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Sunday, March 31st, 2013

Time Event

5:58a

Nevada State Legislature poised to take regulation of Burning Man away from state and local cops

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/VK3xivVcRlc/story01.htm

M Otis Beard sez, "A bill gaining support in the Nevada State Assembly would make Burning Man hands-off for state and county law enforcement officials, and subject only to Federal authority."

Each year, the local sheriff has been jacking Burning Man for increasing per-head fees, and the county's conservative lawmakers have been passing silly-season unconstitutionalities, like a law prohibiting a man from being naked in the presence of a child. It's combination of revenue generation and garden-variety harassment, and there had been rumbles about the festival taking up local native groups on an invitation to move it to Paiute land where the county wouldn't get a say.

“Earlier this morning, the Chamber supported AB 374 in the Assembly Government Affairs Committee. This bill, pushed by Assemblyman David Bobzien, came about because of threats by some rural counties to start charging local permitting fees and increasing costs for the Burning Man festival that comes to the Black Rock Desert every summer. This bill would prohibit any local government from interfering with a federally-licensed event on federal land. We strongly support this concept because of the enormous positive economic impact that Burning Man attendees have on our region.”

Some of the problem stems from the fact that Burning Man is held just over a county line; all the on-the-way spending done by burners takes place in Washoe county, but once you turn off to head to the playa, you're in Pershing county, and that's also when the ban on (most) commerce begins. So the county doing the legislating has no real financial stake in the festival continuing. So the local law gets to screw the neighboring county, threatening its one of its major source of economic activity and win points with the voters by harassing hippies.

The Man vs. the Man: Will Local Authorities Be Booted From Burning Man? (Thanks, M Otis Beard!)

6:27a

2013 Hugo nominees announced
[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<a [...] const-2012.pdf”>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]

<a href='http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/PAO4rgA3814/story01.htm'>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/PAO4rgA3814/story01.htm</a><a href='http://boingboing.net/?p=222382'>http://boingboing.net/?p=222382</a> This year's Hugo Award nominees have been announced, and it's a great slate! Congrats to all the authors, artists, fans and editors who are up for the award in San Antonio, Texas this Labor Day weekend. <blockquote> <img src="http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ku-xlarge4.jpg" align="right"> Best Novel (1113 nominating ballots cast) * <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/10/30/kim-stanley-robinsons-23.html">2312</a>, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit) * Blackout, Mira Grant (Orbit) * Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen) * <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/06/05/scalzis-redshirts.html">Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas</a>, John Scalzi (Tor) * Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW) Best Novella (587 nominating ballots cast) * After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications) * The Emperor’s Soul, Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications) * On a Red Station, Drifting, Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press) * San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats, Mira Grant (Orbit) * “The Stars Do Not Lie”, Jay Lake (Asimov’s, Oct-Nov 2012) </blockquote> <a href="http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2013-hugo-awards/">2013 Hugo Award Nominees Announced</a> <hr /> Best Novelette (616 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *“The Boy Who Cast No Shadow”, Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Postscripts: Unfit For Eden, PS Publications)</li> *“Fade To White”, Catherynne M. Valente ( Clarkesworld, August 2012)</li> *“The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi”, Pat Cadigan (Edge of Infinity, Solaris)</li> *“In Sea-Salt Tears”, Seanan McGuire (Self-published)</li> *“Rat-Catcher”, Seanan McGuire ( A Fantasy Medley 2, Subterranean)</li> </ul> Best Short Story (662 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *“Immersion”, Aliette de Bodard ( Clarkesworld, June 2012)</li> *“Mantis Wives”, Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld, August 2012)</li> *“Mono no Aware”, Ken Liu (The Future is Japanese, VIZ Media LLC)</li> </ul> Note: Category has only 3 nominees due to the minimum 5% requirement of Section 3.8.5 of the <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/PAO4rgA3814/%E2%80%9D" http:="" www.wsfs.org="" bm="" const-2012.pdf”="">WSFS constitution</a>. Best Related Work (584 nominating ballots cast) <ul> * The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature, Edited by Edward James & Farah Mendlesohn (Cambridge University Press)</li> * Chicks Dig Comics: A Celebration of Comic Books by the Women Who Love Them, Edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Sigrid Ellis (Mad Norwegian Press)</li> * Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who, Edited by Deborah Stanish & L.M. Myles (Mad Norwegian Press)</li> * I Have an Idea for a Book … The Bibliography of Martin H. Greenberg, Compiled by Martin H. Greenberg, edited by John Helfers (The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box)</li> * Writing Excuses Season Seven, Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler and Jordan Sanderson</li> </ul> Best Graphic Story (427 nominating ballots cast) <ul> * Grandville Bête Noire, written and illustrated by Bryan Talbot (Dark Horse Comics, Jonathan Cape)</li> * Locke & Key Volume 5: Clockworks, written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)</li> * Saga, Volume One, written by Brian K. Vaughn, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)</li> *Schlock Mercenary: Random Access Memorabilia, written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (Hypernode Media)</li> * Saucer Country, Volume 1: Run, written by Paul Cornell, illustrated by Ryan Kelly, Jimmy Broxton and Goran Sudžuka (Vertigo)</li> </ul> Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (787 nominating ballots cast) <ul> * The Avengers, Screenplay & Directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel Studios, Disney, Paramount)</li> * The Cabin in the Woods, Screenplay by Drew Goddard & Joss Whedon; Directed by Drew Goddard (Mutant Enemy, Lionsgate)</li> * The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro, Directed by Peter Jackson (WingNut Films, New Line Cinema, MGM, Warner Bros)</li> * The Hunger Games, Screenplay by Gary Ross & Suzanne Collins, Directed by Gary Ross (Lionsgate, Color Force)</li> * Looper, Screenplay and Directed by Rian Johnson (FilmDistrict, EndGame Entertainment)</li> </ul> Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (597 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *Doctor Who, “The Angels Take Manhattan”, Written by Steven Moffat, Directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)</li> *Doctor Who, “Asylum of the Daleks”, Written by Steven Moffat; Directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)</li> *Doctor Who, “The Snowmen”, written by Steven Moffat; directed by Saul Metzstein (BBC Wales)</li> *Fringe, “Letters of Transit”, Written by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Akiva Goldsman, J.H.Wyman, Jeff Pinkner. Directed by Joe Chappelle (Fox)</li> * Game of Thrones, “Blackwater”, Written by George R.R. Martin, Directed by Neil Marshall. Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (HBO)</li> </ul> Best Editor, Short Form (526 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *John Joseph Adams</li> *Neil Clarke</li> *Stanley Schmidt</li> *Jonathan Strahan</li> *Sheila Williams</li> </ul> Best Editor, Long Form (408 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *Lou Anders</li> *Sheila Gilbert</li> *Liz Gorinsky</li> *Patrick Nielsen Hayden</li> *Toni Weisskopf</li> </ul> Best Professional Artist (519 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *Vincent Chong</li> *Julie Dillon</li> *Dan dos Santos</li> *Chris McGrath</li> *John Picacio</li> </ul> Best Semiprozine (404 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *Apex Magazine, edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Jason Sizemore and Michael Damian Thomas</li> * Beneath Ceaseless Skies, edited by Scott H. Andrews</li> * Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Jason Heller, Sean Wallace and Kate Baker</li> *Lightspeed, edited by John Joseph Adams and Stefan Rudnicki</li> * Strange Horizons, edited by Niall Harrison, Jed Hartman, Brit Mandelo, An Owomoyela, Julia Rios, Abigail Nussbaum, Sonya Taaffe, Dave Nagdeman and Rebecca Cross</li> </ul> Best Fanzine (370 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *Banana Wings, edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer</li> *The Drink Tank, edited by Chris Garcia and James Bacon</li> * Elitist Book Reviews, edited by Steven Diamond</li> *Journey Planet, edited by James Bacon, Chris Garcia, Emma J. King, Helen J. Montgomery and Pete Young</li> *SF Signal, edited by John DeNardo, JP Frantz, and Patrick Hester</li> </ul> Best Fancast (346 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe</li> *Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Presenters) and Andrew Finch (Producer)</li> *SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester, John DeNardo, and JP Frantz</li> *SF Squeecast, Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M. Thomas, Catherynne M. Valente (Presenters) and David McHone-Chase (Technical Producer)</li> *StarShipSofa, Tony C. Smith</li> </ul> Best Fan Writer (485 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *James Bacon</li> *Christopher J. Garcia</li> *Mark Oshiro</li> *Tansy Rayner Roberts</li> *Steven H Silver</li> </ul> Best Fan Artist (293 nominating ballots cast) <ul> *Galen Dara</li> *Brad W. Foster</li> *Spring Schoenhuth</li> *Maurine Starkey</li> *Steve Stiles</li> </ul> The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (476 nominating ballots cast) Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer of 2011 or 2012, sponsored by Dell Magazines. (Not a Hugo Award, but administered along with the Hugo Awards.) <ul> *Zen Cho*</li> *Max Gladstone</li> *Mur Lafferty*</li> *Stina Leicht*</li> *Chuck Wendig*</li> </ul> *Finalists in their 2nd year of eligibility. <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/35208/f/653965/s/2a2ecd91/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=2013+Hugo+nominees+announced&link=http%3A%2F%2Fboingboing.net%2F2013%2F03%2F31%2F2013-hugo-nominees-announced.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=2013+Hugo+nominees+announced&link=http%3A%2F%2Fboingboing.net%2F2013%2F03%2F31%2F2013-hugo-nominees-announced.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~4/PAO4rgA3814" height="1" width="1"/>

6:49a

Disney World Luau bowl

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/NyMiuHQmHDQ/story01.htm

http://boingboing.net/?p=222406

Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily designed this beautiful Polynesian Luau Bowl for an upcoming Walt Disney World special event. It'll sell for $35, but the on-sale date isn't announced yet.

Summer's coming...

9:06a

Imaginary Glorp Gum becomes a reality! Sort of!

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/v22mINRPd_k/story01.htm

http://boingboing.net/?p=222367

Zack sez, "Artist Brad McGinty (the "Xenomorph Anatomy" T-shirts) has a new website celebrating the fake history of Glorp Gum, best described as Bazooka Joe by way of Rat Fink. The site includes an elaborate narrative for Glorp Gum, tons of merchandise (including T-shirts, stickers and yes, actual gum) and this hilarious animated commercial that parodies the classic "Mr. Owl" spots for Tootsie Roll Pops"

GLORP GUM! The only gum that comes with a free T-Shirt! (Thanks, Zack!)

10:02a

Out-of-date state nicknames, illustrated with comical hogs

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/h-CzsMewJaI/story01.htm

http://boingboing.net/?p=222412

I like the Puke State. Also, Utah's nickname was apparently "Utah."

Easter

12:10p

Just look at this liquid nitrogen-dipped banana being shot with a steel bearing.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/UNGoG3ws-dc/story01.htm

http://boingboing.net/?p=222374

Just look at it.

I Broke my Banana (Thanks, Philip!)

3:22p

TSA routinely violates own rules and the law to discriminate against people w/disabilities

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/IYJ5RfRfgzA/story01.htm

http://boingboing.net/?p=222379

Sai has "a neurological disorder that causes episodic muteness and muscle spasms" -- basically, he sometimes becomes mute and gets bad shakes. His doctor has advised him to have juice continuously available, and this helps control his condition. TSA rules allow him to bring any amount of juice through a checkpoint. Unfortunately, the TSA doesn't read its own rules. Instead, Sai is detained at checkpoints for endless, illegal questioning and searches of his personal papers, confidential business documents, etc. When he loses the ability to speak, he uses pen and paper to communicate, but the TSA takes the pen and paper away as soon as he cites language from a landmark legal case limiting their power to search him.

He's videoed one of these encounters, with the TSA and its private contractors at SFO, and he's filed grievances with various agencies over that incident and another at Boston Logan. The TSA is illegally refusing to follow its own administrative procedures, so he's getting ready to sue them (he needs an ADA and/or FOIA-specialized lawyer qualified for the bar in MA and/or CA and/or federally -- any takers?). He's also trying to force them to disclose their secret procedures.

The edited, subtitled video of his run-in at SFO is fantastically infuriating. The TSA and its private contractors are vindictive, lawless, brutal. But Sai is an inspiring example of calm under fire, a guy who knows his rights back and forwards, and doesn't let the fact that his physical condition is deteriorating -- you can see his tremors -- make him lose his cool (here's the unedited version, which runs to about an hour).

Sai's site has plenty of ways you can help with this, including a petition to Congress and a questionnaire to help him with his Freedom of Information suit. And by helping him, you help everyone who has to fly -- and everyone who cares about freedom in America.

On March 1, 2013, San Francisco TSA refused to allow me to travel with medical liquids. My liquids had been been tested clean by xray & explosive trace detection, and the official on scene specifically acknowledged reading the TSA's Special Needs Memo (including that juice is a medical liquid and that there's no volume restriction on medical liquids). This directly involved the most senior TSA officials at the airport, who detained me for about 50 minutes total.
This is only the most recent in a long string of personal incidents of harassment, denial, or direct refusal to obey TSA's medical liquids policy. This time, though, I got it all on video.

Problems with the TSA (via Hacker News)

5:35p

HOWTO turn a dead hard-drive into a cotton candy machine

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Wg_m-1M1ptQ/story01.htm

http://boingboing.net/?p=222390

Here's an unexpected use for a dead hard-drive: use its motor to power a candy-floss machine:

A Chinese engineer who operates a data recovery and hard drive repair center is being hailed as a genius after inventing a DIY candy floss machine made from a used hard disk. According to the instructions, all that is needed to create your own candy floss maker is a hard drive that can still power up, a round flat metal tin, six bicycle spokes, an aluminum can and a plastic basin. A series of photos demonstrating how to create this candy floss machine have made some sensation across China internet …
The key to the improvised cotton candy maker is the hard drive’s rotating platter. Most commercial cotton candy machines spin at around 3,450 rotations per minute, while modern hard drives operate at 5,400 rotations per minute or higher. We’re really admired this kind of DIY creation from a technical nerd …

Turning an Old Hard Disk Into a Candy Floss Machine [English, MicGadget]

技术宅拯救世界：用旧硬盘自制棉花糖机(图) [Chinese, tt.mop.com]

(via Neatorama)

7:37p

Why PLAY pie-anna when you can VAMP?

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/29W9wU5MfXg/story01.htm

http://boingboing.net/?p=222400

As far back as the 1920s, smart musicians have known that your ability to hit the notes isn't nearly so important as your ability to vamp.

Vamping

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