17 May 2009 @ 07:05 am
Возможно, это слишком китчево и романтизированно прозвучит, но «после бала» с интенсивной атакой на мозг интернет-пространства

(например, - http://community.livejournal.com/sci_art/41359.html,
http://community.livejournal.com/psy_police/119317.html)

у нас возникли некоторые идеи о текущем существовании ноосферы :) и хьманосферы вообще :) Предлагаем вам наш спонтанный концепт на эту тему.

Провокационное и, как правило, так или иначе психоделическое искусство предлагает нам нечто подобное:

http://aintsaint.livejournal.com/59999.html?view=251231#t25123

Сейчас высказываются мнения о том, во что современное государство превращает человека:

http://community.livejournal.com/transtrance_art/191505.html

Итак, «психологический терроризм», направленный на расширение обыденного сознания человека, раба социума, штампа сознания или рекламы, разработал вполне традиционные инет-провокации, и изменений, как правило, в традициях нет.

Самые же продвинутые актуальные художники сегодня создали синтез мозговой атаки на «эго» отдельного заблудшего «поциента» - с провокативностью истинного художественного высказывания, что говорит о рождении в Сети особого вида интерактивного искусства, сочетающего в себе синтез психологических техник с устоявшимися мемами постмодернизма (имеется в виду небольшая часть контемпорари арта – революционная его часть, работающая непосредственно с сознанием как через как провокации, так и психоделику).

Read more... )


[info]heaven_spire & [info]freedom_anarchy
 
 


The first of a web series.

This is of course "set in the world of" the alternate present in All Tomorrow's Neuromancers, however the community organizing is not entirely unserious. If anyone would like to help out, or just talk about/show support, please check out the website, the forum, post ideas, etc.. Also, if anyone knows how to syndicate a blog to a website using feeds that allows people to comment on the site, that would be very helpful.

*Disclaimer: William Gibson does not use a typewriter, Germanic or otherwise, and does not claim to have dreamed, invented, or otherwise created cyberspace. That was Al Gore.


All Tomorrow's Neuromancer's site

My main site

Forum
 
 
 
17 July 2008 @ 09:18 pm
All Tomorrow's Neuromancers (Intro Sequence)



The intro bit for a possible future web series I'm working on.

project site

my site
 
 
03 May 2008 @ 08:32 pm
I'm a fan of Gibson's Bridge series, Burning Chrome, and Virtual Light but I thought Pattern Recognition dragged and was kind of boring. Would I enjoy Spook Country or is it just more of the same?
 
 
26 April 2008 @ 06:43 am
Just thought you'd get a kick out of an old cyberpunk classic:


 
 
Current Location: Hell's Kitchen - NYC
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: NYCbar2 - Deus Ex OTS
 
 
28 February 2008 @ 09:32 am
What do the three subjects listed above have in common? Today's article, of course.

From the article:
"The hydrogen economy is getting a shot in the arm from a start-up that says its nanoparticle coatings could make hydrogen easy to produce at home from distilled water, and ultimately bring the cost of hydrogen fuel cells in line with that of fossil fuels.

QuantumSphere Inc. says it has perfected the manufacture of highly reactive catalytic nanoparticle coatings that could up the efficiency of electrolysis, the technique that generates hydrogen from water. Moreover, the coatings could also eliminate the need for expensive metals like platinum in hydrogen fuel cells.

Boasting 1,000 times the surface area of traditional materials, the coatings can be used to retrofit existing electrolysers to increase their efficiency to 85 percent--exceeding the Department of Energy's goal for 2010 by 10 percent. The scheme holds the promise of 96 percent efficiency by the time cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells hit automobile showrooms, according to the Santa Ana, Calif., company."


It sounds like a panacea, doesn't it? Assuming that this technology works as promised, hydrogen will be as cheap, if not cheaper than gasoline. At the same time, we will be able to generate it ourselves, in our garages or while we're driving, safely. And when hydrogen burns, you get water vapor. Absolutely zero pollutants. Plus, water is a renewable resource, right?

Technically, yes. But this is where the water crisis comes into play. The world population is rapidly growing, and we need water for a lot: agriculture, hygiene, and drinking water, to say nothing of luxuries like green lawns, swimming pools, car washes, etc. And after we use that water, it has to be cleaned and purified before it can be put to use again. That's just what we need. What about the complex natural ecosystems that rely on freshwater? Taking freshwater from those systems beyond a certain point damages those ecosystems, and there's only so much damage they can take.

Here in the United States, many regions are under water restrictions. For example, my parents cannot water their lawn. Farmers are having trouble getting enough water to irrigate their fields. Water treatment plants are becoming stressed by rapid urbanization.

But our country's wealth (in both currency and natural resources) insulates us from the worst of it. The UN estimates that 1.1 billion people (yes, billion - with a 'b') don't have enough drinking water to sustain themselves. They further estimate that 2.6 billion people don't have enough clean water for basic hygiene. This dramatically increases the risk of catching otherwise preventable diseases, amongst other things.

Things are expected to get worse in the coming years, as the population continues to skyrocket. Water desalination is used in places, but the high costs of extracting salt from oceanwater relegates it to a last-resort tactic. Undoubtedly, it will become cheaper and more efficient as the technology matures, but in the meanwhile, wars are being fought over sources of freshwater.

Do you see where this is going? The world's freshwater supply is already being taxed to the limits. If we convert our energy use from oil to hydrogen fuel-cells, it is going to push things too far too fast. We will hit the breaking point.

Consider that the middle east produces most of the world's oil. OPEC controls the price of oil, and doing so has made them rich. This is good for them, because the region is almost entirely without water. They have to buy their water, either shipping it from elsewhere or from expensive desalinization plants. In the event of a complete switchover from oil to hydrogen fuel cells, the price of oil would crash. It wouldn't be worthless of course, we'd still need oil for plastics and complex polymers, but that's nothing compared to our fuel needs. That region of the world would see it's vast wealth rapidly dwindling, with no chance to recapture it. They would have nothing to lose, and they'd need a way to get water, just for subsistence. Religion would have nothing to do with the conflict.

Enter global warming. You see, less than 3% of the world's water supply is freshwater, and most of that (two-thirds!) is locked up in glaciers and the ice-caps. But those ice caps are melting. That precious freshwater is comingling with the saltwater of our oceans. We'll be able to recapture it as rain over dry land of course, increased temperatures means more evaporation and more rain, but it would save so much effort if we could capture this freshwater directly.

Really, what we need is for someone much smarter than me to analyze this issue. While I'm sure that my basic reasoning is sound, I have done minimal research (thanks Wikipedia), and devoted at most an hour of distracted thought to the issue. What troubles me is that I haven't seen anyone else connect the dots between our hydrogen research and the growing water troubles.
 
 
Current Mood: anxious
 
 
Содержание

Вступление

Актуальность диссертации . Проблематика темы на текущий момент : обзор работ и исследований. етодология диссертации . Цель и задача исследования. Инновации данного исследования. Положения , вынесенные на защиту. Научная значимость исследования . Апробация работы . Структура диссертации.

Гл. 1 Феномен киберкультуры

1.1 Генезис и развитие

Понятие «культуры» и «субкультуры». Формирование субкультуры в информационных технологиях : этапы, обзор, исследования и перспективы. Понятие «киберкультуры». Феномен киберкультуры. «Широкая» и «узкая » киберкультура. Краткая ретроспектива развития киберкультуры в контексте анализа развития информационных технологий . Виртуальная реальность : ассоциация и диссоциация «реального». Понятие информационного поля, информационных ресурсов и интерактивной связи в информационных технологиях . Социально-экономические предпосылки эволюции киберкультуры .

1.2 Личность в виртуальном пространстве

Понятие виртуального пространства . Философское расширение понятия « сеть» : виртуальное позиционирование и проблемы самоидентификации . Топология
«я» в интерактивной среде. Метафизика нелинейных трансакций « человек-машина» .

1.3 Коллективное сознание в Сети

Понятие «техногенного». Феномен техногенного сознания как психологический архетип.

Гл. 2 Семиотика виртуального пространства

2.1 Информационные накопители и архитектоника виртуальной памяти

Программная среда , аппаратные и сетевые накопители . Доступ , активация и виртуально-топологическая ассоциация.Структура виртуальной памяти .Хранение данных : методы и перспективы развития .

Read more... )
 
 
22 November 2007 @ 12:01 am
This was an interesting article in the New York Times, and if it's true and the path ahead is "clear" as he puts it, then this helps solve alot of ethical debates... It could however, raise a whole bunch of new ones with the whole "development is reversable" statement. either way, growing stem cells, from skin cells, allows for alot of medical study, and therefor future growth (hopefully) withing the religious, moral, and other complications. I'll gladly donate some epethelials for science.

Link here. 
 
 
01 November 2007 @ 11:54 am
I'm working on a wearable computing project, and I'm looking for others who might want to help, or follow along. I'm interested in using Linux on OTSH (off the shelf hardware aka. cheap) like an old laptop,etc. Interfacing (for now) with my cell phone, and headset using bluetooth.

Please give me your input!

Current work/design/brainstorming blog is at:
http://wearnow.blogspot.com
 
 
Current Mood: amused
 
 
24 September 2007 @ 11:37 am
Answer: They're the curious ones.

Recently declassified news: A Pentagon group encouraged snipers to scatter explosives and ammo, and shoot anyone who picked them up... I'm not joking. News of the program came forward when snipers were charged with using the program to make wrongful killings look legitimate. The military's response:
"'That was done by one of the soldiers at the scene basically out of stupidity. The guys were trying to ensure that there were no questions at all about this kill,' [attorney for one of the accused, Captain Craig] Drummond said. 'It was done to overly justify a kill that didn't need justification.'"

But remember guys, it's not murder. They're just following orders.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/23/AR2007092301431.html?hpid=topnews
 
 
02 August 2007 @ 02:12 pm
It's atleast a start.

Article Here
 
 
20 July 2007 @ 09:35 am
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."</i> (Emphasis mine; Ref: Wikipedia)

The above text is from the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution, designed to protect our rights from tyranny. Unfortunately, our current president doesn't think that those rights are worth the paper they're printed on. And he demonstrated that fact once again this week. I quote his "Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act." (Reference here. The actual act is available here, but obtuse.)

"Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. I issued this order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004. In these previous Executive Orders, I ordered various measures to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in that country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq.

My new order takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315 by blocking the property and interests in property of persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. The order further authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to designate for blocking those persons determined to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person designated pursuant to this order, or to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

I delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, the authority to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of my order. I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.

GEORGE W. BUSH

The White House,

July 17, 2007."


Ladies and gentlemen, according to our president, you are no longer innocent until proven guilty; at least not where the war/reconstruction effort/humanitarian aid/whatever else they're calling it in Iraq is concerned. By law, the government may determine your guilt and seize your property without your ever having heard the charges against you or stepping foot inside a court room. Sure, you may not do any jail time as a result of this executive order, but I suspect that would be a small comfort if you found yourself under its thumb.

The laws of the United States were specifically designed to afford full protection to the accused. Guilty men and women occasionally (or not so occasionally) walk free because of those laws, as a result of those protections. They were designed with the aim that the innocent would never go to prison.

Of course, this executive order can legally only be used against individuals working with or funding terrorists in Iraq. But once again, if the government misuses this provision, there is no judge or jury to protect the victims. Sure, you could sue the government after the fact, but it would be particularly difficult to get legal representation without any financial assets, and with the stigma of a terrorist sympathizer attached to you. And of course, when guerrilla marketing for a movie is deemed terrorism, that doesn't make me feel too safe. And if the government decides that speaking out against the war in Iraq on a public forum qualifies as aiding and abetting, then I'm screwed, along with half the country.

Primarily though, you should be concerned because this sets a precedent. This is the first step down the road to the most significant restriction of our legal protections yet.
 
 
19 July 2007 @ 09:28 am
I am standing waist-deep in the Pacific Ocean, both chilling and burning, indulging in the polite chit-chat beloved by vacationing Americans. A sweet elderly lady from Los Angeles is sitting on the rocks nearby, telling me dreamily about her son. "Is he your only child?" I ask. "Yes," she says. "Do you have a child back in England?" she asks. No, I say. Her face darkens. "You'd better start," she says. "The Muslims are breeding. Soon, they'll have the whole of Europe."

I am getting used to these moments – when gentle holiday geniality bleeds into... what? I lie on the beach with Hillary-Ann, a chatty, scatty 35-year-old Californian designer. As she explains the perils of Republican dating, my mind drifts, watching the gentle tide. When I hear her say, " Of course, we need to execute some of these people," I wake up. Who do we need to execute? She runs her fingers through the sand lazily. "A few of these prominent liberals who are trying to demoralise the country," she says. "Just take a couple of these anti-war people off to the gas chamber for treason to show, if you try to bring down America at a time of war, that's what you'll get." She squints at the sun and smiles. " Then things'll change."


Politics again. No commentary from me this time. I'm too stunned. But that's ok, because I don't think I could really add anything to this article anyway. Just go read it.