short notes:
will brady's ruminations
will brady's ruminations
2008-06-04
websurfing
Sites I've stumbled across recently
From We Make Money Not Art an essay by Juan Freire about The use [or lack of use] of public spaces. "The Commons" often referred to places shared by mutual ownership by everyone. Oft-times left unmanaged [and poorly taken care of] capitalists have been quick to advocate the privatization of publicly held lands, selling off to the highest bidder and taking them out of the public domain. Yet such can be the worst thing to happen...
Street art exhibitions at the Tate Modern as captured on Flickr. Taggers and other graffiti artists get their fifteen minutes of fame and use some eight storey wallscapes for canvas. Neat! [see the image to the left]
Wood Gas gets promoted at Green Trust and Woodgas.net, which links to a Yahoo discussion group that is nice enough to host the FEMA Wood Gas Manual. This is not high-technology. A person with some basic skills in mechanics, engine maintenance; with a knowledge of welding and puttering around could do this. The use of supplying fuel from wood may certainly help some, but not everyone will be able or interested... and I'm certain the 21st century Yuppies will object to the idea. The subject is fraught with misconceptions, and it just won't seem aesthetically pleasing to some. For the rest of us... have at it, I say.
Have troubles with friends and family? Imagine getting along with others while living on Mars. Forget about running down to the store for a litre of milk. Out in space, you are really on your own.
"Abnormal radiation occurances" involving nuclear waste materials in 2007. I can't recall how frequently I schedule accidents myself, but it's nice to know the Nuclear Regulatory Commission keeps track of those that, apparently, had not been planned. Courtesy of Cryptome [whose web owner periodically receives visits from the FBI, CIA and NSA unannounced] who found it published in the Federal Register.
Sites I've stumbled across recently From We Make Money Not Art an essay by Juan Freire about The use [or lack of use] of public spaces. "The Commons" often referred to places shared by mutual ownership by everyone. Oft-times left unmanaged [and poorly taken care of] capitalists have been quick to advocate the privatization of publicly held lands, selling off to the highest bidder and taking them out of the public domain. Yet such can be the worst thing to happen... Street art exhibitions at the Tate Modern as captured on Flickr. Taggers and other graffiti artists get their fifteen minutes of fame and use some eight storey wallscapes for canvas. Neat! [see the image to the left] Wood Gas gets promoted at Green Trust and Woodgas.net, which links to a Yahoo discussion group that is nice enough to host the FEMA Wood Gas Manual. This is not high-technology. A person with some basic skills in mechanics, engine maintenance; with a knowledge of welding and puttering around could do this. The use of supplying fuel from wood may certainly help some, but not everyone will be able or interested... and I'm certain the 21st century Yuppies will object to the idea. The subject is fraught with misconceptions, and it just won't seem aesthetically pleasing to some. For the rest of us... have at it, I say. Have troubles with friends and family? Imagine getting along with others while living on Mars. Forget about running down to the store for a litre of milk. Out in space, you are really on your own. "Abnormal radiation occurances" involving nuclear waste materials in 2007. I can't recall how frequently I schedule accidents myself, but it's nice to know the Nuclear Regulatory Commission keeps track of those that, apparently, had not been planned. Courtesy of Cryptome [whose web owner periodically receives visits from the FBI, CIA and NSA unannounced] who found it published in the Federal Register.Labels: alternative fuels, public ownership, public spaces, street art, web surfing, wood gas
¶ 23:22 0 comments
2008-05-12
web surfing for the apocalypse
I don't want to sound like a Jeremiah ["the broken-hearted prophet" whose heart-rending life, and true prophecies of dire warning went largely unheeded] but humans are on a psychic roller coaster ride right now that lends itself to think this way.
Nevertheless, there are those who believe that we can do something to stem the drive to self-destruction if we but pay heed to the warming warnings and actually make changes in how we conduct ourselves.
The changes we need to make include addressing global climate change, pulling ourselves [and our kids] away from the destructive re-patterning of our brain waves [be it tossing out the violent video games or weaning off of harmful neuroleptic drugs], even altering the ways we engage in the collective decision-making process.
That said, here's some links to go to, ponder what they present, then get off the Barcalounger and get to work!
350.org. Bill McKibben's site warning of the impact of CO2 gases on Mother Earth. "350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth." The current level of CO2 emission is a 385 parts per million and rising.
What is needed most right now are your actions that take the number 350 and drive it home: in art, in music, in political demonstrations [remember folks, voting is only one small part of participatory government], in any other way you can imagine.
American Hydrogen Association. If for no other reason, this site is worth the visit to check out the growing collection of motorized vehicles [such as the one on the left of this entry] that don't run on gasoline. True, they are not for the technologically challenged, but they offer a start.
"The mission of AHA is to facilitate achievements of prosperity without pollution and to close the information gap between researchers, industry and
the public, drawing on world-wide developments concerning hydrogen, solar, wind, hydro, ocean and biomass resource materials, energy conversion, wealth-addition economics, and the environment.
"The goal of AHA is to stimulate interest and help establish the renewable hydrogen energy economy by the year 2010 by... working in cooperation with organizations, environmental groups and industry, community, and schools to promote understanding of hydrogen technology, and help create a marketplace for pollution-free hydrogen energy."
Violent video games and unchecked use of neuroleptic drugs are major contributors to decreasing out ability to think clearly. You won't find out about this in the mainstream media, but it is true.
I hope society doesn't wait until all those who self identify as "crazy" come out, [since prejudice against
people labeled with mental illnesses is more extreme than homophobia] but It is, indeed, crazy people who know full well the deleterious effects of both these market-promoted phenomena.
You might think otherwise. After all, it seems obvious that glorification of violence through the use of a synapse-stimulating electrical device [video games] would result in altering the brain. Likewise, when introducing massive doses of chemicals into one's body that are intended to alter the chemistry and operation of the brain, would cause some problems. Even as far back as the 1970s it was recognized that forced drugging in the Soviet Union was employed as torture to political dissidents. How is forced drugging of ordinary citizens suspected of being disruptive any different? [rhetorical question here. I don't expect a response unless you want to]
One the other hand, one thing we have to consider altering is how we look at participation in government. It really isn't enought to say you are too busy after work, or that you need to bond with the children when you get home. People in elected leadership positions need to know that those who elect have interests in decision making outcomes that goes beyond the ballot box.
For that matter, the decision makers running the global fiefdoms that we call corporations need to hear your perspectives as well. This may be a little more difficult. After all, Boycotts are notoriously difficult to engineer,much less get started. And you have to buy your way into the boardroom by purchasing shares of stock. But all of us must, [as I said above] get out of the lounger and get our point of view heard!
Off the soapbox for the moment. Stay tuned.
I don't want to sound like a Jeremiah ["the broken-hearted prophet" whose heart-rending life, and true prophecies of dire warning went largely unheeded] but humans are on a psychic roller coaster ride right now that lends itself to think this way. Nevertheless, there are those who believe that we can do something to stem the drive to self-destruction if we but pay heed to the warming warnings and actually make changes in how we conduct ourselves.
The changes we need to make include addressing global climate change, pulling ourselves [and our kids] away from the destructive re-patterning of our brain waves [be it tossing out the violent video games or weaning off of harmful neuroleptic drugs], even altering the ways we engage in the collective decision-making process.
That said, here's some links to go to, ponder what they present, then get off the Barcalounger and get to work!
350.org. Bill McKibben's site warning of the impact of CO2 gases on Mother Earth. "350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth." The current level of CO2 emission is a 385 parts per million and rising. What is needed most right now are your actions that take the number 350 and drive it home: in art, in music, in political demonstrations [remember folks, voting is only one small part of participatory government], in any other way you can imagine.
American Hydrogen Association. If for no other reason, this site is worth the visit to check out the growing collection of motorized vehicles [such as the one on the left of this entry] that don't run on gasoline. True, they are not for the technologically challenged, but they offer a start."The mission of AHA is to facilitate achievements of prosperity without pollution and to close the information gap between researchers, industry and
the public, drawing on world-wide developments concerning hydrogen, solar, wind, hydro, ocean and biomass resource materials, energy conversion, wealth-addition economics, and the environment. "The goal of AHA is to stimulate interest and help establish the renewable hydrogen energy economy by the year 2010 by... working in cooperation with organizations, environmental groups and industry, community, and schools to promote understanding of hydrogen technology, and help create a marketplace for pollution-free hydrogen energy."
Violent video games and unchecked use of neuroleptic drugs are major contributors to decreasing out ability to think clearly. You won't find out about this in the mainstream media, but it is true. I hope society doesn't wait until all those who self identify as "crazy" come out, [since prejudice against
people labeled with mental illnesses is more extreme than homophobia] but It is, indeed, crazy people who know full well the deleterious effects of both these market-promoted phenomena. You might think otherwise. After all, it seems obvious that glorification of violence through the use of a synapse-stimulating electrical device [video games] would result in altering the brain. Likewise, when introducing massive doses of chemicals into one's body that are intended to alter the chemistry and operation of the brain, would cause some problems. Even as far back as the 1970s it was recognized that forced drugging in the Soviet Union was employed as torture to political dissidents. How is forced drugging of ordinary citizens suspected of being disruptive any different? [rhetorical question here. I don't expect a response unless you want to]
One the other hand, one thing we have to consider altering is how we look at participation in government. It really isn't enought to say you are too busy after work, or that you need to bond with the children when you get home. People in elected leadership positions need to know that those who elect have interests in decision making outcomes that goes beyond the ballot box. For that matter, the decision makers running the global fiefdoms that we call corporations need to hear your perspectives as well. This may be a little more difficult. After all, Boycotts are notoriously difficult to engineer,much less get started. And you have to buy your way into the boardroom by purchasing shares of stock. But all of us must, [as I said above] get out of the lounger and get our point of view heard!
Off the soapbox for the moment. Stay tuned.
Labels: alternative fuels, civil discourse, CO2 emissions, neuroleptics, social control, video games, violence, voting
¶ 08:36 0 comments
2008-01-01
alternative fuels
Why settle for bio-desiel when burning wood will do? I'm not cure I would ride a Hog that had a small wood furnace for a sissy bar, but who am I to argue? The picture was taken as part of a story in a Florida newspaper in 1981. Anybody know more about this guy's efforts and what came of them?
Why settle for bio-desiel when burning wood will do? I'm not cure I would ride a Hog that had a small wood furnace for a sissy bar, but who am I to argue? The picture was taken as part of a story in a Florida newspaper in 1981. Anybody know more about this guy's efforts and what came of them?
Labels: alternative fuels, motoring, wod stoves
¶ 15:29 2 comments
