56 Broken Kindle Screens: book and video:

Here’s a bit of wry gadget iconography: a book and video devoted to the sad sight of a smashed Kindle screen. Speaking as someone who broke three Kindle screens in as many months (and then gave up on carrying one), I can empathize:

“56 Broken Kindle Screens” is a print on demand paperback that consists of found photos depicting broken Kindle screens. The Kindle is Amazon’s e-reading device which is by default connected to the company’s book store.

The book takes as its starting point the peculiar aesthetic of broken E Ink displays and serves as an examination into the reading device’s materiality. As the screens break, they become collages composed of different pages, cover illustrations and interface elements.

Order the book on Lulu.

56 Broken Kindle Screens – Silvio Lorusso and Sebastian Schmieg (2012)

(via Beyond the Beyond)

[Do you know kids who might be interested in programming? Here’s a great starting place. -egg]
Super Scratch Programming Adventure: Fun introductory programming book:
Scratch is a graphical programming language for kids that was designed at the MIT Media Lab. To write a program in Scratch, you connect colored code blocks together. The neat thing about not having to type in lines of code is that you don’t have to worry about spelling errors. Also, the blocks fit together only if they make computational sense, which helps beginners from making frustrating mistakes. (The inevitable bugs that do occur in Scratch end up being the interesting and educational kind). Scratch is free and available for most operating systems.

Super Scratch Programming Adventure is a comic book style introduction to Scratch that reveals the power of this deceptively simple programming language. It’s possible to write sophisticated arcade-style games on Scratch, and as you work though the chapters of Super Scratch Programming Adventure, you’ll be surprised at what the software is capable of. The book is written in the form of a story, in which cartoon characters are faced with increasingly dire predicaments that require Scratch programs to get out of. It’s a fun way to learn how to program Scratch, even for adults.

My 9-year-old daughter loves Scratch, and she’s learned a lot about sprite animation, variables, applying sound effects, interface design, and more. As Mitchel Resnick, the director of the MIT Scratch Team writes in his introduction, “As young people create Scratch projects, they are not just learning how to write computer programs. They are learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively [people can share their Scratch creations at MIT’s Scratch site] — essential skills for success and happiness in today’s world.”

The book also has a brief introduction to the PicoBoard, a microcontroller board that interfaces with Scratch so you can write programs that respond to light, sound, and other inputs. I’m going to buy a PicoBoard, because it looks like a lot of fun!

If you have a kid who likes video games, this book is a fine way for him or her to learn how games are created. I also recommend the book for adults who want to have creative fun with their computer.

Super Scratch Programming Adventure

[Some great new work from Audrey Kawasaki. Yay! I haven’t liked all her recent stuff so much, but this new work is back to some amazing directions. -egg]
. Midnight Reverie .:

all pieces oil, acrylic, and graphite on wood panel.
“You Come First”

16″x16″

HOWTO protect yourself from ATM skimmers:

Brian Krebs, who has written many excellent investigative pieces on ATM skimmers, spent several hours watching footage seized from hidden skimmer cameras, and has concluded that covering your hand while you enter your PIN really works in many cases — and that many people don’t bother to take this elementary step.

Some readers may thinking, “Wait a minute: Isn’t it more difficult to use both hands when you’re withdrawing cash from a drive-thru ATM while seated in your car?” Maybe. You might think, then, that it would be more common to see regular walk-up ATM users observing this simple security practice. But that’s not what I found after watching 90 minutes of footage from another ATM scam that was recently shared by a law enforcement source. In this attack, the fraudster installed an all-in-one skimmer, and none of the 19 customers caught on camera before the scheme was foiled made any effort to shield the PIN pad.

Krebs goes on to note that this doesn’t work in instances where the skimmer includes a compromised PIN pad, and it seems likely that if covering PINs became more routine that crooks would take up this technique more broadly. But for now, covering your PIN with your free hand is a free, effective means of protecting yourself from ATM skimmers.

A Handy Way to Foil ATM Skimmer Scams

[Nice. -egg]
A long stripper pole:
Diplo – Set It Off feat. Lazerdisk Party Sex from Pomp&Clout on Vimeo.
Illustrator Bob Staake says: “Thought you might enjoy taking at look at my son Ryan’s new video for Diplo. Nice to see that all that RISD tuition I paid is helping to fund infinite stripper poles in space!”

#866; The World’s Most Secure Website:

Check out: Bad Lip Reading:
Bad Lip Reading is one of my favorite YouTube channels. Here’s their take on Twilight.

This is the first time I’ve seen them try to assemble a coherent narrative (of sorts) out of their re-dubs. Usually it’s silly non sequitur stuff like this hilarious Mitt Romney piece:

“I bought two zebras and tamed a parrot named Mr. Future.” I could watch this stuff all day.

[The idea of “junk DNA” always did seem a bit implausible to me. -egg]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/science/far-from-junk-dna-dark-matter-proves-crucial-to-health.html?hp