Rants & Raves
Speed Freaks
Death-defying heroics were on your minds in March, an issue one gentle reader called simply "a good kick in the ass." While horsepower junkies bragged about their cubic inches of displacement, transplant fans had a bone to pick with "Stripped for Parts." A typical cutting remark: "Please continue to write stories on how much more desirable it is for organs to rot in the grave. Perhaps you could do a time-lapse photo study." Others chose stoicism over sarcasm: "When it's time to die, it's time to die." (To each his own - anyone wanna swap a dynamometer for a defibrillator?) Meanwhile, back in the slow lane: Acolytes of Dean Kamen credited the Segway with revolutionizing not only transportation but weight loss and charitable giving. One fast-thinking sales suggestion: "Dump the expensive batteries, put in a lightweight moped motor, sponsor a race on the X Games, and everyone will want one." Just keep that killer app off the sidewalk.
All That Drag
I have been involved with hot-rodding since the late '60s and have seen a stunning transformation in the past few years. "War of the Wheels" (Wired 11.03) leaves the impression of a struggle between factions, for and against computer tuning, but the only real conflict in car culture is between imports and domestics. The import crowd has front-wheel drive cars, mostly Hondas, and it's a lifestyle thing. Performance is only part of the deal. Let's face it, you're not gonna get retina-ripping performance from four-cylinder motors in front-wheel drive packages. Domestics are pre-'49 street rods, '60s-'70s muscle cars, late-model EFI cars, and myriad drag classes.
There is a resurgence under way. Even those who don't understand electronic engine management are amazed by the possibilities and admit this emerging technology could unleash impressive performance. For hot-rodding, these are the good ol' days.
Charles Watson
Cheraw, South Carolina
As one of the old-timers Cole Coonce refers to in "War of the Wheels," I especially liked the article. Though I can't see the appeal of the new "laptop" cars, Coonce's approach and the way he writes made the article very enjoyable. I'm still not getting a Toyota or a nose ring, but I may get your magazine again.
Bob Frey
Waterford, New Jersey
Since "rice burners" is a derogatory reference, the term should be enclosed in quotation marks throughout the article (not just when it is first mentioned).
Shigeru Odani
Mamaroneck, New York
You have come loose from your moorings: I didn't subscribe to a hopped-up, high-testosterone men's magazine. Have you become mindless bots enslaved by the cycle of finding filler to put between the ads? Get a grip. Find your soul.
Chuck Jameson
Wilmette, Illinois
Along for the Ride
Regarding "Segway's Breakdown" (Wired 11.03): I thought big-name venture capitalists were supposed to help their companies with management advice and expertise. So how come John Doerr never explained "early adopters" to Dean Kamen? With any new product, there is only a small group of people willing to pay high prices for first-generation technology. The rest of us prefer to wait for improvements and price drops. Why did Kamen, or his backers, think the rules would be different this time around?
For now, I am sticking with a 25-pound, unlimited-range, sub-$1,000, two-wheeled transportation device that has benefited from more than 100 years of product development - my bicycle.
Stephen Turk
Los Angeles, California
The Segway is working out great for a lot of people. A Google search yields many examples of real (i.e., nongovernment/business) people using Segways, myself included. I ride the transporter more than 7 miles per day in hilly Seattle. We've given up one of our cars, and we're now saving at least $600 per month (car payment, insurance, gas, parking). The article left out that there are regular folks using the Segway already, and there are many more who will receive them this month. You can read about my experiences at www.bookofseg.com.
Phillip M. Torrone
Seattle, Washington
Inside the Chop Shop
I spent 10 years taking journalists into hospitals to observe transplants and the organ-donation process in Philadelphia. "Stripped for Parts" (Wired 11.03) is a perfect example of why it's necessary to screen those who are likely to be blown away by witnessing surgery and death. The sophomoric treatment of this subject in the article's text, headlines, and photos is a disgrace. Transplant success and survival rates are amazingly high, and organ transplantation is one of the true scientific, technological, and medical miracles of the past 30 years. I hope Wired readers are of the mindset that it's better to give life a second chance than to bury it in the ground.
Kevin T. Sparkman
Medford, New Jersey
I can't really say that I enjoyed reading your transplant article, but it certainly did strike a chord. As a surgical resident who trained in a major teaching hospital, I have been involved in more organ procurements than I care to remember.
Your piece does well in relating, with eerie accuracy, the surrealness of the experience, which has apparently not changed much in the past decade. But there are two other very important aspects of the tale that you haven't told. The first is the sometimes Herculean efforts of the critical care team as it tries to save the life of the brain-injured patient, and the irony of the Pyrrhic victory when the body, but not the brain, has survived. The other is the cold emptiness of the operating room at the conclusion of the procedure, after the transplant team has rushed out with the living organs, after the anesthesiologist has turned off the monitors and ventilator, after the nurse and scrub tech leave. The room goes silent. All that remains is a lifeless shell, stripped of its organs, and one medical professional whose task it is to close the gaping wounds in the chest and abdomen. It is a sad, lonely, and depressing job, but an honorable one - a final and respectful thank-you to someone who has been able to give of themselves so that even in death, another might live.
Steven Bengelsdorf
Newton, Massachusetts
Prisoners put to death by lethal injection (or other means) should instead be made brain-dead and their organs used to help balance the ratio of available organs to needed ones.
Monty Abrams
Las Vegas, Nevada
To Boldly Go
Thank you for the great "Surviving 7G" (Wired 11.03). Given the subsequent tragedy of the Columbia space shuttle, your article resonated even more. Our men and women explorers do what pioneers always do: They put themselves at risk in the pursuit of knowledge and in search of new frontiers. (And sometimes they get to do some really cool things.)
Albert E. Wood
Averill Park, New York
Please Fasten Your Virtual Seat Belts
It's hard to believe that there are 45,000 aero-geeks pushing virtual tin for pleasure ("Always a Dull Moment," Wired 11.03). Perhaps they should form an alliance with EverQuest and There.com to virtually transport the virtual people in Greater Faydark on a virtual vacation. Now, if they charged real dollars, that would be a business model. Hmm.... are you listening, United?
Jonas Lamis
Austin, Texas
That Sinking Feeling
Graham Hawkes asserts that NASA should shift its focus from the stars to the depths (View, Wired 11.03). If our current record and Hawkes' ideas are any indication, an in-depth (pardon the pun) exploration of the ocean by the US government would be disastrous. This culture's exploration turns too easily into exploitation. It's one thing for the scientific community to explore the deep for the sake of science, but once we begin to mine the floor for resources, or to collect species for use in the biotech industry, we have started down a slippery slope. We have already seen the effects that human interference has wrought on the terrestrial environments - I wonder if we should be so hasty as to bring this interference to the oceans.
Dave Musgraves
Claremont, California
UNDO
Back-Assward: Nissan's ZX and Toyota's Supra are rear-wheel drive ("War of the Wheels," Wired 11.03).
Ultrawideband of Brothers: Localizers transmit data at 10 Kbps, considerably slower than Wi-Fi (B.F.D., Wired 11.04).
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