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You can't be a kaitiaki from a distance
Posted by Kennedy Warne | Nov 11, 2018 | 1 | 5 min read
Mountains to Sea is a new book about New Zealand's freshwater crisis. It is edited by Mike Joy, an outspoken freshwater scientist and policy researcher, who has brought together kōrero from 10 authors looking at what has gone wrong with te wai o Aotearoa, and how to fix it.
Two chapters, in particular, focus on iwi perspectives on water issues, as Kennedy Warne explains, beginning with Tina Ngata's view that restoring the environment begins with restoring relationships.
Tina Ngata, a Ngāti Porou environmental advocate, says the ability to be effective water guardians relies on restoring a language of water interactions — te reo o te awa.
Our ability to care for and protect rivers, lakes, and wetlands is based on our ability to hear what they are saying to us — and that's determined by the quality of our interactions with water.
"Water has intelligence, comprised of its nature and the multitude of life forms within it that respond to various stimuli," she writes. "Water communicates its needs to us, and our comprehension depends entirely upon the intimacy of our relationship with it."
In her view, intimacy is at the heart of kaitiakitanga, and kaitiakitanga is inseparable from ahi kaa — and it is only those who live in intimate contact with their waterways who can discern their needs and make appropriate governance responses.
As often as not, this kind of relationship to an awa involves grieving over its decline.
Environmental damage, from a Māori perspective, is "part of a larger story of colonisation, urban migration and the loss of ancestral knowledge around care and communication with nature." Fulfilling the role of kaitiaki can only occur when those who would speak and act for rivers are living in their rohe.
"Rematriation" is the term she uses — an evocative word that speaks of a physical and spiritual return to Papatūānuku and the restoration of a people to their ancestral lands.
"Rematriation acknowledges," she writes, "that our ancestors lived in spiritual relationship with our lands for thousands of years, and that we have a sacred duty to maintain that relationship for the benefit of our future generations.
"We must physically be beside our waterways in order to utilise them, to speak with them, to listen to them and what they are saying through their scent, through their sound, through the taste of their kai, through their levels, through the life within them (or lack thereof), in order to realise this sacred relationship."
You can't be a kaitiaki from a distance, she writes. Yet this is the condition so many indigenous people find themselves in — trying to fulfil their responsibilities to the land while being physically prevented from participating in the life of the land. Social policies that forced urbanisation on a rurally-dispersed population deprived Māori of their ability to retain kaitiaki relationships and fulfil their roles.
Similarly, vital cultural capital, "the richest resource for sustainable practice left to us by our ancestors, developed over generations of living in connection to these lands and waters," has been gutted through policy failure to support language, uphold cultural practices and respect protocol.
"For this reason," she writes, "when others come to talk to us about the well-being of our waterways, we will often wind up talking about the well-being of our people, and our culture. For us, they are all one and the same thing, enshrined through whakapapa, enhanced through familiarity."
Because whenua and tangata are indivisible, Tina arrives at the conclusion that the best thing that can happen to restore the health of the awa of Aotearoa is the restoration of Māori relationships to ancestral waterways.
This, she says, is the future she wants for her people: "The honouring of our divine whakapapa, our genealogical relationship to and intimate interdependency with the waters. The return of our fluency in the communication of the awa, and responsiveness to the needs of our awa."
She believes this restoration journey won't be easy. It will require skilful use of political, legislative, economic, and educational tools. It will demand bold conversations around wielding and distributing power within settler–colonial systems.
"If we wish to envision a future that truly moves beyond our presumptions of ecological dominion, we must also consider the framework of domination that our very nation is built upon."
That framework is already being adjusted in positive ways, she writes. The granting of legal personhood to Te Urewera ranges, Whanganui River, and Mt Taranaki "recognises a shift in the colonial systems of conservation and care, towards perspectives that are rooted in Māori ancestry and centred in rights of care rather than rights of ownership.
"In celebrating these steps, we must always remember that the displacement of our people from their traditional roles of authority and care in relation to our lands, rivers, and mountains remains an act of injustice that can only be fully restored when our relationship to them is fully restored."
The time is ripe, Tina believes, for all iwi to develop co-governance and co-management arrangements over water, and to work with the Crown "to define their own expectations and means of care for their ancestral waters."
The message of a changing framework in conversation is echoed by two other contributors in Mountains to Sea. They are Paul Tapsell, an anthropologist, and Alison Dewes, an agricultural advisor, who jointly contribute a chapter entitled "One world, one health, one humanity — whenua, rongoā, tangata."
They say that, while the country has come some distance towards dismantling colonial attitudes to Māori, the colonial mindset concerning land and water remains: "While we have shifted our world view concerning colonial exploitation of Māori, our attitude toward the most precious of all resources, whenua — soil and water — has stagnated and been obfuscated by another type of colonisation: one built on resource exploitation that has thrown the mauri of our previously taken-for-granted system out of balance."
An agenda of economic growth without limits, disregard for indigenous knowledge systems, and wilful blindness towards environmental degradation has brought Aotearoa to a crisis of "pollution, poisoning and extinction," they write. We have jettisoned an older value system based on belonging rather than owning, and put at risk the world of Papatūānuku, with "all her dependent organisms, not least ourselves."
"Our nation is at a critical tipping point, not just environmentally, but socially. Disconnection from whenua directly correlates with poorer Māori health, education, housing and employment."
Their view is that disconnection has happened not just in the cities, where it is on most obvious display, but in the rural heartland, and they believe that "if Māori values are not brought back to the farming table under an inclusive partnership model — reuniting descendants with their flow of life or wairua — then we, as a nation, risk descending even deeper into a cross-generational crisis of Māori disconnection, exclusion and unrest."
This is perhaps the key message of Mountains to Sea: that the human–nature disconnect is the cause of New Zealand's freshwater crisis, and likewise a reconnect is its solution. Leaving behind the tired, failed "economy or environment" paradigm and embracing an integrated way of thinking — not "either/or" but "both/and" — is the key, according to Chris Perley, a sustainability researcher, in the book's final chapter.
Yes, we can know landscapes as "interconnected socio-ecological systems," he writes. "We can restore environmental, social and economic health to place. We can restore the functions of water regulation to mitigate or avoid droughts and downstream floods. We can improve biodiversity, and with it the economic and social benefits biodiversity gifts to us all."
Mountains to Sea is a BWB text published by Bridget Williams Books.
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Hearing the ocean speak
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A taniwha in the city
Dave Veart: Unearthing Ihumātao's past
Wiremu Emery	on June 10, 2019 at 6:13 am
Really enjoyed your story on guardianship or Kaitiakitanga. I live in a small country community called Rotoiti in Bay of plenty (Waiariki) area. For a number of years our Iwi Ngati Pikiao has been in talks with Rotorua district council on a sewage scheme and a waste water treatment plant for two of our lakes (Rotoiti, Rotoma and Rotoehu in the possible future). Where i come in to the picture a land trust that i am a beneficiary of has been accepted to have the treatment plant for the whole rohe. A small group of us beneficiaries and owners objected to the resource concent as we didn't want council using there stock standard grinder pumps as the prefered system we wanted on site treatment and only waste water coming to the plant. We won that battle but now we are disputing what type of system is to be implemented for our area with council. Throughout this whole process Council has tried to undermine us as beneficiaries, Hapu and Iwi and managed to turn our trustees of our whenua in a direction that tramples on our beliefs of Kaitiakitanga and the future of our lands. I have been asked what does Kaitiaki or kaitiakitanga mean to me, your story has really confirmed to me that our lands and waterways are for us to preserve, look after and teach our children, future leaders that we have a duty to keep fighting to preserve our way of life and beliefs as we will belong to these resources forever even in death.


Hannah Kelly (Anne Frank) is making her CSC debut. Recent credits include: Everyman Theatre, Everything is Wonderful (Ruth), The Importance of Being Ernest (Gwendolyn, Understudy), The Book of Joseph (Genka/Boy Arnold). Charm City Fringe Festival, Proxy (Again). UMBC, The Mail Order Bride (Tina), The Amish Project (Carol), Rhinoceros (Jeane), Agnes of God (Dr. Livingstone), Leah's Dybbuk (ancestor), The Game of Love and Chance (Sylvia). She has a B.F.A. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Stephen Patrick Martin* (Mr. Otto Frank) is making his CSC debut. Martin has appeared in theaters throughout the area including, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, Everyman Theatre, The Folger Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Theatre J, Delaware Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Arena Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Bay Theatre (Annapolis) and most recently appeared as The Player in "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" at Annapolis Shakespeare Company. Martin is a recipient of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play for "Glengarry Glen Ross" at Round House Theatre (2013) and is a member of Actors' Equity Association. Martin is a graduate of the Shakespeare Theatre's Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University.
Lesley Malin+ (Mrs. Edith Frank) is a founder of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, and has served as its Managing Director since 2003. She managed CSC's building renovation of an 1885 bank into our modern Shakespeare playhouse as well as the associated $6.7 million capital campaign. Her acting credits at CSC include Mrs. Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer, Paulina in The Winter's Tale, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (2016), Amelia in Wild Oats, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, Mrs. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol (2014), Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (2010), Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, the Queens in Richard III (2012, 2017) and Cymbeline, and Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream (2005). Previously, she performed in New York. She has, for 15 years, been Vice President of the Board of Trustees of The Lark, a new play development center in New York City, where she once served as Managing Director. She served for five years on the Executive Committee of the international Shakespeare Theatre Association and organized its annual conference that CSC hosted in Baltimore in 2017. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, NYU's Arts Management program, and Leadership Howard County, and LEADERship Baltimore (2018).
Grace Brockway (Margot Frank) is making her CSC debut. Recent credits include Pride and Prejudice (Annapolis Shakespeare Company); Coriolanus, and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Theatre Company/ACA). Training: MFA, The Academy for Classical Acting (Shakespeare Theatre Company and George Washington University).
Karolina Keach (Miep Gies) is making her CSC debut. Recent credits include Staged Reading of The Oresteia; A Sketch of New York; Love in the Time of Hacking; Conversations with an Average Joe with Jerry Orbach Theatre; Forget Fire with Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Two Gentlemen of Verona with LAMDA; Women Beware Women with LAMDA; Studying War with The Road Theatre; Walkers (the web series) with Supporting; She received a BA from Pepperdine University and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
Clay Vanderbeek (Peter Van Daan) has appeared with CSC as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (2019 student matinee) and Florizel in The Winter's Tale (2018). He has appeared in Proof, Rhinoceros, and Mail Order Bride. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies and was a Linehan Artist Scholar at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Alumnus of the Baltimore School for the Arts.
Scott Alan Small+ (Mr. Kraler and First Man) is a CSC Associate Artistic Director and Resident Acting Company Member. He has appeared with CSC in Henry IV, Part I and II, The Winter's Tale, The Taming of the Shrew (2017), Richard III (2017, 2012), Macbeth (2016, 2008, 2007, student matinee: 2018), Much Ado About Nothing, Uncle Vanya, A Christmas Carol (2017, 2015, 2014), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2014), The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar (2009), Titus Andronicus, Measure for Measure, The Country Wife, A Doll's House, and The Front Page. His directing credits include CSC's A Christmas Carol (2016, 2015), The Comedy of Errors (2015), the movable productions of Romeo and Juliet (2016) Dracula, and The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged.
Barbara Pinolini* (Mrs. Van Daan) is making her CSC debut. Local and regional credits include Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre, Sister Act at Riverside Center for the Arts, Fiddler on the Roof (with Jonathan Hadary) at Arena Stage, All's Well That Ends Well (with Marsha Mason) at Shakespeare Theatre, The Last Schwartz and Our Suburb (directed by Judith Ivey) at Theater J, The Importance of Being Earnest, Elephant Man, Necessary Targets and Night of the Iguana at Olney Theatre Center, Children's Hour, Blithe Spirit, Pygmalion and You Can't Take It With You at Everyman Theatre, Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center, and Menopause the Musical at Trinity Rep. Barbara is also a teacher/educator and received her MFA from Catholic University. She is a member of Actors' Equity Association.
Stas Wronka* (Mr. Van Daan) is making his CSC debut. He has performed with many area theaters including Everyman Theatre (Talley's Folly), Scena Theatre (The Balcony, Purge, Antigone Now, Mein Kampf), The Studio Theatre Secondstage (Mad Forest, Washington-Sarajevo Talks), Source Theatre Company (The Cherry Orchard), D.C. Arts Center (The Island, The Theatre of the Soul). In his mother country, Poland, he worked in two of the largest repertory theaters in Warsaw performing in more than 20 plays including The Dramatyczny Theatre (Operetta, The Quail Ran Away From Me, Saint Joan, Tsar Nicholaus), and Ateneum Theatre (Woyzeck, The Cherry Orchard, Trans-Atlantic).
(Mr. Dussel) has appeared with CSC as Owen Glendower in Henry IV, Part I, Hastings in Henry IV, Part II, Robert Cary Long and Topper in A Christmas Carol (2017 and 2018), Brackenbury in Richard III (2012 and 2017). He has appeared in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) with the Fells Point Corner Theatre; and as El Gallo in The Fantasticks, Cornelius Hackl in Hello Dolly!, Jamie in The Last 5 Years, and Juan Peron in Evita with Spotlighters Theatre. Bart trained at New York's Stella Adler Studio of Acting. He holds a Ph.D in Management Strategy and teaches cross-cultural management and international business at Towson University.
Christian Wilson (Second Man) is making his CSC stage debut. He helped build sets for CSC's The Tempest (2017) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018), and was on stage crew for CSC's A Christmas Carol (2018). He majors in Acting with two minors in Deaf Studies and Astronomy at Towson University. Previous roles at Towson University include Mengo in Fuente Ovejuna, Dan/Don/Dave in The Electric Baby, and the Clown in Othello.
Jonathan Ruiz (Third Man) is making his CSC debut. Previous credits include Yuri Mackus in Anon(ymous), Ensemble in Dead Man's Cellphone, Ensemble in Machinal (UMBC), Cigar in Gypsy (Chesapeake Community College). Jay is a junior at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is working toward a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting as well as a bachelor's degree in Media and Communications Studies.
Eve Muson (Director) is making her CSC debut. Recent directing credits include Kermoor (Interrobang & Strand Theater,) Inexcusable Fantasies (Strand Theater, Prague Festival Fringe, FringeNYC), Speech & Debate and LasMenias (RepStage), Venus, Big River, and Peter Pan (Olney Theatre Center,) and many productions at Boston Playwrights Theatre, WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory, American Stage Festival, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She is the principal director for Baltimore's Grrl Parts, an initiative dedicated to commissioning and producing new plays by women. For Grrl Parts, she has directed world premieres by Susan McCully, Sheila Callaghan, Tanya Saracho, Lucy Thurber, Ellen McLaughlin & Timberlake Wertenbaker. She has directed dozens of university productions including Leah's Dybbuk, She Like Girls, Rhinoceros, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Gum, Las Meninas, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Arcadia, and many new plays and devised works. She has been twice cited for Outstanding Direction by the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival for her work on Un Tango En La Noche (Boston University) and Las Meninas (UMBC.) She is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Director of the BFA Acting program at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.


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Montenegro PM, Serbian church bishop meet on religious law
People walk by graffiti showing a Serbian flag, left, and text reading "Montenegro and Serbia" in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegro's prime minister on Friday met with the top Serbian Orthodox Church bishop in the country in a bid to defuse tensions over a contentious law on religious rights.
The Serbian Church in Montenegro opposes the bill, saying it enables the state to take over its property, including monasteries, churches and other assets. The government has denied it plans to do so.
Thousands of people have attended church-led protests, which have been held throughout Montenegro since the legislation was adopted late last year.
About 30% of Montenegro's 620,000 people declare themselves as Serbs. Montenegro split from much larger Serbia in 2006. It joined NATO in 2017 and is now seeking European Union entry.
Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and Bishop Amfilohije, who heads the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, held talks at a state villa in the capital, Podgorica.
The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro is recognized by other Orthodox Christian churches, while the self-proclaimed Montenegrin Orthodox Church hasn't been accepted.
'Dreamers': DACA is good, but we need immigration reform

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A couple of weeks back, I went with my girlfriend to visit the city of Madrid, Food and wine, Family and art, To make the story short, I was walking fast through the monumental space of "El Prado Museum" and I was immediately dazzled by the strength of the brushstroke on this painting: "Naked man in the sun".
And in the same room I founded a vast body of work that really inspired me to look for more information about the artist.
I also like the way he merged two different scenes to introduce Fantasy into the representation.


Northwest Michigan Works! Service Centers offer a variety of resources to help people with their job search and career development. Watch the video to find out more about those job seeker services, including the Resource Room, Workshops, and the Learning Lab.


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antonin scalia campaigns chill effect clarence thomas false statements law first amendment free speech lies ohio pt talk is cheap and speech is free samuel alito scotus supreme court susan b. anthony list v. dreihaus truth united states v. alvarez
Supreme Court Will Totally Decide Lying Anti-Abortion Group Has Constitutional Right To Lie
Alex Ruthrauff
You solved the problem of lying in politics when you were like six years old. "Just pass a law against telling lies!" dumb little like-six-year-old you said,adorably. But it wasn't that easy. "No, little you," said a wise adult. "We have free speech in this country, which means that you can't stop people from saying things even if they're not true." Then maybe the wise adult went on to explain that that's not entirely true, that sometimes a lie actually can be illegal, in which case it's called "libel" or "slander" depending on something, you were well beyond listening by then and already had a dozen Legos up your nose as you daydreamed about tort reform.
Well, it turns out that little you was onto something after all. In the coming months, the Supreme Court will hear Susan B. Anthony List v. Dreihaus, in which the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List is suing for its right to sue to put up a big billboard that says "SHAME ON STEVE DREIHAUS! Dreihaus voted FOR taxpayer-funded abortion." Steve Dreihaus did no such thing, which means this billboard is A Lie and is therefore illegal under Ohio's awesome False Statements Law. But but but free speech! But but… abortions! Buuuut DEMOCRATS!
Two lower courts have already dismissed Susan B. Anthony List's complaint (they were not actually charged with any crime, but argue that the law chilled their speech, because their speech was a lie, except they didn't say that last part). Now the case moves up to the Supreme Court.* How do we expect this case to go, asked your non-legal-expert Wonket, rhetorically?
Badly, of course! But it doesn't have to! And it shouldn't, if the conservative wing of the court stands by the views they articulated in a prior case. So, yes, badly.
Dok reminded us of the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Alvarez, the case that found the "Stolen Valor" law against lying about military decorations to be unconstitutional. That was a 6-3 decision, with Scalia, Thomas, and Alito dissenting. The majority held that "there has been no clear showing of the necessity of the statute, the necessity required by exacting scrutiny." Presumably at least a few of these majority justices could be persuaded that elections have more serious consequences than whether Joe Liar really got the Order of the Platinum Turd (for valorous conduct in holding one's gut), satisfying the "necessity" standard. The real interesting stuff, however, is in the Scalitomas dissent:
"Time and again, this Court has recognized that as a general matter false factual statements possess no intrinsic First Amendment value." … "The lies covered by the Stolen Valor Act have no intrinsic value and thus merit no First Amendment protection unless their prohibition would chill other expression that falls within the Amendment's scope. I now turn to that question." … "in order to prevent the chilling of truthful speech on matters of public concern, we have held that liability for the defamation of a public official or figure requires proof that defamatory statements were made with knowledge or reckless disregard of their falsity."
OK, looking good! The Ohio law is narrowly drawn to only prohibit lies that are made "knowingly and with intent to affect the outcome of such campaign," so maybe they wouldn't chill legitimate speech? But there's an uh-oh:
"[T]here are broad areas in which any attempt by the state to penalize purportedly false speech would present a grave and unacceptable danger of suppressing truthful speech. Laws restricting false statements about philosophy, religion, history, the social sciences, the arts, and other matters of public concern would present such a threat […] it is perilous to permit the state to be the arbiter of truth."
Tl;dr: The Supreme Court will rule 5-4 that it's too dangerous to let courts decide whether a lie is a lie, because some people might be deterred from lying.
*Technically the court is only supposed to decide whether SBA List has standing to sue, but we're confident they'll wind up banning abortion anyway.
Follow Alex on Twitter.
[allgov /Bloomberg / Ohio codes / electionlawblog]


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Sinobambusa es un género de bambús  de la familia de las poáceas. Es originario del este de Asia. Comprende 41 especies descritas y de estas, solo 16 aceptadas.

Taxonomía
El género fue descrito por Takenoshin Nakai y publicado en Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 6(3): 152. 1925.  La especie tipo es: Sinobambusa tootsik (Makino) Makino ex Nakai

Citología
El número cromosómico básico es x = 12, con números cromosómicos somáticos de 2n = 48. tetraploides. Los cromosomas son relativamente pequeños.

Especies aceptadas
A continuación se brinda un listado de las especies del género Sinobambusa aceptadas hasta noviembre de 2013, ordenadas alfabéticamente. Para cada una se indica el nombre binomial seguido del autor, abreviado según las convenciones y usos.
 Sinobambusa baccanensis T.Q.Nguyen
 Sinobambusa farinosa (McClure) T.H.Wen
 Sinobambusa henryi (McClure) C.D.Chu & C.S.Chao
 Sinobambusa humila McClure
 Sinobambusa humilis McClure
 Sinobambusa incana T.H.Wen
 Sinobambusa intermedia McClure
 Sinobambusa nephroaurita C.D.Chu & C.S.Chao
 Sinobambusa rubroligula McClure
 Sinobambusa sat (Balansa) C.S.Chao & Renvoize
 Sinobambusa scabrida T.H.Wen
 Sinobambusa solearis (McClure) T.Q.Nguyen
 Sinobambusa tootsik (Makino) Makino ex Nakai
 Sinobambusa urens T.H.Wen
 Sinobambusa yixingensis C.S.Chao & K.S.Xiao

Referencias

Enlaces externos

(en inglés) Grassbase - The World Online Grass Flora
 Imágenes en Google
Semiarndinaria en Flora of China. (engl.)

Arundinarieae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Along the peninsula of the South Bronx, a concentration of warehouses are responsible for billions of dollars of industry. The waterfront is home to manufacturing, waste treatment, food distribution. "And all that activity surrounds an impoverished residential core," says Toby Sheppard Bloch, chief venture officer for the HOPE Program, a workforce development nonprofit.
The organization is now developing a local workforce to install solar panels on such rooftops. The panels are increasingly utilized for community solar, a solar power array whose electricity is shared by more than one household.
The Bronx has become a hub for the growing effort not only to increase solar use across New York City, but make it equitable.
"Urban solar is tough — and there are very few places in the world that are urban as New York City," says Sean Garren, northeast director of Vote Solar, an organization working to make solar affordable and accessible to more Americans.
For solar advocates to organize in multi-family apartment buildings, it takes time to educate and reach a building-wide consensus. In lower-income neighborhoods, the cost of installation can be an immediate turn-off.
But there's political support for renewable energy at both the city and state level, with a mandate by Governor Andrew Cuomo for half of the state's electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2030.
Advocates want more solar in that future. This summer, the Million Solar Strong New York campaign urged Governor Cuomo to set a goal of powering one million homes by solar by 2023, including 100,000 low-income households.
In the city, a coalition of for-profit and nonprofit organizations are increasingly taking equity into account. OnForce Solar, a for-profit company headquartered in the Bronx, opened the largest community solar project in the borough this fall.
OnForce considers community solar a sustainable business moving forward, using a model in which users subscribe for a set period of time, with guaranteed discounts on energy bills. It's open to anyone in New York City who pays an electric bill, from renters, homeowners, small businesses to houses of worship, says Dustin Kirkpatrick, who handles commercial sales.
The company has sought open space and large rooftops for community solar across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Roughly 20 percent of each project is reserved for lower and medium income New Yorkers, according to Kirkpatrick.
Solar One, a New York nonprofit, is forging its own partnerships to increase access. The focus on solar installation for single-family homeowners who can afford the down payment has shifted thanks to energy efficiency incentives and loans, according to Solar One program manager Anika Wistar-Jones.
Solar One recently launched the "Co-ops Go Solar" campaign in partnership with the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, a nonprofit that supports residents to form and maintain co-op buildings. The campaign provides free technical assistance, cost estimates, roof inspections, financial incentives and funding options to install solar panels on limited-equity cooperatives — a particular form of co-op subsidized by the city to make homeownership available for low-income households. Co-ops that sign-on join a purchasing group to negotiate for lower prices.
Solar One also extended solar education to the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. "We have long-standing relationships with many [apartment] buildings, but don't necessarily know a lot about solar power," says Clara Weinstein, who worked with the campaign.
The Point became a vocal contributor, alongside organizations like the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, to the city's Hunts Point Resiliency Plan, with $45 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding to study flood risk reduction and energy efficiency on the Hunts Point Peninsula.
The organization and their team of technical advisors are in the research phase of building a community solar model which will include ownership of the infrastructure by community members. "In our minds, this is an opportunity to build something that serves the community and — if we can do it right — will support ownership from within," says Tovar.


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text: Q: Wifi Device don't get conneced to a network I have a 802.11 n WiFi device. It connects to a network when connected to another PC. But when I connect to my PC it does not connect to the same network. Does anyone have a solution? I am using windows 10.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Simple Marketing Plan Branding Example Pictures - €? a realistic evaluation of the product's strengths & weaknesses.?market studies proved what arm & hammer executives suspected… that humans don't bake as lots as they used to. But it also confirmed that people were using their baking soda for all types of matters except baking. That turned into the insight that drove the strategy.
One big actual mistakes is to your description of the arm & hammer case. I was there in 1969 when jerry schoenfeld, the brand new product guru – then president of kelly, nason new york – and bob davies – then baking soda brand manager, later president after which ceo of church & dwight – applied it.
But would it not be possible to give an explanation for me again me again what is the difference between "divide and overcome" and "raise customer self assurance". I assume they both pass the what if take a look at, so it's miles all up to "the concept behind". I don't get it?!.
Love this newsletter as it rings a bell in my memory of a patron request we acquired some years returned for a "method". We supplied strategic hints best to be yelled at "where are your techniques???!!!?? simplest then did i understand the svp advertising patron desired strategies. Cart. Meet horse.
Back in the 70's, executives at church & dwight inc. Observed that income in their popular arm & hammer baking soda had been slipping. The unswerving mothers and grandmas who had been buying the equal baking soda all their lives weren't baking as a lot as they used to. Like "divide and overcome.?? any other feasible warfare strategy might be "nuke 'em.?? (they call them strategic nuclear guns due to the fact they quite a whole lot dispose of the need for any further battlefield strategies.). This isn't just a count of semantics, it's negligence! Advice like that could by no means get beyond the editors of a brand-call enterprise mag, but you could find it 8db290b6e1544acaffefb5f58daa9d83. All over the location.


Even though our cell units convey the world to our fingertips with some mind-blowing technology, they'll still benefit from a bit of home-conserving, and having demonstrated as a lot only yesterday with a guide on re-tuning the auto-brightness feature, below we will present you the best way to calibrate the battery of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Once your device powers off on account of insufficient battery charge, it is best to go away it for some time. If doable, go away it overnight and don't charge it until the following morning. This is not at all times an choice, and if it is too inconvenient, skip this step. Allowing the system to sit down in a single day will further drain the battery. You may notice that even when your iPhone runs out of juice and powers down, whenever you immediately plug it back in, you will notice it at 2-three% cost. This is partly attributable to the fact that some battery life was remaining when it powered down. To keep your information safe, iOS has to power down earlier than the battery is fully drained. In any other case, it could shut off with out having the ability to save its state to secondary storage.
Sure. Everybody who has this challenge experiences it on an iPhone 5S, even model new ones. I researched this, with out querying for the 5S, yet that's the one which has the issue. I might count on them to quietly fix this in iOS 8.4 or iOS 9. I'm happy to see that iOS 9 is not cramming in too many new options and they're taking stability, security and battery life very critically. iOS 9 adds an extra hour of battery life to an iPhone and likewise has a low energy mode switch that provides an additional three hours to battery life.
I actually haven't any expertise with jailbreaking and I don't suggest it. It may possibly void the warranty and it could put you at risk for putting in malware. Calibration may clear up your battery issues. Keep in mind that jailbroken units can have more processes operating within the background. This will drain battery life sooner. Perhaps someone in the jailbreaking group has some tips on tuning the OS to be more battery-efficient. I do not recommend it. It will generate more warmth which will detract from overall battery life. It all depends. If you happen to get a brand new iPhone every 1-2 years, I wouldn't worry about it. Using your iPhone while charging won't have an effect on calibration. I typically use my iPhone when it's charging as a result of it's a necessity. I attempt to preserve it to a minimal and charge it when turned off each time potential.
What you're experiencing is normal and to be expected with any lithium-ion battery powered gadget. In accordance with Apple, the advisable temperature for working the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is 0° to 35° C. When the device is turned off, it may possibly withstand temperatures of -20° to 45° C. Hello Dan, I glided by your remark as my remark is correct earlier than yours. I feel that we've got the same drawback, I've a model new iPhone 5s with enormous battery drain and I went and had it checked they usually mentioned the battery was okay. May you tell me your progress and what's your phone condition now in an effort to guantee that we have now the same problem and find the solution with the assistance of Appledystopia.
I don't suppose so. The restore is simply placing back apps, content material and user knowledge. It shouldn't be restoring the battery knowledge. If calibration doesn't work, your battery may be shot. Consider having it replaceed or using a DIY package to switch it yourself. Since it's an iPhone 6, I doubt that the battery is shot. Whether it is, it's still beneath guarantee. BTW, I do all of the steps to keep undesirable battery usage down, e.g. reducing brightness, turn off background refresh, and many others….
I wouldn't advise utilizing the iPad charger for the iPhone in any respect. The higher wattage will overheat the battery when charging. I did it as soon as when on vacation, and it was noticeably warm, even when my phone was turned off during charging. The data I've learn from Battery University additionally confirms that one ought to use a charger with the appropriate wattage. I also suggest installing any iOS updates. Updates usually enhance battery life, as their engineers discover extra methods to enhance working efficiency.


Home > The Forums > High end U47fet on kick ... What's the magic?
U47fet on kick ... What's the magic?
Just curious if anyone can describe what makes it so good compared to others. I have never used one but does it just have a certain magic to it? Compared to other popular LDC's for kick duties?
It can handle low frequency, strong transient signals very well. You'll find them hanging out just outside of the back head of a kick.
Nice, strong, tight low end. Add an inside kick mic (RE-20 or 421 work great) for the beater and you've got a pretty great kick sound (don't forget to flip the phase of both of those. Maybe as a few MS of delay to time them into the rest of the kit).
Not sure what the trick is, I have placed a D112, 421 etc inside the kick and the u47 about 2-4 inches away from the kick and get amazing sound. Take the u47 away and you lose about 75 percent of a great tone, punch.
I like to use them when I'm in a big studio that has them, but I don't have one at home and have gotten great results using similar techniques with other microphones. Usually a 421 inside for the attack, and then a decent LDC outside in the right spot to capture the low end thump. I've had great results with the Soundelux U195 (now "Bock Audio") as well as the AT 4047.
Sometimes, though, you don't want all that extra kit bleed that you would get from an LDC outside the kick drum. You can read lots of stories and see photos from classic recordings where they built tunnels and such to try to shield off some of the rest of the kit from the outside microphone. However, something that works even better, when you don't want that bleed, is a sub-kick. Basically a woofer from an NS-10 wired up as a microphone. One of the session drummers I regularly use has his own Yamaha Sub-Kick and I love using that when he is here. Other studios that have sent me tracks to mix also use the sub-kick, or home made version, and I find that I often prefer using that (in conjunction with a good inside kick track) to something like the U47. Usually, that's all I'm looking for from the outside microphone anyway, is the really deep low end thump. The attack and a decent part of the tone (when needed) I get from the inside mic. I don't stick my inside mic as far in as a lot of people... I get it just barely inside the hole most of the time, often with much of the back end sticking outside the hole (421), so I can get a bit more tone when needed.
For heavier rock and pop, you mostly just want that thump and clicky attack anyway. However, if doing jazz or something where you want a more natural sound, then, yes, I prefer a nice LDC outside the kit... and then I usually don't mind the bleed anyway since it adds to the vibe.
youre flipping on the inside mic and the outside mic? to put them out of phase with the rest of the kit mics, and this cleans up the low end on the overall kit mix?
Other than the underside snare mic, I like to think of it as putting them in phase with the rest of the mics.
Alex is right on. This is EVERYTHING.
It just works with kick drums. Hard to describe in words.
In the few times that I've used them, I haven't had a problem with them being too slow. Not looking for any attack from them anyway... just that low end thump.
But, I don't own a subkick, so when I record in my own studio, I do put an LDC outside the kick and just use a LPF... I'm not into creating tunnels or anything like that.
As redtoxedo said, it can handle the lows really well, but I dont doubt other LDC mics can do this, or even better, dont think there is a special magic to it!
I use it outside, and usually compress it pretty hard to give it less attack and longer sustain!
I think most of the people use it together with other mics, just to enhance low end but I guess there is a bunch of mics that can do this, or even better!
Fet47 is really hyper-cardiod. That helps tame front of kit bleed, which if I had to guess, really contributed strongly to hte mic "working well" in front of a kick drum. That coupled with its ability to handle SPL well, and having two methods for reducing its output to the console, it would be worth trying out in that application. People did, and were happy.
I am sure that other mics would work just fine and do what the Fet47 does, but I don't know any that have that combinations of features. Would a real 47 sound good? Yes. Would a console channel be able to handle it? Probably only if the mic went into the line input. Would a 67 sound good there? I bet it would, and it has a 10db pad (though its a true carded mic and captures more of the rest of the kit).
I think people get too worked up about these things though to be honest.
Comparing my Fet to a few real 47s, the Fet is dryer tonally and more 2 dimensional sounding. Tube 47 works just beautifully in front of a kick too.
This just got me thinking. . . . I have never thrown an M49 in hyper-cardioid in front of a kick, (only behind the drum throne). I shall try this.
wait, you're saying as standard practice to flip the phase of kick drum mics, just as you would the under-snare mic? i've never heard this before. seems like the kick mics wouldn't need to be flipped since they are pointing towards the drummer, just like the snare mics, tom mics, etc.
I hear ya...sometimes a transient designer can help this.
seems like the kick mics wouldn't need to be flipped since they are pointing towards the drummer, just like the snare mics, tom mics, etc.
True, but only if the mics are exactly the same distance from the contact of the beater and the kick drum.
Personally I just listen. Flip the polarity, if it sounds better then good. If not then flip it back.
We don't have any "rule" regarding polarity of mics. We start with them all in normal polarity and spend more time getting the mics in proper position so that there are not any phase issues to begin with. But, I'll always check to see which polarity position sounds best. Sometimes, if you are using a lot of EQ and other plugs when mixing, that can affect the phase, and you might end up flipping the polarity again when mixing.
loving the new reissue Bock ifet on kick.
no mic inside needed..3-6 inches from front head looking into the hole at the beater.
I've not had the opportunity to use a 47 on kick. We use our Shure KSM353 for outside kick. It sounds great, much better than the Yamaha sub-kick we were using.
I've built five sub-kik's now and have used the Yamaha. I can see where the reaction to the Yamaha as being a bit 'slow' could come from. I think they are too. I found a 4" speaker to be interesting but a little less lowend thump and now have settled on the 6" replacement speaker for a Fender Champ. Its tight and quicker than the Yamaha. Lots of big low end that takes devices well.
Every mic in a multi mic set up should be listened to with the polarity reversed to see if the sound/phase relationship improves.
It is really in everyone's best interest to "click" the polarity of every mic prior to use so you have the knowledge that every mic is coming into the pre-amps in positive polarity... and then experimenting with where [and how] to flip the polarity... or whether it might be beneficial to use something like a Littlelabs "IBP".
I realize that a lot of sessions don't have this kind of time luxury in which case you do what ya gotta do... but in something of a 'perfect world' this kind of time would be spent and expended toward the achievement of the goal.


Bjorn proves that it's not the accessory but how you wear it. His axes are the perfect thing for a night on the town or cuddling up at home in front of the fire. He's ok with being a lumberjack just like his dear ol' dad – Just don't judge him based on the size of his axe –or his socks!


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God gives us all families to share His love. Let us pray that our families are good testimonies for Jesus Christ, with some of the same fervour that the apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian church. Every single member of our family needs our Heavenly Father's protection, counsel and guidance to shine His light to this broken world.
Ephesians 1:16-21 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Thank you for giving me this family. Thank you that your angels guard the comings and the goings of those who love You.
Psalm 121:1-2,8 ESV I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Help me to value everyone just as You do, and to accept each person's quirks and idiosyncrasies. Show me whom I need to forgive and whom I can extend more of Your grace and love to.
Thank you that You are sovereign and in full control, even when the circumstances for some family members are difficult. I praise Your holy name for what You will do, thank you that Your plans for my family are always the best.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Please help us in our times of weakness and remind us to praise You for both the good and bad times. We choose to put our faith in what is unseen, rather than what is seen.
2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
At the same time, we command all spiritual activity in this family that's not of God to cease and desist in Jesus's name, for the enemy's voice to be silenced and for the Holy Spirit to convict hearts and turn the eyes of Your people to You alone.
Bless every time the family gathers in Your name and give us many opportunities to pray together as a family, united in Your love.
May this family be a light on a hill that shines your warm glowing love to all those around us! We lift Your name on high and ask for Your banner of love to always fly over us. Teach us how to laugh, cry, celebrate and bond together, for the glory of Your name.
Matthew 5:14 ESV "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.


Earlier this week, we launched our "Explore, Not Exploit" poster campaign with two local dive/scuba shops in the Phoenix area. We're excited to report that since then, two more shops have agreed to display our poster in their store windows.
Much thanks to The Scuba Shop in Mesa (www.thescubashop.org) and Phoenix Scuba in Phoenix (www.phoenixscuba.net) for joining our effort to encourage responsible, impact-free exploration of the sea.
This campaign means a lot to Plea for the Sea, because divers have first-hand appreciation for the unparalleled beauty of our oceans and why conservation is so important.
Rather than try to get a first-hand experience with ocean life in an artificial setting like an aquarium, dolphinarium or other marine park, we strongly encourage people of all ages to try to visit the ocean. Here in Arizona, we're so lucky to be only a 5-6 hour drive (and an even shorter flight) from the Pacific Ocean. More and more people are forgoing the expensive entertainment parks in favor of taking a brief trip to the beach as captivity wanes in popularity.
The dive shops supporting our "Explore, Not Exploit" message not only offer scuba training and certification, some even organize dive trips to gorgeous reefs, coves and open waters. If you're looking for a natural, once-in-a-lifetime interaction with the denizens of the deep, consider checking out these fantastic shops for more information!


Check the QUALITY BANK routing numbers list. QUALITY BANK has 1 active routing numbers.
QUALITY BANK routing number is a nine-digit numeric code printed on the bottom of checks that is used to facilitate the electronic routing of funds (ACH transfer) from one bank account to another.


text:
Jackie E Grimes in Flint, Michigan
Jackie E Grimes of Flint, MI
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Richard Grimes OH 45226
Brenda Grimes MI 48503
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Get notified every time we get new information about Jackie E Grimes
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We've had a wonderful week so far alhamdulillah!
Islamic Studies: We are learning about Muslim Manners, Relationships and Diversity.
Math: We have been working on Patterning. Please look at your child's math book to make sure they complete any unfinished work. We are up to page 129 at the moment.
Spelling: Students will be having a spelling test this coming Tuesday insh Allah. These are the words: clock spoon play try from baby slide brown funny star flag cry snow sunny grow happy blue drink they .
We worked on lesson 20 pages 81-84.
Science: We learning about Energy.
Social studies: A project was sent home.
Sumayyah Boutaleb won second place in the Quran competition a big masha Allah from all of your classmates.
* Thank you so much for the parents and family members that have volunteered for the science workshop. I am still in need for at least tree more parents for this workshop to be successful.
* I would like to remind you that students need to come in proper uniform. Now that the weather is getting warmer outside your child may need to wear a sweater or a light jacket to school. If you can send splash pants and rain books that would be wonderful. I am also requestion that your child keeps an extra pair of socks in their school bag. Many students are coming in from recess wet you may want to keep an extra set of clothes in case of an emergency.
* I will given extra dojo points to any student that does at least 5 acts of kindness and write down what it is that they did.


Difficult weather conditions off Fogo have forced Bruno Peyron and his team aboard Orange II to change course and head for St Vincent, the most southerly lying island of the Cape Verde Islands. The original plan to head for the shelter of Fogo Island to carry out repairs to the damaged starboard hull (crack in the fairing which protects the engine propeller shaft) were scuppered last night when the rough seas off Fogo made it impossible to carry out the necessary inspection.
If all goes to plan, team Orange should arrive at St Vincent some time this morning where a decision will be made to inspect the boat.


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MORE:Nikki Haley: 'Political opponents are not evil'
She's been mentioned as a possible 2020 running mate for President Donald Trump should Vice President Mike Pence not be on the ticket. But she's also leaving the U.N. post with a personal debt of up to $1 million, according to an economic disclosure.
The ambassador to the world would seem to have a world of options.
"Her future is without limits," said Republican consultant Frank Luntz. "She's proved herself not only capable of global service but (is) very impressive. . . . I expect her to be on the national stage for the next decade."
Haley has fared well in national polls. An April Quinnipiac University survey found that 63 percent of voters — including 55 percent of Democrats — approved of her job performance. A CNN headline about the poll suggested Haley might be "the most popular politician in America."
Though she will have spent only two years at the U.N., Luntz ranks her with the most effective U.S. ambassadors.
"They all had one thing in common — that they wouldn't back down against countries that want to do us harm," he said.
Huffmon said he expects Haley is considering a run for national office, if not in 2020 then in 2024.
"She's young, she's ambitious," he said. "I guarantee you the address of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been floating through her mind as a possible return address."


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An Explorer's Lessons On Happiness, Photography, And Greeting Whales
This entry was posted by Dancer on March 17, 2015 at 2:37 am
"People joke that I went straight from the ocean into the air and skipped land," Eric Cheng says. But the joke isn't totally accurate.
Land is where Cheng obtained his two computer science degrees at Stanford, and where he trained as a concert cellist. It's where he developed a passion for pursuits that are creative and also highly technical.
After that, it's true, Cheng did start spending a lot of time with sharks and whales. He left an unfulfilling startup job, taught himself the complex workings of underwater photography, and improvised a career around his expertise. He led expeditions to a drool-worthy list of tropical locales, his photos won awards, and he built one of the web's largest underwater photography communities.
Nowadays, however, Cheng is flying high (and dry). He oversees the Silicon Valley presence of the world's largest maker of civilian drones, a Chinese firm called DJI. If drones have a face in the United States, it is arguably Eric's.
Good afternoon, from inside a shark's mouth! 🙂 #BahamasDiving
A photo posted by Eric Cheng (@echeng) on May 25, 2014 at 2:19pm PDT
In a crowded field, DJI was the first to bring sleek, high-quality, and simple-to-use quadcopter drones to market for under $1000. It also bested competitors by focusing on drone-enabled aerial photography.
As a result, DJI's growth has been meteoric. It now sells the most popular drones in the world, making it possibly the first Chinese company in history to be the global market leader in a consumer-facing industry. Sales in 2015 are on track to hit a billion dollars, The Verge reported this week.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Huffington Post, Cheng shared lessons on happiness, productivity, and parenting, his favorite travel destinations, keeping a diary, and the future of drones.
Have you had any recent realizations about living a more fulfilling life?
I had a big turning point after being in the software industry for a while and being at a company that went public. It was at the end of the big tech boom in the '90s, when there were hints of decline, hints of a crash coming. I saw that a lot of my friends who were making pretty good money, becoming successful financially, were actually less happy.
I also realized that I didn't care about what I was doing at the time. The company I worked for did enterprise software so… [Laughter] What fulfilled me were the little things: surrounding myself with smart people and small interesting problem-solving tasks on a daily basis.
And then I had other friends — the ones in the arts or people who were pursuing their real passions, whether they knew it or not — and I thought that would be a better path.
It's very easy to see all of these things in hindsight, but at the time, I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Everything became clear as soon as I found that passion which, for me, was creative imaging and technical imaging, that space between technology and art.
A lot of parents would love their children to be technically skilled and also passionate about the arts. Is there anything your parents did for you that many parents don't do that you think had a lasting impact?
My parents gave me a structure around daily discipline, which I think was great. The initial desire to play music came from me — but I was forced to do it, I was forced to play music.
I initially asked to play music in part because we were surrounded by other kids who were playing music, and this has a lot to do with being a first-generation Asian immigrant family.
Every single Asian-American I know who grew up around the same time plays at least one instrument. The goals from our parents were usually to have us play well enough to do it professionally — but not to do it professionally.
This is a pretty hard goal to achieve. It requires thousands of hours of forced interaction with an instrument. No one sits there and makes you practice; you're motivated to practice because you have to.
Some percentage of those people then convert to loving it. And many don't. I've seen a lot of people who don't play anymore. They haven't touched an instrument or pursued anything creative in a long time. But most of them seem to be pretty appreciative that they had that structure when they were growing up.
I remember one day I was sitting in a room with no clock. I asked my mom what time it was, and she actually got really mad at me. She said, "You can just get up and figure out what time it is yourself. There's a clock in the next room. So why are you asking me?"
I think about that all the time because a great percentage of my day is filled with people asking me through social media how to do different things. The boundaries for interaction are almost non-existent now. You can reach out to anybody you want and ask them a question; but in fact, it probably takes less time just to go figure it out yourself. We have so much information at our fingertips.
And that says a lot about somebody. Usually if someone is doing research on their own and learning, I feel like they internalize it. Those are the people who become experts. And a lot of the people who are looking for quick solutions find a solution, but they don't actually learn anything from it. This is an old story, about teaching a man to fish. It's exactly the same thing in the Internet Age.
You're a new dad and you created a little parenting site (with the amazing URL NewDad.wtf). I noticed you asked your Facebook followers to stop sending you advice. I've never seen that before.
It's funny because a lot of my friends were applauding me for asking people not to give me advice.
As soon as we became pregnant, we started being asked the same questions over and over again — which I think is normal. People are excited about it. I think probably the collective excitement around me having a kid is more than my excitement of having a kid.
#baby / Stare into the light…
A photo posted by Eric Cheng (@echeng) on Feb 28, 2015 at 9:42am PST
Some of it has to do with just being fairly public online. I think it's a social-interaction-in-the-Internet-Age issue. It's very easy to reach through the Internet and interact with somebody in a way that makes sense if you just analyze that one interaction; but if you compound hundreds or thousands of interactions, it has an effect on that person on the other end.
When I interact with somebody online, I'm always thinking about what other kinds of interactions they might have had that day because you have no idea what their day was like. Maybe 50 people just said the same thing. Every newsworthy event that happens in the drone industry, for example, gets sent to me a hundred times. And I already know about it, guaranteed. So it's sort of similar to that in that the advice seems innocuous.
I actually appreciate advice when I talk to somebody in person, or let's say I meet you and you have a 5-month-old and we have a conversation about babies. That's great. I love that kind of interaction. What I don't want is a stranger giving me advice because they just feel like they have the advice to give. Maybe we have totally different value systems. Maybe they don't immunize their kids and I don't want anything to do with them.
Curiosity won: I stole milk from a baby today.
A photo posted by Eric Cheng (@echeng) on Mar 5, 2015 at 1:01pm PST
Looking back, would have handled your education any differently than you did?
I am very, very grateful and glad that I got a computer science degree — two of them — because computer science is sort of the ultimate — well, it gives you a framework about how to problem-solve, especially at a school like Stanford, where the computer science department and the standard curriculum actually don't have anything that is immediately useful when you get out and are looking for a job. It's all learning about the theoretical and learning how to solve problems.
I remember going in for exams and having nothing on the exam be anything that we had learned in the class because they had figured that they had taught you how to think and you could figure it out. So I loved studying computer science, and think the applications of computer science can be wide ranging — pretty much any field now.
I think what was missing for me was a sense of design in the curriculum. Now computer science can be merged with other disciplines, like product design or any other technical disciplines. At Stanford, computer science has become so big that they offer it with any other major, and the other major gets the statistic for that major. So you could be a biology and computer science major, and you're a biology major statistically because otherwise it would be skewed way too much towards computer science.
I think we're seeing computer science developing as a general education area, which makes a lot of sense given where we are now. But when I was going through it, I couldn't really find a way to have design be a very big part of the curriculum because I feel like human interaction and design are — they're very compatible with computer science. And at the time, it was really rough.
You've spent a very substantial amount of time under water. Can you convey that experience to people who have never dived? What is something that took you years to learn about diving?
I think an analogy is the right way to start. Let's say you move to a new environment, a new country. Absolutely everything about it seems foreign when you arrive. But over time things normalize. You stop noticing what's foreign. The way you maneuver in the environment starts to move back in your mind, it just becomes a part of you.
It's very similar in the ocean. People who don't spend a lot of time in the ocean feel like they're drowning or it's claustrophobic or they're scared because they don't know what's under there. It's a much more extreme environment. It pushes you around. The way you move is different.
But what I've found is that people who spend a lot of time in the ocean just start to move around in the ocean as they would in their normal lives. You don't really notice that you have to do something to get from one place to another.
Liz freedived "The Lost" blue hole today. The water was milky, but it was fun to explore.
It's a feeling of freedom in the third dimension. In the ocean you move in three dimensions, and it's a very organic kind of movement. You move by breathing. If you breathe in a shallow way, you descend. If you breathe with full lungs, you ascend because of buoyancy.
And so that feeling of initial claustrophobia very quickly turns into the opposite: a feeling of being in a completely open space with the freedom to move in three dimensions.
Then you layer on top of that the beauty of the environment and the marine ecology — which I'm really interested in — all the weird animals that are there that have very complex relationships with other critters and the reef around them, especially. We have that all around us here, but it's kind of hidden, especially in urban environments. If you squat down on some corner, you'd probably see some life trying to survive there. But it's just more accessible in the ocean. And we know much less about it, so there's also a sense of discovery. You find something new, and no one's photographed it. Maybe a researcher has written about it but never documented it.
You can still go out and find completely new perspectives and behavior to document in the ocean.
You've traveled to and photographed some incredible locations. What are you favorites? What's the most beautiful place you've visited?
I think the most beautiful places for me are maybe a little different than they might be for other people because while I appreciate a beautiful beach or a beautiful tropical coastal environment, that doesn't necessarily mean it's interesting underwater.
The places that I tend to remember the most are places where I've had really spectacular marine encounters.
One area that perhaps has it all is southern and eastern Indonesia. I keep going back there, and it's because the marine life there is the most diverse, certainly by metrics. If you go and count species, you'll count more there in a given amount of time in the same area than anywhere else. But the reef is very healthy there, in part because it hasn't really been developed as aggressively as other areas because the islands are very remote and there's still a lot of subsistence living there.
The coral reefs there are beautiful, and that's probably the one place that I enjoy the most. But there are a lot of places with unusual species to be found, I guess, or a regulatory environment that allows you to do something there that you can't do somewhere else. So if you want to see sperm whales, you might go to Dominica in the eastern Caribbean — which is a beautiful island in itself; but when I go there, we pretty much go straight into the water to interact with animals there.
What are some tips you give to amateur photographers trying to improve?
I guess it depends what your goals are. People who would like to become more serious in photography I think should slow down in general and limit themselves in terms of equipment to something that they can get to know really well. So it's kind of the classic 35-millimeter lens, a prime lens that requires manual or physical interaction between you and the device because there's a lot of that feeling of getting to know a physical object that plays into inspiration behind shots.
It's like the smell of a book, the things that are kind of going away now that help you to remember things and remember moments and how you reacted in those moments. If you take your phone out and tap it and it takes 10 pictures, and you never look at those pictures again, you probably didn't learn a lot from that interaction or that photographic workflow.
But if you have to think about focus and exposure and framing, and you have to move to achieve the right kinds of framing, and you have to anticipate how your subject might react — this is a lot of what we do with wildlife. You have to first understand the behavior before you're going to get any kind of meaningful capture.
[Ed. note: you can read Eric's guide on buying a quadcopter and getting into aerial imaging here.]
So in general I think just being more thoughtful about how you take pictures, and not being so obsessed with the gear but just using the gear that you have until you feel like the gear is a serious limiting factor. Usually the gear is not the limiting factor in somebody's photography.
And then the last piece now is sharing with a community, if you're that kind of person. I always have encouraged people to post their favorite picture every day or every week and to also write about it. At the least, you'll go back after a year and see this incredible progression of your skills as you've developed as a photographer. And you'll have gained a following if you've actually progressed as a photographer, or have something to offer to the general public.
It's not everyone's goal, of course, but…
On one of your personal sites, you've documented memories from your childhood and your time in school. Do you keep a journal or a diary? Are you systematic about memory-keeping in the way that you are with some other aspects of your life?
I have the desire to be systematic about writing a journal or keeping a journal, but all of my attempts have failed. I have periods of time during which I've written a lot, usually by hand in an actual paper journal; but for the most part, I think my pictures are now kind of a running journal for me. I'll often use it as a tool to help remember certain moments, which is strange because when you use a camera, it can remove you from the moment, as well.
I frequently look up from the camera — maybe not so much in daily life, if I'm just taking pictures of what's around me; but certainly when I'm having an incredible moment in the field, I've always taken the time to put the camera down and look up and soak it in, take it all in.
Do you ever travel without taking photographs?
I think not having a camera for long periods of time might be difficult. In fact, I've had technical problems in the field and been diving, for example, without a camera. And I really hate it. It's hard for me to do.
Taking pictures is kind of the main reason I'm there, and I just happen to have to go underwater to capture the things I want to capture. The diving part is fun but maybe not fun enough for me to do it without a camera.
Your work involving photography and quadcopters started off with you tinkering around at home. You mentioned you spent hours playing around with a $90 dollar drone. What are you tinkering with these days?
First of all, there are some running themes that have lasted many years. Right now I'm still very drone- and aerial imaging-focused because it changes so quickly. I'm constantly tinkering with the things that DJI makes but also what other people are doing.
It's still really easy to do something that no one has done. You can do it in a day. When has that been the case, ever? We have very brief moments during which you can really do something no one's seen before, and this is one of them — in this space, in robotics in general.
But the themes that are running are often around efficiency and archiving. So there are tools, either physical or software tools, that I use to help me be really productive. And storage in general. Data is one of the biggest problems that I have. Photographers and videographers, anyone who captures a lot of data — we are beyond the normal consumer limits. And so it creates a lot of problems. And if you're non-technical, it's very difficult to get around. The cloud is not it. It's just not. Our bandwidth is insufficient to deal with real data.
It's fragile, and if you don't think about it, you can pay the price. People I know have lost a lot of their pictures, which is very sad. So I'm constantly like a local IT admin in the house.
You didn't have a boss for much of your career. You needed to be self-motivated. Any productivity tips you'd recommend?
The biggest one is to do what you want to do. I think if you're doing something that you don't enjoy, it's very hard to be motivated to do it all the time. The people I know who are doing what they probably would be doing anyway tend to not have problems with productivity issues.
One of the biggest things I did was get rid of a TV signal. I cut the cord more than 10 years ago, maybe 12 years ago — before on-demand content was really convenient. And I haven't missed it at all. Actually, when I go to friends' houses and they have the TV on all the time, it's like an alien environment. I just can't imagine how that signal on all the time could not be a negative influence in their lives and their kids' lives. But of course, I'm not going to give kid advice. [Laughter]
You put a lot of your life online. How do you manage all of the incoming communication?
I have a really hard time managing inbound communication because it comes from so many different sources now. And some of the most viscerally stressful moments in my life were not big events that would stress me out, but the moments during which a phone call, a text, a Facebook message, a Twitter direct message, my Pebble goes off — everything kind of rings at once.
Apple now makes it by default so that all your devices ring when anything happens. And we all have multiple devices. So I just turn as much of it off as possible and try to cope, really. It's really not a good answer, but I have a really hard time with managing inbound communication.
The other thing I do is I nest my posts in concentric circles of closeness to me. So I post a lot only to friends; but of course, on Facebook I have 2,000 friends or something. They're not all personal friends. They can't be. But I have inner circles that I interact with. So I think managing the feeds on all the different networks is really important, and luckily most of them seem to have tools that let you kind of massage it into a way that can work.
I don't think I have a good answer for it. I think it's broken, actually — the whole system. It's very easy to have most of your interaction come from a social network, and it's not a very fulfilling way to live.
Let's talk about DJI and newer products like the Phantom 2. What do you tell someone who is starting to think about buying their first drone?
The original Phantom was released about two years ago, and really was the first aerial-imaging platform or quadcopter — or "drone," as the media has decided it will be — to be accessible to most people, because you could fly it out of the box.
The Phantom 2 polished what we did with the original Phantom and really made it out-of-the-box accessible. No tools needed; auto-tightening props; some safety features to allow it to come home automatically, avoid airports. A lot of building blocks that are still being developed but kind of all came together at the right time to produce a product that was really accessible. That's why you see the vast majority of videos being shot with something like a Phantom 2.
A #djiphantom exploring #Norway from the sky! Photo by @granvlog
A photo posted by DJI (@djiglobal) on Sep 26, 2014 at 12:30am PDT
That product has been by far the most successful from DJI. It's the single product that propelled very, very rapid growth — although the growth of the company started years before the Phantom came out. It's been really great to see how transformative it's been. Most of the other products we see in the market are clones or look very similar to the Phantom 2. And it's enabled a lot of people to do things that they had almost literally only dreamed about in the past. We get contacted all the time by people who had the dream of flight and, for the first time, they've realized that by wearing goggles while they fly a Phantom around.
The possibilities in the industry are tremendous — even from something like a Phantom 2, which is small enough to fit in a backpack and inexpensive enough for many people to own. So we've been very focused on both consumer and are increasingly pushing into commercial. Essentially, it is freeing up the third dimension for the placement of cameras and other devices.
Most people are using commercial drones for photography, but there are plenty of other creative uses of the Phantom 2.
The vast majority of use is photographic. Basically, people want to put a camera somewhere that they couldn't have before. It could be really modest — it could literally be a picture of their house from 20 feet up — or it could be much more extreme, as we've seen in many examples.
But we do get a lot of requests for stranger payloads. One of my friends in a scientific expedition with NASA, an education outreach expedition, just did a sample collection in some kind of boiling lake in New Zealand. He took Phantom and put a winch on it with a little test tube and flew it out over this lake, which you can't get to — it's boiling bubbling mud — and lowered the test tube in and took a sample from the middle of it.
That's one very basic example. We've also seen scientists collect whale breath. They fly through breath of a whale with a petri dish attached, and suddenly they have a sample.
And we've seen a lot of very interesting uses with sensor deployment and data collection in the conservation realm. You can imagine dropping a bunch of sensors in some very, very dense forest or something — inaccessible — and then flying back over periodically to pick up data which gets beamed back to the drone.
It's very early. I think we're seeing people experiment a lot with the technology. As I mentioned, I think pretty much anyone could do something no one's done virtually on their first day of ownership, which is pretty exciting.
DJI also recently released a software development kit (SDK). What are developers creating that's notable to you?
So first of all, the SDK is a mobile SDK, it's for iOS and Android. It allows users to either read data from or control the Phantom 2 Vision series. So any of our devices that are phone- or tablet-connected. We'll have an SDK for the Inspire 1 pretty soon.
The first apps that were written were focused on 3D mapping. 3D mapping is one of the most obvious applications that has huge gains any way you look at it. It's incredible cost savings, time savings, safety improvements and no risk of life. So that's a very obvious use. We saw someone — Pix4D — created a mapping app, and it's almost literally one click. You either manually fly it, or you can autonomously fly and generate a 3D map of whatever you fly over. So that was one of the most interesting uses initially.
A National Geographic video shows the 3D mapping of an active volcano using Pix4D mapping technology.
DJI is among the first major consumer-facing Chinese brands to dominate its global market. What are your thoughts about that?
DJI being a Chinese company is not what led me personally to pursue working with them. It happens to be a Chinese company, and it happens to be a really interesting one because it's one of the first of a new breed that is pulling incredible engineering and R&D talent out of the pool in China, which is very big, and then combining that with incredible work ethic, competitive drive, and very sophisticated and fast global manufacturing.
The area around Shenzhen is perfect for a hardware company to grow up in because everything is accessible. You don't have to ship anything to make a product. All of us here in the U.S. — you can prototype locally, but as soon as you want to manufacture at scale, you pretty much have to go across the ocean.
So that's been really fascinating, and I've enjoyed learning about the culture. I have a Taiwanese background, but essentially I'm mostly American. It does help to speak some Chinese. I speak some Mandarin, which helps to navigate around the area when I go visit.
One of the challenges has been that the company very much has become a global brand in that we sell Phantoms and other products virtually in every country around the world, yet it's very strongly a Chinese company internally.
But you don't see that very much from the outside. From the outside here let's say you showed someone a Phantom. They might not assume it was a Chinese company, not because DJI is hiding anything but because it's just this new breed of company that just doesn't consider distance to be a barrier in product availability.
When you say it's a strongly Chinese company internally, what does that mean?
First of all, there's a very strong sense of pride in being a Chinese company.
Second, I think there are massive differences culturally between any Chinese company and any American company. I think historically a lot of the Chinese companies have looked towards companies here, especially the tech companies in Silicon Valley, with a lot of admiration. And we see that from the DJI side, too. We look at all of the big Silicon Valley giants and think, "We could be a brand like that," certainly at our current growth rate.
And I think it's probably a good idea for a lot of the tech companies here to be looking east. Most of the employees in Chinese tech companies are very young. If you walk through the office, everybody is either very young or looks really young, and it's hard to tell between the two. There are a lot of very young, very smart people working.
One of the things that I've been most impressed with is the speed at which R&D is accomplished at DJI. We're very engineering-oriented as a company. A very large percentage of our team is engineering. We have 500 engineers working. And I think we see some companies here in the U.S. that are perhaps similar, that are very R&D-oriented. That all comes from the roots of the company, which are all around R&D and engineering and technical excellence.
But I think getting in a situation in which you can prototype very quickly and react very quickly to necessary changes during development is important. I've only been in one hardware-related company here, and it took forever to prototype. We had to wait long periods of time for an integrator overseas to do something, and then manufacture a prototype and then get it back. And we sent people there, of course, to work very closely.
But seeing how fast we can do things compared to companies that have an ocean between them and their factories makes it seem almost unfair.
I'll circle back to our earlier discussion. You talked about friends who had pursued financial success but who weren't necessarily fulfilled — how are they doing now? I ask in part because your own life has shifted away somewhat from adventure photography to a slightly more 'traditional' career.
Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of my friends who were searching for motivation during that time have really found peace in family life. They started families much earlier than I did. And then having financial success really helped them to maybe be less stressed when they had their kids and had to raise them.
I sometimes look back and imagine what it would have been like to stay in that industry for longer because I definitely made financial tradeoffs that were not smart from a financial perspective but really great from a life perspective. But I don't really have any regrets about it.
The biggest thing that I've been thinking about more recently is that opportunity cost is real. It's maybe not obvious if you're 25; but now that I'm older, I realize I have only a certain number of years to be productive, and I should be using those in the smartest way possible.
The people who get stuck and they end up somewhere for five or 10 years or longer, or a whole lifetime, only because they didn't have the courage to leave; they're not happy about it, but perhaps they actually do have other opportunities that are obvious to the people around them. That's been the hardest to see. You see that someone has the ability to do something that they really want to do, or something that would at least make them a lot happier, but it's hard to get that person to see it. So I remind myself all the time that there are plenty of opportunities out there.
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It was very strange standing on the stage with so many people staring at her. They seemed quite pleased to see her, but it was still quite a shock. Britta stood there, unsure what she was supposed to do or how she got there. Her mind had gone blank.
Dad grabbed her arms from behind and guided her to the seats on one side of the stage. They were very modern-looking armchairs covered in a shiny blue material. He had to fold her over and push her back to make her sit.
There was a lectern with a microphone near the front of the stage and Dr Reedy stood behind it.
"Yes, okay, good," said Dr Reedy into the microphone. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce Britta." She twisted and held out a hand to indicate Britta. Dad was sitting next to her and helpfully pointed a finger at Britta to avoid any confusion.
The audience began clapping. It wasn't wild applause, just a polite welcome. It was still very strange. Bitta was finding it hard to think clearly.
Dr Reedy paused to turn around and smile at Britta.
Britta had no idea what she was expected to do. She smiled back and hoped she didn't look as awkward as she felt.
Britta looked at Dad as she rose to her feet on what felt like a surge of panic. Dad pulled a concerned face which was of no help whatsoever.
The pressure of just going along with things was too great to resist. She hadn't agreed to this, had no idea she'd be put on display for so many people, but what could she do now? If she refused to cooperate, it would just be too embarrassing.
She walked up to the lectern and Dr Reedy stepped to the side.
A man rose to his feet in the middle of the seating. He was tall and heavy set, and he was wearing a very wrinkled white lab coat.
"Niall Gillespie, Head of Character Development. Hello." He was bald and had a scruffy beard. He kept twitching and jerking his head, which made Britta feel anxious.
"Erm, hello," she said, trying her best to act like this was all fine.
"Into the microphone, please," said Dr Reedy.
"Sorry. Hello," said Britta into the microphone that was too high for her to reach.
It wasn't so bad once she got going. It helped that the question hadn't been technical. She wouldn't have had any idea how to answer something that required her to understand programming.
"So it's just trial and error?" the Head of Character Development asked, sounding disappointed.
"Yes." She was slightly annoyed by his change in attitude. She had still managed to achieve something no one else here had.
He sat down. She could tell he wasn't happy with her answers, but what had he expected?
There was some follow-up questions along the same lines, how she managed conversations with NPCs, what flags she watched out for, how she funnelled dialogue into particular directions. Britta couldn't understand why she was being asked things she couldn't possibly know the answers to. They had seen how she played the game.
More questions were asked by other department heads. The man from the environmental team wanted to know how she had enabled night mode. The woman from combat systems wanted to know how she knew to attack the giant zombie's heel. The lead animal designer wanted a list of modifications she'd made to Donald.
Her answers were becoming repetitive. She didn't know, she hadn't changed anything, it wasn't anything to do with her.
The mood in the auditorium shifted to something more unfriendly. The looks were colder, the atmosphere more tense. They seemed to think she wasn't being completely truthful, or hiding something.
It wasn't her fault they hadn't been able to figure out what was going on, but it was clear this whole thing was a waste of time. And the way it was set up meant she couldn't even ask questions back. If there's been only a few of them, in a small room, at least then she might get the chance to ask them what she wanted to know.
"What really happened between you and the god of gnomes?" asked a large woman whose name Britta had missed. "The truth." She wasn't even trying to be polite anymore, she was downright hostile.
But rather than feel intimidated, Britta relaxed. This felt familiar. They didn't like her. They wanted her to tell them what they wanted to know, and then go away. Just like the kids at school. Now this she could handle.


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