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Vertebrae necklace

This striking "Vertebrae" necklace was a Temple University student project by Molly Epstein, at the School of Art. Molly Epstein "Vertebrae" SLS 33% Glass-Filled Nylon (via Street Anatomy) Previously:Detailed spinal model indicates torque-related injuries - Boing Boing Fish deboning gadget - Boing Boing Is That Your Scapula Or Are You Just Happy To See Me? - Boing Boing...

Not Just Drones: Militants Can Snoop on Most U.S. Warplanes

Yesterday, news broke that insurgents used a $25 application available online to hack into US military drone video feeds, and view, copy, and potentially distribute their contents. Hmmmm... Unauthorized copying of audio and video material? Some on Twitter have suggested that we might just send the MPAA or RIAA after them -- then, for sure we'll at last find Bin Laden. But Wired Danger Room's Noah Shachtman says, Tapping into drones' video feeds was just the start. The U.S. military's primary system for bringing overhead surveillance down to soldiers and Marines on the ground is also vulnerable to electronic interception, multiple military sources tell Danger Room. That means militants have the ability to see through the eyes of all kinds of combat aircraft -- from traditional fighters and bombers to unmanned spy planes. The problem is in the process of being addressed. But for now, an enormous security breach is even larger than previously thought. Here's the Danger Room article....

Dark Horse Conan comics collections

After my review last November of John Clute's outstanding collection of Robert E Howard's short fiction, Dark Horse was kind enough to send me all seven collected volumes of their superb Conan graphic novel series. The series ran from 2004-2008, cycling through an assortment of writers and artists who've taken Howard's work and paid it great justice indeed. Cary Nord, who illustrated the first three books, set a high standard for the art, devoting himself to a Frazetta-esque attention to anatomy, blood, and action. The writers, meanwhile blended Howard's own storylines with original material that serve to connect one adventure to the next (there wasn't much continuity in Howard's original Conan saga, which ran more like a series of discrete adventures, each intended to stand alone). As I've noted before, I have enormous affection for Conan; these stories are the origin node of the modern network of heroic fantasy, the original strong brew that has been diluted for a million mighty-come-lately adventures. Howard's muscular prose, his romanticization of "uncivilized" life ruled by passion and honor, and his faultless pacing (when in doubt, insert an epic battle with an army of the undead, a pack of thieves, a gang of ice-giants, or, if necessary, a dalliance with a hot-blooded swordswoman that ends with the two fighting back to back against a pack of lions or similar) make each Conan adventure a perfect, blood-pounding escape. The comics form is especially kind to Conan. The artists are able to do the heavy lifting of setting the scene and depicting the action, whittling away Howard's prose to the unselfconsciously heroic dialog: blood oaths, curses, seductive grunts, defiant yells. I devoured all seven volumes in three days, reading one at the office and one before bed every night, waking up my wife to show her particularly gore-spattered panels (she's the illustrator in the family and enjoys this stuff as much as I do). It was just wonderful returning to Conan's world, to the heroic lands I'd lived in in my imagination as a boy....

Australian fliers will get their cutlery and knitting needles back

Australia's aviation authority has announced a return to sanity, allowing nail files, umbrellas and metal cutlery on its planes, saying that it will focus instead on "real risks." The changes will see passengers again allowed to carry some sharp implements, such as nail files and clippers, umbrellas, crochet and knitting needles on board aircraft from July next year. Metal cutlery will return to return to cabin meals and airport restaurants following Government recognition that security arrangements must be targeted at 'real risks'. The best secondary customs screening I ever had was in Brisbane. We got off the plane and were directed to secondary. I told the customs guard that Alice was pregnant and he practically ran to get her a chair and a glass of water while we waited. Shortly thereafter, two customs agents came over and asked us a few simple questions ("where are you staying, why are you here?") in a friendly tone and then told us we were done. I thought they were just passing the time of day before the screening -- they were so incredibly nice, the way Canadians are meant to be (except when you cross a border, where they turn into total bastards in the name of ensuring that you don't cheat the government out of its national sales tax). Carry-on restrictions to be relaxed (via Schneier) (Image: TSA Screener with Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Case, a Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike image from Mobile Edge Laptop Cases' photostream) Previously:TSA can't redact documents properly, releases s00per s33kr1t ... Boing Boing: TSA: "no butt plugs" airport screening graphic Penis pump mistaken for bomb at TSA airport screening - Boing Boing Boing Boing: Man flashes authorities during airport screening Schneier: Fix US airport security by making TSA more transparent ... Airport screening doesn't stop knives, bombs, or guns - Boing Boing Boing Boing: Ads on bins will boost traveler delight during TSA ......

Spite Houses, built to piss off the neighbors

Ape Lad sez, "I somehow ended up reading about spite houses (homes built specifically to piss off a neighbor) this evening, which I had never heard of before. Flickr has several when you search the tags, including the sad story behind this house in Connecticut." Spite house (Thanks, Ape Lad) (Image: File:AlamedaSpiteHouse.jpg, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike, Wikimedia Commons) Previously:Cavalcade of homeowner holdouts - Boing Boing UK Tory MP added a servant's wing to his house at taxpayers ... Punk House: communal homes of the anarcho-syndicalist lifestyle ... Printable housing - Boing Boing...