March 2008
If there were four of me, one of me would be investigating this
SANTIAGO, Chile — When military forces loyal to Gen. Augusto Pinochet staged a coup here in September 1973, they made a surprising discovery. Salvador Allende’s Socialist government had quietly embarked on a novel experiment to manage Chile’s economy using a clunky mainframe computer and a network of telex machines.
Enlarge This Image
Joao Pina for The New York Times
A replica of a chair that was part of an experiment in the early 1970s to use a computer to help manage Chile’s economy.
The project, called Cybersyn, was the brainchild of A. Stafford Beer, a visionary Briton who employed his “cybernetic” concepts to help Mr. Allende find an alternative to the planned economies of Cuba and the Soviet Union. After the coup it became the subject of intense military scrutiny.In developing Cybersyn, Mr. Beer changed the lives of the bright young Chileans he worked with here. Some 35 years later, this little-known feature of Mr. Allende’s abortive Socialist transformation was remembered in an exhibit in a museum beneath La Moneda, the presidential palace.
…
He wanted to use the telex communications system — a network of teletypewriters — to gather data from factories on variables like daily output, energy use and labor “in real time,” and then use a computer to filter out the important pieces of economic information the government needed to make decisions.(after the coup)
The military never could grasp Cybersyn, and finally dismantled the operations room. Several other Cybersyn team members went into exile. Mr. Flores, who was both economy and finance minister in the Allende government, spent three years in military concentration camps. After his release, he moved with his family to California to study at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a Ph.D. in philosophy.
evolution-themed rap video
hackers plant flashing stuff on an epilepsy board
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2008/03/epilepsy
Said to be the first computer attack to cause physical harm. That can’t be right.
1100 acres of algae for biodiesel
http://gas2.org/2008/03/29/first-algae-biodiesel-plant-goes-online-april-1-2008/
Looks good, haven’t dug into the technology yet.
Elephant paints self portrait?!
Can that possibly be real? What are the implications in terms of self-awareness?
energy storage comparisons
“My favorite example in comparing energy storage options is on your desktop,” said John O’Donnell. “If you have a laptop computer and a thermos of coffee on your desk, the battery in your laptop and the thermos store about the same amount of energy. One of them costs about $150 and the other one costs maybe $3 to $5. On the wholesale level, storing electric power is at least 100 times more expensive than storing heat.”
http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/solar-thermal-electricity-catc-002978.php
I wasn’t aware this had been proved…
Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?
Adams HE, Wright LW Jr, Lohr BA.
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602-3013, USA.
The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals. Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men (n = 35) and a group of nonhomophobic men (n = 29); they were assigned to groups on the basis of their scores on the Index of Homophobia (W. W. Hudson & W. A. Ricketts, 1980). The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=8772014
Excellent sustainable development video
“Out of Poverty” by Paul Polak
In contrast
note the difference in tone. Put Mr. Polak in that context, and he’s going to start telling you how to fix at least some parts of this situation.
Hope and technology, hope is technology.
How to do satcom - not cheap, but damn satellite communications have improved
http://mackaymarine.com/ppf/catid/13/pid/616/product.asp
Inmarsat BGAN - the terminal is $2500 - and does reasonably fast data (256k bidirectional.) Transfer prices are around $10 per megabyte. It speaks bluetooth to phones and so on and USB / bluetooth / ethernet to computers.
BGAN Explorer 110
The Explorer 110 system is the smallest and lightest broadband satellite terminal. Half the size of a laptop and weighing less than 1 kg, the Explorer 110 meets the toughest demands for portability.
The terminal can be separated into two parts, so users can choose between indoor and outdoor use, with no need for an external antenna.
Combined with the Explorer ISDN handset for voice
telephony, it is ideal for single users, who need
to set up a complete broadband mobile office
in frequently changing locations.
- Remote access: high-speed access to your
corporate network, enabling access to company
and customer information.
- Max Data Rates: Uplink 240 kbps, Downlink 384 Kbps
- Streaming: select guaranteed quality of service
up to 64kbps on demand.
Package Includes:
01 EXPLORER 110 interface unit
01 Lithium ion battery
01 EXPLORER 110 antenna with built-in GPS receiver
01 LAN cable, 2m/7ft
01 AC/DC adapter with EN 50075 AC plug
Getting Started kit
The Explorer 110 unit also features:
- Built in Bluetooth Interface, Class 1 - ver 1,2 (30m)
- One ISDN connection for Voice Interface (RJ45) (Explorer ISDN Handset - not included)
- One Ethernet Interface (RJ45)
- Access to USB through ISDN/USB Splitter unit
Just watched Fitna
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7d9_1206624103 is the english version of the film.
Thoughts?
- It’s really a piece of demagoguery.
- I now understand this “islamofascism” word that people use - they draw a parallel between the jew hating Nazis and the jew hating Muslims. The problem, of course, is that Islam has a pretty damn good record on human rights for jews up until the formation of the State of Israel - at least as good, if not much better, than the Christian record on human rights for jews (hello Inquisition!) so its more a question of short timeline than accurate analysis.
- It could have hit a hell of a lot harder on geopolitical questions, but it was mainly designed to cause a storm in the Netherlands, not globally.
Worth 15 minutes to see what the fuss is about? Only if you’re particularly motivated.
http://www.guptaoption.com/3.future_islam.php is a link to my old piece on understanding Islam and the current situation, from an american military viewpoint (which is not my personal position, but was the group I was trying to speak to with this piece.)
Update: http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/5708071/Threats-push-antiQuran-film-Fitna-offline
It’s been taken offline due to death threats against the hosting firm. Who’d have thought that we’d need Freenet for dealing with terrorists?