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Cold In Florida
There are people who say there is no truth to climate change.
Let me take a page from their book and say I'm not a scientist but it sure has been a wild winter. And when my son said, "Is it spring yet?" it reminded me that oh yes, it's still winter.
Writing about this is not new but I'll tell you what is. I live in Orlando. It was 29 degrees the other day. 29. My brother, who lives in Baltimore, says welcome to the rest of the world. But I say, it's not supposed to be like that in Florida. It's why we live here.
It's fun watching winter ON TV.
Snow, ice, slipping sliding cars, crashing cars. Watching the evening news, in shorts and flip flops, in the place that calls itself 'The Sunshine State', is a great way to to sit around the camp fire. I mean the television.
What is also fun is watching what happens here to people when the thermometer dips below 50. Out come the winter coats, the scarves, the gloves. For a guy who moved here from New York, I'm always thinking to myself, "You don't know cold." You know it's winter in Florida when one guy has on a coat and long pants and another guy has on shorts and a tank top.
It's been brutal up north.
I have a dear friend in Boston and it seems like it's been snowing there all the time. And not a dusting but alot of snow. When it's not snowing, here comes an ice storm. My wife went to Columbus, Ohio for a weekend and the temps were in the single digits. Plus the term 'whiteout' was in play. She didn't know if she'd be able to fly home.
It seems like a blizzard across the Plains States or Michigan or Oklahoma is a common occurrence. I'm late with this but be honest had you ever heard the term Polar Vortex before? It's not supposed to be that cold there or up north, but you wouldn't be that surprised if it was. It's the severity of the cold that is surprising.
I grew up with snow, I grew up with mittens, with gloves, with winter clothes. We had sleds and prayed for snow days so they would cancel school. In Maryland, where I went to junior high, they would cancel school because of icy conditions, the sun would come out and melt the ice by nine in the morning. And we kids had a free day off. What could be better?
As an adult I lived in New York during The Blizzard of '96, when it seemed like it snowed a bazillion times. So much snow that they had to push it into the East river. Still the only time I've ever seen people cross country skiing down Fifth Avenue.
So I know winter. I know cold. Still, 29 in Florida. That might mean nothing to you but it means a big something to me. It's not supposed to get that cold here. I'm not saying there is climate change all I'm saying is...
I'm just saying.
Mean Comments On The Internet
A friend of mine was upset, to put it mildly, over negative and down right mean comments that people had addressed towards her husband on the internet.
Let me set the scene.
Her husband is a great guy, a wonderful father and the kind of husband you wish for. He also happens to be a tv weatherman. What's wrong with that, you say? I, myself, used to be a weatherman. Great job and research shows that, "What's it going to be like today?", is a major question for viewers.
Apparently, what he forecast was not what transpired. Weather is very fickle and many times it changes it's mind. It happens. What was really disturbing were the comments left on his station's web site by people who lost their minds.
Mean comments. Mad comments. Bad comments. Saying things that could really hurt your feelings. How can people do that?
I'll tell you how.
First, what my mother and father taught me. Manners. My mother always used to say, "Be sweet." Let's be clear, she did not say to be a pushover or to not stick up for yourself. But nice seems to have gone bye bye. We seem to have veered into a different place and I think the internet takes some of the blame. We are in an age of swift pitchforks and torches. We are also in an age where people can leave vitriolic comments anonymously.
Think about that for a second.
People can post whatever they want knowing their doorbell is not going to be rung by an angry person demanding an explanation. Have you read comments on anything lately? People with handles like John3456 or Grasshopper5 say anything and everything. And many times what they say is awful. I know, I know, freedom of expression is one of the things that makes this country great.
When you're not held accountable for what you say? You tend to say anything. When you are? Different ballgame. You think before you speak or in this case post. If people had to put their real name and address on their posts, things would clear up right fast. A lot of bullies are cowards and if the awful things a person says could be traced back to them...
I don't know if things will get better, if things will change. They should. Do you think they will?
And for my friend who was baffled by how rude strangers could be to her husband?
Ignore them and hang tough.
When Denzel won his second Oscar, for the movie Training Day, it was quite a night.
The air was electric. It's always electric for the nominees but especially so that night because Sidney Poitier was there to get an honorary Oscar from the Academy.
It would be his second.
He was the first Black man to take Best Actor for Lilies of the Field in 1963. It paved the way for actors like Denzel Washington to follow in his footsteps. And you better believe that Denzel and every other Black actor and actress had a special place in their heart for Sidney.
That ceremony was still to come.
There I was talking to all kinds of people on the red carpet, and along comes Mr. Washington with his wife, the former Pauletta Pearson, whom he met on the set of the television film Wilma.
She left to talk to someone you know and it was just me and Denzel. I'd talked to him a number of times before so it was,"Hey, how ya doin'?" He said, "I'm nervous and I usually don't get nervous."
We're doing the interview when he sees that his wife is hugging and talking to Julia Roberts. She and Denzel met when they did Pelican Brief and have been great friends ever since. His eyebrows go up and down and he said conspiratorially, "Let's listen in."
When Julia saw him, she squealed, and threw her arms around him.
Oscar winners. Great friends.
Denzel Washington in Cannes
I met Denzel in Cannes, France. He was there for the movie Much Ado About Nothing. The original play was written by the bard, William Shakespeare. Swashbuckling doesn't even begin to describe Denzel in the film. He was handsome, he was dashing, he had star power. I found him to be intelligent with a quick mind. And very polite.
Just nice.
I mention that meeting because I didn't see him afterwards for about six months. I was slated to talk to him about Crimson Tide, a movie he made with Gene Hackman. As I walked into the hotel room in Los Angeles, he put his hand to his temple as if trying to recall something and said,"Are we on a pier in France?"
I couldn't believe he remembered.
Back to that night.
Halle Berry was the first African American woman to win the Best Actress Oscar for her work in Monsters Ball.
I saw her in the elevator at our hotel the day before the show. She was with her mom and I said,"After you win don't forget to come talk to me." "But, I'm not going to win!" I said it again this time slower for emphasis "After you win don't forget to come talk to me." She reluctantly agreed that if that did happen she would do just that.
Guess what? She won.
We had a booth backstage to interview the winners and after the ceremony we talked. Towards the end of our chat I said,"When you die on your headstone it will say Oscar Winner Halle Berry."
She looked at me, we hugged, and then we both started to cry.
Halle Berry and Denzel Washington
Denzel was the Best Actor. It was the first and still the only time that African Americans took home the top two acting prizes.
I talked to Denzel backstage. It was special and the Golden Guy was with him as well.
I asked him about Sidney and he said,"If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be sitting here." I said, "What's next?"
He laughed and said he didn't know but, "I've got to get a new angle."
"A new angle?"
"For years people have been saying sorry you didn't win for this, sorry you didn't win for that." Holding up the Oscar, Denzel said, "Now that I have this they won't say it anymore. I need a new angle."
And then he threw his head back and laughed.
National Stroke Awareness Month
May is National Stroke Awareness Month.
It's an important month for us. We talk about stroke all year but really focus on it then. You know who declared May that? The 41st President, George Herbert Walker Bush. He signed Presidential Proclamation 5975, that declared May National Stroke Awareness Month, back in 1989.
I first interviewed him at the Cheeca Lodge at Islamorada in the Florida Keys. He was there to host his Bonefish Tournament, which had raised thousands of dollars for various charities. This was in the late 90s long before stroke was an important part of my life.
A memory...
I was having dinner the evening before sitting right next to him with Chris Evert the Hall of Fame tennis player at the table as well. A couple of things. He noticed I wasn't drinking wine and when he saw that he stopped too. Chris knew him so well, he had been to her charity tennis tournament many times, and occasionally she would slip up and call him George.
Like a fly on the wall I was.
She tells him about Pam Shriver's upcoming marriage. He says, "She's a great gal. I'm surprised it took her this long to get married."
Chrissie replied, "I agree but she's lazy. She'd just as soon travel with her suitcase and her...
They both throw their heads back and laugh. I was in aghast mode. Then he remembered I was there and he laughed even harder. It was then I thought he's just a man. Who happens to be a former president.
The next day I did the interview and left, all the while thinking,"I just talked to a president."
We talked four times over the years. Let me set up one of those times.
It was just after 9-11 and the country was in a different place. I was back at the Cheeca Lodge again, to talk about the fishing tournament but I had to ask him about current events. He had been president during Desert Storm but now his son was at the helm.
I remember a question I wrote,"When you see the same names in the news, the same towns, the same countries, what are your thoughts?" That was how it was supposed to go. The night before, I went back and forth and then decided to change the question a little bit.
When we sat down for our national television interview, I decided to go with this--"When you see the same names in the news, the same towns, the same countries, do you have any regrets?"
I'd never, in person, seen a president get red in the face or angry. I saw both.
"Regrets? Was I supposed to go all the way to Baghdad? That would have broken up the coalition because, in their eyes, we would have gone a step too far. Plus, was I supposed to tell parents I was putting their kids in harms way? This is why I don't do interviews like this."
I always tell people to forget that the camera is there. We both did and had what is known as a 'spirited conversation.' Some of what he said, "I give you a four for this interview." "Out of how many?" "Ten." "Ten?!" He amended it to an eight.
It was live television at it's best. When I returned to talking about fishing the air in the room noticeably calmed down.
Afterwards he shook my hand, hard, and asked, "Who's that blonde woman on ABC who does the news?" "Diane Sawyer?" "Diane Sawyer. She's been trying forever to get me to sit down with her. She's gonna have my ass when she sees this interview."
All the way home I wallowed in a 'I sure messed up' funk. The trip to Miami's airport, the plane ride home, the ride to my apartment in New York. Just inconsolable. That evening, my fax machine began to make noises and out came a hand written letter that changed my whole mood. In it, President Bush asked me for a copy of our interview for his Presidential Library, "pretty please." Apparently people he listened to had seen the interview and liked it. And that helped change his mind. I happily sent it to him.
Enough about that, on to stroke, and the importance he had for me in dealing with mine.
I had left the network and gone to Orlando to anchor for the CBS affiliate, WKMG. There, I had my stroke. After months of grueling rehabilitation my good friend Harry Smith, who also was the anchor for The Early Show, came down south to interview me. After it was over, his producer asked me if I could be on the set, in New York, when it ran. I was, and there were reunions and tears all around. After the show was over I left the studio, stepped out onto Fifth Avenue and my cell phone rang.
It was President George H.W. Bush.
He had seen the interview and told me how well he thought I was coming along. It meant so much to me to hear from him, especially then. It made me want to run to rehab. He gave me that powerful thing I talk about, hope. We talked for awhile and then he was gone.
It was later I found out he was responsible for National Stroke Awareness Month. It was something that didn't register before because stroke hadn't even been on my radar. That knowledge warmed the heart of this survivor. There was a time that stroke was in the shadows. It affected many people who were never the same again or, even worse, died. We've come a long way since then but there is more to be done. Having this Proclamation was a great step forward.
December 1st, 2018.
I woke up to the news of his passing. There were all kinds of thoughts in my head.
I would call him from time to time and once I told him I just became father to twins. The note he wrote on Kennebunkport stationary telling how happy he was for me is one I still have today.
All together now, "Safe Deposit Box."
I remember when he sky dived at 90 and how cool I thought that was.
A class act.
Always remember that we have a finite time here. He did very well with his.
Rest In Peace George Herbert Walker Bush.
For more on Proclamation 5975-National Stroke Awareness Month go to http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=20508
I knew Andy Cohen first as Andrew Cohen.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, he was my intern.
When I first met Andrew, he was twenty one, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Well kinda bushy tailed, he had a pony tail. More on that later. He's from St. Louis and had come to New York where I met him at CBS. Everyone liked him. I have to say that what you see today is what we saw back then. He truly hasn't changed. He's always been smart, he's always been dear, he's always been nice, he's always been classy, he's always been funny, I could go on...
As they used to say, "Let's go back to the days of yesteryear."
Those first years were a bit of a blur but I do remember going on lots of adventures with Andrew.
We went to Baltimore, when the show I was on and he worked for, broadcast from there. The show was CBS This Morning, our version of Good Morning America, our version of the Today show. We went to old Memorial Stadium, the place that brought us Johnny Unitas and the Colts plus Brooks, Frank, and Earl Weaver. Today the Orioles and Ravens play in different places but back in the day, that was the joint.
Look at the picture and you'll see a young Andrew. What you WON'T see is a pony tail.
More on that later.
We went everywhere. We went to London together. He had adventures ON the adventures. Ask him to tell you the 'coodly teddy bear' story.
We covered a number of Grammys. After being up all night for one, we were heading back to the hotel to crash. Andrew stopped in front of a mirror and saw himself in his tuxedo and jokingly said,"I look too good to just put this to bed."
I laughed out loud.
Let's talk about some of what's happened since then.
Andrew ended up a Senior Producer on our show. Left to go to Bravo. He's a big time executive there and a talk show host. Real Housewives. Watch What Happens Live. He's still the only host I know who can have a drink WHILE on television. I never could. Andrew is also a published author. He's written two best sellers.
And let's not forget he became Andy Cohen.
The pony tail story.
Andrew came to me one day and wanted my advice. People on our show told him that he should cut his pony tail off because no one would take him seriously, and give him the respect he deserved, if he had one. He told me he liked his and asked, did I think he should cut his hair? I said, "If you like it, keep it. Don't listen to them." I added, "Of course you'll never be promoted with one." His eyes just about fell out of his head.
It was gone soon there after.
One last story...
My wife is a HUGE Andy Cohen fan. He's on our television all the time. I casually told her I knew him and she was like riiight. When I proved it, I got major points in my own house. Major points.
It's been fun to watch the ascension of young Andrew Cohen. I'm proud of him and he deserves it all.
I just have to remember to call him Andy.
Stroke Musings
A big part of healing is psychological.
Can I get an Amen?
Every survivor has a memory of the time before your stroke, and then stroke hits and life changes. You do the physical rehab but it's the mental part that I'm talking about.
Kathryn Hepburn said that getting old is not for sissies. Let me upgrade that a bit and say that dealing with a stroke is not for the faint of heart. You have to be tough and you have to push yourself. Feeling sorry is easy, fighting back is hard.
But fulfilling.
Having said that, let me tell you a story.
When I was going through rehab, my occupational therapist was skeptical of me driving. Driving is a sense of freedom and I wanted that freedom. It also meant that I was overcoming a post stroke hurdle, and that was very important to me. I went to my family doctor, whose wife had suffered a stroke, and told him the story. I remember this as if it were yesterday; he looked me in the eyes and said,"Can you drive?" I answered, "Yes." He asked again,"Do you think you can drive?" "Yes."
He cleared me.
You have to be hard headed when dealing with a stroke. Sometimes it can be tough and I'm not going to sugar coat that. Losing weight? Hard. Stopping smoking? Hard. Stopping drinking? Hard. Ask people who've accomplished any of the above and they'll tell you how tough it was. And some will tell you of trying to do it five times, ten times, a hundred times. But you have to keep trying, keep going forward.
I've said it before, don't give up. You can't give up. Instead of giving in you have to learn to accept this new life and make the most of it. Keep trying, keep going, is a good mantra.
A big part of being a stroke survivor is the mental part.
Lean into what is ahead of you and don't focus on what's behind.
That's the deal.
Her given name is Caryn Johnson.
She is one of the few, and I do mean few, who have won an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy. That's a lot of hardware.
You know her as Whoopi. Whoopi Goldberg.
And she is a treasure.
She won the Oscar for her portrayal of Oda Mae Brown, a psychic, in the movie Ghost. When you have Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in your movie, it's hard to get noticed much less win an Academy Award.
Whoopi did both.
I asked her,"What does winning an Oscar do to a person?"
"It just makes you feel good," she answered with a little girl smile. "I like the idea that every morning I open my eyes and the second thing I see is my Oscar."
I never asked her what the first thing was.
About that Oscar, Whoopi said, "He really does represent a goal for people who want to act. I'm part of a select few in the history of film who has one, so I'm very, very, proud."
I was invited to her house, one year, around Christmas time. Her house was on a lake. There were a bunch of kids there and we went outside to see Santa come across the water in a small boat. He had a full beard and a bag full of presents. Before I went outside to see him, I saw her Oscar inside. You know how you have one of those 'moments'? This was one of those. The famous statuette was on a coffee table; I thought it would be guarded by a two headed dog. It was just...there. I'd never held an Oscar before and there I was holding hers.
Magical.
I did a show called Celebrity Dish. It was based around a celebrity either cooking for me or taking me to their favorite eatery.
Whoopi took me to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle House in LA. You might think that's an odd combination-chicken and waffles. I did. But, boy, was it yummy. We were filming in the kitchen when she said, "Taste this." She handed me a piece of chicken and it was like Whoopi had given me a slice of heaven. I said, "That tastes great!"
I.did.not.need.to.know.that.
The View.
She's been darn near perfect for that show. I say that because Whoopi is smart, has an opinion on everything, and has a great heart. It's always in the right place. She fit right in without that show missing a beat.
Okay, let's run some credits...
Sister Act. There was a time she was the highest paid actress in Hollywood. That movie, and her in it, was the reason.
She hosted The Academy Awards. Three times. Whoopi was the first woman, ever, to host them. Ellen Degeneres followed her, but Whoopi was first. And very, very, good.
Comic Relief. Billy Crystal, the late Robin Williams and Whoopi. Partners in laughs, to raise money for homelessness. It had a great slogan, "Where there's laughter, there's hope."
A recurring role on Star Trek:The Next Generation. Her voice in The Lion King where she played Shenzi, the head hyena. Ghosts of Mississippi where she played Myrlie Evers, wife of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers.
There are way too many things to mention and when I told her she does so many things, she said, "A girl's gotta pay the rent."
And then she smiled.
I told Whoopi that when she smiles? "The sun lights up right behind you and the world lights up with you."
There are 300 million plus people in this country and out of all those people have you ever met anyone like Whoopi? Have you met anyone even named Whoopi?
For those playing at home I love me some Whoopi.
In basketball there are guys who can score. There are guys who can rebound. There are guys who can pass. There are guys who can play great defense. But there are precious few who can do all of that.
Whoopi Goldberg does everything.
Very Well.
The Benefits of Giving Blood
I gave blood recently.
My station here,WKMG, hosted a blood drive partnering with our local blood center called OneBlood. OneBlood provides blood to more than 200 hospital partners and their patients in 72 counties. Plus, here's something I didn't know. Giving blood is healthy for you. According to a study published by the American Medical Association, giving blood every six months led to fewer heart attacks and strokes in test participants ages 43 to 61.
That's a direct quote and there's more.
Another study, this one done in Finland, was cited in the American Journal of Epidemiology. It found that men who donated blood at least once a year had an 88% lower risk of heart attacks and are 33% less likely to suffer ANY TYPE of cardiovascular event.
When you donate, they check your blood pressure, temperature, iron count and they'll even screen your cholesterol. Plus, donors will find out their blood type and most people don't know theirs. It's information you should have.
On to...
February is Black History Month.
You might ask yourself how is donating blood related to this month?
Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited blood disease that primarily effects African Americans.
Patients often receive blood transfusions to increase the number of normal red cells and help reduce pain and relieve anemia. This makes African Americans ideal donors to help sickle cell patients.
That's how.
Adding more donors from diverse backgrounds increases the likelihood that all patients will find the match they need.
Give blood. It's important.
When you donate blood, you help you, you help others.
And when it's over you get fruit juice and cookies.
And you can't beat that.
For more information on Oneblood go to oneblood.org
Bruce Springsteen has been playing stadiums for decades.
Think about that.
He also made New Jersey cool.
Think about that, too.
I discovered Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in college. His manager now, Jon Landau, was a music critic when he wrote these famous words: "I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen." I read that and when Bruce came to town, I went to see him.
Guys in bands used to shake their money makers onstage for the girls in the audience.
Bruce danced because he liked the music. I had never seen that before. Bruce also had a spotlight over his microphone like a street light. It would get quiet and he would tell stories between songs, compelling, wonderful stories. I had never seen that before, either. He played three hours plus. That was different, too.
I came away blown away. A raving lunatic.
When I heard his new album was coming out, I would go to the record store everyday and ask, "Is it here yet?" "No, it's not."
Mr. Pain in the Rear End.
Born to Run finally came and it was more than worth the wait. That album was the beginning of the Bruce we know now. After that, I must have seen him 50 times in concert.
Another thing was Clarence Clemons, or as Bruce called him, "Big Man!"
He was the sax player in the E Street Band, was six five, wore a white suit,
and played that sax like he invented it. But he was more than that to me. You see, Clarence was Black. Bruce treated him like a co-star. Go look at the now famous cover of
Born to Run and you'll see what I mean. For a young Black man who liked rock and roll, it was heaven to look onstage and see yourself looking back.
Yet another reason, in a long line of reasons, that I love me some Bruce Springsteen.
A story...
I was in a club in northern New Jersey to introduce Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers. It was right before Bruce's mega album, Born in the USA, was set to come out. Until that happened, Clarence had his own band going. The place was packed and I did the intro, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome..." and sat on an amp onstage to watch the show. During a lull between songs, the promoter said to me, "Don't leave." "What?" "DON'T LEAVE."
The band was doing an instrumental version of Bruce's song, "Fire." There was a drum break and then there he was. Bruce Springsteen. Cocking his head like, "Yeah, it's me." He snapped his guitar down and sang dramatically, "Romeo and Juliet, Samson and Delilah..."
The place went nuts.
Afterwards, back stage, I asked him about the new record. He demurred and politely said I would have to listen to it. Clutching for something, anything, I said, "How about the cover?" With a smile, he said,"You've got to see it to believe it!" I didn't know it was a picture of his butt!
Okay, there are a lot of stories about Bruce. This one's mine...
I talked to Bruce at the Grammys. He had won four of them all for the same song--"Streets of Philadelphia." That song would win him an Academy Award. I asked him what was going through his head that night. And he said, "Tonight I was thinking about the early days and how far we've come. I also thought about hope. And how we all need it."
Well said Mr. Springsteen.
I saw Bruce later at Sony Studios in New York. I was there rehearsing for a show I was doing and he was there with Patti, his wife. Springsteen fans know who she is. It was Patti, this time, in the recording booth. He looked like you would think he'd look. Jeans, boots, not the kind with pointy toes, and an overcoat. It was winter.
Not even dressed like the legend he was.
And is.


There are 20 posts filed in Great Stories (this is page 1 of 1).
In a fast paced environment, we notice things that are urgent, immediate and abrupt in nature. We forget to notice the gradual.
One small serving of unhealthy food doesn't seem to harm but many such servings over a long duration increase the odds of having a health problem manifold. One conversation that went wrong now doesn't seem to have any direct impact on a relationship but with every such conversation, trust is eroded till it reaches a point where relationship ends.
In an organization, this becomes even more complex where larger system is a collection of many independent sub-systems. Decisions and conversations in each of these sub-system affects the whole. The impact of one strategic failure may not be visible in a short term but can prove fatal in a long run.
The good news is: the converse is also true. Any great success is, almost always, a result of many small things done right. Careers are built one opportunity at time. Trust is earned one deed at a time, lessons are learned one experience at a time and great teams are built one conversation at a time. It is gradual and very powerful.
Why do we fail to notice the gradual then? Because we are too obsessed in responding to the immediate. Because doing takes a precedence over thinking. Because we fail to see living systems as "systems". We work on components without considering the impact on the system as a whole.
This reminds me of a metaphor of a boiling frog.
A frog, when placed in boiling water will jump out immediately because of heat. However, if placed in cold water that is heated very slowly, the frog does not perceive the danger and enjoys the warmth. Incrementally, as warmth turns into heat, it becomes groggy unable to climb up. Eventually, it is boiled to death.
As leaders and professionals, our ability to notice the slow and subtle changes in the system is as important as our ability to respond to urgent and immediate changes.
There was a sparkle in that cab driver's eyes. A slim, young and enthusiastic fellow who drove me from airport to home while returning from a business travel. His greeting was cheerful and conduct, professional. As the wheels started moving, he initiated a conversation with me about economy, the state of jobs and why he loves driving cabs. He sounded like he carried a unique perspective. His enthusiasm was almost contagious and I was dragged into the conversation without even realizing it!
At one point in the conversation which covered range of topics from jobs to sales, he pulled out his cell phone and played a video recording of what seemed to me like a motivational video. He handed over the phone to me so that I could see/listen to the speech. He later revealed that he spent about 30% of his monthly income to attend this day long seminar by a leading motivational/sales speaker and urged me to find the video somewhere on YouTube.
This guy was amazing because he did not see his background, his job or lack of qualifications as a limitation. Because he taught me that learning has no boundaries. That only pre-requisite to learn new things is to have an open, willing, receptive and curious frame of mind. That you learn the best when you learn it for yourself, not for a degree or an external certification.
I once heard Tom Peters saying that if you are a business traveler, you learn the most not from the corporate executives but from the cab drivers. You really get a perspective about life. I experienced it first-hand.
The next time I need a cab, I know who to call!
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is on my reading list and I was curious to have some initial reviews about the book. Matthew E. May recently reviewed the book on his blog.
In a post titled "The Zen Master of Subtraction: Steve Jobs", Matt shares some very interesting stories/snippets about how Steve Jobs generated extreme focus by virtue of elimination.
With all the clutter around us, thinking about simplicity is hard. As individuals and organizations, we can do so many things with our abilities that we end up running in different directions to attempt all of them, spreading ourselves thin.
Most people (and organizations) do more on more. More work on more number of priorities. The key is to do more on less – more focus and better execution on a fewer set of priorities. That is what "being lean" is all about – focus on being effective, eliminate clutter, clarify your priorities and then execute like hell.
Check out Matt's review. I now look forward to reading the book and peek into the life of Jobs.
It is unfortunate that I am not finding enough time since last couple of weeks to blog! This is also a reason why last few posts have been crisp and short. Till the time I find more time again (or manage my time better), I would continue to post short blog posts with some interesting snippets of what I read on blogosphere.
Day to day grind can be frustrating. It is easy to get carried away by the routine and loose focus. Stories like these help you to regain focus on goals you have set for yourself. Cathedral in the story above is symbolic of vision. Leaders are led by a vision and it is extremely important for leaders to keep their vision always in the sight.
What cathedral are you in process of building?
I wrote earlier about the explicit and tacit value that an individual brings to the organization. But how do you do value-addition?
In this regards, I re-read a great story about the importance of value over at Management Stories blog. I read this story long time back, but I reproduce it here because of its relevance in the current time.
Charles Steinmetz was once called out of retirement by General Electric to help it locate a problem in an intricate system of complex machines. Having spent some time tinkering with and testing various parts of the system, he finally placed a chalk-marked 'X' on a small component in one machine. GE's engineers promptly examined the component, and were amazed to find the defect in the precise location of Steinmetz's mark.
GE paid the bill! Charles Steinmetz was a German-US Electrical Engineer who invented Alternate Current (AC) to initiate electrical era in the United States.
It is when you nurture a particular skill to such a level where you can fix a small component (problem) without losing the sight of the complex machine (organizational perspective) that you start generating exceptional value for the organization. That is my learning from this story.
Here are a few quotes from the same man who raised a huge bill for a seemingly trivial task!
I have succeeded in getting my actual work down to thirty minutes a day. That leaves me eighteen hours for engineering. (Talks a ton about nurturing a skill).
Last day of year 2008 – time really flies.
According to Zander, these statements/conversations are not about assessment of circumstances – they are a reflection of attitude. Awesome.
What is your vision for 2009? What possibilities are you ready to explore? This is a good time to ruminate and connect.


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Disaster relief, community development, and sustainable food development are only some examples of how GE volunteers have been helping others in their communities and throughout the world for over 100 years. Discover the many ways, big and small, that GE employees are affecting positive change through volunteerism.
GE Volunteers facilitate and support volunteering activities that improve life and meet critical needs in the communities where GE people live and work around the world. These activities are carried out through a wide range of projects in the areas of health, education, the environment, and community-building.
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Small plaster model for Two Sisters and Eve. There are 6 different arms that can be used to make the Mother and Child, Two Sisters and, with the child removed, and the piece of the base added, the Eve sculpture can be formed.
"Left Arm of Eve Figure and Mother Figure" written on mold. Two piece plaster mother mold with inner rubber mold and wax core. Mold is bound with a zip tie.
"Mother and child, Right Arm of Mother and Child" written on mold. Two piece plaster mother mold with inner rubber mold and wax core. Mold is bound with a zip tie.
Two piece plaster mother mold with inner rubber mold and wax core. "Eve, M&C. Left Arm" written in blue marker on side of mold. Mold is held together with plastic zip ties.
"Mother and Child" written on mold. Two piece plaster mother mold with inner rubber mold and plaster core. Mold is bound together with plastic zip ties.


text:
Fact check: How do Australia's carbon emissions targets compare?
Updated Wed 2 Mar 2016, 5:12 PM AEDT
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says that the Government's emissions reduction target of 26 to 28 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030 "is comparable to other countries similarly situated". ABC Fact Check investigates.
ABC: Nick Haggarty
The international community is meeting in Paris, aiming to achieve a new international agreement to keep global warming below two degrees celsius.
Ahead of the meeting Australia, along with many other countries, has submitted its contribution towards cutting carbon emissions.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rejected suggestions by Labor that the Government was not committed to action on climate change.
The claim: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says that Australia's carbon emissions reduction targets were comparable to "similarly situated" countries.
The verdict: The published emissions reduction commitments show that Australia's targets are comparable to most other OECD countries, particularly our major trading partners. However, experts told Fact Check that comparing emissions reductions between countries was very subjective. Mr Turnbull's claim is arguable.
"The Government is absolutely committed and will take to Paris a 26 to 28 per cent cut in emissions, which is comparable to other countries similarly situated," he said during Question Time in the House of Representatives.
In September, ABC Fact Check looked at former prime minister Tony Abbott's claim on how Australia's emissions reduction targets compare.
Since then, more countries have declared their targets ahead of the Paris meeting.
Are Australia's carbon reduction targets comparable to "similarly situated" countries? ABC Fact Check updates the analysis.
'Similarly situated' countries
Fact check: Why Tony Abbott's claims on emissions targets get mixed verdicts
ABC Fact Check tested a similar claim from former prime minister Tony Abbott earlier this year.
Mr Turnbull claimed Australia's emissions targets were comparable to countries "similarly situated".
His spokeswoman provided Fact Check with a table comparing Australia's targets with Canada, Japan, the EU and New Zealand.
Fact Check asked experts which countries should be considered similar to Australia with regard to emissions targets.
CSIRO ecologist Pep Canadell told Fact Check that the countries of the OECD was a reasonable comparator.
Kobad Bhavnagari, head of the Australian division of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, an independent research firm of 200 energy and carbon market specialists providing research to banks, governments and energy companies, also told Fact Check OECD countries were the correct comparison, particularly Australia's major trading partners.
Robyn Eckersley, an expert in environmental politics from the University of Melbourne, told Fact Check it was "too easy" for Australia to look only to Canada and the US as comparators, though they were the obvious choices because of their long tradition of fossil fuel dependence.
Comparing with OECD members
All 34 OECD countries have now declared their carbon emissions targets ahead of the Paris meeting.
The four OECD countries to have declared their targets since Fact Check last examined the issue are Israel, Chile, Mexico and Turkey.
The targets of all OECD countries are shown on the map below.
This includes 21 countries of the EU that belong to the OECD, which have all committed to a common EU target, though some, like the UK, have also committed to individual targets.
External Link Emissions reduction targets in the OECD by country.
Absolute emissions reductions
Mr Turnbull referred to Australia's 26 to 28 per cent cut in emissions, which represents Australia's target for absolute reduction in emissions.
A spokeswoman for Mr Turnbull provided data comparing Australia to other countries in terms of absolute emissions, and also per capita and intensity expressed per unit of gross domestic product, both of which are based on the absolute emissions targets.
Fact Check's comparison with other countries is therefore based on absolute emissions reductions, using previous data comparing the developed world's promised targets to a common baseline year of 2005.
The data is shown in the chart below and includes all OECD countries, except Chile, Singapore, Mexico, Israel and Turkey.
These countries have not made commitments to reduce their absolute emissions.
Singapore, Mexico and Turkey have all announced targets involving a reduction from "business as usual" emissions - or doing nothing - but an increase in absolute emissions over the next decade.
Chile's submission is in Spanish but two independent organisations, the Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions, and the Climate Action Tracker, note that Chile's target is expressed in terms of a reduction in emissions per unit of GDP.
The Climate Action Tracker estimates that this target, of a 30 per cent reduction over 2007 levels by 2030, represents an increase over both 1990 and 2010 absolute emissions levels.
Israel's target is expressed as a per capita reduction from 2005 levels and mentions that absolute emissions are expected to be 81.2 mega tonnes of CO2 by 2030.
The UNFCCC database shows Israel's emissions in 2005 were 73.3 mega tonnes, so the target represents an 11 per cent increase up to 2030 and thus Israel has also been excluded from this analysis.
External Link Emissions reduction targets of 'similarly situated' countries.
Comparable?
The data shows that Australia's absolute emissions reduction targets are eighth out of the 10 OECD countries, including the EU, that are reducing their emissions.
If Singapore, Chile, Mexico, Israel and Turkey, whose emissions are rising in the next decade, are included, Australia's targets are eighth out of 15 OECD members.
However, Dr Canadell said Australia, which was many times wealthier per capita, should not be compared with Mexico and Turkey.
Mr Bhavnagri said his own analysis suggested that Australia's commitment was "more or less in line with the pledges of our major OECD trading partners".
Australia's top two-way trading partners in the OECD are Japan, the US, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, the UK and Germany.
Australia's targets are between eight and 11 percentage points below the US, around six percentage points below Germany and the UK (using the collective EU target), almost the same as New Zealand and Japan and a lot higher than Korea.
Dr Canadell cautioned that finding fairness and comparability between countries was very subjective.
"Having said that, by and large I would agree that [Australia's] effort is comparable to other similarly situated countries. It doesn't make us the leaders, it doesn't perhaps situate us in the middle of the pack either, but certainly comparable," he said.
However, Professor Eckersley said countries needed to justify their targets based on equity, responsibilities and capabilities, including factors like relative GDP and where Australia stood on the human development index.
Mr Turnbull claimed that Australia's carbon emissions reduction targets were comparable to "similarly situated" countries.
Experts told Fact Check that similarly situated countries were those in the OECD.
The published emissions reduction commitments show that Australia's targets are comparable to most other OECD countries, particularly our major trading partners.
However, experts told Fact Check that comparing emissions reductions between countries was very subjective.
Mr Turnbull's claim is arguable.
Malcolm Turnbull, Question Time, House of Representatives, October 20, 2015
ABC Fact Check, Why Tony Abbott's claims on emissions targets get mixed verdicts, September 1, 2015
Australian Government, Setting Australia's post-2020 target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Final report of the UNFCCC taskforce, August 2015
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Intended nationally determined contributions
UK Committee on Climate Change, Carbon budgets and targets
UNFCCC, Singapore's intended nationally determined contribution
UNFCCC, Mexico, Intended nationally determined contribution
UNFCCC, Republic of Turkey, Intended nationally determined contribution
UNFCCC, Israel's intended nationally determined contribution, September 29, 2015
UNFCCC, Contribucion nacional tentativa de Chile (INDC), September 2015
Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions, Submitted intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs)
Climate Action Tracker, Chile, October 29, 2015
UNFCCC, greenhouse gas inventory data - detailed data by party
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, press release, Australia's 2030 emissions pledge in line with other OECD nations, but lacks the tools to deliver, August 11, 2015
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia's trade at a glance
Posted Tue 1 Dec 2015, 6:55 AM AEDT
Marie regrets having an abortion. Jessie doesn't. But they both experienced grief
This greyhound is listed as 'retired' by the racing industry. It's actually dead
More farmers were killed to cover the tracks of special forces after an accidental shooting, alleges new witness
The 'Quaranteens': What life's like for young Australians who turned 18 in a pandemic.
'Need it done ASAP': NSW Police pushed for Black Lives Matter mural on private property to be removed
How 'the Prince Harry effect' might shape the future of Australian families
HIV support body calls for rethink over COVID public health campaign
Deborah has lived on her 'little patch of paradise' for 13 years, but her home is on uncertain turf
'It's my worst month': Ramadan is a different experience for Muslim businesses in Brisbane
Aged care staff will have to spend 3 hours and 20 minutes with each resident by 2023 under budget reforms
RMIT

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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I know everyone is getting very excited to see what comes out of the Masters tournament and the World Championship in September, but there was a very big even in August that I wanted to talk to you all about. That event is Gen Con! Known as one of the biggest gaming conventions in the world, Gen con celebrated its 50th year and had completely sold out for 2017! Force of Will was going to try its best to capitalize on all the excitement and attendance and I was lucky enough to be able to help out! I wanted to use this article to share with those of you who weren't able to attend at least a little bit of the experience and see what all Force of Will has planned for the future!
Wednesday night and Thursday morning all of our staff gathered together to set up the booth and figuring out our plan of attack for the Con. Our main focus this weekend was going to be showing off and demoing the two new games from Force of Will Co, Architect and The Caster Chronicles. While we would be doing Force of Will demos to people who asked for them, in true Gen Con fashion the goal was to build the hype up for the upcoming games. Here is a look at how the booth turned out!
Thursday is a big day for exclusives, so many of the con attendees were rushing between booths just trying to get the major exclusive games and add-ons for their favorite games. This meant that we were not doing a ton of demos at first, but things eventually picked up. As people started to see other people sitting down for games, more and more people stopped and talked to our staff to learn about the games and wait their turns. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest that people were expressing for both Architect and Casters, as my initial thought would be that people would be interested in one or the other. After a long day of demoing, the team rallied together to talk about how to do better the next day and then left to get a good night's rest.
Friday was a demo team's paradise. We were doing demos practically non-stop from the beginning of the day until the end, with crowds of people standing around watching each demo being done in order to learn as much as possible before sitting down for their turn. Friday we were also joined by some members of the Force of Will board, who greeted us and thanked us for our hard work before heading off to their many business meetings. While we obviously weren't made aware of what the meetings were about, I could tell that there were some pretty exciting things being discussed!
Saturday marked the appearance of our booth's cosplayer, ME! With the help of some friends, and a lot of time spent being frustrated in my basement while working on the rig, I had put together a Lilias Petal cosplay that I thought would blow people away. Check it out!
The response from the crowd was pretty amazing, quite a lot of people would come up to the booth to ask for a picture, ask what the cosplay was from, and then sit down for a demo! I even sat down to do a demo or two when we started to get super busy.
Eiji, the King of Will himself, stopped by the booth that day and I made sure to get a picture with him!
Saturday was also the day of the Gen Con championship. A blend of new players and Grand Prix veterans arrived to compete for an unpaid invite to worlds, as well as tons of promos and cloth banners. As expected, Lilias Petal and Pricia made their way to the top tables, taking up all of the cutoff slots after the rounds of swiss. At the end of it all, Billy Buttons won the whole event, making him the back to back Gen Con champion, and firmly cementing his place as the best Force of Will player to never top a Grand Prix. Congratulations Billy, see you at Worlds!
Sunday at Gen Con is always a little slow as many people are packing up to leave or just passing through to see if they can find any last minute deals, but we still gave it our all! Eiji also stopped by on Sunday to help us with a raffle where we gave out hoodies, playmats, and tons of banners!
At the end of the day, we took some time after tearing down the booth to reflect upon the great work we had done over the weekend and then went our separate ways.
All in all, the entire team did over 700 demos of our three games combined! I for one really enjoyed both Architect and Casters and can't wait until they get released! From what we were told at the event, Caster's is due for a release in October of this year, and Architect will be released early in 2018. Be sure to check out my channel for demos of how to play both games very soon, and maybe even some unboxing/feature matches!
If you weren't able to make it to Gen Con this year, you certainly missed out, but I hope that this article gave you enough of a taste of the experience to leave you satisfied. Who knows, maybe next year you can join us in person and be a part of the fun!
Huge thanks to Force of Will Co., Robert Hebert, and all of my fellow demo team for the amazing experience! I hope we get to work together again in the future!


text:
Tim Day
Docket Operations, M-30
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Room W12-140
West Building Ground Floor
Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Docket No.: FAA2019-1100)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Technology Engagement Center ("C_TEC")1 appreciates the opportunity to provide comments to the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") in response to the above-referenced proceeding.2 Safely integrating unmanned aircraft systems ("UAS") into the National Airspace System ("NAS") will bring significant economic benefits for consumers as well as safety benefits for the public so it is essential that UAS integration is conducted in a secure and safe manner so these benefits can be fully realized.
C_TEC applauds the FAA's publication of this notice of proposed rulemaking ("NPRM") and encourages the FAA to continue moving at an expeditious pace on this NPRM and on other regulatory actions to facilitate UAS innovation. Remote identification ("Remote ID") lays the foundation for safe integration through providing greater transparency to the NAS for manned and unmanned users as well as for stakeholders on the ground. Also, remote identification will enable advanced operations including detect and avoid, operations over people, and beyond visual line of sight operations, which are essential to enable the full economic and societal potential of UAS. Finally, C_TEC believes that remote identification should serve as a basis for the future development of a UAS Traffic Management ("UTM") system.
In general, C_TEC supports the approach taken by the NPRM, in particular the focus on network-based remote identification, but believes that several improvements can be included in a final rule to advance innovation and ensure sufficient compliance.
Standard Remote Identification
C_TEC generally supports the approach taken in this NPRM on standard remote identification and its emphasis on a network-based solution, which promotes both safety and security as well as is key for providing the basis for the future development of UTM. However, C_TEC cautions against requiring an unmanned aircraft using both network and broadcast remote identification simultaneously when operating in the NAS considering the substantial privacy and confidentiality concerns presented by a broadcast requirement. Instead, an unmanned aircraft using standard remote identification should only be required to broadcast if the unmanned aircraft loses connectivity to a Remote ID UAS service supplier ("Remote ID USS"). This balanced approach would still allow a UAS complying with standard remote identification to operate in areas with limited or no internet connectivity while ensuring the protection of the privacy and the confidentiality of other operations where a network-based option is more feasible.
Additionally, a preference for network-based remote identification will increase the availability of historical information about particular UAS operations to law enforcement authorities to facilitate more effective compliance and enforcement. As the NPRM envisions, remote identification information will be available on an historical basis only if the information passes over a network and is processed by a Remote ID USS. The NPRM does not seem to consider a mechanism by which broadcast remote identification information could be transmitted to a USS for archiving historical information. Consequently, utilizing network-based remote identification when available will avoid the historical blind spots that could accompany the use of broadcast-only remote identification solutions.
A final rule should also address several other important matters relating to standard remote identification. First, as noted above, there will be circumstances where an internet connection may not always be available, a problem particularly acute in rural or remote areas of the United States. When developing the final rule and during implementation, it is essential that the FAA consider the implications of remote identification requirements on rural or remote areas and consider methods to ensure that the benefits of greater UAS integration are not limited to only certain parts of the United States.
Some commentators have expressed concern that a network-based requirement would impose unnecessary costs to UAS operators that will ultimately hinder compliance. C_TEC disagrees with that assessment. A network-based solution would allow for competition between different Remote ID USSs, which will reduce prices and provide better and innovative services for both commercial and recreational UAS operators. As the FAA notes in the NPRM, subscription costs for the Low Altitude Authorization Notification Capability ("LAANC"), which the Remote ID USS is modeled off of, range from $0.00 to $5.00 per month indicating minimal compliance costs.3 Finally, and as detailed later in these comments, the FAA, the private sector, and other stakeholders have a wide range of tools available to facilitate compliance with remote identification requirements.
Limited Remote Identification
The NPRM also establishes limited remote identification as an additional means to comply with remote identification, through requiring an internet transmission through a Remote ID USS while prohibiting broadcast remote identification entirely. C_TEC believes that as drafted, limited remote identification seems excessively restrictive and should be significantly revised in the final rule. C_TEC proposes an alternative approach that would ensure greater compliance with remote identification while protecting the safety and security of the NAS.
The present restrictions placed on UAS operations with limited remote identification, including operation within visual line of sight and within 400 feet of the control station, should be maintained. However, while limited remote identification would continue to use a network-based solution, the connection to a Remote ID USS would not need to be persistent, enabling continued operation of a UAS even if there is a loss in connectivity. Instead, a UAS operator using limited remote identification would declare their identifier and flight intent via a Remote ID USS to provide situational awareness for other airspace users. This approach is similar to LAANC, which was endorsed as an effective model in the NPRM for the Remote ID USSs.4
In addition, the NPRM's present prohibition on broadcast for limited remote identification should be lifted and would instead be optional for UAS operators utilizing limited remote identification. Accordingly, the message elements transmitted by an unmanned aircraft broadcasting under limited remote identification would be required to be consistent with any standards established for broadcasting under standard remote identification to prevent inconsistencies in broadcasted message elements.
Finally, it is important that the types of operations currently envisioned under limited remote identification should not get expanded beyond the current limitations to ensure that complex and advanced UAS operations utilize a more robust compliance method for remote identification.
Exemptions to Remote Identification
The underlying purpose of a remote identification requirement is to identify all UAS operations in the NAS to provide sufficient situational awareness for unmanned and manned airspace users as well as for stakeholders on the ground. However, the NPRM correctly recognizes that there may be some situations where exemptions to remote identification are warranted.
Specifically, C_TEC supports exemptions for aeronautical research and operations in FAA-recognized identification zones ("FRIA"), but recommends several improvements. First, the definition of aeronautical research should be clarified in the final rule to ensure that private sector stakeholders conducting research and testing do not inadvertently fail to comply with remote identification requirements. Second, community-based organizations should be allowed to apply for a FRIA beyond the twelve month period delineated in the NPRM. While the FAA notes that non-remote identification compliant UAS are likely to be phased out over time, it is important that recreational users are granted some additional flexibility to operate without remote identification in the short-term. In considering new applications for a FRIA, the FAA should also be mindful of approving a FRIA by any adjacent critical infrastructure or other sensitive sites to ensure the safety and security of those sites.
C_TEC supports requiring all government UAS operations, federal, state, and local, to comply with the NPRM's remote identification requirements to further promote the safety of the NAS. The final rule should continue ensure that federal, state, and local government users are covered under remote identification to provide additional transparency in their operations and strengthen situational awareness for all airspace users. However, C_TEC recognizes that there will be varying degrees of transparency that can be provided in government operations, and a final rule should consider additional levels of protection for security-related or other sensitive operations.
Finally, the NPRM grants the FAA Administrator the authority to grant requests allowing for the disabling of a remote identification capability. A potential issue could arise where the FAA receives a voluminous number of requests to disable remote identification which would both shift resources from other key FAA functions and potentially lead to reduced overall compliance. C_TEC recommends that the FAA either eliminate this authority or provide additional guidance and restrictions to prevent abuse of this authority.
Secure Remote Identification
There is a substantial concern among some stakeholders that the present structure for remote identification is insufficiently secure and presents privacy risks for UAS operators. To address these concerns, and provide an additional path for compliance, C_TEC proposes that the final rule establish secure remote identification, an approach consistent with the tiered remote identification framework presently contained in the NPRM.
Secure remote identification will provide additional layers of security and privacy protections for certain types of UAS operations including sensitive and security-related operations for law enforcement as well as certain categories of commercial operations such as those pertaining to critical infrastructure. However, recreational, commercial, and government operators would be eligible for to opt-in to secure remote identification. Also, it is critical that secure remote identification can support the future development of a comprehensive UTM system. C_TEC encourages the FAA to collaborate with industry and non-industry stakeholders to further develop the parameters for secure remote identification.
Compliance and Timeline
Full implementation of remote identification will enable operations beyond the restrictions contained in Part 107 including operations over people and beyond visual line of sight operations. Many innovative companies already have the capability and interest to engage in these types of operations, but are limited by a lack of a regulatory framework. The NPRM requires compliance with remote identification 36 months after the effective date of the final rule. C_TEC believes that this the deadline for compliance is too lengthy and instead supports an 18 month compliance deadline to facilitate the faster implementation of remote identification.
To support an expedited implementation period, C_TEC advocates for several actions that the FAA and industry should take. First, the FAA should adopt and implement the FAA's Drone Advisory Committee's ("DAC") recommendations on remote identification voluntary compliance.5 Last year, the DAC established a tasking group to develop a consensus list of options to further voluntary remote identification compliance. Some of these options include prioritization for Part 107 waiver applications, airspace access to otherwise restricted areas, and active public promotion by the FAA. These activities can be conducted in conjunction with non-FAA efforts including insurance incentives and industry education. The FAA should assess and prioritize the options recommended by the DAC before the final rule is published so they can be implemented immediately when the final rule is published.
Second, the FAA should encourage the retrofitting of existing unmanned aircraft to comply with remote identification. In the NPRM, the FAA estimates that 93% of the Part 107 fleet and 20% of the recreational fleet would be eligible for retrofits and that these retrofits could be conducted with minimal cost and before the compliance deadline.6 The NPRM considers that an owner or operator attaching a retrofit module to an unmanned aircraft may be deemed to be a UAS manufacturer under the rule. This has the unintended effect of discouraging retrofitting and would thus make it more challenging for retrofitting to be an effective tool to facilitate compliance. C_TEC recommends that the FAA collaborate with industry stakeholders to establish a specific Retrofit Module Manufacturer category with a respective Means of Compliance to address this concern.
Third, the FAA should consider the impact of remote identification on indoor UAS operations. UAS can be operated indoors for a wide variety of reasons including filmmaking and sports entertainment, and it is important that those use cases are able to continue after the publication of this final rule. Unfortunately, the remote identification requirements would effectively prohibit indoor operations even though there is a minimal security risk deriving from those operations. This unintended consequence could effectively prohibit those types of use cases and also exceeds the FAA's existing legal authority by regulating indoor UAS operations.
Finally, the final rule should more explicitly specify that during the implementation period, non-compliant unmanned aircraft can operate in the NAS without additional restrictions. This will ensure that ongoing operations using unmanned aircraft can continue without presenting confusion for UAS operators.
Registration Reforms
C_TEC strongly supports applying the existing registration requirements to all unmanned aircraft, including recreational unmanned aircraft. Registration will help to ensure compliance and transparency of users of the NAS. The NPRM proposes several changes to the registration requirements to ensure that all registered unmanned aircraft are individually registered and include unique serial numbers for each aircraft. These reforms will strengthen the existing regulations on registration and should be included in a final rule. Also, to ensure standardization of serial numbers, the FAA should issue ANSI/CTA-2063-A compliant serial numbers for unmanned aircraft registration. Finally, the FAA should clarify what information is required from operators if there are multiple users of a particular unmanned aircraft. At times, operators of unmanned aircraft may have multiple individuals able to safety operate an unmanned aircraft and operators would want to ensure they remain compliant with FAA registration requirements.
Confidential and Sensitive Operations
Some unmanned aircraft may be used for sensitive operations including for enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, filmmaking, newsgathering and other operations that require a degree of confidentiality. Specifically, C_TEC has a concern regarding providing information on the location of the control station too widely and to individuals outside of law enforcement who could interfere would legitimate UAS operations. C_TEC believes that these types of operations must be balanced with the purpose of remote identification, which is to ensure the identification of unmanned aircraft in the NAS to enhance safety and security. A final rule should take into account confidential and sensitive operations in order to preserve the integrity of those operations while balancing the needs of law enforcement and aviation safety.
The FAA should consider several approaches to mitigate these concerns. One approach would be to limit the remote identification message elements that can be shared outside of the Remote ID USS. Specifically, the final rule should limit the dissemination of historical data outside of the Remote ID USS as well as limit information that can correlate public information (such as a session ID), control station location, and non-public information. However, there may be circumstances where law enforcement requires data from a Remote ID USS to carry out legitimate law enforcement activities. Consequently, the FAA should establish a process for law enforcement to access the aforementioned types of data while protecting the confidentiality and due process of the operator. Both law enforcement and industry stakeholders should be involved in developing this process to ensure that it strikes the appropriate balance.
Remote Identification Message Elements
The NPRM delineates a list of remote identification message elements that will assist in the remote identification of unmanned aircraft. C_TEC appreciates that the NPRM notes that these message elements would also support a future UTM system. It is important the FAA consider any relevant industry-based consensus standards in the final rule or in any future regulatory actions to promote an innovative environment for UAS operations.
While the message elements will provide important safety and security benefits to UAS operations, C_TEC does not support the inclusion of barometric pressure readings as a message element. While measuring the altitude is important, not all unmanned aircraft can present barometric pressure data, and the FAA should consider other performance-based methods of measuring the altitude of an unmanned aircraft.
Remote Identification USSs
As noted in C_TEC's comments to the Safe and Secure Operations ANPRM last April, C_TEC endorses a public-private partnership approach to facilitate UAS integration considering the existing air traffic management system cannot effectively support the forecasted expansion in UAS traffic. C_TEC is pleased to see that the FAA continued this public-private partnership approach through establishing a system of Remote ID USSs. Remote ID USSs will effectively leverage the resources and expertise of the private sector to facilitate UAS integration. The implementation of LAANC demonstrated that this concept is workable and can effectively serve the requirements of all UAS operators.
There are several important benefits of a Remote ID USS. First, a Remote ID USS will facilitate competition between different service providers and business models ensuring consumer choice and incentivize service providers to continually innovate. Second, a Remote ID USS will retain sufficient flexibility to serve as a basis for the eventual implementation of UTM and will not be bound by unnecessary prescriptive requirements.
Finally, a key component of a Remote ID USS system will be establishing a cooperative data exchange mechanism that will allow for information sharing between different Remote ID USSs. C_TEC is encouraged by the FAA's efforts to obtain information from prospective service providers through recent requests for information, and recommends that the FAA continue its collaboration with the private sector to support Remote ID USSs.
In our interconnected world, cybersecurity is of increasing importance, and UAS are no exception. C_TEC supports the FAA's recognition that cybersecurity protections are important, in particular the NPRM's adoption of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's ("NIST") standards on cybersecurity for Remote ID USSs. However, some additional clarification is welcome as to how the FAA-accepted means of compliance would contemplate cybersecurity. The NPRM currently requires that a means of compliance would include cybersecurity protection methods, but a lack of definition exists as to what factors the FAA would take into account when reviewing and evaluating the means of compliance. Some factors that the FAA could consider include confidentiality, integrity and authenticity, authorization and access control, and validation. Finally, the FAA should consider adopting the ASTM standard on remote identification security to facilitate this objective.
C_TEC applauds and thanks the FAA for its leadership in issuing a NPRM on remote identification. The robust adoption of remote identification will strengthen the safety and security of the NAS and unlock the ability for innovators to engage in advanced UAS operations. Moving forward, it is critical the FAA continue to engage with stakeholders to expeditiously resolve various concerns in order to advance other critical UAS regulatory actions. C_TEC stands ready to collaborate with the FAA and any other relevant federal entities on this issue and others.
Chamber Technology Engagement Center
1. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than three million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. C_TEC was launched to advance technology's role in strengthening business by leveraging tech innovations that drive economic growth in the United States. C_TEC promotes policies that foster innovation and creativity and sponsors research to inform policymakers and the public.
2. Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 84 Fed. Reg. 72438 (Dec. 31, 2019) ("NPRM").
3. See NPRM at 72492.
4. See id. at 72508.
5. FAA, Drone Advisory Committee eBook 69 (Oct. 17, 2019), https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/drone_advisory_committee/media/eBook_10-17-2019_DAC_Meeting.pdf.
6. See NPRM at 72489
C_TEC Comments on Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems NPRM