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Wanna Try Some VR? Here's a Guide
February 14, 2018 at 9:05 am · Filed under "art", jb exploits, virtual worlds and tagged: virtual reality, vr
Lately I've been doing a bit of VR bingeing. While I'm not a binge TV viewer, I cannot get enough VR when the opportunity presents itself. Luckily, I'm based in Los Angeles, where new media experiments are all the rage, and my job takes me to exactly the kinds of conferences that showcase new experiments in the field.
As you've no doubt heard, VR is all the rage right now, syphoning start-up funding from what many believe are more worthy, though less glitzy, projects. Stanford's Jeremy Bailenson has just published Experience on Demand, which catalogs the many uses for VR, mostly for training or therapy, and VR pioneer Jaron Lanier has just come out with a surprisingly optimistic book, Dawn of the New Everything. Even if you're skeptical about VR, I strongly urge you to try it out. And not just what you can pop into your Google Cardboard. Before you completely dismiss it, you need to experience it with better hardware, such as Samsung Gear or, even better, the HTC Vive.
Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. Even if you get the chance to go to South By Southwest or the Future of Storytelling Festival (I went to both last year), you will soon learn that you'll be facing long, depressing lines, sometimes hours long, for an experience that will last less than ten minutes — sometimes much less. Welcome to the dark side of experiential storytelling.
However, where there's a will, there's a way: ask questions, inquire ahead, and see if you can make reservations. IMAX VR now has 6 locations and counting: I loved Eagle Flight and Raw Data, two exhilarating multiplayer games. And museums and cultural centers offer these experiences, as well, often with a more civilized reservation system in place than conferences offer.
And then sometimes you just get lucky. While strolling through Montreal's old city, I saw a sign saying "Luxury Rubbish:" anyone who knows me knows I wouldn't pass that up. Turns out it was the gift shop for a cultural arts center that just happened to be hosting a massive VR exhibition curated by none other than the Future of Storytelling.
Needless to say, I showed up the moment the place opened, on a day the staff recommended as a low-traffic day, and spent half a day in other worlds of many people's making. Afterwards I knew I must share a guide to these experiences so that unlucky others can figure out which line they should get into at the next SXSW, Sundance, Tribeca or Future of Storytelling Festival.
Instead of offering reviews of quality and preference, my goal here is to give some indication of what new realities these VR pieces explore: are you interested in how VR might transform books, art, dance, games or movies? Then read on, my friend.
Blind Vaysha, by Theodore Ushev, produced by the NFB
How might we transform literature into VR? In Blind Vaysha, the voice over narration keeps the story experience central but the innovation here is the way in which the vision theme plays out literally on your eyeballs. It's a terrific convergence of form and content.
Broken Night, by Alon Benari, Tal Zubalsky and Alex Vlack, produced by Eko, Hidden Content and Real Motion, in collaboration with Irving Harvey.
How can we communicate the radical indeterminacy of memory? This is perhaps the only piece of VR I've seen that features bona fide Hollywood stars (Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola) – and kudos to them for taking the plunge. The main value of this piece, I believe, is its success conveying the unreliability not only of the traumatized, but of the eyewitness. Which is you.
Dear Angelica, by Saschka Unseld, produced by Oculus Story Studio
There was something incredibly sumptuous about the colorful looping dreaminess of this gorgeous piece featuring the voice of Geena Davis. If you're interested in graphic novels or comics, I think Dear Angelica is a delicious example of how drawings can come alive in three-dimensional space.
Flock, by David Lobser, produced by Object Normal, with support from NYU/MRL
Flock is a social VR experience, which means that you can interact with other people's avatars within the VR space. Thankfully, we received some really good advice before starting: instead of focusing on racking up points by pecking bugs (were they bugs?) focus on climbing inside other players' bird heads. (Yes, you read that correctly.) What ensues is completely psychedelic and, due to extreme physical proximity, puts into question claims about the alienating and anti-social effects of VR.
Life of Us, by Within (Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin), produced by Chris Milk, Megan Ellison (Annapurna Pictures) and Made with Unity
This was, undoubtedly, my favorite experience at Lucid Realities, which probably says more about me than the piece itself. As exhilarating as a roller-coaster ride, this trip through the evolution of the human species left me completely out of breath and dying to go back in. Like Flock, Life of Us is a social experience in which you can both see and hear a friend: I found it hard to stop talking during the experience because your voice evolves as your avatar evolves, from amoeba to space matter.
Fragments, by Asobo Studio and Microsoft Studios Global Publishing
How might Augmented Reality be used for gaming? This is the first time I've ever used HoloLens, augmented reality glasses that mapped game animations into my physical space. I love the idea, but it was clear from the outset that seven or eight minutes isn't enough time to get a feel for the plot, the characters, or the rhythm of game play. Try, if you can, to get some serious time with Fragments so that you actually have time to piece them together.
Home: Immersive Spacewalk Experience, by Tom Burton, produced by BBC Studios and Rewind
What does it feel like to be in outer space? I had sweat rings after this experience, which tasked me with making a repair on the outside of a space station and finding my way back into the station afterwards. Needless to say, I panicked and died, which I heard was the fate of most. The seeming artificiality of the environment in outer space maps beautifully onto the artificiality of the VR experience, which is one reason I think Home had one of the longest wait lists at Lucid Realities.
The Island of the Colorblind, by Sanne De Wilde, produced by IDFA and Brakke Grond
I wouldn't call this a virtual reality experience, but a fascinating experiential art installation that I'd recommend to anyone interested in the science of color or the possibilities of place-based, interactive storytelling. Like Blind Vaysha, one reason this works so well is because the story itself is about the nature of vision. Watch your eyes trick you.
RIOT (prototype), by Karen Palmer, in partnership with The National Theatre Immersive Storytelling Studio and Brunel University London
What happens when your facial expressions control the experience? I first heard about RIOT at SXSW but I had to wait several months before I had a chance to try it out in Montreal. Instead of choosing options from a menu, the application uses facial recognition technology to determine how you would react during a riot. I left this one wishing I could do it again with different expressions.
While this may seem too sci fi to be true, get used to it: immersive storytellers will inevitably adopt tools like these. Distracting hand controls will be a thing of the past.
Blindfold, made in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists and The Center for Human Rights in Iran.
How would you respond to a violent interrogation? This sinister experience puts you in the shoes of an investigative journalist; your answers determine the fate of your brutally beaten friend who sits right in front of you. The experience is made more compelling by your ability to respond to the interrogator's questions by nodding or shaking your head. Like RIOT, Blindfold allows us to imagine what it will be like to have a more embodied entertainment experience: in this one, the feeling of being seen by this ruthless interrogator is chilling.
Tilt Brush, by Google
How might we turn gestures into art? I used this truly delightful application in a friend's house. If you get any pleasure out of pure color and giddily dancing around, then this is a must for you, too.
CARNE y ARENA (Virtually present, Physically invisible), by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Emmanuel Lubezki, Mary Parent and ILMxLAB
By far the grandest VR experience I've ever had, Alejandro Inarittu's large-scale Carne y Arena is a multi-room experience intended to give you the chance to walk in the shoes of immigrants crossing the Sonoran desert. A giant room filled with sand and a powerful wind machine help conjure the physical experience in a way that approaches participatory theater. After the VR experience ends, you enter a room filled with the true stories of the people you encountered, further blurring the line between virtual and real. No wonder it won a special Oscar.
Through You, by Saschka Unseld and Lily Baldwin
How might a dance performance be captured in VR? This live-action love story focuses on a pair of dancers, which reminded me repeatedly of Wim Wenders' Pina, a poetic 3-D documentary film about the influential dancer/choreographer, Pina Bausch. Both experiences were simultaneously exhilarating and heartbreaking. Through You offers the additional advantage of giving us a peek at how VR can be used for pornography. Given the option, I'm not sure who would choose 2D over VR.
Transference™, by Ubisoft and SpectreVision
What would an interactive movie feel like? I heard a couple people yelp before I tried out this experience, which involves (spoiler alert) a very scary guy with a gun in the basement. Making your way through this grim scenario requires patience and problem-solving. Only a sample was available at Lucid Realities, but the entire experience includes multi-branching narratives in which players can affect the fates of characters.
Tree, by Milica Zec and Winslow Porter of New Reality Company, in partnership with Here be Dragons and Droga5
How might VR be used to increase empathy? When the goggles and the backpack came off, people were occasionally in tears. It's hard to explain how emotionally moving this experience can be, since becoming a tree in a rainforest doesn't exactly suggest epic drama, or even much movement, per se. But there is something magical about growing tall as the tree, and feeling your arms transform into limbs that you can shake and sway and use to shoo away exotic creatures. But the kicker for me (spoiler alert!) was the intoxicating aroma: it turns out that the backpack is loaded with timed scent diffusers, which tackled my primordial brain and took me there like nothing else could. If complete immersion is the endgame of entertainment, this VR experiment takes us closer to it.
Got some VR you'd like to recommend? Please send your favorites my way via enter@usc.edu.
Fashion, Taste & the Aspirational Class
February 5, 2018 at 12:47 pm · Filed under Fashion, jb exploits, media impact, online culture, social media, Uncategorized
How do you demonstrate your taste? In modern consumer society, there are myriad ways to project our interests, our attitudes, and our values into the world. It's not just a matter of wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt (which speaks volumes) — we send a constant stream of subtle signals that situate us within society. With the rise of social media, we orchestrate the projection of our class, race, gender and age not only in the office and at the gym, but in digital space as well. Some people try to duplicate their offline identity online; others create entirely different personas that free them from the constraints of their physical life.
In this Facebook Live session, produced by the University of Southern California, I have a conversation with Professor Elizabeth Currid-Halkett about social media, fashion, taste and her new book, The Sum of Small Things: a Theory of the Aspirational Class. Professor Currid-Halkett explores a profound shift away from "conspicuous consumption" (wearing giant logos) to "inconspicuous consumption" (buying heirloom tomatoes) and "conspicuous production" (pour-over coffee). We discuss the causes of this sea change (the fast fashion industry is one factor) and the impact it's had on the fashion industry, which struggles to provide its customers the products they need to curate their own social identity.
The First Lady on Social Media
January 4, 2018 at 9:39 am · Filed under celebrity, social media and tagged: FLOTUS, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, social-media
Washington Post reporter Krissah Thompson contacted me recently asking me if I had any thoughts about Melania Trump's use of social media. I thought it was a fascinating question and so I started digging into her Instagram and Twitter accounts.
I must say, I found both feeds really dispiriting. I suspect that a lot of people who follow her closely and rate her highly might feel sorry for her. There is very little evidence that she is sharing anything remotely personal, which is what primarily attracts people to the social media feeds of celebrities and other powerful public figures. (The big exception, which might prove the rule, is her last Instagram post, a flirty close-up with a Santa hat.)
You might assume that Melania Trump is simply uninterested in the public stage or is uncomfortable sharing her private life with the public, but her personal Twitter feed, which she hasn't updated since election day, is filled with personal preferences and observations that feel quite intimate. So much so, that I'm pretty sure I could pick out a gift for her (and flowers!) that I know she'd like. That is what's so powerful about these social platforms: they can make you feel as if you really know someone. But the carefully coiffed woman featured in the FLOTUS feeds seems distant and disconnected. I couldn't help but wonder whether her approval rating is higher than her husband's precisely because she withholds so much, which gives her the patina of dignity.
Of course it's tempting to compare Melania Trump's social media presence with that of her predecessor, Michelle Obama. While the former first lady's feed was also loaded with official events, she often spoke at those events, and through various media outlets, which allowed her to post material filled with her voice, her attitude, and her humor. She also had the habit of posting personal musings in the official FLOTUS account, which were differentiated from the rest of the feed with the initials "mo." You don't see any intimate asides from Melania Trump.
The vast majority of the photos she posts are documentation of formal events: she's basically caught on camera performing her duty. What you don't tend to see is her looking into the camera, or trying to connect with the American public, as Michelle Obama does quite convincingly in her photos and videos. Our current first lady seems to see herself as someone to be seen – which makes sense given her professional modeling career – but strikes me as a bit chilling in her new role, which is endowed with tremendous cultural and political power. The big question is, will she ever choose to wield it?
Read Thompson's Washington Post article.
How Do We Detox Online News Comments?
May 16, 2017 at 9:02 am · Filed under jb exploits, online culture, social media and tagged: online news, Ramona Pringle, Sean Stewart, Steve Ladurantaye, SXSW
Ramona Pringle, a colleague of mine at Ryerson University, invited me to join a wonderful panel for South by Southwest (SXSW) this year that tackled the daunting problem of toxic online news comments. As Ramona put it, how can we build systems that lead to constructive conversation rather than Lord of the Flies horror stories?
One of the best things about doing a panel like this is the conversations it spawns before and after the event. I was surprised that every time I mentioned this topic to people – including journalists, Austin ride-share drivers, academics, waiters, coders, you name it – they showed a lot more interest than I anticipated. A huge number of Americans comment on news (you'll find some interesting stats below) and just about everyone I talked to had some thoughts about what needed to change in order to make online comments more civil. I share a laundry list of those ideas at the bottom of this post, but first, here's a bit about our conversation at SXSW:
Ramona brought to the panel her colleague at Canada's CBC News, Steve Ladurantaye, who was been working on the frontlines of news and UGC since he was the director of news and politics at Twitter Canada. This guy's seen it all and he was dead serious when he said that the psychological effects of being a comment moderator can be compared to PTSD.
She also brought in Sean Stewart, a game designer and science fiction author, to discuss how we might approach online commenting as a design problem. In fact, the germ of the idea for the panel had come from a conversation they'd had about how surprisingly well-behaved people were in the online comment boards for The Beast, Sean's break-out Alternate Reality Game (ARG), which engaged the public in an international, real-time online and offline murder mystery that promoted the release of the film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. After the snarky film news site Ain't It Cool News caught wind of the game, The Beast website received 25 million hits in one day.
Since Ain't It Cool News is infamous for its commenter's anti-social behavior, everyone – the game designers and the players – were shocked that interactions among players of the game were collaborative and constructive, as they helped one another gather real-world clues and solve the mystery together. Everyone wanted to know, "Why are we assholes when we're on Ain't It Cool News but we're angels on The Beast?"
Sean's theory was simple: people behave better when you give them something to do. He noticed that whenever the participants were given problems to solve they collaborated beautifully, but once they were less occupied they'd start reverting to the kind of aggressive, anti-social behavior that characterizes comments on so many news and information sites.
Giving participants rewards for certain types of behavior – particularly the type of rewards that translate into social proof – could be integrated into news comments sections, much as they have in gaming leader boards. This might mean giving news commenters points, badges, status, and rewards for engaging in desired actions. The key is, once again, social proof: other people need to be able to see these indicators of quality or engagement in order for them to have social currency.
Steve from CBC has experimented with different ways to positively engage audiences and found some success. One method that worked was sorting comments by most recent, rather than most popular (which are often the most polarizing). But some topics have proven too difficult to attract civilized comments. The CBC currently will not allow comments on stories about indigenous populations because public commentary is so toxic.
Another tactic that Steve has found to work quite well is having the journalist contribute to the conversation. His impression was that most aggressive commenters back-off quickly once they are reminded that the reporter they're railing against is, in fact, a human being who is reading those cruel comments.
Let's Look at Some Data
The Engaging News Project at UT Austin, which has done a lot of terrific research on online news comments, found support for this tactic in their research. However, I was surprised that their December 2015 national survey of news commenters and comment readers revealed some resistance to inviting journalists into the public commenting space. 61% of commenters said they welcome factual clarifications from journalists, but only 41% said that they'd like journalists to actively join the conversation and only 26% sought their guidance there.
This sentiment was echoed in other parts of this fascinating survey, which used a national representative sample. Among those who participate in one way or another in online news comments, either as readers of comments or writers of them, 42% said that they don't want any policing of comments whatsoever, and another 31% weren't sure either way. It seems that the Wild West insanity that we witness there now seems to be A-OK, or at least acceptable, to most of the inhabitants of this world.
You might be wondering, who are these people? The survey found that half of Americans either read or write comments on news sites, and most of this activity takes place on local news sites. Among the most striking findings for me was that commenters are more male and have lower levels of education and income compared to those who read news comments.
Here's another kicker: 40% of people who read comments (but don't write them) say that they read comments because of their entertainment value. This was the second most popular reason, after learning about other people's opinions (46%), suggesting that the informational aspect of news comments may not be as important as we thought (or was that just me?). While we presumably consume the news to find out accurate things about the world, we don't necessarily consume news comments for the same reason. However, in this age of "news as entertainment," these findings might feed a growing fear that facts are not the only things, or maybe even the main things, that audiences are looking for in news media.
The Laundry List
Here's a quick overview of some of the tools we might use to improve civility in online news comments:
Jigsaw, Google's AI research arm, just released Perspective, a tool that identifies toxic language and can flag comments that are most likely loathsome. In conjunction with human moderation, this appears to be an incredible tool. Some fear, however, that it will be left to run on its own, which could trigger the removal of perfectly civil posts and the retention of some carefully cloaked hate speech.
Using AI like Perspective, it could be possible to intercept posts before their posted, warning commenters, right after they hit "submit," that the language they're using is toxic. This would give posters an opportunity to reflect on their language and resubmit (or leave the site in a huff).
What if each comment included some relevant metadata about the commenter? One big complaint about news comments is that it's often evident that the poster didn't actually read the article. What if the site posted the amount of the time the poster spent on the page, or the number of comments that person had posted that day? (Thanks to Cyrus for this one!)
This is a specific subset of metadata: information such as the number of likes and followers someone has confers status and can help create an environment in which people have some guidelines for behavior.
There are all kinds of comment ranking systems, but the one we talked about the most on the panel was Reddit's. On that site, users can upvote or downvote posts and so universally panned posts sink out of visibility pretty quickly. Since attracting attention is a key motivator for certain flame-throwing commenters, invisibility is a painful price to pay. I was fascinated to discover that Reddit goes a bit further: it also programs its algorithm to give a lower ranking to controversial posts that get similar amounts of upvotes and downvotes. So a post with the same number of upvotes, but a lower number of downvotes, will be more visible to users, creating (presumably) more civil discourse.
Kicking the bums out
The main reason that people generate any kind of user generated content is because they hope to attract some attention to their thoughts, ideas, products, weird proclivities, what have you. By depriving people of attention (kicking them off the board after X number of infractions), a news site can create a rational disincentive to bad behavior
Constructive journalism
I've been doing research on solutions journalism – reporting that focuses on responses to social problems, not just the problems themselves – and so I really perked up when someone suggested that the kind of combative, gotcha journalism that we often encounter these days triggers the vitriolic exchanges we see in the comments section.
The Engaging News Project performed a study where a one-column comment section (the typical format) was compared to a three-column format. The topic was the legalization of marijuana. In the three-column format comments were clustered by whether they were pro-legalization, anti-legalization, or if they had questions/other comments about the issue. There were some mixed results, but they found that people preferred the three-column format and they were more likely to leave comments there.
As you can probably tell, I'm just scratching the surface here. I can't wait to hear the results from the University of Connecticut, which recently received a $2 million investment from the Templeton Foundation to fund ten scholars working to improve online civil discourse. Let's hope they come up with some game-changing ideas for re-vamping our online public sphere, where there are far too many barriers to meaningful civic engagement.
May 2, 2017 at 10:01 am · Filed under books, film, jb exploits, media impact and tagged: food inc, Tracey Friesen
Post-Trump TV Storytelling
April 24, 2017 at 1:24 pm · Filed under media impact, TV and tagged: entertainment, politics
Credit: Geoff R
Because of research I've done on the relationship between entertainment and politics, I'm often asked how TV storytelling will change after Trump's election. In our survey research at the Norman Lear Center, we have found over the years that the most popular shows on primetime broadcast TV appeal most to a group we call the "Purples," 24% of the population that doesn't fall neatly into Red or Blue ideological buckets. Here's a quick overview of their unique constellation of political positions:
• Deep anxiety about the economy.
• Deep skepticism about the Iraq War isn't working.
• Strong enthusiasm for protecting the environment
• Disgust with political leadership
• Deep suspicion of Corporate America and support for regulation
• Strong belief that women and men should share household duties equally
• Strong support for public schools
• Respect for immigrants, who are here "for work, not a handout"
• Mixed feelings about trade protectionism
• Optimism about new technology
• Belief that security is more important than liberties
• Strong belief that freedom is more valuable than equality
• Strong preference for diplomacy over use of force in battles against terrorism
• Strong sense of compassion for the less fortunate
• Ambivalence about the role of religion in public life
• Evenly split on regulation of gun ownership
• Strong support for cutting taxes
A glance at their ideological positions reveals how difficult it is to appeal to them in our current two-party political system. However, primetime TV storytellers appear to have cracked their code and captured their attention: compared to Reds and Blues, the Purples were, by far, the most inclined to enjoy mainstream TV offerings.
But after the surprising election of Trump, several prominent TV producers and creators have admitted publicly that they felt the need to re-evaluate their storytelling — in part, because they didn't feel like they understood their audience anymore.
In a recent New York Times piece, writers from Madam Secretary, Veep, House of Cards, and Shonda Rhimes, creator of Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder and Grey's Anatomy, discussed the many changes they made to their shows post-election. Ironically, they all felt the need to remove plot elements that too closely reflected the current reality, for fear that they would be accused of simply ripping stories from the headlines (remember that stories are written long before they're shot and aired). The general response among writers on shows that highlight the hypocrisy and corruption of Washington — Veep, House of Cards, and Scandal — was that their melodramatic and ridiculous scenarios were apparently coming true, and they were going to be hard-pressed to concoct the unbelievable storylines that they thought they were churning out before. However, Rhimes, who believes that her core audience is composed of Obama supporters, is reluctant to simply ramp up the outlandish storylines typical of Scandal. While it was fun to tell "horror stories" about misbehavior in the Beltway while Obama was in office, she feels that her audience might not want those stories anymore:
Our show is basically a horror story. Really. We say the people in Washington are monsters and if anybody ever knew what was really going on under the covers they would freak out . . . But that was based on a world in which Obama was president and our audience was happy about what was going on in Washington and they felt optimistic. You can always tell any horror story you want to when the light is on. But now the lights are off, and now I think people don't want to watch horror stories, they want you to light a candle somewhere.
Executives in Hollywood are straining to figure out how they can attract Trump voters to their fictional fare, without alienating the rest of the nation, but Rhimes — who is the current queen of primetime — has a slightly different take:
I get really offended at the concept that what came out of the election was that — how do I say this? — impoverished people who are not of color needed more attention. I thought that was kind of crazy, that they might need more television. They have television. It just felt very strange to me. And I thought really, the people who really need to be spoken to are the 50 percent of the population that did not vote at all. Those are the people who need to be more engaged
Our entertainment and politics surveys targeted registered voters, but among that population, the Purple group was the one most likely to admit to not voting. This might suggest that Rhimes is really on to something here. Could primetime fare be optimized for 160 million non-voters? And how might those stories be crafted in order to increase the liklihood of future political engagement . . . such as voting? Whoever cracks that code will not only take over Hollywood but will become the most powerful political force in this divided nation.
The Unintended Consequences of Technology
March 1, 2017 at 12:00 pm · Filed under artificial intelligence, jb exploits, media impact, online culture, social media and tagged: filter bubble, IEEE, Ramona Pringle, recommendation engines, Technology & Society
An article of mine on the "Technologies of Taste" has just come out in Technology & Society, a publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It's a fascinating special issue exploring the "Unintended Consequences of Technology." As the guest editor, Ramona Pringle explained it to me that the focus wasn't on "the dark side" of tech, but rather the complicated nature of our increasingly connected lives.
The call for papers, however, emphasized the danger of not carefully examining our relationship to new technology:
With all great innovation comes responsibility; and with the exponential growth of technology, the window within which we can examine the ethics and consequences of our adoption of new technologies becomes increasingly narrow. Instead of fear mongering, how do we adjust our course, as a society, before it is too late?
My piece explores the role that recommendation systems play in our online pursuits of knowledge and pleasure. How is our personal taste affected by finely-tuned commercial algorithms that are optimized to sell us products and monetize our attention? While Eli Pariser and others have argued that these systems place us in "filter bubbles" that insulate us from new ideas, I argue that companies like Google, Amazon and Netflix have strong commercial incentives to develop recommendation systems that broaden their customers' horizons rather than limiting them, effectively bursting filter bubbles rather than reinforcing them.
This couldn't be a more timely argument considering that concerns about filter bubbles have grown exponentially during the last presidential election cycle. What complicates the debate about filter bubbles is that each site — whether it's primarily an ecommerce, social media, search or content platform — has very different goals in mind and different proprietary algorithms in place to achieve them. I hope this article triggers a more thoughtful conversation when people claim that ideological insularity is the obvious outcome of filtering and recommendation technology.


text:
3-Dimensionally (3-d) stitched fabrics
A fabric architecture (100) made of a plurality of composite fabric layers having a top surface, a first dimension, a second dimension, and a third dimension, wherein the third dimension is the thickness of the fabric architecture, and a plurality of vertical stitches or staple through the fabric layers along the third dimension. The vertical stitching (108), or staples, in the third dimension increases the stiffness and strength of the fabric architecture as well as prevents premature cracking and breaking of a composite component made from the vertical stitching (108) or staples.
Gangarao V, Hota S. (Morgantown, WV, US)
Shekar, Vimala (Morgantown, WV, US)
Thippeswamy, Hemanth K. (Reston, VA, US)
GANGARAO HOTA V.S.
SHEKAR VIMALA
THIPPESWAMY HEMANTH K.
B29C70/24; B32B5/26; B32B7/08; (IPC1-7): B32B3/06
20090258255 Method for Producing Diamond Having Acicular Projection Array Structure on Surface thereof, Diamond Material, Electrode and Electronic Device October, 2009 Terashima et al.
20090239055 HELICAL TEXTILE WITH UNIFORM THICKNESS September, 2009 Crawford Jr.
20070194283 Phosphor layers for electroluminescent panels and methods of their manufacture August, 2007 Vecht et al.
20100011717 APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR WOOD MULCH BALES January, 2010 Rivard
20020076528 Glass/ceramic coatings for implants June, 2002 Tomsia et al.
20040078976 Stainless steel honeycomb panel and method for manufacturing thereof April, 2004 Ahn et al.
20090320987 Fire resistant covering system December, 2009 Hubbard et al.
20090258187 PROTECTIVE COATING FOR GLASS MANUFACTURING AND PROCESSING INTO ARTICLES October, 2009 Brady et al.
20080095980 Screen element April, 2008 Hukki et al.
20080206554 Hydroxyapatite With Controllable Size And Morphology August, 2008 Riman et al.
20040159228 Self-repairing armor August, 2004 Budnik
IMANI, ELIZABETH MARY COLE
Steptoe & Johnson (Clarksburg, WV, US)
1. A fabric architecture, comprising: a plurality of fabric layers having a top surface, a first dimension, a second dimension, and a third dimension, wherein said third dimension is along the vertical plane of the thickness of the fabric architecture; and a plurality of vertical stitches through said plurality of fabric layers along said third dimension.
2. The fabric architecture according to claim 1, wherein said vertical stitches are within the range of about 2-10 stitches per inch.
3. The fabric architecture according to claim 1, wherein said vertical stitches are in one or more columns.
4. The fabric architecture according to claim 3, wherein a first column and a second column of said vertical stitches, wherein said first column is adjacent to said second column, are spaced apart at a distance within the range of about ¼ of an inch to about ¾ of an inch.
5. The fabric architecture according to claim 3, wherein a first column of said vertical stitches is stitched with a first thread type, and a second column of said vertical stitches is stitched with a second thread type.
6. The fabric architecture according to claim 3, wherein a first column of said vertical stitches is connected to a second column.
7. The fabric architecture according to claim 3, wherein one or more columns is eliminated.
8. The fabric architecture according to claim 1, wherein said vertical stitches are in a zig-zag pattern.
9. The fabric architecture according to claim 7, wherein said vertical stitches have an angle within the range of about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees.
10. The fabric architecture according to claim 7, wherein said vertical stitches have an angle of about 45 degrees.
11. The fabric architecture according to claim 1, wherein said vertical stitches are in a box pattern.
12. The fabric architecture according to claim 1, wherein said vertical stitches are made from a thread type selected from the group of glass, yarn, nylon, and cotton.
13. The fabric architecture according to claim 3, wherein said plurality of vertical stitches further comprises one or more columns being at a bias with said one or more rows, wherein two consecutive columns are spaced a distance within the range of about ¼ of an inch to about ¾ of an inch.
14. The fabric architecture according to claim 1, wherein one or more of each fabric layer of said plurality of fabric layers comprises a plurality of horizontal stitches.
15. The fabric architecture according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the fabric architecture is within the range of about 0.05 inches to about 1.0 inches.
16. A composite component manufactured using the fabric architecture according to claim 1.
17. A fabric architecture, comprising: a plurality of fabric layers having a top surface, a first dimension, a second dimension, and a third dimension, wherein said third dimension is along the vertical plane of the thickness of the fabric architecture; and a means for securing the fabric architecture through said plurality of fabric layers along said third dimension.
18. The fabric architecture according to claim 17, wherein said means for securing is stitching.
19. The fabric architecture according to claim 17, wherein said means for securing is one or more staples.
20. A method for manufacturing a fiber architecture, comprising the steps of: (a) placing a first fabric layer on top of a second fabric layer, creating fabric layers having a top surface, a first dimension, a second dimension, and a third dimension, wherein said third dimension is the thickness of said fabric layers; (b) vertically securing said plurality of fabric layers along said third dimension, creating the fabric architecture; and (c) introducing resin into said fabric architecture in resin.
21. The method according to claim 20, wherein said step (b) comprises stitching.
22. The method according to claim 20, wherein said step (b) comprises stapling.
23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the method uses on-line stitching.
24. The method according to claim 20, wherein the method uses resin transfer molding and an even filament winding process.
25. The method according to claim 20, wherein said step (c) comprises immersing said fabric architecture in resin.
26. The method according to claim 20, wherein said step (c) comprises infusing resin into said fabric architecture.
27. A composite component manufactured using a fabric architecture of claim 20 and manufactured using pultrusion or SCRIMP.
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 60/231,720 filed on Sep. 8, 2000.
[0003] This invention relates generally to composite fabric architectures, and, more particularly, to multiple layers of composite fabrics held together by a resin and by stitching or stapling in the vertical direction.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials and structural components with continuous fibers and fabrics have been gaining importance in the construction industry and for civil infrastructure applications, e.g., bridges and decks. These composite materials have shown their superiority over metal in applications requiring high strength to weight ratio, high stiffness to weight ration, excellent fatigue and corrosion resistance, as well as, energy absorption.
[0006] The first generation of composite materials consisted mainly of unidirectional fibers. However, a major disadvantage of unidirectional fiber composites is the development of premature cracking due to low stiffness and strength properties in a direction perpendicular to the main reinforcement. To overcome this problem, two-dimensional (2-D) fabrics, having fibers laid in two directions on a horizontal plane, were developed to manufacture composite structural components. Composite materials made of 2-D fabrics have good mechanical properties in the plane of reinforcement, but possess low through-thickness strength and stiffness. That is, 2-D composite fabrics have a relatively low strength to thickness ratio, wherein the strength of thick composite fabric architectures (about 0.75 inches and above) is dramatically reduced to up to fifty percent (50%) of thin composite fabric architectures. Therefore, under static and fatigue loading, these 2-D composite fabrics suffer cracking of matrix and fibers, together with delamination, and ply-by-ply failure (interlaminar shear failure) between plies.
[0007] To improve through-thickness (third direction) properties of composite fabrics, multi-axial woven, braided, stitched fabrics were developed which improved interlaminar shear strength and reduced delamination. Although these multi-axial woven and braided composite fabrics offered excellent mechanical properties, the multi-axial weaving and braiding processes are time consuming and require specially designed weaving and braiding machines.
[0008] Therefore, there is a need for a three-dimensional (3-D) composite fabric architecture that exhibits a higher stiffness and strength ratio, especially a higher interlaminar (or through-thickness) shear strength, more tolerance to damage, and better impact resistance. In addition, there is a need for a 3-D composite fabric architecture that has a higher energy absorption capability such that any failure is gradual and less catastrophic than conventional fabric architectures that have fibers laid only in the horizontal plane.
[0009] In an effort to improve further the mechanical properties of 3-D composite fiber architectures, the 3-D composite fiber architectures were stitched in either one or two directions along a horizontal plane. Although stitching increased the structural integrity of the 3-D composites fabrics, it also caused fiber damage. The factors influencing the extent of fiber damage are: alignment of fibers, manufacturing process, stitch density, type of thread used for stitching, and type of needle tip used for stitching.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,045 to Hutson ("the '045 patent") discloses a fabric architecture having at least three layers of parallel structural fibers wherein the vertical relationship of the layers and the parallelity of the fibers is maintained by stitching through all of the layers of fabric along a horizontal plane. The preferred embodiment for stitching is 4-12 stitches per inch in a predefined pattern across the top horizontal plane of the layers of fabric. The preferred thread used for the horizontal stitching is most natural and virtually all manmade fibers, e.g., glass, kevlar, graphite, polyester and nylon.
[0011] The disadvantage with the '045 patent is that it is limited to at least 3 layers of fabric having a stitch density of 4-12 stitches per inch, wherein the layers of fabric are stitched only in the horizontal plane. In addition, there is no discussion as to the fiber content or composition of the fabric layers being stitched together, the method of manufacture, or the alternating of the type of thread used to stitch the fabric together.
[0012] Therefore, there is a need for a method for stitching multiple layers of composite fabric in the vertical direction, or third dimension, as a means for strengthening the resulting fabric architecture.
[0013] The present invention solves the problems of conventional composite fabric architectures by providing a fabric architecture having a plurality of layers of composite fabric stitched, or stapled, together in the vertical plane. The layers of fabric are stitched along the plane of the thickness of the fabric architecture, i.e., across the seam(s) of the layers of fabric. That is, the stitching is perpendicular to the horizontal plane of layers of fabric.
[0014] There are several advantages of stitching layers of fabric in the vertical direction over unstitched fabrics or fabrics that are stitched in the horizontal plane. First, mechanical strengths of fabric architectures using 3-D vertical stitching are at least two times higher than the composite fiber architectures using only the conventional horizontal stitching. Thus, the present invention reduces the number of layers of fabric needed to achieve identical strength and stiffness effects as found in 2-D stitched fabric architectures. Second, stiffness of 3-D stitched fabric architectures is about 30 to 40 percent higher than 2-D stitched fabric architectures. Third, 3-D stitched fabric architectures exhibit higher energy absorption capability, including more favorable failure modes, wherein fabric architectures of the present invention prevents catastrophic, e.g., brittle, failures because unstitched fabrics have sudden breakage without warning or sagging before such a failure. In addition, the layers of fabric now work together in unison wherein all layers of fabric receive and handle the same level of stress, thereby improving shear resistance, as well as, exhibit better thermal coefficients and lower shrinkage related to distress than found in 2-D stitched fiber architectures.
DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0015] The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.
[0016] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a fabric architecture of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an alternative fabric architecture;
[0018] FIG. 2A is a planar cross-sectional view of the fabric architecture;
[0019] FIG. 2B is a planar top view of the fabric architecture;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a planar top view of an alternative stitching pattern;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a planar cross-sectional view of a fabric architecture having a box pattern of vertical stitching; and
[0022] FIG. 5 is a planar cross-sectional view of the fabric architecture having a zig-zag pattern of vertical stitching.
[0023] A. Fabric Architecture
[0024] The fabric architecture of the present invention is a plurality of layers of composite fabric stitched together in the vertical plane. FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of a fabric architecture 100 of the present invention, wherein FIGS. 2A and 2B are planar views. For convenience purpose only, the fabric architecture 100 of the present invention is described in terms of a first layer of fabric 102 on top of and secured with a second layer of fabric 104, thereby creating a fabric seam 110. It would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art to design and manufacture a fiber architecture 100 of the present invention having more than two layers of fabric. Although any number of layers of fabric could be used, the preferred number of layers of fabric is within the range of 2-12 layers, resulting in the thickness of the preferred fabric architecture 100 being within the range of about 0.05 inches to about 1.0 inch.
[0025] In addition, the present invention is described in terms of vertical stitching 108, but this is also for convenience purpose only. It would be readily apparent for one of ordinary skill in the relevant art to use a comparable means for securing vertically multiple layers of fabric 102, 104 in the third dimension. For example, the fabric architecture 100 of the present invention may be secured in the vertical plane by one or more staples.
[0026] Each layer of fabric, such as the first layer of fabric 102 and the second layer of fabric 104, is a conventional fabric made by conventional means. Each layer of fabric 102, 104, comprising rovings in multiple directions of the horizontal plane, is stitched by horizontal stitching 106a,b in the first and/or second dimensions (X, Y) of the fabric architecture 100. That is, the horizontal stitching 106a of the first layer of fabric 102 passes through that first layer of fabric 102, while the horizontal stitching 106b of the second layer of fabric 104 passes through that second layer of fabric 104.
[0027] In the present invention, the first layer of fabric 102 is secured to the second layer of fabric 104 by vertical stitching 108, or stapling as described above. Vertical stitching 108 occurs along the third-dimension (Z) or side or thickness of the fabric architecture 100 such that the vertical stitching 108 crosses the fabric seam 110 and extends through the entire fabric architecture 100. The vertical stitching 108 of the present invention minimizes the horizontal stitching 106a, b needed in the first layer of fabric 102 and second layer of fabric 104.
[0028] In one embodiment, the vertical stitching 108 is made in one dimension only resulting in two or more parallel columns, see FIG. 1B, wherein the preferred spacing between columns of vertical stitching 108 is about ¼ of an inch to about ¾ of an inch. In addition, the horizontal stitching 106a, b may also be made in one dimension only resulting in two or more parallel row on a layer of fabric 102. 104. See FIG. 1B. Alternatively, adjacent horizontal stitching rows can be continuous or connected, see FIG. 1A, but are preferably independent adjacent rows such that two adjacent rows are not connected together. Likewise, the vertical columns of the vertical stitching 108 can be continuous or connected, see FIG. 1A, but are preferably independent adjacent columns such that two adjacent columns are not connected together.
[0029] The use of rows for horizontal stitching 106a,b and columns for vertical stitching 108 is for convenience only. The horizontal stitching 106a,b and the vertical stitching 108 can be made in any pattern, e.g., individual rows and columns, zig-zag pattern, box pattern, matrix pattern, etc. For example, in FIG. 3, the horizontal stitching 106a on the first layer of fabric 102 is made in a plurality of rows 202 and a plurality of columns 302 wherein the columns 302 of the horizontal stitching 106a are perpendicular to the rows 202 of the horizontal stitching 106a, thereby making a matrix pattern. The columns 302 are perpendicular to the rows 202 also for convenience purpose. It would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art to have the columns 302 at a different angle from the rows 202.
[0030] Also in the preferred embodiment, the horizontal stitching 106a,b and/or vertical stitching 108 are made from a single type of thread: glass, cotton, yarn, nylon, etc. In alternative embodiments, the horizontal stitching 106a,b and/or vertical stitching 108 may alternate the type of thread used, such that a different type of thread is used at a regular interval, e.g., every other row/column or every third row 202 or column, or at irregular intervals.
[0031] Also in the preferred embodiment, the fabric architecture 100 comprises vertical stitching 108 having a vertical stitch density within the range of about 2 to about 10 stitches per inch, wherein a stitch density over 10 stitches per inch results in early stress failure.
[0032] Two different patterns of vertical stitching 108 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 shows vertical stitching 108 in a conventional box pattern of squared columns. FIG. 5 shows a zig-zag pattern of vertical stitching 108. The preferred angle between lengths of stitching in the zig-zag pattern is between about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees, with the most preferred angle being about 45 degrees. These patterns are used for convenience purpose only, and it would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art to use any alternative stitching pattern.
[0033] As described above, any conventional fabric can be used as a layer of fabric in the present invention. For example, using the vertical stitching 108 of the present invention, it was found that two layers of bi-axial/quadraxial fabrics are equally as strong and stiff as four layers of biaxial/quadraxial layers of fabric.
[0034] B. Method of Manufacture
[0035] The method for manufacturing a 3-D fabric architecture 100 of the present invention involves several steps. A first layer of fabric 102, having horizontal stitching 106a, is placed on top of a second layer of fabric 104, having horizontal stitching 106b, thereby creating a plurality of fabric layers having a top surface, a first dimension (X), a second dimension (Y), and a third dimension (Z). The third dimension is the thickness of the fabric layers 102, 104. As stated above, the use of two layers of fabric 102, 104 is for convenience purpose only. Any number of layers of fabric 102, 104 may be used in manufacturing a fabric architecture 100 of the present invention. Once the layers of fabric 102, 104 are positioned on top of each other, they are vertically stitched 108, or stapled, together along the third dimension (Z) or thickness of the fabric architecture 100. The fabric architecture 100 is then immersed in a conventional resin or infused with resin according to conventional methods.
[0036] In the present invention, the preferred method for manufacturing a composite, or FRP component using a 3-D fabric architecture 100 is pultrusion, wherein a vertically stitched or stapled fabric architecture is pultruded by conventional means on-line along with rovings and chopped strand mat using conventional methods of pultrusion. In an alternative method of manufacture, a conventional SCRIMP process is used to create a composite component using a vertically stitched or stapled fabric architecture of the present invention.
[0037] While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by the way of example only, and not limitation. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.
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text:
US T-Bill Rejection At Ports In Progress
Interest-Rates / US Bonds Oct 14, 2016 - 11:47 AM GMT
By: Jim_Willie_CB
World trade has fallen for the second quarter in a row. The decade of stagnation of industrial production in the United States, Japan, and European Union can be blamed on financial engineering, housing bubbles, war, and recently on destructive monetary policy in QE bond purchase program. It is not stimulus, but rather a destroyer of capital. The West contains several nations with heavy industrial emphasis, hardly advanced economies anymore. They risk a fall into the Third World from a generation of outsourcing, asset bubbles, and financial fraud, as soon as the new currency regime is installed as part of the financial RESET.
The CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, a division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, just released its preliminary data of its Merchandise World Trade Monitor. Trade volumes rose 0.7% in June sequentially, after falling 0.5% in May. Trade was flat year-over-year, but below the volumes of December 2014. On a quarterly basis, world trade fell 0.8%, contracting for the second quarter in a row. Without a doubt the global economy is stuck in a powerful recession. No positive constructive remedies or proper reform policy have been put in place since the Lehman failure. Exactly none. To be sure, none have even been attempted.
Worse, the CPB recently adjusted its world trade data downward, going back several years. The newly updated data depicts a post-Financial Crisis recovery of global trade which is considerably weaker than their original data had indicated. These downward adjustments of 2% to 3% came in a climate of stalled economic growth, according to the IMF. Much of the Western national data is rubbish, forced positive by the common NeoCon fascist dictum. The chart of the CPB's World Trade Monitor index shows the old data released as of July 2015 (blue line) and the newly adjusted data released (red line). Observe the horrendous 4.4% downard adjustment from the peak in global trade volumes in the original data for December 2014 and in the current data for June 2016. They confirm a broadbased global recession of about 1.0%, in full contradiction of the nonsensical constant Orwellian propaganda of sluggish recovery, spouted routinely in the drumbeat of mainstream news.
World trade is a direct reflection of only the goods producing economy. Services are not shipped around the world. An airline flight of a group of consultants is not considered world trade, any more than tourism. Finished products, raw materials, and intermediate goods (like car parts for assembly) are shipped regularly. So industrial production, excluding construction, is key. The trend is terrible for advanced economies. Global industrial production, excluding construction, rose 0.6% in June, after a 0.3% decline in May. The index for industrial production in advanced economies rose to 102.5, below where it had been in January at 103.4, a level reached after the Financial Crisis in December 2012. The industrial output remains below from the glory days before the Financial Crisis when the index peaked at 107.8 in February 2008. The global economic recession is as painfully evident as it is denied.
The current level for the index has returned almost exactly to where it was in April 2006, right before the Lehman failure and ensuing crisis. The world has endured a full decade of stagnation, without any remote attempt at remedy or reform, while the bank syndicate remains in power. Remove rose colored glasses. Combine the abandoned austerity budget initiative for the USGovt with the ongoing big bank welfare (known as QE), the preserved insolvent big banks (in dire need of liquidation), the expanding welfare state, then sprinkle on Arab human garbage, and stir with the maintained constant war. Thus no economic recovery, just talk of such.
To varying degrees, the gripping recession has occurred in the United States, Japan, and the EuroZone. A few other so-called industrialized (advanced) economies have exceeded their pre-Financial Crisis levels. Industrial production has shifted to emerging economies, capitalizing on their cheap labor for many years, such as China. Decades ago the vast array of companies in the US, and eventually in Europe and Japan, began outsourcing production to emerging economies in foreign lands. Hence, industrial production in emerging economies has surged over this period. This was particularly the case after the Financial Crisis when companies in the US, Europe, and Japan redoubled their efforts to get production relocated offshore, using easy money from the USFed which moved the cost of money to near 0%, where it has remained for seven years. However, an extreme point of caution. The Emerging Market USD-based debt stands at over $5 to $9 trillion, depending on the definition of such nations. Some estimates are higher. The debt is on the verge of default, due to their currency declines and reduced commodity income, including from crude oil. Thanks to Wolf Street for the contribution.
HANJIN SHIPPING CRISIS
The Hanjin crisis brings new headache to US-based importers. Trailers stack up, adding to client costs while trailer shortage looms. The idle containers are clogging the entire system. Confusion abounds, as emergency measures are being sought. A drop-off point system for the empties is being considered. Soon the used containers will become a newly created market for cargo owners. The bankruptcy of South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd is causing ripple effects for importers bringing goods from Asian factories to the US marketplace. Port facilities are being jammed, while a shortage of trailers is created to move ocean shipping containers on US roads and railways. The world's seventh largest container carrier owns and transports more than half a million containers. They are in many cases clogging up ports and truck yards, tying up trailers that cannot be used to handle other cargo. The growing chaos is beginning to worry freight handlers at US ports on the West Coast. Witness the first sign of follow-on effects from the failure of Hanjin. The problem stems from Hanjin's shortage of cash, which has stranded $14 billion of cargo owned by companies such as HP Inc, Home Shopping Network, and Samsung Electronics. Much of the cargo have been stuck on over 100 ships at sea because cargo handlers, tug operators, and ports are refusing to work with Hanjin unless they are paid upfront. They all are aware of the risk of not receiving payment.
In recent weeks, terminal operators in the California ports of Long Beach and Oakland are not taking back empty containers. Many in the industry doubt Hanjin will pay storage costs, which has led to a growing backlog of empty containers and the trailers they sit on. The containers are stranded. Thousands of Hanjin containers are on trailers kept out of circulation. The uncertainty surrounding Hanjin appears to be pushing truckers to lock in trailers from the local organization pool. Maybe the vast pile-up of containers can be fashioned into sleek condominiums like in Detorit, like lego communities.
Simply stated, if a container reads the Hanjin label, there is no place for it to go. One intermediate solution put forth is the creation of a Drop-Off Point for containers after their cargo is discharged. In Southern California, shipping industry executives are discussing a staging area where truckers could drop off empty containers to free up trailers. Another mid-term solution has been proposed. The cargo owners could resort to buying the containers they hold, which would clear up any legal uncertainty around them, thereby enabling the return of chassis. A new niche market is emerging.
Global supply chains are paralyzed after world's seventh largest container shipper filed for bankruptcy, with its assets frozen within the system. Eastern (Asian) mega-corporations are not too big to fail, not coddled and bailed out (like in the West). Hyundai Merchant
Marine might purchase some of Hanjin's diverse assets. Shipping rates have been reduced amidst the glut, as the global economy is due for a large slam.
August 31st will be marked on the calendars. On that day, the largest casualty finally slammed global trade ports when South Korea's Hanjin Shipping filed for court receivership after losing its bank support (credit lines), which left its assets frozen. Ports from China to Spain denied access to its vessels. Hanjin Shipping is SKorea's largest shipping firm and the world's seventh biggest container carrier. It is a truly huge player. It operates some 70 liner and tramper services around the globe, transporting over 100 million tons of cargo annually. Its fleet consists of some 150 containerships and bulk carriers. It commands four regional headquarters in the US, Europe, Asia, and South East & West Asia, with nearly 5000 people on global staffs. They run numerous major ports for their world class logistics network. Other shipping firms will go bust soon. Even leader Moller-Maersk is in deep trouble, now considering a restructure.
HIDDEN PROBLEM IN USDOLLAR AS PAYMENT
The shipping stalemate from Hanjin has suspicious elements and overtones. Perhaps the Asians generally are conspiring to throw a wrench into the Western Economy. The strong hint of a USDollar rejection at the ports is a major component in the financial angle, possibly the initial salvo in the global financial RESET. Dire challenges exist to shipping with respect to finance, threatening the Global Economy.
Be sure to know that what follows is speculation, but informed and backed by the last few years of events. The stage is set, during a trade war and a global visceral response to the QE monetary hyper inflation that undermines the USDollar. The East led by China want the RESET to be done, but the West delays interminably. The Western bankers and their controlled governments are printing money to cover their failed bonds and to finance their huge debt. THIS CANNOT STAND. Global finance has been turned on its ear. Numerous national banking systems are insolvent. The expected pull of the plug has been looming for many months. Consider some thoughts by EuroRaj, a brilliant analyst on the Jackass team. He wonders if the Asian producers have finally found a lever to pull with shipping and its related payments, to interrupt global trade with the West. It has been not only lopsided, but the payments have been in low quality printed paper and impaired debt. Refer to USTreasury Bills, which seem to be a problem, perhaps being rejected at ports as payment. Consider the theory by my brilliant colleague with 20 years of bank analyst experience, a savvy fellow who has contributed much to the Hat Trick Letter since 2013.
The Hanjin story sounds very shady for a number of reasons. The total debt involved is only at $5.6 billion. Nobody stops operations in a bankruptcy, since the situation worsens quickly and the creditor damage grows deeper. The banks or specialist funding companies step in quickly with an urgently needed service, to provide debtor in possession financing (DIP) funding. Imagine some potential motives at work here. First, perhaps Team Asia wishes to throw a monkey wrench for trade between China and Europe. Note how China and Spain are mentioned in the articles concerning the Hanjin debacle. Second, perhaps a plan is afoot to bring global trade and manufacturing to a halt, so that USFed can justify QE to Infinity in full bloom soon while the Western Economies are severely distracted.
The question has come to center stage. As a result of the bankruptcy process, the global supply chain stands at risk to endure an unexpected failure. The South Korean oceans ministry had been in negotiations for Hyundai Merchant Marine to take over some routes. The global implications from the bankruptcy are unknown, since without precedent due to enormous scale. The potential impact on global supply chains remains devastating, with a cascading waterfall effect, whose impact on global economies could be severe as a result of the worldwide logistics chaos. Both economists and corporations around the globe, the affected firms suffering deep impacted and others, will have yet another excuse on which to blame the radical slowdown in profits and economic growth in the third quarter. An official admission of a global recession, along with numerous individual national recessions, might come. Do not expect the USFed to hike interest rates with the shipping disaster in the background. They are all talk!
PRETEXT FOR USTBILL REJECTION
Here is the central point, perhaps a seminal event in progress with respect to the Global Financial RESET, an action done by angry Asian producers. We might be witnessing a pretext in action, to cover for the rejection of the USDollar, the refusal to accept USTreasury Bills at ports in return for cargo delivery. At risk is the stoppage of all goods shipped from Asia to the United States. The stakes have risen. The Asians are out of patience. The damage multiplies each month. They might be fed up with toilet paper spewn by the USGovt and USFed, a money laundering duo. We might be seeing a trade war salvo of high order, this round led by Asia, directed at the USEconomy, forcing the RESET that Washington and Wall Street refuse to permit, refuse to initiate. The American retailers and other clients who order the Asian ships loaded with cargo typically pay with USTreasury Bills. The Asians might be finally calling an end to payment in USD terms, rendered African toilet paper by QE and the massive hemorrhage of $1 trillion USGovt debt. Hyper monetary inflation has stern nasty consequences. The US trade deficit is a whopping $500 billion per year, which is financed by debt during a time of suspected debt default and full debt monetization.
The red flag could be telling us to that RESET is here. The urgent call would be to stock up on essential supplies and to buy physical gold & silver (then to hold it). Without any hesitation or equivocation, the hangup at ports implies something particularly foreboding about the state of global finance. The DIP Financing step has been short-circuited. It smells like a coordinated operation is being carried out by Team Asia, with Hanjin a sacrificial lamb, albeit a very big lamb.
Futhermore, more stench with signals. The goods carried as cargo have nothing to do with the troubles of the transportation company. They are separate. The suspicion is that the producers who load the ships with cargo from actual work are interested in higher quality payments, no longer finding the USTBill acceptable as payment. The USGovt officials would put a news blackout on the USD rejection. The real physical goods are there. Look beyond the stated news. It is the payment in USD terms which is the problem. The DIP Financing should be an easy issue to overcome. Such financing is standard operating system, and has been for 50 years. With each passing month that QE wrecks the financial platforms and undermines capital structures, the payment in USD terms is more assuredly to be refused. We might soon hear about payment in kind for the cargo, as in the form of any commodity or finished good being requested. Perhaps demands for barter on hard assets such as commodity swaps will be part of trade payments, a concept cited by The Voice on countless occasions in the last year or two. This could be accomplished with copper plates, iron ore, cement, oil & gas, even credits toward commercial building purchase, port facility purchase, bridge and toll road purchase, even more.
GOLD TRADE NOTE INTRODUCTION
The Gold Trade Notes for trade payment might be coming into view, initially with commodity transfers, later swap contracts, and finally gold-backed short-term notes which supplant the USTBill. One might think of used newspapers on the floor, or of the dodo bird. The trade might be made in exchange for either goods delivered or USTBills held. Detect a growing connection to finished goods being withheld from delivery. This is probably another sign of refusal of USTBills as payment. As footnote, be sure to know that the preliminary steps to the Global Currency RESET will not be laid out in full disclosure for public benefit. It represents a tremendous investment opportunity for the elite, which they never tend to share. In fact, the RESET might be well along before it is even recognized. End to EuroRaj main thoughts and open analysis, for which much gratitude is given. The Jackass believes a few critical elements to the RESET are in place. More details on DIP Financing feature is included in the September Hat Trick Letter report.
***A major hitch obstacle can be inferred. Payment in USD terms might be the clot in the artery. Demands might be for hard asset swaps, and the contract security from large scale commitment of commodities, facilities, and property. The swap trade is coming into view, a presage of the Gold Trade Note.***
The Jackass concludes the USD rejection could be lifting its head within a gathering storm, without clear identification. It is indeed difficult to identify all the elements when hidden deals at the highest level are underway, and friction is omnipresent. The Bobcat Corp rejection of USTBills at Pacific ports is a clear story. For every one story recounted, there are 10 to 20 not yet heard. My firm belief is that in Asian banking systems, they do not want the USTBills anymore. The banks in Asia are trying to dump them in heavy volume, not accumulate more worthless toilet paper. Finally the sharp blowback from printing QE money has hit. The USFed monetary policy saves the big insolvent banks, but kills capital. The result has finally seen manifested in USD global rejection, or at least hints toward the same. Asian banks still hold vast sums of USTBonds. They are not going to announce the rejection, but instead fight behind the walls for better terms of payment, even as they pursue the Gold Trade Note for payment at ports. It is coming, like daybreak follows the long night.
NEW SCHEISS DOLLAR & GOLD TRADE STANDARD
In time, expect an eventual refusal by Eastern producing nations to accept USTreasury Bills in payment for trade. The IMF reversal decision assures this USTBill blockade in time, and might accelerate the timetable. The United States Govt cannot continue on five glaring fronts of gross negligence and major violations. These violations have prompted the BRICS & Alliance nations to hasten their development of diverse non-USD platforms toward the goal of displacing the USDollar while at the same time take steps toward the return of the Gold Standard.
The New Scheiss Dollar will arrive in order to assure continued import supply to the USEconomy. It will be given a 30% devaluation out of the gate, then many more devaluations of similar variety. The New Dollar will fail all foreign and Eastern scrutiny. The USGovt will be forced to react to USTBill rejection at the ports. The US must accommodate with the New Scheiss Dollar in order to assure import supply, and to alleviate the many stalemates to come. The United States finds itself on the slippery slope that leads to the Third World, a Jackass forecast that has been presented since Lehman fell (better described as killed by JPM and GSax). The only apparent alternative is for the United States Govt to lease a large amount of gold bullion (like 10,000 tons) from China in order to properly launch a gold-backed currency. Doing so would open the gates for a generation of commercial colonization, but actual progress in returning capitalism to the United States. The cost would be supply shortages to the USEconomy, a result of enormous export increases to China.
The colonization has already begun, with secret deals galore. It is very unclear what deals are being struck in order to arrange for the USGovt to have a proper gold reserve hoard, for backing a new legitimate USDollar. Meetings at very high level are in progress, with little if any popular representation, only elite members present. Failure to produce a legitimate bonafide gold-backed currency would mean the United States must proceed with the New Scheiss Dollar, an illegitimate fake phony farce of a currency. It would be subjected to a series of devaluations. The result would be heavy powerful painful price inflation from the import front. The effect would be to reverse a generation of exported inflation by the United States. The entire USEconomy would go into a downward spiral with higher prices, supply shortages, and social disorder. However, the rising prices would come from the currency crisis, and not so much from the hyper monetary inflation. That flood of $trillions has been effectively firewalled off.
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Editor of the "HAT TRICK LETTER"
Jim Willie CB is a statistical analyst in marketing research and retail forecasting. He holds a PhD in Statistics. His career has stretched over 25 years. He aspires to thrive in the financial editor world, unencumbered by the limitations of economic credentials. Visit his free website to find articles from topflight authors at www.GoldenJackass.com, which includes a Squirrel Mail public email facility.
Jim Willie CB Archive


35-year-old Miguel Cotto's history of violence has taken plenty of hard knocks along the way. The latest were the insulting scorecards that handed Saul "Canelo" Alvarez a lopsided victory after 12 close rounds, causing the Puerto Rican veteran to storm from the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas ring in disgust, and his trainer Freddie Roach to rage at officials in utter disbelief. That's not to say that Alvarez didn't deserve his triumph in Las Vegas – he did – but the scores of 117-111 (John McKaie), 118-110 (Burt A. Clements) and 119-109 (Dave Moretti) were indeed perplexing after a top-drawer scrap that swung both ways.
The esteemed coach – credited with turning the Puerto Rican's career around in recent years – did admit that Cotto gave away a few rounds, but when asked by a young reporter which ones in particular, Roach suddenly snapped.
From this viewpoint, youth and strength eventually pushed the pendulum in Alvarez's favour, and to a 115-113 success. The older man boxed elegantly at times, his jab and trailing right were busy, but too often he failed to throw the required punches after his footwork had guided him into position. Nonetheless, after the eighth – which began with a savage exchange and saw the veteran unleash a divine four-punch volley – there appeared nothing in it. The intensity of the bigger and louder blasts from Alvarez increased as the fight wore on, and towards the end Cotto, his shaven head bruised and swollen, looked uncomfortable under fire; the lessons Canelo learned from a 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather were clear to see.
Despite the scoring controversy, the electric event and outcome – the younger, hungrier fighter emerging victorious – provides huge positives for the sport of boxing, particularly in the wake of the disappointing Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao superfight in May. This bout, refereed by Robert Byrd, was enthralling from start to finish and, though not quite a classic, largely delivered on its promise. And while many yearned for 35-year-old Cotto to add another layer to his legend, a victory for the ageing star would not have been beneficial in the long term: he has never really fancied the idea of facing Gennady Golovkin (his failure to comply with the WBC's plans for the winner to meet "GGG" next year triggered a chain of events that led to him being stripped of the middleweight title and only Canelo could claim the belt), and his insistence on fighting at 155lbs was making a complete mockery of the middleweight division he presided over.
The Mexican – very much the crowd favourite in Sin City – is eager for the Golovkin showdown and, if made, would be the biggest fight in the world.
Things may not be that easy, though. Before the victor arrived, his stubbly Golden Boy promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, was less committal about the "GGG" megafight, yet confirmed that Alvarez, arguably now the biggest star in boxing, will fight in May and September next year – traditionally the slots for Mayweather events before he retired.
Moments later, and unaware of his promoter's comments, Alvarez emphatically ruled out a move back to 154lbs.
The fighter's desire to make the Golovkin contest is genuine and should be applauded, but whether De La Hoya shares that ambition is up for debate. Alvarez is the chief revenue-maker at Golden Boy, and the Kazakh could ruin it all.
But against Cotto, the redhead proved he belongs at the very top level and, importantly, his broad-muscled body looks suited to middleweight warfare. His right hand is already one of the division's most dangerous weapons, and several times in the latter stages, he arced it around and through Cotto's guard. One suspects that may be the last we see of the future Hall-of-Famer, at least in events of this magnitude.
Cotto deserved better from the scorecards but should not complain about the loss, and if it is all over, the warrior's baton has been passed to good hands.


Bowling, L., Baldwin, D., Merrick, C., Brayan, J. & Panther, J., 27 Jul 2018, In : Marine and Freshwater Research. 69, 11, p. 1649-1662 14 p.
Davies, P., Lawrence, S., Turnbull, J., Rutherfurd, I., Grove, J., Silvester, E., Baldwin, D. & Macklin, M., 01 Mar 2018, In : Anthropocene. 21, p. 1-15 15 p.
Rolls, R. J., Baldwin, D. S., Bond, N. R., Lester, R. E., Robson, B. J., Ryder, D. S., Thompson, R. M. & Watson, G. A., 01 Dec 2017, In : Journal of Environmental Management. 203, p. 136-150 15 p.
Watkins, S. C., Baldwin, D. S., Waudby, H. P. & Ning, S. E. M. A., Feb 2017, In : Rangeland Journal. 39, 2, p. 145-152 8 p.


How to Clean the Data Center?
Dust and dirt in data center could be a nightmare that troubles most of the telecom engineers. Now and then as they try to put their fingers on a distribution cabinet or a patch panel in a data center, the fingers are always stained by dust or dirt. However, this annoying situation is not rare for those engineers working in the field of telecommunication. Some of them may have realized the importance of cleanliness in data center, but they seldom take action to remove the dust and dirt. It means people simply attach less importance to keep the data center clean enough. Some contaminants can easily be seen or checked by eyes and hands, but there are still myriads of them existing inside the equipment which may lead to disastrous consequences such as overheating as well as various network failures if no proper action was taken to clean.
Imagine what would happen if there is no regular cleaning in the data center? As it was mentioned above, the most direct result of contaminant is overheating. Since dust and pollutants in the data center are usually light-weight, If there is air flow, dust or dirt will move with it. The cooling system of the data center is depending largely on server fan which can bring the dust and dirt into the cooling system. The accumulation of these contaminant can cause fan failure or static discharge inside equipment. The heat dissipation will need more time and heat emission efficiency is limited. The following picture shows the contaminant at a server fan air intake that can explain this phenomenon.
As the cooling system is affected by the dust and dirt, the risk of the data center increases largely. Contaminants will capture every possible place in the data center where they are capable of. In addition, data center nowadays relies heavily on electronic equipment and fiber optic components like fiber optic connectors, which are very sensitive to contaminants. Problems like power failures, loss of data and short circuit might happen if the contaminants are not removed completely. What's worse, short circuit might cause fire in the data center, which could lead to irreparable damage. The following picture shows the data center after a fire. It is really a disaster for the data center managers.
Dust and dirt can also influence the life span of data center equipment as well as their operation. The uptime of a data center may decrease if there are too many contaminants. Cleaning the data center regularly would help to reduce data center downtime and extend the life span of data center infrastructure equipment. It is proved to be cost efficient and energy saving comparing with restarting the data center or repairing the equipment.
Furthermore, data center cleanliness can offer an aesthetic appeal to a clean and dust-free environment. Although it is not the main purpose, a clean data center can present a more desirable working environment for telecom engineers, especially for those who need to install cable under a raised floor or working overhead racks and cabinet. No one would reject a cleaning data center.
There is no doubt that data center cleanliness is necessary. But how to keep the data center clean? Before taking action, source of contaminants in the data center should be taken into consideration. Generally, there are two main sources. One is inside the data center, and the other is from outside of the data center. The internal contaminants are usually particles from air conditioning unit fan belt wear, toner dust, packaging and construction materials, human hair and clothing as well as zinc whiskers from electroplated steel floor plates. The external sources of contamination include cars, electricity generation, sea salt, natural and artificial fibers, plant pollen and wind-blown dust.
Having known where the dust and dirt come from, here offers some suggestions and tips to reduce the contaminants.
Reduce the data center access. It is recommended that limited access to only necessary personnel can reduce the external contaminants.
Sticky mats should be used at the entrances to the raised floor, which can eliminate the contaminants from shoes largely.
Never unpack new equipment inside the data center, establish a staging area outside the data center for unpacking and assembling equipment.
No food, drink or smoking in the data center.
Typically all sites are required to have fresh air make-up to the data center, remember to replace on a regular basis.
Cleaning frequency depends on activity in the data center. Floor vacuuming should be more often as the traffic in the data center increased.
Inspect and clean the fiber optic components regularly, especially for fiber optic connector and interface of switches and transceivers.
The inside and outside of racks and cabinets should be cleaned.
Data center operates like an information factory nowadays as it processes countless data and information as well. Therefore, the cleanliness of the data center becomes increasingly important. If this essential "factory" is polluted by dust and dirt, it will eventually fail to provide reliable and qualified services. Not to mention that a clean data center could ensure a much more extended life span of equipment and applications thus to effectively save a great amount of money for the maintenance.
Whether it's an enterprise or multi-tenant (co-location) facility, the data center is fast becoming an organization's most valuable strategic asset. Its ability to handle immense volumes of data, provide highly reliable IT services for users and quickly adapt to the increasing demands of a dynamic environment can make or break a business. As a result, IT and facilities professionals are constantly looking to make their data centers more agile and efficient.
A typical data center is a traditional brick-and-mortar facility that can range from a few thousand to a million square feet or more. A data center of this type is often pre-designed to house all of the necessary racks, power distribution, cooling, cabling, fire suppression, and physical security systems needed to support IT services over the next 10 to 15 years. These facilities can come with a hefty price tag in the hundreds of millions of dollars and take two to three years to plan, design and build.
So, what's the problem? As IT technologies rapidly evolve and virtualization and cloud computing complicates traditional capacity planning, a brick-and-mortar data center designed today could conceivably become obsolete before it is ever deployed. Its power, cooling and IT "white space" requirements might have been specified by the business at a certain point in time, but by the time the facility actually goes live, the needs of the business—and the data center technologies available to support the business—may have irrevocably changed. This constant demand for change results in stranded or inadequate space, power, or cooling, and leaves traditional data center owners trapped in a perpetual and expensive retrofit cycle while attempting to save their initial capital investment.
As a result, many data center owners and operators are exploring alternatives to traditional data center design-and-build.
Within the last several years, the market has warmed to the concept of the prefabricated modular data center. A modular data center is a concept that uses prefabricated modules—built and tested at a factory, disassembled, shipped to a site and then reassembled to deliver data center white space, power and cooling infrastructure. A modular data center can be set up and operational within 14 to 20 weeks instead of two to three years. Also, as business capacity needs or technologies change, new modules addressing the change can be quickly and cost-efficiently added or existing solutions pre-engineered for upgrading can be seamlessly modified.
This approach enables businesses to focus on meeting their current and very near term data center capacity needs, rather than attempting to project and build for their anticipated long-term demand. It creates a purpose-built data center infrastructure that's built to fit from the start.
These benefits are why the prefabricated modular data center is an extremely agile and cost-efficient option for data center owners and operators looking beyond traditional approaches to address rapid changes in business and technology needs today and tomorrow.


Saturday 25th a flight to Singapore where I stayed with a friend. It was great to relax in the sun, have a swim and recharge myself for 13 presentations at the Australian International School. Librarian Jennifer Kennedy organised three days for Year 1 and Year 2 students. It was so rewarding talking to small groups of children and answering their great questions. Thanks Jen for a great three days.
Another flight back to Hong Kong, then to Sydney. It was good to be home and have a well-deserved rest.


I love living in Greater Manchester, I've been in love with the North and Manchester particularly since I moved here in October 1989. Even the rain has never put me off, and honestly it doesn't always rain.
Woody works in the centre of Manchester and often I'll catch the train in, mooch around my favourite shops in the Northern Quarter and then meet him for lunch in one of the many great bars and cafes.
One of my favourite shops to visit is Fred Aldous, three floors of art and craft materials plus great quirky gifts and cards.
The basement of Fred Aldous is also home to Ministry Of Craft , where you can take workshops in a whole host of craft disciplines, from absolute beginners getting to know their sewing machine, making a tailored skirt, stitching your own knickers, getting to grips with embroidery, making jewellery and so much more! They even run hen parties, which seem like a lot of fun.
One class recently added to the programme is my very own! I'm really excited to be joining the other fabulous tutors at The Ministry Of Craft to bring you an upcycling class.
As my long term readers know, I love a bit of upcycling, am often found elbow deep in a box of old linens in various charity shops.
I have designed a class for Advanced Beginners; Short and Sweet Pyjamas .
As any regular charity shopper knows, there are always plenty of mens shirts in stock in most of the charity shops, and even if not, mens shirts are easy to come by scrounged from the men in your life. Woe betide any man in my extended family throwing out shirts just because the collar is frayed!
These pyjamas are made using three mens shirts, keeping details and features of the shirts to add interest.
Trim is optional, but adds a cute little feminine detail.
There is an option to use pillowcases instead of shirts for the pyjama shorts. That is what I have done here.
Taking this class you will learn how to layout patterns on challenging fabric, how to make french seams, to use bias binding to finish a raw edge, to make casings and add trim. Once you have completed your first upcycled outfit, I promise you will never look at old clothes in the same way again, everything will have potential!
To book this class, head on over to Ministry Of Craft for more details. I can't wait to meet you!
Aw we are away then! Well done you for teaching a class, it's about time, you clever gal!
This is a great list. We always look to men's fashion blogs for the next trends and focus areas for men's fashion and lifestyle. We're building a new form of men's shopping experience where girls recommend the best products for guys, and guys can but it in one touch on their mobile phone. Thanks Complexmag for the great work and intel!


For this week's episode, dear listeners, we decided to discuss movies we just don't get: films that seem to be almost universally adored, but, because of some personal defect deep within ourselves, we just don't like. In other words, we sit around and complain about things other people tell us are good.
For this episode, we recommend that you join us in drinking, because that makes for better bitching. During this episode, we greatly enjoyed bottles of Line 39 Petit Syrah and Wrongo Dongo Red. Because, surely, we are probably a bit of wrongo dongo ourselves.


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