From javilk at mall-net.com Tue Apr 4 23:00:02 2006
From: javilk at mall-net.com (javilk@mall-net.com)
Date: Tue Apr 4 23:07:08 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Trade publications
Message-ID: <20060405060002.58829.qmail@mall-net.com>
I don't know about you; but I learned more by subscribing to free
trade publications than from attending College. Any time I saw a free
subscription card, I grabed it and subscribed. I was getting a foot and
a half to a foot of magazines a month, reading them and passing them
around to friends for discussion.
Here's a site listing a bunch of free trade publications you can
subscribe to.
http://matweb.tradepub.com/free/
-J- (John, Javilk@mall-net.com)
CAUTION: I'm no doctor, I only tell computers what to do.
Nothing in this document should be construed as medical advice.
My opinions are subject to the availability of information.
I learn new things each day, and so may change my opinions.
For long lasting relief, consult a doctor who practices
orthomolecular medicine. Ask, and I'll recommend mine.
Today's Art Photo
Chem / Fungus allergies
Dr. Cathcart / Vit C.
Arthritis
Another Javilk (tm) brand post. Copyright retained.
Copyright (C) 2006, Javilk@mall-net.com . All rights reserverd.
From Vesta111 at aol.com Tue Apr 11 08:25:10 2006
From: Vesta111 at aol.com (Vesta111@aol.com)
Date: Tue Apr 11 08:25:26 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] (no subject)
Message-ID: <22b.9ee06d2.316d2456@aol.com>
In a message dated 4/10/2006 12:01:51 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
clydelofton@yahoo.com writes:
_http://www.sntp.net/education/education.htm_
(http://www.sntp.net/education/education.htm)
Clyde sent me this, and It came at a very interesting time.
I have a co-worker who waited until she was 40 years old or so to have a
child. The boy is now 3 years old and began Head Start in the State of Maine.
She received an emergency call from the school and had to leave work.
The school recommended her little boy be put on Ritilin as they claim they
cannot control him.
His crimes include singing Jesus Loves Me in class, possibly offending
children of other religions, his best friend a boy his age is black, this child
has not yet had the chance to socialize with kids of other races--- He referred
to the friend as "The little brown Boy ".
Worse yet he knocked over a bunch of alphabet blocks and dropped a book on
the floor.
To remind you this is a 3 year old child. What does this tell the Boy ???
He is learning that his family's beliefs my offend others. If there are 20
Christians in his class and one Moslem, the minority, the one pupil must be
catered to.
He is learning that his observations and his thoughts on an unfamiliar race
of people is bad. A 3 year old tells it like it is, they see it, they call it
what a 3 year olds mind sees.
As for the blocks, isn't that what blocks are for, to knock over ??? And
who for heavens sake never dropped a book???
He is being taught that he cannot think for himself, must follow the herd.
The minority rules, and one must cater to them.
HUMMMMM sounds like our problems with the illegal's from Mexico. This
minority are not immigrants, they expect us to cater to them, they have no plans to
become Americans. They are in my mind just SLAVE LABOR to the business men
who make a ton of money off them.
Clyde hit a sore spot here when it comes to education, we spend too much
time on making kids think like Adults and not enough time allowing them to be
children and see the world from a different angle. The children can teach us so
much if we take the time to listen.
Regards Vesta
The greatest gift I was given as a child, was the love of the written word.
The greatest gift I was given as a child, was the love of the written word.
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From javilk at mall-net.com Tue Apr 11 12:59:02 2006
From: javilk at mall-net.com (javilk@mall-net.com)
Date: Tue Apr 11 12:59:35 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] (no subject)
In-Reply-To: <22b.9ee06d2.316d2456@aol.com> from "Vesta111@aol.com" at Apr 11,
2006 11:25:10 AM
Message-ID: <20060411195902.48172.qmail@mall-net.com>
> She received an emergency call from the school and had to leave work.
>
> The school recommended her little boy be put on Ritilin as they claim they
> cannot control him.
No, it is that they can not control themselves. So small minded
people, people unfit for the kind of education it takes to make even an
accountant, much less an engineer or scientist. reach for the handiest
tool they can to smash what they can not understand, to force people
into straightjackets so they can control them.
It is they, who can not show the kids anything interesting enough
to inspire them.
Remember, Edison was labeled addlebrained. Where would we be
today, if he was put in a chemical straightjacket?
Ford was variously labeled as nuts, a total failure, etc. Where
would we be today, if Big Business railroads ran all transit, and th
personal automobile was not developed?
Management thought Noyce(?) was nuts too, making a small computer
on a chip to do the functions of a terminal. It didn't sell well. Not
initially. But eventually, the idea caught on, and that little
struggling company he worked for, Intel... and the nutcase engineers at
Micro Telemetry Instrumentation Systems, Inc, MITS, who created the
Altair 8800, the first real home computer. (This, after IBM produced
several; but decided they were not a real market.)
It is the deviant, the insane people who drag the rest of humanity,
kicking and screaming toward the future.
Two friends of mine are special ed people. They have gotten
kicked, broken bones, etc. from their charges. One is on disability
from that. Yet they would never force kids on that medication. Well,
being lesbians, they don't fit anywhere either.
> Clyde hit a sore spot here when it comes to education, we spend too much
> time on making kids think like Adults and not enough time allowing them to be
> children and see the world from a different angle. The children can teach us so
> much if we take the time to listen.
This is why Europeans say that one can not be intelligent unless
one knows several languages. Language shapes how you think. if you
think on ly in terms of one language, you can not grasp things beyond
that language. If you read but one book on a subject, you can not grasp
things beyond that book, BELIEVING that the one book has to be right
simply because you don't have any other examples.
Language shapes our thoughts. Those who know multiple languages
see different cultural viewpoints from those languages.
I grew up in a home where three languages were spoken, the third
very seldom, mostly to keep me from understanding. (I did grasp some of
it.) This gave me the depth of multiple perspectives.
The bottom line is, our education system is full of one-book
true-believers. And they have created a cesspool with the help of the
pharmaceuticals industry and our tendency to be "politically correct."
It is that, not the Mongol hoards, which will overturn America.
-J- (John, Javilk@mall-net.com)
CAUTION: I'm no doctor, I only tell computers what to do.
Nothing in this document should be construed as medical advice.
My opinions are subject to the availability of information.
I learn new things each day, and so may change my opinions.
For long lasting relief, consult a doctor who practices
orthomolecular medicine. Ask, and I'll recommend mine.
Today's Art Photo
Chem / Fungus allergies
Dr. Cathcart / Vit C.
Arthritis
Another Javilk (tm) brand post. Copyright retained.
Copyright (C) 2006, Javilk@mall-net.com . All rights reserverd.
From creolescience at yahoo.com Mon Apr 17 15:41:26 2006
From: creolescience at yahoo.com (j s)
Date: Mon Apr 17 15:41:33 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] this is kind of old but still iinteresting, if you
want to date a robot ; )
Message-ID: <20060417224126.13497.qmail@web36108.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4714135.stm
---------------------------------
How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger?s low PC-to-Phone call rates.
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From mbest at triad.rr.com Tue Apr 18 16:26:22 2006
From: mbest at triad.rr.com (Michael Best)
Date: Tue Apr 18 16:26:27 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] this is kind of old
In-Reply-To: <20060418190001.AF82E3AA79@kang.vjc.com>
Message-ID: <000601c6633f$81537e60$e4f31c18@mikey>
> From: j s
> Subject: [Mad-Scientists] this is kind of old but still
> iinteresting,
> if you want to date a robot ; )
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4714135.stm
But have they developed a fully operational "Unit Coupling Interface"
for this model?
For the money that machine would cost, it better clean my house, fix
my dinner, and tuck me in bed!
If it can do that, then intelligent conversation is optional. And if
it DOES talk, it had better have an "OFF" switch!
-Mike
From mbest at triad.rr.com Wed Apr 19 20:54:53 2006
From: mbest at triad.rr.com (Michael Best)
Date: Wed Apr 19 20:55:04 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] The fallacy of E85 fuel marketing
Message-ID: <001b01c6642e$2f9cb470$e4f31c18@mikey>
The USA consumed about 143 billion gallons of gasoline in 2005.
(US DOE report)
One acre of corn yields about 330 gallons of fuel-grade ethanol per
crop.
(http://healthandenergy.com/ethanol.htm)
At one crop per year, and 85% replacement of petroleum with ethanol in
motor fuel (E85), it will require 368 million acres of arable land be
converted to fuel production to meet domestic demand, just for
gasoline (at 2005 use levels).
The total arable acreage in the entire United States is 375 million
acres (http://www.numbersusa.com/interests/farmland.html), and
decreasing rapidly as rural areas become suburban subdivisions. This
is countered by increased yield per acre obtained with synthetic
pesticides, herbicides, and genetically-engineered crops. Of course,
Certified Organic sustainable agriculture has lower yields per acre.
Now how do we feed 300 million Americans on but 7 million acres of
farmland? Soylent Green, perhaps? We must overcome prion
contamination issues first.
Even if this Fermi analysis is off by a factor of two, the point is
still valid: we will starve ourselves.
This analysis only looks at the cost to our food supply of pursuing
ethanol fuel. It does NOT look at the energy balance, which is
negative. It takes more total energy to produce ethanol from corn
seeds than the energy found in the product ethanol. More on this
later.
E85 is no solution; it is a marketing gambit. Catchphrases like
"Renewable" and "Sustainable" make good ad copy for General Motors and
Exxon, but do nothing to solve our clear and present energy problem.
We cannot starve ourselves to feed our cars! Or perhaps we should-
then we will need fewer cars!
The only solution I see is to use those cars less.
-Mike
From javilk at mall-net.com Wed Apr 19 23:36:42 2006
From: javilk at mall-net.com (javilk@mall-net.com)
Date: Wed Apr 19 23:36:55 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Re: The fallacy of E85 fuel marketing
In-Reply-To: <001b01c6642e$2f9cb470$e4f31c18@mikey> from "Michael Best" at Apr
19, 2006 11:54:53 PM
Message-ID: <20060420063642.30269.qmail@mall-net.com>
This is interesting, but is not the only thing we need concern
ourselves regarding E85 -- 85% Ethanol "gasoline".
> The USA consumed about 143 billion gallons of gasoline in 2005.=20
> (US DOE report)
>
> One acre of corn yields about 330 gallons of fuel-grade ethanol per
> crop.
143,000,000,000 / 330 = 433,333,333 acres required.
> At one crop per year, and 85% replacement of petroleum with ethanol in
> motor fuel (E85), it will require 368 million acres of arable land be
Highly impractical. Ethanol is variously reported as 20% more
energy efficient to 35% less energy efficient in terms of energy
required to grow and produce it. So this will not eliminate the need to
import crude oil. At best, it would cut imports of crude oil by 20%.
At the very best! Converting ALL our farmland to ethanol production!
> The total arable acreage in the entire United States is 375 million
We also need to eat, as you point out. And ethanol would require
just about all our arable land be converted to a mono-crop, which
depletes the soil, renders the entire production subject to THE SAME
insect pests, etc. etc. (Oh yes, Roundup ready corn from Monopoly Santos
working hand and foot with Art and Dan Monylanders Corp. How cozy.)
But the real problem is that Ethanol produces MORE pollution than
regular gasoline. And a large portion of that pollution is partially
combusted ethanol -- Acetaldehyde!
Acetaldehyde is what makes people drunk. It is the prime pollutant
in today's reformulated gasoline which causes many of us MCS people
trouble. If your Cytochrome detox systems are not fully operational,
acetaldehyde will get you. It gets me. First come the subtle problems,
reduction in brilliance as short term memory starts to fade; then
problems with coordination, and finally, major memory deficits.
When we were on MTBE, the partial combustion product was
formaldehyde. You know what it did to some of us.
Acetaldehyde is not that bad, but the volume is several times that
with 10% ethanol. Can you imagine what will happen when we increase it
by a factor of 8?
The interesting question, the problem which may limit E85 adoption,
will be whether a person can drive an hour or two in E85 traffic and
still remain sober. I believe a noticeable portion of the population
would fail the drunk driving test after Route 101 rush hour (park hour)
traffic here in the San Francisco Bay area. Not to mention our Silicon
valley really becoming more of a Silly Clone valley, as some of the high
brows become mildly drunk and ineffective at their jobs simply because
of the air pollution. This is the brain work capitol of the country.
If anything starts shrinking people's short term memory, this place
will start failing! Badly!
> The only solution I see is to use those cars less.
Unfortunately, that is not an option. The automobile has given us
too much freedom to give up.
Mass transit does not work, and has never really worked for the
masses.
Yes, it works fairly well for downtown areas; but you can't get
everyone TO the trolly stations unless most of the streets have FREQUENT
service, and most people work relatively nearby.
Sure, New York has it's subways. Ever been in them? I have.
Either you are a strap hanger, standing squashed in the isles; or you
are afraid of who's going to get on at the next stop. Remember Bernard
Gets? Remember Slewa's red beret wearing Guardian Angels patrolling the
subways? Crime! Not nice places to be! You are far safer in your car.
(I've used the trains and busses to various short projects in San
Francisco on occasion too. No fun here either!)
What the megalopolis' have now, is people who drive a fair
distance to transit stations (Train, Bart, etc.) and then take mass
transit to work. Without the cars, they would not be able to get to the
transit stations. And these folks get paid rather well for their work;
they are far from an average income. It is that which motivates them to
take that awful, crowded, time wasting ride vs more prosaic local work.)
Mass transit has only worked well when most of the workers worked
at home. Historically, most of the families had only one person as the
breadwinner, thus cutting the number of transported people nearly in
half, and a large portion of the population was either within walking
distance of work (hence the narrow row houses), or worked in and around
the home, as most farm related and sales related workers did. You lived
over the store or saloon you ran, next to your blacksmith's shop, etc.
Local labor, local services, local products. And employment for the
same firm for most of your life. It was a nice stable, if somewhat
constricting society.
Today's culture is different. We change jobs every three or four
years. Our jobs can be close this year, far next year, making it hard
to know where to live. Many people drive an hour to work these days.
Nor was mass transit safe in those days. The high entry and exit
numbers on trolly cars cost quite a few people arms and legs on falls.
But to sustain the numbers of mass transit users in cities, getting on
and off had to be more casual than today. It was also a much less time
obsessed culture we lived in back then.
Perhaps if we adopt a lot more telecommuting, this may improve.
But so far, industry does not favor telecommuting till they run out of
office space, as they did during the Dot Com boom.
And telecommuting is basically white collar work. You can't
telecommute if you work on a production line or in a store. So that
cuts out a huge portion of the people right there.
Still, there is nothing like walking around the company to meet
your fellow workers, discuss the impacts of what you are doing with
others who will be affected, etc. You can't do that if you telecommute.
Groupware networking isn't the same as walking about.
When IBM built a software research and development lab, they built
it as a a bunch U shaped corridors jutting out of central cores. Energy
wise, that is about the most inefficient building design you saw -- lots
of outside walls! When you got assigned to a project, and your office
would be moved so all of the people on the project were in offices as
close together as possible. The length of the corridor was the distance
an average person would prefer to walk instead of using the phone to ask
a question. This got discussions going, and that was the most
productive software development lab at IBM. I spent over a year working
here. We talked! We got things done, real hard things!
You can't get that kind of team spirit via telecommuting. (White
collar work.) Telecommuting is just not that productive. It does not
even work well unless the team spends weeks getting to know each other
first, so there is less hesitation about picking up the phone and
calling your co worker for a discussion, adding another party or two
when needed, etc.
So for many things, we are stuck moving bodies around. And since
meetings are often spread across large areas, we need the car. Heck, in
some of the IBM, SGI, and Cisco places I've worked, we needed cars just
to get from our offices in one building to a meeting in another building
on the same campus!
Nevermind the after-work meetings, special interest groups,
lectures, classes, etc. that many of us really have to attend to broaden
our education and further our careers.
The car. It's too useful to give up without major restructuring of
our society; restructuring that would reduce our ability to compete with
the rest of the world, reduce our effectiveness and our ability to earn
American style wages.
-J- (John, Javilk@mall-net.com)
CAUTION: I'm no doctor, I only tell computers what to do.
Nothing in this document should be construed as medical advice.
My opinions are subject to the availability of information.
I learn new things each day, and so may change my opinions.
For long lasting relief, consult a doctor who practices
orthomolecular medicine. Ask, and I'll recommend mine.
Today's Art Photo
Chem / Fungus allergies
Dr. Cathcart / Vit C.
Arthritis
Another Javilk (tm) brand post. Copyright retained.
Copyright (C) 2006, Javilk@mall-net.com . All rights reserverd.
From mbest at triad.rr.com Thu Apr 20 09:36:09 2006
From: mbest at triad.rr.com (Michael Best)
Date: Thu Apr 20 09:36:24 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] The indispensable automobile (WAS: RE: The fallacy
of E85 fuel marketing)
In-Reply-To: <20060420063642.30269.qmail@mall-net.com>
Message-ID: <006501c66498$883acf80$e4f31c18@mikey>
> From: javilk@mall-net.com [mailto:javilk@mall-net.com]
> Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2006 2:37 AM
> The car. It's too useful to give up without major
> restructuring of
> our society; restructuring that would reduce our ability to compete
> with the rest of the world, reduce our effectiveness and our ability
> to earn American style wages.
The Car. We cannot live without it, but we cannot live with it in its
present form. We cannot continue to import petroleum to feed it; we
cannot continue to deal with its waste products polluting our world.
The car needs an overhaul. We need to remove the prime mover (engine)
from the car, and place it far, far away. That remote prime mover
needs to be pollution free, large enough to produce power for millions
of cars, have great economies of scale while producing a portable
energy transfer medium that can be used by The Car for propulsion.
I see two transfer media at present, electricity and hydrogen. One is
here now, and well proven. The other has just crossed the horizon
into view.
And how to produce the energy for transfer, without the use of fossil
fuels or generating pollution? Nuclear energy, of course. Wind
water, waves and solar combined simply haven't the ability to produce
the energy equivalent of 143,000,000,000 gallons of gasoline.
The alternatives are to starve ourselves growing fuel crops or gag
ourselves with pollution.
-Mike
From javilk at mall-net.com Thu Apr 20 12:48:35 2006
From: javilk at mall-net.com (javilk@mall-net.com)
Date: Thu Apr 20 12:48:43 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Re: The indispensable automobile (WAS: RE: The
fallacy of E85 fuel marketing)
In-Reply-To: <006501c66498$883acf80$e4f31c18@mikey> from "Michael Best" at Apr
20, 2006 12:36:09 PM
Message-ID: <20060420194836.39628.qmail@mall-net.com>
> > The car. It's too useful to give up without major
> > restructuring of
> > our society; restructuring that would reduce our ability to compete
> > with the rest of the world, reduce our effectiveness and our ability
> > to earn American style wages.
>
> The Car. We cannot live without it, but we cannot live with it in its
> present form. We cannot continue to import petroleum to feed it; we
> cannot continue to deal with its waste products polluting our world.
Yep, especially the acetaldehyde bit. Though tires get rather bad
too. In smog, a quarter to half the carbon is tire dust. Bacteria eat
tire dust, or we'd have a lot of it by the roadside. Tire dust causes a
lot of allergies.
> The car needs an overhaul. We need to remove the prime mover (engine)
> from the car, and place it far, far away. That remote prime mover
> needs to be pollution free, large enough to produce power for millions
> of cars, have great economies of scale while producing a portable
> energy transfer medium that can be used by The Car for propulsion.
Maybe, maybe not.
> I see two transfer media at present, electricity and hydrogen. One is
> here now, and well proven. The other has just crossed the horizon
> into view.
Right, transfer media.
> And how to produce the energy for transfer, without the use of fossil
> fuels or generating pollution? Nuclear energy, of course. Wind
> water, waves and solar combined simply haven't the ability to produce
> the energy equivalent of 143,000,000,000 gallons of gasoline.
i don't know. That depends upon how many watts it takes to move
the car and the occupants. I have two vehicles, a small car and a
truck. I use the one appropriate to the task. That saves fuel.
telecommuting saves even more fuel; but limits my income.
What I see, is some means to accumulate the energy falling onto
your property for use in moving the car. I don't think it will be
solar-electric; as solar-electric is not very efficient. I think it
more likely that it will be bio-generation. Not biomass; but genetically
engineered algae that use sunlight to give off hydrogen gas. Or perhaps
catalytically driven hydrogen generation; though oxygen must somehow be
separated to prevent explosions. It will stratify on it's own.... but
you have this partial mix that's a little... well, explosive .
> The alternatives are to starve ourselves growing fuel crops or gag
> ourselves with pollution.
Most people are not that stupid. Governments, on the other hand...
have a rich history of such; particularly, but not exclusively, when run
by tin pot despots.
-J- (John, Javilk@mall-net.com)
CAUTION: I'm no doctor, I only tell computers what to do.
Nothing in this document should be construed as medical advice.
My opinions are subject to the availability of information.
I learn new things each day, and so may change my opinions.
For long lasting relief, consult a doctor who practices
orthomolecular medicine. Ask, and I'll recommend mine.
Today's Art Photo
Chem / Fungus allergies
Dr. Cathcart / Vit C.
Arthritis
Another Javilk (tm) brand post. Copyright retained.
Copyright (C) 2006, Javilk@mall-net.com . All rights reserverd.
From Vesta111 at aol.com Thu Apr 20 13:12:11 2006
From: Vesta111 at aol.com (Vesta111@aol.com)
Date: Thu Apr 20 13:12:28 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] this is kind of old but still iinteresting,
if you want ...
Message-ID: <333.3521a55.3179451b@aol.com>
About 10 years ago there was a movie about the future where men met and
married robot woman.
For some reason society changed and all the "woman" were rounded up and
placed in storage. The Hero finds a human woman and together the go to liberate
the robot wife.
The human woman naturally drives the Hero nuts as they battle the bad guys.
Wouldn't you just know it, after they find and rescue the Heroes "wife" the
Hero decides he likes the human woman better and kills the robot.
Now that I think about it, the robot was like a dog. Poor Hero didn't
know when he had it made. Regards Vesta
The greatest gift I was given as a child, was the love of the written word.
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From creolescience at yahoo.com Sat Apr 22 05:35:30 2006
From: creolescience at yahoo.com (j s)
Date: Sat Apr 22 05:36:20 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Brazil - self sufficient
Message-ID: <20060422123531.8055.qmail@web36107.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
So, if you read down you'll see they have flex fuel cars which run on gas and sugar cane based ethanol - so why can't we? We have the offshore and Alaskan pipelines - we can make ethanol from sugarcane and corn - we could do it but too many Americans get rich off of arabs.
You think in the dust bowl areas we couldn't have large areas of windmills? Or solar paint for buildings with microcells embedded? Greed baby, greed. We like foreign dependence because Americans in charge profit from it, just like the war in Iraq .
People say we can't afford the levy infrastructure or creation of windmill farms? We have one BILLION a week for ( Haliburton ) Iraq. Who is rebuilding it? Who is arming it? Uniforms for the army? Hmmmm... follow the money.
So when Exxon is profitting off your blood and Bush isn't doing anything be proud you voted Republican. Because it's your fault.
New Rig Brings Brazil Oil Self-Sufficiency
By PETER MUELLO, Associated Press WriterFri Apr 21, 4:31 PM ET
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, dressed in an orange jump suit, drenched his hand in oil as he flipped the switch Friday on a new oil rig that will usher in overall independence from foreign oil.
The start of production at the P-50 rig off Brazil's south Atlantic coast puts Brazil on track to produce as much oil as it consumes.
Silva showed off his oily hand to a crowd on the rig, a gesture imitating President Getulio Vargas when he created the government-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, in the early 1950s.
The production milestone ? coordinated to fall on a national holiday honoring 18th-century independence hero Tiradentes ? marked an end to decades of dependence on foreign oil, and fuel bills that plunged Brazil into debt when oil prices soared in the 1970s.
Petrobras said the huge P-50 rig will boost national oil production to an average of 1.9 million barrels a day this year, more than average consumption of 1.85 million barrels a day.
"It's an important date for the country, and Petrobras has every right to be proud," said Luiz Broad, an oil analyst at the Agora Senior brokerage in Rio de Janeiro.
As more offshore rigs come online, Petrobras expects to join the ranks of the world's net oil exporters, with production exceeding demand by nearly 300,000 barrels a day in 2010.
Brazil still has to import light crude oil for the refined products it needs. The country produces ? and exports ? mostly heavy crude oil, which has to be mixed with the light oil in refineries.
The net-exporter status will boost Brazil's trade surplus and help shield the country from oil-price shocks. Petrobras said it won't pass on the spikes in international oil prices to Brazilian consumers. Oil prices reached a record $73 a barrel on Tuesday
It's quite a change from the 1970s, when Brazil imported 85 percent of the oil it consumed, deepening a foreign debt that raised inflation to four digits and pushed the country to the brink of bankruptcy.
"We have the fastest-growing oil industry in the world," Petrobras Chief Executive Sergio Gabrielli said Thursday.
Brazil still depends on natural gas imported from Bolivia, on its own nuclear power and on hydroelectric dams to produce electricity, and on an abundance of ethanol, an alternative fuel made from Brazilian sugar cane.
Brazil produced only 2,700 barrels of oil a day when Petrobras was founded in 1953, and consumed 137,000 barrels a day. With the slogan "The oil is ours," the company set out to find oil in a country larger than the lower 48 U.S. states.
In 1968, the company began searching offshore in the Campos Basin near Macae, 110 miles east of Rio de Janeiro. The big break came six years later, with the discovery of the Garoupa field.
New discoveries followed, and Macae became an oil boomtown as the Campos Basin grew to become Brazil's top oil producer. Today, more than 80 percent of Brazil's oil comes from offshore fields.
Petrobras also became a world leader in deep-water drilling, developing state-of-the-art equipment and setting world records for deep-water drilling. It is Brazil's biggest and the 14th-largest oil company in the world, with operations in 15 countries.
After the government broke the company's oil monopoly in 1995, Petrobras remained a top player in the market. The company snapped up exploration zones that Brazil put up for auction to international bidders.
"The company did its homework, did what was possible," said Victor Martins, an oil analyst with Safra Bank. Martins said Petrobras would have to raise oil output to keep pace with demand, which is growing despite the expansion of ethanol, and the rising sales of flex-fuel cars that run on both gasoline and ethanol. "The important thing is the flexibility we have now," he said. "We can produce here or buy abroad, whichever is cheaper."
---------------------------------
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From creolescience at yahoo.com Sat Apr 22 05:40:15 2006
From: creolescience at yahoo.com (j s)
Date: Sat Apr 22 05:40:26 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] robot wife
Message-ID: <20060422124015.23334.qmail@web36109.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 16:12:11 EDT
From: Vesta111@aol.com
Subject: Re: [Mad-Scientists] this is kind of old but still
iinteresting, if you want ...
To: mad-scientists@Mad-Scientists.ORG
Message-ID: <333.3521a55.3179451b@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
About 10 years ago there was a movie about the future where men met
and married robot woman. For some reason society changed and all the "woman" were rounded up and placed in storage. The Hero finds a human woman and together the go to liberate the robot wife.
"The human woman naturally drives the Hero nuts as they battle the bad guys.
Wouldn't you just know it, after they find and rescue the Heroes "wife" the
Hero decides he likes the human woman better and kills the robot.
Now that I think about it, the robot was like a dog. Poor Hero didn't know when he had it made. Regards Vesta "
Was that Cherry 2000?
Regarding marriage, In the words of the great prophet Chris Rock " Feed me, f__ me, and shut the f__ up!"
It's like it came from Einstein - so elegant and brilliant ;)
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From javilk at mall-net.com Sat Apr 22 12:42:31 2006
From: javilk at mall-net.com (javilk@mall-net.com)
Date: Sat Apr 22 12:42:55 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Brazil - self sufficient
In-Reply-To: <20060422123531.8055.qmail@web36107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> from "j
s" at Apr 22, 2006 05:35:30 AM
Message-ID: <20060422194232.79209.qmail@mall-net.com>
> So, if you read down you'll see they have flex fuel cars which run on
> gas and sugar cane based ethanol - so why can't we? We have the
Don't it look easy!
> offshore and Alaskan pipelines - we can make ethanol from sugarcane
> and corn - we
First, we don't grow sugarcane well in the USA. It's a hotter
climate crop. So that's out. Second, our farm land can produce more
money growing other things. So the economics don't work out. It's all
about economics.
We need first to have some ability to use the fuel before
we go out and risk, yes risk, making something different. Financial
Risk. And at the moment, with the Japanese eating their tails, Ford and
GM are just a little short on money to spend RISKING new things.
Fact is, ethanol fuel 10% ethanol, pollutes WORSE than gasoline.
Enough so, that in many areas the locals CAN NOT use even 10% ethanol
and meet pollution standards.
And we can not produce enough corn alcohol to power the majority of
our cars, and eat. So if we move to high corn fuel production, our food
prices will skyrocket. Economics!
Lots of these technologies look good till you try to scale them up,
then the limits start showing; like the number of arable acres, the
growing season, etc.
Big push for bio-fuels! Waste veggie oil! Ya! But how much
waste veggie oil is there? Not that much! I see people selling their
veggie diesels because they can't get enough veggie oil. I've seen
guys destroy their truck engines with veggie oil that was not properly
processed. And diesel, bio or petro, just pollutes like heck compared
to gasoline engines.
I've read about the toxicity of the processes, and neither
I, n0or another chemist I know would DARE make their own bio-diesel,
because the risk of bran damage from the chemistry is WAY out of line
for what we consider reasonable safety risk.
Supply is limited, so it's batch processing all the way. Batch
costa far more than continuous process. We don't use enough cooking oil
in the USA to fuel many cars on it. So when you buy commercialized
bio-diesel, you end up paying as much or more than petro-diesel.
So once again Economics is against it.
Big push for propane as an alternative fuel. guess what -- propane
is a by-product of cracking longer oil molecules. So when they try to
produce more propane, the prices go up because it is no longer a waste
by-product. Propane is now MORE expensive than gasoline per BTU
delivered! I know, because I have several generators that use propane.
Worse, the limited number of stations where you can get propane
means you have to drive a lot more aware of the area you are driving in
-- which makes it difficult to use on vacations, longer trips, etc. that
many people take several times a year. Big black mark against propane
cars!
> could do it but too many Americans get rich off of arabs. > You think
> in the dust bowl areas we couldn't have large areas of windmills? Or solar
We have wind farms in Altemont Pass here in california. Lots of
down time on those machines, and critical minimum air speeds which are
not often met. I wanted a wind generator here, so I looked into it.
Not enough wind speed, and not steady. waste of money for two-three year
investment.
And the animal rights folks are protesting that too many birds are
killed by the spinning fan blades.
Not to mention Senator Kennedy dead set against wind power in Cape
Cod for the sight of it.
> paint for buildings with microcells embedded? Greed baby, greed. We
> like foreign dependence because Americans in charge profit from it,
Never heard of microchip PAINT? The electrical connections required
to get micro-chip solar to deliver would be poor, and the costs way too
high. plus, running solar myself, I see that most people who have fixed
mounts on their roof are not doing too well. You need to point the
panels. I move mine three to five times a day.
Solar takes six to ten years to pay off, and the panels are
expensive. I have two.
Hydro power? But that means we tie up a lot of real estate,
expensive real estate with dams, dams, and more dams in earthquake areas
and elsewhere that just does not pay off in the short to medium run.
Dams are very, very expensive to construct.
One alternative might be barges with paddle wheels. But how much
energy can you create that way, vs the capital investment and the
permits needed to do that?
Right now, making other things, be it software or golf balls gives
you a higher return on investment. Economics!
> People say we can't afford the levy infrastructure or creation of
> windmill farms? We have one BILLION a week for ( Haliburton ) Iraq.
> Who is rebuilding it? Who is arming it? Uniforms for the army? Hmmmm...
> follow the money.
Government is not in the business of business. Government is in
the government of government. every time the governments get involved
in business, it's a disaster! Why? Because no one has authority, no one
is willing to try small pilot projects for fear of failure, they are not
willing to pay enough to attract the kinds of brains needed, and the
technology just isn't known well enough.
> So when Exxon is profitting off your blood and Bush isn't doing
> anything be proud you voted Republican. Because it's your fault.
That's a cheap shot, and you know it.
We are moving toward more solar slowly, because it isn't that
profitable. We are having second thoughts about biofuels, because they
pollute like heck.
The worst thing we could do, is jump on a technology that does not
pan out! THAT would bankrupt our auto industries and a lot of people
who buy cars that can not be driven.
What we really need to do, is more research, more pilot plants,
etc. to see WHAT is more economical. Right now, for the scale we need,
petro-fuels are the cheapest thing available. But we are seeing that
this is changing.
We've tripled the price of gasoline in the past six years is it? So
our economy IS looking at other ways of generating electricity. We are
using more hybrid vehicles, though the investment in batteries is not
cheap! Economics again. We've tried propane, and find that isn't a
bargain as we started to scale that up. We're sampling biofuels; but
again are finding there is limited ability, so the economics don't scale
up. We're continuing to experiment with wind power, though the
mechanics and availability does not pay off as well as other
investments.
we're working on it. We're trying it. We're watching others make
mistakes.
--javilk@mall-net.com----------------------------------
Life is to be LIVED regardless of what is out there.
Fear destroys life. Destroy your fear and live.
-------------------------------------------------------
Not to be construed as psychological advice. Void where
prohibited by law. Not available in all mental states.
-------------------------------------------------------
Another Javilk (tm) brand post.
Copyright (C) 2006, Javilk@mall-net.com
Copyright retained. All rights reserved.
From creolescience at yahoo.com Sat Apr 22 13:00:08 2006
From: creolescience at yahoo.com (j s)
Date: Sat Apr 22 13:00:26 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Bush Promotes Fuel Cells on Earth Day
Message-ID: <20060422200008.93513.qmail@web36103.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
So with fuel cell technology, domestically produced oil and corn and sugar based ethanol, solar and windmills,why can't we be self susstaining?
Bush Promotes Fuel Cells on Earth Day
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press WriterSat Apr 22, 11:10 AM ET
Unable to drive down high oil prices, President Bush is spending Earth Day promoting futuristic hydrogen fuel technology as a way to wean Americans from gas-guzzling vehicles.
After a bike ride near his Napa Valley resort Saturday morning, Bush planned to visit the California Fuel Cell Partnership in West Sacramento for a tour and speech on his energy plan.
The plan does not include any measures that would reduce gas prices in the short term, the White House acknowledges. But with Republicans worried that the increasing cost to drive could hurt them in the voting booth this year, Bush said he understands Americans are hurting.
"I know the folks here are suffering at the gas pump," Bush told an audience Friday in San Jose. "Rising gasoline prices is like taking a ? is like a tax, particularly on the working people and the small business people."
But to address the immediate problem, Bush offered only a pledge that "if we find any price gouging it will be dealt with firmly."
The White House hopes the high gas prices will pressure Congress to act on the energy proposals the president outlined in his State of the Union address, such as increased federal research into alternative fuels and batteries for hybrid and electric cars.
Democrats, meanwhile, contend that the Bush administration places too much emphasis on drilling reserves and not enough on alternative fuels.
The promise of hydrogen fuel cell technology in vehicles is a favorite of automakers, environmentalists and politicians because it accomplishes two important goals ? automobiles that run on fuel cells would not require gasoline and emit only water.
The problem with the technology is that it's many years away from widespread use. And it would require a new system of distributing hydrogen fuel to replace today's network of gasoline pumping stations.
Bush used his weekly radio address Saturday to promote the idea. "These fuel cells have the potential to revolutionize the way we power our cars by giving us vehicles that will emit no pollution and will be more efficient than gas-powered cars," he said.
In the Democratic response to Bush's radio address, Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record), D-Fla., said that the Bush administration must stop being influenced by the powerful oil industry and start promoting production of synthetic fuel from coal and the use of alternative sources such as ethanol.
"We cannot drill our way out of this problem," Nelson said.
Prices at the gas pump have been rising, with the average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline at $2.855. That's 3 cents higher than a day earlier and more than 60 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA's daily fuel gauge report.
Crude oil prices broke through $75 a barrel Friday amid concerns about the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions, rebel disruptions of oil production in Nigeria, and tight U.S. gasoline supplies. Analysts say they are likely to climb even higher.
Bush's bike ride Saturday was no Earth Day stunt. The president rides on most weekend mornings, but made the special detour to overnight in St. Helena just to get in a picturesque ride through wine country. He had no official events there.
"I can't wait," Bush told his San Jose audience. "I'll be plugged into an iPod."
---------------------------------
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From Vesta111 at aol.com Sat Apr 22 18:45:57 2006
From: Vesta111 at aol.com (Vesta111@aol.com)
Date: Sat Apr 22 18:46:14 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Brazil - self sufficient
Message-ID: <3d0.f64860.317c3655@aol.com>
In a message dated 4/22/2006 8:36:46 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
creolescience@yahoo.com writes:
You think in the dust bowl areas we couldn't have large areas of windmills?
Or solar paint for buildings with microcells embedded? Greed baby, greed. We
like foreign dependence because Americans in charge profit from it, just like
the war in Iraq .
People say we can't afford the levy infrastructure or creation of windmill
farms? We have one BILLION a week for ( Haliburton ) Iraq. Who is rebuilding
it? Who is arming it? Uniforms for the army? Hmmmm... follow the money.
The Kennedy family, et-el stopped wind farming in the bay outside their
homes as it spoiled their view
If people demanded that wind farming was to be done on Mt. Washington in New
Hampshire, called the place of the most wind in the world-----guess what,
business men would riot, realtors, tourist businesses, no way.
Restrictions on just about everything, good folk trying to preserve a past
way of life, can you blame their need to keep things as they are.
We have to decide what is most important to us humans who do not live in
city's. Do we who see beauty in our back yards want to defile it just so
strangers can use their hair dryers and buy Tupper ware.
Can you imagine going to the Smokey Mountains and seeing not the beauty but
wind mills and miles of solar collectors ??
Take a trip to the north west, or south west, picture the Mesas topped with
wind mills or huge solar generator
So, what to do ??? How do we keep our hair dryers and beauty at the same
time ???
I am going south to North Carolina in 2 days. Driving a good 800 miles each
way. I will take my Kia instead of the Jeep because it gets great gas
mileage. So, I got out my calculator and was aghast at the cost of gas, not to
mention the tolls just to drive on our highways.
I made the trip 8 years ago for $450 up and back. Now I have to raid my 401k
plan.
What's to worry, if any of you listen to Coast to Coast AM radio, 2012
is just around the corner and some say July of this year is the correct date.
Regards Vesta
The greatest gift I was given as a child, was the love of the written word.
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From rhjuliano at yahoo.com Sat Apr 22 19:48:40 2006
From: rhjuliano at yahoo.com (Robert Juliano)
Date: Sat Apr 22 19:48:47 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Brazil - self sufficient
In-Reply-To: <3d0.f64860.317c3655@aol.com>
Message-ID: <20060423024840.77259.qmail@web51001.mail.yahoo.com>
Vesta,
most likely, we'll see the windmills happen...
I for one thinkk that windmills are a work of art.
Bob
--- Vesta111@aol.com wrote:
>
>
> In a message dated 4/22/2006 8:36:46 A.M. Eastern
> Standard Time,
> creolescience@yahoo.com writes:
>
> You think in the dust bowl areas we couldn't have
> large areas of windmills?
> Or solar paint for buildings with microcells
> embedded? Greed baby, greed. We
> like foreign dependence because Americans in charge
> profit from it, just like
> the war in Iraq .
>
> People say we can't afford the levy infrastructure
> or creation of windmill
> farms? We have one BILLION a week for ( Haliburton )
> Iraq. Who is rebuilding
> it? Who is arming it? Uniforms for the army?
> Hmmmm... follow the money.
>
>
>
>
> The Kennedy family, et-el stopped wind farming in
> the bay outside their
> homes as it spoiled their view
>
> If people demanded that wind farming was to be done
> on Mt. Washington in New
> Hampshire, called the place of the most wind in the
> world-----guess what,
> business men would riot, realtors, tourist
> businesses, no way.
>
> Restrictions on just about everything, good folk
> trying to preserve a past
> way of life, can you blame their need to keep things
> as they are.
>
> We have to decide what is most important to us
> humans who do not live in
> city's. Do we who see beauty in our back yards want
> to defile it just so
> strangers can use their hair dryers and buy Tupper
> ware.
>
> Can you imagine going to the Smokey Mountains and
> seeing not the beauty but
> wind mills and miles of solar collectors ??
>
> Take a trip to the north west, or south west,
> picture the Mesas topped with
> wind mills or huge solar generator
>
> So, what to do ??? How do we keep our hair dryers
> and beauty at the same
> time ???
>
> I am going south to North Carolina in 2 days.
> Driving a good 800 miles each
> way. I will take my Kia instead of the Jeep because
> it gets great gas
> mileage. So, I got out my calculator and was aghast
> at the cost of gas, not to
> mention the tolls just to drive on our highways.
>
> I made the trip 8 years ago for $450 up and back.
> Now I have to raid my 401k
> plan.
>
> What's to worry, if any of you listen to Coast to
> Coast AM radio, 2012
> is just around the corner and some say July of this
> year is the correct date.
>
> Regards Vesta
>
>
> The greatest gift I was given as a child, was the
> love of the written word.
> > _______________________________________________
> Mad-Scientists mailing list
> Mad-Scientists@Mad-Scientists.ORG
>
http://www.mad-scientists.org/mailman/listinfo/mad-scientists
>
__________________________________________________
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From mbest at triad.rr.com Sat Apr 22 22:17:58 2006
From: mbest at triad.rr.com (Michael Best)
Date: Sat Apr 22 22:18:02 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Brazil Gasoline
Message-ID: <003a01c66695$492a5870$e4f31c18@mikey>
Gasoline in Brazil cost US$0.90 per liter ($3.40/gal) in early 2005,
when US prices, including taxes, were half that.
Brazil has no Sierra Club to oppose their slash and burn agricultural
practices.
The USA hasn't enough arable land to both grow fuel crops and feed
ourselves.
Brazilian gasoline is as short on octane rating as their women's
bikinis are short on fabric.
As Brazil has 10% of the total freshwater supply of the entire Earth,
they derive most of their electricity from hydroelectric generators.
I wonder why they bother growing fuel crops! They could easily
convert to electric cars, and use their arable land to make REAL money
growing fresh vegetables for the USA in the winter. That would make
them MUCH more money!
Oh, well- another example of the failings of a command economy. They
place more importance on isolationism than profit.
-MB
From mbest at triad.rr.com Sun Apr 23 10:04:26 2006
From: mbest at triad.rr.com (Michael Best)
Date: Sun Apr 23 10:04:29 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Re: [usa-tesla] [OT] economical way to crack water
Message-ID: <003401c666f7$faa488c0$e4f31c18@mikey>
; sure they do .. everyone know that .. god didn't make collectors for
; sunshine .. he did make collectors for water tho ! ponds, lakes,
Yes He/She did- they are called "plants."
Now just bioengineer a plant (algae is easiest) that consumes CO2 and
water, producing methane and oxygen with sunlight.
2 H2O + CO2 --> CH4 + 2 O2
Presto! The world's energy needs are met for a very long time, while
eliminating the problem of global warming forever.
-MB
From creolescience at yahoo.com Sun Apr 23 12:12:19 2006
From: creolescience at yahoo.com (j s)
Date: Sun Apr 23 12:12:30 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] energy for the future
Message-ID: <20060423191219.23448.qmail@web36108.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
"Now just bioengineer a plant (algae is easiest) that consumes CO2 and
water, producing methane and oxygen with sunlight.
2 H2O + CO2 --> CH4 + 2 O2
Presto! The world's energy needs are met for a very long time, while
eliminating the problem of global warming forever."
-MB"
Nice! well, let's get to work on it. Prhaps a kudzu deriviative or alfalfa too, something also consumable so it can feed, and has the essential 8 amino acids so it will fill our protein needs so we don't need as much livestock, also diminishing bovine flatulence ;)
So let's see -
we have solar
windmills
ocean current energy
dams
ethanol from sugarcane and corn
algae ( food source and methane source )
gas from cowdung like in Japan
I think a bit of this and that would do it, instead of focussing on only one source.
Throw in some nukes too.
maybe a bioengineered sugarcane cactus hybrid and plant it in Mexico - they will have a booming economy from the ethanol and won't want to come to the US anymore - also solving the immigrant problem.
I have solved the problems of the world - thank you ;)
you know, if we could make a fuel from coffee grounds, Starbucks and Duncan Donuts would we a major player in th eenergy economy.
---------------------------------
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From javilk at mall-net.com Tue Apr 25 02:05:13 2006
From: javilk at mall-net.com (javilk@mall-net.com)
Date: Tue Apr 25 02:05:38 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] Newton
Message-ID: <20060425090513.75080.qmail@mall-net.com>
Newton said if I have seen further, it is because I have stood on
the shoulders of giants.
That was a put-down to Hooke, who held his theory of light was bunk.
Hooke was a hunched over short guy who looked like a dwarf.
ref The Prism and the Pendulum.
--javilk@mall-net.com----------------------------------
Life is to be LIVED regardless of what is out there.
Fear destroys life. Destroy your fear and live.
-------------------------------------------------------
Not to be construed as psychological advice. Void where
prohibited by law. Not available in all mental states.
-------------------------------------------------------
Another Javilk (tm) brand post.
Copyright (C) 2006, Javilk@mall-net.com
Copyright retained. All rights reserved.
From creolescience at yahoo.com Fri Apr 28 17:42:46 2006
From: creolescience at yahoo.com (j s)
Date: Fri Apr 28 17:42:53 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] 'Circuit Bending'
Message-ID: <20060429004246.65567.qmail@web36112.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
'Circuit Bending' Lets Old Toys Play Tunes By JESSE JARNOW, For The Associated PressThu Apr 27, 4:46 PM ET
The robot monkeys prepared to do battle as two dozen cracked-open toy pianos bleated a symphony of mutated children's songs. Enterprising geeks prodded the toys' exposed innards with alligator clips, soldering irons, and potentiometers.
Bent 2006, a "circuit bending" festival, was underway. Clearly, there were no adults in charge.
Part performance art, part basement science, circuit bending is the creative rewiring of battery-powered electronics, ranging from Game Boys to Speak-n-Spells to talking teddy bears.
Bent's third annual festival, at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Swing Space, spanned performances, installations, and workshops. Hundreds of attendees streamed through the former bank, including participants from England, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
"I believe that a circuit bent instrument has a new synapse," said Reed Ghazala, the recognized father of circuit bending. As an Ohio teenager in the mid-1960s, Ghazala accidentally shorted out a Radio Shack amplifier when its open back brushed against something metallic in his desk drawer.
"A lot of people parallel circuit bending with vivisections or some kind of horrible surgery," the 52-year old hippie polymath said, "but instruments learn new languages. It's not a negative thing."
The languages of the Bent diaspora are remarkably varied. Loud Objects, the trio who opened last week's festival, elegantly brought a circuit to noisy life on an overhead projector. Shotaro Nakano of Japan, meanwhile, modified a breathalyzer test into a new kind of wind instrument. Slugging beer, he blew into the device, the sound morphing with the alcohol on his breath.
In the context of Bent, the use of drums and bass by Minneapolis's Mystery Palace, a raw indie rock trio who employed modified keyboards, was positively radical.
"I don't think of it as a genre. It's a type of instrumentation," said Mike Rosenthal, 27, the event's unflappably mellow camp counselor. He co-founded Bent with Daniel Greenfeld, also 27, in conjunction with The Tank, a TriBeCa arts space.
"Sometimes, it's nice to reach out and touch a sound," writes Nic Collins in the introduction to his recently published "Handmade Electronic Music," which joins Ghazala's "Circuit-Bending" in the growing circuit-bending library. Both emphasize the approach's minuscule learning curve, demonstrated by a Bent children's workshop.
"This makes some pretty cool noises already," enthused Benjamin Goldstone, a mulleted Englishman, holding up a frog-shaped toy phone to a dozen wide-eyed adolescents, "but I reckon it'll make some wicked noises when we get it open."
Daniel Glus, 7, pressed his finger against a transistor. "It sounds like a radio show on fast forward!" he exclaimed. Some made the same frogs sound like wailing police sirens, while others created a glitchy dance beat.
Daniel's father, Peter, a civil water engineer, set his sights on "the most annoying toy in the house," a bleeping clown-pushed wagon, which he'd brought with him. Daniel vetoed the idea before his father could pry it open.
Despite an eBay price run on Speak-n-Spells, considered the apex of bendable analog circuitry, Ghazala says, "today is the best (time) I've seen for circuit bending." There's a robust international scene, bolstered by thriving Internet communities. Goldstone, 30, who performed at the festival under the name George Lazenbleep, traveled from England to participate and documented the festival for an Australian radio station.
Around the space, installations demonstrated the idea's breadth. The robot monkeys, the brainchild of toy sculptor and lighting technician Dan Walker, 32, received the most enthusiastic response. Players yawped in delight as they pitted the remote control Frankensteins in soccer matches while Walker released miniature Godzillas and other distractions onto the playing field.
As companies like Apple and Sony continually restrict users' rights with digital rights management systems, circuit bending is a powerful reminder that consumers can do what they wish with consumer electronics ? even if it means breaking them.
While the instruments haven't yet had their "RockIt," the 1983 Herbie Hancock hit that propelled turntables to the mainstream, it might not be far away: Nine Inch Nails' leader Trent Reznor recently invited Ghazala backstage for a consultation.
For now, circuit bending remains non-commercial, but the seeds have been planted. Daniel promised to go home and have a go at his toys: "I never knew you could make so much noise!"
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How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger?s low PC-to-Phone call rates.
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From javilk at mall-net.com Fri Apr 28 22:02:37 2006
From: javilk at mall-net.com (javilk@mall-net.com)
Date: Fri Apr 28 22:02:46 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] 'Circuit Bending'
In-Reply-To: <20060429004246.65567.qmail@web36112.mail.mud.yahoo.com> from "j
s" at Apr 28, 2006 05:42:46 PM
Message-ID: <20060429050237.92646.qmail@mall-net.com>
> 'Circuit Bending' Lets Old Toys Play Tunes
By JESSE JARNOW, For The Associated PressThu Apr 27, 4:46 PM ET
> The robot monkeys prepared to do battle as two dozen cracked-open toy
> pianos bleated a symphony of mutated children's songs. Enterprising
> geeks prodded the toys' exposed innards with alligator clips, soldering
> irons, and potentiometers. > Bent 2006, a "circuit bending" festival,
> was underway. Clearly, there were no adults in charge.
Gee, i was doing things like this as a late teenager, modifying
transistor radios, etc. many of us did things like this; but we didn't
know of each other till we reached college. We were not world class
"crack just about anything open" players in this field; but many of us
had a little fun now and then poking around in the innards of things.
I think where you'll find more folks who did this is on the ham
radio circuit.
--javilk@mall-net.com----------------------------------
Life is to be LIVED regardless of what is out there.
Fear destroys life. Destroy your fear and live.
-------------------------------------------------------
Not to be construed as psychological advice. Void where
prohibited by law. Not available in all mental states.
-------------------------------------------------------
Another Javilk (tm) brand post.
Copyright (C) 2006, Javilk@mall-net.com
Copyright retained. All rights reserved.
From mbest at triad.rr.com Sat Apr 29 11:29:48 2006
From: mbest at triad.rr.com (Michael Best)
Date: Sat Apr 29 11:30:04 2006
Subject: [Mad-Scientists] The true cause of the Colombia failure?
Message-ID: <005401c66bba$e63d3d60$e4f31c18@mikey>
Clear-sky lightning hit the plasma trail left by Colombia during
reentry, and chased the ship down.
It likely entered the ship's hull where the ablative tiles were
damaged- that would be the lowest resistance point of entry. The
damage would be indistinguishable from heat-induced failure.
http://snipurl.com/ptsa (pix of the lightning hitting the plasma
trail)
http://www.holoscience.com/news.php?article=cc6y424y