-
More copyright for European sound recordings will net performers a whopping $0.50/year (4)
on
Boing Boing (4363) permalink
Glyn sez, "In response to a consultation on the European Commission's proposal to almost double the term of copyright protection on sound recordings, the Open Rights Group have responded that for the vast majority of performers the projected extra sales income resulting from term extension is likely to be meagre: from as little as 50¢ each year in the first ten years, to as "much" as €26.79 each year. That's because most of the gains ...Contribute comment -
First Microsoft ad with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld (7)
onAbsurdist art or TV commercial? Either way, I like it.Shared by Alec Resnick (135) Ben Shoemate (23) Crutcher D (47) John (14) Michael (28) Nathaniel Dean (21) px (17)Contribute comment
-
HOWTO live in a schoolbus (11)
onOver at Instructables, user Zim started a series on how to live in a schoolbus. The first installment is about how to get the bus, make it road legal, and gut it for interior construction. Zim also links to Skoolie, an interesting online community devoted to school bus conversion. From Instructables: A few years back, I got tired of living the American Dream and struggling to keep up with a horrendous mortgage and rising credit ...Shared by brownpau (47) darkeye11547 (247) Drew Olanoff (144) Dropkick (6) John (14) Justin (4) MCE (34) Rob (17) Sol Young (7) Steven (112) Thadius (5)Contribute comment
-
Girls warned playing didgeridoo could cause infertility (14)
onThe Victorian Aboriginal Education Association has called for the The Australian edition of The Daring Book for Girls to be pulped because it teaches girls how to play the didgeridoo. The organization says women who play the instrument will be cursed with infertility. The section on the didgeridoo was "part of a general ignorance that mainstream Australia has about Aboriginal culture," the association's general manager Mark Rose told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "We know very ...Shared by Alex (9) Alex (7) Casey (16) Crossbar (36) Fatsleroy (22) houseinrlyeh (94) Jim (38) John (14) kate (18) Powera (23) Rebekah (9) Robby R (25) steyblind (7) tomwsmf (10)Contribute comment
-
Preaching to the choir is a waste of time (22)
on
Signal vs. Noise (813) permalink
Activist, poet, and musician Saul Williams is catching gruff from fans for allowing Nike to use his song “List of Demands” in commercials. Williams wrote an open letter defending the use of the song. I received a lot of questions from some about why I would allow my song ‘List of Demands’ to be used in a Nike campaign. Ironically, half of the people now reading this post never heard of me until that commercial ...Shared by Chris Glass (10) dasmart (19) Dr. Ernie (58) Edwin Khodabakchian (20) Eric (5) etlund (5) gfurry (24) Gio (14) Jan (5) Jeremy Harrington (10) John (14) Jon (22) Leon (8) Mahesh CR (2) Matt (6) Nathaniel Dean (21) pberry (8) phillprice (23) Rick Umali (20) sameer (13) voidfiles (30) Ward Andrews (9)Contribute comment -
Conet Project free online (12)
onXeni and I were just talking about the wonder of Wilco and their performance at the recent Outside Lands festival. As many of you know, Wilco's magnificent album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was named for (and uses samples from) the Conet Project, a four CD collection from Irdial-Discs of "numbers stations." For decades, intelligence organizations have reportedly broadcast one-way messages to their agents in the field via shortwave, and the transmissions happen to sound weirder than ...Shared by Anne (12) Dave Woodard (7) deusdiabolus (93) Jeff Daly (42) Jeremy Jarratt (33) John (14) John (17) maristaran (15) meta (9) Mike Todd (2) potentato (25) tsangal (21)
- Jeremy Jarratt said: conspiracy or not?
- meta said: I have the CDs. 'tis awesome.
Contribute comment - David Maisel Photographs of Copper Cans Failing as Urns (2)
-
Do you need a fake wallet? (1)
on
One Bag, One World (2) permalink
Maybe a fake wallet could save your trip: Your grocery store club card: Don’t leave home without it. That’s my advice as a frequent visitor to places far off the beaten path. My Safeway card, along with a couple of other innocuous buyers’ club cards, helped save the day on my last trip to sub-Saharan Africa. These, plus a fistful of four- and five-figure bills of nearly valueless currencies from places like Vietnam and Ghana. ...Shared by John (14)Contribute comment -
Millimeter wave scan machine at Denver Airport (18)
onI snapped this photo of a passive millimeter wave scan machine set up in the main entrance hall at Denver International Airport on Friday evening. The machine was swiveling back and forth, searching people who didn't even know they were being scanned. I'm sure some of the people scanned weren't passengers; they were simply coming to pick up or drop off friends and relatives. I wanted to see if they would scan my 11-year-old daughter ...Shared by Alan Cheslow (49) Chris Metcalf (13) Chris Schrier (12) eoin (3) Gonzo (23) Igor (20) Jim (10) John (14) Jon (27) Josh Bancroft (25) Linkletter (5) marcusmeisel (21) Matt (19) Michael (28) passive (4) Sarah (11) Shea Gunther (114) usrbingeek (6)
- Josh Bancroft said: This just creeps me right out...
- Chris Metcalf said: A scary new world we live in...
Contribute comment -
Federal court blocks beef exporter from testing for mad cow disease (42)
onThe USDA tests 1% of cattle of mad cow disease. Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef exporters wants to test 100% of its cattle for mad cow disease. But the Bush administration took Creekstone to court, and a US federal appeals court ruled that the USDA has the authority to stop meatpackers from testing more than 1% of its cattle. The dispute pits the Agriculture Department, which tests about 1 percent of cows for the potentially ...Shared by Amanda (18) Andrew Boardman (69) Anthony (30) Antoine (33) Arion (19) Ben Shoemate (23) Chrigu (12) Greg (4) Gyuri (9) Haltse (17) Heather (38) Immortalpear (20) Ingotheranchhand (6) Jack Teague (4) Jason (8) Jason Gooljar (25) jchris (4) Jeremy Jarratt (33) John (14) Jon (27) Jordan T-H (8) Kevin (3) krs (10) Macky (14) Mark (2) meta (9) mikebee (25) Nick (73) Nigel J (23) norcalbarney (19) potentato (25) px (17) Randem (28) Richard (24) Rob Schonberger (10) Robby R (25) Ryan S (45) Steve Loopipe (16) TO-Double-D (20) Todd (4) Tom (14) Veritas Noctis (38)Explore read nine notes
- Antoine said: This is absurd! I fully agree with Mark's comment. As a side note it is interesting to see how the 'free market' policy is no longer applied when the big guys in the market complain.
- jchris said: I shared a Boing-Boing ;)
- Jordan T-H said: I think this is a prime example of the mindset of the society we now live in.
- Anthony said: Government is the haunting fear, that someone, somewhere is solving problems with markets.......
- px said: what's wrong with 100% testing? let the market play it out.
- Veritas Noctis said: I feel safer now. Don't you?
- Haltse said: free country , free trade.. Pull the other one it's got a sick cow bell on it.
- Macky said: The USDA tests 1% of cattle of mad cow disease. Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef exporters wants to test 100% of its cattle for mad cow disease. But the Bush administration took Creekstone to court, and a US federal appeals court ruled that the USDA has the authority to stop meatpackers from testing more than 1% of its cattle.
- Chrigu said: Gut ist diese Administration bald am Ende...
Contribute comment -
Live downtown, but away from the chaos! 1 mo FREE! (Blanco/7th) $850 1bd (1)
on
Downtown Realestate (2) permalink
Get 1 Month FREE!!600 sq ft apartment with HUGE bedroom and walk-in closet, varnished wood floors in bath and kitchen, carpet in living areas, old Austin neighborhood, just two blocks from Lamar and 6th. No in-depth credit check.Move in Sept 1st. $850 rent, $500 security deposit, $50 app. Coin laundry on-site, pet up to 25 lbs okay. Email Leigh at Assistant@FrankSt... to make an appt to see, or call 492-5280. Serious inquiries only, please. =)Shared by John (14)Contribute comment -
Report: Massive, warrantless raids on peace protesters in Minneapolis, ahead of RNC. (52)
on(photo: Robert Stolarik for The New York Times) Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com reports that protesters in Minneapolis, where the Republican National Convention will soon begin, have been subjected to massive, pre-emtpive police raids. Those arrested include members of Food not Bombs, the "RNC Welcoming Committee," and a group that uses video to protect civil liberties by documenting police activity at first amendment events. Snip: [They have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping ...Shared by Alan Cheslow (49) Alec Resnick (135) Alexander Carlill (9) Anders (7) Arion (19) bridgie (26) Chris (8) Chris (34) Christopher (22) claudine (22) Crutcher D (47) Curt (11) Czarski (11) dbspin (5) deusdiabolus (93) Five Husbands (0) g b (39) Hal (17) Ingotheranchhand (6) Jack Teague (4) Jason (36) Jeremy Jarratt (33) Jim (20) John (14) johnmarkos (6) Jonathan (35) kerim (13) Larry (12) Linda MacPhee-Cobb (2) Liz (1) looprock (15) MCE (34) meta (9) Mike (18) Mike F (460) N.L. Vivar (9) Nathan (48) nybble (15) Øystein Fledsberg (4) Paolo (12) Patrick (8) Rob (4) rzklkng (136) Sam (56) Shack (17) shahryarrakeen (6) Steven (112) StevieB (71) Stuart (12) sven (4) tarasis (3) Veritas Noctis (38)
- N.L. Vivar said: Keep it classy, police-state USA.
- Alan Cheslow said: What the hell!? This country's government is getting worse every day.
- Czarski said: Is the frequency and brashness of this type of police thuggery increasing, or is the coverage, or both? It shouldn't really be a surprise, I suppose, given the Bush administration's total disrespect for our civil liberties (not to mention the constitution). The legislature should be ashamed of themselves for going along for the ride. January 20th can't come soon enough!
Contribute comment -
Credit-card companies killed Mythbusters segment on RFID vulnerabilities (120)
onCheck out the first two minutes of this clip of Mythbusters' Adam Savage telling the folks at the HOPE hackercon about how the Discovery Channel was bullied by big credit-card companies out of airing a program about how crappy the security in RFID tags is. Arphid Watch: Mythbusters and RFIDShared by Adam (3) Alan Cheslow (49) Alec Resnick (135) Alex Plank (3) Allen (11) Andrew (4) Andrew Ferguson (10) ArtLung (4) Avi (709) Benjamin (1029) Benno (5) BilliamJ (9) bkim (27) Cai Chen (995) cgsheldon (151) chrishawn (3) CKL (18) Colin (20) Corey Porter (1) Crutcher D (47) David (4) David T. Cole (3) Dean Clark (139) Derek (7) digits12 (716) djspark (55) Dominik (33) Donnie Berkholz (5) dopegroove (11) dwfrank (9) Eater (20) Erica (1) Freddy (6) g b (39) Gary M (13) GeniusBoyWonder (27) Geoff Gresh (15) Guy (702) Haltse (17) Harper (91) humanrocketjlb (3) InformationHigh (8) Ingotheranchhand (6) J. James B (41) Jack (91) Jason (3) Jason Gooljar (25) jborneman (20) Jeff (19) Jeff Daly (42) Jeff Kubina (12) Jeremy Jarratt (33) jim (4) Jim (20) Joe Breen (6) John (14) Jon Lorenzini (17) Jon Lowder (5) Jouni Seppänen (5) Kevin (30) kiOwA (5) Kris (27) Kristen (10) Lance (4) Leena (1060) Liz (1) Logical Extremes (13) looprock (15) mabisa (48) macshaggy (6) marcusmeisel (21) mario r (17) Matt (19) Matthew (4) maxyRO (482) mejaredme (262) Melkir (16) meta (9) Mich D (169) Michael (14) Michael Lockyear (1) Mike (4) Mike Todd (2) Mr. BabyMan (366) neal (530) Nick Sanders (0) Olivier (48) Pedro (13) pericles (700) Phillip (3) Rami Taibah (454) Rebekah (9) Richard (24) Ricky (19) Ritu (663) rveguilla (5) Sarah (11) Scott (22) Sebastiaan (1) Shirizaan (6) snoopdave (9) Steven (112) StevieB (71) Strange Kid (20) Stuart (12) Tanath (42) Thomas (3) Thomas (6) TO-Double-D (20) Tobey (16) Toby (176) Tom (14) Veritas Noctis (38) War-N (5) Wayne (49) webtime (476) Will (9) Yuwen Memon (1) Zac (5) Zak M. (597)Explore read nine notes
- Corey Porter said: The great thing is that, rather than fix the problem, the credit card companies just try to keep it quiet. That's... great?
- Gary M said: The first 2 mins of this are great.
- Shirizaan said: Very interesting piece. Also interesting to see all the people boo Smash Lab which I've hated since it debuted.
- macshaggy said: This was great. I really love this show and Adam Savage is just the best.
- Haltse said: oh noes busted:O
- Jason said: @Daniel Thought you'd be interested in this.
- Sebastiaan said: Oh I really love mythbuster Adam Savage!
- Jeff Kubina said: holy crap!
- Rebekah said: I have a crush on Adam, doubly so after watching this clip.
Contribute comment -
Dumbest salvo yet in the war on terror, courtesy of the London police (41)
onToday I spotted this sign at a Tesco's grocery store in Islington, London -- it might just be the single stupidest salvo in the war on terror to date, courtesy of the London Metropolitan Police: Terrorism: If you suspect it, report it TERRORISTS NEED INFORMATION Observation and surveillance help terrorists plan attacks. Have you seen anyone taking pictures of security arrangements? TERRORISTS NEED TRANSPORTATION If you work in vehicle hire or sales, has a sale ...Shared by Alan Cheslow (49) Andrew Terry (30) Arion (19) Benjamin Kohler (8) CKL (18) Clay (41) Clint Ecker (20) deusdiabolus (93) DXL (1) erbianchi (27) Fearghas (13) ghosttie (38) Grant (21) Greg (4) Helvick (4) J.D. Talley (3) Jenna (17) Jim (14) John (42) John (14) Jon (2) Josh Bancroft (25) krs (10) leathej1 (7) Maarek Stele (59) marcusmeisel (21) meta (9) Roadkillkid (9) Roshan (5) Saarthak (4) Sam (56) Sam (23) Simon (8) Steve (2) Steven (112) SubEWL (23) Todd (4) usrbingeek (6) Veritas Noctis (38) Waqas (4) Zia (4)Explore read four notes
- Sam said: As much as I hate what the US is doing with regard to security and privacy (or the lack of) and scaring people, I think the UK is doing an even scarier job. Their posters and police worry me, I'm afraid they'll continue on their current path, creating a true Big Brother society, something similar to V for Vendetta.
- Clay said: what a lovely little country they are building over there.
- CKL said: Note to self: do not run puzzle hunt Games in London.
- Benjamin Kohler said: Are I really living in London?
Contribute comment -
Kyoto Silk Merchant's Home in Boston Children's Museum (2)
on
Dinosaurs and Robots (16) permalink
Photograph by Jim HarrisonFrom Harvard Magazine:In 1979, to commemorate 20 years of partnership between the sister cities of Boston and Kyoto, 43 enormous crates arrived at the Boston Children’s Museum. The crates contained, in bits and pieces, a nineteenth-century, kyo-machiya style townhouse of the sort used as workshop and dwelling by Kyoto merchants. Carpenters from Japan accompanied the boxes and spent months in the museum, diligently putting the house back together for permanent display.To think, ...Shared by John (14) Shannon (0)Contribute comment -
Yankees will drag you out of the stadium if you try to go to the bathroom during "God Bless America" (54)
onThe Yankees are serious about their bizarre prohibition on going to the bathroom during the playing of "God Bless America" during the Seventh Inning Stretch: a man was dragged out of the stadium for daring to stand up and move around instead of singing a patriotic, religious song. I really like Tommy Smothers's formulation of the principle at work here: "America, where you're free to say anything you want, and you'd better not say what ...Shared by Aaron (10) Adam (15) Adam (7) Adam (39) Alexander Carlill (9) Arion (19) arkiver (20) BIGODE (23) Bill (3) bkim (27) Camtron 9000 (20) Chris (34) CKL (18) Clint Ecker (20) darkeye11547 (247) dasmart (19) deusdiabolus (93) Doug (37) Dropkick (6) ductapeguy (18) DXL (1) erbianchi (27) Eric Mortensen (26) Gonzo (23) houseinrlyeh (94) Jason Gooljar (25) Jeff Schmidt (29) Jeremy (102) Jim (20) John (14) jsb (6) Ken (10) krs (10) Larry (12) Logan (0) Maarek Stele (59) Martin Gordon (12) Michelle Martinez (35) Mike (18) mikebee (25) Nathan (48) Nick Sanders (0) qbn (9) Roadkillkid (9) Rob (1) Shawn (18) Stephen (33) Steve (15) Syng Shin (105) Veritas Noctis (38) vforrestal (2) ydant (15) yooper1019 (14) yosh (24)Explore read five notes
- Ken said: "Yesterday Red Sox fan Bradford Campeau-Laurion, a Queens resident, told us about his rough ejection from Yankee stadium at the hands of the NYPD after he tried to go to the men's room during the seventh inning's moment of mandatory nationalism Monday night."
- yooper1019 said: "You may take my life, but you'll never take... MY FREEDOM!" Oh, what's that? You can take that too? This place sucks!
- vforrestal said: you have got to be kidding me. this is what the bush government has turned this country into? a police state? and people thought his power grabs in the name of 'national security' were no big deal... land of the free my ass!
- ydant said: what. the. fuck?
- CKL said: Yet another reason to hate baseball.
Contribute comment -
Activation fees are obscene (12)
onWanna feel ripped off today? Sign up for an online virtual service that charges a one-time activation fee. It’s a special feeling to hand over $35 for nothing. I’d almost understand if there was actual work involved. Or hardware was manually set up. Or someone had to climb some stairs and walk down a few halls to flip something on. But to charge me $35 to “activate” my account by adding a few records to ...Shared by Brad Coy (7) gfurry (24) Guttorm (2) Hidde De Vries (3) Jake (8) John (14) Josh (0) JUSTIN (13) krisnelson (3) MidgetWombat (6) Tim (43) Xavier (0)
- Guttorm said: The comments are interesting, not sure how I feel about this.
Contribute comment -
The danger of laughing at your customers (32)
onThe other day I went to sell some books at The Strand bookstore. They have a separate desk in the back for selling books. I brought in a bag and two clerks started sorting through them. Then another guy lined up behind me. One of the clerks said to him, “You here to sell books?” He said, “Yes.” The clerk responded, “Wait in the line outside.” The guy went outside. Thirty seconds later he was ...Shared by Aaron (3) Abhilash (19) Andrew Ruess (121) AnilG (24) Ben V (7) Bramha (14) Brian Landau (20) Dominik (33) Dr. Ernie (58) Dylan Bennett (8) Earl E Morningwood (59) Elliott P. (19) Eoin (14) gabopagan (48) J.Wo (7) Jason Ardell (12) John (14) jschultz (9) jtuchscherer (2) Martin Gordon (12) Moah (10) Nick Campbell (5) Nirav (28) rhl (7) RLivsey (7) Rob (4) Rodrigo Leme (10) Ryan Parman (0) shrutes (8) SiliconViper (26) Steve (15) Tim (43)
- Martin Gordon said: Sadly, we do this *all* the time.
- jschultz said: This is a valuable anecdote even if you don't work in traditional customer service. We all service customers in some form.
Contribute comment - Chinese people discovering fortune cookies (59)
