Jason Bradbury says:

I build stuff (DIY Hoverboard, Bluetooth Phone Glove, HUD for my car). I play too many video games. I own robots. And I blog and socially network my socks off! But is there a hero that reflects all that? This was the question that started my year-long journey into becoming a children’s fiction writer. The result: Dot Robot, a techno-thriller for the dis-connected generation.

Secret codes, billionaire dot-comers, flying robots, crazy-cool gadgets and hardware overclocked to within an inch of its life. Into this digital mix comes a new kind of hero. A geeks’ geek: Jackson Farley. Jackson is a young mathematics genius and computer gaming virtuoso from Peckham, London. He is joined by American Brooke English, an MIT grad who can build just about anything and the Japanese Kojima twins, two nine-year olds who have earned enough through professional gaming to have identical Ferraris and their own private road to drive them on.

Can Jackson rise to the challenge? Is he boy-enough to lead a band of intrepid roboteers into battle against some seriously malevolent (cool) dot robots? Or will he and his kooky gang of misfits be consumed by the evil that surrounds them?

And yes, given my science fiction fan-boy status, the first thing I did when I got a publishing deal (there’s a trilogy on the way from Puffin) is ask for some money to get one of the dot robots from the book made! See Brooke’s creation, Punk made real by my friend and model maker Mike Strick.

Irwin says:

Jim Flora Art LLC kicks off 2009 with a limited-edition, archival-quality fine art print of a 1947 Jim Flora Columbia Records album cover, Kid Ory and His Creole Jazz Band.

Kid Ory and His Creole Jazz Band was released in 1947 as a 78 rpm four-disc set, as part of Columbia's Hot Jazz series. Trombonist Edward "Kid" Ory (1886-1973) was a legendary pioneer in the development of New Orleans jazz stylings of the early 20th century. As a bandleader he hired a number of players who later achieved great prominence, including Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and King Oliver.

Does the Flora caricature on the cover resemble Ory? No way. "I could never do likeness," Flora once admitted. The cover figure looks like … something Jim Flora would do.

Only twenty (20) prints of Kid Ory were produced for this edition. Prices will increase for subsequent prints as the edition depletes.

Produced by Flora archivist Barbara Economon, the oversized print (larger then the album cover) was meticulously and painstakingly crafted from a mint-condition artist's proof sheet of the Ory cover in the Flora collection. It is the seventh iconic Flora cover to be issued as a limited edition fine art print.

Fine art print of a 1947 Jim Flora Columbia Records album cover, Kid Ory and His Creole Jazz Band: $200

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "After the lower court adjourned the hearing scheduled to be televised in SONY BMG Music v. Tenenbaum, in order to give the appeals court time to determine the RIAA's petition for a writ of 'mandamus or prohibition', the appeals court set a briefing schedule. Apparently expecting amicus curiae briefs to be submitted, the appellate court set January 29th as a deadline for filing of amicus briefs. One commentator opines that 'the last thing Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG RIAA attack lawyers want is for people to see them live and in full, glorious color', while another noted Judge Gertner's observation that the arguments raised by the RIAA in the appeals court, relating to the manner of administering the broadcast, had never been raised in the lower court."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Bell Canada is taking an interesting approach to being called out for lying in its ads to consumers concerning network performance: it's simply ignoring the whole thing. Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) found that Bell Canada was being quite misleading in claiming that Bell Canada was the "fastest network across North America." Now, there may be different ways to judge the speed of broadband offered on a network, and you would think that a company would respond with some data to support its side. Bell Canada, on the other hand, has said that it simply doesn't recognize ASC as a legitimate organization, and therefore, it can go about its business and advertising.

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Norman Rockwell is considered by many to be the Great American illustrator. He's pretty great, bu I would give the title to another Norman -- Norman Saunders (1907 - 1989) -- because he set the standard for so many different genre illustrations over the decades that it's hard to believe one person could do so much.

A new coffee table art book from the Illustrated Press about Norman Saunders (written by his son David Saunders) just came out and I've been devouring its 368 technicolor pages, filled with examples of his work from the 1920s to the 1980s. The illustrations are arranged chronologically, and the book feels like a history of popular print media. Saunders was a prominent illustrator for Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Modern Mechanics, pulp detective, western, war, and science fiction magazines, men's adventure magazines, and bubblegum cards and stickers, including Wacky Packages and Mars Attacks. Anyone interested in 20th century magazine illustration pretty much has to have this book in his or her library.

NORMAN SAUNDERS (1907–1989) was the legendary illustrator of Mars Attacks, Wacky Packages, Batman, Pre-Code Comics, Men’s Adventure, Paperbacks, Pulp Magazines, and Sci-Fi. His unique artistic vision influenced the visual language of American pop culture throughout a century of changing fashions, and continues to inspire today’s important visionaries. Savvy collectors have long dreamt of a book on the entire lifework of Norman Saunders, and that dream has finally come true with the world’s first book to present his finest paintings in radiant reproductions, to savor the extraordinary artistry behind so many iconic images, familiar from timeworn vintage collectibles.

The artist’s son has written an insightful biography, seasoned with quotes from the artist and his associates, chronicling the frontier childhood and training of an illustrator who rose to the top of his profession, and then spent WWII in China painting travel sketches. When Saunders defied the corporate forces of conformity during McCarthyism he was relegated to underground world of subculture publishing, where he continued his remarkable career by painting countless icons for Pre-Code Comics, Men’s Adventure magazines and Bubble Gum Trading Cards, until his happy rediscovery by fandom in his twilight years.

This is the consummate reference book on the entire lifework of Norman Saunders, with over 880 illustrations, of which more than 300 are from original art, including 30 working drawings, and 30 reference photos as well as 30 historic family photos, and checklists of all published works. 368 pages, 9”x12”, full-color, hardbound with dust jacket.

Norman Saunders

Observe this impressively accurate reproduction of the ASPHD(aka portal gun) from Valve software's acclaimed first-person-puzzler -

My boyfriend made this ASHPD for me for my upcoming Aperture Science Test Subject costume. It lights up both blue and orange along the tube and in the barrel, and the prongs light up red as long as the gun is on.

No response from Aperture Science regarding possible IP infringement - Portal gun on Flickr
[Thanks, pinkfairywand!]

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Susannah Breslin sends in this clip, and says even she has no idea what this so-called "sexpert" on Fox News is implying. Whatever it is, it's TMI.

bradgoodman writes to tell us that tomorrow will mark the 25th anniversary of the first Macintosh, debuting just 2 days after the famous Super Bowl XVIII commercial. "'The Macintosh demonstrated that it was possible and profitable to create a machine to be used by millions and millions of people,' said Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, research director for the Institute for the Future, a Palo Alto, California, think tank, and chief force behind 'Making the Macintosh: Technology and Culture in Silicon Valley,' an online historical exhibit. 'The gold standard now for personal electronics is, "Is it easy enough for my grandmother to use it?" People on the Macintosh project were the first people to talk about a product in that way.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

YouTube-driven sound experiments from "found footage."

AaRrOoWwZz //

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For those who have successfully modded their PSP to run homebrew software, Ethan Bordeaux developer of the PSPSEQ music sequencer has posted an extensive series of video tutorials to get you up and running with the program. The free homebrew sequencer can be a little tough to jump into so this series can prove quite handy. - PSPSEQ on YouTube [via Create Digital Music]

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Mike Knuepfel, a recent graduate of Stanford University with a BS in Engineering - Product Design, saw some of the projects people are doing with The Maker's Notebook and thought he'd share some of the embedded book prototypes he's been working on. Besides the above, which uses touch-sensitive LED circuitry and shape memory allow and a paper ratchet to activate components in a book, he also has a sort of quiz book, that lights up when you put people on family tree in the right sequence, and simple laminated circuit.

Embedded Books

More:

• The Maker's Notebook

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Until earlier this week, TJX held the record for the biggest-ever data leak, for its effort to lose track of some 94 million people's credit card info to a group of hackers. Just to recap, the company lost all the data largely through sheer incompetence, by encrypting its stores' WiFi networks with the easily broken WEP standard, and not having enough security in place to keep the hackers out of its central database after they'd gotten on the network at a single store. Even more astounding was the fact that TJX transmitted credit-card info to banks without any encryption. It was the banks that were largely left holding the bag for all the fraudulent purchases made with the stolen credit-card numbers, while several of the criminals behind the breach were charged, too. What punitive action was taken against TJX? It had to pay a $41 million fine to Visa, but got off with no fine and a wrist slap from the Federal Trade Commission. But apparently the company really wanted to make things up to consumers, so it offered a one-day 15 percent off sale in its US and Canadian stores this week. Wow, so generous, especially to do it in the post-holiday, lets-clear-out-everything-we-didn't-sell-before-Christmas season. You could probably forgive TJX for thinking this would make up for everything, though, since data-leak settlements and punishments are generally toothless and do little to encourage companies to take serious steps to stop the leaks.

Carlo Longino is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Carlo Longino and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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South Carolina Senator Robert Ford is attempting to outlaw profanity. Under his bill, the penalty for lewd language would be up to 5 years in prison and/or $5000 in fines. From WCBD:

Which words are exactly considered profane is still unclear, but the bill does have a list of qualifications for profanity including words or actions that are lewd, vulgar or indecent in nature.

Sen. Robert Ford pushes to outlaw profanity (Thanks, Jess Hemerly!)

thefickler writes to tell us that YouTube plans on raising revenue by allowing major media players to run their own ads on the video site for, not only their own content, but illegally uploaded content by other users. "The site says CBS is already on board for the scheme, with other giants expected to join. The scheme will allow TV, movie and music companies to upload content and then sell advertising themselves, for example through images or animations which are overlaid on suitable sections of the clips. YouTube will then take a cut of this advertising revenue."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

thefickler writes to tell us that YouTube plans on raising revenue by allowing major media players to run their own ads on the video site for, not only their own content, but illegally uploaded content by other users. "The site says CBS is already on board for the scheme, with other giants expected to join. The scheme will allow TV, movie and music companies to upload content and then sell advertising themselves, for example through images or animations which are overlaid on suitable sections of the clips. YouTube will then take a cut of this advertising revenue."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Hey Makers! We're excited to announce this year's CRAFT Valentine's Day Project Contest! Show us your stuff and win a year's subscription to CRAFT! You can submit anything you make for the occasion (or for that special someone). Use of LEDs is encouraged. Members of the CRAFT team will be judging, and good luck!

Rules:

• Design and make a Valentine's Day project (card, gift, pretty much anything).
• Upload your entry to the CRAFT Flickr pool ant tag the photo craftzinevdaycontest2009
• Describe your project in the photo description, and provide a link to your website, if applicable
• All entries are due on Monday, February 9 at 4pm PST
• Winner (and runners up) will be announced on the CRAFT blog on Valentines day, February 14.

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It must be 12 years ago now. I was living in Allston “Rock City”, playing guitar in a shoe-gazing instrumental indie rock trio. My G string broke. No, not that G string (not that kind of band). Out of extra strings, I managed to find a D string lying on the rehearsal room floor. I strung it on and kept playing. See, a D string is wound steel, and thicker than a G string, which is a single strand. But winding it tighter and tighter, I was able to tune it back up to a G.

From that day on, I exclusively played with two D strings (one tuned to G) instead of a normal set of guitar strings. It changed the way I played, changed the sound and timbre of my setup. It became a part of the DNA that made up whatever it was we were creating.

It’s been happening throughout history, of course. Beautiful accidents. Unintentional intentions. We can’t plan these mistakes, but wish we could. What seems like disaster, turns into the spark that ignites what we perceive later as “rightly so”.

And it happens all the time when I’m designing. Oops, I dumped a white paint can where color used to be. Wait. That’s nice. It’s become a part of my process. A part I can’t anticipate, or account for, but a part nonetheless.

I’ve been thinking about ways to facilitate these accidents. Make them happen more often. I haven’t come up with anything yet. Too much coffee, not enough coffee, time of day, etc. — are they really accidents, or our subconscious guiding the way?

Until I figure out, I’ll keep adapting, accepting and discovering.

From the Make: Flickr pool

Ralf points out that the popular PICAXE microcontroller can now be programmed from Mac and Linux machines via the newly released AXEpad software. Great news for those weary from rebooting/etc to gain access via Windows - PICAXE software downloads

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nerdyH writes "As early as last quarter, Microsoft admitted that Linux and netbooks were eating into its fat profits. Recently, it came home, with the software giant announcing its first-ever layoffs. LinuxDevices interviewed Linux Foundation Director Jim Zemlin on Linux's role in Microsoft's misfortunes. Zemlin sums it up pretty well: 'Companies can offer their own branded software platform based on Linux. If Microsoft is getting 75 percent margins, you would like some of that high-margin business, too.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I think it would be an understatement to say that the RIAA is rather unhappy with Charles Nesson and his team of folks from Harvard Law, challenging them on the constitutionality of the RIAA's "sue everyone" strategy. Recently, they've been battling over the right to broadcast the courtroom proceedings, and now the RIAA is asking for monetary sanctions against Nesson, claiming he violated certain procedural rules. The RIAA is likely seeking sanctions under section 11, which is used against lawyers who file lawsuits that are "unreasonable." In other words, this is starting to get personal.

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Make: television is airing on Public Television stations all over the country this weekend. Be sure to check out our broadcast listings page for times and dates or find a link to your local Public Television station.

Here's a sneak preview of the Maker Channel segment from Episode 4, featuring the I/O Brush, Motorized Barcalounger, Massage Me Jacket, and Giant Match

Also, our Episode Guide page is a simple and easy watch past episodes and find the PDFs.

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Here's a video of Charlene Chua creating an illustration using Adobe Illustrator. (via Drawn!)

Using some proto-board, epoxy filler, and a conductive pen, you can quickly create a custom breakout board for small SMT devices on the cheap.

It's a know fact that the surface mount devices are becoming more and more popular leaving behind the traditional through-hole mounting method. While for the electronics industry surface mounting brings a lot of benefits (one of them being the ability to pack more components per square inch) for the regular hobyst surface mount devices are often times a "show stopper".

This tutorial for is those of you who absolutely need to mount a small surface mount device for prototyping purposes and do not have the means or time to pefrom a traditional surface mount. There's obviously a "correct" way to mount a SMD component and I highly recommend reading the Surface Mount Soldering guide at Curious Inventor first before attempting this method. However it's always good to know that there's an alternative method that does not require any investments in expensive SMT equipment or materials.

In this tutorial I'll describe how to mount an analog LIS244AL accelerometer (data sheet), that comes in a tiny leadless LGA-16 package. The size of the component is 4x4x1.5mm. It has 16 solder pads, each is 0.3x0.4mm. This is the tinest component that I ever have to deal with. When I first saw this device my first thought was that there's now way I can mount this little device without creating a custom PCB and using the traditional surface mounting method.

For the purpose of using small SMT components in your prototyping work, it looks like a really handy way to make things a bit more hobbyist friendly.

"Reverse" Surface Mounting of small leadless SMD components

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YES-2-Tech, part of a program called Youth Exploring Science (YES) at the Saint Louis Science Center, published an instructable about making geodesic greenhouses. They write:

Working and building the domes has been exciting, but also very beneficial. We traveled around St. Louis teaching kids and adults about the purpose and functions of the greenhouses. Also, we supervised the building of domes at different community centers. With a geodesic dome greenhouse, you can extend the growing season of your plants and protect them from the harsh weather outside.

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palegray.net is one of many who writes "President Obama has publicly sided with the Bush administration on the question of whether the President should be allowed to establish warrantless wiretapping programs designed to monitor US citizens. The President has asked a federal judge to stay a ruling that would allow key evidence into the domestic spying case against the government. 'Thursday's filing by the Obama administration marked the first time it officially lodged a court document in the lawsuit asking the courts to rule on the constitutionality of the Bush administration's warrantless-eavesdropping program.'" jamie points out that Obama's views and opinions were made clear through his Senate vote and numerous public statements, but many others see this as a disappointing start to an administration promising transparency and openness.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Burbia has photos of this sign someone put on their front porch. It says "Scientologists, Jehovah's Witnesses & our neighbor Jerry NOT WELCOME."

Read the find print here.

Pioneering environmentalist and author James Lovelock, most famous for proposing the Gaia hypothesis that the Earth is a giant superorganism, is publishing a new book, titled The Vanishing Face of Gaia. It's about... you guessed it... climate change. This year, Lovelock turns 90 and will take his first trip into space. New Scientist had a chat with him about what he considers to be our last chance to deal with climate change. From New Scientist:

So are we doomed?

There is one way we could save ourselves and that is through the massive burial of charcoal. It would mean farmers turning all their agricultural waste - which contains carbon that the plants have spent the summer sequestering - into non-biodegradable charcoal, and burying it in the soil. Then you can start shifting really hefty quantities of carbon out of the system and pull the CO2 down quite fast.

Would it make enough of a difference?

Yes. The biosphere pumps out 550 gigatonnes of carbon yearly; we put in only 30 gigatonnes. Ninety-nine per cent of the carbon that is fixed by plants is released back into the atmosphere within a year or so by consumers like bacteria, nematodes and worms. What we can do is cheat those consumers by getting farmers to burn their crop waste at very low oxygen levels to turn it into charcoal, which the farmer then ploughs into the field. A little CO2 is released but the bulk of it gets converted to carbon. You get a few per cent of biofuel as a by-product of the combustion process, which the farmer can sell. This scheme would need no subsidy: the farmer would make a profit. This is the one thing we can do that will make a difference, but I bet they won't do it.

"James Lovelock: One last chance to save mankind" (New Scientist), Pre-order "The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning" (Amazon)

Among the tech community, there was some belief that the Obama administration understood some of the key issues, such as the damage done by draconian copyright laws -- and they had shown that with the way they went about running their campaign. However, there's an increasing realization that the techies on the campaign are entirely separate from the policy people now involved in the administration. First there was the appointment of one of the RIAA's top lawyers as associate attorney general, and now comes news that Neil MacBride, the BSA's antipiracy enforcer, has also been appointed to a high level role in the Justice Department.

You may recall MacBride, because last year, right before the BSA released its usual entirely bogus stats on the impact of piracy, he was kind enough to call me and walk through why he stood by those numbers. In that post, you can see some of how MacBride approached these issues -- insisting that piracy represents a real loss, not a business model issue, and even suggesting that it's all a generational thing. This is somewhat worrisome, as I believe it's the wrong approach to understanding what an impact copyright issues have on business, society and culture. That two such individuals are now in high level positions in the Justice Department does not bode well at all for the idea that we may have more reasonable copyright policy and enforcement coming out of the Justice Department any time soon.

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Persuasive Games reimagined their 2006 TSA-mocking "news game" Airport Security for the iPhone. From Boing Boing Offworld:

Billing itself now as "the first mobile game for business travelers," Jetset (as it's now known) uses the iPhone's location-awareness to link fliers to whichever airport they're currently in to unlock special local souvenirs (your guess as to which have to be in to unlock the 'poutine' and 'Greek coffee-cup'), which can then be sent to friends via its interconnected Facebook app.

"Persuasive Games' experimental Jetset"

Mark Ryden will be signing copies of his new art book The Tree Show at the MOCA store in Los Angeles on Jan 31st (3-5pm).

dogmatixpsych writes "The FDA recently approved a privately funded study where human embryonic stem cells will be transplanted into subjects with complete spinal cord injuries. All trials will be paid for and conducted by researchers working for Geron Corporation. The stem cells come from the existing lines Pres. Bush approved federal funding for in August 2001. With Barack Obama now president, many scientists believe federal funding will soon become available for embryonic stem cell research on new cell lines, resulting in additional similar studies."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Folks in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma are disturbed by an intense blasting sound and window-shaking tremors that apparently have been occurring at noon every day this week. Hundreds of people have called the sheriff's office to complain. The source of the rumble remains a mystery. From KHBS:

Ron Lockhart, the Sequoyah County Sheriff, said the department has checked with every mining company in the county but none have reported any blasting....

The U.S. Geological Survey has reported activity in Sequoyah County but does not believe it to be seismic.

Mysterious Rumble Vexes Sequoyah County (via Fortean Times)

Jamie Wilkinson of F.A.T. writes:

I'll be moderating a panel at the ROFLCON NYC event this Saturday (Jan. 24th) with fffffellow ffffatties Steve Lambert and Tobi Leingruber (@ 2:45pm; just before Bre Pettis among others) We will be talking about Firefox-based art projects like Add-Art, China Channel, Tourettes Machine, and how to win the internet. We'll also present Artzilla, our new repository for Firefox add-on projects usually denied from listing on the addons.mozilla.org universe for being *cough* "useless art."

New York City ROFLThing

*When:* January 24th, 2009

*Where:* Santos Party House (96 Lafayette Street, Manhattan, NY)

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Hey folks, we'd like to know who's watching Make: television so here's a quick survey that only takes about 5 minutes to complete, if you have a moment please fill it out!

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An anonymous reader writes "Ever wish you had one of those big LED displays to keep you up to date on e-mails, stock quotes, server uptimes, or weather? Here's a new video tutorial showing how to build your own computer-controlled LED array. You can code your own data feed, and just send it over a TCP socket. This looks like a fun weekend project for someone looking to get started with electronics by building something useful."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

RIP, Jacques Littlefield, a legend in San Francisco machine art culture. Littlefield had the world's largest private collection of restored tanks and other military vehicles on his ranch in Portola Valley, California. The founder of the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation passed away earlier this month at the age of 59. (For more about Littlefield, see this 2003 article in the New York Times. Full photo above and many more viewable at Neil Mishalove's site.) By all accounts, Littlefield was always delighted to share his unusual hobby with the public. BB pal Karen Marcelo of Survival Research Laboratories (SRL) emailed me:

I was lucky enough to get a tour with a bunch of other SRL people in the 90s. amazing collection. he had 2 scuds at the time. we got to see this bridge building tank that he turned on for us! also anti-aircraft tanks with matching satellite truck, tanks from russia, britain, us, etc. he even has a huge pipe organ and built a separate earthquake proof building to house it and has a miniature steam train running thru his property that we got to ride.

Military Vehicle Technology Foundation

Last year, we wrote about Monty Python's decision to put all its content online for free hoping that would drive people to buy more of its scarce goods -- such as DVDs. And, as a bunch of you have submitted, it appears to have worked wonders. Monty Pyton's DVD sales jumped an astounding 23,000% and are now the number 2 best selling item in the Movies & TV category on Amazon.com. Who was it that said "you can't compete with free" again?

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(Image via Wikipedia)

Here's a BBC radio documentary about Vélib' (loosely velo + liberte = free bike?), a bike-share program in Paris. It costs nothing for up to half an hour, 1 euro per hour after that, and has 20,000 bicycles in operation! I like that you earn free credits if you leave bikes at the top of hills, as well as the guy talking about his friends falling off bikes after late nights out. I'd be interested to hear from a bike shop in Paris on whether they think this program increases or decreases bike-buying. Where's the biggest program (if any) like this in the U.S.? Check out the official Vélib' page for more.

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Devin Crane, lead animator on such films as Kung Fu Panda, Shrek 2 and 3, and Iron Giant, has a show of gorgeous new paintings opening tomorrow, January 24, at Corey Helford Gallery in Santa Monica, California. Seen above, "The Journey Is Long Without Her" (acrylic on panel, 25" x 15"). Crane's work will be exhibited alongside paintings by internationally-known tattoo artist Joey Remmers. All of the art is viewable online at the links below (username: preview, password: preview27).

Devin Crane preview
Joey Remmers preview

Ant writes in with news that won't be welcomed by the incoming US administration as it tries to expand the availability of broadband Internet service. A recent report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project indicates, as noted by Ars Technica, that two-thirds of Americans without broadband don't want it. "...when we look at the overall reasons why Americans don't have broadband, availability isn't the biggest barrier. Neither is price. Those two, combined, only account for one-third of Americans without broadband. Two-thirds simply don't want it. The bigger issue is a lack of perceived value."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The guy who created those Death and Taxes posters has created a new gem: "389 YEARS AGO." Jess Bachman explains, "It's not for the policy wonks but I think people will love it. Probably the only thing with Obama's name on it that you might keep around after he is out of office. Anyways, if black history is your thing, or even if it's not, you can't deny the progress we have ALL made." They're $35 while the first printing lasts, plus S/H.

In journalism, there's a big difference between the actors and the non-actors. The actors are trying to create an effect, you're not hearing what they really think, you're hearing what they want you to think they're thinking. Non-actors try to play it straight. They want to communicate their ideas accurately and persuasively, and strive to find better and better ways to do that. It's true in journalism and it's equally true in blogging.

To explain the idea to a journalist friend I thought of two people he would be likely to know, two extreme examples: Scott Rosenberg and John Dvorak.

Rosenberg is the former managing editor of Salon, film critic at the SF Examiner. Dvorak is a longtime tech columnist, I read him 30 years ago in Infoworld, then PC mag. Now he's a blogger and podcaster. Rosenberg and Dvorak are very different sorts of reporters.

In person, Dvorak is a gentleman and really nice thoughtful guy. On the web and in his podcast, he's an actor playing the role of a cranky, thoughtless clown.

In this video Thoughtful Dvorak explains Dvorak the Actor:



Rosenberg on the other hand, if you met him in person, would say the same things he says in his online personna.

That analogy exists in the blogosphere as well.

If you were to meet me in person, like Rosenberg, I would say the same things that I say on the web. There aren't two Daves. This is me, I write more formally here, more thoughtfully, I can revise my writing, but you're getting my actual opinions, not a simulation.

However, some of the people I have interacted on the web with are not playing it straight. I don't want to name anyone specifically, because that would just invite the kind of slapstick they use to build traffic. But they do exist, and they often admit privately, as Dvorak does openly, that they don't really believe what they say in their online writing. Whether they want to declare it or not is their business.

However, I think it's important to understand the difference. An apparent pie fight isn't always what you think it is. Sometimes it's one of the clowns of our medium trying to cover up something real they don't want people to look at.

Dvorak's sleight of hand is harmless, almost everyone knows he's doing it. But the other kind is not so harmless. A good journalist must dig past the surface and figure out who are the actors and who's telling you what they really think.

Fred Wilson has a thought-provoking post on his blog, asking what if the economic model you're basing business decisions on is wrong? He's building off of an Umair Haque blog post, asking whether or not economists matter any more, because the models they use are wrong. I think there's some truth to both of these pieces -- and I know both Fred and Umair, and enjoy exchanging ideas with both -- but it feels like they're throwing a pretty big baby out with the bathwater.

I don't think it's that the "old models" don't work any more. The problem is simply that they're models, not crystal balls. Every model has faults (that's why it's a model, rather than the real thing). What makes economics so difficult is that any real scenario involves too many variables to accurately model. Each modeling attempt tries to account for the most important of those variables, and assumes the impact of the rest washes out. However, changes in the world may impact one variable a lot more than expected, or change the relationship between variables -- and that's what throws a model out of whack. Every economic model is wrong because it simply cannot account for every human variable out there.

But, that doesn't mean you ignore what the models tell you. You can still learn quite a lot from those models -- including why they're wrong, and how to improve on them. So, for example, when Haque discusses Starbucks and Microsoft, as if basic economic models failed them, I disagree. I just think they didn't put enough weight into some important variables in their models. Starbucks, for example, failed to recognize the importance of "culture" in its equation, but that doesn't mean the whole equation was wrong.

It's certainly tempting to throw out the old models when they're proven incorrect, but that makes you lose a real learning opportunity. You should start from the position that all models are incorrect from the beginning -- and as each model is proven incorrect, figure out why so you can correct and improve, rather than simply tossing the whole thing out.

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Gil Weinberg is having trouble with his drummer he's trying to get both of Haile's arms to work at the same time. That would be an unusual problem, except for the fact that Haile is a robot. Haile's microprocessor-controlled, motorized arms are able to play ordinary acoustic drums, with expressive control over timbre and dynamics. But while the movements of its anthropomorphic, wooden body are impressive, Haile's listening ability is as important as its playing. Using custom computer software developed in the Max/MSP multimedia environment. Haile can analyze the performance of a human drummer and respond in real-time "We've tried to create a new musical experience- to surprise you," says Weinberg. Haile's responses range from simple imitation to variation and even intelligent accompaniment. The results vary: sometimes, the algorithms simply don't work, or don't work in a way that makes sense to human ears. But Weinberg, who was a jazz pianist for years before he became interested in computers, is most excited by the moments at which Haile feels like an equal musical partner, and plays in ways no human would.

"I've played with people for years," says Weinberg, "But especially when you're in a particular genre, you know what to expect Here, we are in uncharted territory" While Haile's human-robot communication skills continue to evolve, it's also getting a chance to facilitate human-human communications. Next, Haile travels to Jerusalem to play on a program featuring collaborations between Jewish and Arabic percussionists. The composition is called Jam'aa, or "gathering" in Arabic. Drawing on the communal tradition of Middle Eastern music. Haile will interact with professional darbukah and djumbe players, transforming what they play. At least, once the remaining technical bugs get solved "Talk to me Monday," says Weinberg; by then, he hopes Haile will be able to play with both arms.

Robotic Drummer: makezine.com/go/robotdrum

From the column Made on Earth - MAKE 6, page 25 - Peter Kirn.

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From Seattle Dorkbot:

We are pleased to announce the call for proposals for Seattle Dorkbot's art exhibition "Strange Things" is up! As in previous years we are seeking a broad range of art that uses electricity as a major component: interactive installations, art that borders the line between physical and digital art, kinetic sculpture, large scale collaborations, lighting installations, web- based art, networked art, ubiquitous computing...to name a few. This year we are also inviting artists to create and collaborate on works that explore the theme "Emergent Communication." Artists are encouraged (but not required) to work in groups to build pieces that communicate with each other (and potentially the viewers and environment) in novel ways, to create a larger system that's greater and more complex than its individual parts.

2009 Theme: Emergent Communication
This year we are also inviting artists to create and collaborate on works that explore the theme "Emergent Communication." Artists are encouraged (but not required) to work in groups to build pieces that communicate with each other (and potentially the viewers and environment) in novel ways, to create a larger system that's greater and more complex than its individual parts. Methods of communication are up to the artist(s); you could use anything from two pieces bumping into each other to complex network protocols sharing media. Artists will be encouraged to document how their pieces communicate so that others can create works to join in the conversation.
Meetings will be held in Seattle starting in January to spark ideas and connect artists and engineers, and a wiki will be made available for sharing and documentation. If you have an interest in participating in this part of the show contact Eric McNeill at strangethingsseattle [at] gmail.com .

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vapour brothers (their "Radiohead TV" piece for the world's best band, Radiohead, is shown above)
pleix
copy goes here
sticks
gym class
timmy's wish
they are made of meat
pencilface
the bunny boy

Permalink for this edition. Web Zen is created and curated by Frank Davis, and re-posted here on Boing Boing with his kind permission. Web Zen Home and Archives, Store (Thanks Frank!)

Elektroschock writes "According to Russian media, the Russian Government is going to develop a National Operating System (Google translation; Russian original) to lower its dependencies on foreign software technology licensing. The Russian plan will base its efforts on Linux and expects a worldwide impact. Microsoft is also involved in the roundtable process that led to the recommendation. The Chinese government successfully lowered its Microsoft licensing costs through an early investment in a national Linux distribution. I wonder if other large markets, such as the European Union, will also develop their own Linux distributions or join in the Russian initiative."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I know it wasn't just me -- yesterday was a pretty negative day for a lot of people. Nothing seemed right. People picked yesterday to deliver bad news they had been holding on to. To tell others what they really thought of them. Even if nothing specific happened the general mood for some was suppressed if not downright depressed.

In hindsight it would have been better to stay in bed yesterday, call in sick, just sit it out.

Why yesterday?

In the middle of the night I figured it out.

For most of us it's no longer Yes We Can, it's Yes We Did.

It's not Change You Can Believe In, any more -- instead The Change Happened Now Get Back To Your Life.

While we watch from afar, we see people who have great meaning to their lives, who every day have something to do that excites and inspires them, for the rest of us -- we know the feeling, we used to have it, until Thursday morning, when it all came crashing down. Reality reinvoked, our normal humdrum lives reappeared, and we have to live them. There are taxes to pay, appointments to make, charges to answer, etc etc.

And there's Camelot on TV, but that's someone else's life, not ours.

If only we had been lifted out of our lives permanently.

But today's Friday. Thursday is behind us now.

Maybe that was the worst of it.

PS: Think you have it bad? You could be John Kerry.

KentuckyFC writes "There is absolutely, positively, definitely no chance of the LHC destroying the planet (or this way either) when it eventually switches on some time later this year. And yet a few niggling doubts are persuading some scientists to run through their figures again. One potential method of destruction is that the LHC will create tiny black holes that could swallow everything in their path, including the planet. Various scientists have said this will not happen because the black holes would decay before they could do any damage. But physicists who have re-run the calculations now say that the mini black holes produced by the LHC could last for seconds, possibly minutes. Of course, the real question is whether they decay faster than they can grow. The new calculations suggest that the decay mechanism should win over and that the catastrophic growth of a black hole from the LHC 'does not seem possible' (abstract). But shouldn't we require better assurance than that?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The whole Coldplay/Joe Satriani copyright fight is pretty silly for a a variety of reasons. Yes, there are some similarities, but there's a ton of stuff in music that sounds the same. There's a great chapter in James Boyle's The Public Domain all about Ray Charles' song I Got A Woman, where Boyle goes back in time to show how Charles' song basically copies from a few others (in some cases rather blatantly) in order to effectively invent soul music. Then he moves forward and looks at how others have built off of Charle's song as well. You can read the whole chapter (and, indeed, the whole book) online. The chapter in question is Chapter 6: I Got a Mashup.

Then, of course, many folks have seen the comedian who points out how many songs are based on the same basic progression as Pachelbel's Canon in D:

Along those lines, reader Bill Squire has sent in this similar video about how many songs use the same basic chord progression as Journey's Don't Stop Believing: And yet, now some people are worried that one musician has come up with a similar song?

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snydeq writes "The number of bugs in technical documentation for Microsoft communication protocols continues to grow, according to court documents filed for ongoing antitrust oversight of the company in the US. Problems with the technical documentation — which includes 1,660 identified bugs as of Dec. 31, up from 1,196 bugs on Nov. 30 — remain the major complaint from lawyers representing the group of 19 states that joined the US Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft. Lawyers for the states have complained repeatedly that technical documentation issues are opening faster than Microsoft can close them. Nearly 800 Microsoft employees are working on the more than 20,000 pages of technical documentation, according to the court documents filed Wednesday."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Turn two salad bowls into a spherical array, ball of sound with amazing results.
Thanks go to Michael Zbyszynski for the original article in Make: Volume 11.
To download The Ball of Sound MP4 click here or subscribe in iTunes.

Check out the complete Ball of Sound article in MAKE: Volume 11 "Ball of Sound"
and you can see that in our digital edition.

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Charles and Ray Eames were incredibly influential American designers - one of their most famous projects was a short film called Powers of 10. It was produced in 1977 and I was a little surprised to find that it's still amazing to watch. It's available for viewing on the Powers of 10 site - you do have to register, but it seems pretty benign, they don't ask for money or anything.

The ultimate Eamesian expression of systems and connections, Powers of Ten explores the relative size of things from the microscopic to the cosmic. The 1977 film travels from an aerial view of a man in a Chicago park to the outer limits of the universe directly above him and back down into the microscopic world contained in the man's hand. Powers of Ten illustrates the universe as an arena of both continuity and change, of everyday picnics and cosmic mystery. The film also demonstrates the Eameses' ability to make science both fascinating and accessible.

More:
Feel Small Project

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Charles and Ray Eames were incredibly influential American designers - one of their most famous projects was a short film called Powers of 10. It was produced in 1977 and I was a little surprised to find that it's still amazing to watch. It's available for viewing on the Powers of 10 site - you do have to register, but it seems pretty benign, they don't ask for money or anything.

The ultimate Eamesian expression of systems and connections, Powers of Ten explores the relative size of things from the microscopic to the cosmic. The 1977 film travels from an aerial view of a man in a Chicago park to the outer limits of the universe directly above him and back down into the microscopic world contained in the man's hand. Powers of Ten illustrates the universe as an arena of both continuity and change, of everyday picnics and cosmic mystery. The film also demonstrates the Eameses' ability to make science both fascinating and accessible.

More:
Feel Small Project

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ffs writes "The next release of Fedora, 11, will default to the ext4 file system unless serious regressions are seen, as reported by heise online. The LWN story has a few comments extolling the virtues of the file system. Some benchmarks have shown ext4 to be much faster than the current default ext3. Some of the new features that matter for desktop users are a faster file system check, extents support (for efficiently storing large files and reducing fragmentation), multiblock allocation (faster writes), delayed block allocation, journal checksumming (saving against power / hardware failures), and others. The KernelNewbies page has more information on each feature. As is the extfs tradition, mounting a current ext3 filesystem as ext4 will work seamlessly; however, most new features will not be available with the same on-disk format, meaning a fresh format with ext4 or converting the disk layout to ext4 will offer the best experience."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Take two salad bowls and turn them into a spherical array, ball of sound with amazing results.
Thanks go to Michael Zbyszynski for the original article in Make: Volume 11.

View the PDF of this project and then pick up Make: Volume 11 here for other great projects
you can do over the weekend.

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Bastian Chroos' 256 button Monome makes a regular version seem very tame. Check out the video to see it in action and the link below for some images of back of the PCB.

via Arduino Blog

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holy_calamity writes "New Scientist reports on the different flavors of Turing Test being used by AI researchers to judge the human-ness of their creations. While some strive only to meet the 'appearance Turing Test' and build or animate characters that look human, others are investigating how robots can be made to elicit the same brain activity in a person as interacting with a human would."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Earlier this month, we noted that a court was allowing an important lawsuit over warrantless wiretapping by the last administration to move forward in the courts. The case was an odd one, involving the accidental leak of a classified document that effectively admits that the law was broken. However, since the document is classified, the court system and everyone involved in the case has to perform one of the stupidest legal dances ever in order to pretend that no one has seen a document that they've all seen. The whole thing is a bit farcical. Not surprisingly, the Bush administration vehemently opposed letting this case move forward -- but many weren't sure how the Obama administration would deal with it. Well, now we know. They've put forth a filing in the case effectively agreeing with the Bush administration that the case should not move forward. There may be political reasons for doing so, but it's unfortunate that it looks like the new administration is playing the same game as the last administration when it comes to burying the details on the almost certainly illegal warrantless wiretapping program.

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theodp writes "Using Yahoo's free e-mail service to conduct government business was good enough for Sarah Palin. And now the Washington Times reports that Obama staffers turned to Gmail on Inauguration Day to conduct their business. Those wishing to contact members of the incoming Obama administration were instructed to contact staffers at wh.LASTNAME@gmail.com until official White House e-mail addresses became available."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

?"Bloom", a project by artist Sam Spenser, turns an ordinary tree into an augmented sculpture by introducing yellow umbrellas on the end of each branch. Really nice way to add some color to the neighborhood on a dreary fall or winter day.

via Apartment Therapy

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3rd Ward is offering a couple of in-depth classes and free workshops that may be of particular interest to the Make community. Readers of Make are invited to enroll in the classes at 3rd Ward's reduced member rate. Sign up via the special paypal links or call 718.715.4961 and mention this post!

Sound Sculpture - Mondays Feb 9, 16, 23, March 2, 7-10pm
During this four-week class students will learn the basics of electronics with an emphasis on sensors and sound while at the same time collaboratively developing a massive sound installation in the 3rd Ward gallery. The course will culminate in a full-blown opening for the installation which will remain on display until the end of March.

Nonmember Cost: $475 Promotion: $400
Paypal link for Make/3rd Ward Promotion
Full class description

How to Make Crappy Stuff Awesome - Wednesdays Jan 28, Feb 4, 11, 18, 25
Learn the basic concepts for creating furniture and other useful objects out of recycled and found materials for little or no investment. Students will have access to a full wood shop, a wide range of power tools, a spray booth, and a sewing machine. One part furniture rehab and one part design, this class will focus on the techniques needed to turn crappy stuff into something you love.

Nonmember Cost: $455 Promotion: $380
Paypal link for Make/3rd Ward Promotion
Full class description

Plus, a series of free workshops focusing on audio and video technology:

Processing Introduction - Monday February 2nd, 7-9pm
Processing is an open source programming language and software environment for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions. In this intro we'll discover the basics of Processing and how easy it is to start coding, then move on to more advanced topics to give you an idea what possibilities are in store.

Circuit Bending - Friday February 6th, 7-9pm
Learn the basics of what electronic circuits are made of and how they are put together, then how to twist the intended use of that circuit to make wild, loud, and utterly unintended sounds! Free to watch, or a $20 materials fee gets you a 37-key electric piano and parts. A performance of bent instruments will close the evening.

Contact Mic Building - Friday February 13th, 7-9pm
Learn how to build your own high-quality contact mics for all your close-up recording needs. Contact mics record surface vibrations, meaning they can pick minute sounds like ice melting and hard-drives spinning. Free to watch, or a $20 materials fee gets you supplies to build two contact mics. A performance utilizing the special properties of these mics will conclude the workshop.

VDMX Tutorial - Monday February 16th, 7-10pm
VDMX is a revolutionary environment which enables you to construct a custom video processing pipeline as well as an interface to control it. This workshop is ideal for any visualists who are looking to expand their horizons by creating the custom realtime video processing applications of their dreams.

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NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Unhappy with Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson's motion to compel the deposition of the RIAA's head 'Enforcer', Matthew J. Oppenheim, in SONY BMG Music v. Tenenbaum, the RIAA threatened the good professor with sanctions (PDF) if he declined to withdraw his motion. Then the next day they filed papers opposing the motion, and indeed asked the Court to award monetary sanctions under Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"Doubles" is an electronic musical instrument that uses two controllers (which resemble air hockey mallets) and a surface of rolling beads. When moved, the controllers are measured in speed, distance, and their motion is used to create the resulting audio and visuals.

via Digital Experience

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Just posted! Our latest lens review, featuring Sigma's 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM. Completing for the moment our mini-series of APS-C format image-stabilized superzooms, we see how this lens measures up against similar designs which we've also reviewed in the course of the past year. With the likes of Canon and Tamron entering this market in the past few months, how does Sigma's two-year old offering measure up against the competition?

Glyn sez, "Hidden in the new Coroners and Justice Bill is one clause (cl.152) amending the Data Protection Act. It would allow ministers to make 'Information Sharing Orders', that can alter any Act of Parliament and cancel all rules of confidentiality in order to use information obtained for one purpose to be used for another."

"This single clause is as grave a threat to privacy as the entire ID Scheme. Combine it with the index to your life formed by the planned National Identity Register and everything recorded about you anywhere could be accessible to any official body. If Information Sharing Orders come to pass, they could (for example) immediately be used to suck up material such as tax records or electoral registers to build an early version of the National Identity Register. But the powers apply to any information, not just official information. They would permit data trafficking between government agencies and private companies - your medical records are firmly in their sights - and even with foreign governments."

We urge you to write to your MP straight away via http://www.WriteToThem.com - don't wait. The Bill is being rushed through Parliament, even as we write. It contains a number of controversial provisions, but to the casual reader appears mainly to be about reforming inquests and sentencing.

As it progresses, NO2ID will be publishing more information but it is crucial that every MP realises how dangerous the information sharing clauses in the Coroners and Justice Bill really are. This will only happen if YOU tell them.

*In your own words*, please ask your MP to read Part 8 (clauses 151 - 154) of the Coroners and Justice Bill, and to oppose the massive enabling powers in the "Information sharing" clause. The Bill is due its Second Reading in the Commons on 26th January 2009.

Request them to demand the clause be given proper Parliamentary scrutiny. This is something that will affect every single one of their constituents, unlike the rest of the Bill. There is a grave danger that the government will set a timetable that will cut off debate before these proposals - which are at the end of the Bill - are discussed.

+ A CONCEALED ASSAULT ON PRIVACY + (Thanks, Glyn!)

Mashable reports on Monty Python's YouTube channel:

“We’re letting you see absolutely everything for free. So there! But we want something in return. None of your driveling, mindless comments. Instead, we want you to click on the links, buy our movies & TV shows and soften our pain and disgust at being ripped off all these years.”

And you know what? Despite the entertainment industry’s constant cries about how bad they’re doing, it works. As we wrote yesterday, Monty Python’s DVDs climbed to No. 2 on Amazon’s Movies & TV bestsellers list, with increased sales of 23,000 percent.

Can Free Content Boost Your Sales? Yes, It Can (via Michael Geist)

A few months back, we ran an an interview with Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopaedia Britannica. That interview was in response to an earlier post, done by Tim Lee, where Tim suggested Britannica should basically just give up. Cauz talked up some new initiatives under way, and now the company has announced a more Wikipedia-like version. Users can submit changes, which are then reviewed by an editor before inclusion. Apparently, they're focused on ensuring at most a 20 minute turnaround. If so, that's impressive. However, what struck me is that Cauz seems unhealthily focused on both Wikipedia and Google.

He seems to be trash talking both of them, specifically scolding Google for linking to Wikipedia so high up so often -- and then complaining (yet again) that Wikipedia's quality isn't really that good. I'm not sure I agree on either point (and, to be honest, there are times I do Google searches and am upset when the top result is not to a Wikipedia entry -- as I've come to almost expect it now), but even if we grant Cauz the premise that (a) Wikipedia has quality problems and (b) Google favors Wikipedia too much, it still seems slightly worrisome that Cauz is even trash talking about those issues. Obviously, it wouldn't make sense to ignore either company, but a good CEO focuses on his company's own strengths in interviews and avoids trashing the competition most of the time. Whenever I see execs doing the opposite, it almost screams out insecurity about the company's own products and their quality. Yes, Britannica has an uphill road to climb after not recognizing the transformative nature and the threat posed by Wikipedia -- but the way to do it isn't by tearing Wikipedia down even as Britannica builds up its own product, but by focusing on the quality of that product.

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Humberto writes in -

Ever had a message you wanted to tell the world around you? Ever wished you had a way of taking information and having it light up in front of you, a phalanx of diodes doing your bidding, emitting light on command to form out your epistle? This video outlines how to build your own large LED Array that can be used to display patterns, simple preprogrammed messages, or even scroll data from your PC. Using a microcontroller, and a whole lot of LEDs this tutorial walks through the concepts behind making this 24x5 display possible on only a single microcontroller chip. The tutorial explains row column addressing, demonstrates the use of the diode's properties double the number of columns, and contains the complete source code for the project. It is great as DIY weekend project. Greatly extendable project with a lot of room to be creative

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nk497 writes "In the UK, ISPs are charging a child protection agency for access to IP user details they need for their investigations into online-related abuse. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre has paid out over £170,000 since 2006 on IP data requests related to child abuse cases, and expects to pay another £100,000 this year — enough to fund another two investigators. The CEOP's CEO said that any ISP which can't afford to give the police such help 'simply can't afford to do business.'" Surely it must cost the ISPs money to comply with such requests, no matter how official the quest.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

We have some excited updates to the MAKE suggest a site form... - ok, exciting for us and some makers out there. You can now put your city, state and country in the form if you choose to. We like this, and makers asked for this, it helps us know where makers are doing things and also where we should go (and possibly get a MAKE group or Maker Faire going) -- so please fill these out when you send in something. And lastly, there's a new check box that indicates if you're a MAKE subscriber - we get up a few hundred projects sent in a week, if you're a MAKE subscriber let us know!

In a few weeks we'll announce so BIG new things on the MAKE site, stay tuned!

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Ok gang, if you haven't seen this yet - here is our MODDING and ART contest! The SPEAK VISUAL™ Contest at the NVIDIA® Modification Station with MAKE!

DEADLINE IS JANUARY 25, 2009 - you have a few days left to enter!!

Do you SPEAK VISUAL^TM? - Speak in pictures, movies, games and maps - with a graphics processor from NVIDIA® you can speak the one language that never needs translation - NVIDIA® has teamed up with MAKE and created the "Modification Station" a special section on MAKE that celebrates "SPEAK VISUAL^TM" - from PC mods to amazing motion graphics this section will have some of the most amazing mods and visuals you've ever experienced. But that's not all - together, NVIDIA® and MAKE bring you the "SPEAK VISUAL^TM" contest. If you're a Maker who has an amazing PC mod, gamer station or PC hardware creation you can win amazing prizes -- from a new computer to the latest graphics cards from NVIDIA®. Not a PC modder? That's ok, if you do motion graphics, data visualization or anything that uses a graphics processor to bring your imagination to life you can enter too!

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We've had so many different stories about problems with e-voting machines and optical scan ballot counting machines, that it's at least worth acknowledging when those machines appear to have actually done their job reasonably well (though, not perfectly). Andrew Appel notes that the hand recount done in Minnesota for the Senatorial election there gave us a chance to look at how well some optical scan machines did, and he suggests they did extremely well, with a net accuracy at 99.99% and a gross accuracy of 99.91%. Of course... both of those numbers mean that the number of ballots incorrectly recorded could have swung the election in one way or another, given the minuscule margin between the two candidates.

Either way, the fact that the machines can be somewhat accurate is hardly up for debate. The issue is about whether or not we know they are accurate, and have mechanisms to easily go back and verify that they're accurate and secure. And, it's on those two issues that e-voting companies are way behind in fulfilling.

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hihopes writes "As the EU calls for a ban on plasma TVs, a leading Harvey Norman executive said that the issue should be left to vendors, who at the recent CES Show in the USA showed an array of low-powered TV display screens."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I remember having to make cardboard shoes in 3D design class in college, but Mike Leavitt really takes the notion to town. From the show description:

The Seattle artist accurately replicates in cardboard a nostalgic footlocker of shoes, from ladies pumps to 1980's sneakers. Installed like a thrift shop, the cardboard shoes will be interspersed with Leavitt's famous action figures, trading cards, Barack Obama pieces, woodcarvings, velvet paintings, and other small collectibles. Leavitt also includes his "Homeless Executive House", a cardboard sleeping unit with a miniature scale facade of the New York Stock Exchange. Traditionally distasteful and modest objects consciously designed for commerce become appropriate in the art world.

Mike Leavitt participates in an art movement that is fast maturing - a melting together of designer toys, hand-made prints, tattoo parlors, skate shops, street art, and hand-made kitsch that is consuming the art market from the bottom, up. Between high art and a crumbling economy, Leavitt has found a common ground of inexpensive but technical works keenly tailored for broad appeal. Inspirations from woodshop, kitchen craft, and figurative representation energize his shoe replications. In his work, a cheap, disposable material comprises an expensive product, similar to the manufacture of boutique footwear. His cardboard shoes suggest commercial viability is now an urgent reality.

"Don't Stop Object Shopping: The Cardboard Shoe Show" by Mike Leavitt
Fuse Gallery, 93 2nd Ave (btw 5th and 6th Sts, F to 2nd Ave)
March 21 (opening reception 7-10pm) through April 18, 2009

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With all of the financial mess out there, it's likely that we'll soon see calls for new regulations to help "protect" against fraud. However, before we rush into doing so, it's worth looking at how damaging previous attempts to do the same thing have been. We've already covered the massive amount of damage done by Sarbanes-Oxley, which basically made it extremely difficult for a private company to go public and significantly increased costs for any public company -- all while doing next to nothing to actually cut down on fraud.

And, now, FAS 157 has come into play -- a new rule impacting many venture capitalists, forcing them to figure out what the "fair market value" of their investments are, and provide that number to their investors. This has many different VCs complaining about what a stupid process this is. It raises similar questions as the legal change a few years ago that required companies to put stock option valuations on their books as well. The problem is that these things are impossible to accurately value. Not difficult, but impossible. You're asking people to value a totally illiquid asset as if it were liquid.

Even if the venture capitalists use a rigorous process, the result will be wrong. There's simply no way to accurately value something like a private startup until another transaction happens where the value is actually set. And, that's the way it should be for a private investment (it's also why not everyone is allowed to invest in such endeavors, because it is inherently more risky). But forcing companies to make up bogus (no matter how well meaning) valuations for companies has dangerous unintended consequences. No matter how bogus the numbers are, since they're there, people will use them as if they're real. And that will lead to more bad investing, rather than less. So, once again, we have a law designed to stop bad investing, which will most likely cause the opposite to occur.

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How the Computer gets the answer - LIFE, 1967...

Step by step, an easy exercise reveals the workings of man’s most complex machine Two plus One—not exactly a problem to set the mind racing or to blow a computer’s fuse. Yet it is enough to send electric pulses flying through the computer’s intricate web of wires. Although we are barely in the third decade of the computer age, computers already touch the life of everyone in the U.S. Each year—each day—our involvement with these machines rises toward unimaginable levels. It is a commonplace that if it weren’t for computers we couldn’t fly to the moon, or even keep an accurate record of the national debt. On the question of how it does what it does, however, the computer has always remained essentially mysterious—unfathomable to all but a small handful of initiates. An officer of one major computer concern guessed recently that not more than 2% of his employes really know how it works.

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Today on Offworld, we saw Spore expanding with two new PC games as well as onto the Wii and again on the DS, saw Noby Noby Boy get a firm post-Valentine's date, and wondered if Digital Chocolate's excellent one-button mobile game Tower Bloxx might be moving to the iPhone. On an artier front, we looked into the soul of an Atari 2600 and what we saw was very similar to late artist Jeremy Blake's digital art output, saw the most sinister(ly cute?) art-game to ever spring from Unreal Tournament, and saw fantastic pixel-chic fineries. One More Go columnist Margaret Robertson also told us about how Nippon Ichi's strategy RPG Disgaea was "a quest for numerical orgasm," vinyl toy designer Touma turned Animal Crossing into razor-toothed evil, a new PC demo for Puzzle Quest sequel Galactrix sucked half our day away, and finally, Persuasive Games' brilliantly scathing TSA social parody game Airport Security moved to the iPhone and ended up even smarter for it.

Here's another Make: Books PDF excerpt. This one comes from Tom Igoe's Making Things Talk, which tells you how to create Arduino- and XBee-powered devices that form networks of smart objects. This excerpt shows you how to work with two different distance rangefinders, the Sharp GPxx series of infrared rangers and the Devantech SRFxx series of ultrasonic rangers:

Electronic locating systems like GPS, mobile phone location, and sonar seem magical at first, because there's no visible evidence as to how they work. When you break the job down into its components, it becomes relatively straightforward. Most physical location systems are based on the same principle. They determine distance from several known and fixed locations by measuring the energy of an electromagnetic or acoustic wave coming from the object to be located. Then they combine those measurements to determine a position in two or three dimensions.

For example, a GPS receiver determines its position on the surface of the planet by measuring the strength of received radio signals from several geosynchronous satellites. Similarly, mobile phone location systems measure the signal strength of the phone at several cell towers. Sonar and infrared ranging sensors work by sending out an acoustic signal (sonar) or an infrared signal (IR rangers) and measuring the strength of that signal when it's reflected off the target.

Distance ranging techniques can be classified as active or passive. In active systems, the target has a radio, light, or acoustic source on it, and the receiver just listens for the signal from the target. In passive systems, the target doesn't have to have any technology on board. The receiver emits a signal, and the signal bounces off the target. Mobile phone location is active, because it relies on the phone sending out a radio signal. Sonar and infrared ranging are passive, because the sensor has to emit a signal in order to measure the reflection. GPS is an active locating technology, because although the receiver doesn't emit a signal, it has an electronic receiver onboard to receive satellites' signals.

Sometimes distance ranging is used for acquiring a position, and other times it's used for refining it. In the following examples, the passive distance rangers deliver a measurement of physical distance, but the radio ranging tell you only when another radio is in transmission range of your radio, and whether it's near or far within the range...

Follow this link for the full excerpt.

Previously:

• Eccentric Cubicle book excerpt: improvisational fabrication
  
• Fashioning Technology book excerpt: Sewing Soft Circuits
  

Buy Making Things Talk by Tom Igoe in the Maker Shed today!

Programming microcontrollers used to require an expensive development environment costing thousands of dollars and requiring professional electrical engineering expertise. Open-source physical computing platforms with simple i/o boards and development environments have led to new options for hobbyists, hackers, and makers. This book contains a series of projects that teach you what you need to know to get your creations talking to each other, connecting to the web, and forming networks of smart devices.

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CWmike writes "Pirated copies of Apple's new iWork '09 suite that are now available on file-sharing sites contain a Trojan horse that hijacks Macs and leaves them open to further attack, a security company said yesterday. The 'iServices.a' Trojan hitchhikes on iWork '09's installer, said Intego, which makes Mac security software. 'The installer for the Trojan horse is launched as soon as a user begins the installation of iWork, following the installer's request of an administrator password,' Intego said in a warning. Once installed, the Trojan "phones home" to a malicious server to notify the hacker that the Mac has been compromised, and to await instructions."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

In the past week, you may have seen various news stories about Nigerian scammers hacking into Facebook, and then sending their "friends" messages, saying they're stranded in London without money. It is, of course, just the latest improvement on the venerable old Nigerian 419 scam, this time upgraded to use hacked/phished Facebook accounts to trick trusting friends into coughing up their money. However, one of the biggest issues is raised by Yehuda Berlinger, who points out that for those who are hacked, Facebook doesn't seem to have any reasonable way to contact them and fix the problem. Considering how much of your "identity" might be tied up in your social networking profile, you would think that a company like Facebook would have a ready made system in place to handle such "emergency" situations.

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I haven't had my iPhone for that long, but a constant frustration is its overachieving autocorrection feature, which could use a bit of training on the peculiar words and acronyms I tend to use on a daily basis.

Our favorite iPhone hacker, Erica Sadun, recently investigated this very issue and found that not all text input areas measure up. Certain applications will update the iPhone's custom word database, and some don't appear to have any effect at all, namely Notes. Safari, however, seems to be the key to manually forcing a word into the database:

It wasn't until I left Notes and hopped over to Mobile Safari that I was able to make any difference at all. In Mobile Safari, I opened a new browser, typed the same words into the Google search field and, in the words of Steve Jobs, boom. Just as one would hope, the dynamic-text.dat file immediately updated without any further repetition needed. I could also see the words by looking through the file.

To test my update, I then returned to Notes and tried typing my words again. This time, Notes immediately recognized my new additions as correct, without offering a special suggestion bubble.

If you've Jailbroken your phone and want an easier way to update the dictionary with your personal lingo, you can edit the file called dynamic-text.dat in /private/var/mobile/Library/Keyboard.

What the duck? Train your iPhone to (truly) learn new words

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On Offworld, our Brandon's spotted some of the best damned retrogamer shirts I've ever seen. Woah:

Found via a trip through online fashion outlet Karma Loop, this set of games-brut Ts and hoodies from Imperial Junkie and Kiser doing Space Invaders and Galaga chic.

From L to R: The Spaced Invaders Tee, The Galaga Junkie Tee, The Space Junkie Hoodie, The Space Invaders Tee.

Imperial Junkie & Kiser: pixel fashionistas, Discuss this on Boing Boing Offworld

cremou brulee writes "Redmond's photocopiers have been unusually busy for the last couple of years, with the result that Windows 7 copies a lots of Mac OS X features. First and foremost among these is the Dock, which has been unceremoniously ripped off in Windows 7's new Taskbar. Or has it? Ars Technica has taken an in-depth look at the history and evolution of the Taskbar, and shows just how MS arrived at the Windows 7 'Superbar.' The differences between the Superbar and the Dock are analyzed in detail. The surprising conclusion? 'Ultimately, the new Taskbar is not Mac-like in any important way, and only the most facile of analyses would claim that it is.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

There were some stories yesterday saying that, despite earlier worries he'd be forced to give it up, President Obama was able to keep his Blackberry -- and now the White House has confirmed it. Apparently, some security software has been added, and a very limited number of people will know the email address. Also, it appears that the administration is noting that the Presidential Records Act does allow an exception for strictly personal emails. So, while the President is being told to consider any emails he sends to be public, strictly personal email to friends or family will likely not be kept and revealed. What isn't entirely clear is who determines what is, and what is not, personal. In the meantime, how long until we hear about the first Obama-email-inspired phishing scam? You know someone's going to try to use a fake Obama email address to try to scam people... Now, let's see what they can do about giving instant messaging back to White House staffers.

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This is a 1/12th scale model of the Dorpat telescope. It was built by William Gould for the National Geographic Society's Centennial Celebration. The original telescope was built in 1826 by Joseph von Fraunhofer for the Dorpat Observatory, and was one of the largest of its kind; you can appreciate its scale by noting the chair in the CAD model. Gould built this 15" tall model in his well appointed machine shop that includes Bridgeport and Aceria mills, a watchmaker's lathe and hand engravers dating back to 1917.

This is precision model making on an almost unfathomable level. Gould's skill and workmanship leave me speechless.

via The Internet Craftsmanship Museum

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(Click images for big)

Daniel Carter, creative director of MAKE, says:

A good old Cajun friend of mine, nicknamed Pecanhead, sent Angelica and me a "World Famous Mardi Gras King Cake" direct from New Orleans this week. It arrived today, and it is magnificently strange, delicious, colorful and bizarre. It tastes like a giant cinnamon roll with bavarian cream filling and sugary frosting and sprinkles on top. Apparently, you can order all sorts of fillings.

Here's the official inventory: A 2-pound gourmet King Cake with bavarian cream filling, a Mardi Gras can insulator, Mardi Gras throw beads, two tiny babies (a.k.a. Baby Jesus, this being a cake celebrating "King's Day," also referred to as The Epiphany) and some Mardi Gras doubloons.

One of the babies is supposed to be hidden inside the oval cake, and whoever gets the baby Jesus is obligated to bring a king cake to the next party. We didn't know that part, so instead we have him displayed on top of our cake.

Order your own delicious and festive cake here.

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Great garage mod punk from The Easybeats (1966). According to Frank at Save vs. Death, "George Young, the rhythm guitar player, is the older brother of Angus and Malcom Young and produced the first six AC/DC records. How's that for an awesome pedigree?" There's a family resemblance for sure!

(If you like this kind of music, you should listen to Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius, which plays the greatest songs from the 60 years of rock and roll. Drew Carey has a DJ spot a couple of times a month, too! You can listen to the show from the website, too.)

It probably didn't work worth a damn. (Via How to Disappear Completely)

Yeast under a microscope, via Wikipedia

Chelsea Green has 2 great posts with Sandor Katz, author of "The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements" and "Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods," on the wonderful world of fermentation.

First, here's license to experiment (if you needed it):

More than anything, I would recommend working with what you've got. Preserving the garden harvest does not require highly specialized exotic ingredients. In general, I would recommend using less refined versions of any ingredient. Unrefined sea salts typically contain a broad spectrum of minerals, including iodine. In table salt, the trace minerals are removed from the sodium chloride and then iodine is added back in (along with anti-caking chemicals). If you can, use ingredients that are less processed and which you can easily trace to their origins.

And secondly, exactly what I had been looking for: How to Brew Amazing Beer in Vast Quantities.

If you'll excuse me, I have to go buy some hops and barley now:)

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