Wardenclyffe Wireless

Keywords: Tesla, Wireless, Energy

The Story: We have come to think of energy transmission almost exclusively in terms of wires. Sure we have cell phones, but we still have to stop and plug in the toaster. In the late 1800's Nikola Tessla, a man credited with ushering in the modern technological era, thought of energy quite differently than we do now. In addition to inventing AC current and the Tesla Coil, he had a vision (or obsession) for a wireless world. His goal was to create a system for wireless communications, and perhaps more importantly, wireless energy transmission. He put great efforts into devising a system to power ships at sea via stratospheric transmission of power. His idea was to pulse huge amounts of power into Earth, the enormous magnet that it is - and once the pulses built up - emit a massive voltage around the world via a tall antannae. The massive Wardenclyffe tower constructed in 1901 was designed by Tessla under the guise of wanting to transmit radio signals to europe; however, his intent was indeed to demonstrate wireless power transmission. Unfortunately, his investor, J.P. Morgan, was not wild about this idea. When he saw that the tower had no meter with which to charge people for the energy, he pulled the funding. There was a lot more money in coal, copper wire, and charging on the meter than there was global wireless energy. Yes, you have a fancy little cell phone, but perhaps the real technological advancement is the fact that you can be charged for using it.

Energize:
http://www.teslascience.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower

Liquid Courage in Gold Country

Keywords: Liquid Camp, HIV, Gold Country

The Story: I was no sooner recovered from my stint in Utah when I was again called to the river, this time to help out with the first day of Liquid, a kayak school for teens living with HIV and AIDS. Among the teens I met was one 15 year-old from the Bronx, I don't know whether to call him a boy, or a man, because he is caught between. He woke up at 12 am and took a taxi to the hospital where his pediatrition helped him get ready for the airplane ride. His horse-pill medications for the week are sorted into a pill box that looks like a cross between a chess board and a tackle box. 12 hours later, I greet him at the airport in SF and take him to the South Fork of the American River in the California foothills - to the heart of the "Gold Country". The foothills by now are covered in fuzzy dry grass - the whole place smells, looks and feels HOT. We cross the Highway 49 bridge and the river below us looks smooth and dark. The textures of the river against the foothills reminds me of a silk ribbon on a stuffed animal. As soon as we get to camp, Kelly, the founder of Liquid, turns the group around and we head to the water. He asks everyone to practice a wet exit - to turn their kayaks upside down, and extract themselves by popping their spray skirts and taking the kayak off like a pair of stiff pants. Many people find this to be a daunting and disorienting task.

So, here is our friend from the Bronx, now 3000 or so miles from home, sitting in a kayak, with his face tied up with apprehension. He's leaned over rigidly and gripping the coaming of his boat. He tells us nervously that he can't swim. He doesn't really know what kayaking is about, he has no relationship with this sport - I'm not sure he's ever seen a kayak. He tells us he's a basketball player. Besides that, we know that his life is sometimes a series of things he has no control over. Born infected with HIV, he has no control now whether he will lose a parent or another friend to AIDS, whether his meds will bring up his lunch again, or give him diahrea. Whether the next cold will turn into pneumia and put him in the hospital, or whether his meds will just stop working one day. Whether his classmates will treat him with respect, or like a pariah. After 20 minutes of sitting in this kayak, he wrestles his fear to the mat - he takes a deep breath and gingerly rolls his boat over. He frantically pounds the sides of his boat with his fists, and then his hands disappear to release his spray skirt. He eases out of the boat, and pops up gasping, sputtering, and rubbing his face. The group erupts in applause. It is a small, but powerful victory - who's in control now?

Thus another kayaker has been born in the Gold Country. Another kayaker who will learn to control his own boat, in order to navigate the rapids and rocks. A feat of sheer will and bravery. Now I have to ask you, my friends, when was the last time you started the day at home and ended the day so far away and doing something so new to you -that you couldn't even begin to really describe it? When was the last time you sat in fear and then, the next moment, simply took control of it? Where is your Gold Country?

Donate or Emulate:
http://www.liquidcamp.com/