Yesterday I received a press release about a new service available to UK-based mobile phone users called AQA2U. Set up by the existing AQA text messaging service, it allows anyone to set up an account and then send SMS alerts to anyone who has decided to follow them. Though it’s free for a publisher to register, it [...]
As WordPress themes become more complex, they continue to add back-end features to their themes, but have to be judged on their front-end, as there is no easy way, that I know of, to lock down WordPress installations so that a back-end demo can be set up that won’t be “taken advantage of” by the [...]
Google has announced that it’s launched limited beta testing of a new feature: the ability to filter certain categories of advertising so that they don’t appear on a publisher’s site at all. Google says that this is one of the top requests from publishers, explaining: Category filtering will give publishers the ability to block ads that fall [...]
I just wanted to take a minute to highlight the fact that three WordPress related podcasts have all made it to their 50th episode in the last month. The WordPress Podcast comes in first, releasing their fiftieth episode on March 2nd and it was entitled “WordPress 2.7.1 released, WordPress.tv, How much do YOU love WordPress?” Charles [...]
Whitehouse.gov isn’t the open discussion website that (at least som) Barack Obama supporters from the election would have liked. I can understand why, politics is tricky business and if anyone could post a comment, it could (and would) get nasty really quick. Enter Wired’s Clive Thompson and his post on how to tame trolls. It’s not [...]
I have been thinking about what the blogosphere, and my career would be like if WordPress didn’t exist. If Matt and friends had failed to produce any tangible results and improvements, which software would we all be using? Would we be blogging at all? Many people will probably assume that some other software would have [...]
Have you ever wanted to phone someone and get an answer to your most pressing WordPress problems? Annoyed that there is no quick way to get the support you need for WordPress? Well, WordPress HelpCenter now exists as a service launched in part by Alex King. Yes, THAT Alex King. If WordPress HelpCenter can take care [...]
Matt Mullenweg has announced that Automattic will be giving blo.gs, a ping service of yore, a refresh: Yahoo! is transferring blo.gs to Automattic for safekeeping and further development. I’ve been a long-time fan of the service, and it even inspired the early WordPress feature which reordered your blogroll based on update times. Classy move on Yahoo’s part, [...]
Mike Holdsworth says: "My friends Kim and Tina are traveling to Shanghai at the moment and the following gift pack awaited them."...
I am a huge fan of simple plugins that add functionality to my website using WordPress. Some are quite simple and as was discussed in the comments on the Admin Links Widget review I did last week, many can be done via hacks within your WordPress theme files. Now, I have been known to edit my
Chuck Templeton had a vision. A place where the bridal couple and party and wedding guests, in addition to the traditional wedding photographer, could take, upload and share their photos in a private, online album to be enjoyed by the bride and groom (or bride-bride/groom-groom) and all invitees. And not just the wedding either. Folks [...]
The music, design, and wildness of this commercial for Scrabble are all first rate. So much fun! More here. (via Drawn!)...
Richard Simmons flips out. Warning: this video contains cussin', and large doses of a sometimes-scantily-clad Richard Simmons (Thanks, Richard Metzger)....
New Plugins Solr A WordPress plugin that interacts with an instance of the Solr search engine. This plugin allows you to index pages and posts, perform advanced queries and enable faceting on fields such as tags, categories, and author. Adds special template tags so you can create your own custom result pages to match your theme. Configuration
Jim Leftwich says on Twitter: Amazing video short by Stink Digital: "Carousel" It's a frozen moment of cops vs. clowns in a hospital shootout....
It’s Like Open Mic Only Different Here’s how it works. It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME. The rules are simple — be nice. There are always first timers and new things to [...]
Maybe you think “content marketing†means having a blog that makes money. Or that it’s about producing content for sites like ezinearticles and Squidoo. Or having an email autoresponder. Content marketing is bigger than that. The whole idea behind content marketing is that you can use your creativity and know-how to make something cool, then take [...]
Gareth Branwyn says: "In this adafruit video, Limor demonstrates how to set up Xbee modules to wirelessly control both standard-type and latching relays."...
Twitter, WordPress execs in Iraq to help country use new media - CNN.com. Interesting piece on CNN today about Raanan Bar-Cohen, one of nine technology executives, who begin their third day in Iraq on Tuesday as part of a U.S. State Department-led trip on how the war-battered country can effectively use new media as it
Jim Leftwich says: "Musical remixing of the news by brothers Michael and Andrew Gregory. The Katie Couric part (at about 1:20, above) is pretty awesome." Here's another episode of Auto-Tune the News....
I didn't know there was a real life inspiration for the Amy Sedaris's character Jerri Blank in Strangers with Candy. Here's Florrie Fisher talking to high school students about drug addiction. (via Save vs. Death)...
Twitter, WordPress execs in Iraq to help country use new media - CNN.com. Interesting piece on CNN today about Raanan Bar-Cohen, one of nine technology executives, who begin their third day in Iraq on Tuesday as part of a U.S. State Department-led trip on how the war-battered country can effectively use new media as it
Here's the latest Klockwerks newsletter from mad sculptor Roger Wood, a clockmaker/assembage sculptor who's branching out into glorious lamps. Roger loaned me a hall full of his clocks for my wedding and they absolutely made the night. Klockwerks...
Apparently so. Welcome to bizarro world. According to an article over at the New York Times, Ahmadinejad has been blogging for over a year and has promised to spend 15 minutes a week to update his website. The irony is palpable and the NYT doesn’t fail to point it out. There is a political irony to Mr. [...]
It is day 7 in the 31 Day challenge and today’s task is to write a ‘link post‘ - a post that links up to at least one other blog. Someone asked me recently to name a few ways that I built a readership on my first blog. One of the answers that I gave to [...]
Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.
Today while checking my AdSense earnings, I noticed a new option in the AdSense Setup page -’Video units‘. I think these were already introduced by YouTube earlier, but it was never shown on the AdSense Setup page until today. I currently have the Video units at DigitGeek below posts on single pages and find both the [...]
Regular readers of ProBlogger will be familiar with Yaro Starak. He’s been a guest blogger here and I’ve linked up to his work many times. Many hundreds (it could be thousands by now actually) of you have also have also been a part of Blog Mastermind (a fantastic course for bloggers) and Become a Blogger [...]
Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.
It’s Like Open Mic Only Different Here’s how it works. It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME. The rules are simple — be nice. There are always first timers and new things to [...]
David Wilson posted a neat video that explains how he built a bunch of modified praxinoscopes (kind of like a zoetrope) to make Moray McLaren's "We Got Time" video. The making of Moray McLaren's "We Got Time" video (Thanks, Joseph Francis!)...
Back, a long time ago, I remember a discussion surrounding Habari, and potentially using Trac as the way of organizing and overseeing the graphical concerns of the platform, much like they did the code, but quickly, they realized that graphics don’t always fit into a system like Trac. Seems the same can’t be said for [...]
AdSense today announced at Adspace and on their blog that they’re developing a much requested feature for publishes - category filtering. “Category filtering will give publishers the ability to block ads that fall into specific categories such as dating, religion, and politics. Regardless of how ads are targeted, they’ll be filtered if they’re within one of [...]
Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.
Collis Ta’eed, of Envato fame, has a great post up on The Netsetter, about analyzing and tracking the competition. This is something that is a lot easier today, with all the great services online, than it was five years ago. If you’re serious about knowing what your competitors are doing, you really should check this [...]
My husband was doing his best to explain Twitter to non-techy friends of ours. As the experienced web user and teacher, I was fascinated to hear how he would explain something he’s never used. Twitter is a public way to have a private conversation. He’s very right. In “Silly Out-of-Context Tweets â€" Can They Hurt?” Liz [...]
Your task today is another writing oriented challenge and is all about expressing an opinion. There are many factors that set great bloggers apart from the rest but one that I’ve seen continually cropping up over the last few years of interacting with successful bloggers is that they often have and are not afraid to express [...]
Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.
Shed friendly artist Elena Thomas asks, "I am an artist currently working on a shed project which involves me covering sheds with fabric. do you have a shed that you want covered?" Do you want your shed covered in Fabric? (Thanks, Uncle Wilco!)...
You know what is worse than someone stealing the hard work of someone else and profiting from it? No, I didn’t either, until today. The answer? Claiming that THEY are the victim. Yes, you read that right. Not only did this guy steal 50 of Darren Rowse’s posts (50!), but they are trying to make out that [...]
Today’s task is to create a Sneeze Page for your blog. What is a Sneeze Page? The term ’sneeze page’ is one that I came up with for the 2007 version of the 31 Days to Build a Better blog and is a concept that I’ve been using as a key strategy in my blogs for quite [...]
Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.
European e-commerce web site Vente-Privee.com has announced the launch of UK and Italian blogs, aimed to offer a more direct line of contact with its seven million strong membership base and increasing transparency. The press release suggests that the blog “reveals all the secrets behind the website: how it works, tricks of the trade, the latest [...]
New readers to your blog are making decisions within seconds of arriving at your blog that will determine how (and if) they’ll use your blog. In the same way that first impressions can be vital in real life interactions - online they are just as important. Today’s task in the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog [...]
Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.
Learn how to create a sleek and stylish WordPress theme in Photoshop with this tutorial from PSDVibe. A little tweak with a little creativity could land you a personalized theme. Once you put together your new theme, don’t forget to offer it to others to download and enjoy! Learn some new tricks and discover new tools
Yesterday’s task in the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge was to write a ‘list post’ on your blog. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to write that up and publish it by now. Today we’re going to take that post and attempt to drive some readers to it. Today’s Teaching on Promoting Blog Posts: Blog Promotion [...]
Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.
Video can be highly effective as a persuasive and engaging form of web content. But all too often, it’s… well, not. Online video must be engaging before it can be persuasive. Just as with getting someone to read an entire article, the idea is to get someone to start watching, and keep watching until the end, [...]
Jason Kottke's got a good, link-dense post about several efforts to re-imagine media packaging -- video game boxes that look like Penguin covers, notional Nintendo DS tie-in games for movies -- basically, making stylish boxes for the lowbrow stuff we all love. Media packaging mashups...
Big news recently was the movement of Blo.gs, a popular ping service, to Automattic, the keepers of WordPress. It seems Automattic has been entrusted with continuing to develop Blo.gs though I don’t understand how they can effectively do that while managing all of the other projects they currently have on the go. Automattic as a [...]
A naked man at the Coachella festival didn't want to put on his clothes, so the police wrestled him to the ground and tasered him multiple times. The crowd, who didn't seem to mind the naked wizard, booed the police, and called them names. Thanks to Tracy Anderson for videotaping the event. (Video shows nudity.)...
Energy Inside or Out Today in a telephone conversation with @PJMcGuire, we talked about how people see us and who we are. She mentioned that she had called herself a “people person,” and someone she works with said, “No, you’re more than that, you’re a traditional extrovert. You get your energy from other people.” I’ve [...]
A quote from the person who put this video up on YouTube: "This is a spot from Argentina which includes a transgender woman. It talks about tolerance and teaches us that all people are the same even if they are straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender." (Thanks, Tara McGinley and Richard Metzger)....
Mark Twain said the difference between the right word and the almost right word is “the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.†Twain had an incredible knack for nicely summing it all up, didn’t he? The value of your content and/or your offer is what ultimately matters. And yet the words you use to demonstrate [...]
Warren Ellis has written a new series of GI Joe cartoons, reimagining the infra-dumb 80s toy-sales vehicle as a serious war comic. Adult Swim has the original episodes, but they're blocked outside of the US, so if you're in the UK like me, you can watch 'em on YouTube. GI Joe Resolute (YouTube) GI Joe Resolute (Adult Swim) (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)...
The Christmas/New Year break was, in hindsight, not the best time to organize this competition… but never mind! The prizes are still awesome, and the quality of submissions has been really excellent. So we’re into Phase Two (no more submissions will now be accepted) and Guy Kawasaki will receive the list of ten finalists shortly. In [...]
I love this “age of social media”. We’re seeing the “populace” given voice in ways that have never existed before. Here’s an example from today… In a Guardian article just published, entitled “The ‘continent of smoke’ is still burning“, writer (and Guardian Weekly editor) Natalie Bennett chooses very insensitive timing to discuss Australian urban planning, population, [...]
My friend Sharon Hall sent me some screeners of a new cop show on ABC called The Unusuals. She thought I'd enjoy them, and she was right. I don't watch many police shows, but The Unusuals' offbeat characters appealed to me. A new episode airs tonight. You can also watch the previous episodes for free at the link. The Unusuals...
From the Bob Basset steampunk art collective in the Ukraine, their latest creation: a stunning black leather pilot mask. I own one of their masks and it is a goddamned thing of beauty. Black Pilot Leather Mask. МаÑка ЧÑ'рный Пилот. Previously:Cthulhu mask on eBay - Boing Boing Cthulhu mask on eBay - Boing Boing Leather Cthuhlu mask from steampunk gas-mask artist - Boing Boing...
The TV-Links website has been shut down and it’s 26-year-old operator arrested after a raid by Gloucestershire Police in cooperation with an anti-piracy group called Fact (Federation Against Copyright Theft). What’s disturbing about this is TV-Links didn’t host any of the movies or shows themselves. All they did was link to videos on YouTube, Google [...]
Barnaby Ward, illustrator of the excellent Sixteen Miles to Merricks, says: I recently started a Twitter feed to help document my work process. I'm very particular about what I put on my blog, so I figured a Twitter account would be a great way to post sketches, studies and work-in-progress shots from personal and non NDA projects. It's not quite at the tutorial stage, but if you're interested in seeing how I develop my work in photoshop, you can see the progress here....
From TorrentFreak: A DVD-player that has been designed to prevent DVD-screeners from leaking to the public will be phased out because industry insiders say the DRM hurts their viewing pleasure. It seems that DRM is fine when it’s annoying the public but unacceptable when it’s affecting them. The hypocrisy of people within the film industry is [...]
WordPress Sales & Affiliate Themes I spent the better part of a week and a few hundred dollars ($300-$400) on various WordPress sales letter and affiliate themes - I came to the conclusion that they weren't something I would use. Some I would class as pretty but lacking substance (polite version of crap) Every single theme was designed [...]
I wonder what the "your business card is crap" guy would have to say about these, because his fancy card has just been pwned by these awesome meat cards. We start with 100% beef jerky, and SEAR your contact information into it with a 150 WATT CO2 LASER. Screw die-cutting. Forget about foil, popups, or UV spot lamination. THESE business cards have two ingredients: MEAT AND LASERS. Unlike other business cards, MEAT CARDS will retain value after the econopocalypse. Hoard and barter your calorie-rich, life-sustaining cards. Meat cards...
Lisa Gold, the amazing researcher who helped Neal Stephenson get the details right in the Baroque Trilogy, is conducting a "Research for Writers" seminar in Seattle: Research is an important part of the creative process for writers of fiction and nonfiction. Research can help with inspiration, storytelling and world building whether you are writing about the past, present or future, about life on earth or an imaginary world. The instructor will share advice about research, discuss the kinds of research writers may need to do and help students find useful sources of information in print, on the Web, in libraries and in unexpected places. You can still register for my Research for Writers class Previously:Fantastic research blog - Boing Boing...
I noticed some days back that JohnTP.com was banned on Digg, but first thought that it was a temporary thing. But it seems that this blog is really banned on Digg. But for what? I have not submitted any post from this blog for maybe more than a year. What I think happened is that someone submitted [...]
Derek Erdman made this fine painting titled "Fortunate Teens Party With Morrissey, 1994." Here's Erdman's background on the piece: There is a seldom told story that Morrissey's tour bus broke down in small town Ohio in the autumn of 1994. A full day was necessary for the repairs to be completed and Morrissey and his band delighted local teenaged fans by stopping by a house party to drink beer and smoke marijuana. "It was the time of my life," remarks Tamara Marshall, who was hosting the party. "My parents were out of town and I was told not to have a party, but once Morrissey showed up I knew I wasn't going to be a secret for long." When asked what she remembered most about Morrissey's visit, Tamara answered, "He didn't like Rolling Rock beer". Fortunate Teens Party With Morrissey, 1994 (Thanks, Richard Metzger!) Previously:No One Wants to Play Sega with Harrison Ford - Boing Boing...
I took two days off Twitter recently and listened. By listening I mean watched. I’d been noticing the changes: the shifting, the influx and the exodus. I’m not talking about how the interface is working; I’m talking about the how the users are changing through the use of the tool. I’m a sociologist at [...]
Copyblogger has published a list of five things to consider when getting hit by those snarky critics that just want to pick your carefully penned blog post to pieces. We’ve all been there, haven’t we, gotten hit by criticism. Sometimes it is warranted, and sometimes not. It really doesn’t matter, what does is how you [...]
Maggie Koerth-Baker is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. A freelance science and health journalist, Maggie lives in Minneapolis, brain dumps on Twitter, and writes quite often for mental_floss magazine. My friends' 3-year-old son, Will, asks, "Do cockroaches have a penis?" This turns out to be a surprisingly difficult question to answer. First off, most basic sources will just try to give you some fluffy answer about how to tell a boy cockroach from a girl cockroach, which doesn't have anything to do with penises (or lack thereof) at all. In fact, apparently, the easiest way to sex your cockroach is to count the number of of segments on the underside of its abdomen, according to roach expert Joseph Kunkel, a biology professor at the University of Mass., Amherst. Girls have more segments. Boys have fewer Second, there appears to have been a lot more research done on female cockroach reproductive anatomy. And for good reason: It is more noticeably freaky. Female cockroaches carry their fertilized eggs around in these pod-like sacks called ootheca. Some cockroaches will tote the ootheca around attached to their bodies until the babies hatch. Other species, however, simply drop the ootheca off in some hidden corner, where the babies can incubate safely while you beat their mothers to death with a shoe. Stumble upon enough ootheca in the basement, and its liable to be the first thing you take to the lab. But, while useful, this information does not answer the young man's question. For that, I had to turn to Cockroaches, a 2007 book by William J. Bell, Louis Marcus Roth, Christine A. Nalepa, and (yes) Edward O. Wilson. Their description of the male cockroach junk helpfully explained why I'd been getting so much confusing (and conflicting) information from other sources. To wit: A number of intromittent structures in the male cockroach have been called a penis ... Although these structures may be associated with the ejaculatory duct ... penis-like organs function in some capacity other than to convey sperm directly So there you have it. Cockroaches: They have no penis. But they do have a lot of things that are frequently called a "penis". Many of these bits and pieces seem to actually be used for cockblocking, so to speak. Let me explain. Instead of the familiar-to-us method of copulation, male cockroaches produce a hard, little packet full of sperm, called a spermatophore, which they transfer into their favorite gal. But, unless it's her first time around the block, there's a decent chance that somebody else's spermatophore is already in there. A male cockroach has a better chance of passing on his genes if he can get rid of the competing sperm. Whether hooked, whip-like, barbed or spiny, those not!penis structures are likely used by male cockroaches to clear out rival spermatophores, according to the august authors of Cockroaches, the book. Beach-bunny cockroaches provided by kthypryn....
Remember the urgent raids British cops conducted two weeks ago after the names of potential terrorists leaked when a top official got out of a cab, holding a top secret memo that the newspapers photographed and published? Remember how this publication had the potential to tip off these scary terrorists about their impending arrests? Turns out that the police didn't find any evidence, though they held the men for 13 days. Then they let them go. All of 12 men arrested over a suspected bomb plot in the UK have now been released without charge by police. Eleven of the men have been transferred to the custody of the UK Borders Agency and now face possible deportation. The Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to press charges or hold them any longer. The Muslim Council of Britain said the government behaved "very dishonourably" over the treatment of the men should admit it had made a mistake. No charges after anti-terror raid (via Schneier)...
A few days ago Twitter announced on their status blog that all Twitter users are only allowed to follow a maximum of 1000 people a day. This rule was designed to cut down on ‘follow spam’, the act of following many Twitter users in order to get them to follow you back or click on your links. When combined with the already [...]
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Joel Drapper asks:
I would like to know how you come up with ideas for posts, and also how you store, and organize those ideas.Most of the times ideas will come to me naturally. Sometimes I am surfing the web, other times I am taking a shower, and the idea will just pop in my head. There are times when I not particularly inspired, though, and on those occasions I need to use some exercises to get the creative juices flowing. Here are the exercises that I use:
How Do Your Come Up, Store and Organize Ideas for Blog Posts?
In this episode of Make: Talk, we'll be joined by Nathan Seidle, the founder of SparkFun, a hobbyist electronics company, which recently held an autonomous vehicle competition. We'll also present some news from the world of making, and our favorite tricks, tips, and tools of the week. Be sure to call in for prizes that we'll award during the program! The number is (646) 915-8698. Below is the show player, where you can listen to the live program on Friday, and to past episodes. Make: Talk on BlogTalkRadio...
Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein are two of my favorite tweeters, and they've just written The Twitter Book, a pleasingly-designed 240-page guide to making the most out of Twitter. The hard copy won't be out for a little while, but you can buy the PDF right now for $15.99. As Cory says on the cover blurb, "This book delivers a bunch of sensible, down-to-earth material on using and enjoying Twitter.: I couldn't agree more. This colorful guide will teach you everything you need to know to quickly become a Twitter power user, including strategies and tactics for using Twitter's 140-character messages as a serious--and effective--way to boost your business. Co-written by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein, widely followed and highly respected Twitterers, the practical information in The Twitter Book is presented in a fun, full-color format that's packed with helpful examples and clear explanations. The Twitter Book, by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein...
Dark Strict 2-column design with widget ready sidebar Typogriph Typogriph is a minimalistic WordPress theme, with a strong focus on content, typography and further customization. The strict XHTML is valid and SE optimized. The layout is grid-based and liquid. It uses a minimal color scheme (white, dark, shades of gray, khaki and burnt red - for mouseover events).
Steve Lodefink just shared with me the photos of his first cigar box guitar. What a beaut! Here's the headstock, here's the body. Previously:Steve Lodefink's "Telekaster" - Boing Boing Steve Lodefink guestblogging Dinosaurs and Robots - Boing Boing Adopt one of Steve Lodefink's adorable, furry, gargantuan ... Crankbait! A fishing lure art show - Boing Boing DIY Planet of the Apes tunic - Boing Boing Finkbuilt giving away painting to person who wants it the most ... Crankbait fishing lures in Outdoor Life - Boing Boing Super-8 movie of Olympia to Seattle in two minutes - Boing Boing Hit-and-run parking garage creep caught - Boing Boing Pieces of trash sold in clear plastic bubbles - Boing Boing...
Fancy Bright colors, WP 2.7 compatible, 3 columns design, adsense ready. Swiss Mono Simple, black and white, two column theme with a widgetized sidebar, 125×125 sidebar advertisement support and theme options. Funny Squares 2-column design with widget ready sidebar, pure CSS layout, no tables used Deepest Blue A 2 column magazine style WordPress theme featuring a featured content slider and integrated sidebar
Stephen Worth says: When people of the past envisioned what the inhabitants of other planets might be like, they conceived of gods and spirits who lived lives like those of the heroes and villains found in fables and ancient myths. Around the turn of the 20th century, mankind's conception of the world underwent a huge shift. Advances in technology were occurring at an unprecedented rate. These changes affected the way people lived their lives and the way they thought about their place in the universe. People began to think there might be no limit to the number of amazing changes technology was going to bring to them in the next hundred years. They were right. Today at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, I posted an article on how visionary animators like Ward Kimball and Walt Disney were responsible for putting a man on the moon. Yes, we have Walt to thank for our space program! The post contains a complete illustrated article by the father of modern space art, Chesley Bonestell, and clips from Disney's landmark TV program, "Mars and Beyond." Enjoy! ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive: Our Dreams of the Future...
Michael Arrington of Tech Crunch shares the sunshine with all. If that seems like an odd question, it is. Still… what if? We’re in a strange (if not brave) new world. For all the good it’s brought us, there’s a potentially dark underbelly that needs to be considered. It’s nice to look at successful blogs, Twitter accounts, and [...]
Maggie Koerth-Baker is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. A freelance science and health journalist, Maggie lives in Minneapolis, brain dumps on Twitter, and writes quite often for mental_floss magazine. Push away those vile stereotypes. Llamas are more than mere walking sweaters or Internet meme fodder. For one thing, they jump high enough to warrant a competitive circuit. They also make excellent guard animals for smaller beasts, such as alpaca or sheep. (No, really. Guard llamas. My aunt and uncle have one on their highly productive alpaca farm*.) Plus, they're also supposed to make a pretty good meat source. Llama meat was the first jerky; or charqui, as the Inca called it. Back in 2006, scientists working with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory announced another area of llama expertise: Fighting in the War on Terror. Llama blood may one day be able to help soldiers, scientists and city officials set up an early-warning system against the tiniest weapons of terror--biological agents like anthrax and smallpox. Authorities have long worried that, were these diseases to get loose, it would be difficult to know anything was wrong until innocent people started dying. Llama blood might provide a better detection method. How? Antibodies, the tiny molecules that float around in the bloodstreams of people and almost all animals. Antibodies keep a sort of "memory" of all the diseases, allergens and other foreign invaders your body has come into contact with. If the same infiltrator shows up again, the antibodies can match it up with their stored records and immediately know how to fight it. For a while now, scientists have used genetically altered antibodies to help ID and treat specific diseases. But these techniques always ran into a common problem: Antibodies were just too delicate to be of much use outside a lab or hospital setting. Enter the llama. According to news stories about the research, llamas have extraordinarily tough and hardy antibodies, capable of sustaining exposure to temperatures as high as 200 degrees F. This discovery gave the researchers the idea to develop sensors, based on llama antibodies, that could be distributed to soldiers in a war, or around cities back home. Modified to be specifically on the lookout for likely-to-be-weaponized diseases, these sensors could pick up signs of a biochemical attack before victims started arriving at the hospital. I wrote about this research in Be Amazing, back in early 2007. Since then, I haven't seen much more on whether or not these efforts have been successful. If the Internet Hivemind has any input or updates, I'd love to hear about them. Michael Rogalski did not harm any llamas in the making of this illustration. *Production on alpaca farm measured in bales of cuteness....
Outsourcing has long been the practice of large companies looking to cut costs and streamline processes. But many small startups have also chosen to outsource some of the key functions of their business in order to manage things more effectively. Many young companies are running lean and mean with few employees wearing many hats. This [...]
The Twitter songs are not over. Here's a new one called "Let Me Twitter Dat." The song is by Kool Kojak and Andy Milonakis.
(via BuzzFeed)
Posted in Twitter
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I've you've never read The Perry Bible Fellowship webcomic, now's the time to start. Dark Horse recently published a giant omnibus of material from Nicholas Gurewitch's PBF, The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack, and it's a concentrated dose of the kind of dark, twisted humor that makes you bark with laughter and look away at the same time. Gurewitch's comedy is solidly in the "unexpected turn of events" school, the surprise in the final panel that contains as much surrealism, malignancy and social commentary as it does humor. This is complemented by Gurewitch's visual style, which veers from the simplistic and cartoonish to incredibly detailed line art that's like something out of Tony Millionaire. Last year, Gurewitch had a huge success with the first collection of his strip, The Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories, which pre-sold three print runs before its ship date (!), so it's no surprise that Dark Horse would reprise the collection this year. Be warned, though: the Almanack duplicates all the material in the Colonel Sweeto collection, though it's twice as long, including many strips that were omitted from Sweeto, including a number that were too racy, gross, unfunny or weird for the newspaper syndicate, as well as sketches and interviews. Here's what I'd do if I already owned Colonel Sweeto: I'd get this one anyway and give the Sweeto to someone who needed a good mind-blowing. Both books are very handsomely made (Dark Horse does a quality product) and both are the kind of funny that's worth having around. The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack</a...
Tim Biskup is issuing a new bronze sculpture of his popular Pollard character. There are only 44 in the edition. Bronze "Pollard" Sculpture Previously:BBtv: Pop surrealist artist Tim Biskup / Diesel Sweeties sculptor ... Tim Biskup: new gallery show in NYC - Boing Boing Tim Biskup in Tokyo - Boing Boing Tim Biskup's tiny sculpture - Boing Boing...
A lot of golfers envy Tiger Woods. And a lot of bloggers envy Gary Vaynerchuk. But is that a good comparison? It may well be, because Gary has used social media to rocket his company to fame (and reasonable fortune). And he’s done it mostly through blogging and social networking. So does that mean Gary Vee succeeds [...]
"Stop action 8mm film Butt Race made with neighborhood kids in 1965 when director was age 14." (Thanks, HC!) Previously:1952 stop-motion short film - Boing Boing Fun stop motion videos - Boing Boing Lazyweb request -- gulf western stop motion commercials - Boing Boing 1967 live stop motion animation short - Boing Boing Early 70s Levi stop-motion commercial - Boing Boing 1965 skateboard movie: Skaterdater - Boing Boing...
It’s no secret that much of the link-sharing that goes on these days happens on Twitter instead of blogs, so here are some of the links I shared over there this week. I’m not sure how regular a feature this will be, however, so follow Copyblogger on Twitter for all the real-time linky goodness. How to [...]
Twitter has become the place for sharing content links. If your content catches attention on Twitter and spreads, suddenly you’re getting significant traffic from people who may have never visited your site before. But don’t forget to share other people’s quality content on Twitter. This helps you build up a Twitter audience that values your editorial [...]
Last night in Los Angeles, Throbbing Gristle performed a live soundtrack accompaniment to Derek Jarman's film In The Shadow of the Sun. Boing Boing Video, Richard Metzger, and friends were at the show. By all accounts, it was a provocative, challenging, and mindbending experience. Watch this space for a full multimedia report soon. Meanwhile, above is "TG: Psychic Rally In Heaven," a short film Jarman made for Throbbing Gristle in 1981. Best viewed at high quality, in a darkened room, with headphones....
• Cute, pink puffy speakers -- for those who speak Chinese • A day with the email-only Peek Pronto • Star Wars cupcakes that look a little chewy • Glowing Swarovski crystals in mesh sacks make awe$ome lamps • A rig that lets you hang your guitar in the closet (where it belongs) • An hour with Griffin's TuneFlex AUX • Summer to do: build a tiny house, finally • Did you know you can now stream Nova on PBS.com? • Earth Day alert: "Wasting money on a gadget I don't need just doesn't seem smart." • LEDs that make your home glow like a Virgin-Atlantic cabin....
I’ve found that, on Twitter, I’ve been befriended by people who claim to be either well-known (like Barack Obama) or people I know. Problem is, they are fake profiles. Even the Dalai Lama had his profile faked. Often, the only thing that’s changed is the addition of an underscore or a middle initial. Two reasons why [...]
Steven Morris of The Guardian reports on a herd cows in Devon that were bred by a pair of brothers who wanted to recreate the aurochs, "an extinct European wild ox" that "features as an important beast in Teutonic mythology." Derek Gow believes Heck cattle - which, he says, "look prehistoric" - could one day have an important conservation role, taking the place of aurochs in the environment. "They would be ideal for a reintroduction programme in Britain because they don't need human attention." He added: "They are an important part of the ecosystem because each cow produces its own weight in dung a year. That is excellent for the whole food chain, from dung beetles upwards." Nazi-bred super cows roam farm in Devon...
Here's my take on the new Maui Pineapple corporate blog (press release here). 3 things I like: Blog Content - Who can resist the sweet tang of fresh pineapples? Okay, seriously - I like the content of this corporate blog. It's friendly. The images are mouth-watering. And I find the content to be genuine-sounding. Blog Design - The [...]
Comcast (a BB sponsor) is holding a contest in which you design your own virtual apartment in "Comcast Town." They invited Boing Boing to judge but, even more fun, they asked us to suggest some Boing Boing furniture that people could use to decorate their pads! Above is the living room I designed. (I'm obviously not eligible to win. Sniff, sniff.) Notice the steampunk computer, carnivorous plant, and Flying Spaghetti Monster statue. I think the illustrator did a terrific job. In fact, I wish it was my real living room! The grand prize winning design gets a real-world room remodel, 40-inch HDTV, a new laptop, and a digital phone. I'm just helping select the ten finalists -- then it's up to The People. Comcast Town (Flash site)...
Thought I'd give you some of my thoughts on the new Kapalua Resort corporate blog to go with my review of the official blog of its parent company, Maui Pineapple. (Here's the press release for the Kapalua blog.) 3 things I like: Blog Content - It's clear from the outset that the purpose of the Kapalua business [...]
Mike Pusateri shows how he made bacon from pork belly. The first step is curing the pork belly with a dry cure of salt, sugar, and pink salt (sodium nitrite). The main purpose of the cure is to prevent any bacterial growth on the meat and draw out some water. Let's remember that refrigeration is a relatively new invention. In the past, a big life problem was finding ways to preserve meat for use long after it was killed. Curing by salting, smoking, and drying are methods to prevent meat from spoiling. Making bacon was a way to save the pork belly for later use. Pork belly was also the main ingredient of salt pork, a mainstay of the military diet for centuries. Homemade bacon...
Dear Business Blog Wire Reader, Know More Media (the network that hosts this blog) plans to cease operations as of next Friday, August 1, 2008. That's almost certainly gonna happen. (We'll see.) So I will no longer be a full-time editor for KMM (my job since 2005). But have no fear. Business Blog Wire is here to stay. And I [...]
James Snyder took this striking photo of a frog that ate a small light bulb. It was featured in National Geographic's "Daily Dozen." This is a Cuban tree frog on a tree in my backyard in southern Florida. How and why he ate this light is a mystery. It should be noted that at the time I was taking this photo, I thought this frog was dead having cooked himself from the inside. I’m happy to say I was wrong. After a few shots he adjusted his position. So after I was finished shooting him, I pulled the light out of his mouth and he was fine. Actually, I might be crazy but I don’t think he was very happy when I took his light away. (Via bangocibumbumpuluj)...
It has been a long while since I’ve covered Habari on this blog, and I am still interested in the developments of the blog platform. With the latest release, it doesn’t seem like they’ve put much “fanfare” into it, and here are some details from their dev blog. We’re really happy to announce our 0.6 release, [...]
A video showing a member of the United Arab Emirates' royal family torturing a man with whips, electrocution and a nail-spiked board has been released. The Minister of the Interior (one of the torturer's brothers) reviewed the recording and concluded "all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department." A man in a UAE police uniform is seen on the tape tying the victim's arms and legs, and later holding him down as the Sheikh pours salt on the man's wounds and then drives over him with his Mercedes SUV. In a statement to ABC News, the UAE Ministry of the Interior said it had reviewed the tape and acknowledged the involvement of Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, brother of the country's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed. ABC News Exclusive: Torture Tape Implicates UAE Royal Sheikh (via Digg)...
There’s a pretty interesting piece on Twitter’s Biz Stone in San Francisco Chronicle. Actually, it hit the web two days ago, and I glanced it, deciding not to cover it here. After all, there really wasn’t anything new there. Then I read this post by Silicon Alley Insider, built around a bullet list of trivia pulled [...]
Bette Calman is a yoga instructor at age 83. She teaches as many as 11 classes a week and has no plans to retire. From News.com.au: "Even a basic posture, or just going to a window and breathing deeply, can have big benefits." It's that spirit that has made Mrs Calman a legend. The author of three yoga books was a pioneer of the regime in Australia in the 1950s, ran yoga centres interstate for 33 years and made regular TV appearances in the 70s. "Yoga instructor Bette Calman still going strong at 83" (Thanks, Tara McGinley!) Previously:Yoga "Eco Mat" Review: PrAna Revolution (Attention-Conservation ... Army's New PTSD Treatments: Yoga, Reiki, 'Bioenergy' - Boing Boing BBtv: Zombie Yoga. 100 undead doing poses in the park. - Boing Boing Robot Yoga - Boing Boing...
vexed.box Three column, widget ready, WordPress template capable of displaying large amounts of content without suffering aesthetically nor functionally. AffiliatePress AffiliatePress is intended to assist you in starting your own affiliate website. Start making extra income selling any products on the net that have an affiliate program. This theme is very easy to use and requires no custom
Above is a small piece of an amazing panoramic photo of a street of abandoned houses in Detroit. Last week I read in the morning paper about a street here where 60 out of 66 homes were vacant or abandoned on a single block. The reporter called it a "ghost street." Yesterday I found myself in the area. Other than an errant sofa, the street was completely empty, almost peaceful. I took a photo of every house on the north side of one block and then stitched them together. If you were to compare the current international housing crisis to a black hole sucking the equity out of our homes, this one-way street near the northern border of Detroit might just be the singularity: the point where the density of the problem defies anyone's ability to comprehend it. These homes started emptying in 2006. (Via The Agitator)...
New Plugins No Frames No frames removes the browser frames sometimes imposed on your site. Ads For Old Posts The Ads For Old Posts plugin will automatically insert an ad block in your posts once they reach a certain age. The idea is to not bother your regular readers with ads, but display the ads for people who may
New Plugins WP Frame Breaker Uses a short JavaScript to remove any containing frames around your WordPress site. The Digg toolbar now adds frames to sites, affecting site owners traffic stats and SEO. Using “WP Frame Breaker†will force your site out of the Digg containing frame. Private Tags The “Private Tags†WordPress plugin allows users to specify a
John Maushammer writes on the Make Blog: Ever since the first TechShop opened in the San Francisco bay area, I've been dying for one in Downtown Denver. Well, my dreams have been answered - Club Workshop is a well-equipped public access workshop, where you can craft your projects using their machine tools, rapid prototyping machine, laser engraver/cutter, woodworking tools, and welding equipment. Naturally, they also offer classes so you can learn how to use these tools. This maker-friendly spot will host the first meeting of the Denver Maker's group, and I've been invited to be the guest speaker. I'll give a presentation on the build process behind my Pong/Asteroids Watches and discuss some of my projects, including how to tinker with carbon fiber. Link: Club homepage Date: Thursday, April 23th, 2009 - 7pm Location: Club Workshop 999 Vallejo St. Denver 80204 (centrally located near I-25 & 8th Ave., on the East side)...
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