How to make a 'steel wool' long exposure photo?

Alright, well I understand that it has to do with long exposure. I basically know all the tecnical stuff about the camera details. And I will be using my Nikon D200 w/ tripod.

My question is:
how do you make the steel wool-like ropes?
how do you use them?
how long do they last?
Any other info/tips?

What a neat effect! I've never seen this before, but I did find a tutorial online that shows how to make the ropes and use them. It seems like the amount of time they last varies depending on the size of the steel wool you use and if you fluff it before lighting it. The tutorial is at http://wyophoto.blogspot.com/2011/02/diy-steel-wool-long-exposure.html

Oh this is just light painting. With a long exposure basically go anywhere where there's moving lights (ferris wheel freeway) all it is is moving lights. What this person did was grind steel wool on something that caused the sparks to fly. Not sure exactly abou tthe cloud like lights on the cobblestones