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Jason Kottke • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 8:43 p.m.

I am looking for an intern-type person to work on a project to commence almost immediately and lasting until the end of the year. Basically I have an idea for a thing and I don't have the time to do it, so I'm looking for someone who wants to own the project and I'll just be the publisher/overseeing editor/moral support. You need to know how to organize, write fluent English in short bursts, *love* lists, have good "hey, this is cool" spotting instincts, and be generally comfortable with using web publishing tools. PHP skills would be a huge plus. Time involved will vary but will be a few hours a day to start (first 3-5 days) and probably less than an hour a day afterwards, probably something that could be done in the evening if you have a dayjob but are really interested. You can be located anywhere in the world, although if you're in NYC, I'll buy you a cup of coffee and we can talk about the project in person.

I can't offer to pay because while it's a fun idea, it's not necessarily a lucrative idea, but you'll get full credit on the site multiple times and pretty much free reign to do what you'd like within the initial parameters of the project.

Seriously interested? Send me an email (no attachments!) with any information you feel I need to know about you and your abilities/talents/interest level. Thanks!

Tags: kottke.org

OK Go, WTF

Jason Kottke • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 8:26 p.m.

A delightfully low-tech but colorful music video from OK Go. Looks like it was shot it one take.

You may remember OK Go from their famous treadmill video. (thx, mike)

Tags: music OK Go video

Fring Puts Video Calls on Your iPhone [Downloads]

Lifehacker • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 7:30 p.m.

iPhone only: Previously mentioned mobile VoIP and chat application Fring has updated their iPhone app with support for streaming video calls. It's a great feature, but it does have a catch.

If you're unfamiliar with Fring, it's a messaging application that integrates with everything from Skype and Google Talk to Facebook and AIM. For most, the VoIP feature comes via Skype. With the new update, iPhone and iPod touch users with a Wi-Fi connection can make and receive video calls via Fring or Skype and watch your contact from your phone. Unfortunately the video chat is only a one-way video thing for now, meaning either you can watch your friend talk or your friend can watch you talk. This is, of course, a limitation of the iPhone and its non-front-facing camera. The folks at Fring assure us that two-way video calls will be available as soon as the iPhone gets a front-facing camera.

Two-way video or not, it's great to see a first step in this direction for the iPhone. Video calling may not be an everyday sort of event (I do plenty of things while I'm on the phone that the person I'm talking to doesn't need or want to see), but it's certainly got its place, and it'll be nice to take video chat out of our computer monitors.

Fring is a free download.

Fring [iTunes App Store via Fring Blog]

Inbox2 Combines Email and Social Networking Into One Stream [Communication]

Lifehacker • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 7 p.m.

We may be eagerly awaiting Mozilla's previously mentioned Raindrop, but webapp Inbox2—already available in beta stage—looks to serve the same purpose: Pulling all your email and social networking communication in a single unified stream.

You can use Inbox2 as either a standalone webapp or a Facebook application, allowing you to choose the hub of your message stream. If you already spend tons of time on Facebook, for example, you can add your email, Twitter, and other updates to your Facebook notifications instead, as well as read and send messages from any of your non-Facebook accounts without leaving Facebook's site.

Inbox2 also integrates well with your existing system, allowng you to import your existing labels and stars from other services like Gmail. It also has support for Microsoft Exchange 2007, and is planning on releasing an iPhone app in the near future (followed by apps for other smartphones). Take a look at their demo video above for a closer look at how it all works.

Inbox2 is a free, web-based service.

Inbox2 [via TechCrunch]

The H1N1 vaccine manufacturing process

Jason Kottke • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 6:48 p.m.

If you missed it last week in the Thanksgiving flurry, here's my post on how the H1N1 vaccine is made.

The most striking feature of the H1N1 flu vaccine manufacturing process is the 1,200,000,000 chicken eggs required to make the 3 billion doses of vaccine that may be required worldwide.

Tags: swineflu

Court vs. cops stalemate in Maricopa County

Boing Boing • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 6:31 p.m.

Radley Balko what will happen to the court-document stealing deputy of Maricopa County: "I can't think of another case where a judge has ordered someone jailed for contempt and the police department has refused to carry out the order. I'm not sure what would happen next. A duel? Arm wrestling?"

Google's Always-Fascinating Year-End Zeitgeist Rounds Up 2009 in Search [Zeitgeist]

Lifehacker • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 6:30 p.m.

Web users perform billions of searches every year, leaving the folks at Google with a fount of interesting information. When the year ends, GOOG rounds it all up into their yearly zeitgeist. This year, Twitter and Michael Jackson lead the way.

A bit more about how Google puts their zeitgeist together:

To compile the 2009 Year-End Zeitgeist, we studied the aggregation of billions of queries people typed into Google search this year. We use data from multiple sources, including Insights for Search, Google Trends and internal data tools. We also filter out spam and repeat queries to build out lists that best reflect "the spirit of the times." All of the search queries we studied are anonymous-no personal information was used.

The Google Zeitgeist always provides an interesting overview of what was on our minds in any given year, so give it a look and share what interesting finds you can dig up in the comments.

Google Zeitgeist 2009 [Google]

Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker]

Lifehacker • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 6 p.m.

You missed Black Friday, you skipped Cyber Monday, but you still want a good deal or two. No problem, we bring you deals all year long on gadgets, gear, and electronic goodies.

Boing Boing • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 5:54 p.m.

A new study conducted in Florida has given scientists reason to believe that hammerhead sharks may have vision comparable to that of humans. The researchers measured electrical activity in the eyes of half a dozen sharks from three different hammerhead species. They then put electrodes under the sharks' corneas and recorded electrical activity while shining lights in horizontal and vertical arcs around each eye. Compared to normal-headed sharks, the hammerheads had three times the visual overlap — that's what creates stereo vision and depth perception in animals with eyes that face forward. This, of course, helps them be faster and more efficient at hunting prey. But there's a catch: because their eyes are so far apart, hammerheads have these giant blind spots right in the middle of their head. As study leader Michelle McComb put it in an interview with National Geographic:

There's actually been anecdotal claims by divers that they see little fish schooling right in front of the hammerheads' heads. It's like the fish are swimming by and saying, Ha, ha, ha, you can't see me!

Hammerhead sharks have "human" vision [National Geographic] Image via Eric Charlton's Flickr

Guest Blogger: Paul Spinrad!

Boing Boing • Tuesday December 1 (2009) @ 5:25 p.m.

I'm very happy to welcome my friend Paul Spinrad back as a guest blogger. If you missed him the first time around, do yourself a favor and check out his previous posts on Boing Boing.

Paul is one of the most original thinkers I know, and a warm, friendly person. He's a freelance writer/editor with catholic interests, and is the Projects Editor for MAKE magazine and the author of The VJ Book and The Re/Search Guide to Bodily Fluids. He was also an early contributor to bOING bOING when it was an online zine. He lives in San Francisco. Please give him a warm welcome!

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