~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #84
From
human being <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Wed, 11 Feb 2004 21:33:30 -0600
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #84
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (2/11/2004)
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-- (keywords in the news: 'nuclear.' also, 'cheney'.)
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
// saw a report that 'the spirit of crazy horse' sculpture that
// is being carved out of solid rock in the dakotas in the .US
// is nearing a new section of the work. have been thinking how
// much like a sphinx this giant sculpture might be like, and
// how it may relate across centuries as an architectural idea,
// from Egypt to the Dakotas. this event on the same land that
// is juxtaposed with empty nuclear missile silos and a nuclear
// missile museum, espeically in an era of terrorism and nuclear
// weapons- that such a menace may be even more dangerous now,
// not only in a multipolar world of complex relations between
// governments, but also in a realm beyond total control, where
// any such detonation may lock-down society into the indefinite
// future as long as such weapons exist and their uses fulfilled.
// how to defend against that, it would seem, is an unanswered
// and possibly unaddressed question -- in that it has also been
// said there is little/no civil defense in such a nuclear attack-
// except for those who will continue the existence of government.
// there once was a postal stamp: atoms for peace. whatever ills
// there are in today's world, a nuclear detonation of any kind
// would bode ill for all. even terrorists, it would seem, as
// an inhumanity so great would instantly vaporize legitimacy
// for any cause- and associations with such vile intentions.
// religious belief will not save perpetrators of such horror,
// especially those who remain on earth after any detonations.
// so too-- the security state and terrorism may be another gap,
// in that a lock-down strategy may not improve nuclear defenses,
// as much as addressing what is between ideological imbalances,
// thus- could a 'war of ideas' be fought with WMD as a result?
// is today's preemption doctrine based on Cold War strategizing?
// consider this: in a multi-polar nuclear-state world, with the
// addition of terrorism, based on remaining 'first strike' and
// retaliatory strike approaches, if a nuclear bomb goes off in
// some city in the world-- would other attacks automatically be
// launched as a result-- based on earlier presumptions, even if
// global alliances may now be in question which earlier were not?
// what happens if there is a nuclear strike by a terrorist? will
// there be a counterstrike, due to some automatic response in the
// control systems otherwise overlooked, or simply judged wrongly?
// quote: '...what it would take to trigger the script, God knows,
// but there were lots of things that could have triggered it...'.
// might this 'script' be triggered by a nuclear terrorist attack?
// that would mean that there are about 10-13+ nuclear states that
// probably do not have a plan for how to address such a situation,
// & every state is on a first or second strike basis it is assumed.
// if a nuclear terror attack, who will know if it was not a state?
// hammering out a new multi-state nuclear policy would seem to be
// mission critical-- a reason why 'nuclear treaties' are crucial...
Rethinking the Unthinkable -- The National Park Service is making
a monument out ofan old nuclear missile site. But how do you interpret
history so recent it may not be over yet? // *** critical. ~the gap~
<http://www.cdi.org/nuclear/rethinking-pr.cfm>
'A soft-spoken, thoughtful 51-year-old civilian engineer at Ellsworth
Air Force Base, just east of Rapid City, Pavek has been working on
Minuteman missiles since 1984. At first, his job was to help keep them
up and running; the system was already a couple of decades old, roughly
twice its original life expectancy. Seven years later, after the Soviet
Union collapsed and the first President Bush ordered all Minuteman IIs
withdrawn from alert, Pavek helped pull out the missiles and their
warheads, and by the summer of 1994, he was helping blow the silos up.'
.. 'Well before then, however, the Air Force and the National Park
Service had jointly concluded that it might be a good idea to hang on
to at least one silo as a potential national historic site. The site
would also include a "launch control facility"—one of the manned
complexes, miles away from the silo, from which young Air Force
officers in hardened underground capsules were to unleash the missiles
in case of war. And Pavek, who remembers lying in bed as a boy in Rapid
City and wondering if the distant rumble of the B-52s taking off from
Ellsworth meant that the world was about to come to a fiery end,
unexpectedly found himself a point man in the preservation effort.' ...
'As the tour nears its conclusion, Pavek pauses in front of a small
metal plaque attached to the launch tube. It was placed there by the
Air Force volunteers who spent a week in June of 2001 reinstalling a
missile in this silo. They did so, the plaque says, "as a lasting
tribute to the Minuteman II weapons system and to all of the Warriors
who maintained and operated it." The historic site, it notes proudly,
"is standing proof that the Cold War did not just end, it was won!"'
..... '... Yet if there's one thing about the era that almost no one
disputes, it's that nuclear weapons played the defining role.' ... 'No
law requires leaders to be sane, however. And even if they are,
accidents and crises can spin out of control.' .... 'Eisenhower left
the White House in January 1961 after pointedly warning the nation of
the dangers of a "military- industrial complex" and telling Congress,
in his final State of the Union address, that the missile gap "shows
every sign" of being fiction. Incontrovertible proof that he was right
arrived as Kennedy took office....' ... '.... "Basically, from the
beginning there were two schools of thought," says Air and Space's
Gregg Herken, who uses the word "theological" to characterize this
long-running debate. The first was deterrence, defined as "the ability
to threaten to injure the other side in such a way that it would never
contemplate undertaking war." In practice, this meant obliterating
cities. The second was counterforce, "which is where you would disarm
the enemy and gain an advantage for yourself, probably by a preemptive
strike." Its advocates, who sometimes talked about a "counterforce/no
cities" strategy, favored the initial targeting of missile sites and
other military installations.' ..... 'Yet counterforce theories, to
Blair, were equally removed from operational reality. The notion that a
nuclear war might be rationally fought over an extended period—that it
might involve a number of nuclear exchanges, yet result in negotiations
before things really got out of hand—was never more than
"pie-in-the-sky academic nonsense."' ... 'The main reason, Blair
says—as military leaders have always understood "in spades"—was that in
the early stages of a nuclear war, command and control systems on both
sides would be extremely vulnerable to what was called
"decapitation."....'
[and] Atomic Secrets: The Eisenhower 10 // the E-10. via cryptome.org
<http://conelrad.com/atomicsecrets/secrets.php?secrets=05>
'...the ten letters President Eisenhower issued to (mostly) private
citizens in 1958 and 1959 granting them unprecedented power in the
event of a "national emergency" (read: A-Bomb attack). What no doubt
caught the eye of Mr. Dutton (as quoted above) is the fact that these
extraordinary missives had no expiration dates on them. One can only
imagine President Kennedy's reaction to this news in light of the fact
that he was also dealing with other surprises left for him...'
// the .US nuclear industry is given carte blanche by VP Cheney...
[and] U.S.-Russian Plan to Destroy Atom-Arms Plutonium Is Delayed
<http://nytimes.com/2004/02/09/international/europe/09PLUT.html>
'Administration officials want to use terms written for early nuclear
agreements that protect American contractors from almost all liability
in case of accidents involving the release of radioactive material; the
Russians have refused those terms.'
// good that of some movement yet a lot lot more would appear to
// be needed without a solid 'war' treaty or agreement on the use
// of nuclear weapons, else it remains a free-for-all. the IAEA
// cannot and will not stop a nuclear exchange once it has begun.
// leadership in nuclear diplomacy like this needs encouragement
// yet so much more needs to be done, no matter who is in charge...
[next...] Bush Proposes Fuel Ban to End Spread of A-Bombs
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/11/politics/11CND-PREX.html>
'Declaring that terrorists with deadly unconventional weapons pose
"the greatest threat to mankind," President Bush announced a new
proposal today to limit the number of nations allowed to produce
nuclear fuel.' ... '[Mr. Bush said] "What has changed in the 21st
century is that in the hands of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction
would be a first resort, the preferred means to further their ideology
of suicide and random murder.' .. '"America and the entire civilized
world will face this threat for decades to come. We must confront the
danger with open eyes and unbending purpose."' ... 'Mr. Bush did not
call for a reopening of the 1970 treaty. Instead, he appealed to the
Nuclear Suppliers Group, 40 countries that sell most nuclear
technology, to refuse to sell equipment to any country that is not
already equipped to make nuclear fuel, either by enriching uranium or
by reprocessing spent fuel for plutonium.' ... 'Israel is a
particularly difficult case for the United States because it has never
declared its nuclear ability and has never signed the nonproliferation
treaty. Its Arab neighbors and Pakistan have said that any reopening of
nuclear regulation should start with forcing Israel to sign the
treaty.' ... 'Mr. Bush proposed expanding the Nunn-Lugar program, in
which Congress appropriates funds to destroy weapons and retrain former
Soviet weapons experts.' .. 'His plan would extend the program to
scientists in other nations, including Iraq. But Mr. Bush proposed no
new financing, and no expansion of the program is included in the
budget he sent to Congress last week. Democrats say the existing
program is underfinanced.'
Superconductors, Quantum Mechanics and Nanotech to the Rescue :
SQUID, researchers say, is the most sensitive magnetic sensor yet
developed. It can measure magnetic fields as small as 1 femtotesla,
or one quadrillionth of a tesla -- the standard measure of magnetic
field strength. // spnps. paramagnetism. better Hall-Effect sensors?
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/23163.html>
'With LANL physicists Andrei Matlachov, and Petr Volegov, Espy and
Kraus have constructed a SQUID "helmet" to provide "whole head"
brain-current images. Radiologists place the helmet -- which resembles
an oversized beauty-salon hair dryer -- over a patient's head while he
or she sits in a chair.' .. 'Other MEG systems respond to brain-current
changes in less than a thousandth of a second. SQUID responds in about
a millionth of a second.'
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------
High voltage, animals mix to produce ozone
<http://www.ornl.gov/info/news/pulse/pulse_v151_04.htm>
'Rats subjected to extreme electromagnetic fields produce dangerous
levels of the toxic gas ozone, according to a new study out of DOE's
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that is sure to reenergize the
decade-dormant debate about safety around power lines and household
appliances. It is the first experiment to conclusively link an
electromagnetic field with a health-adverse chemical effect in the
presence of an animal, said Steven Goheen, a scientist at the DOE lab
and lead author of a paper published in the current issue of the
journal Bioelectromagnetics. "All this time, we were looking in the
wrong place," Goheen said. "We had been looking inside animals for an
effect from the electromagnetic fields. Now it appears that the danger
is in the air surrounding animals that are near a large electromagnetic
field."'
EM-related: Mercury Study Shows Permanent Damage to Children
<http://www.reuters.co.uk/
newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4303511§ion=news>
'Writing in the Journal of Pediatrics, Grandjean and colleagues in
Denmark and Japan said they put electrodes on the heads of the
children to measure electrical signals in the brain. They found delays
in brain signaling, and the higher the mother and child's mercury load
at birth, the more distinct the irregularities.'
Out of the Blue, a Lightning Bolt to the Heart // flow of sodium ions
<http://nytimes.com/2004/02/10/health/10HEAR.html>
'When he got to the hospital, doctors performed an electrocardiogram.
Though it looked unusual, an ultrasound revealed Mr. Nelson's heart to
be normal. The cardiologist on call told Mr. Nelson, 49, that there
was nothing mechanically wrong with his heart. The problem, he said,
was electrical. "He called it the Brugada syndrome," Mr. Nelson
recalled. He had never heard of it, and neither had the other doctors
in the E.R.' ... 'Over the next few years, Dr. Brugada searched for
this electrical pattern in other victims of cardiac arrest.' ... 'Dr.
Antzelevitch called the syndrome the paradigm of the electrical effects
that portend the development of many different arrhythmias, including
those in coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in the
Western world...'
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
Digital Democracy // cartoon on e-voting machination...
<http://www.markfiore.com/animation/voting.html>
Dumb and dumber moments in tech // via scitech daily news
<http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/02/05/bus2.feat.dumbest.moments/
index.html>
// John Cage's 4'33" is not available, though, which is notable...
// it is wondered if this ownership of audivisiual property is also
// related to file-size in terms of bandwidth/size, such that a longer
// song may cost more, say a piece of music that is 30 minutes long.
// would this sell for the same amount as one that is 3 minutes long?
// with records there is an upper-limit to what albums could hold,
// then a new record/disc is needed for more information. yet online
// services do not have this restraint, unless it is imposed by the
// trading companies themselves. what if there is a 2 hour song???
// is that still 99 cents? wonder what limit, artistic freedom....
// versus that of an entertainment company selling 'singles', is
// there some legalese about what a 'single' actually is, filesized?
Crank it! iTunes sells sounds of silence--for real // cage-free, gee.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5154202.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl>
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
// the biggest issue could be platform related: who would leave their
// business briefcase (if they are still used) on a coffee table in
// some public place, #1. that is basically what is done with laptops.
// if wi-fi access for e-mail and other work is needed, are very large
// form-factors (laptops) ideal, or might a PDA with collapsible key-
// board, and limited data access and secure networking built-in, as
// a more likely deterant (stays with a person, is easy to breakdown).
// large sceens may be necessary for spreadsheets and graphics and
// other work, yet writing and datasurfing and communications are not
// laptop-dependent and may be a greater risk than a reward, possibly.
Foiling Laptop Data Thieves
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/
0,1282,62211,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_8>
New 'Doomjuice' Worm Emerges, Targets Microsoft
<http://www.reuters.co.uk/
newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=4318994§ion=news>
'Doomjuice, which some are describing as a variant of the MyDoom worm,
spreads via e-mail systems already infected with the first version,
which became the fastest-spreading virus ever when it was unleashed on
the Internet at the end of January.'
Phishing attacks get clever
<http://www.silicon.com/software/security/0,39024655,39118209,00.htm>
Microsoft has admitted to "critical" security flaws
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3477899.stm>
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
OPEC aims to keep oil prices high
<http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040209.wopec0209/
BNStory/Business/>
'On Monday, crude edged up 35 cents to $32.83 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange, an indication that the market does not expect the
cartel to announce a major quota reduction.'
[and] OPEC set to cut oil output by 10% in two stages, ministers say
<http://www3.cjad.com/content/cjad_news/article.asp?id=b021019A>
'In a surprise move, OPEC will rein in its excess production of crude
oil at once and then cut its output quotas by one million barrels a day
effective April 1, several oil ministers said Tuesday.'
Green-e : renewable electricity certification program
<http://www.green-e.org/>
Jordan joins Syria in dam project
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3473483.stm>
'Lawrence Mitchell is a professor of law at George Washington
University in Washington who specializes in corporate governance and is
the author of the book "Corporate Irresponsibility, America's Newest
Export."
Iraq: U.S. Company Halliburton Fights To Restore Its Image
<http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/02/25bea86a-9d54-4e18-b331-
ba8a86db83df.html>
'In an interview with RFE/RL, Mitchell acknowledges the Halliburton
controversy may be politically motivated. But he attributes this to
Halliburton, not its critics.' .. '"It seems to me obvious that
Halliburton is [broadcasting the advertisements] purely for political
reasons. Halliburton is and has been the subject of a justifiably great
deal of public inquiry, given the fact that the vice president is
closely associated with the company that is now essentially being paid
American taxpayer dollars to rebuild Iraq -- which rebuilding was
necessitated by the vice president's aggressive pushing for war against
Iraq," he said.'
[and] A Good Laugh: (late-night tv comedian quote)
<http://www.agweb.com/
news_show_news_article.asp?nodate=Y&file=AgNewsArticle_2004211735_4736&a
rticleid=105747&newscat=AGL>
'Jay Leno: "This is unbelievable to me. Vice President Dick Cheney
went duck hunting with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, private
jet, you know, a hunting reserve up in the mountains. And Scalia went
with him while the Supreme Court is still deciding a case involving
Dick Cheney's energy task force. Cheney said today there is no conflict
of interest. And just to be sure, he said as soon as Halliburton
finishes construction of Justice Scalia's new home, he will look into
it personally to make sure there is no problem."
[event related] Suicidal man crashes into Cheney building // non-EM
<http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/02/11/news/casper/
8143dc05cfa5b40787256e3700042042.txt>
'"Potter repeatedly told (officers) that he intentionally ran his
truck into the [Dick Cheney] Federal Building," police wrote in their
report.' .. 'Police said Terry told them after the crash that her son
had "a long-standing hatred for the federal government." She feared her
son had planned the crash, she told police.' .. '... She further
explained that her son had fears of "them and they" and that his fear
sometimes extended to the government.' .. 'Potter's mother called
police Monday morning to report her son's erratic behavior...' ...
'Potter's mother told police that her son had come inside the house and
grabbed a knife. He pointed to a magnet on the refrigerator that said
"Lights out," and then told her that he was "going through that door,"
police reported.'
[and] SCALIA & CAESAR'S WIFE // NYPOST editorial. hi-bias. humorous.
<http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/editorial/17554.htm>
'This time, Scalia was asking for it.' ... 'The jurist doesn't seem to
appreciate that being the court's leading conservative makes him a
lightning rod - which obliges him, fairly or not, to be purer than
Caesar's wife, as the saying goes.' ... 'And it is now widely believed
that Scalia's action may have jeopardized the chances of overturning
that dubious lower-court ruling [of releasing recorrds from the energy
task force].'
[EM-related] Scalia should step down
<http://www.sfexaminer.com/templates/
story.cfm?displaystory=1&storyname=021004op_editorial>
[and] Scalia Travel Sparks New Questions About Recusals
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23934-2004Feb8.html>
'The justices "are the only judges in the country, maybe the whole
world, who are the sole determiners of their own partiality," said
Steven Lubet, a professor of law at Northwestern University.' ... 'A
judge is also to recuse "in any proceeding in which his impartiality
might reasonably be questioned."' .. 'Scalia flew to Louisiana with
Cheney aboard an official aircraft for an extended duck hunting trip
with Cheney and seven other men in January. They did so shortly after
the court had agreed to hear the Justice Department's appeal of In re.
Cheney . In that case, the White House is battling to keep confidential
the internal records of the vice president's energy policy task force.'
.. 'Scalia's travel with Cheney was first reported by the Los Angeles
Times. Scalia has since said that no reasonable person could conclude
that his activity with Cheney would affect his impartiality in the
case.' ... 'Cheney does not face criminal charges or a civil fine in
the case.'
[and] Justice Scalia defends hunting trip with Cheney // BLAM?
<http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-02-11-scalia-cheney_x.htm>
'Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia strongly indicated he will
ignore calls to recuse himself from a court case involving his friend
and hunting partner, Vice President Dick Cheney.' ... '"It did not
involve a lawsuit against Dick Cheney as a private individual," Scalia
said in response to a question from the audience of about 600 people.
"This was a government issue. It's acceptable practice to socialize
with executive branch officials when there are not personal claims
against them. That's all I'm going to say for now. Quack, quack."'
---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
Programmers hit campaign trail -- with code // open-source...
<http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/business/7904816.htm>
'Among the noteworthy homegrown software: an events planner,
information swappers and virtual phone banks.' ... 'Nor are campaigns
opposed to commercial vendors.' .. 'Clark purchased the $1,500 ArcView
software to produce maps that overlay voter and census data, helping
the campaign better target resources.'
EM-headline: Subway Train Kills Queens Woman Picking Up Cellphone
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
Electricity teleportation devised // photon then, electron now.
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/021104/
Electricity_teleportation_devised_Brief_021104.html>
Signs of life on Mars - but don't get excited // kind of funny. not-EM
<http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/10/1076388365653.html>
// antenna design is a fascinating realm to consider in terms of
// design as the proportioning of transmitter and receiver antennae
// have geometrical rules possibly akin to ideas of sacred geometry.
Quote from TRN magazine on antenna design: FACT
<http://www.trnmag.com/>
'Antennas are translators -- they transform radio waves to and from
electric current, allowing the information contained in electromagnetic
waves to be read by electronics. One common type of antenna -- the half
wave dipole -- must be about half the length of the radio waves it
transmits and receives. Cordless telephones typically have
2.5-inch-long antennas. ((1300MHz/2.5 GHz?)) At the other end of the
scale, some of the extremely low frequency antennas used to communicate
with submerged submarines are 28 miles long.'
Noise boosts nanotube antennas // stochastic resonance
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/021104/
Noise_boosts_nanotube_antennas_021104.html>
'Antennas made from arrays of nanotubes would be particularly useful
for spread spectrum communications, which involve distributing
communications signals across a broad range of frequencies in order to
improve reception and make eavesdropping more difficult. "Each tube can
act as a dedicated antenna or signal detector for a specific signal,"
said Bart Kosko, a professor of electrical engineering at the
University of Southern California.' .. 'In theory, billions of
nanotubes could be packed into individual chips. "One scheme would
allow each tube to decode for a given frequency," said Kosko.' ... 'The
most exciting aspect of the stochastic resonance behavior is its
similarity to biological neurons, said Srivastava. "This shows that it
may be feasible to conceptualize and implement signal pulse-train type
neural networks on carbon nanotube-based branching networks," he said.'
Trippi Warns Against Release of Dean List // e-mail addresses...
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=694&u=/ap/20040210/
ap_on_el_pr/dean_trippi_2&printer=1>
New computers on Baltimore-area buses aim for more efficiency
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2004-02-10-md-bus-
tech_x.htm>
// large-scale recalls of very large mass market consumer items has
// always been a mystery, part of the ebb and flow of manufacturing
// and design and other issues and probable mistakes in processes.
// yet to 'recall' on massive scales brings into question some basic
// things. one being that the more electronic gizmos and controls in
// a car, say an electric car window, the more complex it is to fix
// and more expensive, potentially. in that it may not be a local job.
// the other aspect is that it would seem a modular approach to design
// where an owner/user could swap out parts could be a different way
// to the always totally customized designs that require an approach
// to maintenance based on obsolescent parts, or so it would seem.
// another aspect that, someday, might happen is if an entire car is
// so interlaced with technology and some cosmic 'accident' happens,
// like a rare solar flare that just happens to hit a line of cars
// travelling speedily on a highway, which causes all go cars to turn
// 'off' their support systems in unison or create anomalies, just
// as with computers and stray voltage or dust - could it happen..?
// basically it seems there the relation between cars and batteries
// to feed the automotive electrical infrastructure has likely been
// refined, yet to add into this probably stabilized system a lot of
// computing power, a lot of tiny transistors which could do strange
// things under strange conditions, and to assume the same kinds of
// reliability as a bare-bones car of the past may not be equivalent
// in terms of safety, maintenance, economics, similar to PCs. such
// as, if one has wi-fi or bluetooth in one's car, could this in any
// way be used against the safety/security of the car or inhabitant?
// can wireless doorlocks and remote control car starters actually
// make it easier to break-in and hot-wire a car so as to steal it?
EM-related quote from: GM to recall 127,000 Corvettes
<http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gm11_20040211.htm>
'In some of the cars, the electronic steering column fails to unlock
when the driver starts the engine. Normally, when that happens, an
electronic message is sent to shut off fuel to the engine if the
vehicle starts to move. But in some cases, the fuel is not inhibited
and the driver can move the vehicle even while the steering column is
locked.' ... 'Electronic lock systems weren't included on automatic
Corvettes sold in the United States after the 2000 model year, but they
were included on automatic vehicles sold abroad. Schell said he didn't
know why GM didn't disable those systems.' .. 'Schell added that
Corvettes with manual transmission have a different electronic lock
system with no lock plate. They will be reprogrammed, he said.'
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
How the Red Planet Came Down With the Pink Blues // IR-G-B filters
<http://nytimes.com/2004/02/10/science/space/10COLO.html>
'The fundamental challenge in creating color photographs of Mars, he
said, is that the cameras on the rovers take only black-and-white
pictures, and the art of making color out of black and white never
exactly reproduces what the eye sees.' .. 'To produce a color
photograph, the rover's panoramic camera takes three black-and-white
images of a scene, once with a red filter, once with a green filter and
once with a blue filter. Each is then tinted with the color of the
filter, and the three are combined into a color image.'
Light-storing chip charted // amazing.
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/021104/Light-
storing_chip_charted_021104.html>
'Researchers at Stanford University have come up with a scheme to
store light pulses under ordinary conditions using photonic crystal --
semiconductor chips that contain regularly spaced holes or rods of a
different material. "Our discovery enables quantum coherent storage of
light pulses on a microchip about the size of the grain of salt," said
Mehmet Fatih Yanik, a research assistant at Stanford University.' ...
'The method would allow light pulses to be stored in microchips at room
temperature without requiring any special light-matter interactions,
Yanik said.' ... 'The key to the researchers' method is a technique
that allows them to change -- on-the-fly -- the way portions of the
photonic crystal respond to light.'
Coincidences set up mental error // Human-Computer Interaction
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/021104/
Coincidences_set_up_mental_error_021104.html>
'Our limited processing capacity causes us to unconsciously aim for
solutions that are good enough instead of perfect solutions, said
Besnard. We also implicitly accept that we cannot understand everything
in our environment, he said.' ... 'The researchers are currently
looking at the conditions under which operators can lose their grasp on
a situation, said Besnard.'
Magnets tune photonic crystal
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/021104/
Magnets_tune_photonic_crystals_Brief_021104.html>
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
Dusty brands make a rerun in TV market // LCD/VGA => TV adapter boxes?
Old-time appliance makers may have an edge in the scramble
for a piece of the high-end TV market: Everybody knows their name.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5154330.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl>
'Westinghouse exited consumer electronics in the 1990s to concentrate
on the manufacture of industrial equipment, such as parts for nuclear
power plants, said Douglas Woo, president of Westinghouse Digital
Electronics. But in 2002, the company created a 15-employee digital
electronics unit to make televisions and similar products, with the
first TV sets going on sale in November 2003. The shift came about
because Westinghouse realized its name still rang positive notes with
consumers, according to Woo.' ... 'For now, the margins are also fairly
high. A 15-inch LCD TV might fetch $700 at retail while a nearly
identical LCD monitor for a computer might sell for $350, even though
the two products cost about the same to make, according to David
Mentley, an analyst at iSuppli/Stanford Resources.'
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
When the Wind Blows // on detonation of nuclear weapon...
<http://www.grovel.org.uk/reviews/whenth01/whenth01.htm>
'Raymond Briggs is best known for his children's stories. We don't
know about the rest of the world, but in the UK, a Christmas doesn't
pass without the feature film version of what is arguably his most
famous story - The Snowman - gracing our television screens. Thanks
Raymond. But before he made what has to be a fortune out of magical
melting friends, Briggs produced a number of equally magical if less
cosy works, not least of which is When the Wind Blows.'
// could a trifecta of grand juries all connect to one official?
Cheney's future at stake after leaking of CIA agent's name
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1145390,00.html>
'"Three of the five people who are targets work or worked in Cheney's
office," the source said.' .. '[The source] added that members of the
defence policy board, a Pentagon advisory group, are also under
scrutiny.'
[& headline] Net tightens as Washington inquiries lead back to Cheney
EM-related quote: Bush Aides Testify in Leak Probe // "baker's dozen"?
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A26979-2004Feb9>
'A parallel FBI investigation into the apparent forgery of documents
suggesting that Iraq attempted to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger is
"at a critical stage," according to a senior law enforcement official
who declined to elaborate. That probe, conducted by FBI
counterintelligence agents, was launched last spring after U.N.
officials pronounced the documents crude forgeries.' ... 'Wilson has
said his CIA mission was undertaken in response to questions raised by
the vice president. But administration officials have said Cheney knew
nothing about Wilson or his trip.'
// this sounds like the nuclear suitcase scenario often mentioned...
// a few dozen missing? and, does 'a safe place' imply 'a safe state'?
Report: Al-Qaida has obtained tactical nuclear explosives // drudge
<http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/392006.html>
[and] AMERICA'S WAR ON TERROR - Part III:
Bin Laden May Have Small Nuclear Bombs // via googlenewsalert
<http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=319>
'.... Sources who spoke to DEBKA-Net-Weekly on condition of anonymity
report that for a princely sum estimated at US$40 - 75 million, Bin
Laden bought between 12 and 15 kilos of uranium-235, all of which came
from Russia or some Central Asian Muslim republic.'
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
// electronics manufacturing services (EMS) bounce-back by outsourcing
Contract Electronics Makers See Upturn
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23233-
2004Feb8.html?nav=headlines>
High-tech mergers: They're baaaack. From the McKinsey Quarterly.
<http://news.com.com/2030-7341_3-5152805.html>
// broadband & e-commerce may even encourage paperless exchanges...
ISPs Top Electronic-Billpay List
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/23158.html>
// this sounds similar to other events in electrication... that the
// space is in a mall is interesting in that, malls could also be
// transformed into remote work centers, at some time, if emptied
// of usual shops by a transition to e-commerce with shipping. so
// too, distance education and videoteleconferencing could be run
// out of small malls which could revitalize local neighborhoods...
Home-networking lab to study remote workers -- An industry group is
moving forward with its plan to study remote workers, as its member
companies gear up for a push into tech's next frontier: the home.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1039_3-5156561.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl>
'The test will be run out of a 2,400-square-foot facility in The Shops
at Willow Bend, a mall in Plano, Texas. Findings will be available in
the fall to alliance members and later in the year to the public, the
group said.' .. 'Companies from a variety of sectors--kitchen appliance
makers, software vendors and hardware companies--are among two dozen
members of the group. Besides tech heavyweights like Microsoft , IBM,
Motorola and Sun Microsystems, other members include telecommunications
companies SBC Communications and Bell Canada, automation software maker
SupportSoft, developers Arvida and Catellus Development, antenna maker
Cushcraft, and online grocer Peapod.' .. 'The project is expected to
yield information that could help those companies develop new products
and services intended for wired homes and the people who live and work
in them.' .. 'In addition to standard office gear like fax and copy
machines, the "Connection Court" laboratory, which will be open to the
public, will have broadband and Wi-Fi connectivity, access to business
news on plasma screens, specially designed furniture and food services.
Researchers will be looking for usage patterns, site behaviors,
productivity levels, technology preferences and the impact of the space
on companies in the region, the alliance said.'
H-1B Training Program to Be Axed // foreign tech workers in .US
<http://www.wired.com/news/business/
0,1367,62234,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2>
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
NREL partners on 'New American Home'
<http://www.ornl.gov/info/news/pulse/pulse_v151_04.htm>
'Researchers from DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory
collaborated with government and industry partners on the New American
Home displayed at the International Builders Show in January. The home
was designed to reach a Home Energy Rating System score of 90, a score
well above the minimum Energy Star rating requirement of 86 and a
significant step toward DOE's long-term goal of reducing overall
residential energy use by 70 percent. The home integrates several
high-performance energy systems, including exterior walls built of
insulated concrete forms, windows that limit solar heat gain and a roof
system built with structural insulated panels.'
[and] THE NEW AMERICAN HOME (R) 2004
Features Loft and an Old World Feel // concrete.
<http://www.buildersshow.com/NCHI/>
'... The home has been designed to reach a Home Energy Rating System
(HERS) score of 90 and uses a number of high performance technologies
and building materials, such as Douglas Fir windows and doors from
Loewen. As a result of these improvements and advanced technologies,
the home will use 46% less energy for space heating and cooling, hot
water, and lighting than the builder's standard home.' .. 'Specific
technologies used in this home include a foundation system of insulated
concrete forms; a roof system built with structural insulated panels;
heat recovery ventilators for the ventilation system; and superior
efficiency condensing units. The insulated concrete forms provide
excellent baseline insulation for the basement. Structural insulated
panels provide the roof system with proper insulation and air tightness
characteristics. The roof will be finished with copper shingles that
will reflect sunlight away from the house reducing roof surface
temperatures and thus cooling load. Heat recovery ventilators ensure
good indoor air quality in an efficient manner.'
International Scientific Student's Workshop
`Technology in the history of Civilisation - thinking into the future'
Dzierz˙oniów, 3 - 5 September 2004
<http://www.nadbor.pwr.wroc.pl>
'The workshop programme is addressed to students of both Polish and
foreign universities. The aim of this international workshop is to
create a platform for an exchange of ideas and experience, and the
development of co-operation between young scientists and technologists
who are interested in the history of technology and in the conservation
of cultural heritage. We would like to outline the need for the
humanization of technical studies and the inclusion of technology in
humanity studies, stressing its cultural role and the importance of the
relationship between the environment, man and technology, as well as
its effect on the shaping of our civilisation.'
EM-QUOTE from: Plane Needed to Send Obelisk to Ethiopia
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-italy-
ethiopia-obelisk,0,3066862.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
'In May, [the 1,700-year-old Axum Obelisk] was badly damaged by
lightning, which smashed the top of the monument, causing stone pieces
to crumble to the ground.'
// interesting industrial archaeology work 'Dynamos in the Woods'
Paintings - James Howard Kunstler
<http://www.kunstler.com/paintings.html>
===================================================
* 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/