They do work here in (at least some parts of) the US. Here's a cool trick that you absolutely shouldn't try (wink): As some have mentioned, they also control the traffic lights. So if you want to shorten the wait on a red light, have a passenger hop out and hit the crosswalk button for the cross street. This comes in particularly handy for lights that may not be adjusted to detect cars or time of day, leaving you waiting several minutes for a light in the middle of the night with no other traffic.

Who says the CCTVs aren't working? They may not do much for crime, but they do a lovely job of making people feel more like suspects than citizens.

This policy is a great illustration of the irrationality of how the "war on terror" is being managed. Computer users all know how hard it is to find our own files on our own computers, but to expect that CBP agents would be able to find suspicious files on someone else's–especially assuming that person would want that info not to be found–is ridiculous. Certainly, an exhaustive search (read, time-consuming and not feasible for even a fraction of computers that pass through security) would likely find obfuscated or otherwise hidden files, but a methodical search is only practical–forgetting for now legality–as a function of evidence gathering. The implicit assumption here must be that terrorists tend to have desktop backgrounds with pictures of UBL and folders full of suspicious files sitting on the desktop. As it stands, this invasion of privacy is merely pointless, time-wasting security theater. Do you feel safer?

Another option is to have a camera specifically for nefarious use. If the only samples of the camera's noise signature investigators have is from images of your selection, then the best they can do is correlate them to others you've selected. Just have a different camera for Facebook and snapshots and such and treat the "guilty" camera like a "hot" item.

Kudos, all! Huzzah, Umrain!

So many cool entries - I especially love the variety. Comes out like Thirteen (or more) Ways of Looking at a Kilobyte.

Better yet, anyone see Runaway?

california# usermod -g prisoners hreiser

I find pots and pans pretty useful for cooking as well, but maybe I've become too accustomed to all my fancy gadgets....

Seriously though, I would consider a decent pair of tongs essential as well. They can be had for less than $5.

Pixies and Alphaville references in one day. w000t sez w00t!

Also, if you like Alphaville, check out Le Samourai if you haven't yet - different subject matter but similar mood/vibe/look and awesome to boot.

Bravo!

Best. Band. Evar.

Seeing this helps make up for accidentally deleting the eps I made of the flying P (from which I made my bb user pic).

My passport solution is my favorite, but unfortunately unreproducible now: When I heard they were putting RFIDs in passports, I renewed before the switch. I have a passport that's good for another 9-ish years with no RFID.

Also available in cyanide for the international secret agent set.

Man, now I'm seriously jonesing for some Amabito No Moshio.

Wouldn't it save a step if they made a robot we could pee into?

Plus, since it is a keychain, you can test your work after you key someone's car.

@Alan: Actually, it looks like he spatchcocked the chicken, which is a great way to decrease cooking times and ensure even cooking.

Also: marinading (even with something very acidic) "pre-cooking" the chicken? Remind me not to eat at Mark Wilson's. It might work for fish, but there's a reason you never see chicken ceviche.

0100111101100100011001010010000001101111011011100010000001100001
0010000001010100011001010111001001100001011000100111100101110100
0110010100101110000010100100000100100000011101000110000101110011
0111010001100101001000000110111101100110001000000110010101100001
0111001001110100011010000010000001110100011000010111010101101110
0111010001110011000010100110000101101110011001000010000001110100
0110000101101001011011100111010001110011001000000111010001101000
0110010100100000011101000110111101101110011001110111010101100101
0000101001100001001000000111010001110010011010010110110001101100
0110100101101111011011100010000001110100011010010110110101100101
0111001100100000011011110111011001100101011100100010111000001010
0101000001101001011000110110000100100000011001100110000101101110
0111010001100001011100110110100101100101011100110010000001101011
0110100101101100011011110110010101100100000010100110000100100000
0110110101100101011001110110000100100000011101000110100101101101
0110010101110011001000000110111101110110011001010111001000101110

The still frame looks like robot goatse....

WURP is correct - most of these screens aren't metal anymore - nylon/poly/whatever is cheaper, easier to work with, and equally effective against bugs. If yours seems to be metal, you can get the supplies to replace it with nylon for only a little bit more $ than the pie pan and it's ridiculously easy.

Worth watching just for the wide-eyed reaction shot of the other cat. He just needs a thought bubble that reads, "ZOMG!! WTF?!"

Remember those pot holders you made as a kid with the little fabric loops? I made a coffee cozy/cuff/sleeve/holder like that for a mug that doesn't have a handle. Cost less than $5 for all materials (with plenty of extras) and tools and went together in about an hour including figuring out how to do it. I keep meaning to put together an instructable, but I'm now out of loops (but man do I have a lot of potholders).

I only recently saw this (although it's 9 months out) a strap that's a usb data cable:
http://www.merax.com/products/Photo/USB_StrapTM(black).html

While looking for that link, I came across this solar charging cell phone strap:
http://www.tokyomango.com/tokyo_mango/2008/02/mini-solar-char.html

The inclusion of the exclamation mark in the second image suggests the possibility of the adamant denial of racism. Perhaps as an exasperated response to a too often asked question:

"Are Thai people banned from these guesthouse rooms?"

"NO! Thai people permitted into this guesthouse rooms."

This reminds me of the fascinating stories I've heard of synaesthesia, and especially its relation to the arts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia#Use_in_art

These seem like props from the serial killer's basement workshop. "I am becoming, and these are the tools of my transformation..."

She should absolutely do one to Alan Watts, from whom there is much fantastic audio.

Every time I see Dave Hill in something, I start out thinking he's not that funny and end up laughing (OL, no less). Huzzah, Mr. Hill!

Quick! Somebody get him a pink pork-pie hat and a white collar!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Gator

Sentence Drawings is my favorite:
http://www.notcot.com/images/2008/04/Sentence-Drawings-Poster.jpg

It always seemed like Surface was mostly FUD to me. It appeared very suddenly as Han's system went from proof of concept to viral video to prototype to product. Sometime during the peak of the videos' popularity, Surface came out of nowhere in a typical "coming to everywhere, any time now" fashion. Now the actual product isn't really materializing? MS can go FUD themselves.

I think the Swiss cross / Red cross would have been a better choice than the heart. A caduceus would be good in North America, too - but a bit too much detail to make out easily in relief.

RJ (#2) - If you love steampunk, try Nitrome's newest game, Dirk Valentine and The Fortress of Steam - http://www.nitrome.com/games/dirkvalentine/

It's a side-scrolling platformer full of steampunky goodness, and tons of fun to boot.

For a dramatic visualization of the penetrating power of bullets through residential materials, I highly recommend the ongoing blog http://www.theboxotruth.com/

It's like a Texas version of Mythbusters.

I seriously love Patricia McKillip. I was always in awe of how beautifully and subtly she described acts of magic in The Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy: no bolts of lightning, no flames, no explosions - just fragments of a dream and song and something had changed. She writes beautiful books I'd recommend to anyone.

These could be a real source of inner conflict if one loved gardening and hated the Lakers...

"He had about a twelfth of an ounce of marijuana, resulting in a Class B misdemeanor charge that carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine."

Seriously? Draco himself would blush. No wonder sales tax is so high in Texas - they have to pay for nonsense like this somehow (and they have no state income tax).

Here are two safety options for those of us who either lose or don't like to use the pusher with our mandolines:

1: safety gloves aka "fillet" gloves - seriously, these are awesome. I also use them for boning meat. They allow good dexterity and actually improve your grip on many slippery items. They used to be steel mesh or chain, but the new ones of the last few years are worlds better. I like my Lindys: http://www.google.com/products?q=lindy+fish+gloves

2: sushi chefs will use one of the ubiquitous cotton towels when using mandolines (never on fish, of course, but for vegetables when paper-thin cuts are needed on something like ginger). Just fold it into a rectangle big enough to cover the item being cut and lay it on top of the piece and use the center of your palm to push the item over the blade. Generally, as long as the towel is loose enough, it will be pushed by the blade rather than get cut. If it does, consider the alternative and smile.

http://w000t.muxtape.com/

How much for just the awesome chair? It's bolted to the floor (or is it on rails?) and it has a harness. It's like an earthquake-ready barcalounger.

This is clearly an act. The interview - which they have on their site as well - makes it quite clear. Fred even says he hopes that his next movie will be funny.

This reminded me of a report I've seen of a goat with an ohm (IIRC) on his side. I couldn't find it in a short search, but came across a really adorable puppy in Japan with a perfect heart marking on his side:

http://www.lifeinthefastlane.ca/puppy-with-a-whopping-huge-heart/offbeat-news

Cool - a monocycle and Felix Da Housecat.

I (and CNN and now apparently your source) am confused. Did she die from a sting or a blow to the head? Is it one of those things where the sting would have killed her, but she passed out and hit her head first and that's what really did it? Every report I've heard of this seems to indicate both the sting and the head trauma as the cause of death.

Personally, I'd pay a premium to live in a neighborhood that smelled like coffee all the time.

#7 #8 #9

How about a piece of metal duct tape over the chip? Or copper foil and glue? Kind of like a permanent tinfoil hat localized around the chip itself.

Just be sure to take off your K or Na rings before washing your hands.

I did the same thing with a lamp once - it was hilarious. BTW, did you know you can comment on boingboing from prison?

Apple fans are not the only ones - watch this:

Linux is unnecessarily complicated.

Designer 1: So why'd you put three lenses on it?
Designer 2: Well, it's "Three-D," innit?
Designer 1: Go design another toothbrush.

I's been tryin fer sex years ta git tha Warshingtun Monumint tore down fer tha same reesun, dagummit! Wait, did I jes say sex years? Wang! I mean dang!

I almost skipped following the link on this one until I read the comments. Thank you guys for letting me know this is similar to some of my favorite artists. I'm glad I checked it out.

I agree that this is similar to some of Cat Power's best stuff. The Greatest is probably not Cat Power's best album, but it truly is one of her best songs. The lyrical style of The Greatest is very similar to East (i.e., "tentative, lilting... heart-breaking").

Here's a few similar artists I haven't seen in the comments yet:

Sinead O'Connor - You'd forgotten about her hadn't you? Shame on you.

Basia Bulat - Although she's much more of a soprano, the mix of vocals and instrumentation is very similar to The Weather Station.

Sufjan Stevens - Very similar musical sensibilities from a male artist.

Gold is $1000/oz (i.e. $16,000/lb) - a news making milestone from last week. Did the author write this in October 2007, make a typo, or is he using a different pound than the rest of us?

Now, if they could teach it to fetch a ball and put it in the launcher from the previous post, the circle would be complete.

I can only imagine what would happen to this machine if my English Bulldog went to play with it after getting some water.

#18 -
No, you're thinking of a dream projector, also knwon as a "joy can."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeney%2C_Meeney%2C_Miney..._Magic%21

This made me think of my favorite joke from The Critic:

"Don't worry son, I superglued the silverware to the ceiling so they couldn't get to it."
[shot of silverware glued to ceiling pans to show the dog is also glued up there]
"Dad? I understand the silverware, but why the dog?"
"You UNDERSTAND the silverware?"

Reaction cat read this too:
http://jj.am/gallery/d/36722-1/original.jpg

[WARNING - while this link is SFW, the rest of jj.am is most certainly not. Seriously, some sections are probably best avoided altogether. It's just the best link I could find.]

#5 -

After he led the whales through the channel he came back and signed autographs. Although to be fair, his name might be Noko as his N's and M's are very similar - it's hard to write underwater with a pen in your mouth.

Stories like this are why I want to kick proponents of so-called "torte reform" in the nuts (after torte reform, of course). There is no liability cap high enough to allow for negligence bordering on reckless endangerment.

I notice all of the criticisms of the article here thus far are of Schneier's examples. What does Spitzer (I won't address Killpatrick [sic] as I'm not familiar with the background) have to do with security?

I assert that his underlying argument is perfectly sound - transparency is not security. The security cameras blanketing London are a fairly good example - they are good at shifting criminal activity away from surveilled areas, but they do almost nothing to prevent terrorism. The July 7 bombers were almost all recorded by the cameras. Even routine crime isn't prevented by surveillance, merely recorded - which of course does make it easier to prosecute.

The basic point is that unless your notions of transparency includes reading people's thoughts (worldwide, no less), occasionally someone may be able to inflict harm onto society.

So... wait - I thought we were all just recently urged to switch to tap water over bottled water for the environment - and since our tap water was just as good and all.

Clearly, ZZ Top is also no longer welcome in the U.K. It's their loss - who will now tell them which girls have legs (and know how to use them)? Who!?

This guy sounds like a real class act.

Yet another item to add to the list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf#Environmental_impact

I was looking for something else on Instructables and I came across this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/ST4PGHAFCRT3DRN/

which mentions this:
http://www.millenniumcell.com/
A portable hydrogen fuel cell - just add water and plug in. It also has USB ports for charging cell phones straight from the cell.

It's in pre-production now, but that might make them even more interested in loaning a unit to a gadget reviewer...

I'm working on a passive-aggressively cooled PC in which the case is made out of a proprietary mix of guilt, blame, and doubt. So far, I've achieved some small success by repeatedly asking my motherboard, "Is it getting hotter in here?"

@clothingoptional

While 826 Valencia came first, technically, Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. should make you think of 826NYC. Of course, if you aren't living anywhere near either, perhaps my post will help suggest people find out about 826 National.

While I disagree, I certainly understand the comments supporting a ban of these items.

Rather than argue the merits of such a ban with those readers, I'd rather suggest to them a different way of looking at security.

Bruce Schneier has any number of excellent blog posts and articles about security issues such as this and always presents a reasoned view with a "big picture" viewpoint.

Here is the just one of countless examples of the type of argument many of us are trying to make:

Focus on terrorists, not tactics

Z'OH. MAH. GAWD. LAWL.

P.S. - WTF does liberalism (presumably vs conservativism) have to do with not being scared senseless of every little bit of potential danger out there? When exactly did irrational fear become a defining characteristic of conservativism?

#18 Teresa:
Yes. I think there was one in a gallery of modded mailboxes linked to from BB a couple of years ago...

http://www.boingboing.net/2004/09/06/survival-of-the-fitt.html
http://www.boingboing.net/2004/09/06/fortified-mailboxes-.html
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/04/21/mailboxes-that-fight.html
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/06/08/ugly-mailboxes-blog.html

Somewhere in there was a mailbox mounted on a pivot/swing arm - it was even set at a slight angle so that it returned to a native position by the road.

Another angle to see this from: This objection could be taken as an assertion that there is no other public place from which a script could be lobbed onto their lot. Anyone have the number for Mythbusters?

This would be a great gift for a novelist whom you wished would commit suicide.

My favorite from kottke:
Is it Christmas?, just for the rss feed:
http://www.isitchristmas.com/rss.xml

Here's a nice selection of what Jason Kottke calls single serving sites (the isyournewbicycle stuff included):

http://www.kottke.org/08/02/single-serving-sites

This would go great with the Han Solo in carbonite mini-fridge...
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/02/14/star-wars-toys-that.html

My comment response to Schneier's post still seems like the simplest way to defeat this device (for desktop machines):

Seems like the best countermeasure for this particular device would be to wire a momentary switch into the bottom of the case. As long as the computer is sitting on the desk, the power supply is on and the other power switch functions normally. Once the case is picked up off the desk, the momentary switch would power off the machine at the power supply from inside the case. Alternately, you could rig a giant stone sphere to roll through the wall when they lifted the computer - unless they were carrying a bag of sand....

I don't particularly need this type of protection (I don't encrypt anyway), but I'm thinking of doing this in something else. Maybe my little tiki should light up and roar if you pick it up....

I like my Inova X1 better. It's sufficiently bright for routine use and has been running for more than a year now on the single AA battery that came with it. Thanks to the use of a AA form-factor battery I can get cheap replacements at any retail store, use rechargeables, get fancy lithiums, or scavenge them from remotes if the power goes out and I need a light. Specialty cells for flashlights may maximize performance, but with flashlights, convenience actually matters.

Quick, someone send this to worth1000 - I'd love to see their versions of this illustration. I imagine replacing the call-outs with things like "TSA," "9-11," "Threat level: orange," "Foreigners are stealing your jobs," etc. - and that's not even the most Photoshoppy possibility.

#7 & 8

Personally, I think the reason that's silly is that it's a mini fridge (A Long Time Ago in a tiny Galaxy Far, Far Away). It would be awesome as a full-sized fridge.

Now if I could just get Harrison Ford to lay down on a vacuum former...

This'll get you executed in Saudi Arabia.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j1T_he6kn315GfOaiebNMjdbsaHA

Takuan wrote (and the sentiment was shared by others):

Someone has to start a site devoted solely to police videos

Already done - and it's an excellent site with many videos, nicely controlled investigations, and studies:

http://www.policeabuse.org/

The site speaks for itself. I recommend checking it out in small doses if -like me- this kind of thing bothers you.

Wasn't this in Grapefruit? Wait, let's check... yeah, here it is:
"Screw with Someone Piece: Sue someone for no good reason. Sue them for having a name you don't like or the color of their hair."

We've opened up a new front on the war on terror. It's an attack on the unique, the unorthodox, the unexpected; it's a war on different. If you act different, you might find yourself investigated, questioned, and even arrested -- even if you did nothing wrong, and had no intention of doing anything wrong. The problem is a combination of citizen informants and a CYA attitude among police that results in a knee-jerk escalation of reported threats.

This isn't the way counterterrorism is supposed to work, but it's happening everywhere. It's a result of our relentless campaign to convince ordinary citizens that they're the front line of terrorism defense.

Or just get a really big pepper grinder.

Percolators are underrated, but not by much. I've had one of nearly everything at one time or another: a Bialetti stove-top espresso machine, an automatic espresso machine, several automatic drip machines, a Bodum electric vacuum press, a percolator, and some I'm probably forgetting.

Here are my humble rankings (from worst to first):

worst - automatic drip machines of any type - nearly impossible to keep clean, all but designed to encourage mildew and mineral deposits. They're evidence of the triumph of convenience over quality.

not good - most household counter-top espresso machines - for many of the same reasons, but more mostly because they're not worth the time, trouble, and counter space unless espresso is all you want (I drink all coffee beverages black, anyway).

good - percolators - I have to agree with the Ruhlman: percs make cheap, generic coffee taste good. But they tend to make expensive, great coffee taste (merely) good, too. They tend to keep coffee warm by cooking it until it reduces to a thick syrup, though.

also good - electric vacuum press - actually one of the simplest systems, fairly easy to keep clean, and consistently good. The heating element stopped working on mine or I'd probably still use it.

good, but almost too different from normal coffee - A Toddy "cold brew" system - A bit inefficient and it takes about 18 hours, but the result is really good and very convenient. You end up with a sort of coffee concentrate in the fridge that I really like for iced coffee. It changes the character of the bean so much that I just use Chock Full O' Nuts for this and save the good stuff for other methods.

my favorite - I think Joel and I have the same insulated steel french press - a Bodum Columbia (but mine's a "12 cup" model, which means 6 cups outside of coffee world). Paired with a basic electric kettle, I've got a system that makes consistently superior coffee and doubles as a teapot and carafe.

PS - I've never tried the Aeropress, but will probably pick one up sometime. They just seem so inefficient, as if a pound of grounds would make 30 cups of coffee.

I'm waiting for the homing beacon with a display mounted in the dash. That's what Jimmy Bond would have in his pickup. And rockets behind the headlights - gotta have those for when you get to the tool thief.

I think the smile means someone opened the back door.

"Do they make these with a LCD tv mount on them?"
-Elvis

At least he's never used Comic Sans.

http://bancomicsans.com/

1. Limited habeas corpus - check
2. "Zero tolerance" drug laws - check
3. Security profiling - check
4. Abuse of process* - check
5. Assumption of guilt - check

* - he was told to sign a document written in Arabic which turned out to be a "confession."

Welcome to Freedom® 2.0

I'm sure the list could go on. Frankly, I was most bothered by how much of this did remind me of recent stories out of "free" countries.

Still not as scary as the Cleveland steamer ray.

I like laser etching and would love to see the finished product, but this discussion has just brought home to me the paradox of "progress."

We have a dozen or more people from around the world spending time and cutting-edge technology to approximate the results of what was originally the work of one guy with a knife and a block of wood.

Perfect for eating risotto al nero di seppia.

http://flickr.com/photos/22586005@N00/490149514/

(Flickr pic is liguine al nero di seppia, but you get the idea)

Anyone know how this affects Leopard's Unix certification?

From (http://www.apple.com/macosx/technology/unix.html):

Unix Certification
Leopard is an Open Brand UNIX 03 Registered Product, conforming to the SUSv3 and POSIX 1003.1 specifications for the C API, Shell Utilities, and Threads. Since Leopard can compile and run all your existing UNIX code, you can deploy it in environments that demand full conformance — complete with hooks to maintain compatibility with existing software.

Thanks, twig!

Looks good: "Kaye and Liv believe that a cake should taste as good as it looks, so they skip esoteric (and inedible) decorations in favor of simple buttercream, flavored whipped cream, and tinted candymaker’s chocolate..."

High-five!

#7 - This ain't frosting, it's fondant - the silicon, liposuction, and botox of the modern cake decorating world. It also frequently tastes like sweetened Play Doh.

Down with fondant! Buttercream for justice! Demand soul AND beauty!

Desktop-sized is a great improvement over the hulking behemoth cloaca machines of a few years ago, but these won't really catch on until the portable models come out. The hitch seems to be the power requirements - rechargeable batteries don't work for shit.

Finally, modern inventors have discovered the true purpose of the pyramids of ancient Egypt - painting spaceships!

I was shopping for wooden toys for my niece not long ago and some of the nicest I've seen are from Maple Landmark Woodcraft. Many are more than just slabs of wood (the school bus top comes off and you can take the passengers out). I also liked that they were available painted or plain.

They also have Tangrams, Soma blocks, and other adult stuff. I feel like I should be getting paid for this comment by this point so I'll just stop.

Weinstein says that if Democrats maintain control of Congress and gain the White House, he'll flex whatever political muscle he has acquired by being a major donor to achieve one thing: "Tougher, more stringent piracy laws."

And if the Republicans gain control? Same thing, but call it "deregulation."

I've always lusted after wall units, but more as a hybrid between architecture and furniture than this example. My dream has always been a unit with doors or panels that ran from floor to ceiling, allowing for storage while hiding most of the crap I can't seem to part with. I like the hidden screen, though - a much more elegant solution than hiding it in a cabinet or those motorized monstrosities you see on Cribs...

Take my floor-to-ceiling paneled storage center, put the TV in like this, throw in a pair of Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chairs, and a coffee table - plus several of Albers' paintings from his Homage to the Square series while I'm dreaming - and my MoCo minimalism fantasies would be fulfilled.

This made me think of the Sapporo Snow Festival:

http://www.snowfes.com/english/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapporo_Snow_Festival

It's Feb 5 - 11 this year.

#6:

Probably, he's just at that moment realized how unashamedly self-centered his new bride is and what that likely forebodes for his own future.

Somewhat incongruous, considering the remote function requires the power strip to be always-on - even if you don't need the always-on ports.

"You know, if you wanted to systematically discredit the idea of a Department of Homeland Security, if you wanted to make an utter mockery of aviation safety, you could not do a better job than this."

Well, I probably couldn't, but they're professionals - they'll think of a way to top this.