~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #33

[human being <human@electronetwork.org>]

===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #33
===================================================

00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (6/27/2003)

01) Top Stories of Electromagnetism
02) Electromagnetic health & medicine
03) Electromagnetic trash & treasure
04) Electromagnetic security & surveillance
05) Electromagnetic power & energy
06) Electromagnetic current & human affairs
07) Electromagnetic transportation & communication
08) Electromagnetic matter & information
09) Electromagnetic trends & inventions
10) Electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
11) Electromagnetic business & economics
12) Electromagnetic art & artifacts

===================================================
00) --commentary--

Update on the EM Assemblage project: the approach thus far has
been to create an index of electromagnetic artworks and artifacts,
thinking that once these were assembled in one context, there may
be greater clarity in their range and interpretation, to ask questions
about the relationships between these various pieces. It turns out
that, upon more and more work (which eventually needs to begin
a new, next stage) that the exhibit will always be incomplete, so a
wide-ranging approach (with respect to the realities of copyright
issues, too) has been attempted thus far. Then, a sense that was
the purpose for attempting this project in the first place came back.
Not only that science, fine arts, historical and natural museums,
and other collections of artists, galleries, and archaeologists might
be arranged together in an electromagnetic context, as a way of
approaching the present day with experimental works online, in
a realm of computing largely abstracted from traditional thinking.

But that there may be many approaches and values, not one over-
arching idea beyond the context, such that 'electrification' may be
related to geological phenomenon, then, in amber, and now in
sensing for oil fields using sound waves to read below-ground
structures. Also, that this same story may give a sense of change
in environments and people, in days of slaves juxtaposed with
the new power of the industrial revolution, or as noted last week
with Native Americans and the conquest of land by electric poles.
Prior to this, a sense of a predominant iconography of elements,
a visual aspect, was possibly the predisposition, that this culture
can be seen, made tangible, events connected, with aesthetics.
Yet what seems to be happening is that stories are connecting,
too, and there are many many stories, and it is only a context
for larger stories in which electromagnetism may play a minor
or major role, but relevant nonetheless as part of these events.

Therefore, instead of some clear conception of major themes,
the next stage which will include writing will likely have shorter
snippets, comparing works in the index (Zones 1-6) with each-
other in various contexts, sharing some of this range. There are
so many issues, a few of which involve exhibiting works offline,
that a structure may be developed to approach some practical
considerations about this context, but as for the works, it seems
that there is so much that can and is to be shared, and that this
is infinite and reliant upon the works themselves, that it is more
as an idea of exhibiting electromagnetism and sharing vantages
of it that will be the attempted focus, than any one approach to it.

The last aspect of this exhibit, and a more personal one, is to
offer a few possibilities for architectural approaches to exhibiting
works, which is more to do with further defining this context and
its continuity, than to interpret it in a singular way. Such that the
index of works that is nearly done, can be analyzed in text, and
also 'shown' through graphics, as to this electromagnetic context.
So far it was believed this would all happen in one fell swoop,
but it has become a very involved research effort and therefore
the results are unexpected and were unanticipated, excitement
being in sharing the ideas, learning what others are considering,
seeing and hearing and imagining other approaches, and so
with this in mind, as the second stage of the research involving
the writing begins, it may be integrated with the list, in a series
of smaller essays that make up a larger work of ideas related
to the exhibit. And the drawings may become an experiment
rather than an exercise in relation to these ideas, also. Brian


===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------

The Road to Oceania By WILLIAM GIBSON // excellent.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/25/opinion/25GIBS.html?th>

	"In the age of the leak and the blog, of evidence extraction and link  
discovery, truths will either out or be outed, later if not sooner.  
This is something I would bring to the attention of every diplomat,  
politician and corporate leader: the future, eventually, will find you  
out. The future, wielding unimaginable tools of transparency, will have  
its way with you. In the end, you will be seen to have done that which  
you did."

// the role of telegraphy, syncronizing timepieces,
// cosmopolitan time, electricity, philosphy of the ether,
// in relation to clocks used for the theory of relativity.
// when will the 'Michelson-Morley experiment' be upgraded?

The Clocks That Shaped Einstein's Leap in Time
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/science/24TIME.html>

	"The leaders and rivals in filling in this "electric world map," as  
Dr. Galison calls it, were England and France, even though for several  
years they were embarrassingly unable to agree on the distance between  
their own principal observatories, Greenwich and Paris. Paris lost out  
to Greenwich as the locus of zero longitude, but in 1909 Poincare used  
the Eiffel Tower to broadcast time signals to the world."

// in 7 recent days, the power has gone out 4 or 5 times,
// and the telephones have been dead for 3 days ongoing...
// the 'power crisis' is worse in Minneapolis than it was
// during the whole California fiasco engineered by Enron...
// [prior to a storm which uprooting trees, powerlines nearby]

Redrawing the Electric Power Grid
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/technology/24GRID.html>

	"Most summers, power system managers around the country experience  
similar moments of helplessness. The problem is not so much the amount  
of power available as it is bottlenecks in the transmission grid."		
	"A central issue in the power industry and among alternative power  
advocates is how best to eliminate the bottlenecks: by building more  
long-distance transmission lines or by generating more power in small  
quantities close to where it is needed."
	"The backbone of the national transmission grid consists of 200,000  
miles of high-voltage lines that carry electricity across the United  
States, most of Canada and northern Mexico. Except for Texas, which  
operates largely on its own..."

Casting the Wireless Sensor Net // 'there goes the neighborhood'...
Smart, networked sensors will soon be all around us, collectively  
processing vast amounts of previously unrecorded data to help run  
factories, maintain crops, and even watch for earthquakes.
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/huang0703.asp?p=0>

World Virus Map - McAfee Security
Infected Computers/Million Citizens Over the Past 30 Days
<http://mastdb4.mcafee.com/VirusMap3.asp?Cmd=Map&b=NS&ft=JPEG&lang=en>

---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & medicine
---------------------------------------------------

// ~enhancing the brain by turning off certain parts~...
// ~seeing what's actually there, not what you think is there~
// hacking or hijacking the wetware, also known as the brain...

Savant for a Day // TMS and autistic intelligence ***
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/magazine/22SAVANT.html>

	"In a concrete basement at the University of Sydney, I sat in a chair  
waiting to have my brain altered by an electromagnetic pulse. My  
forehead was connected, by a series of electrodes, to a machine that  
looked something like an old-fashioned beauty-salon hair dryer and was  
sunnily described to me as a ''Danish-made transcranial magnetic  
stimulator.'' This was not just any old Danish-made transcranial  
magnetic stimulator, however; this was the Medtronic Mag Pro, and it  
was being operated by Allan Snyder, one of the world's most remarkable  
scientists of human cognition..."
	..."While I drew, Snyder continued his lecture. ''You could call this  
a creativity-amplifying machine. It's a way of altering our states of  
mind without taking drugs like mescaline. You can make people see the  
raw data of the world as it is. As it is actually represented in the  
unconscious mind of all of us.''"

Iraqis Suffer From Radiation Symptoms (AP)
<http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Radiation.html>

Video-Computer Combo Helps Pianists Compensate for Stress Injury
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/health/24PIAN.html>


---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------

'Pens' Owned by Schoolkids Are a Bit of a Shock: ...battery-powered
hand zappers are a craze, and concerned officials may ban them.
<http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-me-shock23jun23.story>

	"The devices resemble ballpoint pens. An AAA or button-cell battery  
and copper coil combine to produce a zap when a person presses the  
pen's clicker." ... "Electricians and Web site advertisements warn that  
shock pens can generate up to 500 volts. ...It delivered 500 volts and  
6 milliamps, or 6 thousandths of an amp. By comparison, a wall socket  
produces 115 volts and 15 amps." [pacemakers beware]

Porty-loos are solar powered // related to the MS iLoo?
<http://www.news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=691442003>

How Bug Zappers Work -
<http://home.howstuffworks.com/bug-zapper.htm>

Re-Elect Bush: Beta Version
A sneak preview of the president's 2004 campaign.
<http://slate.msn.com/id/2084803/>

[and] screenshot of 2004 election website...
<http://slate.msn.com/id/2084775/device/html30/>

---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------

Europe Moves Toward Issuing Passports With Data Chips
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/20/international/20CND-PASS.html>

Wired News Report: You've been hacked
<http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59361,00.html>

	'Starting July 1, companies must warn California customers of security  
holes in their corporate computer networks. When a retailer discovers  
its credit card records have been stolen, it will be required to e-mail  
customers, essentially saying, "We've been hacked, and the hacker may  
have your credit card number."'

How Fingerprint Scanners Work
<http://computer.howstuffworks.com/fingerprint-scanner.htm>

EU backs biometric passports
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/31380.html>

	"The plans to create passports carrying information on a person's  
fingerprint or retinal scans are presented as a way to reduce  
counterfeiting and fraud. Biometric chips would also be implanted in  
visas issued to foreign nationals travelling to Europe."

Consumers Are in Dark On Web-Site Privacy (WSJ)
Americans and Online Privacy: The System is Broken
<http://cryptome.org/dark-privacy.htm>

Airport Screeners May Get X-Ray Vision
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32754-2003Jun25.html>

	"The technology is called "backscatter" because it scatters X-rays.  
Doses of rays deflected off dense materials such as metal or plastic  
produce a darker image than those deflected off skin. The radiation  
dosage is about the same as sunshine, Hallowell said."

X-Ray IMAGE: <http://www.ananova.com/images/web/60017.jpg>

// dual-use: ultimate way to foster corruption, electronic spotters

They log on, look out with Web crime cams: Citizens on cyber patrol
<http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/06/17/loc_wwwloc1bcyber17.html>

	"It's wireless, so the cameras can be moved quickly in response to  
changes in trouble spots. Anyone with the access code can log onto the  
Internet, move the cameras' viewpoint, watch for crime and call 911.  
The cameras also have night color vision and can pan, tilt and zoom."

CityWatcher.com provides network security cameras that are recorded  
over the Internet. <http://www.citywatcher.com/> // cyberTIPs?

DD's Ultimate Guide to Mac OS Security // + general resources...
<http://homepage.mac.com/macbuddy/SecurityGuide.html>

Reporter exploits weak Wi-Fi network; accesses student info
<http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/6179511.htm>

	"Armed with a laptop and a wireless connection card, a reporter for  
the Palo Alto Weekly succeeded last week in exploiting the school  
district's insecure network setup, obtaining some students' grades,  
home phone numbers, addresses, medical information, psychological  
evaluations and even full-color photos of the kids."

Hacker How-To Good Summer Reading
<http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,59340,00.html>

Bill requires hacked-account alert
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2003/06/27/hacked/>


---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------

Hydrogen Is No Gas, Yet
<http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59322,00.html>

Pipeline blast 'was sabotage'
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,982965,00.html>

How Surge Protectors Work
<http://computer.howstuffworks.com/surge-protector.htm>

US nuclear security overhaul ordered following 'incidents'
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/030625/1/3c2r3.html>

Current Solar Data: NOAA // thanks *.
<http://www.n3kl.org/sun/noaa.html>

Canada Is Losing Ability to Fill U.S. Natural Gas Needs // shortages?
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/business/worldbusiness/26GAS.html>

	"Tight gas supplies in the United States pose a threat to economic  
growth, said Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, which  
lowered interest rates today in response to general weakness in the  
American economy. Mr. Greenspan told the House Energy and Commerce  
Committee on June 10 that the country could not expect Canada to make  
up for falling production in the United States, and that new facilities  
were needed to import liquefied natural gas from Asia, the Middle East  
and the former Soviet Union."

---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------

President's tumble off a Segway seems a tiny bit suspicious
<http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030618/5252375s.htm>

Apple accused of cheating over G5 benchmarks
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/39/31405.html>

downed e-pole from tornado in rural minnesota // pic
<http://startribune.com/images/hl/3955454_62288.html>

camera phone picture of the tornado in rural MN // amazing!!!
<http://www.startribune.com//images/ss/824_0.html>

Iraqis take advantage of unfettered Net access
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/local/6166288.htm>
	"At Baghdad's Internet centers, customers talk to relatives or price  
new refrigerators, ovens, electronics and cars. They look for jobs or  
products to import into Iraq. And some check out chat sites, once  
off-limits to Iraqis..."

Sexual inequality exposed in virtual world
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993864>

---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transportation & communication
---------------------------------------------------

Putin pulls plug on last critical TV channel
Cash-starved Russian independent station taken off air during ad break  
'for the benefit of the audience', Kremlin says
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,983028,00.html>

Hands-Free Phone Not Safer for Drivers-Sweden Study
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22218-2003Jun23.html>

Post-Saddam Media Boom Enjoys Freedom -- to a Point
<http://www.reuters.com/ 
newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=R4G3BZFI4GFV4CRBAEOCFEY?type=ourWorldNews&s 
toryID=2971513>

Intel, universities create world network // PlanetLab. thanks *
<http://news.com.com/2100-1035_3-1020157.html?tag=fd_top>

The Un-Doom Boom // cell-phone games...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/technology/circuits/26casu.html>

New web tool to improve multimedia surfing:
Browser makes online audio and video searchable and linkable.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/nsu_pf/030623/030623-11.html>

Do-not-call registry debuts // U.S. telemarketing spam...
PHONE SIGN-UPS NOW AVAILABLE; PROGRAM'S SCOPE BROADENED
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6184331.htm>

Group claims Linux advance on Xbox
<http://news.com.com/2100-1043-1021692.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>

---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------

Lightning Jets Blow Sky High // high-altitude lightning...
<http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59396,00.html>

	"Unlike the familiar lightning bolts, these brilliant jets spread out  
in extremely thin air to form shapes resembling giant trees or carrots  
some 50 miles tall..." ... "The study, which appears Thursday in the  
journal Nature, also found that four jets generated extremely low  
frequency radio waves that could interfere with global radio  
communications, said Victor Pasko, a Penn State electrical engineer."

Old Apple Hard Drive Becomes New Atomic Mirror
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=75&ncid=75&e=2&u=/nf/ 
20030623/tc_nf/21776>

---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------

USB Forum speeds up USB by renaming it // 1.1 = 2.0
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/31349.html>

Happy Birthday, Dear DNS // 20 year anniversary...
<http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59348,00.html>

Wearable Tech // electronic textiles
<http://www.business2.com/articles/web/0,,50448,00.html>

Coaster With a Message: Your Table Is Ready // LED coaster pager.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/technology/circuits/26howw.html>


---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------

// new US policy favors nuclear weapons & power plants. ironic.

U.S. sees urgency for nuclear monitoring
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/06/26/nuclear_monitoring/>

Miami radio show hosts make prank call to Castro
<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl- 
dcastro18jun18,0,5773173.story?coll=sfla-news-miami>

Zap! Air Force eyes Star Wars-style lasers
<http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=JEDIWEAPONS-06-24- 
03&cat=AN>

	'"Essentially what we're looking at is that this laser can hit a  
target at the speed of light, almost instantly compared with the time  
of flight of a missile, which can take several seconds," said Jono  
Tyson, a contract employee from Scientific Research Corp. and assistant  
project manager at the simulation facility. "The laser is also a much  
more cost-effective weapon versus firing a missile that costs hundreds  
of thousands of dollars. Firing the laser will likely only cost a  
couple hundred dollars."' .. "The high energy laser weighs about 5,000  
pounds and can fire on targets up to 10 miles away..."

New Explosion Hits Key Iraqi Oil Pipeline // strategic saboteurs...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34789-2003Jun26.html>

A new experience for Iraqis watching satellite TV
<http://www.boston.com/dailynews/175/world/ 
A_new_experience_for_Iraqis_waP.shtml>

	"After years of all-Saddam-most-of-the-time, it comes as quite a  
change for Iraqis to watch ''Tom and Jerry'' and the Arabic version of  
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.''"

COMICAL ALI 'HELD' (NO JOKE)
<http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/ 
content_objectid=13107151_method=full_siteid=50143_headline=-COMICAL- 
ALI-%27HELD%27-%28NO-JOKE%29-name_page.html>

	"Information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf had been hiding out at a  
relative's house since April watching satellite TV - banned under  
Saddam." ... "A senior coalition source said: "He has some serious  
talking to do ... this time.""

---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------

More Companies Pay Heed to Their 'Word of Mouse' Reputation // +
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/23/technology/23REPU.html>

Indian PM Proposes Info-Tech Alliance with China
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34868-2003Jun26.html>

	"India's prime minister began a visit to China's economic powerhouse  
on Thursday by saying the two countries could combine their  
complementary strengths in information technology instead of  
competing." ... ""Indian and Chinese firms could instead join up to  
provide state-of-the-art solutions at cost-effective prices, thereby  
also cutting out the middlemen," Vajpayee told a conference."

Pulling Up by Their Sandal Straps // net commerce...
<http://wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,59202,00.html>

	"Matthew Meyer, founder of Ecosandals.com, insists the Internet can  
provide a channel between poor artisans and the international  
marketplace."


---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic art & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------

Towering Above the City of Light, 20,000 New Bulbs // Eiffel e-Tower
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/international/europe/22PARI.html>

	"[A]fter nine months of casting, bolting, wiring and painting, the  
latest phase in the lighting of the national landmark began, as 20,000  
lights started to blink at 11:30 p.m. They will dazzle every night, for  
10 minutes every hour on the hour until after midnight, embellishing  
the current lighting scheme." ... "As the project went along,  
architects discovered that the existing architectural plan of the  
Eiffel Tower was inaccurate, so it had to be redrawn by computer."

Morte a Venezia // electromagnetic work at the Venice Biennale
<http://www.economist.co.uk/books/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1858764>

	"Mr Orozco... [a]s an artist and a curator, ...is particularly  
interested in the surreal elements of everyday life, and he has taken a  
playful approach to the art he has chosen for the show. Viewers who  
wondered why the lights kept going out found a label for a work by  
Fernando Ortega entitled "Every time a fly gets electrocuted, the power  
supply in this room is interrupted, provoking a momentary blackout."  
Don't try this at home."

Doug Michels, Radical Artist and Architect, Dies at 59
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/21/obituaries/21MICH.html>

	"Ant Farm's other cross-over success was a 1975 performance work,  
"Media Burn," in which Mr. Michels drove a white Cadillac through a  
pyramid of burning television sets. Video recordings of "Media Burn"  
became staples of video art history classes..."  "In a similar vein but  
with a comic populist twist was a 1996 proposal for "The National  
Sofa," conceived with the architect James Allegro. The project was to  
consist of a wide marble bench near the White House, from which  
visitors could watch televised events like presidential addresses or  
Congressional activities on a giant, pop-up video screen."

Artist Hiro Yamagata follows a new light
<http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/06/22/wkd.art.of.light.ap/ 
index.html>

	"Yokohama's...latest work -- two building-sized cubes covered with  
holographic Mylar panels."	"Nearby, he has fitted out a pair of large  
rooms with lasers, strobes, 1,800 reflective cubes hanging on wires and  
all sorts of other devices to create an effect that is something like a  
kaleidoscope on steroids, or what a disco might look like several  
hundred years from now."

Heart and Soul in the Machine
Synth legend Robert Moog updates his instrument
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.07/play.html?pg=2>

	"I think of the [analog] Minimoog Voyager as a thing you play with  
other people." -- Robert Moog

A Desktop Seventh Wonder  // computer case mods (like car culture)
<http://wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,59398,00.html>

Artist turns PPC 970 die into futuristic city // bryced?
<http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10204>

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