~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #64

[human being <human@electronetwork.org>]

===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #64
===================================================

00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (11/25/2003)

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--  note: lost e-mail with attachment.

If anyone on the list sent an attachment of about 800k
this weekend, I had to delete it on the server to download
the 3,000+ e-mails surprisingly found in my inbox. So, if
it was anyone on the list, please resend. Thanks. Brian


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

// sensors are endlessly fascinating. if you can, get ahold of
// an electronics catalog or surplus catalog and look at what
// sensors they have. digikey.com in minnesota has a selection
// that is online in .pdf form most likely. what is described in
// the article below has one aspect that does not fit with what
// was thought of as their virtue, simplicity. not tiny-computers
// but more as infrastructures, not based on volume but on their
// effectiveness to perform. for instance, the 200.00 vibration
// sensor could well be made for 20 dollars, today, who knows?
// it would seem with the piezo-electric and hall-effect and
// light and sound sensors, that simple circuits could perform
// simple tasks and cost-effectively, for a good reason. and an
// aspect of this may be for aspects such as 'weather' forecasts,
// where the temperature or humidity or barometric pressure or
// rainfall or magnetic fields or UV or whatever may need to be
// measure _and mapped, and with sensors this is entirely possible
// to configure them into the current infrastructures, with minor
// power requirements, look at the boxes already hanging off of
// light poles for wireless and power system maintenance. one
// aspect could be a localized weathernet, which would have a
// rain, sun, UV, heat-index, wind, earthquake, tornodo, and
// other alert systems built-into it. another may pollution
// sensors, another may have a setup for deadly toxins, though
// not customized towers, a 20 dollar circuit board with chip.
// who knows. yet focusing on 'silicon' whatever that is, in
// relatin to the future of sensors seems to be mixing up FABs
// for computers with an idea of sensors as tiny-computers, it
// seems they are more like customized circuits with customized
// applications which could be made into large distributed nets
// yet that would need to be diversified, outside the chip itself.

Intel's Tiny Hope for the Future // about sensors networks...
The microprocessor giant is thinking even smaller: tiny sensor chips  
that network with each other - inside everything on earth
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.12/intel.html>

	'Intel is hoping for a two-tiered payout. If sensor networks take off,  
that will create a need for more silicon. But the networks will also  
generate a huge amount of data, driving demand for more high-end PCs to  
process it all. The company now foresees networks consisting of  
thousands of motes, located wherever there's a need for data  
collection, streaming real-time data to one another and to central  
servers. Intel imagines the day when every assembly line, soybean  
field, and nursing home on the planet will be peppered with motes,  
prodding factory foremen to replace faulty machines, farmers to water  
fields, and nurses to check on something unusual in room E214.'

SENSORS: search at digikey.com-- in SEARCH field type 'sensors'
and scroll down results for the Sensors / Transducers list, then  
click....
<http://www.digikey.com/>

Fear real-life Matrix will be monitoring you // TIA reborn
<http://cryptome.org/tia-seisint.htm>

Mark MacKinnon // geostrategic energy politics...
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/ 
RTGAM.20031124.wgeorgiaanal1124/BNPrint/International/>
	
	'The roots of Mr. Shevardnadze's downfall go much further back than  
Georgia's disputed parliamentary election, held on Nov. 2, which even  
his chief-of-staff has now acknowledged were rigged. They lie to the  
east, in the oil under the Caspian Sea, one of the world's few great  
remaining, relatively unexploited, sources of oil.' .. 'Since the  
collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow and Washington have been jockeying  
to control the route that will eventually take these enormous resources  
more rapidly to market in the West. Georgia and neighbouring  
Azerbaijan, which borders the Caspian, quickly came to be seen not just  
as newly independent countries, but as part of an "energy corridor."'  
... 'Washington's reaction was swift. Within weeks, U.S. President  
George W. Bush had sent senior adviser Stephen Mann to Tbilisi with a  
warning: "Georgia should not do anything that undercuts the powerful  
promise of an East-West energy corridor," he said.' .. 'After the  
energy deals with Russia went ahead anyway, Mr. Mann was followed by  
former U.S. secretary of state James Baker, ostensibly an old friend of  
Mr. Shevardnadze, who warned the Georgian leader of the need for a  
free, fair parliamentary election on Nov. 2.'

Mini-turbine brings 'green power for all' // ***
Company claims its domestic wind unit can provide
15% of average household's electricity needs
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1091763,00.html>

---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------

UK debut for 'blind' mobile // via gizmodo.com
The first mobile phone designed specifically for blind
and partially sighted people has gone on show in the UK.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3226314.stm>

Intel charts new seas // infotech + biotech = future semiconductors
<http://www.svbizink.com/headlines/article.asp?aid=5171&iid=328>

	'For the first time, Intel Corp. has made available its chip-making  
nanotechnology tools to cancer researchers in the hope that being able  
to detect tiny defects in silicon chips also will work in human tissue  
to diagnose and study cancer.'

JGP: About the Cover // image via googlenews alert for 'electromagnet'
<http://www.jgp.org/content/vol122/issue6/cover.shtml>

MRI Helps Radiologists Predict Future Memory Decline
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031125070825.htm>

Imaging Technique May Diagnose Breast Cancer Without Biopsy
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031121070843.htm>

	'In this technique, MRI is used to detect breast lumps, while  
spectroscopy measures molecules known to accumulate in cancer cells.'

Department Of Energy Enlists Northeastern Engineer
To Make CAT Scans Of The Earth
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031119075509.htm>

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

Electronic Equipment Recyclers - EPR2 project (.US only)
<http://www.nsc.org/ehc/epr2/cntctlst.htm>

Entrepreneur recycles ads for fun and profit
TV spots go to small businesses on the cheap;
some call it a risky venture  // $ in junk commercials
<http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~1783545,00.html>

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

EM QUOTE from article GROUND FARCE 1
<http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/ 
content_objectid=13652625_method=full_siteid=106694_headline=-GROUND- 
FARCE-1-name_page.html>

	'The Americans made alterations to accommodate specialised equipment.  
The mass of gadgetry meant the Royals couldn't get a decent TV picture  
during the visit.'

Four Senate Judiciary Computer Servers Seized In Memos Probe
<http://drudgereport.com/flash1.htm>
	
	'[ROLL CALL's] Mark Preston reports:  Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Pickle  
said the four servers and computer backup tapes would be examined by an  
'outside forensic team' to see if the memos were in fact stolen from  
the server. The Capitol Police secured the backup tapes last Monday at  
the request of the Judiciary Committee leadership after Democrats  
called for an investigation into their alleged theft."'

Chip implant gets cash under your skin // via nettime-l
<http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-5111637.html>

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

Solar storms trip magnetic flip
Sun sloughs magnetic field, leaving a reversed one in its place.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/031117/031117-9.html>

	'The flipping field has no effect on life in the Solar System, but has  
intrigued physicists as a potential clue to the Sun's inner workings.'  
.. 'The old magnetic field is blown away by polar storms called coronal  
mass ejections...'

Petro Poilitics - National Summit // Washington D.C. January 2004
<www.petropolitics.org>

	'A citizens conference for education and action on oil and its  
relationship to politics and power. Featuring workshops and speakers on  
oil's impacts on our economy, our jobs, our environment, our security  
and our government.'

NYTimes online - QUOTATION OF THE DAY - // em-related:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/22/politics/22MEMO.html>

	"I never believed that it was accidental that we didn't receive this  
bill until a very short time ago, 1,200 pages." - SENATOR JOHN McCAIN,  
Republican of Arizona, criticizing the Republican leaders' strategy to  
introduce the energy bill just before the winter adjournment.

// consider the .US is going to import 68% more energy from
// the Persian Gulf by 2025, as will China (enormous in its
// growth and energy demands) in a competitive environment,
// including world politics and then, bad .US energy policy
// which assumes the old system remains intact, indefinitely.
// war will not be able to solve the future problem, nor will
// global diplomacy, though energy policy is able change this...

Pushing Energy Conservation Into the Back Seat of the S.U.V.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/22/business/22conserve.html>

	"Many Americans would like to import less oil from the Middle East.  
Most would like better air and water quality. But that has not stopped  
them from buying bigger homes and cars, as they have through the last  
decade, despite the political and environmental costs." .. "As a  
result, the United States is importing an ever increasing share of its  
oil needs, 55 percent in the first seven months of this year. That  
compares with about 28 percent 20 years ago, at the height of the  
consumer switch to vehicles that are more fuel efficient, and with  
nearly 35 percent in 1973, before the first Arab oil embargo." ...  
'while American households consume 20 percent less energy on average  
than they did 30 years ago, the trend in recent years has been toward  
more energy use...' ... '... many of the energy savings of the last 30  
years have been offset over the last decade, especially when it comes  
to oil consumption.'

Bush, GOP Abandon Energy Bill
<http://www.nynewsday.com/news/ny-usener1125,0,2015098.story?coll=nyc- 
topnews-short-navigation>

Your next battery -- Scientists are scrambling to
perfect the fuel cell as a methanol-powered source
for energy-hungry laptops and other portable devices
<http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2003/11/24/ 
your_next_battery/>

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

Games in Education Conference
A meeting of minds from education and games development
<http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Nov/gee20031121022777.htm>

[and] It's Just a Game, but Hollywood Is Paying Attention // HSX
<http://nytimes.com/2003/11/23/business/yourmoney/23bets.html>

Love in the Time of No Time // online dating...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/23/magazine/23ONLINE.html>

	'Internet romance begins outside any real-life context, but it quickly  
creates a context all its own -- full of flirting, sex, jealousy, love  
and rejection. In the world of online coupling, your digital dating  
self never sleeps.'

The Electric Ben Franklin
<http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/>

	'The remarkable Benjamin Franklin, a printer by trade, a scientist by  
fame, and a man of action by all accounts, continues to shape American  
thinking and action. The Independence Hall Association has commissioned  
and assembled resources for you to explore the diversity that was  
Benjamin Franklin.'

---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------

The Dawn of Amateur Radio in the United Kingdom
and Greece: A Personal View by Norman F Joly G3FNJ
Paperback - 151 pages (May 1990) // thanks *
<<http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/cgi-bin/sdb/ 
t9.cgi?entry=66&full=yes&ftpsite=http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/>>

	'This traces the story of amateur radio (ham radio) from the early  
days in both the UK and Greece to the present day state of this hobby.'

How ESP Works
<http://people.howstuffworks.com/esp.htm>

Suzhou: City of canals, semiconductors and hidden radios-- Why is the  
garden city of China a hotbed of amateur radio direction finders?
<http://salon.com/tech/feature/2003/11/24/radio_china/>  //freedaypass

	'According to Li Xue, head coach for the ARDF Suzhou city team, the  
Soviets first introduced ARDF to China during the Communist Revolution  
in the 1940s. The Chinese Nationalists, the Kuomintang, apparently also  
used ARDF as spy technology. Fast forward to the 21st century. Two  
years ago, Suzhou took ninth place when it represented China in the  
World ARDF championships.' ... 'Li has his own opinion about the value  
of playing ARDF. "It is a game that requires both mental and physical  
fitness," he says. "That is why it is good for China." Kids must be  
sharp enough to interpret radio signals and to think geometrically  
about the shortest route to their target. And they must be fit enough  
to run up to 10 kilometers and beat the other team's time. ARDF  
players, in short, have to possess a triumvirate of skills: running,  
listening and analyzing.'


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

Calif. will require voting-machine receipts // auditing the e-vote
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2003/11/21/voting_machines/>

Global warming 'detected' in the US
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3267775.stm>

	'They created several virtual 20th Century North Americas, complete  
with sea, trees, mountains, volcanoes, clouds and weather systems. The  
model North Americas were capable of accurately mimicking the climate  
of the real-life version.' .. 'Then the researchers introduced  
different influences to each model, to see how they affected the  
climate.'

Big Step in Conductivity: More Sociable Particles
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/25/science/25BOSE.html>

	'With a strong attractive force, the atoms pair into molecules that  
coalesce into a Bose-Einstein condensate. When the attraction is much  
weaker, the atoms still pair up. The partner is not the nearest  
neighbor, but one much farther away. That phenomenon, known as Cooper  
pairing, underlies the behavior of superconductors, which conduct  
electricity with virtually no electrical resistance, and of  
superfluids, which flow without friction.' .. 'Current theories do a  
good job of explaining Bose-Einstein condensates and Cooper pairs, but  
fall apart in between. By varying a magnetic field applied to the gas,  
physicists should now be able to shift it from Cooper pairs to a  
Bose-Einstein condensate and back again, while systematically studying  
the process.'

Photochemistry Research Could Lead To Cleaner Environment, New Sensors
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031121071944.htm>

	'Excited state molecules generally emit light, give off heat or break  
into fragments as they return to the ground state. Relying on this,  
many chemists - like forensic experts who determine the nature of an  
explosion by studying resulting debris - use a technique called matrix  
isolation to study the fragments produced immediately after a molecule  
emits light.' .. 'Lees has instead synthesized entire new molecules,  
which do not fragment in their excited states. When cooled, his  
creations remain intact and display luminescence, giving him an  
unprecedented chance to study the second chemistry involved - an  
approach, which has opened the door to the development of several  
promising applications.'

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

// what is written about LEDs is that they can both create and
// sense light, that they have a double-function to them. so it
// is wondered if a UV LED would be able to be a cheap way to
// detect UV radiation as a sensor regarding weather and humans...

Researchers Achieve Breakthrough In Development
Of Ultraviolet Light-emitting Diodes // UV LEDs. what is NLOS?
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031120074653.htm>

NLOS= non-line-of-site, here's some info on the above reference:
<http://www.darpa.mil/mto/suvos/>

	'The second critical military application addressed by this program is  
non-line-of-sight (NLOS) covert tactical communications. The ability to  
perform convert communications (where line-of-sight is generally not  
available) with very low power consumption is severely limited with  
conventional RF technologies, especially for the case of the  
transceiver being in contact with the ground.  For conditions in which  
low power consumption, NLOS, and covertness are essential, while range  
and bandwidth requirements are modest, UV based transceivers will  
enable networked unattended sensors, small unit communications, and  
communications in military operations in urban terrain (MOUT)  
environments.  By operating in the solar blind region of the  
electromagnetic spectrum (l £ 280 nm) where the terrestrial solar flux  
is essentially nil, one can exploit the very low background to achieve  
excellent signal-to-noise. The NLOS systems concept uses aerosol and  
molecular scattering of a short wavelength optical transmitter to  
provide very short-range communications with low probability of  
intercept or detection, and anti-jamming.  Because of the strong  
extinction coefficient in the UV, the ability of an adversary to detect  
UV emissions at a distance is severely degraded.'

	'Operating at the shorter UV wavelengths makes it possible to build  
miniaturized devices that can detect biological agents, perform  
non-line-of-sight (NLOS) covert communications, purify water, cure  
polymers and other chemicals, and decontaminate equipment.'

Presenting the top 10 personal computers of all time
<http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2241419>

// think it was mentioned previously that it seemed like a
// supercomputer arms-race would be underway, given that the
// .US lost the lead in developing the fastest machines...
// also, the article seems to indicate that a bunch of MS
// Xbox game machines may be able to be a supercomputer...

Switching Allegiances in Computers // 'the decline of Comdex'
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/24/technology/24neco.html>

	'The supercomputer industry has begun to show renewed signs of life  
after almost a decade of decline - bolstered in part by the  
government's efforts to develop systems to help prevent terrorism as  
well as concerns over global economic competitiveness.' .. 'One crucial  
factor behind the new interest in supercomputers - the ultrafast  
machines capable of handling vast quantities of information to tackle  
such tasks as modeling the effects of global warming or sorting through  
millions of digital photographs to find a particular person - was the  
completion of the Japanese NEC Earth Simulator, now the world's fastest  
supercomputer.' ... '... the action now seems to be, on one hand, in  
creating super-sophisticated machines capable of taking on new tasks  
and, on the other, building computing intelligence into common consumer  
electronics devices like wireless phones, home entertainment equipment  
and even kitchen appliances.'


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

Human Pilots: Who Needs 'Em? // virtual dogfights await...
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/ 
0,1282,61347,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_8>

	'Some commentators have even suggested that Lockheed Martin's  
high-tech F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may be the last inhabited fighter  
plane needed.'

Iraqi Council Halts Arab TV Network's News Broadcasts
U.S. Approved Move Against Al-Arabiya
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10866-2003Nov24.html>

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

Life after Control Data // recommended. society and technology...
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4227730.html>

	'Norris' son, Roger, said his father didn't feel up to doing an  
interview for this story. But Roger Norris expressed confidence that  
the institute, which moved to St. Thomas two years ago after having  
operated independently since 1988, will become a major force in  
supporting new ideas that combine business and social goals -- much as  
Control Data did during the Norris years. In addition to building a  
company known for powerful computers and peripherals, such as disk  
drives, Norris encouraged Control Data to look for business  
opportunities that meshed with social reform.' ... 'From manufacturing  
plants in poor neighborhoods to wind farms to an educational arm called  
Plato, Control Data seemed to be as much a social movement as a global  
publicly held corporation. The financial analysts blamed many of the  
company's business problems, such as guessing wrong on the importance  
of the personal computer and favoring hardware over software  
development, on the diversion of management energy to social causes.'

Digital drudgery // simplicity and design. via macsurfer.com
<http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/oped/bal- 
op.computers23nov23,0,7975084.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines>

	'We are the most intelligent species ever to roam the planet. We've  
cured polio, mastered the atom and sent people into space. I'm  
confident that if we put our minds to it, we could develop a printer  
that doesn't require me to install a driver. It can be done. It's just  
a matter of doing it.'

---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------

// have been thinking about an online exhibition that has shows in
// many locations, on and off, which then add to the online exhibit.
// they could be past, present, future even, and by collections of
// exhibits, explore through both online representations and local
// presentations similar yet different approaches to shared ideas.
// maybe this is the idea of a museum catalogue, the function of
// which might be related to this, not sure. intrigued by all of
// the people, places, and things in electromagnetic exhibits done
// so far, that is, the bringing together, and how to then bring
// the information of these, further together online, in proximity...

Worlds Woven by the Telegraph and Internet // exhibit. thanks *
<http://www.nlm.nih.gov/onceandfutureweb/home.html>

The Universe: A Convergence of Art, Science, and Music // 2001 exhibit
<http://pasadena-universe.org/>

thanksgiving day e-card // animated...
<http://213.52.196.77/viewcard.asp?code=0183913358>

===================================================
* to subscribe to the electronetwork-list, send
an e-mail to lists@openflows.org with the
following command in the body of the message:
	subscribe electronetwork-l
* to unsubscribe:
	unsubscribe electronetwork-l
* for more info contact human @ electronetwork.org
---------------------------------------------------
please forward to your friends and colleagues
---------------------------------------------------

  the electromagnetic internetwork-list
  electromagnetism / infrastructure / civilization
  archives.openflows.org/electronetwork-l
  http://www.electronetwork.org/list/