Neurosphere

The Human-Human Interface

A Tangible Need for Better Awareness of The World Right Now


The World Right Now

In the wake of Katrina, I found these older items.

“Plans were announced today to expand the U.S. tsunami detection and warning capabilities as a contribution of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS—the international effort to develop a comprehensive, sustained and integrated Earth observation system. The plan commits a total of $37.5 million over the next two years.”

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2369.htm

The above announcement followed by a day UNESCO’s announcement of a global system that includes more than U.S. participation. Upon questioning, Bush Administration officials said GEOSS was “compatible” with UNESCO’s approach, but their concern seemed limited to American victims of the tsunami.

“UNESCO is working towards the establishment of a global tsunami warning system that would be operational by June 2007, said UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura. Speaking at a press conference at the Mauritius International Meeting on Small Island Developing States on Wednesday, Mr Matsuura said that assessment missions are already being undertaken to concerned countries as a step towards the creation of the first regional component of the global system, in the Indian Ocean, foreseen for June 2006.”

http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=24502&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Wherever I Go, There I Am


Personal Infrastructure

In The World Right Now, I try to track technology that allows us to sense what’s going on at a distance from us. This is sort of the inverse of that.

“Migo software is available for iPod® mobile digital devices or pre-loaded on USB flash drives in 64MB, 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB configurations.

Migo keeps your personal information and settings at your fingertips. Send and receive Outlook email from almost anywhere. Migo captures your desktop wallpaper and Internet favorites as well, so you will always have your personal look-and-feel wherever you go. Access your email, contacts, files, MP3 files, presentations and more — all on Migo.”

http://www.4migo.com/about/features.html

WiFi Writ Large


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“The Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network (CUWiN) has built a communications network using wireless networking equipment. This is essentially the same “WiFi” equipment used in homes and offices, but we put it on rooftops to connect neighbors and form a high-speed community network.”

http://www.cuwireless.net/

Neurogreens


Wholeness and Virtual Communities

Environmental activists have always been driven by visions of wholeness. A new flavor of activity called neurogreens seems to more consciously fuse vision with tactics.

Aware of living in the cataclysmatic 21st century, neurogreens want to bring to life an ecoactivist identity which is to be egalitarian

against social precarity and libertarian against digital monopoly, and is to feed upon the experiences and practices of the

Seattle-Genoa-Mumbai movement. Neurogreens look at and absorb latest developments in environmental science, neuroscience, social science, media technology, in order to be able to fight back resolutely and effectively against global war and environmental destruction, both for our sake and our children and grandchildren’s.

http://www.mail-archive.com/nettime-l@bbs.thing.net/msg02467.html


The World Right Now

Below I wrote, “Currently, RFID tags are stapled to the ears of cattle in big ranching operations for “inventory control”. You’re next.” Well, it’s that time.

Joseph Feldman, MD, Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Hackensack University Medical Center, said “We look forward to using the VeriChip System to assist in patient identification and access to medical information. Particularly beneficial to patients with chronic illnesses…”

http://www.adsx.com/content/pdf/pr/pr_17.pdf

The Ethics of Personal Infrastructure


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So, before I could say George Orwell, I found that the European Commission has built into their infrastructure sociological, political and ethical analysis of information technology, well before it gets to the stage of broad deployment.

The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), chaired by the Swedish philosopher, Göran Hermerén, adopted on 16 March 2005 Opinion N° 20 on the ethical aspects of information and communication technologies (ICT) implants in the human body and presented this to the Commission. The EGE is an independent, multidisciplinary and pluralist advisory group, which is composed of twelve members. Its role is to advise the European Commission on how ethical values should be taken into consideration in the regulation of scientific and technological developments.

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/05/97&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Grid Computing


Network Infrastructure for the Neurosphere

Grid computing continues to grow. The technology is proving out and

“World Community Grid’s mission is to create the largest public computing grid benefiting humanity.” Projects include the Human Proteome Project, mapping the proteins made from the genes mapped by the Human Genome Project. Partners donating computing resources include IBM and the Semiconductor Industry Association.

http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/

Grid.org is a single destination site for large-scale, non-profit research projects of global significance.

www.grid.org

“DIMES is a distributed scientific research project, aimed to study the structure and topology of the Internet, with the help of a volunteer community (similar in spirit to projects such as SETI@Home). The DIMES project is part of EVERGROW – a research consortium comprising more then 20 universities and research institutes from various countries. The DIMES headquarters are situated in Tel-Aviv University ‘s EE-Systems department.”

Neural Prosthetics Update


Personal Infrastructure

A selection of prosthetics sites. These prosthetics are controlled entirely by connection to the residual limb muscles of individuals who have undergone amputation. The prosthetic limbs use a combination of hydraulics, processors, and sensors to transmit information back up through the limb muscles to enable walking, running and other activities. (I love the applet on the Hanger site showing a man dancing, quite stylishly thank you, with a prosthetic leg. These individuals in turn are the most likely to explore the frontier of neural prosthetics when that technology is ready to, if you will, take the next step.

Liberating Technologies:

http://www.liberatingtech.com/products/LTI_Boston_Arm_Systems.asp

Hanger Orthopedic Group

http://www.hanger.com/

C-Leg microprocessor-controlled knee

http://www.ottobockus.com/products/lower_limb_prosthetics/c-leg.asp

For the human element, here’s the personal site of Cameron Clapp, a triple-amputee after being hit by a train. I challenge you not to be inspired.

http://cameronclapp.com/home.asp

Top Ten National Western Stock Show


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Teilhard and Technology


Network Infrastructure for the Neurosphere