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DARK MATTER ANNIHILATION AT THE GALACTIC CENTER. How does the presumed massive black hole at the center of our galaxy shape the distribution of the presumed halo of dark matter in its vicinity? Paolo Gondolo of the Max Planck Institute of Physics (Munich, Germany) and Joseph Silk of Oxford (UK; also UC Berkeley) suggest the black hole sculpts the dark matter into a dense spike where particle annihilation (or, more to the point, self-annihilation, since one of the leading hypothetical dark matter particles is the “neutralino,” which is its own antiparticle) would be enhanced. Of all the annihilation products (e.g., electrons, positrons, protons, etc.) issuing from the galactic center (a region half a light year wide) neutrons would be the most serviceable since they can travel to Earth undeflected by magnetic fields. Gondolo and Sikl have calculated how present and future neutrino telescopes can probe the density of inner halo dark matter.

TO MEASURE LOCAL GRAVITY WITH AN UNCERTAINTY of 3 parts per billion, Steven Chu uses an atom interferometer, in which cesium atoms are treated like waves, split apart into two wavelets, each of which takes a separate path. When the wavelets are brought back together they produce an interference pattern which depends sensitively on the local force (gravity) tugging on the atoms. Not only is this an improvement (by a factor of a million) in accuracy over previous atom interferometers but represents, according to Chu, “the best confirmation of the equivalence principle between a quantum and macroscopic object.”

NERVE CELLS MAY HOLD THEIR FIRE to allow their neighbors to send electrical signals, researchers have proposed, potentially explaining how interconnected networks of nerve cells send information with high fidelity, and providing insights into how to design better signal-processing devices for electronic equipment such as CD players. At a cocktail party, many people talk simultaneously, and one is able to hear several nearby conversations at once. In a conference call, on the other hand, people generally take turns to speak. Researchers (Doug Mar, Boston University, 617-353-5463) have proposed that an interconnected network of nerve cells is similar to a conference call: when a nerve cell fires, its neighbors are inhibited and do not fire until it is done. One consequence is that the nerve cells fire in rapid succession, permitting the network to transmit signals at higher frequencies. Moreover, the pattern of random firings of nerve cells, corresponding to noise, is smoothed out, enabling the cells to convey information with higher fidelity. Finding direct evidence for these phenomena in biological systems will be challenging, because it is currently difficult to measure accurately the firing patterns of several interconnected neurons simultaneously. In the meantime, the researchers are working with Analog Devices; Corp. in Massachusetts to apply the lessons from the theory to creating biologically inspired networks of interconnected electric circuits with improved characteristics, such as an extended range of operating frequencies.

US HIGH-SCHOOL PHYSICS ENROLLMENTS AT A POSTWAR HIGH. The percentage of US high-school students taking physics has risen by eight percent in the last decade, reaching an all-time high of 28% since the end of World War II. In the late 1990s, girls now represent almost half (47%) of students taking high-school physics (as opposed to 39% in 1987). However, African-American and Hispanic students remain underrepresented in physics classes; the same hold true for women and non-white physics teachers. These statistics come from a new AIP report entitled “Maintaining Momentum: High School Physics For a New Millennium.”

B

Anarchist’s WTO Diary

By Ian Cooper

Tuesday

9:00 a.m. Everyone, it seems, is in Seattle. First there are the usual suspects, like Naderites, AFL-CIO, Sierra Club - all fools, of course, who think the whole rotten system can be reformed from within. Then there is a mixed bag of radical nuns, puppeteers, Zapatista-istas (kids from Portland who think they’re Subcommandante Marcos), Earth-firsters, etc. Plus there are a few even I haven’t heard of: Macrobiotics Action Network, Vegans for a Barter Economy, Students against Anthropocentrism, Free Hawaii. There’s no sign of my comrades from the People’s Action, our arch-enemies). It’s too early. I need a double espresso before I can bring myself to smash anything.

9: 30 a.m. Joined into a march, of sorts. These labor people have no idea how to chant. All they could come up with was, “Hey hey! Ho ho! Unaccountable supra-national bodies have got to go!” I hate 401(k) socialists…

9 : 45. A flurry of excitement. Someone spotted Mike Moore nearby! Quick! A chance to actually confront the director of the evil WTO! Several of us rushed around the corner only to find it was the other Michael Moore, the corpulent foe of corporations, whose only crime against humanity was to have directed “Canadian Bacon.” His fleshy frame was wheezingly trying to keep up with the march. Time to cut down on the Ben & Jerry’s, eh Mike?

10:00 am. The blockade is a success. The suits can’t get to their conference. Technocratic scum.

11:30 am. If there’s one thing I hate more than global capital, it’s earnest liberals with their teach-ins, folk songs, and all-too-civil disobedience. They’re not content to simply bring the conference to a halt. They’re trying to reason with the suits! They want them to come over from the dark side! They say, “Think about what you’re doing! Join us!”

11:35 am. Well, I’ll be damned. It worked. The Australian trade minister suddenly started shouting, “How could I have been so blind? Everything I’ve believed in until this moment was a lie!” Before anyone knew what was happening, he’d ripped off his tie and linked arms with a couple of monarch butterflies.

2:00 pm. Like the old Hollywood saying, you can’t get arrested in this town. The devious Seattle police have upset everyone’s plans by inexplicably not taking anyone into custody. The protesters thought they’d be safely in jail by now, but instead they’re all milling around wondering what to do next. Some impatient direct action people have started to drop hints, like chanting, “Two, four, six, eight! Why don’t you incarcerate?” Something’s gotta give…

3:30 pm. The uprising has begun! We have reclaimed the streets!

4:30 pm. The foot soldiers of capitalist domination are fighting back. They’re trying to re-reclaim the streets. Counterrevolutionary scum. Some of the street theatre people realized too late that you can’t run in a sea turtle costume.

(It does, however, provide handy protection against rubber bullets.)

5:00 pm. Forgot my bloody gas mask. Overcome by the fumes.

Wednesday

7:00 am. Ugh. Must have passed out. The last thing I remember is a French delegate standing on the hotel steps – his hair smooth, his impeccable suit uncreased. He looks out over the rubble and flicks his hand dismissively. “You Americans call zees a demonstration?”

C

This story is about a rather strange reply for a campground reservation.

It is said to be true, but you be the judge.

A woman who was rather old-fashionable, delicate, and elegant – especially in her language – was planning a week’s vacation in Florida so she wrote to a particular campground and asked for a reservation.

She wanted to make sure the campground was fully equipped, but didn’t quite know how to ask about the toilet facilities.

She just couldn’t bring herself to write the word “TOILET” in her letter.

After much deliberation, she finally came up with the old-fashioned term ‘BATHROOM COMMODE.’ But when she wrote that down, she still thought she was being too forward.

So, she started all over again, rewrote the letter, and referred to the bathroom commode merely as the B.C.

‘Does the campground have it’s own B.C.?’ is what she actually wrote.

Well, the campground owner wasn’t old-fashioned at all and when he got the letter, he just couldn’t figure out what the woman was talking about.

That B.C. business really stumped him.

After worrying about it for a while, he showed the letter to several campers, but they couldn’t imagine what the lady meant either.

So the campground owner, finally coming to the conclusion that the lady must be asking about the location of the local Baptist Church, sat down and wrote the following reply:

‘Dear Madam: I regret very much for the delay in answering your letter.

I now take the pleasure in informing you that a B.C. is located nine miles north of the campground and is capable of seating 250 people at one time.

I admit it is quite a distance away if you are in the habit of going regularly, but no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people usually take their lunches along and make a day of it.

They usually arrive early and stay late.

‘The last time my wife and I went was six years ago and it was so crowded that we had to stand up the whole time we were there.

It may interest you to know that right now, there is a supper being planned to raise money to buy more seats.

They’re going to hold it in the basement of the B.C.’

‘I would like to say it pains me very much not to be able to go more regularly but it is sure no lack of desire on my part.

As we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in cold weather.’

‘If you do decide to come down to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time you go, sit with you, and introduce you to all the other folks.’

‘Remember, this is a friendly community.’

Truisms of Life

Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.

Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good.

Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand.

Stupidity got us into this mess – why can’t it get us out?

Love is grand; divorce is a hundred grand.

Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly and for the same reason.

An optimist thinks that this is the best possible word. A pessimist fears that this is true.

There is always death and taxes; however, death doesn’t get worse every year.

People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that Benjamin Franklin said it first.

It’s easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.

I don’t mind going nowhere as long as it’s an interesting path.

Anything free is worth what you pay for it.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.

It hurts to be on the cutting edge.

If it ain’t broke, fix it till it is.

I don’t get even, I get older.

In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.

I always wanted to be a procrastinator, never got around to it.

Dijon vu – the same mustard as before.

I am a nutritional overachiever.

My inferiority complex is not as good as yours.

I am having an out of money experience.

I plan on living forever. So far, so good.

I am in shape. Round is a shape.

Not afraid of heights – afraid of widths.

Practice safe eating – always use condiments.

A day without sunshine is like night.

I have kleptomania, but when it gets bad, I take something for it.

If marriage were outlawed, only outlaws would have in-laws.

I am not a perfectionist. My parents were, though.

Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like.

You’re getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.

One of life’s mysteries is how a two-pound box of candy can make a woman gain five pounds.

It’s frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

Time may be a great healer, but it’s also a lousy beautician.

Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.

Age doesn’t always bring wisdom. Sometimes age comes alone.

Life not only begins at forty, it begins to show.

You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stopped laughing.

Money doesn’t bring you happiness, but it enables you to look for it in more places.

Money isn’t everything… there’s credit cards, money orders, and travelers checks.

Your conscience may not keep you from doing wrong, but it sure keeps you from enjoying it.

Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the wais change places.

Misers aren’t much fun to live with, but they make great ancestors.

Be careful what rut you choose. You may be in it the rest of your life.

The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.

When you see the handwriting on the wall, you can bet you’re in a public restroom.

Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

The real reason you can’t take it with you is that it goes before you do.

Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it.

Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even when you wish they were.

A closed mouth gathers no feet.

A man (or woman) who can smile when things go wrong has found someone to blame it on.

A modern pioneer is a woman who can get through a rainy Saturday with a television on the blink.

The world is full of wiling people: some willing to work and the rest willing to let them.