"The reactions we received from the prisoners who participated in the classes were very varied, ranging from completely positive to completely negative," Mr Hagen reportedly wrote in a letter to the group.

On the negative side, the yoga had provoked "strong reactions: agitation, aggression, irritability, trouble sleeping and mental confusion", he said.

(Image: Yoga Baby, a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike image from Autumn's Flickr stream)

However, the government's files hint at a tantalizing mystery: In the middle of the war game, someone quietly attacked the very computers used to conduct the exercise. Perplexed organizers traced the incident to overzealous players and sent everyone an urgent e-mail marked "IMPORTANT!" reminding them not to probe or attack the game computers.

"Any time you get a group of (information technology) experts together, there's always a desire, 'Let's show them what we can do,'" said George Foresman, a former senior Homeland Security official who oversaw Cyber Storm. "Whether its intent was embarrassment or a prank, we had to temper the enthusiasm of the players."

My wife hated having the old ugly tower case in our living room, and I really wanted to do something special for my HTPC. So when my mother law was heading up to Chicago to stop by Ikea I saw my chance. This is a Pentium 4 HT 3.2ghz, 2gb ddr2, 500gb HD, ATI HD2600 w/DVI-HDMI adaptor, audio is DTS through digital coaxial. Right now I'm just running XP, while trying to pin down my favorite Media Center front end. I decided to go with no input devices. NO KEYBOARD, NO MOUSE. I use VNC via either my Nokia 770 tablet, or our laptop. The Nokia makes a great remote control using VNC. If anyone has any questions at all just let me know, this is my first instructable :). Oh! One thing that's not in the pictures is that I ended up having to add some 1/8 inch holes in the pattern of a fan intake above the processor so more air can be pulled in.

The characters, stories and themes remain the same. Only the setting has changed – to a futuristic world of robots, aliens and advanced technology!

Or consider hiccups. Spasms in our diaphragms, hiccups are triggered by electric signals generated in the brain stem. Amphibian brain stems emit similar signals, which control the regular motion of their gills. Our brain stems, inherited from amphibian ancestors, still spurt out odd signals producing hiccups that are, according to Shubin, essentially the same phenomenon as gill breathing. Similarly, modern lifestyles leave us vulnerable to predispositions to obesity, heart attacks and haemorrhoids because we have the genes of hunter-gatherers who lived active, not sedentary, lives.

During that visit, says Piaf's sister-in-law Christie Laume, the "Little Sparrow" gained permission to have her picture taken with the prisoners. Piaf returned to France with the photos of the prisoners and, with the help of some unknown Resistance members, quickly had the images enlarged and used for passports. Within weeks, Piaf returned to perform at the camp again, smuggling these passports to the prisoners. Laume could not say exactly how the scheme was hatched, or how the passports were used. It seems Piaf took more than one secret to the grave with her. That being said, Piaf did explain to Laume why she risked her life to save others.

(Image: La vie en Melrose, a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike photo from Numberstumper's Flickr stream)

Using modern computer x-ray tomography and high resolution surface scanning, a team led by Mike Edmunds and Tony Freeth at Cardiff University peered inside fragments of the crust-encased mechanism and read the faintest inscriptions that once covered the outer casing of the machine. Detailed imaging of the mechanism suggests it dates back to 150-100 BC and had 37 gear wheels enabling it to follow the movements of the moon and the sun through the zodiac, predict eclipses and even recreate the irregular orbit of the moon. The motion, known as the first lunar anomaly, was developed by the astronomer Hipparcus of Rhodes in the 2nd century BC, and he may have been consulted in the machine's construction, the scientists speculate.

Remarkably, scans showed the device uses a differential gear, which was previously believed to have been invented in the 16th century. The level of miniaturisation and complexity of its parts is comparable to that of 18th century clocks.

(Image: Cropped thumbnail from a larger pic credited to Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty)

From Thomas Edison to American Idol, this is the complete history of the music that shaped and defined five generations. 3 million records and 300,000 CDs containing more than 6 million song titles. It's the undisputed largest collection of recorded music in the world.

It’s rather unusual to get an email about an update from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on midday Sunday of a holiday weekend. It’s also rather unusual to go to the USDA’s open cases website and find only a link to a PDF of the recall notice, rather than information posted online. How surprising then to learn from this low-profile PDF that the USDA’s largest-ever recall is now under way — "approximately 143,383,823 pounds" (give or take a few ounces?) of raw and frozen beef products from the disgraced Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. in Chino, California. That’s almost half the amount of beef and poultry recalled since 1994 in the United States, although I am not sure where it will go on Marc’s chart.

Patrons were invited to make good on unpaid fines by donating canned and packaged foods for the local soup kitchen or by entering a dance competition, “Dance Dance Revolution.”

To sweeten the pot, during most of the day the library served coffee, bagels, pastries and ice cream, donated by area businesses.

By midafternoon, the cans and packages were piling up on a table inside library director Michelle Sampson’s office while circulation assistant Katie Spofford was setting up the video dance game on a PlayStation in a carpeted room upstairs.

(Image: Johnny)

The movement to draft Lawrence Lessig has now picked up considerable steam and a blog has been launched to keep track. After the death of representative Lantos Lessig's district has an open seat in Congress and a special election will be held in early April.

Lessig is rumored to be considering the position and has registered the domain change-congress.com. California's 12th Congressional district is quite possibly the best place for the cyber-intellectual to run for office as it is the epicenter of US tech world and his views on technology, copyright, and corruption are likely to resonate with constituents.

But Lessig needs to know there will be members of his community that will support him if he decides to run, so now is the time to donate (funds will go to CC if Lessig doesn't end up running), buy some t-shirts and watch the videos. We're looking to get 1,000 people committed to volunteer or donate through ActBlue by the end of the week, so please sign up if you're interested in helping out.

“The free digital books are exactly what we say they are: an inducement to get people to pre-register as users and allow us to send them emailed progress reports,” Nielsen Hayden said. “The book-length freebies are a temporary program slated to run from now until when we launch. Although the site will be ‘giving away’ a lot of content–indeed, all of its content, as we don’t anticipate any part of it being DRMed or paywalled–the core of the site will not be built around a program of free novel giveaways. That said, we reserve the right to give away free digital books any time we think it’s a good idea to do so. (With the cooperation and consent of their authors, naturally.)”

Several years ago, one of his "toy" rockets - actually a Kevlar-reinforced, experimental, single-stage missile pressurized with compressed nitrogen and packing high-tech instruments - flew to just under 379 metres.

Based on that research, Schellenberg is now convinced that it will be possible to put a bottle rocket into orbit. In preparation, he's working on sending a modified two-stage rocket - reinforced with ultra-strong carbon-fibre and fuelled by liquid CO2 - up about five kilometres.

Update: Erik sez, "Thanks for linking to my little demo of css3. After making that one, I made one that allows you to supply an image and text and it generates it for you."

Jeff Dolen, B.C.'s assistant deputy chief coroner, said although it is somewhat common to find individual body parts, this is "the first instance of three such similar remains being discovered" in such proximity. "We'll be using pathology examinations and anthropology examinations to garner as much information as we possibly can about the remains," he said...

It is common for hands, feet and the head to detach as a body decomposes, said Gail Anderson, a forensic entomologist from Simon Fraser University who has submerged pigs in the ocean to study decomposition.

Generally, she said, those limbs do not float. "Obviously there's some sort of current picking up light items and washing them to those particular areas," said Anderson.

The focus on Guantánamo as a creative subject can lead to distortions, Admiral Buzby said. “It’s as if someone turned up the gain on our life to make it sound really bad.”

Some writers say it may be too late for anyone to change perceptions. “That one word — Guantánamo — has come to symbolize so much,” said Michelle Shephard, a reporter for The Toronto Star, whose book “Guantánamo’s Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr,” is scheduled to be published next month. Mr. Khadr was first detained when he was 15.

Recently on Boing Boing Gadgets we looked at horrible box art that plagues motherboard and videocards, the accuracy of videogame analysts, a smart way to build in a guide in a power drill, a nice logo for a Microsoft ad competition, perhaps the most BBGesque video yet of an old camera, shot by the Eames, set to The Cramps, a cheaper version of the Leatherman Skeletool, a survey of in-dash car interfaces, updates to the Eyeclops home magnifier include a Bug Vac, an electric charcoal starter, why the theme to Super Mario Bros. should be the Japanese national anthem, the criminal lack of in-production keytars, an LED flashlight beloved by a reader, a first-look at the Leapfrog Crammer MP3 player for students, various products from the New York Toy Fair, and a hand-made gas-punk motorcycle.

She only became aware of her unusual anatomy six months ago after undergoing an ultrasound scan to investigate stomach pains following a car crash.

'I realised that the doctor scanning me hadn't said anything for a long time. I thought he was going to give me bad news. But then he said: "You've got four kidneys." He measured them and I have two which are 14cm and two which are 9cm.'

While scavenging the local wrecking yards for pieces for my next project, I came across this Renault Alliance (remember when the French government bailed out American Motors?) with what appears to be a urine-filled plastic sphere as a shifter knob. Note the hastily-applied duct-tape mounting system, no doubt indicating that THEY were closing in on the car's owner at the time and every second was critical. As powerful as the Urine Shifter's juju might be, however, it won't keep this car from its date with the cold jaws of The Crusher!

Call me simple and easily amused, but I never fail to be amazed by the fact that no two rings are linked to each other, yet the three as a whole are inseparable.

Wikipedia has a nice article about these rings, which are called Borromean rings.

I found an isolated vocal track from Smashmouth, in the same vein as the David Lee Roth isolated vocal you posted a while ago. Difference here is, this sucks more, and is consequently much much funnier.

The ghost of Judy Garland visited the recent Maker Faire tryouts in Los Angeles. Fun with old phones and newer MP3 players: "Judy Phone" by Greg MacLaurin. Special thanks to Machine Project for hosting the tryouts.

Link to Boing Boing tv post with video and discussion.

In the vein of Coop's obsessive Flickr photoset of his Japanese monster toy collection, here's a gallery from a collector who has done a bang-up job of cataloging over 100 rubber monster masks. Coop says: "Fans of Famous Monsters will remember some of 'em from those great ads in the back of the magazine." Link

From stephen soldz of Daily Kos:

Created by several brave journalists committed to transparency, Wikieaks has published important leaked documents, such as the Rules of Engagement for Iraq [see my The Secret Rules of Engagement in Iraq], the 2003 and 2004 Guantanamo Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedures, and evidence of major bank fraud in Kenya [see also here] that apparently affected the Kenyan elections.

As of Friday, February 15, those going to Wikileaks.org have gotten Server not found messages. Today I received a message explaining that a California court has granted an injunction written and requested by lawyers for the Cayman Island's Bank Julius Baer. It seems that the bank is trying to keep the public from accessing documents that may reveal shady dealings. Wikileaks was only given a couple of hours notice "by email" and was not even represented at the hearing where a U.S. judge took such a drastic step attempting to totally shut down an important information outlet. The result was this totally unprecedented attempt to totally wipe out the existence of Wikileaks.

I have a theory about the cognitive basis for both fanfic and the arguments against it from some authors: as social animals, we have a lot of specialized systems for modelling and anticipating the actions and beliefs of others. The ability to predict whether another human is likely to kill you or mate with you is pro-survival.

I think that when we experience stories, we spin up that "person-simulator" we use on real people and use it to render out the people in the story. It's how we come to care about them, to empathize with them, to worry about the danger they find themselves in and to cheer them on as they strive to overcome adversity.

When you close the book -- or turn off the tube -- the simulator doesn't power down. Those modelled "people" go on living a life in your autonomous imaginative faculty, inhabiting the same numinous zone where the dead relations of whom you say, "Oh, if only great-aunt Foofaw were here, she'd just love this," the same zone as the characters in your life who are offstage but nevertheless "on your mind."

This is likewise true for authors. Just because the book is done, it doesn't mean that the simulator in which the characters have been playing out their lives switches off. The romantic tale of the author whose characters "just refused to go where he put them," is not just auctorial histrionics. Once you've realized the characters in your own mind, they acquire the same limited autonomy that your conceptions of real people enjoy.

So it's only natural that readers will haul off and write a story -- or even a whole novel -- about the characters whose adventures they enjoy. Those "people" have taken up residence in the minds of the audience and will continue to dance and caper without the further intervention of the author.

And it's likewise natural that authors will get shirty about this from time to time: they have copies of the characters dancing on their own stages, and those copies diverge from the copies in the fanficcers' heads.

That's the theory, anyway.

Back to Brust's novel, "My Own Kind of Freedom." By all accounts, it is fully rockin', something I find easy to credit, given Brust's masterful chops as one of the finest talents in the field today. And, of course, it's Creative Commons licensed. Pass it on.

He always smiled when Serenity first kissed atmo.

That was the moment that separated pilots; a sloppy entry cost fuel, a perfect entry saved fuel, and the difference could be the difference between a healthy profit and a disastrous loss. When you kissed atmo, it was all touch; suddenly the number of variables increased by an order of magnitude: the shape of the ship, the tilt of her nose, the attitude adjusters, speed, direction, the density and exact composition of the upper atmosphere—all of it.

Mal never noticed, of course; none of them noticed. They'd only notice if he did it badly; then he would, no doubt, get all sorts of looks and remarks. And it would cut into his profits as it would the rest of the crew's.

See also: Steven Brust's Dzur: witty and exciting heroic fantasy

(Click on imags to gigantisize)

In the most recent issue of Everywhere (a wonderful community-made travel magazine) I contributed a list of must-visit but oft-overlooked places in and near Tarzana, CA in the San Fernando Valley.

My list included a ramshackle petting zoo called The Farm, the high school stoner den called Vanalden Cave, a retired Nike missile launch site, an old-school health food market and cafe called Follow Your Heart, and the Red Barn Feed & Saddlery.

I rode my bike to the Red Barn Feed & Saddlery yesterday to load up on (ultra-low carb) cat food and (high carb) guinea pig food. My kids usually come with me, because we can visit the baby chicks for sale, fill up bags of popcorn from the popcorn wagon, and sit in plastic chairs in the parking lot under a shade tree and drink soda pop.

The owners broadcast patriotic marching band victory music over the sound system, and the walls of the barn are covered with framed front pages of newspapers with World War II major event stories. The row of signed celebrity photos includes Lt. Uhura wearing her red uniform and several cowboy actors.

The last time I was there with my kids, an older man with a lapdog sat with us. When it came time to leave, I looked for the trash can for the bottles and popcorn bags, but he told us to leave them on the ground. "They'll pick 'em up!" He was insistent on that point, so I shrugged and set them on the ground. I don't know if he worked there.

Link to Tarzan's tour guide to the San Fernando Valley | Link to Red Barn Feed & Saddlery

The object of the game, in fact, is to make your characters as miserable as you possibly can. Each player has a family, a group of characters that they then play event cards on...

The really interesting thing about Gloom is the story-telling aspect of game play. Though not required, when you play an event card such as "Terrified by Topiary," you may explain how this event occurs. Each character develops as more and more event cards are placed on it, so the character’s life story becomes increasingly unfortunate and, well, abnormal.

Fed-up with printers unable to keep-up with your speed and creativity? Just for you and your HUGE office, the Canon ImagePRESS C6000. It prints up to 60 high quality A4 photo pages per minute! Under this monster's hood you'll find a small computer powered by a 800MHz CPU, 1.5GB of RAM, 80GB of HDD in RAID 1, as well as a 10.4” LCD. The print resolution of this insane printer, the C6000 is obviously oriented to professional usage, is 1200x1200dpi.

If you're looking to purchase the ImagePRESS C6000 you’d better ensure you have at least 9m long of free space (9.936x1.135x1.475mm), and be prepared to spend over 114000 EUR. Without the printer server.