[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference hydra::dejavu

Title:Psychic Phenomena
Notice:Please read note 1.0-1.* before writing
Moderator:JARETH::PAINTER
Created:Wed Jan 22 1986
Last Modified:Tue May 27 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:2143
Total number of notes:41773

1810.0. "Electronic Equipment Weirding-Out" by WELLER::FANNIN (Chocolate is bliss) Tue Mar 02 1993 22:13

Within the last 3 weeks several pieces of my electronic equipment have
failed to operated correctly.  I have experienced;

	1.  A MacIntosh Plus computer hard drive failure

	2.  A new MacIntosh Performa 400 hard drive failure (right after I
		bought it).

	3.  My AT&T cordless phone will not dial out.  It has also become
		intolerably noisy.

	4.  My Roland Axis keyboard suddenly developed an initialization
		error and will not correctly transmit MIDI signals to my
		other keyboards.

	5.  My VFX keyboard is getting very erratic and I've had to reboot
		it often because of strange system errors.

	6.  My daughter's Disney tape player (with fresh batteries) is
	    playing all of her tapes high-speed.


So I'm wondering;  Is there some underlying cause for all this?

	Maybe It's

		* due to the alignment of the stars and planets

		* my own personal karmic boomerang (returning home)

		* static electricity (but I do run humidifier constantly)

		* deceased hacker-spirits from beyond continuing their
		  mischief

		* my own bodily electromagnetic energy disrupting the
		  electronics

		* coincidence (but c'mon!  that's no fun to talk about)

		* the Goddess of Electronics demanding a sacrifice (like
		  tossing my new cordless phone into a volcano)

		* solar flares

		* NORAD (Cheyenne Mountain is right at the edge of town)

		* Nano-machines from the future running amuck in my house


Any ideas?

	Thanks,
    
    	-- Ruth
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
1810.1HOO78C::ANDERSONI know a secret!Wed Mar 03 1993 05:565
    Have you thought of hiring yourself out to the electronic repair
    industry? You could walk through an office and drum up business for
    them!

    Jamie.
1810.2Any patterns that might help ?DWOVAX::STARKambience through amphigoryWed Mar 03 1993 11:3117
    re: .0,
    
    I'm curious ...
    
    What's the timing of the failures like ?  Same time of day, evenly
    spaced out, random ?
    
    Anything else that is happening at the same time as all or most of them ?
    
    Do you remember what everyone in the house was doing at the time ?
    
    Notice any change in the lights or odd sounds just before equipment
    fails ?
    
    Any odd odors from any of the equipment after it fails ?
    
    						todd
1810.3HOO78C::ANDERSONI know a secret!Wed Mar 03 1993 11:5110
    As a field service engineer I used to notice the exact opposite. I
    would get called to a site, ask what the problem was, the operator
    would say, "Just watch this!" and the equipment would work flawlessly.
    We call it an intermittent fault, these you can usually induce to
    appear by altering something else.

    The operators however were convinced that I could scare computers into
    working.

    Jamie.
1810.5VERGA::STANLEYwhat a long strange trip it's beenWed Mar 03 1993 12:132
    You're one of those people, Ruth... I know other people like that.. who
    effect electronic equipment that way... and street lights and things..
1810.6you're not aloneTNPUBS::PAINTERangel pranks, swan songsWed Mar 03 1993 13:595
    
    In her books, Shirley MacLaine often writes about these sorts of things
    happening around her too.
    
    Cindy
1810.7Ectoplasmic E-fieldsWELLER::FANNINChocolate is blissWed Mar 03 1993 21:4934
    
        Re: .2
    
        >>What's the timing of the failures like ?  Same time of day, evenly
        spaced out, random ?   ----> random
    
        >>Anything else that is happening at the same time as all or most of
    	them ?  ----> You mean like someone turning on the blender or
    	something?  Not that I can think of.
    
        >>Do you remember what everyone in the house was doing at the time ?
             ----->  I share my home only with my 2-year old daughter and
    		     several domesticated mammals.
    
        >>Notice any change in the lights or odd sounds just before equipment
        fails ?  ----> Nope.  That would be a lark, eh?!
    
        >>Any odd odors from any of the equipment after it fails ?
    		----> I see you are favoring the deceased hacker from
    			beyond theory.  No odors.
    
    
    Actually, It has cost me quite a bit a money.  Maybe I should get Jamie
    to come over and scare it into working!
    
    And I had no idea that Shirley MacLaine said this happens to her.  I've
    never read any of her books.  But she and I both have red hair.  Maybe
    our hair picks up a certain light frequency that somehow activates our
    respective pineal glands into creating personal auras that disrupt our
    equipment!
    
    Cindy--Does Shirley say how she *stops* it from happening?  
    
    Ruth
1810.8HOO78C::ANDERSONI know a secret!Thu Mar 04 1993 06:0410
    Re .7

    >But she and I both have red hair.  Maybe our hair picks up a certain
    >light frequency that somehow activates our respective pineal glands
    >into creating personal auras that disrupt our equipment!

    The colour of your hair is the frequencies it reflects rather than the
    frequencies it absorbs.
    
    Jamie.
1810.9KERNEL::BELLHear the softly spoken magic spellThu Mar 04 1993 09:436
  ... so bearing in mind that the absorbed frequencies are the complement of
  the reflected ones and given both people reflect the same frequencies, it
  follows that for a set source spectra they will absorb the same frequencies.

  Frank
1810.10HOO78C::ANDERSONI know a secret!Thu Mar 04 1993 09:495
    Yes Frank, but it is a common misconception that an object which
    appears to be red absorbs red light, whilst the exact opposite is the
    case. This is the point that I was trying to make.
    
    Jamie.
1810.11Dead hackers and burned resistorsDWOVAX::STARKambience through amphigoryThu Mar 04 1993 12:2821
    Thanks, Ruth.  
    
>        >>Notice any change in the lights or odd sounds just before equipment
>        fails ?  ----> Nope.  That would be a lark, eh?!
    
    I thought maybe before settling on a paranormal hypothesis,
    nanites, or EMP experiments from NORAD we might consider power supply 
    fluctuations.  Blinking lights or buzzing or whirring might indicate that 
    other equipment in the house was being influenced by a power dip or spike.
    This wouldn't affect the battery operated equipment obviously,
    but such a large collection of failures might have some small percentage
    of coincidences.
    
    The odd smell I was asking about, besides a malodorous hacker spirit
    was to look for a characteristic sign of power flux, resistors
    being burned out.  Of course, even if that happened, it doesn't
    mean you couldn't have influenced it somehow, possibly.
    
    Are there any similar reports from neighbors ?  
    
    							todd
1810.12TNPUBS::PAINTERangel pranks, swan songsThu Mar 04 1993 14:237
    Re.7
    
    Ruth,
    
    No, she doesn't.
    
    Cindy
1810.13Medusa revisitedWELLER::FANNINChocolate is blissThu Mar 04 1993 16:2225
    re .9

    >>... so bearing in mind that the absorbed frequencies are the complement
    >>of the reflected ones and given both people reflect the same
    >>frequencies, it follows that for a set source spectra they will absorb
    >>the same frequencies.

    !! I'm absorbing the same frequencies as Shirley MacLaine.  Well folks,
    you heard it here first.  Maybe I should phone Shirley up and ask her
    for her hair bandwidth specifications.  My own hair is far from
    monochromatic.

    re .11

    Todd, I haven't talked to any of my neighbors to see if they are
    experiencing lots of equipment failures...might be a good idea. I
    haven't noticed any signs of gross power fluctuations -- no digital
    clocks blinking etc.

    Whether or not this is a case of hackers who have uploaded (bad hackers
    get downloaded) is yet to be seen.  But I like the theory.  I think as
    more and more hackers grow old and die they will try to make contact
    the best way they know how -- in our logic circuits.

    ...And we think computer viruses are a nuisance!
1810.14It would be less expensive to fly Jamie over.WELLER::FANNINChocolate is blissSun Mar 07 1993 20:039
    sigh.   one more appliance bites the dust.
    
    
    	7.  The garbage disposal motor makes a funny noise and won't work.
    
    
    
    
    --Ruth
1810.15HOO78C::ANDERSONI've got a LA50!Mon Mar 08 1993 08:217
    Re .14
    
    >The garbage disposal motor makes a funny noise and won't work.
    
    Switch off the power and remove the obstruction.
    
    Jamie.
1810.16duhWELLER::FANNINChocolate is blissMon Mar 08 1993 14:184
    re:  Switch off the power and remove the obstruction.
    
    
    That was kinda like the first thing I tried.
1810.17HOO78C::ANDERSONI've got a LA50!Tue Mar 09 1993 05:3418
    Recently we had a spate of breakdown of the domestic appliances. Out of
    these two were genuine breakdowns. The rest were things that we had, or
    had not done. Failing to remove the lint from the filter of the clothes
    drier caused it to switch off. A one small coin in the impeller blades
    of the pump of the washing machine stopped it going into a spin cycle. 
    A wooden toothpick lodged itself in the pump of the dishwasher and
    stopped it from pumping out. The vacuum cleaner picked up a piece of
    string and wrapped it round its belt bringing it to a shuddering halt.
    That is just the last year or so. The more equipment you have the more
    there is to go wrong.

    One of our customers is turning in terminals with broken keyboards at a
    fantastic rate, about 10 per day. You might think that there is some
    psychic person wandering round zapping them merely by standing next to
    them, but I strongly suspect that he has a problem with static
    electricity.

    Jamie.
1810.18Pixies' Tech ManualsWELLER::FANNINChocolate is blissTue Mar 09 1993 17:2422
    Hi Jamie,

    Of course I understand that equipment breaks down.  But what's 
    happening in my life right now involves a much higher-than-normal rate
    of failure.  It's also virtually all electronic.

    I'm having some diagnostics done on my home power supply by the utility
    company (soon as they can send a guy out) to see if it's a power problem.

    But, my sister is convinced that *I* am doing it on a psychic,
    supernatural sort of level.  That's why I entered this note in this
    conference.  I'm doing everything I can think of to prevent equipment
    failure by normal acceptable methods.

    But this is DEJAVU!  This is a conference on psychic stuff!  So I want
    to play in the sandbox here.  My repair people will tell me if I have
    dirty power or chicken bones in the disposal.  

    I want to hear about ektoplasmic phenomena, love triangles with ghosts,
    Brownian motion spirits reorganizing the molecular structure!

    Jeez-Louise!  This is entertainment!
1810.19TNPUBS::PAINTERangel pranks, swan songsWed Mar 10 1993 18:044
    
    It *was* a full moon yesterday...
    
    Cindy
1810.20HOO78C::ANDERSONI've got a LA50!Thu Mar 11 1993 05:416
    Yes and the moon was the closest to the Earth that it has been this
    century. Flood alerts were out in case of a repeat of the 1953 disaster
    but as the wind was blowing in the opposite direction there was no
    danger.

    Jamie.
1810.21Photons bouncin' off the moonWELLER::FANNINChocolate is blissThu Mar 11 1993 13:085
    I think the full moon has been affecting my brain-type equipment!
    
    I'm sorry for being so "short" in the last couple of messages.
    
    -- Ruth
1810.22ERIS::GALE_JSun Mar 14 1993 21:423
    Mercury in retrograde is never good for machines, or so I have heard.
    
    Janet
1810.23HOO78C::ANDERSONI've got a LA50!Mon Mar 15 1993 08:015
    Mercury in retrograde, is just an illusion, it doesn't really go
    backwards. So could you explain how it affects machines? BTW we do not
    tend to get more repair calls during this period.

    Jamie.
1810.24JUST A GUESSSTRATA::THOMASWed Mar 31 1993 11:0221
    DEAR RUTH,
              I'M NEW HERE AT THE HUDSON FACILITY,SO YOU MAY TAKE THIS AT
    WHAT VALUE YOU WISH.
              MY EXPERENCE IN THE FEILD OF PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES IS
    LIMITED, BUT IT HAS BEEN A GROWING INTEREST SINCE I WAS IN GRADE
    SCHOOL.
             RESEARCH HAS PROVEN THAT EACH PERSON HAS THERE ON
    ELECTORMAGNETIC FIELD,WHICH SOME CALL AN AURA.THIS FIELD IS EFFECTED
    BY ONES EMOTINAL MOOD.SOME MORE SENSITIVE PERSON EVOKE A GREAT DEGREE
    OF FORCE WHEN EMOTINALLY DISTRESSED. THIS CAN CAUSE REACTIONS IN
    ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS.
             IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU ARE HAVING A REAL BAD HAIR DAY, IT MIGHT
    EFFECT MORE SENSITIVE ELECTRONIC DEVICES.
             SCIENCE HAS ALSO PROVEN THAT CHILDREN,NOT BEING IN FULL
    CONTROL OF THIER EMOTION,CAN PRODUCE THE MOST POWERFUL PSYCH
    OUTPUT.ALSO KNOWN AS A POLTERGIEST.( THE SPELLING MAY BE WRONG.)
             ALL IN ALL, THIS JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. I'LL LOOK MORE
    INTO IT AND SEE WHAT I CAN FIND.
    
                                      THOMAS 
                                            
1810.25ENABLE::glantzMike @TAY 227-4299 TP Eng LittletonWed Mar 31 1993 12:561
My gawd, I know times are tough, but are we still using VT05's in Hudson?
1810.26What research ?DWOVAX::STARKRogue's scholarWed Mar 31 1993 13:0924
>             Research has proven that each person has there on
>    electormagnetic field,which some call an aura.this field is effected
    
    _Please_ cite your source for this research when you make this
    sort of claim here (the claim of 'research has proven', not 
    neccessarily the claim that an aura exists).
    
    Based on the literature selling poor quality overpriced
    "New Age" technologies I often receive in the mail, still based
    on Russian literature that turned out to have been partly a hoax,
    and based on poor experimental methodologies, I'd say the only 'research' 
    people who still argue that there is literally a 'biofield' are the ones 
    that sell the devices and make spectacular profits on them.   I could be 
    wrong, quite honestly, but that's based on what I've seen so far.  
    
    I really wish I could find some actual research on this topic,
    it's been an interest of mine for years as well.
    
    Btw, I won't argue it's usefulness as a clinical metaphor in healing,
    I think that's pretty well established.   
    
    						kind regards,
    
    						todd
1810.28Conductor not generator.CADSYS::COOPERTopher CooperWed Mar 31 1993 15:1630
RE: .27

    A fairly reasonable model of a human being (for some purposes :-)) is
    as a large, oddly shaped bag of salt water -- something of a conductor
    though not a great one by electronic standards.  Most electrical
    affects on the environment that you see in connection with the human
    body -- static electric sparks on dry days, affects on gas discharge
    tubes, position in room affecting TV or radio reception, and Kirlian
    photography (though this last requires non-uniform conduction not
    implied by the bag-of-salt-water model, and a certain amount of
    chemical interaction with sweat for some effects to be explained) --
    are explainable this way.

    Of course, the human body does have an electrical field associated with
    it. A lot of our internal mechanism, especially but not exclusively
    neural mechanisms, consist of chemically pumping ions from one place
    to another, and moving ions create electrical fields.  Also our bones
    are piezoelectric and so every time we put or release pressure on a
    bone a minute electrical current is created.  But these electrical
    fields are very, very small.  It takes a lot of hard work at very close
    range to detect them (good enough detection to get any really
    high-quality information out of them requires the use of a Faraday
    Cage and other mechanisms to screen out the grossly larger
    environmental -- including natural -- electrical fields).

    That doesn't mean that there is no such thing as the human aura.  It
    does mean that it has virtually no practical significance if it is
    electrical in nature.

					Topher
1810.30Ugly bags of mostly waterDWOVAX::STARKCanary in a coalmineWed Mar 31 1993 18:438
    re: .28, 
    (Topher compares the body to a conductor of electromagnetic
    effects vs. a generator).
    
    That's an interesting way of looking at it.  Thanks for the
    useful metaphor.
    
    						todd
1810.31another trekkie, huh?VERGA::STANLEYwhat a long strange trip it's beenWed Mar 31 1993 18:441
    Ugly bags of mostly water... :-) 
1810.32Not that I'd admit. :-)DWOVAX::STARKCanary in a coalmineWed Mar 31 1993 19:375
    re: .31,
    'Trekker' please.  'Trekkies' have pointy false ears and 
    carry squeaking fluff balls around and debate the wisdom of 
    Dr. Daistrom using his own engrams for the M-5 prototype.  
    We Trekkers are way beyond all that silly trivia.  ;-) :-)
1810.33VERGA::STANLEYwhat a long strange trip it's beenWed Mar 31 1993 20:036
    
    Oh... that's right... I forgot... :-)
    
-< Not that I'd admit. :-) >-
    
    ... too late now.. :-)
1810.34What metaphor?CADSYS::COOPERTopher CooperWed Mar 31 1993 20:3116
RE: .30 (todd)

>                         -< Ugly bags of mostly water >-

    I never said ugly!  I find many of those bags of water very attractive!

>   Thanks for the useful metaphor.

    Your welcome, but I don't think I would describe it as a metaphor.
    It's somewhere between a model ("start with a spherical cow...") and
    a grossly simplified and somewhat distorted literal description --
    it just leaves out all the details which are irrelvant to the
    discussion.  Now if I had said that humans were simply rabbit ear
    TV antennas with feet *that* would be a metaphor.

				Topher ;-)
1810.35pointer to material on auras, etc.TNPUBS::PAINTERangel pranks, swan songsWed Mar 31 1993 21:5212
    Re.30
    
    Todd,
    
    You may wish to take a look at "Hands Of Light", by former NASA
    physicist Barbara Brennan, a work I've recommended to you and
    others many times in this conference.  
    
    Unfortunately time has not allowed me to enter contents from that 
    book or more on Dr.Chopra's work as well.
    
    Cindy
1810.36HOO78C::ANDERSONI've got a LA50!Thu Apr 01 1993 08:3313
    The electrical fields in the body really are very weak. When I was
    still running on my own heart I was interested in the ECG (EKG for
    Americans) machines. I got some of the conductive pads, stuck them on
    my chest and connected them up to an oscilloscope. Now this was a
    reasonably sensitive oscilloscope and could measure minute voltages,
    but even with it at its most sensitive settings I could barely get a
    reading.

    Now if it could not move an oscilloscope trace, when provided with a
    good connection, I think that the idea of it jumping a gap and
    zapping equipment is a bit far fetched.

    Jamie.
1810.37WEIRD VIBESSTRATA::THOMASThu Apr 01 1993 10:4125
    JAMIE,
          TRY YOUR EXPARAMENT AGAIN. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD CONECTION.
    USE SOME CONDUCTIVE GEL, LIKE THAT OF THE STUFF THEY MAY HAVE PUT ON
    YOU AT THE HOSPITAL, TO MEASURE YOUR HEART RATE. ALSO MAKE SURE THEY
    ARE IN THE CORRECT LOCATIONS.
          QUESTION: ARE EKG'S (OR ECG'S) DESIGN THE SAME AS YOUR
    OSCILLOSCOPE? THEY PREFORM A SIMILIAR FUNCTION,BUT THEY ARE TOO BOTH
    SPACIFICALLY DESIGNED INSTRUMENTS.
          AFTER YOU HAVE YOUR SELF ALL RIGED UP TRY SOME EMOTIONAL
    EXCERCISES. SEE IF YOU GET A VARIANT IN YOUR READINGS.
          TRY TO THINK OF SOME THING EXTREMLY SAD,THEN HAPPY AND SO FORTH.
          PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY, BUT HAVE SOME ONE HIT YOU.
    ANGER IS A VERY STRONG EMOTION.
          THESE ARE ALL JUST IDEAS, AND THE POINT TO THIS CONFERANCE, I
    THOUGHT, WAS TO SPARK DISCUSSION.
    
                                           THE NEW GUY,LA50,
    
                                               THOMAS
    
           
          
    
    
          
1810.38HOO78C::ANDERSONI've got a LA50!Thu Apr 01 1993 11:2116
    The pads come with connective gel and were correctly positioned. The
    ECG is basically a specialised oscilloscope with very sensitive
    amplifiers.

    The electrical signals from the body are extremely weak and could not
    affect electrical equipment.

    I could see the heart beat but only just.

    Changing my emotions will have absolutely no effect on my heart beat.
    The nerve that is used by the brain to control the heart rate has been
    severed.
    
    BTW does you terminal support lowercase?

    Jamie.
1810.39I sing the body electric ...DWOVAX::STARKCanary in a coalmineThu Apr 01 1993 18:2734
    re: .35,
    	Thanks again for the recommendation, Cindy.  
    
    re: Electrical signals,
    	 The claimed biofield I've seen in most literature selling
    	technology to detect it is NOT the kinds 
    	of low level piezoelectric signals or neural field effects or
    	magnetic field effects that Topher was referring to,
    	in my opinion.  I don't see how the kind of sensitivity of 
    	those kinds of devices could possibly reliably pick up
    	such small signals.  Influencing the body's electromagnetic
    	field characteristics is I think a separate topic from detecting them.
    	It might not even make sense to consider it a 'field' in that
    	regard, but a receiver of and responder to external fields ?
    
    	Is anyone familiar with the device sold as two metallic
    	screens connected by a conductor, and designed to 
    	be placed on the body to form electrical circuits ?
    
    	The ads for it claimed effectiveness in various
    	psychoactive and healing effects in double blind studies,
    	but as usual, no references were supplied, and the
    	person who did the research mysteriously appears as a member
    	of the organization selling the device, presumably because
    	he was so impressed by its effectiveness.
    	
    re: Topher,
    	Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you said 'ugly,'
    	It was an out of context Star Trek NG reference from
    	a show when a race of 'nanites,' nanotechnology-like 
    	in organisms, gave their amusing perspective of human beings.
    
    						kind regards,
    							todd
1810.40HOO78C::ANDERSONI've got a LA50!Fri Apr 02 1993 06:4022
1810.41this little light of mine...SAHQ::CAGLEThu Apr 15 1993 15:0625
    re: Basenote
    
    And now for something totally different...
    
    Everyone is a channel (not like a medium/channeller, but rather like
    a conduit) through which spirit (god) influences the lower planes.  As
    a channel, the is a certain normal flow rate through each; a vibration.
    Everything that that person (channel) is regularly around is permiated
    by that vibration.  A balance is achieved between the channel/person and
    their surroundings.  If the person achieves a higher level of
    awareness/conciousness, then they become a clearer channel for spirit.  
    The vibration increases.  Karma speeds up.  Many thing go wrong; 
    illness, equipment screws up, other people react to a difference in the
    person without understanding why, etc.  Eventually, it all settles down
    as a new norm is established.  The invidual gets accustomed to the new 
    vibe.
    
    The change in the owner's vibe rate would also be a factor when
    acquiring new possessions; especially if they were "used" and owned by
    someone with a considerably different vibe.
    
    The bottomline to all this is that we all effect everyone and
    everything without even making an effort by being a channel for spirit.
                                                        
    tc
1810.42HOO78C::ANDERSONI've got a LA50!Fri Apr 16 1993 08:403
    This will come as joyous news to your average repair man.

    Jamie.
1810.43Harder to exorcise a 'complexity' :-)DWOVAX::STARKSkin of a living thoughtFri Apr 16 1993 12:509
>    This will come as joyous news to your average repair man.
    
    Nah, they know it.  That's why many repair vans in my area have the bumper
    sticker that says "S--t Happens" <expletive deleted>.  You fix one
    problem and cause another one.  Spirits are as good an explanation 
    as 'complexity' or 'insufficient information,' I guess.  At least you can 
    sometimes exorcise a spirit.  Complexity just gets you frustrated.  :-)
    
    							todd
1810.44waiting for the Angel of UnemploymentSAHQ::CAGLEFri Apr 16 1993 19:149
    .42  It does.
    
    .43  It would be easier to exercise your warranties.     (ps: spirit 
                                                      #:-)        not spirits)
    
    .41  OR... it could be ELECTROMAGNETIC GREMLINS... film at 11   #:-)
    
    tc