~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #61
From
human being <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Fri, 14 Nov 2003 13:11:39 -0600
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #61
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (11/14/2003)
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--
Wish there was a way to convey a type of change in understanding which
has occurred in the last few weeks, having sought to communicate
through an installation a general cultural, if aesthetic, approach to
electromagnetism. Will probably add an essay to the Electromagnetic
Assemblage site, which attempts to address the range of issues,
experiences, and outcomes so far realized in this process. "Curating"
(if it can, kindly, be called that) such a mini-exhibit has given a new
perspective and also has demonstrated areas that remain inaccessible in
terms of intention, in trying to communicate yet bounded -- and to
contemplate why this is, what this is, and if it can be overcome, and
how. All leads back to the idea of basic literacy and education of
electromagnetism, and luckily there are others out there with similar
interests, so it gets all the more exciting with each new opportunity
to share ideas.
(The most difficult part, to me at least, is language in the form of
texts and the complexity of many perspectives and interests at work,
simultaneously, while trying to open questioning into another realm
without discrediting or damaging what is good about what exists. The
catch-22 may only be superseded by withholding judgment beyond the
particular, such that the conundrum of questioning if 'the glass is
half empty, or half full' becomes dependent on exponential numbers of
factors, and dimensions, for example such as every discipline can
approach this question and particularize it with regard to its way of
seeing/believing. As a baseline it is imagined the approach to
fostering 'electromagnetism' in education is fraught with rough
approximations and experiments and folly even, yet it also finds
relevance from the culture and institutions and ways of thinking that
exist today, at the forefront of things. This is to say that the
question of 'integrating' the question, even if it is an inversion of
systems of thinking today, with thinking today, is one of many areas
that are rich with possibility and possibly contention, as a disputed
territory- which if it were more fully transmitted and communicated may
not be seen in either-or terms (empty/full)/(all/nothing)/(new/old) of
knowledge systems- though integral.)
Of many aspects better understood, one is immediate: that
electromagnetic education has no single domain in itself, as a place of
expertise it is de-centered as much as its knowledge. And also that the
more domains of knowledge that approach the question of electromagnetic
literacy, understanding, and awareness will increase the integration of
knowledge systems, not further their separation or so it would appear.
This is where the art-science-technology potential may reside. The
context going outside of what may be traditional boundaries, possibly
to inherent connections between ideas themselves. And thus, maybe one
dimension of this is education, another may be electromagnetism,
another may be electromagnetic education, others could include art,
science, technology. But together, that larger picture, how to approach
that outside of a specific context still puzzles. As electromagnetism
is hard enough to approach as little or no public knowledge of it
readily exists, nor base/standard knowledge (not even lightning, as an
electromagnetic event, the most basic of things, or power outages -- in
relation to the knowledge that exists on such phenomenon).
It would seem that many approaches, by many people, and in many ways
and many locations could help, yet ultimately bringing these together
is also necessary to open up the dialogues, discourses, the questions,
to investigation, interrogation of ideas. And to find commonality with
what exists, and possibly a position in relation which can be
productive, not destructive, to the fabrics in order to weave many
strands together, many weavers, from pre-existing areas of knowledge,
experience, and experimentation, that this is a collaborative,
collective of individuals working on similar ideas in different ways,
and together there may exist a way to approach the questions of
'literacy' and 'education' with innovation that benefits from
networking the potential energy that current exists. brian
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
// some good news to share on more proactive recycling policies...
Dell offers cash for recycling
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4209324.html>
'Dell Inc. is strengthening its push to recycle computers, awarding
$10,000 grants to 12 cities around the country to hold computer
recycling drives.' .. 'The grants will be used to organize, promote and
recycle computer equipment.'
[and] HP expands recycling effort for inkjet cartridges
<http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5106398.html>
[and] International Rectifier Takes Next Steps
in Conversion to Lead-Free Packages // via geek.com
<http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031113/135139_1.html>
// slaughter of a sacred cow... and further aesthetic defamation.
Wind farms top poll of architectural eyesores
<http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=463203>
'The clumps of large wind turbines on the tops of hills might
represent the future of green energy production, but they are the worst
architecture in Britain, according to a poll of its readers and
contributors.' ... 'Fourth on the list was Battersea power station in
south London, followed by "electricity pylons",...'
CNIB launches digital library for the blind // via wired.com
<http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/
RTGAM.20031113.gtblindnov13/BNStory/Technology/>
'Thanks to the Internet and some original programming by Microsoft
Canada, 105,000 blind or visually impaired Canadians will be able to
read thousands of books, daily newspapers and magazines.' .. 'Launched
Wednesday by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the CNIB
Digital Library is described as the most advanced collection of
alternative formats in the world and a model for 175 international
libraries producing alternative-format information.'
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------
// there is a tendancy to represent 'the Matrix' as some technological
// experience only capable of being reached by this same route. like
// 'cyberspace' it may be a natural condition of an electromagnetic
// environment, that is, whatever 'reality' really is, going on in
// soup of charges and interactions. accessing this 'reality' is not
// dependent on technology, but imagination, it would seem, to be
// able to envision such an environment exists, even if not visible
// at all times- something that earlier microscopes and telescopes
// were doing, as today's x-ray satellite observatories and electron
// microscopes. apparently the 'matrix' trilogy dropped the reference
// to 'the matrix' itself, and was bound to an academic sequel of life
// that does not directly engage this EM environment... like today.
Where is the real Matrix? // Excellent. click on 'free day pass'...
Neural implant devices are now a reality. But misguided federal
policies are keeping them from the people who need them.
<http://salon.com/tech/feature/2003/11/11/real_matrix/>
'Real-life human-computer interfaces are called neuroprostheses --
medical devices that connect directly to the human brain, spinal cord
or nerves. "Matrix" fans might be surprised to learn that
neuroprostheses have been around as long as more "traditional" devices
like cardiac pacemakers.' ... 'The first neuroprostheses to become
commercially available in the United States were cochlear implants,
following their initial FDA approval in 1984.' ... 'Several research
labs from universities and companies around the world are using
microelectronic technology to develop devices known as "microelectrode
arrays." These devices can "interact" independently with a large number
of nerve cells: recording their activity or stimulating them. The
development of microelectrode arrays has allowed researchers in the
field to start thinking seriously about a variety of next-generation
neuroprosthetic devices, including new types of neuroprostheses. These
include vision prostheses for the blind and brain-computer interfaces
for the totally paralyzed.'
// this was expected as EMFs from cellphones and powerlines have
// predated concerns from Wi-Fi. one thing would seem to be an
// option, in the mean time, and that is if it is possible to
// turn on the wi-fi networks only when needed, instead of having
// blanketed coverage, all day while students wade through signal...
Wireless Classrooms Worries // a good time to address EMFs...
Parents Sue School District Over Potential Health Risks From Wi-Fi
<http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/Living/
WiFi_lawsuit_techtv_031111.html>
PluggedIn: TV Viewers Find TiVo Addictive // information overload...
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=569&ncid=738&e=2&u=/
nm/20031111/tc_nm/column_pluggedin_dc>
'TiVo television recorders that allow viewers to replay programs and
skip commercials have turned casual TV watchers into prisoners shackled
to sofas, unable to keep up with the flood of their favorite shows.'
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
Nokia batteries not safe either - Belgian watchdog
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/68/33879.html>
'There have been more 20 such incidents in the last year, according to
Nokia. But the batteries in all exploding phones were non-original
replacements made by unauthorised third-parties, the company says.' ..
'But now the Belgian consumer watchdog Test-Aankoop claims that some
Nokia batteries (in particular the Nokia BML-3, BMC-3 and BLC-2) are
also unprotected against short-circuiting.'
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
Britain Plans to Introduce Identity Cards
<http://apnews.myway.com/article/20031111/D7UOG29G0.html>
'Home Secretary David Blunkett said the government would introduce the
scheme after building a national database of biometric information
using fingerprints, iris scans and facial recognition technology.'
FBI on look-out for foreign government hackers
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33898.html>
Israeli robot helicopter stolen
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3262557.stm>
Keeping Watch for Interstellar Computer Viruses // via SciTech Daily
<http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/space_hackers_031111.html>
'Add one more worry to the computerized world of the 21 st century.
Could a signal from the stars broadcast by an alien intelligence also
carry harmful information, in the spirit of a computer virus? Could
star folk launch a "disinformation" campaign -- one that covers up
aspects of their culture? Perhaps they might even mask the "real"
intent of dispatching a message to other civilizations scattered
throughout the Cosmos.' ... 'A key question is whether or not a SETI
signal might be altruistic, benign, or malevolent. "It would help to
understand the motivation of a message before reading too much of it,"
Carrigan said. Like Odysseus of Greek Mythology, he added, "we may have
to stuff wax in the ears of our programmers and strap the chief
astronomer to the receiving tower before she is allowed to listen to
the song of the siren star."' ... 'Yet even a beacon could point to a
signal in a different wavelength band where a message was coming in. "A
message should be approached with great care. It may be extremely
dangerous," Carrigan warns. "Put simply, the receiver needs virus
protection."'
Korea: Beeping Prevents Peeping // camera-phones
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/
0,1282,61197,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_6>
GPS antiterrorist tools under fire // remote-controlled truck fallout
<http://news.com.com/2100-7348-5107383.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>
'"GPS, uplink satellite signals, outgoing cell phone calls, etc., can
all be jammed very easily by a terrorist with a $20 device powered by a
nine-volt battery," he said. "This is the first thing they will do, and
have done."' ... 'Wattenburg, who holds a patent for a home-alarm
system that works over house electrical wiring, has a relatively
low-tech solution for truck-stopping. The $200 Wattenburg Truck
Stopping Device can be operated remotely, via a radio signal.'
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
Clean Energy Brings Windfall to Indian Village
<http://www.reuters.com/
newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=T0LQY2W20KPRQCRBAELCFEY?type=ourWorldNews&s
toryID=3783665>
// might it be possible that the 'trigger' for lightning could
// be one of those particles that pass through earth's atmosphere?
Thunderstorm Research Shocks Conventional Theories;
Florida Tech Physicist Throws Open Debate On Lightning's Cause
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031106051013.htm>
Electromagnetic Spectrum
<http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html>
[image] LA - lightning strike in city // via drudgereport.com
<http://images.latimes.com/media/photo/2003-11/10204720.jpg>
How Atom Smashers Work // * see imagery. 1st accelerator, 4" diameter
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/atom-smasher.htm>
'topics include: Introduction to How Atom Smashers Work; Smashing
Atoms; A Particle Accelerator; Inside a Particle Accelerator; Particle
Source, Copper Tube and Klystrons; Magnets, Targets and Detectors;
Vacuum and Cooling Systems; Computers and Electronics; Shielding,
Monitors, Power and Storage; Subatomic Particles; Fermions: Matter and
Anti-matter; Hadrons, Bosons and the Big Bang; Future Directions in
Particle Physics...' [and a quote] 'Did you know that you have a type
of particle accelerator in your house right now? In fact, you are
probably reading this article with one! The cathode ray tube (CRT) of
any TV or computer monitor is really a particle accelerator....'
---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
Kasparov plays Chess with X3D 3D Glasses against Fritz
<http://www.i4u.com/article824.html>
'Kasparov will play against Fritz wearing X3D wireless shutter glasses
and a virtual 3D chessboard. X3D Fritz team said the glasses will have
the effect of making the board's image realistic, floating in front of
him, but Kasparov will have to adjust to not being able to reach out,
touch the pieces and move them.'
[and] Kasparov Draws First Game Vs 'X3D Fritz' Computer
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=569&ncid=738&e=1&u=/
nm/20031111/tc_nm/life_chess_dc>
'World No. 1 chess player Garry Kasparov was held to a draw on Tuesday
in the first game of his latest match against a computer and admitted
having difficulty with the program's virtual reality component.' ...
'"I was worrying a lot about the screen," Kasparov, 40, said. "I knew
before this match that I could have some psychological problems with
this technology."'
Bear zapped to death by utility pole
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/11/11/bear/>
// Neal Postman, recently deceased, may have argued for 'media
// literacy' as part of this argument, that one needs to have a
// sense of how thigns work in order to have them work for them...
TV has made nation complacent, Gore says // the network is the market
<http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/
0,1406,KNS_348_2421025,00.html>
'The "quasi-hypnotic influence" of television in America has fostered
a complacent nation that is a danger to democracy, former Vice
President Al Gore said Tuesday.' ... 'Gore said a remedy to
television's dominance may the Internet, a "print-based medium that is
extremely accessible to the average person."' .. '"We have to choose to
rehabilitate our democracy in part by making creative use of these new
media and by insisting within the current institutions of our democracy
that we open up access to the dominant medium," he said.'
Wedding proposal lights up their lives // love of neon sign maker...
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4211628.html>
'The sign was made in four sections, 230 feet of glass tubes attached
to plywood sheets supported by two-by-fours; a gas generator supplied
the power. Four friends helped carry the sign pieces in two pickups.'
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
Cell phone messaging turns mischievous
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2003/11/12/bluejacking/>
'In bluejacking, the provocateur takes advantage of a built-in feature
in Bluetooth-capable phones that allows people to send each other their
contact information.' .. 'On most phones, that service is switched on
by default.' .. 'When Bluetooth is activated, it automatically seeks
out other equipped handsets and sets up a link.' .. 'Bluetooth phones
can be configured to block anonymous messaging, but people who carry
them don't necessarily know that.' .. 'A bluejacker could even send
someone a photo taken with a camera phone using Bluetooth. It doesn't
cost a thing since the message isn't being routed through any phone
company.'
Nanowires make flexible circuits
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2003/102203/
Nanowires_make_flexible_circuits_102203.html>
Body network gains speed // ElectAura-Net...
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2003/102203/
Body_network_gains_speed_102203.html>
'Researchers from NTT Docomo Multimedia Labs and NTT Microsystem
Integration Labs in Japan have demonstrated a 10-megabits-per-second
indoor network that uses human bodies as portable ethernet cables.'
Spam now clogging blogs, cell phones // jamming traffic flows...
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/789/4210924.html>
The DVJ-X1: Pioneer's digital video turntable # // DVDs...
<http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/010210.php#010210>
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
Uncensored Gore // interview with e-voting machines reference...
The take-no-prisoners social critic skewers Bush, Ashcroft
and the whole damn lot of us for letting despots rule.
<http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/52/features-cooper.php>
'LA Weekly: Speaking of elections, is George W. Bush going to be
re-elected next year?' .. 'Gore Vidal: No. At least if there is a fair
election, an election that is not electronic. That would be dangerous.
We don't want an election without a paper trail. The makers of the
voting machines say no one can look inside of them, because they would
reveal trade secrets. What secrets? Isn't their job to count votes? Or
do they get secret messages from Mars? Is the cure for cancer inside
the machines? I mean, come on. And all three owners of the companies
who make these machines are donors to the Bush administration. Is this
not corruption? .. So Bush will probably win if the country is covered
with these balloting machines. He can't lose.'
Futuristic displays are coming into focus // informative...
Several three-dimensional display technologies are in the works,
and organic light-emitting displays are poised to grow quickly,
research firm iSuppli/Stanford Resources said Wednesday.
<http://news.com.com/2100-7337-5106692.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
// adiabatic logic running parallel in reversible computing/processor.
Chip Design Reverses a Hot Trend
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/
0,1282,61118,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2>
'Under the design proposed by the UF researchers, chips would no
longer discard old data at the end of every calculation by grounding
parts of the circuit. Instead, they would incorporate tiny oscillators
that allow the chips to recapture the energy expended in one
calculation and re-use it for the next calculation -- a process known
as reversible, or adiabatic, computing.'
PDA Shipments Continue To Slide
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=75&ncid=738&e=7&u=/nf/
20031111/tc_nf/22667>
// CDs could be replaced by mp3s and flashdisks for storage,
// already, it would seem, as even videorecording is using a
// flash-based storage. For large archives, DVDs would likely
// be more viable, long term. Yet a proprietary, single-use
// invention for hardware-based copy protection of content..?
CDs 'could be history in five years' // via drudgereport.com
<http://www.ananova.com/news/story/
sm_837803.html?menu=news.latestheadlines>
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
[it's going on, always. just without much news this week. though the
claims of Al Qaeda casualty projects could be related to recent reports
of dirty bomb materials gone missing in the .US and elsewhere, or to
issues of nuclear security or current geostrategic events such as with
uranium enrichment programs (for weapons), ongoing developments
with North Korea, Iran's unique diplomatic confession with dual-use
science and technology, and to the WMDs that permeate the present,
either for their haunting possibilities, and also ghostly
invisibility...]
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
Crime gangs extort money with hacking threat // via drudgereport.com
<http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1066565805264&p=1012571727088>
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
EM-art from Burning Man via Leonardo Gallery:
The Lily Pond: an experiential adventure by Jeremy Lutes // PCBs, LEDs
<http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/gallery/burningman/
lutes.html>
The Beaming Man by Russell Wilcox // lasers, antenna towers...
<http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/gallery/burningman/
wilcox.html>
Dr. Megavolt by Austin Richards // *** read last paragraph...
<http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/gallery/burningman/
richards.html>
'Dr. MegaVolt is a performance act that has appeared at three Burning
Man festivals (1998--2000). It features a person in a metal mesh suit
interacting with artificially generated lighting. The Doctor sets
objects on fire with electricity originating from large Tesla coils,
spars with the electric arcs and exhorts the audience to worship the
elemental force of electricity.' ... 'The reason we do this show is
simple: very few people ever get to see electricity at close range,
and to see it that way is to change one's life forever.'
Spin by Christopher Schardt // software, RGB LED display...
<http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/gallery/burningman/
schardt.html>
The Afterlife by Radiant Atmospheres // steel, aluminum, fabric,
wood, glass, optical lenses, light fixtures, slide projectors,
color changers, computer software, generator, old toys,
garden stoneware and other reclaimed urban debris, 2001.
<http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/gallery/burningman/
abel.html>
Teaching Music Traders a Lesson // disseminating musical knowledge...
<http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/
0,1412,61173,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3>
'A prestigious music school is encouraging musicians to swap audio and
video clips of course material over peer-to-peer networks.' .. 'The
Berklee Shares program at the Berklee College of Music offers 80
different online lessons for download -- and sharing -- on topics like
writing music, producing, engineering, remixing and performing.' ...
'All of the lessons at Berklee Shares -- from Afro-Cuban conga drumming
to setting up a recording studio -- are protected by a Creative Commons
license. Anyone can use and trade the material provided she or he
agrees to the terms set by the school: Users may not alter or sell the
material, and must credit the original source.'
simpleTEXT: a mobile phone enabled performance
// .UK Events Nov 27th & 29th, .IE Dec 12th
<http://www.simpletext.info/>
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