~e; EM observations #11

[brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>]

[keywords] electromagnetic Pontifex (bridge-builder),
terabyte harddrives, seasonal Shuffle blindness,
Current TV, Google TV, Google sat.maps, bionic eye,
Google as God, Iraq's anti-insurgent television

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electromagnetic observations -- #11
===================================================

* wondering if the Vatican astronomers and scientists have
explored electromagnetism and if they have weighed-in on
earlier theories such as the aether, philosophically or
in relation to validation of modern physics experiments.
apparently the Vatican has an observatory for stargazing,
though it is unknown if it is pre- or post-Galileo heresy.

* went to my favorite amber store in search of bulk chips
for a sculpture and got in a discussion about amber, how
it is usually found in the ground but Baltic amber actually
washes up from the Baltic sea, so it comes from the waters.
interesting to learn how the EU trade issues are effecting
the present-day amber route, and also unpolished amber is
a most beautiful specimen, akin to amber silicon in a way.
a crown of amber was an idea, or some future EM headdress.

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--urls--
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[tscm] Vatican statement on the pope's death // sweeping up unholy  
ghosts
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0402PopeText02-ON.html

	'VATICAN CITY - The Vatican released the following statement on the  
death of Pope John Paul II by e-mail on Saturday night:  "The Holy  
Father died this evening at 9:37 p.m. in his private apartment." ..  
"All the procedures outlined in the apostolic Constitution 'Universi  
Dominici Gregis' ('Of the Lord's Whole Flock') that was written by John  
Paul II on Feb. 22, 1996, have been put in motion." .. 'That document  
sets out the procedures for how the Vatican will handle the pope's  
death and the balloting rules for choosing his successor during a papal  
conclave. It also requires technicians to sweep the Sistine Chapel for  
listening devices and bans cell phones.'

[and] Vatican Used SMS, Email to Announce Pope's Death
http://www.reuters.com/ 
newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=8069964

[and] Pope's influence includes technology firsts
(the first pontiff to embrace computer technology.)
http://news.com.com/Popes+influence+includes+technology+firsts/2100- 
1032_3-5650550.html
	
[quote] World Gets First Glimpse of Pope's Body // SMS
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050403/D8986D580.html
	
	'Early Sunday, a text message had circulated on cell phones in Rome,  
asking people to light candles in their windows. "May they light up the  
road to God for him, the way he did for us," the message said.'
	
A Failure of Policy, Not Spying	// nuclear-related...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20057-2005Apr1.html

	'Intelligence failure is usually linked to policy failure.' ...  
'Without a comprehensive policy to combat WMD, better intelligence will  
not improve U.S. security.

Nesting Season // watercolor by Terry Genesen-Becker
http://www.mnartists.org/work.do?pageIndex=32&rid=18897

[and] A Dream: Couch, Jungle // watercolor. interesting, e-cords...
http://www.mnartists.org/work.do?pageIndex=35&rid=20040

// saw my first Shuffle fashion victim on the bus, with glowing
// white earbuds in an otherwise overcast day with dark tones of
// an overlong winter without snow. white white snow white lines,
// literally outlining the Apple Shuffle device worn as shown in
// advertisements, it was dare it be said, very out of place in
// the way that there once was a 'rule' about wearing the color
// white before easter, how it there was something about it that
// was a fashion no-no. well, this bright-white shuffle thing may
// be a contender for the future of technological bellbottoms...
// the branding must be something more than blinding whiteness,
// i.e. form-factor of gumstick. there's got to be a better way.
// (wonder if they're stealing the players, or the 'free' music)

Subway thefts of iPods surging as device becomes status symbol
http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi- 
0504020151apr02,1,6715472.story?coll=chi-techtopheds- 
hed&ctrack=1&cset=true


// building global-2-local (g2l/l2g) anti-terror infrastructures.
// one aspect (besides anonymity) that seems faulty in this approach
// is the traditional .US overreliance on technological solutions,
// when and if deviated from (such as, using horses and messengers)
// the systems can be defeated or rerouted around. so expenditures
// that go for 'total architecture' and total control have as their
// weakest points non-compliance, which leads to a police state...
// in order to make technological solutions requisite, say, ID-
// badges or even RFID dog-tags embedded in the flesh, eventually.
// the idea of infrastructures would benefit from dual-uses of the
// existing systems. for instance, was walking on a cable-suspended
// bridge the other day and wondered if these long wires could ever
// be used for sending a pulse-signal to satellites or beyond. in
// addition, an advertising billboard with metal scaffolding could
// be a way to integrated wi-fi or other antennas in existing infra-
// structures. this leads to 'biosensors' as not a distributed net-
// work on every individual, per se, but on the scale necessary to
// detect WMD-type things, in addition to urban smog, humidity, and
// other things. wireless sensor networks (a field unto itself now)
// could use previously mentioned wind-mechanisms to self-power a
// sensor system within the matrix of distribution and light poles,
// every block having a pole dedicated to this type of environmental
// monitoring,  with back-up redundancies should it go out of order.
// common sense, battery, processing power make the idea unrealistic
// for every person to carry a device (and privacy issues) though if
// mapping a field and looking for anomalies, a grid-based computer
// with a grid-based wireless sensor network could cover this scale.
// whereas, with airports that seems to be a custom expert-system
// in which the entire building would become the sensor network, etc.
// (that is, the em-infrastructure in the building is identical in
// functioning to a human nervous system, sensors as the senses, and
// information and actions culminating from directives from a brain,
// while others (gateways) may be autonomically reflexive, etc.)

Taking the terror out of terror: Sandia team re-thinks
physical security for homeland defense -- Analysis may
lead to less anxiety, more safety // via cryptome.org
http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2005/gen-science/ 
counterterror.html

	'Yonas believes this global war does not have to last for generations  
“if we harness the comprehensive capacity of our nation.” He means by  
this, he says, that while technology will play an important role in the  
overall struggle, it will be most effective when coupled into the  
entire range of social, political, psychological, economic, historical,  
and philosophical issues.'

Oil Platforms May Be Used for Fish Farms // Fed mandated dual-use...
http://www.newsday.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-farming-the- 
gulf,0,65966.story?coll=sns-ap-science-headlines

	'With seafood now accounting for about $7 billion in the nation's  
foreign trade deficit, advocates of deep-sea farming say mariculture  
would bolster American seafood production and provide much-needed  
employment to coastal communities harmed by the eclipse of traditional  
fishing.' ... 'Oil and gas platforms function as barn-like bases:  
They're big enough to store feed, their deck winches and cranes can  
lift and drop pens in and out of the water and, if needed, fish farmers  
can spend the night onboard.' .... 'Miget remembered standing on a  
platform with an Occidental representative contemplating the future of  
fish farming. Responding to a question, Miget estimated that in ideal  
conditions, the platform could gross $6 million a year.' .. '"The  
Occidental employee turned to me and said: 'We produce $6 million in  
gas every month off this platform,'" Miget said. "That put it in  
perspective."'

  Watch makers cast nervous eye on mobile phone challenge//engadget
   
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/technologynews/view/140783/1/ 
.html

// this terabyte storage will at least allow search-engines (computer  
OS-
// based) to navigate and hopefully better manage and navigate content  
of
// data currently broken up in time/space by CD-rom disks, which also  
are
// very slow at accessing data if going through dozens of disks. if it  
is
// kept on large harddrives, with a backup system to CD (only for backup
// and archives, not accessible files) it could spur innovations in how  
to
// address issues of information organization and actually managing  
info.
// this is the biggest gap between ideality and reality today in  
computers
// that they are productivity tools and gain in productivity. everything
// from e-mail to media to web to software has different storage needs
// and how it relates to eachother has proven divisive and all  
conquered,
// the ability of computers to clarify & simply electronic  
paper-chasing.

Hitachi Lays Groundwork for 20-Gb Microdrive with Century-Old Technology
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/ 
index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050404005388&newsLang=en

	'Perpendicular recording has its roots in the late 19th century work  
of Danish scientist Valdemar Poulsen, who is generally considered the  
first person to magnetically record sound using perpendicular  
recording. The technology gets its name from the vertical alignment of  
data bits on the plane of the disk, which takes less room in contrast  
to the horizontal orientation of today's longitudinal recording  
technology. To be accurately recorded and read, the more closely-packed  
perpendicular bits also require a closer association between the  
read/write head and the recording media. Hitachi achieved the 230  
Gb/in2 density by manipulating the head and media so that the distance  
between them is a mere 10 nanometers or 1/10,000th of a human hair.'

// 89.3 'the current' is also the name of a new public radio station.

Al Gore and Joel Hyatt Unveil Current ... // *** drudgereport.com
- Set to Launch August 1, Independent Venture Will Be First National
Television Network Created For, By and With an 18-34 Year-Old Audience;
Google Zeitgeist Data Used to Produce News Feature, 'Google Current'
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050404/lam070.html?.v=5

	'The participatory model of Current marks a giant leap in seven  
decades of television. "Until now, the notion of viewer participation  
has been limited to sending a tape to 'America's Funniest Home Videos,'  
calling an interview show, taking part in an instant poll, or voting  
someone off an island," added Gore. "We're creating a powerful new  
brand of television that doesn't treat audiences as merely viewers, but  
as collaborators."' .. 'Promising a slate of programming that's smart,  
fun and fearless (as a truly independent network), Current seeks to  
cater to the Internet generation's need for choice and control.  
Reflective of its name, it will serve up the most current information  
on the people, places and happenings of interest to viewers 18-34, a  
demographic that no longer relates to traditional news.' .. 'Taking its  
cues from their media consumption habits, Current will offer short-form  
programming in the TV equivalent of an iPod shuffle. Its "pods" will be  
15-second to five-minute segments that range from the hottest trends in  
technology, fashion, television, music and videogames, to pressing  
issues such as the environment, relationships, spirituality, finance,  
politics and parenting, subjects that young adults can rarely find on  
television.... ' "Google Current," built using samplings of popular  
Google search data, including from Google Zeitgeist, complements the  
free-flowing pod format with news updates each half-hour. Thirty  
seconds to three minutes in length, these segments buck conventional  
news practices by reporting not on what media editors decide is "news,"  
but on the topics people are actually searching for right now. So news  
isn't what the network thinks you should know, but what the world is  
searching to learn.'


Google Feature Incorporates Satellite Maps // via macsurfer.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/ats- 
ap_technology10apr04,1,887926.story?coll=sns-technology- 
headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true

	'Google believes most people will like the convenience of generating a  
satellite image with a few clicks of a computer mouse. The company  
envisions people using the service as a way to scout a hotel's  
proximity to the beach for a possible vacation or size up the  
neighborhood where an apartment is for rent.' .. 'Google's free  
satellite maps initially will be limited to North America, with images  
covering roughly half the United States, Hanke said.'

Hear, Hear
Yo, Dude, Say What? // MTV generation hearing-loss
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26544-2005Apr4.html

Chip improves vision, baffles scientists // blindness reversed...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/05/chip_improves_vision/

What Search Sites Know About You // google as god
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,67062,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3

TV may turn four-year-olds into bullies
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7229

	'The study showed that four-year-olds who watched the average amount  
of television - 3.5 hours per day - were 25% more likely to become  
bullies than those who watched none. And children who watched eight  
hours of television a day were 200% more likely to become bullies.'

Mini 'light sabres' may battle gum disease // apparently not UV...
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7228

Actors in the Insurgency Are Reluctant TV Stars // ** Iraqi Reality  
TV...
Terror Suspects Grilled, Mocked on Hit Iraqi Show // via  
drudgereport.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26402- 
2005Apr4.html?nav=rss_world

	'...all the characters on "Terrorism in the Hands of Justice" are  
captured suspected insurgents. And for more than a month, they have  
been riveting viewers with tales of how they killed, kidnapped, raped  
or beheaded other Iraqis, usually for a few hundred dollars per  
victim.' ... 'Broadcast on al-Iraqiya, the state-run network set up by  
the U.S. occupation authority in 2003, "Terrorism in the Hands of  
Justice" has become one of most effective arrows in the government's  
counterinsurgency propaganda quiver.'

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