Homemade motorcycle improvised out of a Citroen 2CV in the middle of the desert
This badass chopper was (apparently) hand-built by Emile, a Frenchman whose Citroen car broke down in the middle of the northwestern African desert, and who built himself a motorcycle out of the parts, without any tools. Here's the Imgur gallery, and an accompanying Reddit thread. There's a Hack-A-Day has a rough translation from Chameaudacier's site: [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 2:47pm
Happy birthday, Robert Moog!
Today would have been the 78th birthday of electronic music pioneer Robert Moog (1934-2005.) Please celebrate with this clip of ELP's Keith Emerson playing the "Lucky Man" solo live on his monstrous Moog modular synthesizer. Playable Moog Google Doodle - Boing Boing Klaus Schulze, live Moog madness from 1977 - Boing Boing Nik Raicevic's "Head," [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 2:19pm
Eugene Polley, inventor of the TV remote, RIP
Eugene Polley, inventor of the wireless TV remote control, has died. The former engineer for Zenith was 96. The first TV with the technology, called Flash-Matic tuning, hit stores in 1955. From the AP: The TV came with a green ray gun-shaped contraption with a red trigger. The advertising promised "TV miracles." The "flash tuner" [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 2:06pm
Financial breakdown of Amanda Palmer's million-dollar Kickstarter
Musician Amanda Palmer, whose Kickstarter project for an all-singing, all-dancing tour plus album plus art book plus videos extravaganza is heading for the $1,000,000 mark, explains where all the money is likely to go, and how much she'll make, and what she sees as the future of things. It's a really good look at the [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 1:37pm
Sealed evidence from the Byron Sonne trial
Denise Balkisoon, who did a great job covering the Byron Sonne trial writes, "If you're not tired of G20 hacker/accused bomber Byron Sonne yet, the details of his pre-trial are now no longer under publication ban. I'm doing two posts on Open File with details, this is the first. Includes the police statement as to [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 1:23pm
How to make Vietnamese coffee (video)
[Video Link] My friend Andrea James sent me this video. She said, " I thought it was nicely shot, and I like the music!" I agree. The song is called "Ding Ding Dong," and it is by Waipod Phetsuphan (Thailad). It's on a compilation album called "The Sound of Siam: Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz & [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 1:11pm
Jar of American Gods
A Redditor posts photos of a jar of American gods, hole-punched out of the US dollar bills that an atheist friend receives as tips in his job as a valet. My atheist friend has worked as a Valet for over a decade. He uses a hole-punch to take out the "god" on US dollars. Here [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 1:00pm
Shadow QR codes that only work in certain sunlight
Generally I think QR codes are a lame stopgap technology. But this application by the Korean retailer Emart is fairly clever. They deployed 3D "Shadow QR codes" that only work during certain sunlight hours, lunchtime specifically. I could imagine this kinda thing being a fun clue in an alternate reality game. "In Seoul, retailer uses [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 12:10pm
Let's kill CISPA: America's universal surveillance law
Tiffiniy from Fight for the Future (standard-bearers in the fight against SOPA) sez, Congressional hero of the SOPA wars, Senator Wyden, said about cyber security legislation (CISPA and Lieberman-Collins) that is expected to be taken up and passed in early June: "I believe these bills will encourage the development of an industry that profits from [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 12:07pm
Ladyada's Workshop in Lego
Artist Bruce Lowell recreated Limor Fried's Adafruit workshop in Lego and submitted it to LEGO CUUSOO. I hope it gets the 10,000 votes needed for Lego to manufacture it as a set! Ladyada's workshop is a place where you explore all the cool things you build and use when you're an engineer! Computers, pick-and-place machine, [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 11:54am
TOM THE DANCING BUG: Super-Fun-Pak, featuring Pato Afortunado mit Heinrich Hund!
Support Tom the Dancing Bug and receive untold BENEFITS and PRIVILEGES by joining the brand new INNER HIVE right now! "I signed up the second I read about it. It's a lot of fun. I enjoy hearing Ruben tell the story behind each of his comics. Good luck, Ruben!" -Mark Frauenfelder, INNER HIVE member since [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 11:45am
Historical novel tells the story of San Francisco's profit-sharing madam and the cops who betrayed her
Hank Chapot sez, "You've published two links to my research about the 1937 police corruption scandals in San Francisco, November and February, 'the long lost Atherton Report.' After all the research, I wrote a novel. 'Bordello Politique'. Its an e-book available in most formats on most sites. Dolly Fine was the first profit sharing madam, [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 11:41am
Studio Ghibli posters as old Penguin covers
Jason K has reimagined a series of Studio Ghibli movie posters as covers of vintage Penguin paperbacks. He sells them as posters, postcards, and assorted other etsybits. Studio Ghibli 4x6" postcard set of nine (via Wil Wheaton) Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 11:00am
Cozy Noodle: Evanston, IL's Happy Mutant haven
AKMA Adam sez, "After three years of living in Glasgow, we couldn't miss the opportunity to return to Cozy Noodle in Evanston -- our favourite restaurant here, where we used to live. We love the food and service, but the thing that sets Cozy apart is its vertiginously happy-mutant decor. The dining room was busy [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 10:19am
HOWTO make unicorn poop cookies
In case the Epic Poop post has you reaching for a unicorn chaser, I bring you...unicorn poop. Specifically, DIY unicorn poop from Instructables user kristylynn84. The secret ingredient is love. And poop. And "sugar cookies, rainbow dragees, rainbow star sprinkles, white sparkle gel, and rainbow disco dust." Unicorn Poop! Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 9:00am
USB stapler
A stapler with a USB hub in it? Why not? USB ALL THE OFFICE SUPPLIES. Usb hub auto Stapler (Thanks, Fipi Lele!) Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 1:36am
Synthetic grass flip flops
Kusa makes flip flops with a footbed of faux grass. They seem like an imaginary product in the background at an invention fair on The Simpsons. KUSA Grass Flip Flops Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 12:34am
New features for working 8-bit Minecraft computer
The RedPower Minecraft project, which has built a programmable 8-bit computer for Minecraft, has done a new release. Engadget's Mat Smith sums up the new features: "The system is made from three separate cubes, representing the CPU, monitor and disk drive, respectively, all connected by ribbon cables. Part of pre-release 5 of the RedPower 2 [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Today, 12:03am
Epic dumps, recalled
A Reddit thread called "Did you ever think you were going to die from a shit?" sparked a lyrical/scatological series of reminisces of epic dumps, including a two part series by ErikPDX recalling a storied moment of colonic glory following a period of post-surgical bedrest during which he consumed enormous amounts of painkillers and protein [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 10:56pm
Actor Michael McKean hit by car
The NY Daily News reports that Actor Michael McKean, of Spinal Tap fame, has been struck by a car on Manhattan today. NY Daily News: McKean, 64, who played Lenny on the hit television show (Laverne and Shirley,) was seen bleeding from the head after a car barreled into him at W. 86th St. and [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 10:43pm
Fun gallery of "double take" photos
Bits & Pieces has a fun collection of "double take" photos. Each one caused a fun moment of "huh?" in my mind, until reality snapped into place. Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 10:38pm
Zimbabwean senator proposes ending AIDS crisis by mutilating women and preventing them from bathing
A Zimbabwean senator named Morgan Femai from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has given a bizarre, misogynist speech at an African HIV/AIDS conference in which he proposes that his county's AIDS health emergency can be solved by mandating that women must be ugly and unbathed, and be subject to genital mutilation. He also gave [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 9:50pm
A child's to-do list
A dad says: "My son has a long to do list today!" Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 9:10pm
Business cards made from concrete
A creative agency called Murmure is kitting out its employees with concrete business cards that come with their own miniature shipping palettes. There's a scene in a William Gibson novel (I could swear it was Idoru, but I can't find it) where a Hollywood studio exec passes out business-cards screened on wafer-thin slices of marble, [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 9:00pm
Weird illusion causes faces to look very distorted
[Video Link] Follow the instructions on this video and prepare to be freaked out. (Via Doobybrain) Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 8:25pm
Powerful wind makes for funny faces
Tadao Cern's portrait series is called "Blow Job." Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 8:06pm
HOWTO make Star Wars vehicles from 3.5" floppies
Instructables user Jetpack5 created a series of Star Wars space vehicles out of floppy-disk parts and office supplies. There's even a rubber-band-ball Death Star! Also in the set: a Millennium Falcon and a truly spiffy X-Wing fighter. This is a potentially productive way of using up the 5-billion-odd 3.5" floppies kicking around, slowly decaying. Better [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 8:00pm
With SpaceX launch, remains of James Doohan (Star Trek's "Scotty") finally rest in peace, in space
The late actor James Doohan, best known for his role as "Scotty" on the original Star Trek series, left instructions in his will that he wished to be buried in space. His family worked hard to fulfill that wish, and made arrangements with Celestis, Inc., a subdivision of the Houston-based company Space Services that offers [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 7:44pm
Playable Moog Google Doodle
Australia is in the future, where it is already Robert Moog's birthday and you can play this fantastic Moog Google Doodle, complete with four-track recording. Google Australia Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 7:40pm
Attract potential romantic partners with these animated LED glasses
[Video Link] I saw these glasses in action at the Maker Faire 2012 wrap dinner. The gents from macetech LLC who were wearing them were the life of the party. We at macetech LLC are proud of our existence as an intra-spacetime provider of technology. Our goal is to insert technological developments into the time [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 7:21pm
Crappy parking app design fiction
The Village presents a video design fiction (?) for "Parking Douche," an app that lets you photograph the number plates of crappily parked cars in your neighborhood (in Russia) and submit them to a database. The app then buys hyper-geo-targeted ads that block the text on the websites being read by people in the same [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 1:38am
SAP exec arrested for stealing $1K worth of LEGO with DIY bar code scam
Well this is rich. NBC Bay Area reports that Thomas Langenbach, identified as a VP at SAP's Palo Alto Integration and Certification Center, has been charged with four felony counts of burglary over ill-gotten LEGOs. Authorities say the German software engineer generated his own fake bar codes, printed stickers with them, then slapped those cheaper [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, Yesterday, 12:47am
Links for 2012-04-25 [del.icio.us]
The 'world's most pampered – and bored – prisoner' - Telegraph
The 30-year-old man has his meals brought to him from a local restaurant because it is not economical to lay on a canteen service for him alone.
He enjoys the exclusive use of a gym, library and television room and occupies one of six cells which make up San Marino's only jail, which is tucked into a wing of a former Capuchin monastery. Read more...
we make money not art, May 21, 11:54pm
Evolving Blogging
First, a bit of background: Blogger, Google's venerable and pioneering blogging service was created in 1999 by a small team at Pyra Labs, as an offshoot of the project management platform they'd originally set out to make. Read more...
Anil Dash, May 21, 11:54pm
Multiple dancing Bowies in bonkers 1978 Italian TV clip (video)
Richard Metzger says: This 1978 clip features the eternally popular Raffaella Carrà (now pushing 70) singing Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” as bald. mustachioed eye-patch wearing sci-fi weirdos, um, assist her..That’s only the “night” part, just wait until the troupe of caped, dancing “Aladdin Sane” clones show up near the end! Watch the video at [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 10:07pm
Second attempt for SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon launch: Tue. May 22, 3:44am ET
A second launch attempt for the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled for 3:44am EDT, Tuesday May 22. Weather is currently 80% go. Watch it live here. For background, watch Miles O'Brien's PBS NewsHour feature, and SpaceFlightNow's QA with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. SpaceFlightNow will also have live coverage from Mission Control, with streaming video. (Image: [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 9:57pm
Hot Chip: "Night And Day" (music video, dir. Peter Serafinowicz)
[Video Link] Above: "Night and Day," from Hot Chip's forthcoming album "In Our Heads" (June 11th, Domino). This music video was directed by Peter Serafinowicz, best known to most Boing Boing readers as an actor/funnyman in The Peter Serafinowicz Show, Look Around You, and a number of other TV series and films we've blogged about [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 9:26pm
Sexy typewriter postcards of yore
On How to Be a Retronaut, an invigorating, 1910s-1920s gallery of winsome, partially unclothed lasses posed with typewriters. Hummina. 23 and/or skiddoo! They're ganked from marvellous Virtual Antique Typewriter Museum. Typewriter Erotica c. 1920s (via Making Light) Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 8:39pm
Ring of Fire: 2012 annular eclipse video made from 700 individual photo frames
[Video Link] Boing Boing reader Cory Poole is a 33-year-old math and science teacher at University Preparatory School in Redding, CA. He sends in this beautiful video of yesterday's annular solar eclipse, and says: This is a 60 second time-lapse video made from 700 individual frames through a Coronado Solar Max 60 Double Stacked Hydrogen [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 8:32pm
Short documentary about Cosplay at New York Comic Con
Todd Bieber says: "I directed a video for Nerdist and Broadway Video. It's a fun series that takes you inside the world of Cos Play. There were so many videos out there poking fun at Cos Players that we wanted to create something that celebrated the culture." WTF is Cosplay? - Just Cos NYCC: Episode [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 8:23pm
Star Wars supercut: Owen Lars
Phil Brown was the real protagonist in Star Wars. Thecussingchannel has a bunch more new Star Wars super cuts. (via Wired) Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 8:22pm
The Culture Maker: An Interview with Mark Frauenfelder Of Boing Boing
Kyle of the website Los Angeles I'm Yours profiled me and took a bunch of photos of my office. I had a great time chatting with him. Mark is based in Studio City, where he lives with his family in the hills neighboring Laurel Canyon. He grew up in Colorado for the most part, his [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 8:19pm
The Bald Princess (a 4-year-old's drawing of Xeni, for women with cancer in chemo)
I've been blogging and tweeting about my experience in treatment for breast cancer, including what it's like to go through chemotherapy. The chemo drugs I received made all my hair fall out (not all kinds do, but mine did). I've been going around "commando," as people with cancer say—bald, no wigs. Scarves or hats only [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 6:36pm
People of Law & Order, eating
Law & Order & Food is a Tumblr with nothing but stills of the Law & Order cast eating, which is something they seem to do a lot of, because they're in NYC, which has some pretty badass takeout. Also: it's characterization. Law & Order & Food (via MeFi) Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 6:00pm
HGich.T: Tutenchamun (music video)
[Video Link] What is this I don't even. The artist is HGich.T, the song "Tutenchamun." Original video sans subtitles and explanations are here. It's several years old, but new to me. (HT: @treyka) Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 5:50pm
“Freeware” compilation of LA Post-Punk and Indie-Wave music, 1977-1987
My friend Sean Bonner just pointed me to a wonderful music history project, put together by Brian Stefans: at lapostpunk.blogspot.com, an MP3 compilation of post-punk and experimental pop music in the Los Angeles area from the mid-seventies through the mid-eighties. I kind of think of this as a portrait of the city at the time [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 5:49pm
Creepy book cover (can you spot why?)
Larger size here. And, Amazon link, if you're so inclined. (Thanks, Joe Sabia, via Reddit) Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 5:07pm
Fool-the-eye van paintjob
This is the ultimate in aspirational automotive paintjobs, surely. It's more unsourced net.stuff -- anyone know where it originated? (Thanks, Fipi Lele!) Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 5:00pm
Sickening profile of Canada's weapons-grade patent trolls
In Wired, Robert McMillan profiles Rockstar, a world-class patent troll based in Canada, which was capitalized to buy up Nortel's "defensive" patent portfolio for billions of dollars and now does nothing but look for companies that make stuff that people like and use, so it can send them legal threats. Rockstar itself has no products, [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 4:21pm
AT&T vision video from 1961
Remember AT&T's "You Will" campaign from the early 1990s? Here's its predecessor, from 1961. Starring: * The wireless Bellboy Pager, which was introduced commercially in 1962 * The Data-phone, which was supposed to revolutionize business communications * The videophone—shown as a credit-card-reading vertical two-way television * The card-reading phone or automatic dialer, which would dial [...] Read more...
Boing Boing, May 21, 3:05pm