Finally........ :-)
from : http://www.amiga.com/news/index.php?art=26
New Hardware Designs and New Hardware Coming from ACK Software Controls, Inc. and Amiga, Inc.
Two New Hardware Designs for the Amiga Operating System are on their way.
Issaquah, Wash and Fonthill, ON – April 22, – After months of designs and negotiations Amiga, Inc. and ACK Software Controls, Inc. are pleased to announce that new hardware is on its way for Amiga users.
“I have been working on these designs with Amiga for almost 12 months and have been able to create two new designs that will fully support the needs and desires of today’s Amiga user, while opening the doors for new users, said Adam Kowalczyk President of ACK Software Controls, Inc.
Initially, two systems will be produced that address two different market needs. The first is a consumer entry design that will offer a complete product with a target price point of $500.00, while the second will be of a power design that would have a target price point of $ 1,500.00. The PowerPC architecture will continue to be the architecture of choice for these new systems.
“ACK and Amiga have spent many months working on designs and working with various manufacturers to create great products with a competitive price point. We will be working with the Amiga retailers over the coming weeks to solidify launch and support plans”, said Bill McEwen of Amiga, Inc.
Manufacturing and final price information along with product launch schedules will be following in the next week.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Carlos Castaneda
Carlos Castaneda
Monday, 29. May 2006, 16:38:53
This man changed my life and tought me that every second is important and besides all....life is short and we don't have time to experience everything before we leave this Earth and travel to the vastness.
-2501
---------------
Carlos Castaneda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Carlos Castaneda, previously Castañeda, (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was an author of a controversial series of books that claimed to describe his training in traditional Native American shamanism (ancient sorcery of the Toltec people).
Castaneda claimed to have met a Yaqui shaman named Don Juan Matus in 1960. Castaneda's experiences with Don Juan allegedly inspired the works for which he is known. He claimed to have inherited from Don Juan the position of nagual, or leader of a party of seers. He also used the term "nagual" to signify that which is unknowable, neither known nor knowable; implying that, for his party of seers, Don Juan was a connection in some way to that unknowable. The term has been used by anthropologists to mean a shaman or sorcerer who is capable of shapeshifting, or changing to an animal form, and also to mean the form to which such a person might shift.
Castaneda's works contain descriptions of paranormal or magical experiences, several psychological techniques, Toltec magic rituals, shamanism and experiences with psychoactive drugs (e.g. peyote). Carlos Castaneda's works have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Biography
* 2 Brief description of books
* 3 Interpretation and criticism (the Castaneda controversy)
* 4 Significant characters in Castaneda's works
* 5 Related authors
* 6 Notable works
o 6.1 Books by other authors
* 7 See also
* 8 External links
[edit]
Biography
Castaneda claimed he was born in São Paulo, Brazil on Christmas Day in 1931. Immigration records show, however, that he was born six years earlier in Cajamarca, Peru. He anglicized his name by changing the "ñ" (in Castañeda) into "n". He moved to the United States in the early 1950s and became a naturalized citizen in 1957. He was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (B.A. 1962; Ph.D. 1970).
Castaneda wrote twelve books and several academic articles detailing his experiences with the Yaqui Indians indigenous to parts of Central Mexico. His first three books, The Teachings of Don Juan: a Yaqui way of knowledge, A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan were written while Castaneda was an anthropology student at UCLA. Castaneda wrote these books as if they were his research log describing his apprenticeship with a traditional shaman identified as Don Juan Matus. Castaneda was awarded his bachelor's and doctoral degrees for the work described in these books.
His work has been criticized by academics, and is seen as highly suspect in terms of strict anthropological fieldwork. Many have tried to corroborate Castaneda’s stories with his own personal history and that of his fellow apprentices. Contradictory evidence suggests Castaneda wrote in the traditional allegorical style of the storyteller (ethnopoetics) common to many native Indian cultures.
Perhaps the most highly contested aspects of his work are the descriptions of the use of psychotropic plants as a means to induce altered states of awareness. In Castaneda's first two books, he describes the Yaqui way of knowledge requiring the use of powerful indigenous plants, such as peyote and datura. In his third book, Journey to Ixtlan, he reverses his emphasis on 'power plants'. He states that Don Juan used them on Castaneda to demonstrate that experiences outside those known in day-to-day life are real and tangible.
Castaneda later disavowed all use of drugs for these purposes, stating they could inalterably damage the luminous ball (energy body) or physical body.
Castaneda was a popular enough phenomenon for Time magazine to do a cover article on Castaneda on March 5, 1973 (Vol. 101 No. 10) that was five or six pages long.
His fourth book, Tales of Power, ended with Castaneda leaping off a cliff marking his graduation from disciple to man of knowledge (actually a leap from the tonal into the unknown). Some writers thought this must necessarily mark the end of his series. They were very surprised to see he continued to produce more books. Despite an increasingly critical reception Castaneda continued to be very popular with the reading public. Twelve books by Castaneda have been published, and three videos released.
In 1997 Castaneda launched a lawsuit against his ex-wife, Margaret Runyan Castaneda, over her book, A Magical Journey with Carlos Castaneda; but this was dropped when Castaneda died.
Castaneda purportedly died on April 27, 1998 from liver cancer in Los Angeles. Little is known about his death. There was no public service, Castaneda was apparently cremated and the ashes were sent to Mexico.
The mystery surrounding the facts of Casteneda's life and death can be seen through the lens of the Toltec teachings as an impeccable effort on his part to erase his personal history.
The nine popular works (as opposed to the academic or scholarly works) of Carlos Castaneda are organized into three sets of three, where each set corresponds to a Toltec mastery: the mastery of awareness, the mastery of transformation, and the mastery of intent. For each mastery there is also a compendium that describes essential teachings from the overall body of work. The three compendiums were published posthumously.
Thus, each mastery is described in four works: three works presented in story form and one work compiled as a cross-set reference:
The Mastery of Awareness
* The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968)
* A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan (1971)
* Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan (1972)
* Compendium - Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico (1998)
The Mastery of Transformation
* Tales of Power (1975)
* The Second Ring of Power (1977)
* The Eagle's Gift (1981)
* Compendium - The Active Side of Infinity (1999)
The Mastery of Intent
* The Fire from Within (1984)
* The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of Don Juan (1987)
* The Art of Dreaming (1993)
* Compendium - The Wheel Of Time : The Shamans Of Mexico (2000)
The following list generally defines each mastery:
1. Mastery of Awareness – The Mastery of Awareness entails the re-emphasis of awareness from the world of the tonal (every day objects) to the world of the nagual (spirit). During this stage of development the warrior-traveler endeavors to minimize self importance and gather energy. First and foremost, the student is encouraged to take action and assume responsibility for his or her life.
2. Mastery of Transformation – During The Mastery of Transformation the warrior-traveler endeavors to cleanse and retrieve energy and to hone his only link to spirit, the intuition. The warrior-traveler becomes impeccable by empirically testing this connection and eventually banishing all doubts, accepting his or her fate, and committing to follow a path with heart.
3. Mastery of Intent – Once the warrior-traveler has accumulated enough surplus energy, enough personal power, the dormant second attention is activated. Dreaming becomes possible. The warrior-traveler maintains impeccability, walks the path with heart, and waits for an opening to freedom.
Castaneda's books can be read as a philosophical/pragmatical text that express a world view by which a person can live one's life. There is a movement world-wide of practitioners of this philosophy, applying Castaneda's published ideas either independently or through consultation with Castaneda's associates.
According to Castaneda, the most significant facts in a person's life are his possession of a dormant awareness and the possibility that one may keep this awareness after death. The primary goal of a Toltec "Warrior" is the continuation of his awareness after bodily death: to "dart past the Eagle and be free", in the words of the tradition, where the Eagle is the force which consumes the awareness of all living beings.
To cheat death in this way requires all of the discipline and procedures that constitute the Warrior's way of life. These practices are devised to maximise the Warrior's personal power, or experience. The condition maintaining personal power is known as "impeccability".
Sufficient personal power leads to the mastery of intent, chiefly the controlled movement of what is known as the "assemblage point". This is an artifact of the tradition's description of another world underlying what we perceive as ordinary reality. In this description men are glowing cocoons of awareness inhabiting a universe consisting of the Eagle's "emanations", described euphemistically as all-pervading filaments of light.
Humans' cocoons are intersected throughout by these filaments, producing perception, but they filter our perceptions by concentrating on only a small bundle. The assemblage point is the focusing lens which selects from the emanations. In its accustomed position, the assemblage point produces what humans perceive as everyday, 'normal' reality. Movement of the assemblage point permits perception of the world in different ways; small movements lead to small changes in perception and large movements to radical changes. For example, dreaming is presented as the result of a movement of the assemblage point; "power plants" such as Peyote, used in the early stages of Castaneda's apprenticeship, produce powerfully altered states of mind through such movement.
The simplest form of movement of the assemblage point is through dreaming. Many practitioners world-wide were able to 'stalk' or hold their assemblage points fixed at a position other than the customery via lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming techniques which are likened to gates are comprehensively discussed in the "Art of Dreaming."
[edit]
Brief description of books
1. The Teachings of Don Juan, A Yaqui Way of Knowledge - description of plant allies and way towards knowledge: mescalito (peyote cactus) - the protector of man, seeing beings as liquid colors; mushrooms- learning to handle, fly, and perceive as animal form; datura (weed)- female spirit, hard to handle, gives strength, lengthy procedure. This book was unique of the series in that the last part included a detailed scholarly "Structural Analysis" of the teachings.
2. A Separate Reality - Discusses the ideas of will, controlled folly, and seeing (as opposed to looking) as tools a warrior uses to be a man/person of knowledge.
3. Journey to Ixtlan - lessons about the warriors way, or stalking the world, routines, personal history, self-importance, death as an advisor, not-doing, dreaming
4. Tales of Power - description of points of perception in body or luminous cocoon, tonal or toñal (1st attention, known, right side awareness, [possibly the left-brain]) and nagual (2nd attention, unknown, left side awareness, right-brain), dreaming double
5. The Second Ring of Power - describes events after Don Juan's departure, experiences with the women warriors of the original nagual's party, 2nd attention (second ring of power), losing "human 'form'", human mold, dreaming, gazing
6. The Eagle's Gift - description of the force that creates, destroys, and rules the universe (or at least the 48 bands of earth), also source of emanations themselves, description of the eagle's command to man, the rule of the nagual, various levels of petty tyrants, and way towards freedom, self-stalking and dreaming, power spots. Note that Don Juan described the energy-structure/entity called eagle a thing that is not what we call an eagle, but rather a thing so vast as to be incomprehensible.
7. The Fire From Within - step by step (actually chapter by chapter) elucidation of the mastery of awareness or the new seers' knowledge: everything is energy (the Eagle's emanations or luminous emanations), the luminous cocoon and assemblage point (glow of awareness), the known (1st attention or tonal), unknown (2nd attention or nagual), unknowable (outside luminous cocoon), petty tyrants as a way to move assemblage point and foster warrior's way, twin worlds of organic and inorganic ( more correctly matter-beings and non-matter-bound beings -- carbon-based/not carbon based wasn't what was meant), shifting the assemblage point and other bands of awareness, bundles of emanations that are the basis for the different species source of awareness and forms/molds, the human mold, the rolling force or tumbler (that hits luminous cocoon), the death defier, self-stalking, intent, and dreaming.
8. The Power of Silence - stories about essentially the mastery of intent, set into what were called sorcery cores.
9. The Art of Dreaming - steps to mastering control and consciousness of dreams.
10. Magical Passes - descriptions with photos of sorcery-based physical movements intended to increase well-being, a system which became known as Tensegrity
11. The Active Side of Infinity - recapitulation, making a log of significant life events (as seen by the spirit)
12. The Wheel of Time - recollection of the mood in which each previous book was written; significant quotes from each previous book
[edit]
Interpretation and criticism (the Castaneda controversy)
Many critics doubt the existence of Don Juan, citing inconsistencies in Don Juan's personality across the books and in the sequence of events in the books. Many Castaneda supporters claim in turn that the very fact of handling awareness and perception accounts for this; and that the actual existence of Don Juan is irrelevant, since the important matter is the theme that Don Juan presents.
What is easily understood is the fact that the writing style changes greatly from the first to the last of the "Don Juan" books. The Teachings of Don Juan is an anthropologist's journal containing a lot of seemingly irrelevant, non-fiction information. The quasi-journalistic or academic tone of the earliest books disappears definitively in Castaneda's fifth book, The Second Ring of Power. This book marks a significant change in the character of the series. In addition to introducing a large cast of new characters, the later Castaneda books present Don Juan's shamanism in far greater complexity than in the earlier books. The Eagle's Gift (sixth book) is a novel-like work with specific characters on a journey towards what they call "Total Freedom", and where the words of Don Juan seem more like those of a scientist. This could be the result of changes in the mind of Carlos Castaneda.
As Castaneda was very elusive, and because his works were taken up by young people at a time when New Age, Eastern religions, mystical and shamanic traditions were in fashion, many professionals cast doubt on the authenticity of contents of his works. (Including leading anthropologists specializing in Yaqui culture.) When he followed up The Teachings of Don Juan with a series of equally popular books, including A Separate Reality (1971), Journey to Ixtlan (1972), and Tales of Power (1975), even more questions were raised as to how much of his work was true anthropology and how much was his own creation.
Another way to read the books is as a sort of game, almost like a detective novel. Depending upon one's approach, they could be either accepted at face-value in their entirety, or discarded. Some of the material could be considered true, some fictional; and some of the events described probably appeared to be real at the time, but could be interpreted as hallucinations. The vividness and plausibility of Castaneda's early works argue for their essential truth. Accounts of Castaneda'a early life[1] and the memoir "A magical journey with Carlos Castaneda" [2], by his former wife Margaret Runyan Castaneda, exhibit many conflicts with what Castaneda said about himself, and point the other way.
( see also New Age, Shamanism, Plastic shaman)
[edit]
Significant characters in Castaneda's works
This is a list of characters, claimed to be real persons, mentioned in Castaneda's works. Castaneda makes it clear that these are not the persons' real names (ostensibly to protect their identity). In denoting their function within each generation of practitioners, terms are used which can only be understood by reading Castaneda's writings:
Generation of practitioners peer to Castaneda (Compact group for "three-pronged Nagual")
* Florinda Donner-Grau -- "Northerly" "dreamer" in Castaneda's generation of practitioners
* Taisha Abelar -- "Westerly" "self-stalker" in Castaneda's generation of practitioners
* Carol Tiggs -- "nagual woman" in Castaneda's generation of practitioners
Generation of practitioners peer to Castaneda (Original group for "four-pronged Nagual")
* Pablito -- the "man of action" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Nestor -- the "scholarly man" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Benigno -- the "master of intent" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Eligio -- a "courier" who ultimately joined previous generation due to Carlos' lack of ability to follow his explorations of awareness, apparently a manifestation of Carlos not being a four-pronged nagual
* La Gorda -- "Northerly" "dreamer" who was originally thought to be the "Southerly" "dreamer", this was apparently a manifestation of Carlos not being a four-pronged nagual
* Rosa -- "Northerly" "dreamer" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Lidia -- "Easterly" "dreamer" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Josephina -- "Westerly" "dreamer" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Doña Soledad -- "Northerly" "self-stalker" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
Generation of practitioners preceding Castaneda
* Don Juan Matus -- leader or nagual man to a generation of practitioners, teacher to Castaneda
* Genaro Flores -- the "man of action" and "master of awareness" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners, benefactor to Castaneda
* Vicente Medrano -- "scholarly man" and herbalist in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Silvio Manuel -- "master of intent" and purported to be permanently in a state of "heightened awareness" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Juan Tuma -- "scout" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Florinda Grau -- "Northerly" "dreamer" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Nelida Abelar -- "Northerly" "self-stalker" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Marta -- "Southerly" "dreamer"? in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Zoila Abelar -- "Westerly" "self-stalker" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Zuleica Grau -- "Westerly" "dreamer" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Delia Abelar -- "Easterly" "self-stalker" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Celia Grau -- "Easterly" "dreamer" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
Generation of practitioners preceding Juan Matus
* Julián Osorio -- leader or nagual man to a generation of practitioners, teacher to Juan Matus
* "La Catalina" -- woman sorceress who still remained in the world at the time of Carlos' training, part of Julián's generation of practitioners
Generation of practitioners preceding Julián Osorio
* Elias Ulloa -- leader or nagual man to a generation of practitioners, teacher to Julián Osorio, and to Juan Matus as well.
Significant event in the lineage
* The nagual Sebastian's encounter in the 1700s with an ancient seer, the "death defier", also referred to as the "tenant". That encounter dramatically altered their lineage and was what separates the "new" seers from the "old" seers. Castaneda stated that the death defier met with every nagual since Sebastian, including with Carlos. The death defier also met and possessed Carol Tiggs. Capable of taking male or female form, existing or not existing corporeally in this world.
[edit]
Related authors
Two other authors, Taisha Abelar and Florinda Donner-Grau, have also written books in which they claim to be from Don Juan Matus' party of Toltec warriors. Both Abelar and Donner-Grau were endorsed by Castaneda as being legitimate students of Don Juan Matus, whereas he has dismissed many other pretenders. Another author of note is Victor Sanchez; Sanchez claims to have had similar teachings, and met Castaneda, but emphasizes in his books that Castaneda does not endorse his work. Martin Goodman claimed to have met a "reconsituted" Carlos after the death of Carlos in his book "I Was Carlos Castaneda".
[edit]
Notable works
* The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968) ISBN 0-520217578
* A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan (1971) ISBN 0-671732498
* Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan (1972) ISBN 0-671732463
* Sorcery: A Description of the World (1973)
* Tales of Power (1975) ISBN 0-671732528
* The Second Ring of Power (1977) ISBN 0-671732471
* The Eagle's Gift (1981) ISBN 0-67173251X
* The Fire from Within (1984) ISBN 0-671732501
* The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of Don Juan (1987) ISBN 0-67173248X
* The Art of Dreaming (1993) ISBN 0-06092554X
* Readers of Infinity: A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics (1996) Number 1/2/3/4
* Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico (1998) ISBN 0-060928824
* The Active Side of Infinity (1999) ISBN 0-06092960X
* The Wheel Of Time : The Shamans Of Mexico (2000) ISBN 0140196048
[edit]
Books by other authors
* Shabono: A Visit to a Remote and Magical World in the South American Rain Forest by Florinda Donner[-Grau] (1992) ISBN 0062502425 This book was originally published before Witch's Dream which was published in 1985.
* Being-In-Dreaming: An Initiation into the Sorcerers' World by Florinda Donner-Grau (1992) ISBN 0062501925
* The Sorcerer's Crossing by Taisha Abelar first published in 1992 in hard back (1993) ISBN 0140193669
* The Teachings of Don Carlos by Victor Sanchez ISBN 1-879181-23-1
* The Witch's Dream by Florinda Donner-Grau first published in 1985 ISBN 0671551981 current re-print(1997) ISBN 0140195319
* The Don Juan Papers: Further Castaneda Controversies by Richard de Mille (1973)
* Carlos Castaneda: Academic Opportunism and the Psychedelic Sixties by Jay Courtney Fikes (1993)
* The Soul of Shamanism: Western Fantasies, Imaginal Realities (New York: Continuum, 1997) by Daniel C. Noel
* Robert J. Wallis, Shamans/neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, Alternative Archaeologies and Contemporary Pagans. London: Routledge, 2003. ISBN 041530203X
* The Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda by Amy Wallace (2003)
* The Art of Stalking Parallel Perception - The Living Tapestry of Lujan Matus by Lujan Matus (2005) ISBN 1412049849
* The Four Yogas Of Enlightenment: Guide To Don Juan's Nagualism & Esoteric Buddhism by Edward Plotkin (2002) ISBN 0972087907
* Encounters with the Nagual: Conversations with Carlos Castaneda by Armando Torres (2002) Spanish (2004) English ISBN 9685671044
* Clear Light of Bliss by geshe Kelsang Gyatso ( geshe roughly translates as doctorate of spiritual-studies ) (1992) ISBN 0948006218. . describes the same irreducible energy-structure that Carlos Castaneda describes ( several close-to-each-other concentric-balls of energy-spokes, with a very few spokes going inward ), but from the inside-out ( a central-channel, with energy-spokes curving out, and after reaching a distance, splitting each into a "thousand" spokes -- eastern euphemism for many ). Carlos gives some of the description of the irreducible human energy-structure in The Fire from Within, and the point about some spokes/fibres going inward ( and possibly the bit about it being multiple concentric spheres, rather-than merely a single-sphere ) is in Second Ring of Power when "la Gorda" gives that information to him.
* "Awakened Imagination" by Neville Goddard heavily influenced the work of Castaneda.
* Alice Kehoe, Shamans and Religion: An Anthropoligical Exploration in Critical Thinking. 2000. London: Waveland Press. ISBN 1577661621
[edit]
See also
* Assemblage point
In Journey to Ixtlan, Don Genaro warns us “Intent is not intention”. Intent is Psychic Energy and it's nature is luminous and magical. Our energy body, as is the whole metaphysical reality, is made of Intent. Through techniques such as stalking the self (recapitulation, erasing personal history and developing the warrior’s mood), dreaming (setting up dreaming, dreaming and ascension) and handling intent (changing awareness, stopping the world, collapsing the world), the Warrior of the Spirit aims at regaining his/her luminosity and ultimately control Intent. The Universe, according to Toltec Seers, resembles an infinite amount of conglomerations of luminous, self-aware and magical filaments, called the Eagle’s emanations. These emanations form a cocoon around each living being, with a point of intense brilliance, called the Assemblage Point, which aligns the filaments outside the cocoon with those inside.
Just as Man is considered the Microcosm of the Macrocosm (Universe), so too the assemblage point is a microcosm of the Macrocosm called Man. In one of his books (quote needed), Don Juan describes to Castaneda how our state can be compared to being a huge man in the room (luminous cocoon) and at the same time a tiny person at the window (assemblage point), observing the subject in the room. It is hard to comprehend this view without having had personal experiences with the movements and shifts of the assemblage point, through dreaming. Ultimately, Castaneda argues, everything we perceive, feel and how we act is determined by the position of the assemblage point.
According to Theun Mares, the assemblage point can be viewed as a kind of radio dialing device that determines our reality. The assemblage point can be viewed as a focal point, where luminous fibers meet and produce reality. It could be that the Shamans observed the procreation of mushrooms in their Theory of Consciousness. From Biology, we know that when two mycelia fibers meet, a mushroom comes into existence. Thus also, when two of the Eagle’s Emanations meet, a new perception emerges. Thus everything that we consider real is but a product of alignment of the Eagle’s Emanations.
When we are babies, our luminous cocoon is not yet rigid and the assemblage point flows fluidly throughout the luminous cocoon. As we grow up and our social conditioning sets in, we fix the assemblage point at a certain position and move or shift it only in dreams, after a trauma, due to drug ab/use, love, through inner silence, or as is preferred, through Intent. Gradually, the avarage being looses its luminosity and become empty shells, without purpose, integrity or power, as it becomes more and more grounded in every-day reality. It is the goal of Toltec Sorcerers to achieve fluidity of awareness, through the harmonious movement of the assemblage point.
The Goal of the Warrior is to achieve the totality of the self, that is, to light up all the Eagle’s Emanations within the Cocoon at once and aligning them with the greater whole and thus liberate the luminosity, through the controlled manipulation of the position of the assemblage point. The art of displacing the assemblage point is termed "dreaming" and the art of positioning the assemblage point on the displaced position is called "stalking", to be understood as "becoming stalk-like and oblong, stretching into infinity. Everything, absolutely everything, is the product of a being's position of the assemblage point.
Monday, 29. May 2006, 16:38:53
This man changed my life and tought me that every second is important and besides all....life is short and we don't have time to experience everything before we leave this Earth and travel to the vastness.
-2501
---------------
Carlos Castaneda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Carlos Castaneda, previously Castañeda, (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was an author of a controversial series of books that claimed to describe his training in traditional Native American shamanism (ancient sorcery of the Toltec people).
Castaneda claimed to have met a Yaqui shaman named Don Juan Matus in 1960. Castaneda's experiences with Don Juan allegedly inspired the works for which he is known. He claimed to have inherited from Don Juan the position of nagual, or leader of a party of seers. He also used the term "nagual" to signify that which is unknowable, neither known nor knowable; implying that, for his party of seers, Don Juan was a connection in some way to that unknowable. The term has been used by anthropologists to mean a shaman or sorcerer who is capable of shapeshifting, or changing to an animal form, and also to mean the form to which such a person might shift.
Castaneda's works contain descriptions of paranormal or magical experiences, several psychological techniques, Toltec magic rituals, shamanism and experiences with psychoactive drugs (e.g. peyote). Carlos Castaneda's works have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Biography
* 2 Brief description of books
* 3 Interpretation and criticism (the Castaneda controversy)
* 4 Significant characters in Castaneda's works
* 5 Related authors
* 6 Notable works
o 6.1 Books by other authors
* 7 See also
* 8 External links
[edit]
Biography
Castaneda claimed he was born in São Paulo, Brazil on Christmas Day in 1931. Immigration records show, however, that he was born six years earlier in Cajamarca, Peru. He anglicized his name by changing the "ñ" (in Castañeda) into "n". He moved to the United States in the early 1950s and became a naturalized citizen in 1957. He was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (B.A. 1962; Ph.D. 1970).
Castaneda wrote twelve books and several academic articles detailing his experiences with the Yaqui Indians indigenous to parts of Central Mexico. His first three books, The Teachings of Don Juan: a Yaqui way of knowledge, A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan were written while Castaneda was an anthropology student at UCLA. Castaneda wrote these books as if they were his research log describing his apprenticeship with a traditional shaman identified as Don Juan Matus. Castaneda was awarded his bachelor's and doctoral degrees for the work described in these books.
His work has been criticized by academics, and is seen as highly suspect in terms of strict anthropological fieldwork. Many have tried to corroborate Castaneda’s stories with his own personal history and that of his fellow apprentices. Contradictory evidence suggests Castaneda wrote in the traditional allegorical style of the storyteller (ethnopoetics) common to many native Indian cultures.
Perhaps the most highly contested aspects of his work are the descriptions of the use of psychotropic plants as a means to induce altered states of awareness. In Castaneda's first two books, he describes the Yaqui way of knowledge requiring the use of powerful indigenous plants, such as peyote and datura. In his third book, Journey to Ixtlan, he reverses his emphasis on 'power plants'. He states that Don Juan used them on Castaneda to demonstrate that experiences outside those known in day-to-day life are real and tangible.
Castaneda later disavowed all use of drugs for these purposes, stating they could inalterably damage the luminous ball (energy body) or physical body.
Castaneda was a popular enough phenomenon for Time magazine to do a cover article on Castaneda on March 5, 1973 (Vol. 101 No. 10) that was five or six pages long.
His fourth book, Tales of Power, ended with Castaneda leaping off a cliff marking his graduation from disciple to man of knowledge (actually a leap from the tonal into the unknown). Some writers thought this must necessarily mark the end of his series. They were very surprised to see he continued to produce more books. Despite an increasingly critical reception Castaneda continued to be very popular with the reading public. Twelve books by Castaneda have been published, and three videos released.
In 1997 Castaneda launched a lawsuit against his ex-wife, Margaret Runyan Castaneda, over her book, A Magical Journey with Carlos Castaneda; but this was dropped when Castaneda died.
Castaneda purportedly died on April 27, 1998 from liver cancer in Los Angeles. Little is known about his death. There was no public service, Castaneda was apparently cremated and the ashes were sent to Mexico.
The mystery surrounding the facts of Casteneda's life and death can be seen through the lens of the Toltec teachings as an impeccable effort on his part to erase his personal history.
The nine popular works (as opposed to the academic or scholarly works) of Carlos Castaneda are organized into three sets of three, where each set corresponds to a Toltec mastery: the mastery of awareness, the mastery of transformation, and the mastery of intent. For each mastery there is also a compendium that describes essential teachings from the overall body of work. The three compendiums were published posthumously.
Thus, each mastery is described in four works: three works presented in story form and one work compiled as a cross-set reference:
The Mastery of Awareness
* The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968)
* A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan (1971)
* Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan (1972)
* Compendium - Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico (1998)
The Mastery of Transformation
* Tales of Power (1975)
* The Second Ring of Power (1977)
* The Eagle's Gift (1981)
* Compendium - The Active Side of Infinity (1999)
The Mastery of Intent
* The Fire from Within (1984)
* The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of Don Juan (1987)
* The Art of Dreaming (1993)
* Compendium - The Wheel Of Time : The Shamans Of Mexico (2000)
The following list generally defines each mastery:
1. Mastery of Awareness – The Mastery of Awareness entails the re-emphasis of awareness from the world of the tonal (every day objects) to the world of the nagual (spirit). During this stage of development the warrior-traveler endeavors to minimize self importance and gather energy. First and foremost, the student is encouraged to take action and assume responsibility for his or her life.
2. Mastery of Transformation – During The Mastery of Transformation the warrior-traveler endeavors to cleanse and retrieve energy and to hone his only link to spirit, the intuition. The warrior-traveler becomes impeccable by empirically testing this connection and eventually banishing all doubts, accepting his or her fate, and committing to follow a path with heart.
3. Mastery of Intent – Once the warrior-traveler has accumulated enough surplus energy, enough personal power, the dormant second attention is activated. Dreaming becomes possible. The warrior-traveler maintains impeccability, walks the path with heart, and waits for an opening to freedom.
Castaneda's books can be read as a philosophical/pragmatical text that express a world view by which a person can live one's life. There is a movement world-wide of practitioners of this philosophy, applying Castaneda's published ideas either independently or through consultation with Castaneda's associates.
According to Castaneda, the most significant facts in a person's life are his possession of a dormant awareness and the possibility that one may keep this awareness after death. The primary goal of a Toltec "Warrior" is the continuation of his awareness after bodily death: to "dart past the Eagle and be free", in the words of the tradition, where the Eagle is the force which consumes the awareness of all living beings.
To cheat death in this way requires all of the discipline and procedures that constitute the Warrior's way of life. These practices are devised to maximise the Warrior's personal power, or experience. The condition maintaining personal power is known as "impeccability".
Sufficient personal power leads to the mastery of intent, chiefly the controlled movement of what is known as the "assemblage point". This is an artifact of the tradition's description of another world underlying what we perceive as ordinary reality. In this description men are glowing cocoons of awareness inhabiting a universe consisting of the Eagle's "emanations", described euphemistically as all-pervading filaments of light.
Humans' cocoons are intersected throughout by these filaments, producing perception, but they filter our perceptions by concentrating on only a small bundle. The assemblage point is the focusing lens which selects from the emanations. In its accustomed position, the assemblage point produces what humans perceive as everyday, 'normal' reality. Movement of the assemblage point permits perception of the world in different ways; small movements lead to small changes in perception and large movements to radical changes. For example, dreaming is presented as the result of a movement of the assemblage point; "power plants" such as Peyote, used in the early stages of Castaneda's apprenticeship, produce powerfully altered states of mind through such movement.
The simplest form of movement of the assemblage point is through dreaming. Many practitioners world-wide were able to 'stalk' or hold their assemblage points fixed at a position other than the customery via lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming techniques which are likened to gates are comprehensively discussed in the "Art of Dreaming."
[edit]
Brief description of books
1. The Teachings of Don Juan, A Yaqui Way of Knowledge - description of plant allies and way towards knowledge: mescalito (peyote cactus) - the protector of man, seeing beings as liquid colors; mushrooms- learning to handle, fly, and perceive as animal form; datura (weed)- female spirit, hard to handle, gives strength, lengthy procedure. This book was unique of the series in that the last part included a detailed scholarly "Structural Analysis" of the teachings.
2. A Separate Reality - Discusses the ideas of will, controlled folly, and seeing (as opposed to looking) as tools a warrior uses to be a man/person of knowledge.
3. Journey to Ixtlan - lessons about the warriors way, or stalking the world, routines, personal history, self-importance, death as an advisor, not-doing, dreaming
4. Tales of Power - description of points of perception in body or luminous cocoon, tonal or toñal (1st attention, known, right side awareness, [possibly the left-brain]) and nagual (2nd attention, unknown, left side awareness, right-brain), dreaming double
5. The Second Ring of Power - describes events after Don Juan's departure, experiences with the women warriors of the original nagual's party, 2nd attention (second ring of power), losing "human 'form'", human mold, dreaming, gazing
6. The Eagle's Gift - description of the force that creates, destroys, and rules the universe (or at least the 48 bands of earth), also source of emanations themselves, description of the eagle's command to man, the rule of the nagual, various levels of petty tyrants, and way towards freedom, self-stalking and dreaming, power spots. Note that Don Juan described the energy-structure/entity called eagle a thing that is not what we call an eagle, but rather a thing so vast as to be incomprehensible.
7. The Fire From Within - step by step (actually chapter by chapter) elucidation of the mastery of awareness or the new seers' knowledge: everything is energy (the Eagle's emanations or luminous emanations), the luminous cocoon and assemblage point (glow of awareness), the known (1st attention or tonal), unknown (2nd attention or nagual), unknowable (outside luminous cocoon), petty tyrants as a way to move assemblage point and foster warrior's way, twin worlds of organic and inorganic ( more correctly matter-beings and non-matter-bound beings -- carbon-based/not carbon based wasn't what was meant), shifting the assemblage point and other bands of awareness, bundles of emanations that are the basis for the different species source of awareness and forms/molds, the human mold, the rolling force or tumbler (that hits luminous cocoon), the death defier, self-stalking, intent, and dreaming.
8. The Power of Silence - stories about essentially the mastery of intent, set into what were called sorcery cores.
9. The Art of Dreaming - steps to mastering control and consciousness of dreams.
10. Magical Passes - descriptions with photos of sorcery-based physical movements intended to increase well-being, a system which became known as Tensegrity
11. The Active Side of Infinity - recapitulation, making a log of significant life events (as seen by the spirit)
12. The Wheel of Time - recollection of the mood in which each previous book was written; significant quotes from each previous book
[edit]
Interpretation and criticism (the Castaneda controversy)
Many critics doubt the existence of Don Juan, citing inconsistencies in Don Juan's personality across the books and in the sequence of events in the books. Many Castaneda supporters claim in turn that the very fact of handling awareness and perception accounts for this; and that the actual existence of Don Juan is irrelevant, since the important matter is the theme that Don Juan presents.
What is easily understood is the fact that the writing style changes greatly from the first to the last of the "Don Juan" books. The Teachings of Don Juan is an anthropologist's journal containing a lot of seemingly irrelevant, non-fiction information. The quasi-journalistic or academic tone of the earliest books disappears definitively in Castaneda's fifth book, The Second Ring of Power. This book marks a significant change in the character of the series. In addition to introducing a large cast of new characters, the later Castaneda books present Don Juan's shamanism in far greater complexity than in the earlier books. The Eagle's Gift (sixth book) is a novel-like work with specific characters on a journey towards what they call "Total Freedom", and where the words of Don Juan seem more like those of a scientist. This could be the result of changes in the mind of Carlos Castaneda.
As Castaneda was very elusive, and because his works were taken up by young people at a time when New Age, Eastern religions, mystical and shamanic traditions were in fashion, many professionals cast doubt on the authenticity of contents of his works. (Including leading anthropologists specializing in Yaqui culture.) When he followed up The Teachings of Don Juan with a series of equally popular books, including A Separate Reality (1971), Journey to Ixtlan (1972), and Tales of Power (1975), even more questions were raised as to how much of his work was true anthropology and how much was his own creation.
Another way to read the books is as a sort of game, almost like a detective novel. Depending upon one's approach, they could be either accepted at face-value in their entirety, or discarded. Some of the material could be considered true, some fictional; and some of the events described probably appeared to be real at the time, but could be interpreted as hallucinations. The vividness and plausibility of Castaneda's early works argue for their essential truth. Accounts of Castaneda'a early life[1] and the memoir "A magical journey with Carlos Castaneda" [2], by his former wife Margaret Runyan Castaneda, exhibit many conflicts with what Castaneda said about himself, and point the other way.
( see also New Age, Shamanism, Plastic shaman)
[edit]
Significant characters in Castaneda's works
This is a list of characters, claimed to be real persons, mentioned in Castaneda's works. Castaneda makes it clear that these are not the persons' real names (ostensibly to protect their identity). In denoting their function within each generation of practitioners, terms are used which can only be understood by reading Castaneda's writings:
Generation of practitioners peer to Castaneda (Compact group for "three-pronged Nagual")
* Florinda Donner-Grau -- "Northerly" "dreamer" in Castaneda's generation of practitioners
* Taisha Abelar -- "Westerly" "self-stalker" in Castaneda's generation of practitioners
* Carol Tiggs -- "nagual woman" in Castaneda's generation of practitioners
Generation of practitioners peer to Castaneda (Original group for "four-pronged Nagual")
* Pablito -- the "man of action" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Nestor -- the "scholarly man" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Benigno -- the "master of intent" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Eligio -- a "courier" who ultimately joined previous generation due to Carlos' lack of ability to follow his explorations of awareness, apparently a manifestation of Carlos not being a four-pronged nagual
* La Gorda -- "Northerly" "dreamer" who was originally thought to be the "Southerly" "dreamer", this was apparently a manifestation of Carlos not being a four-pronged nagual
* Rosa -- "Northerly" "dreamer" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Lidia -- "Easterly" "dreamer" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Josephina -- "Westerly" "dreamer" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
* Doña Soledad -- "Northerly" "self-stalker" in Carlos' generation of practitioners
Generation of practitioners preceding Castaneda
* Don Juan Matus -- leader or nagual man to a generation of practitioners, teacher to Castaneda
* Genaro Flores -- the "man of action" and "master of awareness" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners, benefactor to Castaneda
* Vicente Medrano -- "scholarly man" and herbalist in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Silvio Manuel -- "master of intent" and purported to be permanently in a state of "heightened awareness" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Juan Tuma -- "scout" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Florinda Grau -- "Northerly" "dreamer" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Nelida Abelar -- "Northerly" "self-stalker" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Marta -- "Southerly" "dreamer"? in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Zoila Abelar -- "Westerly" "self-stalker" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Zuleica Grau -- "Westerly" "dreamer" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Delia Abelar -- "Easterly" "self-stalker" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
* Celia Grau -- "Easterly" "dreamer" in Don Juan's generation of practitioners
Generation of practitioners preceding Juan Matus
* Julián Osorio -- leader or nagual man to a generation of practitioners, teacher to Juan Matus
* "La Catalina" -- woman sorceress who still remained in the world at the time of Carlos' training, part of Julián's generation of practitioners
Generation of practitioners preceding Julián Osorio
* Elias Ulloa -- leader or nagual man to a generation of practitioners, teacher to Julián Osorio, and to Juan Matus as well.
Significant event in the lineage
* The nagual Sebastian's encounter in the 1700s with an ancient seer, the "death defier", also referred to as the "tenant". That encounter dramatically altered their lineage and was what separates the "new" seers from the "old" seers. Castaneda stated that the death defier met with every nagual since Sebastian, including with Carlos. The death defier also met and possessed Carol Tiggs. Capable of taking male or female form, existing or not existing corporeally in this world.
[edit]
Related authors
Two other authors, Taisha Abelar and Florinda Donner-Grau, have also written books in which they claim to be from Don Juan Matus' party of Toltec warriors. Both Abelar and Donner-Grau were endorsed by Castaneda as being legitimate students of Don Juan Matus, whereas he has dismissed many other pretenders. Another author of note is Victor Sanchez; Sanchez claims to have had similar teachings, and met Castaneda, but emphasizes in his books that Castaneda does not endorse his work. Martin Goodman claimed to have met a "reconsituted" Carlos after the death of Carlos in his book "I Was Carlos Castaneda".
[edit]
Notable works
* The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968) ISBN 0-520217578
* A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan (1971) ISBN 0-671732498
* Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan (1972) ISBN 0-671732463
* Sorcery: A Description of the World (1973)
* Tales of Power (1975) ISBN 0-671732528
* The Second Ring of Power (1977) ISBN 0-671732471
* The Eagle's Gift (1981) ISBN 0-67173251X
* The Fire from Within (1984) ISBN 0-671732501
* The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of Don Juan (1987) ISBN 0-67173248X
* The Art of Dreaming (1993) ISBN 0-06092554X
* Readers of Infinity: A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics (1996) Number 1/2/3/4
* Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico (1998) ISBN 0-060928824
* The Active Side of Infinity (1999) ISBN 0-06092960X
* The Wheel Of Time : The Shamans Of Mexico (2000) ISBN 0140196048
[edit]
Books by other authors
* Shabono: A Visit to a Remote and Magical World in the South American Rain Forest by Florinda Donner[-Grau] (1992) ISBN 0062502425 This book was originally published before Witch's Dream which was published in 1985.
* Being-In-Dreaming: An Initiation into the Sorcerers' World by Florinda Donner-Grau (1992) ISBN 0062501925
* The Sorcerer's Crossing by Taisha Abelar first published in 1992 in hard back (1993) ISBN 0140193669
* The Teachings of Don Carlos by Victor Sanchez ISBN 1-879181-23-1
* The Witch's Dream by Florinda Donner-Grau first published in 1985 ISBN 0671551981 current re-print(1997) ISBN 0140195319
* The Don Juan Papers: Further Castaneda Controversies by Richard de Mille (1973)
* Carlos Castaneda: Academic Opportunism and the Psychedelic Sixties by Jay Courtney Fikes (1993)
* The Soul of Shamanism: Western Fantasies, Imaginal Realities (New York: Continuum, 1997) by Daniel C. Noel
* Robert J. Wallis, Shamans/neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, Alternative Archaeologies and Contemporary Pagans. London: Routledge, 2003. ISBN 041530203X
* The Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda by Amy Wallace (2003)
* The Art of Stalking Parallel Perception - The Living Tapestry of Lujan Matus by Lujan Matus (2005) ISBN 1412049849
* The Four Yogas Of Enlightenment: Guide To Don Juan's Nagualism & Esoteric Buddhism by Edward Plotkin (2002) ISBN 0972087907
* Encounters with the Nagual: Conversations with Carlos Castaneda by Armando Torres (2002) Spanish (2004) English ISBN 9685671044
* Clear Light of Bliss by geshe Kelsang Gyatso ( geshe roughly translates as doctorate of spiritual-studies ) (1992) ISBN 0948006218. . describes the same irreducible energy-structure that Carlos Castaneda describes ( several close-to-each-other concentric-balls of energy-spokes, with a very few spokes going inward ), but from the inside-out ( a central-channel, with energy-spokes curving out, and after reaching a distance, splitting each into a "thousand" spokes -- eastern euphemism for many ). Carlos gives some of the description of the irreducible human energy-structure in The Fire from Within, and the point about some spokes/fibres going inward ( and possibly the bit about it being multiple concentric spheres, rather-than merely a single-sphere ) is in Second Ring of Power when "la Gorda" gives that information to him.
* "Awakened Imagination" by Neville Goddard heavily influenced the work of Castaneda.
* Alice Kehoe, Shamans and Religion: An Anthropoligical Exploration in Critical Thinking. 2000. London: Waveland Press. ISBN 1577661621
[edit]
See also
* Assemblage point
In Journey to Ixtlan, Don Genaro warns us “Intent is not intention”. Intent is Psychic Energy and it's nature is luminous and magical. Our energy body, as is the whole metaphysical reality, is made of Intent. Through techniques such as stalking the self (recapitulation, erasing personal history and developing the warrior’s mood), dreaming (setting up dreaming, dreaming and ascension) and handling intent (changing awareness, stopping the world, collapsing the world), the Warrior of the Spirit aims at regaining his/her luminosity and ultimately control Intent. The Universe, according to Toltec Seers, resembles an infinite amount of conglomerations of luminous, self-aware and magical filaments, called the Eagle’s emanations. These emanations form a cocoon around each living being, with a point of intense brilliance, called the Assemblage Point, which aligns the filaments outside the cocoon with those inside.
Just as Man is considered the Microcosm of the Macrocosm (Universe), so too the assemblage point is a microcosm of the Macrocosm called Man. In one of his books (quote needed), Don Juan describes to Castaneda how our state can be compared to being a huge man in the room (luminous cocoon) and at the same time a tiny person at the window (assemblage point), observing the subject in the room. It is hard to comprehend this view without having had personal experiences with the movements and shifts of the assemblage point, through dreaming. Ultimately, Castaneda argues, everything we perceive, feel and how we act is determined by the position of the assemblage point.
According to Theun Mares, the assemblage point can be viewed as a kind of radio dialing device that determines our reality. The assemblage point can be viewed as a focal point, where luminous fibers meet and produce reality. It could be that the Shamans observed the procreation of mushrooms in their Theory of Consciousness. From Biology, we know that when two mycelia fibers meet, a mushroom comes into existence. Thus also, when two of the Eagle’s Emanations meet, a new perception emerges. Thus everything that we consider real is but a product of alignment of the Eagle’s Emanations.
When we are babies, our luminous cocoon is not yet rigid and the assemblage point flows fluidly throughout the luminous cocoon. As we grow up and our social conditioning sets in, we fix the assemblage point at a certain position and move or shift it only in dreams, after a trauma, due to drug ab/use, love, through inner silence, or as is preferred, through Intent. Gradually, the avarage being looses its luminosity and become empty shells, without purpose, integrity or power, as it becomes more and more grounded in every-day reality. It is the goal of Toltec Sorcerers to achieve fluidity of awareness, through the harmonious movement of the assemblage point.
The Goal of the Warrior is to achieve the totality of the self, that is, to light up all the Eagle’s Emanations within the Cocoon at once and aligning them with the greater whole and thus liberate the luminosity, through the controlled manipulation of the position of the assemblage point. The art of displacing the assemblage point is termed "dreaming" and the art of positioning the assemblage point on the displaced position is called "stalking", to be understood as "becoming stalk-like and oblong, stretching into infinity. Everything, absolutely everything, is the product of a being's position of the assemblage point.
Linux + ringtones
Ringtones for free!!!
Sunday, 2. July 2006, 13:53:50
This is easy to do. Just follow the instructions.
-2501
--------
DSL DIY Free Ringtones
No need to pay for ringtones when you could make them for free
How to make free ringtones using DSL
Here is what you need first:
1) Grab Audacity.dsl from the MyDSL repository.
(under multimedia)
2) Grab Lame.dsl from the MyDSL repository.
(also under multimedia)
3) Grab your favorite song in mp3 format.
(you know where to get it)
Once you have all that Launch Audacity; from your menu MyDSL -> Audacity.
After a moment or two you should have an application that looks like this:
Next open your song up in Audacity by clicking File -> Open, then selecting your choice mp3. Audacity will have to convert your mp3 into its native format. This could take a few moments. After it is done and the song is fully loaded Audacity should look something like this:
At this point you may want to play your song in Audacity to see what part of the song you want to have for your ringtone. Once you figure that part out, selecting the part of the song that you want to sample is simple. Just use your mouse to highlight the section you want.
In this screenshot I chose the beginning of the song, but you could have chosen the middle or the end just as easily.
Be sure to play the selected area so that you know that you have the right snippet for your ringtone.
Once you have the piece you like, go to Edit -> Copy to get the song snippet, then go to File -> New to launch a new Audacity window. Once the new window is open go to it and select Edit -> Paste. You now have the sampled song snippet in the new Audacity window. Half way there! Well, almost.
This screenshot is the 15 second song sample I selected. As you can see, the 15 second clip is represented in the same amount of space which causes us to have a more detailed view of the music without zooming. Notice that at the beginning of the song there is no sound, we could remove that section by selecting it with the mouse and do a Edit -> Delete. On the tail end of your music sample you may want to have the song fade out. In the photo I selected the last second and a half or so and I chose Effect -> Fade out. You can visually see the music tapering down. There are lots of effects in Audacity, but I like to keep it simple.
At this point we are dun with the editing. You should listen to the sample now and see if you like what you hear. If you do, then lets keep on going.
We are going to use Lame to do the mp3 encoding, so we will export this sample as an uncompressed .wav. In Audacity, select File -> Export as Wav. I saved mine as sample.wav.
We're all done with Audacity, now it is time to use Lame. Lame is a command line tool, so you will be using Aterm to issues the mp3 encoding commands to lame.
According to what I've read one could use 16, 24 or 32 bit rate while encoding. Most recommend not using 16 bit rate because it gives poor sound quality. On the other hand 32 bit encoding makes a much larger file. A good middle of the road approach is to use 24 bit format which makes an mp3 about 25% smaller than a 32 bit file yet still has good sound quality. On good speakers you certainly could hear the difference between 24 and 32, bot on your tiny cell phone speakers it won't make any difference.
To encode the mp3 all you have to do is: dsl@box:~$ lame -b
I chose 24 bit encoding and medium to make for a smaller file. For my wav file I gave this command:
dsl@box:~$ lame -b 24 sample.wav sample.mp3
Done! See how simple that is? Now, to get it to your phone on from DSL you have a few options:
1 Email your new ringtone to your phone
2 If your phone has USB support, plug it in and move the .mp3 over
3 Bluetooth, well, you could save it onto a drive and access that drove
from an OS that does Bluetooth later. We are only a 50MB distribution after all!
Sunday, 2. July 2006, 13:53:50
This is easy to do. Just follow the instructions.
-2501
--------
DSL DIY Free Ringtones
No need to pay for ringtones when you could make them for free
How to make free ringtones using DSL
Here is what you need first:
1) Grab Audacity.dsl from the MyDSL repository.
(under multimedia)
2) Grab Lame.dsl from the MyDSL repository.
(also under multimedia)
3) Grab your favorite song in mp3 format.
(you know where to get it)
Once you have all that Launch Audacity; from your menu MyDSL -> Audacity.
After a moment or two you should have an application that looks like this:
Next open your song up in Audacity by clicking File -> Open, then selecting your choice mp3. Audacity will have to convert your mp3 into its native format. This could take a few moments. After it is done and the song is fully loaded Audacity should look something like this:
At this point you may want to play your song in Audacity to see what part of the song you want to have for your ringtone. Once you figure that part out, selecting the part of the song that you want to sample is simple. Just use your mouse to highlight the section you want.
In this screenshot I chose the beginning of the song, but you could have chosen the middle or the end just as easily.
Be sure to play the selected area so that you know that you have the right snippet for your ringtone.
Once you have the piece you like, go to Edit -> Copy to get the song snippet, then go to File -> New to launch a new Audacity window. Once the new window is open go to it and select Edit -> Paste. You now have the sampled song snippet in the new Audacity window. Half way there! Well, almost.
This screenshot is the 15 second song sample I selected. As you can see, the 15 second clip is represented in the same amount of space which causes us to have a more detailed view of the music without zooming. Notice that at the beginning of the song there is no sound, we could remove that section by selecting it with the mouse and do a Edit -> Delete. On the tail end of your music sample you may want to have the song fade out. In the photo I selected the last second and a half or so and I chose Effect -> Fade out. You can visually see the music tapering down. There are lots of effects in Audacity, but I like to keep it simple.
At this point we are dun with the editing. You should listen to the sample now and see if you like what you hear. If you do, then lets keep on going.
We are going to use Lame to do the mp3 encoding, so we will export this sample as an uncompressed .wav. In Audacity, select File -> Export as Wav. I saved mine as sample.wav.
We're all done with Audacity, now it is time to use Lame. Lame is a command line tool, so you will be using Aterm to issues the mp3 encoding commands to lame.
According to what I've read one could use 16, 24 or 32 bit rate while encoding. Most recommend not using 16 bit rate because it gives poor sound quality. On the other hand 32 bit encoding makes a much larger file. A good middle of the road approach is to use 24 bit format which makes an mp3 about 25% smaller than a 32 bit file yet still has good sound quality. On good speakers you certainly could hear the difference between 24 and 32, bot on your tiny cell phone speakers it won't make any difference.
To encode the mp3 all you have to do is: dsl@box:~$ lame -b
I chose 24 bit encoding and medium to make for a smaller file. For my wav file I gave this command:
dsl@box:~$ lame -b 24 sample.wav sample.mp3
Done! See how simple that is? Now, to get it to your phone on from DSL you have a few options:
1 Email your new ringtone to your phone
2 If your phone has USB support, plug it in and move the .mp3 over
3 Bluetooth, well, you could save it onto a drive and access that drove
from an OS that does Bluetooth later. We are only a 50MB distribution after all!
Scatterchat
scatterchat
Tuesday, 1. August 2006, 02:37:42
ScatterChat is a HACKTIVIST WEAPON designed to allow non-technical human rights activists and political dissidents to communicate securely and anonymously while operating in hostile territory. It is also useful in corporate settings, or in other situations where privacy is desired.
It is a secure instant messaging client (based upon the Gaim software) that provides end-to-end encryption, integrated onion-routing with Tor, secure file transfers, and easy-to-read documentation.
Its security features include resiliency against partial compromise through perfect forward secrecy, immunity from replay attacks, and limited resistance to traffic analysis... all reinforced through a pro-actively secure design.
Tuesday, 1. August 2006, 02:37:42
ScatterChat is a HACKTIVIST WEAPON designed to allow non-technical human rights activists and political dissidents to communicate securely and anonymously while operating in hostile territory. It is also useful in corporate settings, or in other situations where privacy is desired.
It is a secure instant messaging client (based upon the Gaim software) that provides end-to-end encryption, integrated onion-routing with Tor, secure file transfers, and easy-to-read documentation.
Its security features include resiliency against partial compromise through perfect forward secrecy, immunity from replay attacks, and limited resistance to traffic analysis... all reinforced through a pro-actively secure design.
Resume action words
resume action keywords
Friday, 22. September 2006, 01:02:28
Resume Action Keywords
A
accelerated, acclimated, accompanied, accomplished, achieved, acquired, acted, activated, actuated, adapted, added, addressed, adhered, adjusted, administered, admitted, adopted, advanced, advertised, advised, advocated, aided, aired, affected, allocated, altered, amended, amplified, analyzed, answered, anticipated, appointed, appraised, approached, approved, arbitrated, arranged, ascertained, asked, assembled, assigned, assumed, assessed, assisted, attained, attracted, audited, augmented, authored, authorized, automated, awarded, avail
B
balanced, bargained, borrowed, bought, broadened, budgeted, built
C
calculated, canvassed, capitalized, captured, carried, out, cast, cataloged, centralized, challenged, chaired, changed, channeled, charted, checked, chose, circulated, clarified, classified, cleared, closed, co-authored, cold, called, collaborated, collected, combined, commissioned, committed, communicated, compared, compiled, complied, completed, composed, computed, conceived, conceptualized, concluded, condensed, conducted, conferred, consolidated, constructed, consulted, contracted, contrasted, contributed, contrived, controlled, converted, convinced, coordinated, corrected, corresponded, counseled, counted, created, critiqued, cultivated
D
debugged, decided, decentralized, decreased, deferred, defined, delegated, delivered, demonstrated, depreciated, described, designated, designed, determined, developed, devised, devoted, diagrammed, directed, disclosed, discounted, discovered, dispatched, displayed, dissembled, distinguished, distributed, diversified, divested, documented, doubled, drafted
E
earned, eased, edited, effected, elected, eliminated, employed, enabled, encouraged, endorsed, enforced, engaged, engineered, enhanced, enlarged, enriched, entered, entertained, established, estimated, evaluated, examined, exceeded, exchanged, executed, exempted, exercised, expanded, expedited, explained, exposed, extended, extracted, extrapolated
F
facilitated, familiarized, fashioned, fielded, figured, financed, fit, focused, forecasted, formalized, formed, formulated, fortified, found, founded, framed, fulfilled, functioned, furnished,
G
gained, gathered, gauged, gave, generated, governed, graded, granted, greeted, grouped, guided
H
handled, headed, hired, hosted
I
identified, illustrated, illuminated, implemented, improved, improvised, inaugurated, indoctrinated, increased, incurred, induced, influenced, informed, initiated, innovated, inquired, inspected, inspired, installed, instigated, instilled, instituted, instructed, insured, interfaced, interpreted, interviewed, introduced, invented, inventoried, invested, investigated, invited, involved, isolated, issued
J
joined, judged,
L
launched, lectured, led, lightened, liquidated, litigated, lobbied, localized, located
M
maintained, managed, mapped, marketed, maximized, measured, mediated, merchandised, merged, met, minimized, modeled, moderated, modernized, modified, monitored, motivated, moved, multiplied
N
named, narrated, negotiated, noticed, nurtured
O
observed, obtained, offered, offset, opened, operated, orchestrated, ordered, organized, oriented, originated, overhauled, oversaw
P
paid, participated, passed, patterned, penalized, perceived, performed, permitted, persuaded, phased, out, pinpointed, pioneered, placed, planned, polled, prepared, presented, preserved, presided, prevented, priced, printed, prioritized, probed, processed, procured, produced, profiled, programmed, projected, promoted, prompted, proposed, proved, provided, publicized, published, purchased, pursued
Q
quantified, quoted
R
raised, ranked, rated, reacted, read, received, recommended, reconciled, recorded, recovered, recruited, rectified, redesigned, reduced, referred, refined, regained, regulated, rehabilitated, reinforced, reinstated, rejected, related, remedied, remodeled, renegotiated, reorganized, replaced, repaired, reported, represented, requested, researched, resolved, responded, restored, restructured, resulted, retained, retrieved, revamped, revealed, reversed, reviewed, revised, revitalized, rewarded, routed
S
safeguarded, salvaged, saved, scheduled, screened, secured, segmented, selected, sent, separated, served, serviced, settled, shaped, shortened, showed, shrank, signed, simplified, sold, solved, spearheaded, specified, speculated, spoke, spread, stabilized, staffed, staged, standardized, steered, stimulated, strategized, streamlined, strengthened, stressed, structured, studied, submitted, substantiated, substituted, suggested, summarized, superseded, supervised, supplied, supported, surpassed, surveyed, synchronized, synthesized, systematized
T
tabulated, tailored, targeted, taught, terminated, tested, testified, tightened, took, traced, traded, trained, transacted, transferred, transformed, translated, transported, traveled, treated, tripled
U
uncovered, undertook, unified, united, updated, upgraded, used, utilized
V
validated, valued, verified, viewed, visited
W
weighed, welcomed, widened, witnessed, won, worked, wrote
> Bullets
-Self-driven,good communicator,
-Works with various departments to determine resources necessary to see projects through to completion.
-Creates and maintains documentation on various projects worked on by the live operations team.
-Coordinates tracks and manages the activities of personnel to ensure that projects are completed on time.
Provides motivation and direction to ensure that project goals, objectives, milestones, and deliverables are achieved.
-Contributes to a positive work environment.
-Other duties as may be assigned.
-Unrelenting self-motivation and initiative.
-Ability to facilitate and mediate between varied departments each with unique needs.
-Design, develop and promote new processes and practices (example: automation systems)
-Communicate with other departments to improve existing tools and determine new solutions.
-Work in a team environment.
-Proven ability to work in a team environment.
-Serve as a subject matter expert by researching, diagnosing and documenting resolutions for hardware related issues.
-Work complex problems where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of various factors and processes.
-Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to meet deadlines in a fast paced environment.
-Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work in a collaborative team environment.
-Self starter -- able to work independently with demonstrated ability to multi-task and prioritize.
-Assist in determining the significance and reliability of incoming information.
-Comprehensive experience with all-source intelligence, counter terrorism, information collection, or similar responsibilities.
-Problem Solving - Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner; Gathers and analyzes information skillfully; Develops alternative solutions; Works well in group problem solving situations and uses reason.
-Planning/Organizing - Prioritize and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently; Direct team activities, establishing task priorities, scheduling and tracking work assignments, providing guidance, and ensuring the availability of resources.
-Planning/Organizing - Prioritize and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently; Direct team activities, establishing task priorities, scheduling and tracking work assignments, providing guidance, and ensuring the availability of resources.
-Ethics -- Treats people with respect; Keeps commitments; inspires the trust of others; Works with integrity and ethically; Upholds organizational values.
-Strategic Thinking -- Develops strategies to achieve organizational goals; continual attention to detail in composing, typing and proofing materials, establishing priorities and meeting deadlines. Adapt strategy to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.
-Professionalism -- Approaches others in a tactful manner; Reacts well under pressure; Treats others with respect and consideration regardless of their status or position; Accepts responsibility for own actions; Follows through on commitments.
Friday, 22. September 2006, 01:02:28
Resume Action Keywords
A
accelerated, acclimated, accompanied, accomplished, achieved, acquired, acted, activated, actuated, adapted, added, addressed, adhered, adjusted, administered, admitted, adopted, advanced, advertised, advised, advocated, aided, aired, affected, allocated, altered, amended, amplified, analyzed, answered, anticipated, appointed, appraised, approached, approved, arbitrated, arranged, ascertained, asked, assembled, assigned, assumed, assessed, assisted, attained, attracted, audited, augmented, authored, authorized, automated, awarded, avail
B
balanced, bargained, borrowed, bought, broadened, budgeted, built
C
calculated, canvassed, capitalized, captured, carried, out, cast, cataloged, centralized, challenged, chaired, changed, channeled, charted, checked, chose, circulated, clarified, classified, cleared, closed, co-authored, cold, called, collaborated, collected, combined, commissioned, committed, communicated, compared, compiled, complied, completed, composed, computed, conceived, conceptualized, concluded, condensed, conducted, conferred, consolidated, constructed, consulted, contracted, contrasted, contributed, contrived, controlled, converted, convinced, coordinated, corrected, corresponded, counseled, counted, created, critiqued, cultivated
D
debugged, decided, decentralized, decreased, deferred, defined, delegated, delivered, demonstrated, depreciated, described, designated, designed, determined, developed, devised, devoted, diagrammed, directed, disclosed, discounted, discovered, dispatched, displayed, dissembled, distinguished, distributed, diversified, divested, documented, doubled, drafted
E
earned, eased, edited, effected, elected, eliminated, employed, enabled, encouraged, endorsed, enforced, engaged, engineered, enhanced, enlarged, enriched, entered, entertained, established, estimated, evaluated, examined, exceeded, exchanged, executed, exempted, exercised, expanded, expedited, explained, exposed, extended, extracted, extrapolated
F
facilitated, familiarized, fashioned, fielded, figured, financed, fit, focused, forecasted, formalized, formed, formulated, fortified, found, founded, framed, fulfilled, functioned, furnished,
G
gained, gathered, gauged, gave, generated, governed, graded, granted, greeted, grouped, guided
H
handled, headed, hired, hosted
I
identified, illustrated, illuminated, implemented, improved, improvised, inaugurated, indoctrinated, increased, incurred, induced, influenced, informed, initiated, innovated, inquired, inspected, inspired, installed, instigated, instilled, instituted, instructed, insured, interfaced, interpreted, interviewed, introduced, invented, inventoried, invested, investigated, invited, involved, isolated, issued
J
joined, judged,
L
launched, lectured, led, lightened, liquidated, litigated, lobbied, localized, located
M
maintained, managed, mapped, marketed, maximized, measured, mediated, merchandised, merged, met, minimized, modeled, moderated, modernized, modified, monitored, motivated, moved, multiplied
N
named, narrated, negotiated, noticed, nurtured
O
observed, obtained, offered, offset, opened, operated, orchestrated, ordered, organized, oriented, originated, overhauled, oversaw
P
paid, participated, passed, patterned, penalized, perceived, performed, permitted, persuaded, phased, out, pinpointed, pioneered, placed, planned, polled, prepared, presented, preserved, presided, prevented, priced, printed, prioritized, probed, processed, procured, produced, profiled, programmed, projected, promoted, prompted, proposed, proved, provided, publicized, published, purchased, pursued
Q
quantified, quoted
R
raised, ranked, rated, reacted, read, received, recommended, reconciled, recorded, recovered, recruited, rectified, redesigned, reduced, referred, refined, regained, regulated, rehabilitated, reinforced, reinstated, rejected, related, remedied, remodeled, renegotiated, reorganized, replaced, repaired, reported, represented, requested, researched, resolved, responded, restored, restructured, resulted, retained, retrieved, revamped, revealed, reversed, reviewed, revised, revitalized, rewarded, routed
S
safeguarded, salvaged, saved, scheduled, screened, secured, segmented, selected, sent, separated, served, serviced, settled, shaped, shortened, showed, shrank, signed, simplified, sold, solved, spearheaded, specified, speculated, spoke, spread, stabilized, staffed, staged, standardized, steered, stimulated, strategized, streamlined, strengthened, stressed, structured, studied, submitted, substantiated, substituted, suggested, summarized, superseded, supervised, supplied, supported, surpassed, surveyed, synchronized, synthesized, systematized
T
tabulated, tailored, targeted, taught, terminated, tested, testified, tightened, took, traced, traded, trained, transacted, transferred, transformed, translated, transported, traveled, treated, tripled
U
uncovered, undertook, unified, united, updated, upgraded, used, utilized
V
validated, valued, verified, viewed, visited
W
weighed, welcomed, widened, witnessed, won, worked, wrote
> Bullets
-Self-driven,good communicator,
-Works with various departments to determine resources necessary to see projects through to completion.
-Creates and maintains documentation on various projects worked on by the live operations team.
-Coordinates tracks and manages the activities of personnel to ensure that projects are completed on time.
Provides motivation and direction to ensure that project goals, objectives, milestones, and deliverables are achieved.
-Contributes to a positive work environment.
-Other duties as may be assigned.
-Unrelenting self-motivation and initiative.
-Ability to facilitate and mediate between varied departments each with unique needs.
-Design, develop and promote new processes and practices (example: automation systems)
-Communicate with other departments to improve existing tools and determine new solutions.
-Work in a team environment.
-Proven ability to work in a team environment.
-Serve as a subject matter expert by researching, diagnosing and documenting resolutions for hardware related issues.
-Work complex problems where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of various factors and processes.
-Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to meet deadlines in a fast paced environment.
-Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work in a collaborative team environment.
-Self starter -- able to work independently with demonstrated ability to multi-task and prioritize.
-Assist in determining the significance and reliability of incoming information.
-Comprehensive experience with all-source intelligence, counter terrorism, information collection, or similar responsibilities.
-Problem Solving - Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner; Gathers and analyzes information skillfully; Develops alternative solutions; Works well in group problem solving situations and uses reason.
-Planning/Organizing - Prioritize and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently; Direct team activities, establishing task priorities, scheduling and tracking work assignments, providing guidance, and ensuring the availability of resources.
-Planning/Organizing - Prioritize and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently; Direct team activities, establishing task priorities, scheduling and tracking work assignments, providing guidance, and ensuring the availability of resources.
-Ethics -- Treats people with respect; Keeps commitments; inspires the trust of others; Works with integrity and ethically; Upholds organizational values.
-Strategic Thinking -- Develops strategies to achieve organizational goals; continual attention to detail in composing, typing and proofing materials, establishing priorities and meeting deadlines. Adapt strategy to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.
-Professionalism -- Approaches others in a tactful manner; Reacts well under pressure; Treats others with respect and consideration regardless of their status or position; Accepts responsibility for own actions; Follows through on commitments.
Researchers build tiny batteries with viruses
Researchers build tiny batteries with viruses
Sunday, 28. January 2007, 20:57:38
Researchers build tiny batteries with viruses
April 7, 2006
MIT scientists have harnessed the construction talents of tiny viruses to build ultra-small "nanowire" structures for use in very thin lithium-ion batteries.
By manipulating a few genes inside these viruses, the team was able to coax the organisms to grow and self-assemble into a functional electronic device.
The goal of the work, led by MIT Professors Angela Belcher, Paula Hammond and Yet-Ming Chiang, is to create batteries that cram as much electrical energy into as small or lightweight a package as possible. The batteries they hope to build could range from the size of a grain of rice up to the size of existing hearing aid batteries.
Batteries consist of two opposite electrodes -- an anode and cathode -- separated by an electrolyte. In the current work, the MIT team used an intricate assembly process to create the anode.
Specifically, they manipulated the genes in a laboratory strain of a common virus, making the microbes collect exotic materials -- cobalt oxide and gold. And because these viruses are negatively charged, they can be layered between oppositely charged polymers to form thin, flexible sheets.
The result? A dense, virus-loaded film that serves as an anode.
A report on the work will appear in the April 7 issue of Science.
Belcher, the Germeshausen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Biological Engineering; Chiang, the Kyocera Professor of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE); and Hammond, the Mark A. Hyman Professor of Chemical Engineering (ChE), led a team of five additional researchers.
They are MSE graduate students Ki Tae Nam (the lead author), Dong-Wan Kim, Chung-Yi Chiang and Nonglak Meethong, and ChE postdoctoral associate Pil. J. Yoo.
In their research, the MIT team altered the virus's genes so they make protein coats that collect molecules of cobalt oxide, plus gold. The viruses then align themselves on the polymer surface to form ultrathin wires. Each virus, and thus the wire, is only 6 nanometers (6 billionths of a meter) in diameter, and 880 nanometers in length.
"We can make them in larger diameters," Belcher said, "but they are all 880 nanometers in length," which matches the length of the individual virus particles. And, "once we've altered the genes of the virus to grow the electrode material, we can easily clone millions of identical copies of the virus to use in assembling our batteries.
"For the metal oxide we chose cobalt oxide because it has very good specific capacity, which will produce batteries with high energy density," meaning it can store two or three times more energy for its size and weight compared to previously used battery electrode materials. And adding the gold further increased the wires' energy density, she added.
Equally important, the reactions needed to create nanowires occur at normal room temperatures and pressures, so there is no need for expensive pressure-cooking technology to get the job done.
The work is important, too, because energy density is a vital quality in batteries. A lack of energy density -- meaning the amount of charge a battery of a given size can usefully carry -- is what has hampered development of electric cars, since existing batteries are generally too heavy and too weak to compete with gasoline as an energy source. Still, battery technology is gradually being improved and may someday even become competitive as the price of oil escalates.
"The nanoscale materials we've made supply two to three times the electrical energy for their mass or volume, compared to previous materials," the team reported.
The researchers' work was spurred by "growing evidence that 'nanostructured' materials can improve the electrochemical properties of lithium-ion batteries," compared to more conventional batteries based on older technologies, the team wrote in Science.
But to create new battery materials, Belcher noted, special control is needed so just the right amounts of the exotic materials end up exactly where they belong. Cobalt oxide "has shown excellent electrochemical cycling properties, and is thus under consideration as an electrode for advanced lithium-ion batteries."
In earlier research, Belcher and colleagues learned they could exploit the abilities of microbes to recognize the correct molecules and assemble them where they belong.
A new means of inducing this order comes from self-assembly, a tool that is commonly used now in Hammond's lab. "By harnessing the electrostatic nature of the assembly process with the functional properties of the virus, we can create highly ordered composite thin films combining the function of the virus and polymer systems," Hammond said.
This work was funded by the Army Research Office Institute of Collaborative Biotechnologies, the Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation
Sunday, 28. January 2007, 20:57:38
Researchers build tiny batteries with viruses
April 7, 2006
MIT scientists have harnessed the construction talents of tiny viruses to build ultra-small "nanowire" structures for use in very thin lithium-ion batteries.
By manipulating a few genes inside these viruses, the team was able to coax the organisms to grow and self-assemble into a functional electronic device.
The goal of the work, led by MIT Professors Angela Belcher, Paula Hammond and Yet-Ming Chiang, is to create batteries that cram as much electrical energy into as small or lightweight a package as possible. The batteries they hope to build could range from the size of a grain of rice up to the size of existing hearing aid batteries.
Batteries consist of two opposite electrodes -- an anode and cathode -- separated by an electrolyte. In the current work, the MIT team used an intricate assembly process to create the anode.
Specifically, they manipulated the genes in a laboratory strain of a common virus, making the microbes collect exotic materials -- cobalt oxide and gold. And because these viruses are negatively charged, they can be layered between oppositely charged polymers to form thin, flexible sheets.
The result? A dense, virus-loaded film that serves as an anode.
A report on the work will appear in the April 7 issue of Science.
Belcher, the Germeshausen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Biological Engineering; Chiang, the Kyocera Professor of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE); and Hammond, the Mark A. Hyman Professor of Chemical Engineering (ChE), led a team of five additional researchers.
They are MSE graduate students Ki Tae Nam (the lead author), Dong-Wan Kim, Chung-Yi Chiang and Nonglak Meethong, and ChE postdoctoral associate Pil. J. Yoo.
In their research, the MIT team altered the virus's genes so they make protein coats that collect molecules of cobalt oxide, plus gold. The viruses then align themselves on the polymer surface to form ultrathin wires. Each virus, and thus the wire, is only 6 nanometers (6 billionths of a meter) in diameter, and 880 nanometers in length.
"We can make them in larger diameters," Belcher said, "but they are all 880 nanometers in length," which matches the length of the individual virus particles. And, "once we've altered the genes of the virus to grow the electrode material, we can easily clone millions of identical copies of the virus to use in assembling our batteries.
"For the metal oxide we chose cobalt oxide because it has very good specific capacity, which will produce batteries with high energy density," meaning it can store two or three times more energy for its size and weight compared to previously used battery electrode materials. And adding the gold further increased the wires' energy density, she added.
Equally important, the reactions needed to create nanowires occur at normal room temperatures and pressures, so there is no need for expensive pressure-cooking technology to get the job done.
The work is important, too, because energy density is a vital quality in batteries. A lack of energy density -- meaning the amount of charge a battery of a given size can usefully carry -- is what has hampered development of electric cars, since existing batteries are generally too heavy and too weak to compete with gasoline as an energy source. Still, battery technology is gradually being improved and may someday even become competitive as the price of oil escalates.
"The nanoscale materials we've made supply two to three times the electrical energy for their mass or volume, compared to previous materials," the team reported.
The researchers' work was spurred by "growing evidence that 'nanostructured' materials can improve the electrochemical properties of lithium-ion batteries," compared to more conventional batteries based on older technologies, the team wrote in Science.
But to create new battery materials, Belcher noted, special control is needed so just the right amounts of the exotic materials end up exactly where they belong. Cobalt oxide "has shown excellent electrochemical cycling properties, and is thus under consideration as an electrode for advanced lithium-ion batteries."
In earlier research, Belcher and colleagues learned they could exploit the abilities of microbes to recognize the correct molecules and assemble them where they belong.
A new means of inducing this order comes from self-assembly, a tool that is commonly used now in Hammond's lab. "By harnessing the electrostatic nature of the assembly process with the functional properties of the virus, we can create highly ordered composite thin films combining the function of the virus and polymer systems," Hammond said.
This work was funded by the Army Research Office Institute of Collaborative Biotechnologies, the Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation
Slackware -- Create your own module
Zenwalk/Slackware : Build your own module
Wednesday, 14. February 2007, 03:03:46
slackware
I found this very helpful....from the Zenwalk forums........
----------
HOWTO Build Modules
Introduction:
First of all, a 'module' in live-cd context is the way to extend the live-cd to include user's applications. Obviously this is not a technichal definition but it's all you need to know to use them Wink
Actually a module is a compressed filesystem that will be merged with other modules by using UnionFS to appear like one big read/write filesystem. In case you want to know more read documentation at the bottom.
Building modules:
There are several ways to build modules.
1) Quick & dirty:
You can easily build a module by converting a Slackware/Zenwalk package into a module using the 'tgz2mo' command.
This way of building modules has the advantage that it is astonishing easy to get a program running on your live-cd as long as you have a package.
However if you are planning to include several application you'll end up with a great number of small modules, this will make the system boot slower and will consume more resources (each module consumes one loop, and loop are limited to 255).
2) Prefered way:
The prefered way to build a module is by following this steps:
1. Create a working directory
Code:
# mkdir -p /mn7/hda2/lamp
2. Install all software packages using this directory as root
Code:
# installpkg -root /mn7/hda2/lamp apache-x.x.x.tgz
# installpkg -root /mn7/hda2/lamp mysql-x.x.x.tgz
# installpkg -root /mn7/hda2/lamp php-x.x.x.tgz
3. Remove all unneeded files.
Code:
# rm -rf /mn7/hda2/lamp/usr/doc/*
4. Make any modifications you want.
Code:
# echo "Don't know what to change here ;-)" > /mn7/hda2/lamp/foo
5. Build the module
Code:
# cd /mn7/hda2/
# dir2mo lamp/ lamp.mo
This way of building modules requires a little more effort but gives you the oportunity to control the contents of your module and help to reduce the boot-time of your system by reducing the number of modules to load.
It's good to have related applications on the same module, this gives you the chance to easily find which module contains a given application in case you want to remove it or update it.
NOTE: Because of a known UnionFS bug and a loop error you can't build a module for anything inserted into a UnionFS system. That is while using the liveCD you can not build a module from any folder inside / except of those mounted partitions /mnt/hda5, /mnt/hdc2 and /mnt/memory/...
Go on and build your own modules!
Linux-live Tools:
tgz2mo: converts a Slackware package into a module.
Code:
# tgz2mo package.tgz module.mo
dir2mo: converts a directory structure into a module.
Code:
# dir2mo folder/ module.mo
Documentation:
UnionFS: http://www.unionfs.org/
SquashFS: http://www.artemio.net/projects/linuxdoc/squashfs/
Wednesday, 14. February 2007, 03:03:46
slackware
I found this very helpful....from the Zenwalk forums........
----------
HOWTO Build Modules
Introduction:
First of all, a 'module' in live-cd context is the way to extend the live-cd to include user's applications. Obviously this is not a technichal definition but it's all you need to know to use them Wink
Actually a module is a compressed filesystem that will be merged with other modules by using UnionFS to appear like one big read/write filesystem. In case you want to know more read documentation at the bottom.
Building modules:
There are several ways to build modules.
1) Quick & dirty:
You can easily build a module by converting a Slackware/Zenwalk package into a module using the 'tgz2mo' command.
This way of building modules has the advantage that it is astonishing easy to get a program running on your live-cd as long as you have a package.
However if you are planning to include several application you'll end up with a great number of small modules, this will make the system boot slower and will consume more resources (each module consumes one loop, and loop are limited to 255).
2) Prefered way:
The prefered way to build a module is by following this steps:
1. Create a working directory
Code:
# mkdir -p /mn7/hda2/lamp
2. Install all software packages using this directory as root
Code:
# installpkg -root /mn7/hda2/lamp apache-x.x.x.tgz
# installpkg -root /mn7/hda2/lamp mysql-x.x.x.tgz
# installpkg -root /mn7/hda2/lamp php-x.x.x.tgz
3. Remove all unneeded files.
Code:
# rm -rf /mn7/hda2/lamp/usr/doc/*
4. Make any modifications you want.
Code:
# echo "Don't know what to change here ;-)" > /mn7/hda2/lamp/foo
5. Build the module
Code:
# cd /mn7/hda2/
# dir2mo lamp/ lamp.mo
This way of building modules requires a little more effort but gives you the oportunity to control the contents of your module and help to reduce the boot-time of your system by reducing the number of modules to load.
It's good to have related applications on the same module, this gives you the chance to easily find which module contains a given application in case you want to remove it or update it.
NOTE: Because of a known UnionFS bug and a loop error you can't build a module for anything inserted into a UnionFS system. That is while using the liveCD you can not build a module from any folder inside / except of those mounted partitions /mnt/hda5, /mnt/hdc2 and /mnt/memory/...
Go on and build your own modules!
Linux-live Tools:
tgz2mo: converts a Slackware package into a module.
Code:
# tgz2mo package.tgz module.mo
dir2mo: converts a directory structure into a module.
Code:
# dir2mo folder/ module.mo
Documentation:
UnionFS: http://www.unionfs.org/
SquashFS: http://www.artemio.net/projects/linuxdoc/squashfs/
Google + Kopete
Google + Kopete
Tuesday, 27. February 2007, 02:36:58
How to configure Gtalk in Kopete?
Google's Gtalk in spreading rapidely because it is integrated into Gmail, and also because it uses an open protocol, Jabber, which open-source enthusiasts prefer. Using Gtalk in KDE's universal instant messenger Kopete in not difficult. Let's see how we can achieve it.
1. Launch Kopete and click "Settings > Configure":
Gtalk Kopete
2. The configuration window will show up. Under "Accounts", click the "New" button:
Gtalk in Kopete
3. The wizard will start. Select "Jabber" from the list and click "Next":
Kopete
4. Fill in your information:
* Jabber ID: type in your Gmail username without the "@gmail.com" suffix
* Check "Remember password" and type in your Gmail password
5. Click "Next":
Kopete
6. Under the "Connection" tab, check all options:
* Use protocol encryption (SSL)
* Allow plain-text password authentication
* Override default server information
In the "Server" field, type: talk.google.com, in "Port", type: 5223, and click "OK":
Kopete
Now your Gtalk account is configured in Kopete and you should have your list of buddies
Tuesday, 27. February 2007, 02:36:58
How to configure Gtalk in Kopete?
Google's Gtalk in spreading rapidely because it is integrated into Gmail, and also because it uses an open protocol, Jabber, which open-source enthusiasts prefer. Using Gtalk in KDE's universal instant messenger Kopete in not difficult. Let's see how we can achieve it.
1. Launch Kopete and click "Settings > Configure":
Gtalk Kopete
2. The configuration window will show up. Under "Accounts", click the "New" button:
Gtalk in Kopete
3. The wizard will start. Select "Jabber" from the list and click "Next":
Kopete
4. Fill in your information:
* Jabber ID: type in your Gmail username without the "@gmail.com" suffix
* Check "Remember password" and type in your Gmail password
5. Click "Next":
Kopete
6. Under the "Connection" tab, check all options:
* Use protocol encryption (SSL)
* Allow plain-text password authentication
* Override default server information
In the "Server" field, type: talk.google.com, in "Port", type: 5223, and click "OK":
Kopete
Now your Gtalk account is configured in Kopete and you should have your list of buddies
The Amazing Ramanujan
The amazing Ramanujan
Wednesday, 28. February 2007, 16:17:07
Mathematicians unlock major number theory puzzle Discussion at PhysOrgForum
By Paroma Basu
Mathematicians have finally laid to rest the legendary mystery surrounding an elusive group of numerical expressions known as the "mock theta functions." Number theorists have struggled to understand the functions ever since the great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan first alluded to them in a letter written on his deathbed, in 1920.
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Now, using mathematical techniques that emerged well after Ramanujan's death, two number theorists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have pieced together an explanatory framework that for the first time illustrates what mock theta functions are, and exactly how to derive them.
Their new theory is proving invaluable in the resolution of long-standing open questions in number theory. In addition, the UW-Madison advance will for the first time enable researchers to apply mock theta functions to problems in a variety of fields, including physics, chemistry and several branches of mathematics. The findings appear in a series of three papers, the third appearing today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"It's extremely gratifying to be able to say we solved the 'final problem' of Ramanujan," says co-author Ken Ono, UW-Madison Manasse Professor of Letters and Science, who is widely noted for contributions to number theory. "We simply got really lucky."
Ono worked in collaboration with German mathematician Kathrin Bringmann, a postdoctoral researcher at UW-Madison.
"This is something I really didn't expect anybody to do," says George Andrews, a leading number theorist at Pennsylvania State University who in 2000 called mock theta functions one of the most difficult math puzzles of the new millennium. "It is an outstanding piece of work, a breathtakingly wonderful achievement."
Working from Ramanujan's letter, number theorists believed that mock theta functions are related to a well-understood class of mathematical expressions-the 'theta' functions-that have been in use for centuries. Theta functions constitute a certain sequence of numbers that has proved useful in various problems of mathematical analysis.
Mock theta functions similarly constitute an infinite series of numbers. But what has been completely baffling is what it is about mock theta series that make them so rich and powerful. Over the decades-much to the amazement of mathematicians everywhere-mock theta functions have cropped up amidst calculations in a number of fields, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, and even cancer research.
Sponsored Links (Ads by Google)
MathXpert
Software to help with algebra, precalculus, and calculus.
www.HelpWithMath.com
Math Posters
Mathematicians, Pi, Phi, math humor Unique, Exquisite. High quality.
MathematiciansPictures.com
Profile: Grigori Perelman
The mathematical genius who has solved the Poincare Conjecture
www.thefirstpost.co.uk
What made mock theta functions all the more inscrutable was the fact that the first few pages of Ramanujan's letter were lost. Those pages may have contained more clues, but in their absence, the letter merely presented 17 examples of the functions. What's missing is any definition of what the functions are, any hints on how to derive them, and any indication of why they are even important. All those secrets died with Ramanujan just two months after he wrote the letter, when he succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 32.
"Imagine stringing together a thousand random words and then saying you've come up with the most beautiful poetry," says Ono. "That's essentially what Ramanujan did to us."
Bringmann and Ono made sense of it all by finding a way to represent the power of mock theta functions through another relatively new family of mathematical expressions known as the Harmonic Maass Forms.
A Dutch mathematician named Sander Zwegers had already made that important connection in 2002, but he had focused only on Ramanujan's examples.
It was during a flight to New Hampshire that Ono realized the full depth and meaning of Zwegers' work. Skimming a journal to pass the time, Ono happened upon an old article by George Andrews on mock theta functions. Suddenly, he noticed that some of the mathematics in the paper seemed to resonate with parts of the Harmonic Maass theory, which he and Bringmann just happened to be developing at the time, for other reasons.
The mathematicians found the connection held up beautifully. "We knew we were onto something right away," says Ono. "It was an uncanny set of coincidences that lead us to this solution. It was as if it all just fell into our lap and now we are serendipitously applying our theory to longstanding open problems."
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wednesday, 28. February 2007, 16:17:07
Mathematicians unlock major number theory puzzle Discussion at PhysOrgForum
By Paroma Basu
Mathematicians have finally laid to rest the legendary mystery surrounding an elusive group of numerical expressions known as the "mock theta functions." Number theorists have struggled to understand the functions ever since the great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan first alluded to them in a letter written on his deathbed, in 1920.
Sponsored Links (Ads by Google)
Now, using mathematical techniques that emerged well after Ramanujan's death, two number theorists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have pieced together an explanatory framework that for the first time illustrates what mock theta functions are, and exactly how to derive them.
Their new theory is proving invaluable in the resolution of long-standing open questions in number theory. In addition, the UW-Madison advance will for the first time enable researchers to apply mock theta functions to problems in a variety of fields, including physics, chemistry and several branches of mathematics. The findings appear in a series of three papers, the third appearing today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"It's extremely gratifying to be able to say we solved the 'final problem' of Ramanujan," says co-author Ken Ono, UW-Madison Manasse Professor of Letters and Science, who is widely noted for contributions to number theory. "We simply got really lucky."
Ono worked in collaboration with German mathematician Kathrin Bringmann, a postdoctoral researcher at UW-Madison.
"This is something I really didn't expect anybody to do," says George Andrews, a leading number theorist at Pennsylvania State University who in 2000 called mock theta functions one of the most difficult math puzzles of the new millennium. "It is an outstanding piece of work, a breathtakingly wonderful achievement."
Working from Ramanujan's letter, number theorists believed that mock theta functions are related to a well-understood class of mathematical expressions-the 'theta' functions-that have been in use for centuries. Theta functions constitute a certain sequence of numbers that has proved useful in various problems of mathematical analysis.
Mock theta functions similarly constitute an infinite series of numbers. But what has been completely baffling is what it is about mock theta series that make them so rich and powerful. Over the decades-much to the amazement of mathematicians everywhere-mock theta functions have cropped up amidst calculations in a number of fields, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, and even cancer research.
Sponsored Links (Ads by Google)
MathXpert
Software to help with algebra, precalculus, and calculus.
www.HelpWithMath.com
Math Posters
Mathematicians, Pi, Phi, math humor Unique, Exquisite. High quality.
MathematiciansPictures.com
Profile: Grigori Perelman
The mathematical genius who has solved the Poincare Conjecture
www.thefirstpost.co.uk
What made mock theta functions all the more inscrutable was the fact that the first few pages of Ramanujan's letter were lost. Those pages may have contained more clues, but in their absence, the letter merely presented 17 examples of the functions. What's missing is any definition of what the functions are, any hints on how to derive them, and any indication of why they are even important. All those secrets died with Ramanujan just two months after he wrote the letter, when he succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 32.
"Imagine stringing together a thousand random words and then saying you've come up with the most beautiful poetry," says Ono. "That's essentially what Ramanujan did to us."
Bringmann and Ono made sense of it all by finding a way to represent the power of mock theta functions through another relatively new family of mathematical expressions known as the Harmonic Maass Forms.
A Dutch mathematician named Sander Zwegers had already made that important connection in 2002, but he had focused only on Ramanujan's examples.
It was during a flight to New Hampshire that Ono realized the full depth and meaning of Zwegers' work. Skimming a journal to pass the time, Ono happened upon an old article by George Andrews on mock theta functions. Suddenly, he noticed that some of the mathematics in the paper seemed to resonate with parts of the Harmonic Maass theory, which he and Bringmann just happened to be developing at the time, for other reasons.
The mathematicians found the connection held up beautifully. "We knew we were onto something right away," says Ono. "It was an uncanny set of coincidences that lead us to this solution. It was as if it all just fell into our lap and now we are serendipitously applying our theory to longstanding open problems."
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison
My Nail config
My nail.cf
Saturday, 10. March 2007, 07:27:46
slax
# This is the configuration file for nail, a mail user agent.
# See nail(1) for further options.
# This file is not overwritten when 'make install' is run in
# the nail build process again.
# Sccsid @(#)nail.rc 2.9 (gritter) 1/15/05
# Do not forward to mbox by default since this is likely to be
# irritating for most users today.
set hold
# Append rather than prepend when writing to mbox automatically.
# This has no effect unless 'hold' is unset again.
set append
# Ask for a message subject.
set ask
# Assume a CRT-like terminal and invoke a pager.
set crt
# Messages may be terminated by a dot.
set dot
# Do not remove empty mail folders in the spool directory.
# This may be relevant for privacy since other users could
# otherwise create them with different permissions.
set keep
# Do not remove empty private mail folders.
set emptybox
# Quote the original message in replies by "> " as usual on the Internet.
set indentprefix="> "
# Automatically quote the text of the message that is responded to.
set quote
# Outgoing messages are sent in ISO-8859-1 if all their characters are
# representable in it, otherwise in UTF-8.
set sendcharsets=iso-8859-1,utf-8
# Display sender's real names in header summaries.
set showname
# Display the recipients of messages sent by the user himself in
# header summaries.
set showto
# Automatically check for new messages at each prompt, but avoid polling
# of IMAP servers or maildir folders.
set newmail=nopoll
# If threaded mode is activated, automatically collapse thread.
set autocollapse
# Hide some header fields which are uninteresting for most human readers.
ignore received in-reply-to message-id references
ignore mime-version content-transfer-encoding
# Only include selected header fields when forwarding messages.
fwdretain subject date from to
#rr
set smtp=smtp-server.satx.rr.com
set from="xxxxxxx@satx.rr.com"
set smtp-user=xxxxxx
set smtp-auth-password= xxxxxxxxxx
#google
set smtp-use-starttls
set smtp-auth=login
set smpt=smtp.gmail.com
set pop=pop.gmail.com
set from="gs2501@gmail (slax2501)"
set smtp-auth-user=gs2501
set smtp-auth-password=xxxxxx
Saturday, 10. March 2007, 07:27:46
slax
# This is the configuration file for nail, a mail user agent.
# See nail(1) for further options.
# This file is not overwritten when 'make install' is run in
# the nail build process again.
# Sccsid @(#)nail.rc 2.9 (gritter) 1/15/05
# Do not forward to mbox by default since this is likely to be
# irritating for most users today.
set hold
# Append rather than prepend when writing to mbox automatically.
# This has no effect unless 'hold' is unset again.
set append
# Ask for a message subject.
set ask
# Assume a CRT-like terminal and invoke a pager.
set crt
# Messages may be terminated by a dot.
set dot
# Do not remove empty mail folders in the spool directory.
# This may be relevant for privacy since other users could
# otherwise create them with different permissions.
set keep
# Do not remove empty private mail folders.
set emptybox
# Quote the original message in replies by "> " as usual on the Internet.
set indentprefix="> "
# Automatically quote the text of the message that is responded to.
set quote
# Outgoing messages are sent in ISO-8859-1 if all their characters are
# representable in it, otherwise in UTF-8.
set sendcharsets=iso-8859-1,utf-8
# Display sender's real names in header summaries.
set showname
# Display the recipients of messages sent by the user himself in
# header summaries.
set showto
# Automatically check for new messages at each prompt, but avoid polling
# of IMAP servers or maildir folders.
set newmail=nopoll
# If threaded mode is activated, automatically collapse thread.
set autocollapse
# Hide some header fields which are uninteresting for most human readers.
ignore received in-reply-to message-id references
ignore mime-version content-transfer-encoding
# Only include selected header fields when forwarding messages.
fwdretain subject date from to
#rr
set smtp=smtp-server.satx.rr.com
set from="xxxxxxx@satx.rr.com"
set smtp-user=xxxxxx
set smtp-auth-password= xxxxxxxxxx
set smtp-use-starttls
set smtp-auth=login
set smpt=smtp.gmail.com
set pop=pop.gmail.com
set from="gs2501@gmail (slax2501)"
set smtp-auth-user=gs2501
set smtp-auth-password=xxxxxx
Arthur C. Clark -- Predictions
Arthur C. CLARKE // Predicitions
Thursday, 22. March 2007, 19:02:48
arthur
Beyond 2001
Reader's Digest
February 2001
Sir Arthur C. Clarke:
No one can see into the future. What I try to do is outline possible "futures" - although totally expected inventions or events can render predictions absurd after only a few years. The classic example is the statement, made in the late 1940s, by the then chairman of IBM that the world market for computers was five. I have more than that in my own office.
Perhaps I am in no position to criticise: in 1971 I predicted the first Mars Landing in 1994; now we'll be lucky if we make it by 2010. On the other hand, I thought I was being wildly optimistic in 1951 by suggesting a mission to the moon in 1978. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin beat me by almost a decade.
Still, I take pride in the fact that communications satellites are placed exactly where I suggested in 1945, and the name "Clarke Orbit" is often used (if only because it's easier to say than "geostationary orbit").
Some of the event listed here, particularly the space missions, are already scheduled. I believe all the other events could happen, although several, I hope, will not. Check me for accuracy - on December 31, 2100.
2001 Cassini space probe (launched 1997) begins exploration of Saturn's moons and rings. Galileo probe (launched 1989) continues surveying Jupiter and its moons. Life beneath the ice-covered oceans of one moon, Europa, appears likely.
2002 The first commercial device producing clean, safe power by low-temperate nuclear reactions goes on the market, heralding the end of the Fossil Fuel Age.
2003 The motor industry is given five years to replace all fuel-burning engines with the new energy device. The same year, NASA's robot Mars Surveyor is launched.
2004 First (publicly admitted) human clone.
2005 First sample sent back to Earth by Mars Surveyor.
2006 Last coal mine closed.
2008 A city in a developing country is devastated by the accidental detonation of an atomic bomb in its armoury. After a brief debate in the United Nations, all nuclear weapons are destroyed.
2009 The first quantum generators (tapping space energy) are developed. Available in portable and household units, from a few kilowatts upwards, they can produce electricity indefinitely. Central power stations close down: the age of pylons ends.
Electronic monitoring virtually phases out professional criminals.
2011 Largest living animal filmed: a 76-metre octopus in the Mariana Trench. By coincidence, even larger creatures are then discovered when the first robot probes drill through the ice of Europa.
2012 Aerospace-planes enter commercial service.
2013 Prince Harry becomes the first member of the British royal family to fly in space.
2014 Construction of Hilton Orbiter Hotel begins by converting the giant shuttle tanks previously allowed to fall back to Earth.
2015 An inevitable by-product of the quantum generator is complete control of matter at the atomic level. Within a few years, because they are more useful, lead and copper cost twice as much as gold.
2016 Existing currencies are abolished. The "mega-watt-hour" becomes the universal unit of exchange.
2017 On his hundred birthday, December 16, Sir Arthur C. Clarke is one of the first guests in the Hilton Orbiter.
2019 A major meteor impact occurs on the north polar ice cap. The resulting tsunamis cause considerable damage along the coasts of Greeland and Canada. The long-discussed "Project Spaceguard," to identify and deflect potentially dangerous comets or asteroids, is finally activated.
2020 Artificial Intelligence reaches human level. From now on there are two intelligent species on Earth.
2021 The first humans land on Mars.
2023 Dinosaur facsimiles are cloned from computer-generated DNA.
2024 Infrared signals are detected coming from the centre of the Galaxy, obviously the product of a technologically advanced civilisation. All attempts to decipher them fail.
2025 Neurological research finally leads to an understanding of all the senses, and direct input becomes possible, bypassing ears, eyes, skin, etc. The result is the metal "Braincap." Anyone wearing this close-fitting helmet can enter a whole universe of experience, real or imaginary.
The Braincap is a boon to doctors, who can now experience their patients' symptoms (suitable attenuated). It also revolutionises the legal profession, as deliberate lying is now impossible.
2040 The "Universal Replicator," based on nanotechnology, is perfected: any object, however complex, can be created - given the necessary raw materials. Diamonds or gourmet meals can, literally, be made from dirt.
As a result, agriculture and industry are phased out - along with work. There is an explosion in the arts, entertainment and education. Hunter-gathere societies are deliberately recreated, with huge areas of the planet allowed to revert to their natural state.
2045 The totally self-contained mobile home (envisaged almost a century ago by Buckminster Fuller) is perfected. Any additional carbon needed from food synthesis is obtained by extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
2050 Bored in this era, millions decide to use cryonic suspension to emigrate into the future in search of adventure.
2057 On October 4, the centenary of Sputnik 1, the dawn of the space age is celebrated by humans on Earth, the Moon, Mars, Europa, Ganymede and Titan, and in orbit around Venus, Neptune and Pluto.
2061 Halley's Comet returns - first landing by humans, And the sensational discovery of both dormant and active life forms vindicates Wickramasinghe and Hoyle's century-old hypothesis that life exists through space.
2090 Burning of fossil fuels is resumed to replace carbon dioxide "mined" from the air and to try to postpone the next Ice Age by promoting global warming.
2095 The development of a "Space Drive" - a propulsion system reacting against the structure of space-time - makes the rocket obsolete and permits velocities close to that of light. Human explorers set off to nearby star systems.
2100 History begins...
Thursday, 22. March 2007, 19:02:48
arthur
Beyond 2001
Reader's Digest
February 2001
Sir Arthur C. Clarke:
No one can see into the future. What I try to do is outline possible "futures" - although totally expected inventions or events can render predictions absurd after only a few years. The classic example is the statement, made in the late 1940s, by the then chairman of IBM that the world market for computers was five. I have more than that in my own office.
Perhaps I am in no position to criticise: in 1971 I predicted the first Mars Landing in 1994; now we'll be lucky if we make it by 2010. On the other hand, I thought I was being wildly optimistic in 1951 by suggesting a mission to the moon in 1978. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin beat me by almost a decade.
Still, I take pride in the fact that communications satellites are placed exactly where I suggested in 1945, and the name "Clarke Orbit" is often used (if only because it's easier to say than "geostationary orbit").
Some of the event listed here, particularly the space missions, are already scheduled. I believe all the other events could happen, although several, I hope, will not. Check me for accuracy - on December 31, 2100.
2001 Cassini space probe (launched 1997) begins exploration of Saturn's moons and rings. Galileo probe (launched 1989) continues surveying Jupiter and its moons. Life beneath the ice-covered oceans of one moon, Europa, appears likely.
2002 The first commercial device producing clean, safe power by low-temperate nuclear reactions goes on the market, heralding the end of the Fossil Fuel Age.
2003 The motor industry is given five years to replace all fuel-burning engines with the new energy device. The same year, NASA's robot Mars Surveyor is launched.
2004 First (publicly admitted) human clone.
2005 First sample sent back to Earth by Mars Surveyor.
2006 Last coal mine closed.
2008 A city in a developing country is devastated by the accidental detonation of an atomic bomb in its armoury. After a brief debate in the United Nations, all nuclear weapons are destroyed.
2009 The first quantum generators (tapping space energy) are developed. Available in portable and household units, from a few kilowatts upwards, they can produce electricity indefinitely. Central power stations close down: the age of pylons ends.
Electronic monitoring virtually phases out professional criminals.
2011 Largest living animal filmed: a 76-metre octopus in the Mariana Trench. By coincidence, even larger creatures are then discovered when the first robot probes drill through the ice of Europa.
2012 Aerospace-planes enter commercial service.
2013 Prince Harry becomes the first member of the British royal family to fly in space.
2014 Construction of Hilton Orbiter Hotel begins by converting the giant shuttle tanks previously allowed to fall back to Earth.
2015 An inevitable by-product of the quantum generator is complete control of matter at the atomic level. Within a few years, because they are more useful, lead and copper cost twice as much as gold.
2016 Existing currencies are abolished. The "mega-watt-hour" becomes the universal unit of exchange.
2017 On his hundred birthday, December 16, Sir Arthur C. Clarke is one of the first guests in the Hilton Orbiter.
2019 A major meteor impact occurs on the north polar ice cap. The resulting tsunamis cause considerable damage along the coasts of Greeland and Canada. The long-discussed "Project Spaceguard," to identify and deflect potentially dangerous comets or asteroids, is finally activated.
2020 Artificial Intelligence reaches human level. From now on there are two intelligent species on Earth.
2021 The first humans land on Mars.
2023 Dinosaur facsimiles are cloned from computer-generated DNA.
2024 Infrared signals are detected coming from the centre of the Galaxy, obviously the product of a technologically advanced civilisation. All attempts to decipher them fail.
2025 Neurological research finally leads to an understanding of all the senses, and direct input becomes possible, bypassing ears, eyes, skin, etc. The result is the metal "Braincap." Anyone wearing this close-fitting helmet can enter a whole universe of experience, real or imaginary.
The Braincap is a boon to doctors, who can now experience their patients' symptoms (suitable attenuated). It also revolutionises the legal profession, as deliberate lying is now impossible.
2040 The "Universal Replicator," based on nanotechnology, is perfected: any object, however complex, can be created - given the necessary raw materials. Diamonds or gourmet meals can, literally, be made from dirt.
As a result, agriculture and industry are phased out - along with work. There is an explosion in the arts, entertainment and education. Hunter-gathere societies are deliberately recreated, with huge areas of the planet allowed to revert to their natural state.
2045 The totally self-contained mobile home (envisaged almost a century ago by Buckminster Fuller) is perfected. Any additional carbon needed from food synthesis is obtained by extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
2050 Bored in this era, millions decide to use cryonic suspension to emigrate into the future in search of adventure.
2057 On October 4, the centenary of Sputnik 1, the dawn of the space age is celebrated by humans on Earth, the Moon, Mars, Europa, Ganymede and Titan, and in orbit around Venus, Neptune and Pluto.
2061 Halley's Comet returns - first landing by humans, And the sensational discovery of both dormant and active life forms vindicates Wickramasinghe and Hoyle's century-old hypothesis that life exists through space.
2090 Burning of fossil fuels is resumed to replace carbon dioxide "mined" from the air and to try to postpone the next Ice Age by promoting global warming.
2095 The development of a "Space Drive" - a propulsion system reacting against the structure of space-time - makes the rocket obsolete and permits velocities close to that of light. Human explorers set off to nearby star systems.
2100 History begins...
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