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Bobsleds go down an icy track at around 80 miles per hour. This new bobsled is made by BMW and is almost fully made out of carbon fiber.

The LZR suit by Speedo is the fastest swimsuit ever built. The suit was banned after the 2008 summer Olympics because it held in air between the suit and the body.


These shoes are 3d printed, they have not yet been in the Olympics. Forsan, the designer of the shoe is confidant that the runner who is wearing his shoes will win gold.


Computer simulations are one of most helpful components for creating aerodynamic prototypes.

Wind tunnels also help engineers by correcting the computers mistakes and to test wind flows that computers can’t show.


Luge is a sport that goes ovre 90 miles per hour. The luge turns when pressure is placed by the legs on the runners. The sport is timed at thousands of a second so ever change on the sled makes a difference.


Wheel chair racing needs a lot of technology, the frame and wheel are mostly made out of carbon fiber. The races are short for these speed machines so the design is as important as the athlete.


Short track biking is a very fast sport, with athletes just trailing behind by less then a tenth of a second.

Skeleton is a sport like luge but not as fast and head first. Many do not know that it is only a tiny bit more dangerous that luge.


Oscar Pishoris is a disables athlete that competed in the able body compititions. The blades that he is wearing need the most technology it can get, They need to be customized and need to be as leg like as possible in movement.

engineering

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Engineering
Olympics
BMW Bobsled
Top 3's
Luge
Photos
Table Of Contents
Letter from the editor (2)
BMW Bob wins gold (5)
Luge (4)
Top 3's (6)
Photos (9)
April 2014
Dedication (19)
Letter from the editor

1533 Madrono Ave

Palo Alto, CA 94306



Dear Reader:


I am a mechanical engineering professor at Stanford University. I have been teaching engineering for 11 years. I have given many opportunities to work on major projects. Most people don't know that engineering is in everyday use. That is why am constructing magazines with the help of my intelligent students. Over the last four years, I have gotten all of my students to put together magazines.

In this month’s magazine we have three special articles and lists. The first one is an article about the luge sled and how it was recreated from scratch at Clarkson University. It explains the steps engineers took to the luge sled faster. The second article is about the BMW bobsled. The BMW bobsled article explains how the US bobsled team won medals for the first time in 62 years. Finally, the third article contains our ‘top three’ lists for sport technology

Don’t forget to visit our design studio to see a great display. It is a model of an wind tunnel. It is made out of legos and replicates the real tunnels, but on a very very small scale.  Also, take time to look over our photo book with explanations. Some of the photos refer to the articles, and some are photos which go into more depth about sport technology topics.

I have learned a lot from this research, with the help of my students. We have learned that sports engineering makes people want to learn more about the process of improving sports performance. When sponsoring companies like BMW advertise their involvement, people are more likely to watch the Olympics so that they can see the results of the engineering. Because NBC hosts the Olympics, they make more money when more viewers watch. Also, engineering will change the future of sports, raising them to the next level. These articles show that we learned new ways of engineering to improve speed and durability.

I love this kind of work because I can teach it to my next class. It also helps me understand the expansion of engineering. I love my work because I get to change kid’s lives; the the jobs they get and helping them in life. Like all inventing processes, there are many false starts, ideas that don’t work and dead ends, but when the work is done, it is worth the trouble.

Of all the magazines we have published, this issue surprises the most. I think that the next issue will be engineering sport cars. It will give readers an idea about how these cars can reach high speeds and still be safe at the same time.


Sincerely,



Professor Davis


Imagine hurtling down an icy track at 90 miles per hour on a sled. If you are an engineering student, this might not be your cup of tea. However, you might be very interested in learning how the sleds are designed and what the building process is like. I am a engineering student at Clarkson University in New York.

One of my favorite professors,

is Dr. Helenbrook. He is one of the head designers for the USA luge project. When he invited me to accompany him to Lake Placid, to watch one of the sled models race, I agreed immediately.

Actually, there are two professors working on the luge project, professors Bohl and Helenbrook. Bohl got involved when his
son tried out for the USA luge development program. Bohl was interested in making the sleds faster so he proposed an idea to Mark Grimmette and Duncan Kennedy at the

Lake Placid sliding center.

Mark Grimmette had won two Olympic medals in luge, and Kennedy is th first American to win a luge world cup. Grimmette and

Kennedy were grateful to have someone to help with the sleds, so they agreed. Helenbrook is a family friend of the Bohls, so he went to also work with on the project. 

Bohl and Helenbrook are also working with Dow Chemical on the project, which aims to reduce drag and improve aerodynamics.

Another important factor is to increase the comfort of the sled.

“If the athlete fits well and

can be

comfortable in the sled, the overall performance will improve too,” Bohl said.  They are using computer programs to simulate models and ideas of the frame. Once they find a computer design that works, they build the sled out of carbon fiber, using computer controlled machines. The computer programs save a lot of money.  Instead of making many sleds, the designers can choose the best computer models, so they only make a few. "We're getting to the piont where we can work with technology to improve the sleds," Bohl said. This sled will eventually be one of the first 

luge sled designed by a computer. In the past, all luge sleds were handcrafted.

Wind tunnels matter just as much as computer programs. Wind tunnel tests test the aerodynamics of the sled and the person on it. These tests can point out mistakes by the computer, and see what needs to be changed. A wind tunnel is a big tube with a turbine on one side, which sucks in air and pushes it into the test area. The test area is where the projects are placed, in this case the athlete and the sled are placed in the project area. In the test area, smoke comes out of a nozzel that's on a wand that a person can control. The

smoke then travels with the air around the object placed on the ground. Then viewers can clearly see which parts need improvement. After the air passes the test area, it travels


back into the turbine.

          The models are tested nearby at Lake Placid Sliding Center. Duncan Kennedy, technical programs manager at USA Luge, is very enthusiastic about the relationship of the USA Luge and Clarkson University. “Clarkson was a key piece of the puzzle to get this done,” Kennedy said. “The team at Clarkson is so talented and so much fun to work with. I think we can take this to a whole other level in the 
next few years.”  As I watched the latest model speed down the Lake Placid track, I couldn’t agree more.
BMW Bobsled wins Bronze and Silver

The US two man bobsled racers have won bronze in Sochi, Russia. This is the first Olympic medal for US men’s two man bobsled in sixty two years. The medal was made possible thanks to improved technology. BMW helped the US team out by redesigning the bobsled.


Michael Scully, the head designer at BMW Dreamworks in California, was the leader of the project. Scully and his crew created computer models using a simulator, and the fastest were chosen to be made into prototypes. The prototypes were then tested in wind tunnels to see if any more improvements could be made.


One of the biggest issues faced by the team was weight.  Minimum weight  for the sled (excluding crew) is 170kg. Maximum weight (including crew and equipment) is 390kg (Women’s sled: 340 kg.). Most of their early prototypes were less than the minimum weight. Scully had to move the weight around in strategic places so as not to slow down the bobsled. Also, the track in Sochi had up hills. Uphills are a challenge for bobsled builders.  The uphills add another obstacle. During an uphill, the sled has to maintain speed or the race could be lost. The bobsled needs to be fast on downhills while maintaining speed on the up hills. Scully has to find a design that would do that.


After the final prototype was finished, it was tested on the Lake Placid Sliding Center. The team tested many versions of the sled to find out the fastest of the fastest. The new design was made into six sled, three for the women’s competition and three for men’s competition.


The four man bobsled is most likely to be redesigned next. The four man bobsled won gold in Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics. However, this year they won bronze. If they had improved sleds, they could have gotten second or possibly first. Russia got first in the two man and the four man bobsled races in Sochi. Russia got first in both events, this was partly because they could train on the track before anyone else could. They got the most practice out of all the competitors. Many wins the the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics are made possible by technology. Also, in the paralympics.


Top 3's

Top 3 Rules For Constructing a New Model


1. Use a wind tunnel. Wind tunnels are used for improving aerodynamics of an object.  Wind tunnel tests allow designer to see the parts of a design that slow it down.


2. Use computer apps. Computer apps can simulate aerodynamics and drag. This can save thousands of dollars by eliminating many mistakes before a model is made. Instead designers can just move or change a part of the design with the click of a button. 

3. Take comfort into account. Comfort can change the performance of an athlete. If the suit or structure is uncomfortable the athlete can be distracted.  The athlete may have to change their form to accommodate the discomfort, which will slow them down.


Top 3 New Innovations Used In The Olympics (From 2000)


1. Speedo LZR swimsuit. The suit is built for speed. It has shark skin design which improves speed. The LZR suit also is ultrasonically stitched together to reduce drag.

3. New sprinting shoe. The new shoe is shoe that weighs just 96 grams (3.4 oz). According to Fusaro, his technology allows making shoes that could improve an athlete's performance by up to 3.5%.


2.

BMW bobsled. The US men's two man bobsled had not won a medal in over 60 years. This newly designed bobsled won bronze of the team.


Top 3 Technology Disasters At The Olympics
1. 

Mock 39 Under Armour speed skating suit. The suit gave no medals to the US team. It claimed it was the fastest suit in the world but actually slowed down the athletes.


2. 

Speedo LZR swimsuit. Although it is the fastest swimsuit ever created, it was banned from swimming. The suit trapped air inside which gave an unfair advantage to athletes using it.


 
3. 

Death of luger. The death of Georgian Luger in 2010 at the Vancouver Olympics. He crashed into a metal pole on the outside of the track. Many people said it was the driver’s fault but an FIL official admitted to that the accident was, “Their mistake, the track was not built correctly.”


Top 3 Materials 
1. 

Carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is a lightweight material and also strong and flexible. It is usually used in racing sports for speed.


 
2. Fiberglass. Fiberglass is cheaper than carbon fiber but not as light or strong. This is used for lots of projects when cost is a factor.
3. 


Opening Reception of Bhakti Baxter's solo exhibition " 2014" at Gallery Diet

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The solo exhibition by Bhakti Baxter presents a continuation of the artist's interest in geometry.


“2014” features a series of concrete sculptures and ink on mylar drawings that explore volume, surface, space, and composition guided by fundamental geometric theorems. Each of the concrete sculptures offers a unique handling of mathematic axioms such as the Pythagorean theorem and the vesica piscis.


In the project room, Baxter has prepared a series of drawings which return to his use of ink on mylar and incorporate recent experiences with elementary shapes and proportions. This playful body of work balances between strict mathematical laws and anarchic immateriality, embracing geometry as a dependable truth with a supernatural counterpart.

BHAKTI BAXTER: 2014
Photos C by Heike & Robert Dempster

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cuillin and red hills

        The Isle of Skye lies close to the northwest coast of the Scottish Highlands and it Scotland’s largest tourist destination after Edinburgh. Rightfully so, as it contains what are thought to be the only true mountains in Britain – the dramatic Cuillin and Red Hills. The Cuillin, also known as the Black Cuillin, is a rugged ridge of peaks that are the remains of a volcano. The Red Hills are the adjacent landforms to the Black Cuillin, having a very different mineralogy and much gentler slopes than their Cuillin neighbours. These mountains have been a mecca for experienced climbers, scramblers and even hillwalkers for over 150 years. They offer breathtaking views of the ancient volcanoes that once erupted on Skye and also a range of satisfying ascents. Rising straight from the sea with little vegetation, these mountains first appear precipitous, but if you get close enough you see the enchanting scenery that the cloudy peaks offer.  J. A Macculoch, a Scottish writer, put this beauty into words on his first visit to the mountains: “Here and there a black precipitous scour looms out of the hillside, but the hills themselves in their white dresses are folded softly against the sky, and the snowy peaks of the Cuillin shimmer away like some ethereal fantasy into the sapphire heaven. Were it not for the shadows cast of the hills by their outstanding rocks and bluffs, they might be fleecy clouds, forming and dispersing and reforming in dreamy air.”

         When compared to Skye, this mountain range seems relatively young, with its formation beginning 50-70 million years ago. As North America began pulling away from Europe, and the Atlantic Ocean began filling in, a chain of volcanoes formed on the west of the Highlands, giving rise to the striking landscapes seen on Skye. The Black Cuillin were formed first when lava erupted from ancient volcanoes on Skye. This deposited basalt, a fine-textured volcanic rock that cooled relatively fast.  Another plume of magma began rising to the surface,

Black Cuillin (left) with the Red Hills (right).
but moved too slowly to erupt from the volcano and it began cooling slowly at great depths to form gabbro.  Through fissures in the crust, the basalt became injected with gabbro, a coarse-grained relative of basalt. This formed the magnificent Cuillin mountain range.
The rugged Black Cuillin mountain range.
At the same time, the magma plume had enough heat to melt the surrounding country rock (composed of quartz, feldspars and micas) to form granite. This red granite, its pigment coming from the feldspars, was uplifted to form the gentle Red Hills that sit adjacent to the Cuillin.
The gentle Red Hills.
All this solidified rock was subsequently covered under an extensive lava field that covered most of Skye when it was volcanically active. Weathering and erosion during the tertiary period removed vast proportions of the lava field and uncovered  the subvolcanic intrusions that now make up the Cuillin and Red Hills. The granites of the Red Hills have eroded uniformly, giving them their rounded gentle slopes. The fine-grained basalt on the Black Cuillin have weathered much quicker than the

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Highland Way, also cuts through the park and these walkers often frequent Conic Hill. Tourism has a long history in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs area and the variety of scenery and Highland/Lowland contrasts attracts as many visitors today as it did 200 years ago when Sir Walter Scott wrote about it.
The view of the Highland Boundary Fault from atop Conic Hill. Another island in Loch Lomond, Inchconnachan, has a wallaby colony introduced in the 1920's.
Fingal's Cave
Fingal’s Cave, on the island of Staffa became the inspiration for Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture in 1832. The ensuing surge of attention is one of the earliest examples of public imagination being fueled by a geological feature, and it is no wonder. Fingal’s Cave, though geographically small, offers a package of baffling marvel. It is the only sea cave formed completely by hexagonal columnar basalt, with astonishing symmetry. It lies just above water level, allowing visitors in enter is cathedral-like interior, where the sounds of the waves reverberate off the rock pillars creating a unique experience for all who enter. The
geological formation of this cave is as unique for its resounding qualities and its entirely natural structure.
Fingal's Cave entrance.

After the three ancient continents collided to form what we now know as the United Kingdom, the Earths crust began stretching apart and forming the Atlantic Ocean. During this stretching, the mantle began to melt an magma welled up beneath the crust forming ‘hot spots.’ Around 61-55 million years ago, deep fractures in the crust allowed the magma rise and erupt at the surface. The lava flows from these eruptions built up vast plateaus in the Inner Hebrides but can also be found on the islands of Mull, Iona and Staffa. The hexagonal columns were formed when the lava cooled and shrank as it solidified, jointing and cracking into these distinct shapes. This hexagonal jointing is an entirely natural phenomenon and can be seen when mud dries out; since the lava contracts inwards as it cools, the polygonal jointing is essentially the most ‘economical’ shape for the rock to attain.

 “…one of the most extraordinary places I ever beheld. It exceeded, in my mind, every description I had heard of it…composed entirely of basaltic pillars as high as the roof of a cathedral, and running deep into the rock, eternally swept by a deep and swelling sea, and pave, as it were, with ruddy marble, baffles all description.”
-Sir Walter Scott, on fingal's cave

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The geology behind this area is even more diverse, as the boundaries of the park envelop the Highland Boundary Fault – one of the four faults upon which Scotland was pieced together. This fault is significant as it geologically separates the Highlands from the Lowlands but distinct changes can also be seen in the weather, vegetation, wildlife and landuse. The boundary fault cuts rights through the centre of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, making them places of geological wonder and breathtaking views of landscapes so different from one another.

   The Highland Boundary Fault marks the major change from hard Dalradian metamorphic rock in the Highlands and softer Devonian sandstones in the Lowlands. These two disparate crustal blocks were brought together between 450 and 420 million years
ago. The area above the fault is known as the Moine and Dalradian terrane, and below the fault is the Midland Valley. The hard Dalradian rocks were originally marine sands, muds, lime-rich deposits and volcanic ash that were buried and altered by heat and pressure during the Caledonian orogeny to become metamorphosed. New minerals were formed: the sands and muds became slates, phyllites and schists. The softer Midland Valley rocks were deposited in layers in ancient freshwater lakes, which became compressed and hardened into red sandstones, pebbles and conglomerates. Situated between these two terranes is the Highland Border Complex, which contains rocks different than both the Highlands and Lowlands. The Complex contains a sequence of lavas, conglomerates, limestones black mudstones and sandstones that originated from the floor of an old ocean basin.
The actual Highland Boundary Fault line is marked by an intrusion of serpentine, a base-rich mineral derived from great depths in the Earths crust.
         Loch Lomond is the result of the erosive power of glaciers, which scoured the Loch into the face of the Earth. The current location of the Loch was the main corridor for ice movement originating from the north. Loch Lomond is tadpole shaped; the north is narrow and deep where the glacier eroded more and the south is wide and shallow where till and sediments were deposited (below).
The most interesting result that this geology has had on the landscape is the sharp change from Highlands to Lowlands, which can be seen from the summit of many hills in the national park and also in Loch Lomond. The stretch of islands from Conic Hill, Inchmurrin, Creinch and Inchcailloch are all part of the Highland Boundary Fault and make a distinct line through the Loch. The national park offers many hillwalks but the most popular is Conic Hill as it provides the best vantage point of this geological phenomena. A popular scenic tourist trail, the West

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formation. Finally, the Cuillin and Red Hills are adjacent, but very geologically contrasting mountain ranges on the Isle of Skye. The geology behind these four tourist destinations will be discussed below, but a brief geological history of Scotland is necessary for their understanding.
Brief Geological History
After the Big Bang, the primordial Earth resembled nothing as it does today. Continents were shifting, colliding and parting, moving from the Arctic to the equator and back again. Over 500 million years ago, Scotland existed as four disparate continental fragments and formed part of a large continent known as Laurentia, which included parts of North America and Greenland. England and Wales were part of a smaller continent known as Avalonia, separated from Laurentia by the large lapetus Ocean.
Eventually this ocean closed, colliding Laurentia and Avalonia, creating the mountains of the Highlands and uniting Scotland with England and Wales. At the same time, the separate land fragments essentially slid together along distinct geological fault lines, creating the current configuration of Scotland (below).

This mountain building event was known as the Caledonian orogeny. The newly united continent drifted across the planet, spending time in almost all Earth’s climatic zones including equatorial and desert, and eventually where it exists in present day. Beginning around 60 million years ago, the Atlantic Ocean formed from a thinning and diverging in the Earths crust, and Scotland drifted away from the rest of Laurentia. This stretching allowed molten rock to emerge at the surface that created a chain of volcanoes running along the west of Scotland. From this point until present day there were numerous periods of glaciation coupled with massive amounts of erosion to shape the landscape of Scotland we see today.

Loch Lomond and the TRossachs
     In 1810, the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott wrote a poem set in the beautiful Trossachs area, bringing thousands of tourists to the area. Following this, Loch Lomond gained international attention because of the traditional Scottish song ‘The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond.’ Together, these two locations form arguably the most beautiful scenery in Scotland, and was designated as a national park in 2002.
"By Yon bonnie banks an' by yon bonnie braes
Whaur the sun shines bright on loch lomond
whaur me an' my true love wiLL ne'er meet again
on the bonnie, bonnie banks o' loch lomond"

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Rhyme Your Way to Better Spelling

Flowers For Algernon Covers

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Flowers for Algernon
Imagine By: Joseph A.
Image By: Stephanie F.
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Satire Comics about Fast food

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Satire Comics
Image By: Iris P.
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This is a First Post

DAVID LEE MYERS INTERVIEW

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 Tell us about your music projects in the 60's prior to your electronic experimentation...

 Well, in the 1960's I was in middle and high school.  My main project was a band I was in which was fundamentally a cover band - we didn't know much else at the time.  I suppose we were the hottest thing in Alliance, Ohio, which isn’t saying a lot!  But I did get experience with the first Fuzztones, Echoplexes, and the like, which frankly interested me more than the music we were actually performing.  This was British invasion stuff like Beatles, Kinks, Yardbirds… when I graduated high school and left the band for college, Hendrix, Cream, and Pink Floyd were starting to happen, so in a sense I missed out on a fundamental thing that was getting going.  I didn't dip into music creation again for some years.

 When did you first become interested in electronic music? What was your inspiration to start creating within this realm of exploration?

 My last year of high school a couple of things happened.  Sgt. Pepper came out and I was mesmerized by the sounds and the obvious use of the recording studio.  But at the same time I was discovering real electronic music; unbelievably, the record bins at places like K Mart (my cultural backwater had no record stores) actually held the occasional disc of Stockhausen, Ligeti, Ussachevsky, Varese, etc., and this stuff really spoke to me.

 Where do you draw your inspiration from ?

 That’s easy.  That same year I took a trip to Cleveland and visited some actual record stores, where I always went for the “other” bin.  The album covers of Tod Dockstader’s Owl releases were very intriguing, and the clerk put a couple on for me.  I was hooked immediately.  To my mind, Tod blew away the academics and really gave me something to sink my teeth into.  His work of the 1960's inspires me to this day.  As you know, I was lucky enough to eventually track Tod down and begin a friendship which ultimately resulted in two collaborative albums, Pond and Bijou.

 You must understand that before Bob Moog came along, electronic music represented a truly mysterious world beyond ordinary reality.  That was what really resonated with me; it was one phenomenon which proved to me that there exists something which supersedes the mundane life we take for granted.  These sounds were not of this world, but there they were!  Magic!  Then of course MIDI came along, followed by sampling and legions of synthesizer platforms, and finally the computer, which has come to rule all.  Right now you will not hear any music untouched by electronics; call me a dinosaur, but the magic is gone, irretrievable….

 You moved to New York in 1977, was it the attraction of the New York music and art scene?   

 I moved here for different reasons, one of which was the publishing industry.  I studied illustration in California and realized that NYC was one of the only places I could make that happen; I still make my way in the material plane from graphics work.

About 1979 I became aware of Eno, Cluster, Fripp, Kraftwerk, etc., and simultaneously the home recording thing was becoming a reality.  The Tascam 3440 was crucial - suddenly the artist’s studio had an audio counterpart.  I had worked off and on as a visual artist, but now it seemed my real interest - electronic music - could be approached in the same way, on a very personal level.  Almost overnight I was staying up until 4 AM etching circuit boards and soldering wires.  I built a whole electronic music studio from kits, and later, working directly from schematics.  I love hardware.

 Pretty soon I started meeting people like Gen Ken Montgomery (creator of the Generator music gallery), his cohort David Prescott, Stefan Tischler and Keith Walsh (Port Said), and others working in the cassette scene.  It was pretty much all about recordings, and performances to a lesser degree.  At that time, I was not doing any performing since I didn’t see how - it was all to tape.

 From 1980 to 1986 I pursued music more along the lines of Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and so on.  Perhaps I was enchanted by the idea of doing melodies, harmonies, song structures, etc.  Hey look, I'm a “musician”!  So for a good while there I wasn’t actually in an “experimental” vein, though why not is a mystery to me now.  Maybe I thought I might actually make some sort of career out of it.  We were all optimistic at the time.  Some of the people who were putting out electronic music cassettes then are now known names in the film score biz and elsewhere.

 During this time I took in a lot of interesting performances, a lot at CBGBs, Mudd Club, and so forth.  Glenn Branca premiered his “Symphony #1” at The Performing Garage and it blew my mind (and ears, let me tell you).  Glenn and Rhys Chatham, with I believe Arto Lindsay, shattered CBGBs with an unprecedented guitar barrage one eventful night.  Pure noise wonderfulness.  The one thing I’ll always remember about CBGBs: one night waiting for a set by Television or one of their ilk, a young fellow came out who appeared to be a roadie, setting up for a band.  A real nerd type, pocket protector with pens, flannel shirt, horn rimmed glasses….  Slowly he set out a batch of small pedals and gizmos on the floor, connecting them up one by one.  No one paid any attention, continuing to drink and chatter.  We assumed he was just a setup person.  But gradually this guy (whoever he was) set the devices in motion and they began to make sounds.  After a few minutes there was a real noise rhythm thing going on and we all sat up and looked.  So cool!  Then he quietly unplugged everything and walked off.  No announcement, no name, nothing.  I’d love to know who he was….

 The scene today… well, I’m a bit of a recluse (as my music acquaintances will attest to), but Manhattan has become a yuppie playground and only the rich can take part.  Places like Roulette and Generator have been pushed to the outer boroughs or extinguished altogether.  From what I can make out, even Brooklyn has trouble keeping these places alive.  Where’s the next Bohemian enclave?  I fear there is none.  Perhaps we’ll just have to make do with virtual experience via the internet….

 What was the first piece of music you recorded?

 Hah, a trick question!  Who knows?  That is lost to history.  The real “first” was when I stumbled upon Feedback Music and recorded day and night onto Beta HiFi tape, which wound up as “Engines of Myth”, the first Arcane Device release.

 Arcane Device has been your main vehicle and what people know you the most for, how did the concept for AD come about? What was the inspiration for the feedback machines?

 In 1986 I was very taken with the long digital delays that were being produced.  I’d always loved the tape delay work that Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Fripp/Eno had done, and ever since my first encounter with an Echoplex years before, delay technology had been a kind of holy grail for me.  Now the tech was catching up and I experimented with Electro-Harmonx, Art, and Digitech units.  Finally I settled on Digitech 7.6 second delays, bought four of them and set about to build them into a self contained console.  Really I was looking to create the ultimate guitar looping rig, but while designing the layout I figured that I should make it as flexible as humanly possible.  This resulted in, to my knowledge, the first “matrix mixer” ever created.  Nowadays this seems more commonplace, but at the time it was unique - a mixer which could feed multiple effects and return their outputs to all others, plus themselves - i.e., feedback loops.  As soon as I powered up the layout, I immediately discovered that I needed no input: the delays themselves created their own sounds.  Thus the Feedback Music was born, and others dubbed my creation the Feedback Machine.  Other such machines followed, flowered, and alas, died.  The cycle of life, eh?

 Your gravitation towards the feedback compositions, do you find this approach personally the ultimately pure medium of expression within electronic composition?  Do you think it imbues the recording with more life?

 Over the years I have made music with guitars, synthesizers, samplers, found objects, stolen sounds, and computers of course, but I always return to Feedback.  Perhaps it is just the source that I resonate with most perfectly.  But yes, somehow this source is much more alive than any other I have worked with.  I’ve tried the most elaborate synths and sampling controlled by very flexible computer programs, but it never gives the living quality of Feedback.  

 Whereabouts have you played live with AD , and where have you found your music most well received?

 I’ve not performed for several years, but in the past I’ve played from Pittsburgh and Cleveland, to Boston here on the East Coast.  New York obviously - The Knitting Factory, The Kitchen, CBGBs, Roulette, The Clocktower, Experimental Intermedia, Generator, Performing Garage, White Columns, etc.  My one foray into Europe was concerts in Copenhagen and Hamburg.  Only now considering maybe putting some gear together and tentatively stepping out again….

 To my surprise, the music has been appreciated pretty world-wide.  I’ve had releases from labels in England, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Russia.  Fans have written me and ordered recordings from Africa , Japan, Thailand, Eastern Europe, Australia, and I can’t remember how many other locales….

 How did you come to collaborate with Asmus Tietchens?

 I had been a fan of Asmus for a long time.  Quite frankly, I simply contacted him with a collaboration proposal and he found the Feedback source to be ideal for his approach.  It went so well that we went on to do four albums together.

 Nanotube on Pulsewidth , the label you run yourself, is your foray into beat driven electronica, somewhat prolonged as although AD LPs were released during the techno/electronica boom you never seemed to let it directly influence your sound….  

 Well, although Feedback has always been my home base as it were, I’ve not been able to keep my fingers out of various pies; there’s just too much to explore.  Actually, probably my first “beat driven” project was a Pulsewidth album called Cel.  I used Feedback sources and raw electronic pulses driven by sequencing software.  Regarding Asmus Tietchens again, I sent him a copy of this recording and he was very disapproving.  He’s a purist and this apparently was unacceptable; my feeling is that from this time forward he kind of wrote me off.  I haven’t heard from him in many years.

 Are there any artists you admire in the field of modern beat driven electronica?

 I will have to admit that for some time I’ve been unconnected from that scene and my favourites go back a ways… Stewart Walker’s album Stabiles has always had a place on my stereo.  Monolake, Pluramon, Autechre….  Squarepusher is just the best, Tom Jenkinson is a musical genius.  But admittedly I’m out of touch with a lot of current stuff.

Any artists out there you have become aware of over the years you feel deserve more recognition?

 First and foremost, Tod Dockstader deserves to be in some electronic music Hall of Fame for sure.  He didn’t have the academic cred, which quashed his efforts after about 1966.  Many of us feel he totally outshone the ivory tower guys, but there wan’t much of an electronic underground at that time, which might have supported him.

 “Experimental” electronic musicians who do not conform to beat, club, or pop music standards understand from the start that “recognition” is not really something to expect.  Aside from those who carve out a little niche in academia, most of us simply love what we do and probably can’t stop, although we know it is impractical and unrewarding in any external sense.

 Any other stories or anecdotes you would like to share from your time as a performer?

 I recall with regret a concert in Pittsburgh where my “shoebox” Feedback Machine burned, apparently due to the trashy venue’s power.  To add insult to injury, the promoter released a cassette tape of the performance, which was way below my standard since the machine wouldn’t do much from that point on.  In Copenhagen I gave one of my best performances for sure, with accompanying Feedback Video on a big screen and stage, and then the following night in a Hamburg basement bomb shelter space I hit a nadir with massively failing equipment and deplorable conditions.  The sound man said to me, “if you make that sound again, I’m packing up my equipment and leaving.”  Perhaps he wasn’t wrong, the night before in Denmark I had blown the speakers completely out….

 What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?

 Every few years I break everything down and sell it off, or throw it out.  Sometimes I’ve even been known to renounce music and art altogether.  Perhaps it’s a syndrome of some kind?  Maybe I simply set standards too high, I don’t know.  But the impulse never goes away.  In 2013 I was determined to produce a new Feedback setup, going through two separate failures.  At the end of the year I finally succeeded, devising a hardware layout that satisfied me completely.  At this time I’m working with it as much as I can, and also beginning to produce accompanying video work.  I’ve done computer graphics for print media for many years, and now I’m finally jumping into motion, so I hope you will be watching!
DAVID LEE MYERS
AKA ARCANE DEVICE
New York based artist/musician DAVID LEE MYERS is best known for the ethereal drones of his ARCANE DEVICE project, which infamously utilises feedback generating machines . ..Black Forest spoke to him about how he developed his sound, his inspirations, collaborations and current projects...Be sure to also check out the link below the interview to see David's New Video Graphic work!
© BLACK FOREST 2014
FOR MORE INFO:
Prints and paintings derived from electronic traces created by Feedback Music. You can obtain prints from this section of the Pulsewidth website...

 
CHECK OUT DAVID'S NEW GRAPHIC VIDEO WORK BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW:

How To Sell Ebooks (3 Easy Tips)

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How to Sell
Ebooks
(3 Easy Tips)
The freedom to sell ebooks as an independent author is easier than ever. Many people are now self-publishing their own ebooks for the first time.   Readers feel empowered to be able to download ebooks anytime they want at affordable prices. 

These are the two main reasons, Ease and Affordability, that ebooks outsell paper books worldwide today.  This low pricing, and easy way of buying and selling ebooks is what has turned this into the revolution that it is today!   If you want to make money selling ebooks, then you should start by using these 3 tips to market like a pro.



Sell Your Ebook Tip #1 – Make It A Freebie!

Every time you write an ebook, write a summarized Free Version to Give Away to make readers hunger and thirst for your paid product.  If you write a 20 page ebook, the freebie should be a 5 page teaser that leaves out the main point that the paid version explains so well!  In the teaser, make sure you just hint at the ultimate solution.  But let readers know if they want the full answer, they must Buy the full version.

If people like your free report they will tell usually share it!

This allows you to test your material with readers without losing any money. And gives you a quick and easy way to build a new reading audience.











Sell Your Ebook Tip #2 – Start With A Low Price.

Ebooks should not be the same price as paper books.  Avid ebook readers know this, and Amazon confirmed it with their low-ball pricing structure.  Whatever the paper book price is the ebook price should be no more than half that price!  This is not what the industry practice, but this should be what they practice.

Amazon Kindle's ebook market have proven repeatedly that readers are more willing to take a chance on a completely unknown author at the $0.99 price point, than at any other price point.  Its the new FREE!  It will help you get your work out there, and over time you will be able measure the response people have to your writing.  It is immediate feedback.  And it is what every author really need.

The low-price strategy above is a powerful way to get readers to take a chance on you, by buying and reading your ebook.  This can help you get reviews and develop a fan base that can lead to greater things.  It may even put you in a position to get a big advance from a major publisher, and even sell your future ebooks at a much higher prices.


Sell Your Ebook Tip #3 – Get On Ebook Blogs

E-readers are a tight-knit group who possess a powerful communication network. Most know where to go for information. And they do this regularly. There are many websites, newsletters, blogs, and social pages that only review and promote e-books. The influence of these reviewers make a difference to a lot of ebook buyers.

Check out the lists below of ebook blogs and websites with mega- traffic:

Ereader News Today: http://www.ereadernewstoday.com/
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com
Kindle Nation: http://kindlenationdaily.com/
Pixel of Ink: http://www.pixelofink.com

Getting your e-book listed on these websites can help you get a lot of downloads. You can email the administrators of these e-book blogs and ask them how you can get your ebook featured on their blog.  Some sites give free listings while others will feature your book for a fee. 

There has never been a more interesting time to be an independent ebook author. The opportunities to self-publish and sell ebooks are unmatched. However, the basics remain the same. You must write a great ebook that solves a problem that your readers desperately want the answer too. Ebooks allow you to do this faster than ever before. Start small, use the low-cost pricing approach to gain new readers, and finally, connect with the ebook community to grow your readership.  And you will be amazed at how many people really want to read what you have written!

For even More Info On
Writing and Selling Ebooks
>>Click Here Now<<

Photo Essays from 7th graders

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By Moises F.
By Natalie W.