, and thereby perform as a Turing complete functional language. Hence, Wikimedia proves the Strong interpretation of Greenspun’s Tenth Rule: any sufficiently advanced system will contain a functional programming language. (Which, by the way, it appears I’ll have to Wikialize once I’m done this post…)

Link (Thanks, Alex!)

Threadless tee design a tribute to the NES and Miyamoto

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 2:20 PM | permalink

This Threadless t-shirt design, entitled "Also Sprach Miyamoto," is as fine and loving a tribute to the NES, genius game-designer Shigeru Miyamoto (not to mention Stanley Kubrick) as I've seen. Link (via Wonderland)

Terrorists fund attacks using coupons

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 1:51 PM | permalink

From Deal Dude:

Since at least 1986, the FBI has been tracking down U.S.-based terrorists who fraudulently redeem Sunday newspaper grocery coupons to fund attacks. During the trial of the men who bombed the World Trade Center in 1992, investigators claimed that U.S.-based cells had raised $100 million by processing coupons through stores they owned in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia. According to one report, about $500 million worth of the $3.8 billion in coupons distributed each year are redeemed fraudulently. For more details, see Ben Johnson Jacobson's 1998 testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committiee on Terrorism and Technology.
In 2006 Jacobson wrote us with an update: "Coupons are still a means of financial support for terror cells operating within the U.S. This has been demonstrated over the past few years by various arrests of terrorist sympathizers within the U.S. who have used grocery coupons to finance their activities."

Link

Fake obituaries for spam names

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 1:46 PM | permalink

William Ridenhour, a chef-in-training, has a blog where he writes fake obituaries for those charmingly odd names found in the reply-to fields of spam.

Wreaks Q. Blurt 1910-2006
Wreaks Q. Blurt was born in Boise, Idaho in 1910. Possibly the unluckiest man in the whole of the state he went from mishap to mishap with alarming regularity. At high school he was riding his skateboard when he hit a stray yak that had escaped from the city zoo. Much to the amazement of his friends Wreaks did his first ever 360 with the yak’s help. It would have been an unheard of 720 had it not been for the flagpole. His teeth shot out with great velocity, a wisdom tooth breaking a window of the school, while an incisor ending up in the school mascot Pinky.
His wedding ceremony to Cynthia Snodgrass ran the whole range of calamities. Cynthia fainted at the altar, Wreaks fell into the cake, his aunty fell over dancing and showed her knickers and the horse hired for them to ride off into the sunset bolted. This was all good news for Wreaks’ brother, the lucky one of the family, who ended up minted after selling the video footage to You’ve Been Framed for a Blurt special.
Wreaks’ death came as a result of a drive-by shouting, a problem that is the scourge of Boise nowadays. A red Chevy cruised slowly alongside him one day, the teenagers inside started shouting insults on the way. Wreaks was so startled at this that he ran straight onto the railway lines. Luckily for him there was no train coming. However in his relief at realising this he failed to see the herd of stampeding buffalo.

Link

More man made objects left on the Moon

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 1:27 PM | permalink

Karl Tate says:

I was pleased to see your entry showing the little figurine that was deposited on the Moon. There are also various medallions and souvenirs which have been placed by the various Apollo astronauts.
Perhaps the most poignant personal artifact left on the lunar surface was a Polaroid photograph, deposited by Charlie Duke on Apollo 16. According to NASA the picture was "taken by Loudy Benjamin, is shrink-wrapped and contains a message on the back which reads 'This is the family of Astronaut Duke from Planet Earth. Landed on the Moon, April 1972.' Underneath the message are the signatures of his wife and kids. (NASA Photo AS16-117-18841.)"

Link

Reader comment: Karl adds:

Markus Mehring has an essay on this photo at Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, along with a rectifed closeup version of the picture. And here's Duke's photo in context with the other photos on the same Hasselblad roll.

Cartoonist challenge: illustrated A-Z in an hour

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 1:15 PM | permalink

Ape Lad says:

Here's a fun little project I concocted this evening that might be fun for other flickrers/cartoonists/people with too much time on their hands to try. I drew and colored an alphabet over the space of an hour. It's kinda challenging.

Link

Felt Club craft fair at Meltdown in LA this Saturday

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 1:13 PM | permalink

Images Fc 295X130

I hope to see you at the cool Los Angeles craft fair called Felt Club this Saturday!

Saturday, AUGUST 12, 11am-6pm
@ Meltdown Comics
7522 W Sunset Blvd. (btw LaBrea & Fairfax)
Los Angeles, CA 90029
ph: 323-851-7223

Update on the World's Fair Puzzle Fantastica

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 1:06 PM | permalink

200608111306

This is an update to the World's Fair Puzzle Fantastica.

Dave and Ben at the World's Fair say:

In short, the conjecture put forth so far has been amazing. Who would have thought that the 5 clues would provide such a bevy of conjecture, with adjectives that range from surreal, elaborate, tidy, silly, ingenius, and confusing? We've had about 200 contributions and near 10,000 folks pass through for a look see, and we are suitably impressed.
So impressed, that we felt the conjecture needed to be shown graphically, and presented as what we think is intellectually and aesthetically something beautiful to look at.
Except that the answer still hasn't been found. And in truth, we also seek some guidance on our next move. Perhap we can even leave a small clue right here at boingboing.net -- that is just to say that "If you get it, you'll know you got it."

Link

Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 11, 2006 11:38 AM | permalink

Last night, I posted a photo of a monkey dressed in cowboy clothes, riding a dog. This morning, Jason Wishnow told me that the monkey is known as "Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey" and he has a web site with his touring schedule. Sadly, he won't be performing in California this year, so I won't be able watch him perform.

Whiplash the Cowboy monkey is truly a fan favorite, he is an international star and a true cowboy. He is an 18 yr old Capuchin Monkey and he is one of the biggest little monkeys in the world. Whiplash has been riding since he was two yrs old and has been a part of our family since he was born. Whiplash travels the country herding up wild Barbados sheep at rodeos and special events. His riding ability is unmatched and his herding skills unchallenged but Whiplash never misses a chance to show his monkey heritage as he rides the dog he will pull the saddle from side to side and even hang off to one side mimicking an Indian hideaway.

Whiplash's owner looks very kind. Link

Reader comment:

Matt says:

Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey appears in commercials for the Taco John's restaurant chain. Here is one on YouTube.

posted in:

NPR - Hacking the Himalayas part 4: Leaving "Lhasa Vegas"

Posted by Xeni Jardin, August 11, 2006 5:30 AM | permalink

The final episode of "Hacking the Himalayas," my four-part series for NPR "Day to Day" about technology and the Tibetan diaspora, is now online. Link to archived audio and multimedia extras.

Many Tibetan refugees, including the Dalai Lama himself, settled in northern India after communist China invaded what it considered to be part of its territory beginning in 1950.
For years, Tibet has been a difficult place to get to for most Westerners, because of visa restrictions -- though these rules may soon be eased to facilitate tourism, according to a recent announcement by a communist party leader in Tibet. And tourists to Lhasa, the capital and ancient heart of Tibetan Buddhism, might find two very different cities.
Inside what's known as the Tibetan Quarter, the timeless rituals of faith unfold. At the ornate, massive Jokhang Temple in the heart of the quarter, visitors are greeted with the sights and sounds of prostrating pilgrims. They stretch flat on the ground, then rise up, palms clasped in prayer. The stone beneath is polished smooth from centuries of this devotional gesture. The towering Potala Palace, the Dalai Lama's former residence, dominates the horizon.
But just a short rickshaw drive away, a different world unfolds. Outside the Tibetan Quarter, Lhasa feels more like a modern Chinese city, full of blasting electronic music and looped recordings of shop-barkers, beckoning shoppers to come in and spend. The pace of change has never been faster than in the last decade.

Link to "Leaving Lhasa Vegas." Audio archive of today's episode, the last in this four-part series, will be available after 12PM PT, along with multimedia extras and photo slideshow.

New posts on the "reporter's notebook" blog for this project:
China may abolish travel permit requirement for Tibet

Image: A young Tibetan woman outside the Jokhang temple on the eve of Saga Dawa, the annual religious festival honoring the birth of Buddha. 2006, Xeni Jardin.

Previously:

Part 1: The Gaddi People of Dharamsala

Part 2: Connecting Tibet's Exile Community Via the Web

Part 3: A Wireless Network for 'Little Lhasa'

(special thanks to Rob Sachs and Alicia Montgomery, my producer and editor at NPR "Day to Day;" to Hutch; but most of all -- to Dr. M.X. Quetzalkanbalam, who graciously allowed me to accompany him on his trek, who conceived of this project, directed it, and made it all possible.)

Horror fiction podcast "PseudoPod" launches

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 5:15 AM | permalink

The folks behind the amazing science fiction story podcast Escape Pod have launched a sister publication devoted to horror fiction, called Pseudo Pod. Escape Pod is one podcast that I listen to as soon as a new episode comes out -- and one that always leaves me panting for more great fiction when it's done. I'm delighted to have another 'cast to subscribe to! Link (Thanks, Mur!)

Brooklyn's corpse flower is blooming

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 5:11 AM | permalink

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden's gigantic "corpse flower" is in the middle of one of its rare bloomings. You can watch it unfold via a webcam -- though you can't smell the incredible stench it gives off, thankfully. Link (Thanks, Francis!)

Indian court demands formula for pesticide-filled Coke

Posted by Cory Doctorow, August 11, 2006 5:07 AM | permalink

The Indian high court has ordered Coke and Pepsi to produce the formulas for their soft-drinks, on the back of a report that says that Pepsi contains 30 times the amount of pesticide reported in 2003, while Coke's level has gone up 25-fold.

The report, published on Wednesday, caused a row in India's lower house, where MPs from across the political spectrum brandished its findings as reason enough to ban the sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. "These companies are playing with the lives of millions and we can't ignore such warnings any more," said Vijay Kumar Malhotra, from the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which staged a walkout over the issue .
It is not the first time Coca-Cola and Pepsi have found themselves mired in controversy in India. They are regular whipping boys for politicians who regard Western food products as a threat to Indian heritage, although sceptics suggest that their opposition has more to do with the companies' virtual monopoly of the market than genuinely held feelings of cultural protectionism.

Link

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