~e; EM observations #15

From brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>
Date Wed, 20 Apr 2005 20:43:03 -0500


[keywords] radio dials, smart building syndrome, nuclear terror,
earthquakes in space, electromagnetic archaeology, e-waste,
google sightseeing, energy miscalculations, google datacasting,
electromagnetic yoga, iServices, LED e-games, public wi-fi VOIP

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electromagnetic observations -- #15
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* google as datacaster: if google decided to take on Microsoft
in the SPOT radio-broadcasting of data, they could purchase any
local radio spectrum in given cities, which would transmit only
the static data accululated for news and weather headlines to
PDAs, watches, laptops, PCs, cars, on ordinary radio signals-
no music or news, just data streams (sounding like numbers-
stations, maybe, on the radio dial). and importantly: for free.
this type of redundant data is what is searched for, news and
weather, and if it was sent to regions served by regional types
of antenna and radio infrastructures, it would provide a public
information service where one has ceased to exist on the radio.
plus, public services such as amber alerts (abducted children
alerts) and other (homeland security emergency broadcasts) may
be facilitated (such as the emergency broadcast system, though
for data). instead of paying $10/month in order to monopolize
ubiquitous information, giving it away freely would serve the
revenue model of online advertising, and it could also tie-in
with Current TV which Google will also be involved in.

* another google idea: since google processes so many pages
of text, a suite of text-based analytic tools would be helpful
if trying to extract more infomration out of data as fielded.
such as shortlisting all links, or doing keyword counts, etc.

* potential poses for an electromagnetic-based yoga website:
the transistor (pnp, npn, fet), the lightning rod, the diode,
the resistor, the capacitor, the RC circuit, the radio-wave,
the battery, the antenna, the powercord, coding, the goto,
the spam, 3 chilis, the bounce, the cross-post, the yagi array,
the transmission tower, the distribution pole, the cobra head,
the lightbulb, the packet network, the network cloud, etc.

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--urls--
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Antique Radio Tuning Dials // ***
http://www.indianaradios.com/Antique%20Radio%20Tuning%20Dials%201.htm

[and] Radio Dials // ***
http://www.onfocus.com/cam/2004/radio-dials/

[and] Vintage Radio Dials
http://home.ican.net/~24858/dial.htm

[and] A study of radio dials
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/9178/radios/dials.htm

// 'intelligent building' syndrome. one possibility of the hype of
// new techniques and possibilities could be that there are 'active'
// and 'passive' components (dual nervous systems) in a given place.
// such that some things are networked, others function autonomously.
// also it would appear that eventually after enough diagnostic runs,
// that a 'black box' computer will be required to manage 'dwelling',
// somewhat like an electronic property line that is a legal context.

Overly smart buildings // ** em-arch. via archnewsnow.com
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2005/042005/Impact_Assessment_-- 
_Overly_smart_buildings_042005.html

	'Such [intelligent building] can be complex, however. They involve  
computer simulations tied into building control systems and updated by  
sensor feedback and performance data. Sensors keep tabs on virtually  
anything that can be monitored, whether mechanically, magnetically,  
electromagnetically, thermally, optically, chemically, biologically, or  
acoustically. And the conglomeration of sensors packed into intelligent  
buildings is increasingly accessed via wireless networks.' ..  
'Architects and engineers extol elegant simplicity -- at least as a  
goal. But many of the problems that undermined earlier attempts at  
smartening up buildings, including complexity, incompatible and  
failure-prone components, difficult operation and troubleshooting,  
flawed or outmoded operating parameters, threaten to compromise the  
next generation.'

Reports reveal Zarqawi nuclear threat // via drudgereport.com
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050419-102106-5456r.htm

	'The commission said bin Laden told a Pakistani newspaper reporter in  
November 2001 that al Qaeda has both nuclear and chemical weapons. The  
CIA then "speculated" in a report that the terrorist group "probably  
had access to nuclear expertise and facilities and that there was a  
real possibility of the group developing a crude nuclear device," the  
commission report said.' .. 'The commission also said U.S. intelligence  
agencies think development of a radiological bomb is "well within al  
Qaeda's capabilities."'

N Korea 'shuts' nuclear facility // *** processing plutonium?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4456109.stm

Google Sightseeing: visit the best tourist spots in
the world via Google Maps' satellite imagery. // **
http://www.shreddies.org/gmaps/

[and] Archive for the 'Weirdness' Category
http://www.shreddies.org/gmaps/category/weirdness/

[and] google satellite maps of nevada nuclear bombsites
http://www.shreddies.org/gmaps/2005/04/13/b-bomb/

// IR spectral space imaging + electromagnetic archaeology ***

Decoded at last: the 'classical holy grail' that may rewrite the history
of the world -- Scientists begin to unlock the secrets of papyrus scraps
  bearing long-lost words by the  literary giants of Greece and Rome.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/ 
story.jsp?story=630165

	'[In] a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding  
the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red  
technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and  
with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies  
and epic poems will soon be revealed.'

// car/mobile/iPod/PDA streaming iServices...? via macsurfer.com
// it would seem to confirm the Sony approach of the New Apple...

Next Wave: Apple's connections to Wind River, Red Hat and Linux-ITRON
http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/ 
next_wave_apples_connections_to_wind_river_red_hat_and_linux_itron/

	'Under the sub-heading (above) The Apple and Red Hat Connection , I  
pointed to the Open Source Architecture vision of the future of IT ,  
based on open standards and interoperability. Well, their vision is  
really something that perhaps only those within the Mac community could  
fully appreciate – at least those with an open mind. This new open  
vision emerging is really something to behold and can be found in this  
Red Hat QuickTime clip called Choice .' .. 'It begins by playing off of  
Apple’s 1984 ad themes that launched the Macintosh into history. As the  
video progresses, it’s all about the next wave of the internet theme  
set to unmistakable imagery surrounding a new way of Thinking that  
revolves around interconnected Cells. Once you see it, then juxtapose  
that message with that from the Sony/Toshiba/IBM alliance’s Cell Vision  
that states: Just as the cells in a body unite to form complete  
physical systems, a “Cell” architecture will allow all kinds of  
electronic devices (from consumer products to supercomputers) to work  
together, signaling a new era in Internet entertainment, communications  
and collaboration. It’s one and the same vision, and one that we’ll be  
seeing more of in the coming months ahead. One that Apple is very much  
a part of.'

// wi-fi phones + municipal wi-fi => so long, phone companies?
// [update: just read a reference to a speech by Jeff Hawkins,
// founder of Handspring/Palm, that wi-fi services/mobile VOIP
// may be a future for handheld devices, or approximately...]
// [i.e. 'smartphones' could be VOIP, not cellular-dependent.]

Wireless: Only a matter of time till VOIP goes mobile
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/04/17/business/wireless18.html

Liquid-filled chips cool like mini-fridges // microchannel heatsinks
Purdue University can put a refrigerator in the palm of your hand.
http://news.com.com/Liquid-filled+chips+cool+like+mini-fridges/2100- 
7337_3-5674697.htm

Space station aims to spot seismic shocks
Radiation study could spur plans to monitor earthquakes from orbit.
http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050418/full/050418-2.html

	'Researchers hope that tracking changes in the [Van Allen] radiation  
belts that blanket the globe will give them early warning of tremors  
hundreds of kilometres below.'

[versus] Space station earthquake experiment on shaky ground
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7280

grid a & grid b // paintings by Elissa Omersa
http://mnartists.org/work.do?rid=65468
http://mnartists.org/work.do?rid=65469

CT Scan for Molecules // imaage of UV emission...
Producing 3-d images of electron orbitals
http://www.sciam.com/ 
article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colID=5&articleID=000973A0-37DF-1237- 
B62883414B7F0000

// it would be great if future advances for the vision and hearing
// impaired would become standardized so that average hearing users
// would also partake in these new infrastructures, thus placing
// all in the same context, equalling out a range of differences...

Project to open internet to blind
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4457793.stm

LEDhead // palm+windows+pocketpc. via PDA247
Classic handheld L.E.D. electronic game simulations.
http://www.peterhirschberg.com/handheld/ledhead/index.htm

	'What's the point?  Why simulate these 20+ year old [Light Emitting  
Diode] games that had, at best, only the crudest of graphics and  
sounds? Without an effort to preserve these memorable games, most or  
all of them would eventually fade into obscurity. Many already have. It  
is my endevour to ensure these games are remembered into the future as  
the culturally sigificant icons I believe they represent.'

Spiral laser beam demoed
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2005/042005/ 
Spiral_laser_beam_demoed_Brief_042005.html

// this article talks a little about the mining of materials in
// relation to the environmental cost of designed obsolescence...

Activists Push to Recycle 'E-Waste' // *** earth day... (macsurfer)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050420/earth_day_e_waste.html?.v=2

	'Activists say the nation's biggest environmental problem may be the  
smallest devices, and this week they're launching campaigns to increase  
awareness about recycling cell phones, music players, handheld gaming  
consoles and other electronics.' .. 'Frequently, smaller portable  
gadgets have batteries that are prohibitively expensive to replace. So  
consumers in affluent countries simply toss them in the trash.' ...  
'Americans have about 500 million obsolete, broken or otherwise unused  
cell phones, and about 130 million more are added each year -- the  
equivalent of 65,000 tons of waste, according to the EPA.'

// rising prices are a direct result of failed energy planning and
// policies which have not changed in strategy to engage the times...
// for instance, see Ford and GM in massive trouble as a result of
// choosing not to do anything to change strategies, instead working
// against fuel-efficiency legislation and climate change adaptations
// and now the car market is shifting away from their industrial base,
// they put it into oil-based hydrogen (versus nearer term technology)
// and retain the very large vehicle as standard approach, 60s redux.
// it is the refusal to change and innovate that is the inefficiency.
// President Bush's (more like VP Cheney's) obstinance to consider a
// different approach to energy policy has made it gridlock for 6 yrs.
// it may even go 8 years, two terms, without an energy policy, and it
// may be preferable to pursuing the backwards vision as it now exists.

[headline] Inflation surges on energy, food costs
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/ 
D89JBDI00.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down

	'Consumer confidence is sagging because of the rising in energy  
prices, causing politicians from both parties to worry that voters may  
blame them for the problem.' .. 'President Bush on Wednesday urged  
Congress to pass his long-stalled energy bill before lawmakers take  
their summer break. But he acknowledged that the measure will not  
affect prices until much later.' ... '"Energy prices are the key wild  
card for the economy," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com.'

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