Saturday, February 2, 2013
A must-read for anyone who wants to be less stupid
A must-read for anyone who wants to be less stupid: When it comes to discerning truth from myth, our enemy is ourselves — and ourselves really, Really, REALLY like to turn chance events into coherent narratives. (Via Kellan)
WTO gives Antigua the right to sell pirated American copyrighted goods
[Wow, this is extra-weird. -egg]
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WTO gives Antigua the right to sell pirated American copyrighted goods
The WTO agreement is supposed to guarantee level playing fields for its member states, allowing each to sell into the others' markets. But US law bans online gambling, which is the major export from Antigua. Antigua has been going back and forth with the USA in trade court since 2003, and now the WTO has agreed that the US has violated its treaty obligations. By way of reparations, the WTO has given Antigua permission to set up a kind of legal pirate market, where American copyrighted works can be sold without permission or royalties. The initial ruling came in 2007, and was affirmed on Monday. Antigua has announced plans for a site for downloading US software, music and movies.
Antigua's Finance Minister Harold Lovell said in a comment that the U.S. left his Government no other option than to respond in this manner. Antigua's gambling industry was devastated by the unfair practices of the U.S. and years of negotiations have offered no compromise.
"These aggressive efforts to shut down the remote gaming industry in Antigua has resulted in the loss of thousands of good paying jobs and seizure by the Americans of billions of dollars belonging to gaming operators and their customers in financial institutions across the world," Lowell says.
"If the same type of actions, by another nation, caused the people and the economy of the United States to be so significantly impacted, Antigua would without hesitation support their pursuit of justice," the Finance minister adds.
Antigua's Legal "Pirate Site" Authorized by the World Trade Organization [Ernesto/Torrentfreak]
Excellent food for thought from Bruce Schneier
Schneier on Security: Power and the Internet
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/01/power_and_the_i.html
(via Instapaper)
Odd and inappropriate Valentine's cards of yesteryear
Odd and inappropriate Valentine's cards of yesteryear: 
Here's a small sampling of artist Mitch O'Connell's fabulous Valentine's card collection gallery. (These are real cards, not something Mitch made up.)
Unintentionally Hilarious Vintage Valentine's Day Cards! See the top 100 Risque, Rude and Sexy examples of all time!
Mitch also has a new art book -- Mitch O'Connell, the World's Best Artist by Mitch O'Connell! Look for an exclusive preview soon on Boing Boing. It's available for pre-order on Amazon, or directly from Mitch's site.
Here's a small sampling of artist Mitch O'Connell's fabulous Valentine's card collection gallery. (These are real cards, not something Mitch made up.)
Just in time to send to your Valentine sweetheart, a huge selection of the offbeat, odd, perplexing, inappropriate, outlandish, bizarre, sexist, eccentric and far-out funny cards, all collected in one place ...for YOU (with love)!
Subject matter includes anger issues, from punching, stabbing, shooting your loved one to running them over with your car. "A woman's place is in the home" themes with pots 'n pans, brooms and dust pans expressing how your heart beats for them. "Find the hidden penis" is a M.O'C Blog Valentine favorite with suggestively placed rulers, logs, bananas, balloons, rocket ships, and hot dogs showing how you really, REALLY feel!
Unintentionally Hilarious Vintage Valentine's Day Cards! See the top 100 Risque, Rude and Sexy examples of all time!
Mitch also has a new art book -- Mitch O'Connell, the World's Best Artist by Mitch O'Connell! Look for an exclusive preview soon on Boing Boing. It's available for pre-order on Amazon, or directly from Mitch's site.
Friday, February 1, 2013
"Look, depending on your perspective the latest single from producer Four Tet either represents a..."
"Look, depending on your perspective the latest single from producer Four Tet either represents a...": “
Look, depending on your perspective the latest single from producer Four Tet either represents a timely joke or a new depth for post-modern track names, but we’re all for it.
It is, due for release next week (Feb 4) on one-sided 12″:
‘The Track I’ve Been Playing That People Keep Asking About And That Joy Used In His RA Mix And Daphni Played On Boiler Room’.
It says it all, really: it comments on the way fans currently absorb dance music (referencing Boiler Room and a Resident Advisor mix, but not an actual club), the way that new dance tracks seem to be defined by who’s playing them before they’re even out, and the way that half the time, these tracks seem to be titled by whoever radio-ripped them before the artist’s even had a chance to move beyond ‘Untitled 63′. ‘Big Room Tech House DJ Tool – Tip!’, consider yourself topped: this is YouTube culture made palpable, and it’s available to pre-order – under the name KH, rather than Four Tet – in various stores.
”
- The new Four Tet single has a magnificent title – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music., via Julian B.
Look, depending on your perspective the latest single from producer Four Tet either represents a timely joke or a new depth for post-modern track names, but we’re all for it.
It is, due for release next week (Feb 4) on one-sided 12″:
‘The Track I’ve Been Playing That People Keep Asking About And That Joy Used In His RA Mix And Daphni Played On Boiler Room’.
It says it all, really: it comments on the way fans currently absorb dance music (referencing Boiler Room and a Resident Advisor mix, but not an actual club), the way that new dance tracks seem to be defined by who’s playing them before they’re even out, and the way that half the time, these tracks seem to be titled by whoever radio-ripped them before the artist’s even had a chance to move beyond ‘Untitled 63′. ‘Big Room Tech House DJ Tool – Tip!’, consider yourself topped: this is YouTube culture made palpable, and it’s available to pre-order – under the name KH, rather than Four Tet – in various stores.
”
- The new Four Tet single has a magnificent title – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music., via Julian B.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Come on, evolution, you cannot be serious with this sh—Oh,...
Come on, evolution, you cannot be serious with this sh—
Oh,...:
Come on, evolution, you cannot be serious with this sh—
Oh, wait. OH. Ha! I get it. Clearly the red-lipped batfish is a work of satire, not meant to be taken as a literal “animal,” which would of course be ridiculous. Sorry, I can be a bit slow sometimes. Nice one.
Oh,...:
Come on, evolution, you cannot be serious with this sh—
Oh, wait. OH. Ha! I get it. Clearly the red-lipped batfish is a work of satire, not meant to be taken as a literal “animal,” which would of course be ridiculous. Sorry, I can be a bit slow sometimes. Nice one.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
"Soylent is a crowd-powered interface: one that embeds workers from Mechanical Turk into Microsoft..."
"Soylent is a crowd-powered interface: one that embeds workers from Mechanical Turk into Microsoft...": “Soylent is a crowd-powered interface: one that embeds workers from Mechanical Turk into Microsoft Word.
Today’s user interfaces are limited: they only support tasks when we know how to write matching algorithms or interface designs. Microsoft Word is good at laying out your document, but poor at understanding writing and suggesting edits to it. But, it is now feasible to embed on-demand human computation within interactive systems. Crowd workers on services like Amazon Mechanical Turk will do tasks for very small amounts of money. Soylent is a word processor with a crowd inside: an add-in to Microsoft Word that uses crowd contributions to perform interactive document shortening, proofreading, and human-language macros. Underlying Soylent is a new programming design pattern called Find-Fix-Verify that splits tasks into a series of generation and review stages to control costs and increase quality.”
- Soylent: A Word Processor with a Crowd Inside
Today’s user interfaces are limited: they only support tasks when we know how to write matching algorithms or interface designs. Microsoft Word is good at laying out your document, but poor at understanding writing and suggesting edits to it. But, it is now feasible to embed on-demand human computation within interactive systems. Crowd workers on services like Amazon Mechanical Turk will do tasks for very small amounts of money. Soylent is a word processor with a crowd inside: an add-in to Microsoft Word that uses crowd contributions to perform interactive document shortening, proofreading, and human-language macros. Underlying Soylent is a new programming design pattern called Find-Fix-Verify that splits tasks into a series of generation and review stages to control costs and increase quality.”
- Soylent: A Word Processor with a Crowd Inside
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Berlin activists create CCTV-smashing street game
Berlin activists create CCTV-smashing street game:
Activists in Berlin have created a game called Camover where they move through public spaces in disguise, smashing CCTV cameras, recording the act and uploading it to YouTube for points.
East Germany withered under the punishing, spying gaze of the Stasi, whose surveillance was always couched in the language of "public protection" and "crime solving." Today, the CCTVs used by commercial firms are an extension of government surveillance, because their footage can be seized, often in secret, in the name of "fighting terror" and similar rubrics.
Game to destroy CCTV cameras: vandalism or valid protest?
Activists in Berlin have created a game called Camover where they move through public spaces in disguise, smashing CCTV cameras, recording the act and uploading it to YouTube for points.
The rules of Camover are simple: mobilise a crew and think of a name that starts with "command", "brigade" or "cell", followed by the moniker of a historical figure (Van der Lubbe, a Dutch bricklayer convicted of setting fire to the Reichstag in 1933, is one name being used). Then destroy as many CCTV cameras as you can. Concealing your identity, while not essential, is recommended. Finally, video your trail of destruction and post it on the game's website – although even keeping track of the homepage can be a challenge in itself, as it is continually being shut down.
East Germany withered under the punishing, spying gaze of the Stasi, whose surveillance was always couched in the language of "public protection" and "crime solving." Today, the CCTVs used by commercial firms are an extension of government surveillance, because their footage can be seized, often in secret, in the name of "fighting terror" and similar rubrics.
Game to destroy CCTV cameras: vandalism or valid protest?
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