~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #53
From
human being <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Fri, 10 Oct 2003 20:09:23 -0500
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #53
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (10/10/2003)
01) Top Stories of Electromagnetism
02) Electromagnetic health & safety
03) Electromagnetic trash & treasure
04) Electromagnetic security & surveillance
05) Electromagnetic power & energy
06) Electromagnetic current & human affairs
07) Electromagnetic transport & communication
08) Electromagnetic matter & information
09) Electromagnetic trends & inventions
10) Electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
11) Electromagnetic business & economics
12) Electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
===================================================
00) --commentary-- Neil Postman.
Once read a great book and found a great teacher who
asked great questions and they were trying to share
why this great book was virtually unknown. They said
it was likely because it was published during a time
of crisis, and thus never received the attention it
deserved, or something to this effect. Likewise, it
is with the passing of Johnny Cash that the special
contributions of unique person's works may be lost
to the rapid presentation of endless history making.
Thus, a minor TV personality who dies gets a long-
media send-off while a poet of the ages is silenced.
So too, at a time where basic media literacy is so
critical to being critical in awareness, in thinking,
in perceiving, it is such work that is strangely in
absence from the leading discourses of the day, and
detached from the fundamental questions related to
media, this from a teacher who wrote a book both on
linguistics and peaceful revolution through education,
who wrote of language, media, education and change.
Yet, not a blip on the screen of today's consciousness
even though the greatest teachings never seem to end...
// Rest in peace Neil Postman... (click-thru 'day pass')
Neil Postman: A civilized man in a century of barbarism
A former student remembers a teacher who never stopped raking
the worlds of Big Media and technology with his savage wit.
<http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/10/10/postman/>
'He was expert in nothing. Therefore nothing was off limits.' ...
'Postman, world-famous media scholar, was famous among students and
friends for refusing any technology thought to "improve" something in
which he had never requested improvements. A simple rule, with
hilarious consequences.' ... '...[Postman] knew the two secrets of all
great teachers, things no teachers college can teach: First, you don't
put knowledge into people, you draw it out. (Which is why personality
was his one and only classroom "method.") Second, if you can manage to
conceal, artfully, some crucial part of what you are saying, then young
people who are listening really, really hard will make it their
business to find you out...'
[and] Neil Postman, 72, Mass Media Critic, Dies
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/09/obituaries/09POST.html>
'Dr. Postman's core message was that an immersion in a media
environment shaped children's lives to their detriment, and society's.'
... 'If all the secrets of adulthood, including sex, illness and death,
are opened to children, he wrote, cynicism, apathy or arrogance replace
curiosity for them, short-circuiting education and moral development.'
... 'In 1971, he founded the program in media ecology at the Steinhardt
School of Education of N.Y.U.'
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
German Sources Say Russia Might Price Its Oil in Euros // drudge
<http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/10/09/047.html>
'A switch into euros by Russia, the second-biggest oil exporter behind
Saudi Arabia and holder of the world's largest natural gas reserves,
would represent a major shift in the balance of currencies behind the
world's most traded commodity.'
[and] Putin, Schroeder call for cooperation
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/10/09/putin/>
'At present, oil and natural gas are supplied to the Russian domestic
market at a fraction of their export prices. Foreign producers,
especially in the European Union, claim that this amounts to a subsidy
to Russian manufacturers and want the same price for all sales.' ..
'Putin said Russia was ready to gradually raise its energy prices and
discuss the process with EU officials, but added that such
consultations must be separate from WTO accession talks.'
ENERGY TASK FORCE SECRECY CASE GOES TO SUPREME COURT // Secrecy News
<http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/cheney0903.pdf>
'The Bush Administration is asking the Supreme Court to
intervene in the continuing dispute over whether the Vice
President must disclose records of his meetings with
non-governmental advisors in the course of the 2001 Energy
Task Force.'
Energy Bill Could Be Stalled Until '04, Senate Aide Says
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/10/politics/10ENER.html>
'A spokeswoman for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
told reporters that divisions between House and Senate Republicans over
rules for the electricity industry, gasoline additives and subsidies
for a gas pipeline in Alaska might not be resolved before Congress
adjourned for the year.' ... 'That idea stunned lobbyists, who had
expected the measure with dozens of provisions favorable to American
power producers to be wrapped up in a few weeks. It also angered House
officials, who said lawmakers there were ready to proceed.' .. 'It
arose as Mr. Bush repeated in a speech in New Hampshire his call for
the negotiators to finish the bill quickly.' .. '"They must come
together and get a bill to my desk before they go home for Christmas,"
he said.' ... 'Conservation groups and other critics ... say the
overall measure is little more than a collection of special provisions
for the oil, gas and electricity industries.'
NYGPS - using GPS for math, science & social studies education
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nygps/>
'If so, this is an invitation to join the NYGPS mail group, an online
community of educators and GPS users who are sharing information and
materials about using GPS use in school.'
STARTING OUT IN BASIC ELECTRONICS // good (minus the hard sell)
<http://www.electronics-tutorials.com/basics/starting-out.htm>
He Thinks, Therefore He Sells // conceptual sculptor of neurons
<http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,60757,00.html>
'Keats registered his brain as a sculpture, the structure of which
Keats claims to have created thought by thought.' ... 'Keats said his
plan is not a joke and that the idea of having a holding company look
after his brain after he is dead comforts him.' .. 'However, he is not
sure yet who will actually sit on the company's board.'
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------
// after taking apart a radio scanner to see if the loose
// connector could be fixed, it was realized that there
// were two double-sided, sandwiched printed circuit boards
// chock full of electronics inside this device that looks
// so simple from the outside, just a small display, buttons.
// this to say: the complexity for a radio scanner to do what
// it does, and in comparison, a cellphone, does not surprise
// if there are weird and dangerous events even with quality-
// control. plus reading of 'capacitors' being able to hold a
// surprising amount of energy, and a dangerous discharge, to
// relating this to reports of electrolytic capacitor issues...
Cell Phone Explodes- Manufacturer is investigating // drudge
<http://www.wowt.com/news/features/3/495427.html>
Is The Pentagon Giving Our Soldiers Cancer? // DU. cursor.org
by Hillary Johnson Rolling Stone ; October 2, 2003
U.S. military might relies on depleted uranium, which incinerates tanks
on impact. But soldiers and civilians alike say the radioactive ammo
is making them sick.
'Chris Busby, a British specialist in low-level radiation, conducted
his own field assessments in Iraq before the second Gulf War and
measured radiation more than 100 times normal near target sites. He
concluded that oxide particles are blown far afield by the wind. Such
super-fine particles cannot be dislodged from the lungs by coughing;
some will make their way into internal organs and bone, where they can
irradiate nearby cells and eventually cause genetic mutations that lead
to cancer.'
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
// the plan is to ship nuke waste from all over the .US via truck
// and railroads, to store at Yucca mountain. one broken axle...
Yucca critics cite foul-up with reactor shipment // drudgereport.com
<http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/text/2003/oct/09/
515720079.html>
'The nuclear reaction that boils water to generate steam for
electricity took place in the vessel before the plant closed in 1997.
Although still hazardous, it is not as radioactive as the spent fuel
rods set to go to the Yucca site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.' ..
'The truck carrying the vessel broke an axle en route between
Charlevoix and Gaylord, Mich., and it pulled over to the side of a
road, where it was fixed.' .. 'The company then parked the truck
Tuesday night near a gas station -- that also serves as a bus stop for
13 elementary and high school students -- until the waste can be
transferred to a train that stops in Gaylord. The truck was still there
this morning. Company officials expected the transfer to take two to
four days.'
Doctor Makes Rare Protest Over Nobel Prize // via drudgereport.com
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A8230-
2003Oct10?language=printer>
'"When the announcement came out, my reaction was that I had been
robbed of 33 years of my identity," Damadian, 67, told Reuters in a
telephone interview. "The Nobel committee is rewriting history and is
engaged in a revision of history."' .. 'Damadian discovered in 1970
that differences between cancerous tissue and normal tissue could be
seen using nuclear magnetic resonance, a precursor to MRI technology.
His Melville, New York-based company makes and designs MRI scanners
that allow patients to stand up during the procedure.'
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
// it's said that some 'sweepers' can also, at times, install bugs.
Mayor Street's office bugged // via TSCM-L
<http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/6957314.htm>
'What was found was described by one top investigator as an "extremely
sophisticated" battery-powered device designed to broadcast to a remote
location, such as another building or a van parked outside.' ..
'"Whoever did it was professional," an official said.' .. 'The bug was
not a recording device. The base unit for the device was in the ceiling
above the mayor's desk. Several remote microphones were placed in the
ceiling throughout the spacious office.' .. 'The unit had enough
battery power to operate for several months.' ... 'The discovery
yesterday came at a time of heightened worry in the Street camp about
surveillance. About two weeks ago, the Street campaign hired a private
security firm to conduct a sweep of the campaign office on Cherry
Street, near 16th Street. No bugs were found.'
// paper checks to paperless electrons, refers to 9-11+transport
House OKs electronic clearing of checks // .US
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/10/08/checks/>
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
// anti-gravity has been in the news this year a few times
// and so it may be acclimatizing such new information for
// its eventual debut, if the scientific knowledge exists.
// curious if it is related to the hall effect, something of
// interest in learning about various electronic sensors,
// such as thermisters which can tell the temperature by
// relating its resistence to current in a circuit, or the
// photovoltaic or piezo-electric sensors that can do many
// things, as with lasers, IR LEDs, there is a lot of these
// technologies that are immediately available to experiment
// with as a hobbyist, in basic ways, to learn some basics.
QUOTE: New technology from 'black world'
<http://robots.cnn.com/2003/TECH/09/05/wow.tech.black.world/>
'Nowadays, phased-array antennae allow you to park your new car in
small parking spaces with audio queues. This was once black
technology.'
Solar's Seen in Shades of Green // 'net zero' e-bills
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,60717,00.html>
'Several homes on the tour boasted $50 to $100 annual electricity
bills, which represent just the cost of the meter itself. The price of
installation, however, is steep -- often between $20,000 and $80,000,
depending on the home's expected electricity needs. At those prices,
many solar-power systems on the tour extended far beyond the size and
lifestyle of the average American home.'
'Too little' oil for global warming // 'reassuring'
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994216>
The Great Energy Scam -- How a plan to cut oil imports turned
into a corporate giveaway. a TIME investigation // syn-fuel.
<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101031013-
493241,00.html>
'... in the case of a strange kind of American alchemy involving
coal, don't expect to be welcome on a plant tour. The reason isn't
that secrecy is necessary to protect a technological marvel but just
the opposite. What you would see behind the curtain is a scheme that
would make the Wizard of Oz envious.' ... 'What happens inside them? To
alter coal's chemistry so it qualifies as a synthetic fuel even though
it looks and burns like regular coal, some plants merely spray newly
mined coal with diesel fuel, pine-tar resin, limestone, acid or other
substances. Others mix coal waste with chemicals, coat it with latex
and blend it with untreated coal to form briquettes. And plant
operators in some extreme cases do nothing at all. Whatever the
process, it's still coal.'
// some oil/energy-related Americana, interesting WSJ backstory...
Unsolved Mystery: Is Brewster Jennings Linked to the CIA?
<http://cryptome.org/plame-brewster.htm>
AAA Battery Gets a Mini-Me
<http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,60706,00.html>
'The team at Quallion , which developed the battery in conjunction
with Argonne National Laboratory , says the key to the lifespan of the
battery is its chemistry.' .. 'The researchers isolated a phase of a
polysiloxane polymer, a material that has the highest conductivity ever
reported for an electrical conductor.' .. 'Recharging is done
wirelessly by an external electrical field, meaning implants no longer
have to be surgically removed and replaced when the battery runs out of
juice.'
NASA Selects Two Magnetospheric Mission Proposals For Feasibility
Studies // Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS). IMG. thanks *
<http://www.spacedaily.com/news/earth-03zc.html>\
'Mud wall' house scoops award: An ecologically-friendly house
featuring mud walls and solar panels has won a design award.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hereford/worcs/3175956.stm>
---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
// k-street... of reality-tv with politicians and lobbyists...
Clooney's blend of fact and fiction has Capitol Hill abuzz
<http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=451006>
[and] SPECIAL SECTION -- Murray Associates visits "K Street"
HBO television this Sunday (10/12) at 10PM
<http://www.spybusters.com/SS0310.html>
'This week Murray Associates swept James Carville's "K Street"
offices. Our inspection process will be briefly highlighted on this
week's episode along with the special detection instrumentation we
developed - Thermal Emissions Spectrum Analysis (TESA (R)), and Radio
Reconnaissance Spectrum Analysis (RRSA (R)).'
Welcome to the IEEE // thanks *
< http://www.ieee.org/portal/>
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
NASA Successfully Flies First Laser-powered Aircraft // drudgereport
<http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=12743>
'The team has developed and demonstrated a small-scale aircraft that
flies solely by means of propulsive power delivered by an invisible,
ground-based laser. The laser tracks the aircraft in flight, directing
its energy beam at specially designed photovoltaic cells carried
onboard to power the plane's propeller.'
Clever motor leads to talking vacuum cleaners // via NewsScan...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994234>
'Unlike an AC motor, a switched reluctance motor has a series of
electric coil windings mounted around an iron rotor attached to a
central drive shaft. There is no need for electricity to be applied to
the rotor itself.' .. 'By sequentially switching the coil currents on
and off using the control electronics, the magnetic poles on the rotor
can be made to continually "chase" the field. The rotor continually
seeks the point of least magnetic resistance - reluctance - between two
opposing coils. And the lack of contacting elements means the motor can
turn much faster than an AC motor.'
// will there be a North American automobile market in 2010?
GM: Fuel-Cell Cars Trump Hybrids // 1970s all over again...
<http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,60720,00.html>
THE GLOWBUGS E-MAIL LIST
<http://www.electronics-tutorials.com/basics/glowbugs.htm>
'The Glowbugs e-mailing list covers the hands-on use of vacuum tube
technology in amateur radio equipment of the bygone era. Home-built
equipment from the early 1920's through the 1970's is within its scope.'
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
The Next Big Chill-- Physicists close in on a new state of matter
<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=00038D5F-A1E7-1F7D-
A1E783414B7F0000&chanID=sa004>
'It occurs in objects as diverse as superconductors, atomic nuclei and
neutron stars. Several research groups are in a race to re-create it in
the laboratory in microscopic specks of ultracold gas. If they succeed,
it will enable experimental studies of processes that have heretofore
been the domain of theorists. "It" is a superfluid state of matter
predicted to occur when quantum particles that normally shun one
another pair up and behave en masse as a single body of fluid.'
Charles Arthur on Technology
'Treemap offers a new way of visualising complex data. Nothing beats it
for simplicity and the "wow!" effect when you first use it'
<http://news.independent.co.uk/digital/features/story.jsp?story=451099>
Strain Changes Semiconductors, Researchers Claim
Growing atomic layers of certain materials on a semiconductor surface
creates a strain that induces a large energy conversion and emits light
in the entire range of the visible spectrum -- a finding that could
lead to the design of new multifunctional materials.
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/22444.html>
Test Equipment: Meters, Meter Shunts, Spectrum Analyzer
<http://www.electronics-tutorials.com/test-equip/test-equip.htm>
The Spectrum Analyzer Project
<http://www.electronics-tutorials.com/test-equip/spectrum-analyzer.htm>
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
// this e-clothing article makes it curious if any of the risks
// of having electronics close to the body, and like the cell-
// phone events where they blow up or start on fire, may be a
// sideffect, instead of car tires and rollovers, it may be a
// high-static electricity atmosphere (lightning storm) and the
// electronic t-shirt with temperature sensor built-in, unknown
// if this will be considered in the realm of fashion design...
// also, after finding out that there are these thermistors for
// sensing temperature, it seems incredible that such sensors
// are already not in every watch and clock, in addition to
// other readings, such as UV, with solar cells, all doable...
Tech out the latest in fashion // electromagnetic clothing...
<http://www.news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1114102003>
'Scientists, retailers and fashion designers around the world are
racing to deliver their future vision of haute couture. So just how far
are we from wearing "smart" clothes?' ... [an aside--] 'Several
internet companies sell dresses, shirts, caps, bras and boxer shorts
impregnated with metals that reportedly keep out the high-frequency
electromagnetic radiation some people believe causes cancer.'
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
US State Department protests televangelist's nuclear threat // drudge
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=1521&u=/afp/20031009/
pl_afp/us_diplomacy_threat_031009192152&printer=1>
'Robertson, who has been a frequent critic of the State Department,
made the offending comments during an interview with a like-minded
critic of US diplomacy, columnist Joel Mowbray, who has written a book
entitled "Dangerous Diplomacy: How the State Department Threatens
American Security." .. "I read your book," Robertson said, according
to a transcript of the interview posted on his Christian Broadcasting
Network's website (www.cbn.com).' .. '"When you get through, you say,
'If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom, I think
that's the answer'," he said.' .. '"I mean, you get through this, and
you say, 'We've got to blow that thing up.' I mean, is it as bad as you
say?" Robertson asked.' .. 'Mowbray responded: "It is."'
PENTAGON: MISSILE DEFENSE EASY AS PLAYING BALL // nerf! cursor.org
<http://www.defensetech.org/archives/000617.html>
'~It's not impossible to win; once in a while you may get lucky with
your Nerf ball... (But) unlike Nerf balls, intercontinental ballistic
missiles travel at thousands of miles per hour. Try the game by
hurling golf balls or steel ball bearings, instead of Nerf balls, and
you'll get the idea. And maybe a few broken windows. too.'
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
Mexican Tycoon Urges Better Infrastructure // living standards, cells
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-brazil-
carlos-slim,0,2556403.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
Chip output nears full capacity: Manufacturers use 90% of
capacity in September, and analysts see expansion on the way.
<http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/08/technology/chip_capacity.reut/>
Intel Chairman Says U.S. Is Losing Edge
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6042-2003Oct9.html>
'One of the founding fathers of the nation's high-technology industry
warned in dire terms yesterday that U.S. dominance in key tech sectors
is in jeopardy, threatening the country's economic recovery and
growth.' ... '... ominously, Grove said, the software and services
industries -- strong drivers of U.S. economic growth for nearly two
decades -- show signs of emulating the struggles of the U.S. steel and
semiconductor industries.'
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
Vintage PCs Evoke Sweet Memories // Vintage Computer Festival
<http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,60721,00.html>
// electromagnetic engines, chassis, detailing, etc. after
// dissecting a PC for the first time, it was realized that
// it is very much like early classes in taking apart frogs
// (maybe a preserved pig or shark, something like that) and
// pulling these pieces of the creature out, to learn about
// how they work together (CPU, drives, wiring - heart, senses,
// nerve system). pulling apart a computer as an exercise in
// learning about electromagnetism could be a good way to
// relate diverse subjects in diverse ways, such as basics
// and history of electronics (vacuum tubes/transistors, etc)
// to the process for computation, to how circuit boards work
// together and separately, for instance, what seem to be
// controller boards attached to harddrives (circuit boards)
// in turn, then attached by cable to the main computer...
Extreme machines: Don't like your PC's beige box? Think the chip's just
too darned slow? Join the DIY enthusiasts who have turned customisation
into an art form. Michael Pollitt reports
<http://news.independent.co.uk/digital/features/story.jsp?story=451100>
Museums of Tomorrow: An Internet Conference
<http://okeeffemuseum.org/center/onlinesymposium.html>
CONCURSO INTERNACIONAL VIDA 6.0 - CONVOCATORIA
LIFE 6.0 INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION - CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
<http://www.vidalife.org>
DATABASE OF VIRTUAL ART at Humboldt University of Berlin
presents VIRTUAL ART : new video documentation // INSEA-L
<http://www.arte-tv.com/emission/emission.jsp?node=-1973&lang=de>
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