Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, LSD-25, or acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family. Its unusual psychological effects, which include visuals of colored patterns behind the eyes in the mind, a sense of time distorting, and crawling geometric patterns, have made it one of the most widely known psychedelic drugs.

It has been used mainly as a recreational drug, an entheogen, and as a tool to supplement various practices for transcendence, including in meditation, psychonautics, art projects, and illicit (formerly legal) psychedelic therapy. Formally, LSD is classified as a hallucinogen of the psychedelic type.

It is synthesized from lysergic acid derived from ergot, a grain fungus that typically grows on rye, and was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann. The short form LSD comes from its early code name LSD-25, which is an abbreviation for the German "Lysergsäure-diethylamid" followed by a sequential number.

LSD is sensitive to oxygen, ultraviolet light, and chlorine, especially in solution, though its potency may last for years if it is stored away from light and moisture at low temperature. In pure form it is colorless, odorless, and mildly bitter

LSD is typically delivered orally, usually on a substrate such as absorbent blotter paper, a sugar cube, or gelatin. In its liquid form, it can be administered by intramuscular or intravenous injection. The threshold dosage level needed to cause a psychoactive effect on humans is between 20 and 30 µg (micrograms).

Introduced by Sandoz Laboratories as a drug with various psychiatric uses, LSD quickly became a therapeutic agent that appeared to show great promise. However, the extra-medicinal use of the drug in Western society during the mid-twentieth century led to a political firestorm that resulted in the banning of the substance.

A number of organizations—including the Beckley Foundation, MAPS, Heffter Research Institute and the Albert Hofmann Foundation—exist to fund, encourage and coordinate research into its medicinal uses.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports that LSD retail prices range between €5 and €11 per unit in most European countries.

LSD was first synthesized on November 16, 1938, by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland, as part of a large research program searching for medically useful ergot alkaloid derivatives.

Ergot is a fungus that, by infecting cereal grains used for making rye breads, causes ergotism. After Dr. Hofmann succeeded in synthesizing ergobasine (which became the preeminent uterotonic), he began working on other amide derivatives of lysergic acid. Lysergic acid diethylamide, the 25th lysergic acid derivative Hofmann synthesised (hence the name LSD-25), was developed initially as a probable analeptic, a circulatory and respiratory stimulant, based on its structural similarity to another known analeptic, nikethamide (nicotinic acid diethylamide).

However, no extraordinary benefits of the compound were identified during animal tests (though laboratory notes briefly mention that the animals became "restless" under its effects), and its study was discontinued.

Its psychedelic properties were unknown until five years later, when Hofmann, acting on what he has called a "peculiar presentiment," returned to work on the chemical.

While re-synthesizing LSD-25 for further study on April 16, 1943, Hofmann became dizzy and was forced to stop work. In his journal, Hofmann wrote that after becoming dizzy he proceeded home and was affected by a "remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness". Hofmann stated that as he lay in his bed he sank into a not-unpleasant "intoxicated like condition" which was characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination.

He stated that he was in a dreamlike state, and with his eyes closed he could see uninterrupted streams of "fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors." The condition lasted about two hours after which it faded away.

Hofmann had attributed the psychoactive effects he experienced to accidentally absorbing a tiny amount of LSD-25 into his skin. Three days later he would take a much larger dose in order to test its effects further; this day would later be referred to as the "Bicycle Day".

Bicycle dayOn April 19, 1943, Dr. Albert Hofmann intentionally ingested 250 µg of LSD, which he hypothesized would be at most a threshold level dose, based on his research on other ergot alkaloids. Surprisingly, the substance showed a potency orders of magnitude above almost any other substance known at the time, amounting to a much heavier dose than typically given in modern therapeutic use.

After ingesting the substance Hofmann found himself struggling to speak intelligibly and asked his laboratory assistant, who knew of the self-experiment, to escort him home on his bicycle, since wartime restrictions made automobiles unavailable.

On the bicycle ride home, Hofmann's condition became more severe and in his journal he stated that everything in his field of vision wavered and was distorted, as if seen in a curved mirror. Hofmann also stated that while riding on the bicycle, he had the sensation of being stationary, unable to move from where he was, despite the fact that he was moving very rapidly.

Once Hofmann arrived home, he summoned a doctor and asked his neighbor for milk, believing it might help relieve the symptoms. Hofmann wrote that despite his delirious and bewildered condition, he was able to choose milk as a nonspecific antidote for poisoning.

Upon arriving the attending doctor could find no abnormal physical symptoms other than extremely dilated pupils. After spending several hours terrified that his body had been possessed by a demon, that his next door neighbor was a witch, and that his furniture was threatening him, Dr. Hofmann feared he had become completely insane. In his journal Hofmann said that the doctor saw no reason to prescribe medication and instead sent him to his bed.

At this time Hofmann said that the feelings of fear had started to give way to feelings of good fortune and gratitude, and that he was now enjoying the colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind his closed eyes. Hofmann mentions seeing "fantastic images" surging past him, alternating and opening and closing themselves into circles and spirals and finally exploding into colored fountains and then rearranging themselves in a constant flux.

Hofmann mentions that during the condition every acoustic perception, such as the sound of a passing automobile, was transformed into optical perceptions.
Eventually Hofmann slept and upon awakening the next morning felt refreshed and clearheaded, though somewhat physically tired. He also stated that he had a sensation of well being and renewed life and that his breakfast tasted unusually delicious.

Upon walking in his garden he remarked that all of his senses were "vibrating in a condition of highest sensitivity, which then persisted for the entire day".
Early researchEarly researchers on LSD saw its potency and noticed that even in extremely small quantities it could significantly alter the mental functioning of healthy volunteers.

Since LSD could produce changes in perceptions and emotions, early researchers hypothesized that the cause of some mental illnesses, particularly schizophrenia, were caused by endogenous compounds with a similar activity to LSD.

Much of the research during the late 1940s dealt with this hypothesis and many LSD sessions conducted for scientific study were often termed "experimental psychoses", and this is where the terms "psychoactive" , "psychotomimetic" and "hallucinogenic" were coined to refer to such drugs.[citation needed] Generally these studies revolved around the attempt to block the effects of LSD with premedication in order to find medical treatments for schizophrenia.

The studies showed that there was no such connection (the effects of LSD and those of schizophrenia are drastically different and have different causes and functions). Some early researchers also started to suggest that LSD could have positive effects and could be used as a treatment for patients with psychiatric illnesses.

Some reports suggested that even small doses of LSD could have dramatic effects on the personalities, attitudes, and even lifestyles of test subjects. Early LSD research also found evidence of the drug's ability to facilitate relief of various emotional episodes related to traumatic memories from childhood of patients.

During the Cold War, intelligence agencies were keenly interested in the possibilities of using LSD for interrogation and mind control, as well as for large-scale social engineering. The CIA research on LSD, most of which was done under Project MKULTRA, the code name for a CIA mind-control research program, began in the 1950s and continued until the late 1960s.

Tests were also conducted by the U.S. Army Biomedical Laboratory (now known as the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense) located in the Edgewood Arsenal at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The government would administer LSD to subjects (without consent) and then perform a battery of tests to investigate the effects of the drug on soldiers.

Further CIA-funded testing was carried out at the Allan Memorial (Psychiatric) Institute in Montreal, a division of the Royal Victoria Hospital, which is a teaching hospital of McGill University. Most of the results of these experiments remain classified. Based on remaining publicly available records, the projects were said to be inconclusive.

Both the CIA and the Army experiments caused controversy when they became public knowledge in the 1970s, as the test subjects were not normally informed of the nature of the experiments, or even that they were subjects in experiments at all.

In 1961, Paul Robeson attempted suicide in a Moscow hotel room. His son claimed this was precipitated by a CIA agent who placed some synthetic hallucinogen in his drink
At least one person, an Army scientist named Frank Olson is thought by some to have committed suicide by leaping from a tall building as a result of his being unknowingly given LSD.

Frank Olson's son, Eric Olson, believes that his father was murdered by government officials and a 1994 exhumation and examination by forensic pathologists at George Washington University of the body suggested that Olson had suffered blunt trauma to the back of his head prior to falling from the building.

Most of the MKULTRA records were deliberately destroyed in 1973. The controversy contributed to President Ford's creation of the Rockefeller Commission and new regulations on informed consent.

The British government also engaged in LSD testing. In 1953 and 1954, scientists working for MI6 dosed servicemen in an effort to find a "truth drug" that could be used in interrogations. The test subjects were not informed that they were being given LSD, and had in fact been told that they were participating in a medical project to find a cure for the common cold.

One subject, aged 19 at the time, reported seeing "walls melting, cracks appearing in people's faces … eyes would run down cheeks, Salvador Dalí-type faces … a flower would turn into a slug". After keeping the trials secret for many years, MI6 agreed in 2006 to pay the former test subjects financial compensation.

Current researchToday, most research with LSD involves animals or cells. However, a few groups are exploring LSD effects in humans. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies has an eight-person study in Switzerland to see if a large dose of LSD (200 µg) is more helpful as part of psychotherapy for cancer patients than a lower dose (20 µg).

The Beckley Foundation is studying the effects of LSD on mental activity and consciousness in LSD-experienced volunteers, in order to gain insight into its reported effects on creativity and insight

It is hypothesised that LSD could be used in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder due to the substance's stimulation of the 5-HT2A receptors

There has been additional interest in studying the effects of LSD on cluster headaches, although the current status of this research is uncertain. While some of these studies could be criticized for being too small to lead to strong conclusions, they may represent the beginnings of renewed scientific interest into LSD.

Effects
PharmacokineticsLSD's effects normally last from 6–12 hours depending on dosage, tolerance, body weight and age - Sandoz's prospectus for "Delysid" warned: "intermittent disturbances of affect may occasionally persist for several days."

Contrary to early reports and common belief, LSD effects do not last longer than the amount of time significant levels of the drug are present in the blood. Aghajanian and Bing found LSD had an elimination half-life of 175 minutes,while, more recently, Papac and Foltz reported that 1 µg/kg oral LSD given to a single male volunteer had an apparent plasma half-life of 5.1 hours, with a peak plasma concentration of 5 ng/mL at 3 hours post-dose

Pharmacodynamics
LSD affects a large number of the G protein coupled receptors, including all dopamine receptor subtypes, all adrenoreceptor subtypes as well as many others. LSD binds to most serotonin receptor subtypes except for 5-HT3 and 5-HT4. However, most of these receptors are affected at too low affinity to be activated by the brain concentration of approximate 10–20 nM.

Recreational doses of LSD can affect 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C, 5-HT5A, 5-HT5B, and 5-HT6 receptors. The psychotropic effects of LSD are attributed to its strong partial agonist effects at 5-HT2A receptors as specific 5-HT2A agonist drugs are psychotropics and largely 5-HT2A specific antagonists block the psychotropic activity of LSD.

Exactly how this produces the drug's effects is unknown, but it is thought that it works by increasing glutamate release and hence excitation in the cerebral cortex, specifically in layers IV and V.

In the later stages, LSD might act through DARPP-32-related pathways that are likely the same for multiple drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, caffeine, PCP, ethanol and morphine.

One experiment studying the actions of LSD was performed by Barry Jacobs recording from electrodes implanted into Raphe nuclei.

Behaviorally relevant doses of LSD result in a complete blockade of action potential activity in the dorsal raphe, effectively shutting off the principal endogenous source of serotonin to the telencephalon.Some reports indicate that although administration of chlorpromazine (Thorazine) or similar typical antipsychotic tranquilizers will not end an LSD trip, it will either lessen the intensity or immobilize and numb the patient, a side effect of the medication.

While it also may not end an LSD trip, the best chemical treatment for a "bad trip" is an anxiolytic agent such as diazepam (Valium) or another benzodiazepine. As the effect of the drug is psychological as well as physical, any treatment should focus on calming the patient. Limiting stimuli such as bright light and loud sounds can help in the event of an abreaction
PsychologicalLSD's psychological effects (colloquially called a "trip") vary greatly from person to person, depending on factors such as previous experiences, state of mind and environment, as well as dose strength.

They also vary from one trip to another, and even as time passes during a single trip.
An LSD trip can have long-term psychoemotional effects; some users cite the LSD experience as causing significant changes in their personality and life perspective. Widely different effects emerge based on what has been called set and setting; the "set" being the general mindset of the user, and the "setting" being the physical and social environment in which the drug's effects are experienced.

Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert considered the chemical to be of potentially beneficial application in psychotherapy. If the user is in a hostile or otherwise unsettling environment, or is not mentally prepared for the powerful distortions in perception and thought that the drug causes, effects are more likely to be unpleasant than if he or she is in a comfortable environment and has a relaxed, balanced and open mindset.

Some psychological effects may include an experience of radiant colors, objects and surfaces appearing to ripple or "breathe," colored patterns behind the eyes, a sense of time distorting (time seems to be stretching, repeating itself, changing speed or stopping), crawling geometric patterns overlaying walls and other objects, morphing objects, a sense that one's thoughts are spiraling into themselves, loss of a sense of identity or the ego (known as "ego death"), and powerful, and sometimes brutal, psycho-physical reactions interpreted by some users as reliving their own birth.

Many users experience a dissolution between themselves and the "outside world". This unitive quality may play a role in the spiritual and religious aspects of LSD.

The drug sometimes leads to disintegration or restructuring of the user's historical personality and creates a mental state that some users report allows them to have more choice regarding the nature of their own personality.

Some experts hypothesize that drugs such as LSD may be useful in psychotherapy, especially when the patient is unable to "unblock" repressed subconscious material through other psychotherapeutic methods, and also for treating alcoholism. One study concluded, "The root of the therapeutic value of the LSD experience is its potential for producing self-acceptance and self-surrender,"

presumably by forcing the user to face issues and problems in that individual's psyche. Many believe that, in contrast to other drugs (such as alcohol, heroin, and cocaine) which are used to escape from reality, LSD produces a more introspective experience.Some studies in the 1950s that used LSD to treat alcoholism professed a 50% success rate, five times higher than estimates near 10% for Alcoholics Anonymous.

These studies were criticized for methodological flaws, and different groups had inconsistent results. Mangini's 1998 paper reviewed this history. She concluded that the efficacy of LSD in treating alcoholism remains an open question.

Many notable individuals have commented publicly on their experiences with LSD.Some of these comments date from the era when it was legally available in the US and Europe for non-medical uses, and others pertain to psychiatric treatment in the 1950s and 60s. Still others describe experiences with illegal LSD, obtained for philosophic, artistic, therapeutic, spiritual, or recreational purposes.

Sensory / perceptionLSD causes expansion and an altered experience of senses, emotions, memories, time, and awareness for 6 to 14 hours, depending on dosage and tolerance. Generally beginning within thirty to ninety minutes after ingestion, the user may experience anything from subtle changes in perception to overwhelming cognitive shifts. Changes in auditory and visual perception are typical.

Visual effects include the illusion of movement of static surfaces ("walls breathing"), after image-like trails of moving objects ("tracers"), the appearance of moving colored geometric patterns (especially with closed eyes), an intensification of colors and brightness ("sparkling"), new textures on objects, blurred vision, and shape suggestibility.

Users commonly report that the inanimate world appears to animate in an unexplained way; for instance, objects that are static in three dimensions can seem to be moving relative to one or more additional spatial dimensions

Many of the basic visual effects resemble the phosphenes seen after applying pressure to the eye and have also been studied under the name "form constants". The auditory effects of LSD may include echo-like distortions of sounds, changes in ability to discern concurrent auditory stimuli, and a general intensification of the experience of music.

Higher doses often cause intense and fundamental distortions of sensory perception such as synaesthesia, the experience of additional spatial or temporal dimensions, and temporary dissociation.

SpiritualLSD is considered an entheogen because it can catalyze intense spiritual experiences, during which users may feel they have come into contact with a greater spiritual or cosmic order. Some users report insights into the way the mind works, and some experience long-lasting changes in their life perspective. Some users consider LSD a religious sacrament, or a powerful tool for access to the divine.

Dr. Stanislav Grof has written that religious and mystical experiences observed during LSD sessions appear to be phenomenologically indistinguishable from similar descriptions in the sacred scriptures of the great religions of the world and the secret mystical texts of ancient civilizations.

Potential risks of LSD useLSD is generally considered nontoxic, although it may temporarily impair the ability to make sensible judgments and understand common dangers, thus making the user more susceptible to accidents and personal injury. There is also some indication that LSD may trigger a dissociative fugue state in individuals who are taking certain classes of antidepressants such as lithium salts and tricyclics.

In such a state, the user has an impulse to wander, and may not be aware of his or her actions, which can lead to physical injury. SSRIs are believed to interact more benignly, with a tendency to noticeably reduce LSD's subjective effects. Similar and perhaps greater effects have also been reported with MAOIs.

As Albert Hofmann reports in LSD – My Problem Child, the early pharmacological testing Sandoz performed on the compound (before he ever discovered its psychoactive properties) indicated that LSD has a pronounced effect upon the mammalian uterus. Sandoz's testing showed that LSD can stimulate uterine contractions with efficacy comparable to ergobasine, the active uterotonic component of the ergot fungus (Hofmann's work on ergot derivatives also produced a modified form of ergobasine which became a widely accepted medication used in obstetrics, under the trade name Methergine). Therefore, LSD use by pregnant women could be dangerous and is contraindicated.

Initial studies in the 1960s and 1970s raised concerns that LSD might produce genetic damageor developmental abnormalities in fetuses. However, these initial reports were based on in vitro studies or were poorly controlled and have not been substantiated.

In studies of chromosomal changes in human users and in monkeys, the balance of evidence suggests no increase in chromosomal damage. For example, studies were conducted with people who had been given LSD in a clinical setting.White blood cells from these people were examined for visible chromosomal abnormalities.

Overall, there appeared to be no lasting changes. Several studies have been conducted using illicit LSD users and provide a less clear picture. Interpretation of this data is generally complicated by factors such as the unknown chemical composition of street LSD, concurrent use of other psychoactive drugs, and diseases such as hepatitis in the sampled populations.

It seems possible that the small number of genetic abnormalities reported in users of street LSD is either coincidental or related to factors other than a toxic effect of pure LSD.

Flashbacks versus HPPD"Flashbacks" are a reported psychological phenomenon in which an individual experiences an episode of some of LSD's subjective effects long after the drug has worn off — usually in the days after typical doses. In some rarer cases, flashbacks have lasted longer, but are generally short-lived and mild compared to the actual LSD "trip." Flashbacks can incorporate both positive and negative aspects of LSD trips.

Flashbacks have proven difficult to study and are no longer officially recognized as a psychiatric syndrome. However, colloquial usage of the term persists and usually refers to any drug-free experience reminiscent of psychedelic drug effects, with the typical connotation that the episodes are of short duration.

No definitive explanation is currently available for these experiences. Any attempt at explanation must reflect several observations: first, over 70 percent of LSD users claim never to have "flashed back"; second, the phenomenon does appear linked with LSD use, though a causal connection has not been established; and third, a higher proportion of psychiatric patients report flashbacks than other users.

Several studies have tried to determine how likely a user of LSD, not suffering from known psychiatric conditions, is to experience flashbacks. The larger studies include Blumenfeld's in 1971 and Naditch and Fenwick's in 1977, which arrived at figures of 20% and 28%, respectively.

Although flashbacks themselves are not recognized as a medical syndrome, there is a recognized syndrome called Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) in which LSD-like visual changes are not temporary and brief, as they are in flash-backs, but instead are persistent, and cause clinically significant impairment or distress.

This syndrome can occur in people who have never taken hallucinogenic drugs. The syndrome is a DSM-IV diagnosis. Several scientific journal articles have described the disorder.

HPPD differs from flashbacks in that it is persistent and apparently entirely visual (although mood and anxiety disorders are sometimes diagnosed in the same individuals). A recent review suggests that HPPD (as defined in the DSM-IV) is rare and affects only a distinctly vulnerable subpopulation of users. However, it is possible that the prevalence of HPPD is underestimated because most of the diagnoses are applied to people who are willing to admit to their health care practitioner that they have previously used psychotropics, and presumably many people are reluctant to admit this.There is no consensus regarding the nature and causes of HPPD (or flashbacks).

Given that some symptoms have environmental triggers, it may represent a failure to adjust visual processing to changing environmental conditions. There are no explanations for why only some individuals develop HPPD. Explanations in terms of LSD physically remaining in the body for months or years after consumption have been discounted by experimental evidence
Some say HPPD is a manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder, not related to the direct action of LSD on brain chemistry, and varies according to the susceptibility of the individual to the disorder.

Many emotionally intense experiences can lead to flashbacks when a person is reminded acutely of the original experience. However, not all published case reports of HPPD appear to describe an anxious hyper-vigilant state reminiscent of post-traumatic stress disorder. Instead, some cases appear to involve only visual symptoms.

Psychosis
There are some cases of LSD inducing a psychosis in people who appeared to be healthy prior to taking LSD. This issue was reviewed extensively in a 1984 publication by Rick Strassman.[65] In most cases, the psychosis-like reaction is of short duration, but in other cases it may be chronic. It is difficult to determine whether LSD itself induces these reactions or if it triggers latent conditions that would have manifested themselves otherwise.

The similarities of time course and outcomes between putatively LSD-precipitated and other psychoses suggests that the two types of syndromes are not different and that LSD may have been a nonspecific trigger. Several studies have tried to estimate the prevalence of LSD-induced prolonged psychosis arriving at numbers of around 4 in 1,000 individuals (0.8 in 1,000 volunteers and 1.8 in 1,000 psychotherapy patients in Cohen 1960; 9 per 1,000 psychotherapy patients in Melleson 1971).

Source : Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD

Privacy risk' of new mobiles

'Privacy risk' of new mobiles that give away location and stored details to marketing firms

Millions of us are unwittingly signing away our rights to privacy when we upgrade to flashy new mobile phones, warn campaigners.
The latest handsets are so advanced they can reveal the location of the owner to within a few yards - along with their internet shopping habits, their interests and the names and addresses of their friends.
Although phone providers are not supposed to pass on this 'Big Brother' data without permission, a 'worryingly large number' of people give consent for the information to be sold to marketing companies, campaigners say

Simon Davies, of human rights group Privacy International, said the danger came when customers signed up to contracts or downloaded new mobile phone applications without reading the small print.
One of the most potentially intrusive applications is Google Latitude, which lets mobile phone owners 'share' their location with anyone in the world.
Mr Davies added that the risks of such snooping software on these 'smart phones' were far more sinister than Google's controversial-Street View service.
'People are giving consent for mobile phone companies to pass on this information without realising the consequences,' he said.
'Ninety per cent are mesmerised by the shiny new phone and don't understand the implications of signing away rights they would normally have under the Data Protection Act.
'People should care because this sort of information can be passed to a third party such as a credit provider or a credit reference company. It provides an enormous database that could be cherry-picked by the Government or police.
'It provides a remarkable insight into who you are, what you do, who you know and where you have been. Unless regulators get to grip with this we are all doomed.'
Records of website visits, messages, phone calls and even real-life locations visited can be stored by a mobile phone company. Although each application is relatively harmless on its own, combining data from several is potentially lucrative.
Glyn Read, a former marketing director of SAS Institute, a leading behavioural analysis company, said the ‘real worry’ would come when governments start to demand access to the data.
‘What is going on at the moment is the opening of a barn door in your personal habits,’ he told the Guardian. ‘The value of understanding people's personal information is enormous - this will allow a form of subliminal advertising.'
Google insists that it does not sell personal information about its users to private companies.
And it denies that it can link information about people from different mobile phone applications.
‘We don't know where customers are at any time - the information from Google Latitude is kept separate from information from other Google services, a spokesman said.
‘Google's motivation is to make sure users are happy to use our services. We have to win people's trust every day.
'We are extremely careful with user's information data and we make products that protect people's privacy.’
Neil Andrew, head of portal advertising for the mobile phone company 3, said his company would only pass on information with the consent of a customer.
But he conceded: ‘Mobile is the key to understanding where a person is and what they have been browsing.

How Microprocessors Work

The computer you are using to read this page uses a microprocessor to do its work. The microprocessor is the heart of any normal computer, whether it is a desktop machine, a server or a laptop. The microprocessor you are using might be a Pentium, a K6, a PowerPC, a Sparc or any of the many other brands and types of microprocessors, but they all do approximately the same thing in approximately the same way.

A microprocessor -- also known as a CPU or central processing unit -- is a complete computation engine that is fabricated on a single chip. The first microprocessor was the Intel 4004, introduced in 1971. The 4004 was not very powerful -- all it could do was add and subtract, and it could only do that 4 bits at a time. But it was amazing that everything was on one chip. Prior to the 4004, engineers built computers either from collections of chips or from discrete components (transistors wired one at a time). The 4004 powered one of the first portable electronic calculators.

If you have ever wondered what the microprocessor in your computer is doing, or if you have ever wondered about the differences between types of microprocessors, then read on. In this article, you will learn how fairly simple digital logic techniques allow a computer to do its job, whether its playing a game or spell checking a document!

How Hackers Work

Thanks to the media, the word "hacker" has gotten a bad reputation. The word summons up thoughts of malicious computer users finding new ways to harass people, defraud corporations, steal information and maybe even destroy the economy or start a war by infiltrating military computer systems.

While there's no denying that there are hackers out there with bad intentions, they make up only a small percentage of the hacker community. ­

The term computer hacker first showed up in the mid-1960s. A hacker was a programmer -- someone who hacked out computer code. Hackers were visionaries who could see new ways to use computers, creating programs that no one else could conceive. They were the pioneers of the computer industry, building everything from small applications to operating systems.

In this sense, people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were all hackers -- they saw the potential of what computers could do and created ways to achieve that potential.

A unifying trait among these hackers was a strong sense of curiosity, sometimes bordering on obsession. These hackers prided themselves on not only their ability to create new programs, but also to learn how other programs and systems worked.

When a program had a bug -- a section of bad code that prevented the program from working properly -- hackers would often create and distribute small sections of code called patches to fix the problem. Some managed to land a job that leveraged their skills, getting paid for what they'd happily do for free.

As computers evolved, computer engineers began to network individual machines together into a system. Soon, the term hacker had a new meaning -- a person using computers to explore a network to which he or she didn't belong. Usually hackers didn't have any malicious intent.

They just wanted to know how computer networks worked and saw any barrier between them and that knowledge as a challenge. ­

In fact, that's still the case today. While there are plenty of stories about malicious hackers sabotaging computer systems, infiltrating networks and spreading computer viruses, most hackers are just curious -- they want to know all the intricacies of the computer world.

Some use their knowledge to help corporations and governments construct better security measures. Others might use their skills for more unethical endeavors.

In this article, we'll explore common techniques hackers use to infiltrate systems. We'll examine hacker culture and the various kinds of hackers as well as learn about famous hackers, some of whom have run afoul of the law.

The Hacker Toolbox - The main resource hackers rely upon, apart from their own ingenuity, is computer Internet, only a relatively small number of hackers actually program code. Many hackers seek out and download code written by other people. There are thousands of different programs hackers use to explore computers and networks. These programs give hackers a lot of power over innocent users and organizations -- once a skilled hacker knows how a system works, he can design programs that exploit it. code. While there is a large community of hackers on the

Malicious hackers use programs to:

• Log keystrokes: Some programs allow hackers to review every keystroke a computer user makes. Once installed on a victim's computer, the programs record each keystroke, giving the hacker everything he needs to infiltrate a system or even steal someone's identity.
• Hack passwords: There are many ways to hack someone's password, from educated guesses to simple algorithms that generate combinations of letters, numbers and symbols. The trial and error method of hacking passwords is called a brute force attack, meaning the hacker tries to generate every possible combination to gain access. Another way to hack passwords is to use a dictionary attack, a program that inserts common words into password fields.
• Infect a computer or system with a virus: Computer viruses are programs designed to duplicate themselves and cause problems ranging from crashing a computer to wiping out everything on a system's hard drive. A hacker might install a virus by infiltrating a system, but it's much more common for hackers to create simple viruses and send them out to potential victims via email, instant messages, Web sites with downloadable content or peer-to-peer networks.
• Gain backdoor access: Similar to hacking passwords, some hackers create programs that search for unprotected pathways into network systems and computers. In the early days of the Internet, many computer systems had limited security, making it possible for a hacker to find a pathway into the system without a username or password. Another way a hacker might gain backdoor access is to infect a computer or system with a Trojan horse.
• Create zombie computers: A zombie computer, or bot, is a computer that a hacker can use to send spam or commit Distributed Denial of Servicespam. (DDoS) attacks. After a victim executes seemingly innocent code, a connection opens between his computer and the hacker's system. The hacker can secretly control the victim's computer, using it to commit crimes or spread
• Spy on e-mail: Hackers have created code that lets them intercept and read e-mail messages -- the Internet's equivalent to wiretapping. Today, most e-mail programs use encryption formulas so complex that even if a hacker intercepts the message, he won't be able to read it.

Cool Sites

www.Popsci.com
www.HowStuffWork.COm

A Plastic Bicycle

Innervision: Photo courtesy of BikeCommuters.com

Forget the carbon-fiber bike that costs more than your house. How about one made of plastic? The Innervision bike is a design concept by industrial designer Matt Clark that ditches high-cost complex materials for pre-molded plastic parts.

Clark's design eliminates the labor-intensive welding and heat treatment process associated with modern bike manufacturing. The current prototype has an inner and outer frame that is made of polypropylene -- that could be replaced with recycled plastic in the future. Prototype components were thermoformed and welded together without adhesives, but future versions could be compression-molded. While we're not expecting Lance to saddle up anytime soon, a lower-cost alternative for more social riders might be of interest.

Shades of the Future

Hindsight: Billy May

Looks like Lance Armstrong might have a new pair of sunglasses for his comeback tour. The blogs lit up in the past few weeks with attention surrounding a pair of Nike sunglasses that increase a rider's peripheral vision from the standard 180 degrees to up to 240.

Given Lance's pension for wearing yellow, the new specs could come in handy. Only problem is that Nike isn't actually making the glasses. Confused? We dug into the mystery.

If it looks like a Nike product and has marketing material that looks like a Nike product, then it must be ... a student with too much time on his hands and a working knowledge of Photoshop? It ends up that Nike has nothing to do with the seemingly impressive technology.

Our contact with Nike confirmed that the company is asking the rogue inventor, Billy May, to remove the swoosh branding from his design.

May is a self-proclaimed broke, unemployed recent college graduate from Washington and Lee University with little engineering background, who's looking for his big break. Hope this helps.

So if Nike isn't involved, does that mean the glasses won't work? Not so fast. May has created two prototypes that don't look as pretty as the mockup but provide a proof of concept. With a lens (possibly a Fresnel lens) with high-power negative focal length on the peripheral portion of the glasses, wearers can cram more into their peripheral vision.

The glasses are like "bifocals for their peripheral vision." The tradeoff is a slight distortion of that peripheral view. An annoyance to a guy on a Sunday stroll, but perhaps an acceptable side effect for those in sports and the military, where identifying motion is more important than any details.

Sound too good to be true? May thought the same, but a prior art search and some old-fashioned digging hasn't found anything to deter his quest.

All he needs now is some big-shot sports manufacturer with a hefty R&D budget to help develop the concept. Or maybe a consumer advocate to push for said financial backing. Lance, you busy?

Nokia E55

Specifications
Size
* Form: Monoblock
* Dimensions: 116.5 x 49 x 9.9 mm
* Weight: 95g
* Volume: 54 cc
* compact qwerty design

Display and 3D
* Size: 2.4"
* Resolution: 320 x 240 (QVGA)
* Up to 16 million colours
* Automatic display orientation (landscape/portrait)

Keys and input method
* Compact qwerty keyboard
* Numeric keypad
* One-touch keys (Home, Calendar, Messaging)
* Side volume keys
* Mute key
* Voice commands: - Media (Cameras, Gallery, Music Player, Radio, Real Player, Voice Recorder)
- Messaging (Messaging, New e-mail, New message, Read e-mails, Read messages, Read new e-mails, Read new messages)
- Organizer (Calculator, Calendar, Clock, Converter, Data Synchronization, File manager, Notepad, What time is it)
- Profiles (General, Silent, Meeting, Outdoor, Pager, Offline)
- Tools (Connection manager, Device manager, Help, Landmarks, Personalization, Profiles, Settings, Speed dialling, Voice commands, Voice mail)
- Application manager
- Bluetooth
- Browser
- Logs
- Navigator (= GPS data)
- Phonebook
* Compact qwerty keyboard with predictive text recognition

Connectors
* USB high speed
* 3.5 mm Nokia audio connector

Memory
* 2 GB MicroSD memory card (with hot swap), support for up to 16 GB
* 100 MB internal memory
* 256 MB NAND flash

Power
* BP-4L 1500mAh battery
* Talk time (maximum):
-GSM 8 h
- WCDMA 6 h
* Standby time (maximum):
- GSM 672 h
- WCDMA 456 h
* Music playback time (maximum):
- Music Player 18 h
- FM radio 30 h

Communication and navigation
Operating frequency
* Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
* Automatic switching between GSM bands
* Offline mode

Data network
* GPRS class A, multislot class 32
* EGSM class A, multislot class 32
* WCDMA 900/1900/2100 or 850/1900/2100
* HSDPA maximum speed: 10.2 Mbps
* HSUPA maximum speed 2Gbits
* WLAN 802.11b, 802.11g
* TCP/IP support
* Capability to serve as data modem











Local connectivity and synchronisation
* Bluetooth version 2.0
* Add-on solutions enable integration into enterprise private branch exchange (PBX) infrastructure
* Digital Home support
* UPnP support
* MTP (Mobile Transfer Protocol) support
* Printing
* Network (Raw). Direct TCP/IP socket connection to any specified port
* Network (LPR). Line Printer Daemon protocol (RFC1179)
* Printing to file
* USB PictBridge printing
* PC Suite for local data sync
* Ovi
* ActiveSync (Nokia messaging)
* IntelliSync (Nokia messaging)

Call features
* Integrated handsfree and conference call
* Automatic answer with headset or car kit
* Any key answer
* Call waiting, call hold,call divert
* Call timer
* Logging of dialled, received and missed calls
* Automatic redial
* Speed dialling
* Enhanced voice dialling
* Fixed dialling number support
* Vibrating alert (internal)
* Side volume keys
* Mute/unmute side key
* Contacts with images
* Conference calling
* Video calling (VGA)
* Push to talk
* SIP VoIP 3.0

Messaging
* SMS, up to 10 SMS concatenated
* SMS storage
* List of recently used numbers
* Multiple SMS deletion
* Text-to-speech message reader
* MMS version 1.2
* Automatic resizing of images for MMS
* Common inbox for SMS and MMS messages
* Distribution lists (contact groups) for messaging
* Instant Messaging:
- Windows (MSN) Live
- Yahoo! IM
- OMA IM
- Presence
- Contacts on Ovi
* Cell broadcast

E-mail
* Supported protocols: IMAP4 (with idle), Intellisync, Mail for Exchange, POP3, SMTP
* Support for e-mail attachments
* Support for Mail for Exchange
* Support for Lotus Notes Traveller
* Integrated Nokia Mobile VPN

Web browsing
* Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML, MP, WML, CSS
* Supported protocols: HTTP, WAP
* TCP/IP support
* Nokia Mini Map browser
* Nokia Mobile Search (in-device and Internet)

GPS and navigation
* A-GPS with compass
* Nokia Maps application

Software platform and user interface
* S60 3.2.3
* Active standby
* Symbian OS 9.3
* Voice commands:
- Media (Cameras, Gallery, Music Player, Radio, Real Player, Voice Recorder)
- Messaging (Messaging, New e-mail, New message, Read e-mails, Read messages, Read new e-mails, Read new messages)
- Organizer (Calculator, Calendar, Clock, Converter, Data Synchronization, File manager, Notepad, What time is it)
- Profiles (General, Silent, Meeting, Outdoor, Pager, Offline)
- Tools (Connection manager, Device manager, Help, Landmarks, Personalization, Profiles, Settings, Speed dialling, Voice commands, Voice mail)
- Application manager
- Bluetooth
- Browser
- Logs
- Navigator (= GPS data)
- Phonebook
* FOTA (Firmware update Over The Air)
* Predictive text input
* Home screen Modes – Business and Personal
* One-touch keys (Home, Calendar Messaging)
* Nokia Mini Map browser
* Contacts with images
* Hands free Voice UI
* Contacts on Ovi
* Files on Ovi
Personal information management (PIM): contacts, clock, calendar etc.
* Storage capacity depends on available memory
* Eseries contacts with images
* Support for assigning images to contacts
* Support for contact groups
* Closed user group support
* Fixed Dialling Number support
* Clock: analogue and digital
* Alarm clock with ring tones
* Reminders
* Calculator with advanced functions
* Eseries Calendar
* Converter
* Active Notes
* To-do list
* PIM information viewable during call

Applications
* Java™ MIDP 2.0, JavaScript 1.3 and 1.5 support
* Flash Lite 3.0
* Instant Messaging:
- Windows (MSN) Live
- Yahoo! IM
- OMA IM
- Presence
- Contacts on Ovi
* Nokia Mini Map Browser
* Quick Office editors
* PDF Viewer
* ZIP Manager
* MOT Dictionary
* Files on Ovi, 60 day trial with 1 GB disk space
* Maps, 10 x 1 day licence to be used within 3 months
* Nokia Messaging lifetime subscription
* Nokia Mobile Search
* Nokia Office Tools
* Nokia PC Suite
* N-Gage
* Adding more applications: IAD (independent application delivery) supported

Gaming
* Game pack included:
- Block Cascade
- Solitaire
* N-Gage application included

Photography
* 3.2 megapixel EDOF camera with flash
* Image formats: JPEG
* EDOF
* 4x digital zoom
* LED Flash
* Flash modes: on, off, automatic, red-eye reduction
* White balance modes: auto, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
* Centre weighted auto exposure; exposure compensation: +2 ~ -2 EV, 0.3 step (0.3, 0.7, 1.0 etc)
* Capture modes: still, sequence, self-timer, video
* Scene modes: auto, user defined, portrait, landscape, sport, night, night portrait
* Colour tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, vivid, negative
* Light sensitivity modes: high, medium, low, automatic
* Full-screen viewfinder with grid available
* Active toolbar
* Dedicated camera key
* Landscape (horizontal) orientation
* Printing
* Network (Raw). Direct TCP/IP socket connection to any specified port
* Network (LPR). Line Printer Daemon protocol (RFC1179)
* Printing to file
* USB PictBridge printing
* Includes S60 photos application

Video
* Main camera, 3.2 Mpix EDOF
* Video recording (VGA) at 15 fps
* Up to 4x digital video zoom
* Front camera (VGA)
* Video recording file formats: .mp4, H264
* Audio recording formats: .mp4
* Video white balance modes: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
* Scene modes: automatic, night
* Colour tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, vivid, negative
* Clip length dependant on storage capacity
* Media player
* Real Player
* Video playback file formats: .mp4, AVC/H.264, .wmv, RV, Flash Video, H.263/3GPP
* Video streaming: .mp4, AVC/H.264, .wmv, RV, Flash Video, H.263/3GPP
* Landscape mode video playback
* Video calling (VGA) 15 fps
* Video ring tones (7 built-in tones)

Music and audio playback
* Music player
* Media player
- Equalizer
- Shuffle
- Repeat
- Loudness on/off
- Stereo widening
- Selection by artist, album and genre
- Album graphics display
* Music playback file formats: .mp3, .aac
* Audio streaming
* FM radio 87.5-108 MHz with RDS support
* 3.5 mm Nokia audio connector
* Nokia Music Store support
* Ring tones

Voice and audio recording
* Voice commands:
- Media (Cameras, Gallery, Music Player, Radio, Real Player, Voice Recorder)
- Messaging (Messaging, New e-mail, New message, Read e-mails, Read messages, Read new e-mails, Read new messages)
- Organizer (Calculator, Calendar, Clock, Converter, Data Synchronization, File manager, Notepad, What time is it)
- Profiles (General, Silent, Meeting, Outdoor, Pager, Offline)
- Tools (Connection manager, Device manager, Help, Landmarks, Personalization, Profiles, Settings, Speed dialling, Voice commands, Voice mail)
- Application manager
- Bluetooth
- Browser
- Logs
- Navigator (= GPS data)
- Phonebook
* Enhanced voice dialling
* Voice recorder
* Audio recording formats: .mp4
* Speech codecs: AMR-NB, GSM EFR, FR & HR, AMR-WB for CS speech call
* Digital microphone
* Text-to-speech message reader

Personalisation: profiles, themes, ring tones
* Customisable profiles
* Ring tones
* Video ring tones (7 built-in tones)
* User defined themes
* Home screen Modes – Business and Personal

Will Be Available In India For Around Rs 16300 - 17000
Will Released Round About May-October

Flash Memory

Flash memory is non-volatile, which means that no power is needed to maintain the information stored in the chip. In addition, flash memory offers fast read access times (although not as fast as volatile DRAM memory used for main memory in PCs) and better kinetic shock resistance than hard disks.

These characteristics explain the popularity of flash memory in portable devices. Another feature of flash memory is that when packaged in a "memory card," it is enormously durable, being able to withstand intense pressure, extremes of temperature, and even immersion in water.

Although technically a type of EEPROM, the term "EEPROM" is generally used to refer specifically to non-flash EEPROM which is erasable in small blocks, typically bytes. Because erase cycles are slow, the large block sizes used in flash memory erasing give it a significant speed advantage over old-style EEPROM when writing large amounts of data.

History - Flash memory (both NOR and NAND types) was invented by Dr. Fujio Masuoka while working for Toshiba circa 1980. According to Toshiba, the name "flash" was suggested by Dr. Masuoka's colleague, Mr. Shoji Ariizumi, because the erasure process of the memory contents reminded him of a flash of a camera. Dr. Masuoka presented the invention at the IEEE 1984 International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) held in San Francisco, California.

Intel saw the massive potential of the invention and introduced the first commercial NOR type flash chip in 1988. NOR-based flash has long erase and write times, but provides full address and data buses, allowing random access to any memory location. This makes it a suitable replacement for older ROM chips, which are used to store program code that rarely needs to be updated, such as a computer's BIOS or the firmware of set-top boxes. Its endurance is 10,000 to 1,000,000 erase cycles.NOR-based flash was the basis of early flash-based removable media; CompactFlash was originally based on it, though later cards moved to less expensive NAND flash.

Toshiba announced NAND flash at the 1987 International Electron Devices Meeting. It has faster erase and write times, and requires a smaller chip area per cell, thus allowing greater storage densities and lower costs per bit than NOR flash; it also has up to ten times the endurance of NOR flash. However, the I/O interface of NAND flash does not provide a random-access external address bus. Rather, data must be read on a block-wise basis, with typical block sizes of hundreds to thousands of bits.

This made NAND flash unsuitable as a drop-in replacement for program ROM since most microprocessors and microcontrollers required byte-level random access. In this regard NAND flash is similar to other secondary storage devices such as hard disks and optical media, and is thus very suitable for use in mass-storage devices such as memory cards. The first NAND-based removable media format was SmartMedia, and many others have followed, including MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital, Memory Stick and xD-Picture Card.

A new generation of memory card formats, including RS-MMC, miniSD and microSD, and Intelligent Stick, feature extremely small form factors. For example, the microSD card has an area of just over 1.5 cm², with a thickness of less than 1 mm; microSD capacities range from 64 MB to 16 GB, as of October 2008.
Courtesy Wikipedia.Com

How Beer Works

Have you ever wondered what "malt" really is, and how you get malt from barley? And what about hops, and why do we need yeast? Barley, water, hops and yeast -- brewers combine these four simple ingredients to make beer.But it's not just a matter of mixing the right amount of each ingredient and voila!...you have beer. A complex series of biochemical reactions must take place to convert barley to fermentable sugars, and to allow yeast to live and multiply, converting those sugars to alcohol. Commercial breweries use sophisticated equipment and processes to control hundreds of variables so that each batch of beer will taste the same. In this article, we'll learn how events like Prohibition and World War II influenced the taste of the beer we still drink today. Then we'll take a tour through a regional brewery, the Carolina Brewing Company, to learn how they make beer, picking up some of the amazing technology and terminology of beermaking along the way.

People have been brewing beer for thousands of years. Beer especially became a staple in the Middle Ages, when people began to live in cities where close quarters and poor sanitation made clean water difficult to find. The alcohol in beer made it safer to drink than water.
In the 1400s in Germany, a type of beer was made that was fermented in the winter with a different type of yeast. This beer was called a lager, and, in part due to Prohibition, a variation of this type of beer is dominant in the United States today.

For 13 years, starting in 1920, a constitutional amendment banned the production of alcoholic beverages in the United States. Before Prohibition, America had thousands of breweries producing many different types of beer. But Prohibition forced most breweries out of business. By the time the laws were repealed in 1933, only the largest breweries had survived. These breweries sought to brew a beer with universal appeal so that it could be sold everywhere in the country. And then came World War II. With food in short supply and many of the men overseas, breweries started brewing a lighter style of beer that is very common today. Since the early 1990s, small regional breweries have made a comeback, popping up all over the United States, and variety has increased.

Quiz Corner
Think you know a lot about alcohol? Prove it in this Alcohol Quiz.

How Quicksand Works

How many times have you watched a movie where the hero is sucked down into a pit of quicksand, only to be saved at the last minute by grabbing a nearby tree branch and pulling himself out? If you believed what you saw in movies, you might think that quicksand is a living creature that can suck you down into a bottomless pit, never to be heard from again. But no the actual properties of quicksand are not quite those portrayed in the movies.

With quicksand, the more you struggle in it the faster you will sink. If you just relax, your body will float in it because your body is less dense than the quicksand.Quicksand is not quite the fearsome force of nature that you sometimes see on the big screen. In fact, quicksand is rarely deeper than a few feet. It can occur almost anywhere if the right conditions are present. Quicksand is basically just ordinary sand that has been so saturated with water that the friction between sand particles is reduced. The resulting sand is a mushy mixture of sand and water that can no longer support any weight.

If you step into quicksand, it won't suck you down. However, your movements will cause you to dig yourself deeper into it. In this article, you will learn just how quicksand forms, where it's found and how you can escape its clutches if you find yourself hip-deep in it.
Quicksand is typically not very dangerous, but it’s one of the last things you’d want to run into if you were sandboarding. Check out the sandboarding article, video and images at Discovery’s Fearless Planet to learn more.

How Virtual Memory Works

Virtual memory is a common part of most operating systems on desktop computers. It has become so common because it provides a big benefit for users at a very low cost.In this article, you will learn exactly what virtual memory is, what your computer uses it for and how to configure it on your own machine to achieve optimal performance.

Most computers today have something like 32 or 64 megabytes of RAM available for the CPU to use (see How RAM Works for details on RAM). Unfortunately, that amount of RAM is not enough to run all of the programs that most users expect to run at once.

For example, if you load the operating system, an e-mail program, a Web browser and word processor into RAM simultaneously, 32 megabytes is not enough to hold it all.

If there were no such thing as virtual memory, then once you filled up the available RAM your computer would have to say, "Sorry, you can not load any more applications.Please close another application to load a new one." With virtual memory, what the computer can do is look at RAM for areas that have not been used recently and copy them onto the hard disk. This frees up space in RAM to load the new application.

The area of the hard disk that stores the RAM image is called a page file. It holds pages of RAM on the hard disk, and the operating system moves data back and forth between the page file and RAM. On a Windows machine, page files have a .SWP extension.

Because this copying happens automatically, you don't even know it is happening, and it makes your computer feel like is has unlimited RAM space even though it only has 32 megabytes installed. Because hard disk space is so much cheaper than RAM chips, it also has a nice economic benefit.

The read/write speed of a hard drive is much slower than RAM, and the technology of a hard drive is not geared toward accessing small pieces of data at a time. If your system has to rely too heavily on virtual memory, you will notice a significant performance drop.

The key is to have enough RAM to handle everything you tend to work on simultaneously -- then, the only time you "feel" the slowness of virtual memory is is when there's a slight pause when you're changing tasks. When that's the case, virtual memory is perfect.

When it is not the case, the operating system has to constantly swap information back and forth between RAM and the hard disk. This is called thrashing, and it can make your computer feel incredibly slow.

The area of the hard disk that stores the RAM image is called a page file. It holds pages of RAM on the hard disk, and the operating system moves data back and forth between the page file and RAM. On a Windows machine, page files have a .SWP extension.

How Gas Prices Work

In May 2008, average gas prices in the United States approached, and in some places passed, $4.00 a gallon, shattering records. But this was nothing new to American consumers. May was a month of records that broke one after another, and that came on the heels of months of rising prices.Gasoline is the bloodline that keeps America moving, and tracking gas prices can feel like a roller coaster ride. They're down a little one month, up the next, and then they shoot up more than 50 percent in a year. Plus, they're different depending on where you look. Other countries -- and even other states and cities -- can have very different gas prices from your local Gas-N-Go. To the average person, it probably seems as though there's little rhyme or reason to how gas prices are determined. In this article, we will look at the forces that impact the price of gas at the pump, and we'll find out where your gas money actually goes.Americans have an insatiable thirst for gasoline. Just look at the amount of traffic on roads and highways, and you'll see that a severe gas shortage would practically cripple the United States. Americans drive nearly 3 trillion miles per year, according to the Motor and Equipment Manufacturer's Association [source: MEMA]. That's about 820 trips from the sun to Pluto and back.The United States consumes about 20 million barrels of oil products per day (bbl/d), according to the Department of Energy [source: DOE]. Of that, almost half is used for motor gasoline. The rest is used for distillate fuel oil, jet fuel, residual fuel and other oils. Each barrel of oil contains 42 gallons (159 L), which yields 19 to 20 gallons (75 L) of gasoline. So, in the United States, something like 178 million gallons of gasoline is consumed every day.Typically, the demand for gas spikes during the summer, when lots of people go on vacation. Holidays like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July create logjams of tourist traffic during the summer. This high demand usually translates into higher gasoline prices. Cleaner-burning summer-grade fuels, which are more expensive to produce, can increase the price as well, but prices don't always go up in summer. For instance, while gas prices soared 31 cents in April and early May of 2001, reaching $1.71 per gallon (which seems inexpensive compared to today's prices), prices actually declined during the 2001 summer.In 2004, prices continued to rise past the end of the summer travel season for a variety of reasons, including several hurricanes and an increase in the price of crude oil. And in 2005, Hurricane Katrina (along with a sizable increase in crude oil prices) pushed prices to $3.07 per gallon on September 5. Prices settled down somewhat in November and December of 2005. But now the numbers are among the highest they've ever been, only recently dipping back below the $4.00 mark after a month of average prices at $4.06 for a gallon of regular gas in July 2008 [source: EPA]. It seems the record high prices encouraged people to drive less, which in turn drove down demand and subsequently, prices. Whether the price drop is the beginning of a trend remains to be seen.Price increases generally occur when the world crude-oil market tightens and lowers inventories. We will discuss who controls the crude-oil market later. Also, growing demand can sometimes outpace refinery capacity. In the spring, refineries perform maintenance, which can place a pinch on the gasoline market. By the end of May, refineries are usually back to full capacity.

What is Ecstasy

What is Ecstasy? - Ecstasy is one of the most dangerous drugs threatening young people today. Called MDMA (3-4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) by scientists, it is a synthetic chemical that can be derived from an essential oil of the sassafras tree. MDMA is also one of the easiest illegal drugs to obtain. Its effects are similar to those of amphetamines and hallucinogens. Distributed almost anywhere, it has become very popular at social events like raves, hip hop parties, concerts, etc. frequented by both adults and youth. While not all “event” attendees use Ecstasy, the drug often makes the circuit of these parties and can set up dangerous circumstances that can affect everyone there.

Street Names: E, Adam, Roll, Bean, X and XTC
· Clarity, Essence, Stacy, Lover’s Speed, Eve
· Form: Pills - usually white, yellow or brown
· Size, shape and design vary
· Pills are often branded with designer .

Legal or Not? - First developed as an appetite suppressant in 1914, MDMA was used as a psychotherapeutic tool and also started to become available on the street In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. It wasn’t until 1985 that Ecstasy was made illegal. It is classified as a “Schedule 1” controlled substance along with other narcotics like heroin, cocaine, and LSD. Penalties for possession, delivery, and manufacturing of the drug can include fines as high as $100,000 and up to 99 years or life in prison, depending on the amount seized.

Dangerous Impurities - One reason Ecstasy can be especially dangerous is the lack of content control. Ingredients are hard to get and manufacturers of the drug often use substitutes, mixing other harmful additives with the already dangerous mix. This practice is so common that “drug test kits” are often sold with the drug so users can test for purity. Because of the uncertainties about the drug sources, pharmacological agents, chemicals used to manufacture them, and possible contaminants, it is difficult to measure the toxicity, consequences and symptoms that might be expected.

How is it Used? - Ecstasy is usually taken in pill form and swallowed and it can also be injected Some users have been known to crush and snort the resulting powder. Others insert the pill into the anus where it is absorbed. This process is known as “shafting.”

How Does It Affect You? - Ecstasy is similar (in nature) to other amphetamines and hallucinogens. It speeds up the nervous system and acts as a mood enhancer. Also referred to as “the love drug”, Ecstasy often makes the user feel good, happy and relaxed - at least at first. Contrary to rumors, Ecstasy is not an aphrodisiac and can actually inhibit sexual performance.The taking of any drug affects people differently. Depending on size, weight, health, dosage and other drugs being used, the reaction can be mild or very severe. Anyone suffering from hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, mental illness or panic should avoid taking Ecstasy.

Common Side Effects -The following effects start within 20 minutes of taking E and can last for 4 - 6 hours or longer:

· Increased heart rate
· Increased body temperature
· Increased blood pressure
· Increased confidence
· Nausea
· Anxiety
· Feelings of well-being (happiness, love)
· Sweating
· Loss of appetite

Other Reported Effects - Taking higher doses of MDMA will not increase the good feelings. In fact higher dosages can cause convulsions, irrational behavior, and hallucinations. Users have reported having problems with insomnia, anxiety, paranoia, concentration and depression after taking the drug.

Overdose -Taking too much Ecstasy can result in:

· Extremely high body temperatures
· High blood pressure
· Hallucinations
· Fast Heartbeat
· Breathings problems
· Death

Death often results from harmful overheating (hyperthermia), or from drinking too much at one time (hyponatremia). Hyponatremia is a condition where excess fluid intake swells the brain resulting in coma. A third cause of death is stimulation. Over stimulation of the nervous system can result in heart attack or brain hemorrhage.

Warning Signs of Overdose

· Feeling hot or unwell
· Becoming confused, not able to talk properly
· Headache
· Vomiting
· Not Sweating
· Racing heart or pulse when resting
· Fainting or collapsing
· Loss of control over body movements
· Tremors
· Problems Urinating

Duration of Effects - An Ecstasy high can last from six to 24 hours but usually averages three to four hours. Some reactions have been reported to persist from one to 14 days after use.

Short Term Effects - Short-term effects include psychological difficulties (confusion, depression, sleep problems, craving, severe anxiety, and paranoia). These effects occur during use and can continue even weeks after use. Physical problems that can occur are muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movement, fever, chills or sweating.

Long Term Effects -Recent findings connect use of Ecstasy to memory loss. Use of Ecstasy depletes serotonin, a very important chemical in the brain which regulates mood, sleeping and eating habits, as well as, the thinking and behavior process, sexual function, and sensitivity to pain.

Herbal Ecstasy -Herbal Ecstasy is another form of MDMA that is composed of ephedrine (ma huang) or pseudoephedrine and caffeine from the kola nut. Also sold in tablet form, Herbal Ecstasy can cause permanent brain damage and death. Though not currently classified as a controlled substance, Herbal Ecstasy shares many of the same qualities and effects as MDMA. Also known as Cloud 9, Herbal Bliss, Ritual Spirit, Herbal X, GWM, Rave Energy, Ultimate Xphoria and X.

Drug Testing - Ecstasy can be detected up to four days in the urine.

Ecstasy and Anti-Depressants -People currently taking an MAOI should not use Ecstasy. MAOIs are most commonly found in prescription anti-depressants Nardil (phenelzine), Parnete (tranylcypromine), Marplan (isocarboxazid), Eldepryl (I-deprenyl), and Aurorex or Manerix (moclobermide). The same is true of the protease inhibitor Ritonavir.

StreetWorks

Fat Naked Girls, Botero Goes Parking Lot By Jacob Katel in StreetWorks

Jacob Katel

Donna Sdraiata, Fernando Botero

StreetWorks is usually a graffiti blog. Starting today, as long as I'm shooting, it'll document all forms of publicly displayed art, from the gutter to the gallery.With that in mind, this week's feature is the Gary Nader Sculpture Park featuring bronze work by Fernando Botero. The sculptures are lined up in the parking lot of the Gary Nader Fine Art gallery in Miami's Wynwood Art District.

Jacob Katel

Male Torso, Fernando Botero

According to Conrado de la Torre, Gary Nader representative, each Botero sculpture, all of which are bronze and made in a foundry in Pietrasanta, Italy, costs from 1 to 2 million dollars. They are all for sale and Art Basel is coming up, so get your view on before some rich collector hauls 'em out the parking lot and throws 'em in their living room.

Botero's works are world famous and can be found in Paris, China and Monte Carlo so take the opportunity to see them free while you got it. Also look out for Gary Nader Fine Art at this Saturday's Wynwood art walk when they unleash their Picasso's, Wifredo Lam's, and Frida Kahlo's for a free Latin American Modern and Contemporary Masters exhibition.

The sculpture park also features the unique carved-marble work of Pablo Atchugarry and a giant french fry looking sculpture by John Henry.

Want to know where to go? Here's a map:

View Larger Map

The sculpture park is free and open to the public Monday - Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cowon S9

Quick Look

• Dimensions: 57.0 x 105.8 x 12.7 mm
• Weight: 77.0 g
• Colors: Black/Titanium, Black/Chrome
• Capacities: 8G, 16GB
• Display: 3.3" 480x272 AMOLED 16.7m colors, Touch Capacitive
• Audio: MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG, WAV, APE
• Video: MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, WMV
• Photo: JPEG
• Other: TXT
• Transfer Protocol: MSC/MTP User Selectable
• Audio: 5-band EQ, BBE, Pan/Balance
• Battery: 55h Audio, 11h Video
• Other: Flash, Utilities, Bluetooth, FM, Voice Recording, Line-in Recording

In the Box / Accessories -Manufacturers seem to be skimping more and more on included accessories, and that is no different with the S9 - just the bare minimum is included: the player, earbuds, USB transfer cable, and software cd. The cable is not a standard USB cable on the end that connects to the player, but it is a 20-pin connection that is being used by many of the Korean manufactures on some mobile phones and media players. It may be a standard, but it’s not a common cable, so you won’t be able to easily borrow one.I would have really loved to see the video out cable as well as the audio in cable included. These, too, are not off the shelf cables since they also use the 20-pin connection. Each of these is available on Cowon’s Jettmall store for $10-$15 apiece, so this is a heads up on the added cost if you are looking for video out or audio in capabilities.

Design & Build Quality -All the teaser photos before the launch were a little bit deceiving. I was expecting something substantial, more like a Sony product. The S9 is lighter, slightly hollow, and a bit “plastic-y”. This is not to say it’s poorly made.The button tolerances are on point and have a nice tactile feel to them.The body is all plastic with the back being a soft, matte velvet-like plastic (This is on a lot of devices).The sides come in two different finishes, titanium and chrome (the titanium model is shown). After carrying it around for a few days, I haven’t seen any scratches on the screen. It is glass unlike what you find on the Samsung P2, so it will do a great job of keeping scratches off the face.One quick note about the curve design of the player, it feels nice in your hand and the design is great to hold.

Screen -A 480x272 pixel, 16.7 million color AMOLED screen graces the front of the player. AMOLED (active matrix organic light emitting diode) is a newer display technology with advantages of using less power, thinner form factor (since it doesn’t require a backlight), and generally faster pixel response times. On the S9 it does look fantastic, color accuracy and brightness are very similar to LCDs. The more noticeable gain is in the pixel response time and contrast- you will see less ghosting in movies and UI transitions as well as blacker blacks.

User Interface -Cowon really put some time into this one with it being more thought out than any previous Cowon player. However, you may need to take some time to wrap your head around the UI. The UI has an obvious Asian influence like all of Cowon’s products so I can’t quite call it intuitive for us Westerners. For instance, while traversing though media libraries the buttons at the top change too much and try to do too much. Top buttons will toggle between lists, take you back to the main menu, or “close” a menu. But when navigating folders, the “up a directory” and a back button are located at the bottom in order to go up a folder or hierarchical ID3 tag categories.Sure I might be over analyzing this and no matter how much I discuss it, it will not change since the US is not a prime market. This is more of a complicated way of saying that the interface is smarter than previous Cowon UIs, but it could be much smarter to us Westerners. It’s just a fair warning that you may need to spend some time getting used to it.The GUI is very fast and responsive. However, I do notice some hang ups every now and again. For instance when moving in and out of the video menu, pressing the button to go back to the main menu it may take a half a second.

Controls -I really like that Cowon did include hardware buttons. At the top are volume down, volume up, pause/play, reverse, forward buttons. At the bottom is the on/off/hold switch. The cool thing with the top buttons is that they also allow you to navigate your media. The track forward and reverse buttons navigate though the media folders while the volume buttons will move up and down the list.

Touch Screen -The touch screen is a capacitive-type screen as opposed to a resistance-type screen as found on the D2 or Archos 5. Resistance touch screens are older technology where conductive material is layered in between empty spaces. This screen needs direct force in order to register where you are pressing. Capacitive-type screens on the other hand are newer and more accurate touch screens. This tech basically measures the electronic charge between the screen and your finger. Depending on how they are calibrated, you don’t even need physical contact between your finger and the screen. I didn’t mean to get all Mr. Wizard on you, but if you want the straight dope, capacitive screens are better than resistance.The capacitive screen on the S9 works very well, better than the Samsung P2, Cowon D2, and even the Archos 5. It will occasionally miss a press, and to be honest, I’m not sure if this has to do with calibration, or the current resistance and moistness or dryness of your finger which could affect its electrical charge. I would guess it may be a bit of both.

G-Sensor -The “G-Sensor” is what Cowon is calling the accelerometer. This detects and changes the orientation of the screen as you physically turn it. To be straight to the point, it is more of a hindrance than a help. The rotation is slow to detect and switch. This becomes a problem if you’re holding it at a horizontal angle or have it lying next to you on the couch for instance. If you pick it up to use it, it needs a second or two to adjust. Additionally, the G-Senor doesn’t work for all screens or applications, the home screen doesn’t work in horizontal orientation, nor does the text reader (which would be an excellent candidate to rotate).What I would like to see here is an option to completely turn off the in the settings, then allow us to manually rotate the screen with maybe a short cut long press on the forward and reverse buttons. All is not lost, it just needs a firmware update… -.-

Transferring Media -The S9 supports both MSC and MTP with the flip of a setting, so all of your OSes are covered. The player comes with Cowon Media Player (Jetaudio) but to be honest you probably won’t want to use this. It is a standard media player but the UI is incredibly convoluted. Windows media player, Winamp, and Media Monkey are all other and better choices that will work in both MTP and MSC modes if you are into organizing and synching with a media player. But dragging and dropping files onto the player just like a flash drive works just as well.

Features -Documents -The S9 has the ability to show txt files. The nice big bright screen makes it pretty comfortable to read text on. There are 12 different back ground colors you can choose from if you read better on a white background as opposed to black for instance. The auto reader can be set to automatically page down at a set number of seconds with an easy toggle on and off at the bottom menu. Bookmarks are also available for keeping your place in really long documents. The zoom feature works just like it does for media lists adjusting the font size.

Flash / Utilities -The S9 has support for flash applications and games. The player shipped with an empty flash folder, but we have been finding that some D2 flash apps have been working just as well. I even got a few iriver SPINN games to work.There is also a Utilities menu on the main page. Currently there is only one utility, a calculator. I am under the assumption that they will add more utilities over time, just as Samsung added them with firmware updates.

Radio -The radio UI is a lot of fun with a big virtual dial and a matrix screen of preprogrammed station buttons. Unfortunately, radio reception is not very good. I found there to be a lot of static in even the closest stations. This trickles into the auto program features where it almost seems to just fill the program slots with random stations. The closest station to me, no more than a mile or two away, was not correctly detected by the auto program feature, but instead selected on notch above what it was supposed to be.

Recorder -The S9 will record three different sources: microphone (located on the back of the player), line-in (with purchase of optional accessory, and FM radio. These all have the option to record in 32, 64, 80, 96, 128, 256kbps WMA. Now many of you might be screaming for MP3 recording, but MP3 recording requires an additional license fee where as WMA has a single license fee for playback and recording.I was unable to test the line-in features since the cable is not currently available, but I can’t imaging it’s too different than on other Cowon players- in other words working as advertised. There is also a sync feature that will break up the according to the silence in between if you are recording an album from CD or tape or even record.

Photos -The photo view functions just like any other with the basic thumb nail viewing and slide show. But the zoom feature makes the S9’s photo viewer stand out a bit more than the rest.

Bluetooth -I tested one pair of Bluetooth headphones. I had no issues with pairing. The S9 only works as a wireless audio transmitter over Bluetooth there are no other features like found on the Samsung P2 such as wireless calling though your phone or file transfer. I don’t know if Cowon has any plans to add any additional Bluetooth support, but it is a possibility with future firmware updates.

Audio / Music -The UI does lend to a nice music browsing and management, despite what I think are some misplaces buttons as I discussed in the UI section. Jumping into the music section will put you right into the now playing screen. This screen features big album art (tap it once and it will show you metadata like file type and bitrate) with a touchable progress bar as well some control buttons on the bottom flip menu. There is also a “quick list” here that pops out from the right side of the screen. This simply shows you and lets you select the previous or next track by touching.At the top of the screen is a library/playlist/bookmark toggle button which shows you the appropriate list. Browsing your media is done by either file folder browsing, or ID3 tag browsing. Both of these are in the same screen. So for instance at the “root screen” you will see: “Folders”, “Artists”, “Albums”, “Songs”, ect… So if you want to browse your collection by folder you would press “Folder” in the list. If you want to browse by ID3, the appropriate tag categories are below “Folders”. This is how Samsung as well as iriver handles their browsing.Toggling again will put you into the favorites list. This is simply a single dynamic playlist. This list cannot be reordered but songs can be removed (on a side note you can also delete a file from the device, not just remove it from the favorites list in a similar fashion). Adding a file to your favorites is really easy and handled b the bottom flip menu. When pressing this “add” icon it will give you the choice of adding it to your favorites or bookmarking the current position. Getting to your bookmark list is the next press on the list toggle.

Sound Quality -Cowon has always been know for great sound quality and you will find the same here- it’s very comparable to the D2. Testing it with some lossless FLAC files against a few other players I did find that it started to fall apart at higher volumes. By this I mean the highs start to get a bit fatiguing and the soundstage closes in. Other players like the Sansa Clip, Toshbia T400, and the Cowon X5 play though clear till the volume was near the top. I also found that the low end lack a bit of warmth when compared to the others, but with BBE on all Cowon players, bass is never a problem. BBE will turn even the Shure SE530's into bass cannons. To almost all, the S9 will be more than acceptable; I only nitpick for those toting the ultra expensive phones. Take the preceding as an overly critical look; I still maintain it has great sound quality.Like the other Cowon players, the S9 sports BBE sound enhancement. For me personally this is the only sound enhancement I find to actually add something to the player and not sound synthetic or unnatural. With this the S9 has a bit of an added edge. This time around though there are some really nice BBE presets in addition to 4 slots for user presets. These presets include all the BBE settings as well as a 5 band EQ. This EQ is the same great EQ found on other Cowon players with adjustments for the curve as well as the center frequency.

Video -The AMOLED screen lends well to video playback, especially with the faster pixel response time. The player officially supports Xvid and WMV with a recommended size of 420x272 at 30fps. However, I have been able to play up to XviD 640x320 30fps without any problems. WMV on the other hand didn’t quite push that far- a similarly sized WMV file played but was choppy. This is one of my favorite features of the S9 since no conversion is necessary since with me, if I have to convert it, it doesn’t end up on my player. On the down side, H.264 is not supported which is very common among all the new players.Just like the music menu, you also have the ability to make a favorites playlists as well as bookmarks. BBE fans will also be happy to know that BBE is available while watching video.

Conclusion
The Cowon S9 is a solid player. The capacitive screen is a big improvement over the D2’s resistance type screen. On the face of the player a beautiful looking AMOLED screen graces the front and runs among the top screens on current portable devices. The sound quality is what we would expect from Cowon, excellent. The UI is fairly smart and its obvious Cowon spent some time on this, but it may not be intuitive to US buyers. My previous worries about buggy firmware are gone, while not perfect, it is the most stable Cowon release yet- though still expect typical constant updates over the next year.For the Cowon fan it is a must buy if you can get over the fact that there is no expansion slot. But if you are on the edge or can’t quite decide and you are eying a touch screen player, wait till late Q1 of 2009. Sony and Samsung are releasing competitive touch screen players, but also by then Cowon may have added more features and utilities. I definitely do recommend the S9, but there will be some other great choices as well. Which one is “better” will come down to your personal preference.

Pros
Great Sound Quality
Capacitive touch screen
Great AMOLED screen
Native Xvid Support
BBE on video

Cons
No H.264 support
No expansion slot
Not so standard 20-pin connection
Audio in and Video out cables sold separately
No multi-touch