If you're looking for the latest and greatest pure GPL, open source Asterisk® 13 aggregation with a pure GPL, open source graphical user interface, then today's another lucky day for you. Last week, we introduced the Ubuntu 14 edition of Incredible PBX™ for Asterisk 13, and this week we have the CentOS/Scientific Linux flavor to share. This is an independent aggregation based solely upon GPL code. Unlike the competition, the operating system and cloud repository to support the product also are pure GPL open source code. And the Incredible PBX installers themselves are pure GPL open source code. You are more than welcome (encouraged!) to examine, improve, and share your discoveries.
Incredible PBX for CentOS 6.9 and 7 follows our standard install procedure which means it's up to you to first create a CentOS 6.7 or 7 platform. If you prefer Scientific Linux or Oracle Linux, feel free to start there. All work equally well as a base platform and are supported by a worldwide group of developers. Once your OS platform is in place, simply run the Incredible PBX installer. After 30-60 minutes of whirring, you'll end up with an awesome (free) state-of-the-art Asterisk-based VoIP server with the very latest LTS version of Asterisk 13 as well as dozens of turnkey Incredible PBX applications. So enjoy a nice lunch while the Incredible PBX installer works its magic. No user intervention is required during the installation procedure. All text-to-speech (TTS) applications work out of the box. You can add Google's Speech Recognition to many Incredible PBX applications by following our 5-minute tutorial. And a GPL installation script for free faxing with HylaFax and AvantFax is also included. Be sure to download the latest Incredible Fax installer!
CAUTION: Installing Incredible PBX on the CentOS 7 platform is still a work in progress that is suitable for pioneers only. For production systems, stick with 6.9.
Let's begin by installing 64-bit CentOS 6.9 or 7 on your favorite hardware or Desktop. Or you may prefer to use a Cloud provider1 that already offers a preconfigured CentOS image. In the latter case, you can skip this section.
Now log into your server as root and issue the following commands to put the basic pieces in place and to reconfigure your Ethernet port as eth0. Make a note of your IP address so you can log in with SSH.
If you're on a virtual machine platform, now would be a good time to make an export or backup of your CentOS image. The minimal install is about 500MB. Don't forget to first remove your hardware address (HWADDR) and network UUID from /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-enp0s3 or whatever file name was assigned to your hardware. The saved image will be bootable with DHCP network support anywhere down the road.
NEWS FLASH: For those wanting to test things out using VirtualBox, a Scientific Linux 7.1 Remix image (2GB) is now available on SourceForge. It gets you to right here in the install process.
Adding Incredible PBX to a running CentOS 6.9 or 7 server is a walk in the park. To restate the obvious, your server needs a reliable Internet connection to proceed. Be sure to use SSH (or Putty on a Windows machine) to begin because the installer locks the firewall down to your local network and the IP address of the machine from which you perform the install. Log into your new server as root at the IP address you deciphered in the ifconfig step in the CentOS installation procedure above.
WARNING: If you're using a 512MB droplet at Digital Ocean, be advised that their setups do NOT include a swap file. This may cause serious problems when you run out of RAM. Uncomment ./create-swapfile-DO line below to create a 1GB swap file which will be activated whenever you exceed 90% RAM usage on Digital Ocean.
Now let's begin the Incredible PBX install.
NOTE: To more clearly identify packaging as we move forward, there has been a change in the Incredible PBX naming and numbering scheme. Henceforth, the file name and version reflects the Asterisk version, the GUI version, the Incredible PBX release number, and the OS platform. For example, incrediblepbx13-12.0-centos tells you the product includes Asterisk 13, the version 12 GUI, .0 release number, and the CentOS platform.
Incredible PBX includes an automatic update utility which downloads important updates whenever you log into your server as root. We recommend you log in once a week to keep your server current.
You can access the Incredible PBX GUI using your favorite web browser to configure your server. Just enter the IP address shown in the status display.
Choose Incredible GUI Administration from the Admin menu of the Kennonsoft GUI (shown above) by clicking on User to switch. The default username is admin and the password is what you set when the install completed. Now edit extension 701 so you can figure out (or change) the randomized passwords that were set up for your 701 extension and voicemail account: Applications -> Extensions -> 701. If you're behind a hardware-based firewall, verify the NAT setting: YES.
701 password. Choose Settings -> Accounts and click the New button. Fill in the blanks using the IP address of your server, 701 for your account name, and whatever password you created for the extension. Click OK.
Now you're ready to connect to the telephones in the rest of the world. If you live in the U.S., the easiest way (at least for now) is to set up a free Google Voice account. Google has threatened to shut this down but as this is written, it still works. We will have an update for OAUTH authentication support soon. The safer long-term solution is to choose several SIP providers and set up redundant trunks for your incoming and outbound calls. The PIAF Forum includes dozens of recommendations to get you started.
If you want to use Google Voice, you'll need a dedicated Google Voice account to support Incredible PBX. If you want to use the inbound fax capabilities of Incredible Fax, then you'll need an additional Google Voice line that can be routed to the FAX custom destination using the GUI. The more obscure the username (with some embedded numbers), the better off you will be. This will keep folks from bombarding you with unsolicited Gtalk chat messages, and who knows what nefarious scheme will be discovered using Google messaging six months from now. So keep this account a secret!
We've tested this extensively using an existing Gmail account, and inbound calling is just not reliable. The reason seems to be that Google always chooses Gmail chat as the inbound call destination if there are multiple registrations from the same IP address. So, be reasonable. Do it our way! Set up a dedicated Gmail and Google Voice account, and use it exclusively with Incredible PBX. It's free at least through 2013. Google Voice no longer is by invitation only so, if you're in the U.S. or have a friend that is, head over to the Google Voice site and register.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to enable the Google Chat option as one of your phone destinations in Settings, Voice Setting, Phones. That's the destination we need for The Incredible PBX to work its magic! Otherwise, all inbound and outbound calls will fail. If you don't see this option, you may need to call up Gmail and enable Google Chat there first. Then go back to the Google Voice Settings.
Click Save Changes once you adjust your settings. Under the Voicemail tab, plug in your email address so you get notified of new voicemails. Down the road, receipt of a Google Voice voicemail will be a big hint that something has come unglued on your PBX.
UPDATE: Google has improved things… again. You may not see the options documented above at all. Instead, you may be presented with the new Google Voice interface which does not include the Google Chat option. But fear not. At least for now there's still a way to get there. After you have set up your new phone number, click on (1) Settings -> Phone Numbers and then click (2) Transfer (as shown below). That returned the old UI. Make sure the Google Chat option is selected and disable forwarding calls to default phone number.
One final word of caution is in order regardless of your choice of providers: Do NOT use special characters in any provider passwords, or nothing will work!
Now you're ready to set up your Google Voice trunk in the GUI. After logging in with your browser, click the Connectivity tab and choose Google Voice/Motif. To Add a new Google Voice account, just fill out the form. Do NOT check the third box or incoming calls will never ring!
IMPORTANT LAST STEP: Google Voice will not work unless you restart Asterisk from the Linux command line at this juncture. Using SSH, log into your server as root and issue the following command: amportal restart.
If you have trouble getting Google Voice to work (especially if you have previously used your Google Voice account from a different IP address), try this Google Voice Reset Procedure. It usually fixes connectivity problems. If it still doesn't work, enable Less Secure Apps using this Google tool.
UPDATE: Google continues to tighten up on obtaining more than one Google Voice number from the same computer or the same IP address. If this is a problem for you, here's a workaround. From your smartphone, install the Google Voice app from iPhone App Store or Google's Play Store. Then open the app and login to your new Google account. Choose your new Google Voice number when prompted and provide a cell number with SMS as your callback number for verification. Once the number is verified, log out of Google Voice. Do NOT make any calls. Now head back to your PC's browser and login to http://google.com/voice. You will be presented with the new Google Voice interface which does not include the Google Chat option. But fear not. At least for now there's still a way to get there. After you have set up your new phone number and opened the Google Voice interface, click on the 3 vertical dots in the left sidebar (it's labeled More). When it opens, click Legacy Google Voice in the sidebar. That will return you to the old UI. Now click on the Gear icon (upper right) and choose Settings. Make sure the Google Chat option is selected and disable forwarding calls to whatever default phone number you set up.
Under the Voicemail tab, plug in your email address so you get notified of new voicemails. Then click Save Settings. Down the road, receipt of a Google Voice voicemail will be a big hint that something has come unglued on your PBX.
Now it's time to obtain your OAuth 2 credentials. Even though it's a bit more work on the front end, the good news is you won't have to worry about your Google Voice trunks failing when Google phases out plain-text passwords. The other good news is you won't be passing your plain-text Google Voice credentials across the Internet for everyone in the world to see.
While you're still logged into your Google Voice account, you need to obtain a refresh_token which is what you'll use instead of a password when setting up your Google Voice account with XiVO. Here's how.
1. Be sure you are still logged into your Google Voice account. If not, log back in at https://www.google.com/voice.
2. Go to the Google OAUTH Playground using your browser while still logged into your Google Voice account.
3. Once logged in to Google OAUTH Playground, click on the Gear icon in upper right corner (as shown below).
4b. Click Authorize APIs (blue) button.
5b. When the tokens have been generated, Step 2 will close.
6. Reopen Step 2 and copy your Refresh_Token. This is the "password" you will need to enter (together with your Gmail account name and 10-digit GV phone number) when you add your GV trunk in the Incredible PBX GUI. Store this refresh_token in a safe place. Google doesn't permanently store it!
7. Authorization tokens NEVER expire! If you ever need to remove your authorization tokens, go here and delete Incredible PBX Google Voice OAUTH entry by clicking on it and choosing DELETE option.
Switch back to your Gmail account and click on the Phone icon at the bottom of the window to place one test call. Once you successfully place a call, you can log out of Google Voice and Gmail.
You can avoid one-way audio on calls and touchtones that don't work with these simple settings in the GUI: Settings -> Asterisk SIP Settings. Just plug in your public IP address and your private IP subnet. Then set ULAW as the only Audio Codec.
The IPtables firewall is a complex piece of software. If you need assistance with configuring it, visit the PIAF Forum for some friendly assistance.
We're pleased to introduce our latest backup and restore utilities for Incredible PBX. Running /root/incrediblebackup will create a backup image of your server in /tmp. This backup image then can be copied to any other medium desired for storage. To restore it to another Incredible PBX server, simply copy the image to a server running Asterisk 13 and the same version of the Incredible PBX GUI. Then run /root/incrediblerestore. Doesn't get much simpler than that.
Every time you log into your server as root, Incredible PBX will ping the IncrediblePBX.com web site to determine whether one or more updates are available to bring your server up to current specs. We recommend you log in at least once a week just in case some new security vulnerability should come along.
In the meantime, we encourage you to sign up for an account on the PIAF Forum and join the discussion. In addition to providing first-class, free support, we think you'll enjoy the camaraderie.


In the marketplace of full-size family SUVs, the 2017 Chevrolet Suburban is a force to be reckoned with. From its modern exterior to its spacious and well-appointed interior, everything about this big machine is designed to appeal to large families who need a powerful, comfortable and capable SUV that also places an emphasis on safety and strong resale.
My car is reliable, nothing to worry about in that dept. The seats are not very comfortable; obviously a lower quality. The seats are also difficult to adjust. (adjustments are manual; it is hard to go backwards in quality. ) The paint chips easily along rim from getting in & out of car. The step in is too high & stepping out from back seat passenger side is even harder because you are standing, as the seat is shortened & away from the door. The first back seat does not lay down; it has to be taken out. The temp control knobs are too low. . . I have to look down too far to keep eyes on the road.
Heated seats and steering wheels plus hazard awareness.
I love my suburban however it does require a large amount of gas. My daughter plays competitive softball and there is plenty of room for all of her gear plus multiple teammates! She loves the car play option to play her music in the car and my favorite thing about my suburban is my heated seats and steering wheel. The suburban is very easy to drive and comfortable and has very few blind spots due to the exceptional mirrors as well as all the functions to allow you to be aware of cars on your side and objects you are too close to.
No minivan for this cool mom!
I am a busy mom with three children. My Suburban has a great deal of room inside with three rows of seats not to mention the spacious trunk. Room for the stroller as well as groceries. The DVD player is a life saver on long trips as well. The performance is amazing. For a larger SUV it has the space we need without being to big to drive. It's a busy mom's dream car and I'm not stuck driving a minivan. I would suggest to any parents , family's, or anybody who likes a luxury ride.


text:
Forgot the password ?
Online Survey of Research in Education
Khirwadkar, Anjali. (1999). Developing a computer software for learning Chemistry at Standard IX. Unpublished. Ph.D., Education. MSU, Baroda.
Objectives of the study:1. To develop CAI package in subject of Chemistry for standard XI Science Students studying GSTB syllabus.2. To study the effectiveness of the developed software in terms of instructional time and achievement of students.3. To study the effect of software package on students' achievement in relation to students' intelligence level, motivation level, and attitude towards the package.4. To study the attitude of the students and teachers regarding the effectiveness of the CAI package with respect to contents, presentation, examples, illustrations,graphs and figures, evaluation items, utility of software and instructions given in
the instructional manual.
One of the English medium schools of Baroda City was taken for implementing the developed software. One section of Standard XI Science was taken and thirty students were selected randomly as sample for the experimental group and rest of the students of the section constituted the control group.
The software developed by the investigator was used as treatment tool. Achievement test Constructed by the investigator was used as a testing tool.
A pre-test post-test experimental and control group design was employed.
The data were analysed through ANOVA, ANCOVA and content analysis.
The developed software package was found to be effective in terms of academic achievement of the students. The students and teachers were found to have favourable opinion towards the software package. There was found an interaction effect of IQ,motivation and opinion of students on their academic achievement.
Keyword(s): computer software, Chemistry, Standard IX
Nmae
Survey of Research
Promotion of educational research and research based policy perspectives for qualitative improvement of school education are important concerns of the Division of Educational Research (DER).
CIET
ICT Curriculum
Media Production Division (MPD), Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET) National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Sri Aurbindo Marg, New Delhi-110016
Email: surveyofresearch[at]gmail[dot]com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Land O'Lakes, one of America's premier agribusiness companies, manages a brand presence across 50+ countries and annual sales of over $13 billion. At such scale, the brand needs a system to manage its marketing campaigns and content across brands and regions. They have to ensure consistency across campaigns, drive executive-level visibility across all marketing activities, and assess overall performance to report on ROI.
Today, Percolate is Land O'Lakes' system of record for campaign planning, briefing, and asset management. The brand has nearly 400 Percolate users publishing content across 32 connected web and social platforms.


The first commercial Internet domain name, symbolics.com, was registered on 15 March 1985 by Symbolics Inc., a computer systems firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Seven years later, in 1992, only 15,000 .com (top-level) domains were registered. Twenty years later (in 2012), the ".com" count is over 100 million.
Google registered their domain September 15, 1997. Microsoft in May of '91. Apple makes the "First 100 .com domains registered" list for February 1987. Bible.com, AOL.com, Yahoo.com, and even Dictionary.com were all registered in 1995 (a busy year in fact).
If you were alive and alert during the early and mid 1990s, don't kick yourself too much ("sale.com" is estimated to sell this year for ~$10 million).
Though it would have been nice to get on the bandwagon back before the turn of the century, it might not be too late to register your dream domain.
With DomainTools.com, one can find out if their new idea, company name, church, or organization can obtain their desired domain name. If it's taken already, DomainTools helps answer questions like, "Who owns that domain? When did they register it? When does it expire?".
With a free domain monitor (up to 100 domains), if a domain ever expires and is not renewed, you'll be sure to know.
So our 1-word ".com" dream domain might not be available, but even "facebook.com" was already registered (in 1997) before the social network existed (2004). Because echobay.com was already taken, the Echo Bay Technology group had to go with their second choice: eBay.com. Alternatively, Groupon simply made up a new word.
Whether you're creating new words (Klout, Hipmunk, Skype), combining concepts (Wikipedia, Groupon, Linkedin) or can raise funds to buy your domain, let the research and monitoring begin.
Who knows what new words have yet to be added to the dictionary.


text:
The version for the print
2015 May 3 12:41
Hapag-Lloyd improves safety of dangerous goods transportation
Last year, Hapag-Lloyd discovered 2,620 cases of incorrectly declared dangerous goods that were prevented from being shipped. Dangerous goods experts at Hapag-Lloyd investigated over 162,000 suspicious cases which were recorded using a newly developed watchdog software. The watchdog programme continuously examines Hapag-Lloyd's cargo data to identify anything conspicuous and has a database of more than 6,000 keywords that is constantly being added to and refined, the shipping company said in a press release.
Dangerous goods that are declared imprecisely, incorrectly or not at all have the potential to pose a major risk to crews, ships, the environment and other cargo on board. The exact number of dangerous goods shipments in containers that are – knowingly or unknowingly – declared either incorrectly or not at all was difficult to estimate up until now. Hapag-Lloyd has now provided exact figures for the first time.
"The percentage of incorrectly declared dangerous goods shipments may not seem all that high in light of the six million standard containers transported by Hapag-Lloyd annually. However, if you consider that a single incorrectly declared container is enough to cause a disaster, the devastating potential of every single incorrect or non-declaration becomes clear," says Ken Rohlmann, head of the dangerous goods department at Hapag-Lloyd. "As one of the market leaders in the transportation of dangerous goods, we have therefore looked for a solution to ensure much greater safety. The same cargo does not pose an acute risk if it is transported correctly." Rohlmann also presented Hapag-Lloyd's findings and its watchdog software at a recent meeting of the Port Safety Commission in Hamburg. "Other shipping companies have also shown significant interest in our software as the issue is one of the main challenges for the whole shipping industry in the dangerous goods sector. The safer the entire sea transport system is, the better for everyone," he says.
Hapag-Lloyd has been developing the watchdog programme since 2011. With their many years of experience, Hapag-Lloyd's dangerous goods experts played a key role in programming effective search routines. The dangerous goods department was created almost 50 years ago and was the first in the shipping industry. Since then, Hapag-Lloyd's internal specifications on dangerous goods have repeatedly formed the basis for statutory regulations and have thus become mandatory for the entire industry.
News for a day...
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text:
Essar to install hydrogen furnace at Stanlow refinery
Essar Oil
ESSAR Oil has announced plans for a £45m (US$54m) hydrogen furnace at Stanlow refinery, Ellesmere Port, UK.
Essar aims to have the UK's first low-carbon refinery, and plans to decommission three existing furnaces and replace them with a single, highly efficient furnace. The furnace is currently being manufactured in Thailand and will be delivered to the Stanlow site almost fully constructed.
It will be the first furnace capable of running entirely on hydrogen at a UK refinery. The energy efficiency of the hydrogen furnace will be 4% more than existing furnaces and it will also have reduced maintenance costs. Essar expects it to save 16,600 t/y of CO2.
The furnace will be installed this year and is expected to be operational next year. From 2026 onwards it will be supplied with hydrogen produced at Stanlow as part of the HyNet North West industrial cluster. This will further reduce Stanlow's CO2 emissions by 11%.
Deepak Maheshwari, Chief Executive Officer at Essar Oil UK, said: "We have hugely ambitious plans for Stanlow and are committed to making it the UK's first low carbon refinery. By effecting a significant and rapid transition to hydrogen, we are securing the long-term future of this vitally important national asset whilst also playing a key role in supporting the UK's plans for building the low carbon economy of tomorrow."
Partnership aims to build large-scale hydrogen storage systems
Report reveals policy gaps in UK Government's net zero pledge
Australia investigates building its largest hydrogen production plant
Oil and gas majors are undermining climate goals, report warns
Enapter unveils hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing facility
Industry Hydrogen


On today's episode of The Stay Inspired Podcast, we have with us Amanda Laird, a registered holistic nutritionist with a clinical focus on menstrual and hormonal health. She's the host of the Heavy Flow Podcast and advocate for clear, honest, and intelligent exchange about health and wellness.
Listen in as we talk about body literacy, the relationship of the menstrual cycle to the body, and what every woman should know about their own periods.


text:
Ferroelectrics Based on HfO2 Film
An Arrow-Curve Path Planning Model for Mobile Beacon Node Aided Localization in Air Pollution Monitoring System IoT
Massimiliano Pieraccini
Jeong, H.
Kim, S.
Educational Low-Cost C-Band FMCW Radar System Comprising Commercial Off-the-Shelf Components for Indoor Through-Wall Object Detection
Hyunmin Jeong
Sangkil Kim
Department of Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Electronics 2021, 10(22), 2758; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10222758
Received: 12 October 2021 / Revised: 8 November 2021 / Accepted: 9 November 2021 / Published: 11 November 2021
(This article belongs to the Section Microwave and Wireless Communications)
This paper presents an educational low-cost C-band frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar system for use in indoor through-wall metal detection. Indoor remote-sensing applications, such as through-wall detection and positioning, are essential for the comprehensive realization of the internet of things or super-connected societies. The proposed system comprises a two-stage radio-frequency power amplifier, a voltage-controlled oscillator, circuits for frequency modulation and system synchronization, a mixer, a 3-dB power divider, a low-noise amplifier, and two cylindrical horn antennas (Tx/Rx antennas). The antenna yields gain values in the 6.8~7.8 range when operating in the 5.83~5.94 GHz frequency band. The backscattered Tx signal is sampled at 4.5 kHz using the Arduino UNO analog-to-digital converter. Thereafter, the sampled signal is transferred to the MATLAB platform and analyzed using a customized FMCW radar algorithm. The proposed system is built using commercial off-the-shelf components, and it can detect targets within a 56.3 m radius in indoor environments. In this study, the system could successfully detect targets through a 4 cm-thick ply board with a measurement accuracy of less than 10 cm.
FMCW radar system; remote sensing; Arduino; through-wall detection
There are numerous radar applications, such as radar-based range-breathing separation, monitoring of the worker activities, biomedical MIMO radars, radar systems for structural health monitoring, hand gesture recognition using micro-Doppler signatures, radars for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), etc. Especially, radar technology is widely used in the military and internet of things (IoT) applications because it facilitates the development of remote-sensing equipment [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Military radars, such as those used in aerial defense, battlefield, and traffic-control operations, comprise large active phased-array systems to realize high-precision long-range detection (exceeding 100 km) and tracking [7,8,9]. Meanwhile, radars used in IoT applications are considerably smaller and lighter than their military counterparts because they are required to detect objects within an approximately 300 m range [10,11,12]. Recently, the development of compact integrated remote-sensing platforms for use in IoT applications, including healthcare, networking, and autonomous driving, has attracted increased industrial and academic research interest. For example, the radar systems used in automotive applications are among the most popular and fast-growing technologies owing to their superior detection capability compared with that of the lidar and vision-analysis techniques even under harsh environments involving rain or snow [13]. Additionally, the electromagnetic (EM)-field-based imaging and sensing technologies are widely investigated with regard to their household and disaster-control applications. The indoor positioning and object tracking are key technologies for future hyper-connected humancentric IoTs [14]. However, the low-cost implementation of high-performance radar systems remains a major technological challenge. The simultaneous consideration of the radar architecture and detection algorithms could facilitate the balancing of operation costs with respect to radar performance.
Several radar types exist, including the continuous wave Doppler, frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW), and pulsed radars, and each type affords several advantages and disadvantages to users [15]. The FMCW radar possesses a simple and low-complexity architecture. Furthermore, it can simultaneously detect the speed and distance of objects with high accuracy. These radars are widely employed in IoT applications because they do not require high computing power and data acquisition devices. These characteristics of the FMCW radar facilitate the design of low-cost, compact radar systems [16,17,18,19,20]. For instance, a simple FMCW radar system is proposed, but it is built using a high-cost lumped standalone RF component and audio input port of a PC in [21]. The audio input port has a high data sampling rate but requires a PC to process the received FMCW signal. This paper presents the development of a low-cost, compact FMCW radar system comprising commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components operating in the C-band (5.83–5.94 GHz) for educational purposes. The proposed system is intended for use in indoor positioning and through-wall applications, and it features a simple low-cost system architecture using the versatile Arduino platform. The proposed system is assembled on a 1-mm-thick FR4 printed circuit board (PCB) using the surface-mount technology. Arduino UNO—a well-known open-source, economical microcontroller platform—is used for data acquisition owing to its high scalability and suitability for use in many applications [22,23]. It is one of the most widely adopted IoT platforms due to its high scalability [24,25]. The radio-frequency front-end (RFFE) of the proposed radar and Arduino platform is synchronized using a customized modulator. The circular horn antennas are inspired by the antenna concept and designed based on the dominant-mode analysis. The proposed FMCW radar system costs less than USD 100.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 describes the architecture of the proposed FMCW radar as well as details concerning the modulator, amplifiers, mixer, baseband circuit, and antennas. Additionally, the signal-processing algorithm for object detection is discussed. Section 3 discusses the measured performance of the proposed radar system. Finally, the major conclusions drawn from this study are presented in Section 4.
2. FMCW Radar System for Through-Wall Metal Detection
2.1. Low-Cost FMCW Radar System
Figure 1 depicts the block diagram and prototype of the proposed low-cost radar system. The modulator generates a synchronization signal for the entire system and controls the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) for frequency modulation (FM). The Tx chain comprises a two-stage power amplifier (PA), power divider, and VCO (Figure 1a). In this configuration, the measured output signal power of the VCO (HMC431LP4ETR, Analog Devices [26]) equals 2 dBm, and the FM signal is amplified by the two-stage PA. The gain values of PA1 (GRF2505, Guerrilla RF [27]) and PA2 (HMC407MS8GE, Analog Devices [28]) equal 11.5 dB and 10 dB, respectively. Each PA possesses sufficient bandwidth to cover the VCO-generated FMCW signal. The measured insertion loss of the power divider (PD4859J5050S2HF, Anaren [29]) equals 0.7 dB in the C-band. The power delivered to the antenna equals 19.8 dBm, and an identical RF power is transferred to the mixer. The Rx chain comprised a low-noise amplifier (LNA) and mixer because the proposed radar uses a homodyne Rx system. The LNA (QPL9503TR7, Qorvo [30]) yields 21.6 dB gain, and its noise figure equals 1 dB at room temperature (25 °C). The amplified Rx signal is downconverted by the mixer (HMC218BMS8GE, Analog Devices [31]) to generate a baseband signal. The proposed system employs direct conversion to achieve a baseband signal frequency in the 0~1.5 kHz range. The baseband signal is amplified by the intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier and filtered by an active fourth-order low-pass filter (LPF). The 3-dB bandwidth (BW) of the LPF lies in the 0~1.5 kHz range to reject the out-of-band high-order harmonics and noise. Subsequently, the filtered baseband signal is sampled and brought into the MATLAB (MathWorks®, USA) platform using the Arduino UNO analog-to-digital converter (ADC) at 4.5 kHz frequency. This sampling frequency is sufficient to recover signals with a BW of up to 1.5 kHz. In the proposed system, the modulator, LPF, and IF amplifier circuits are designed using the same operational-amplifier OpAmp units (TLE2062, Texas Instruments [32]). Table 1 lists all COTS components used in the proposed system.
Figure 2 illustrates the modulator and baseband circuits of the proposed system. The modulator comprises an astable multivibrator and integrator for square and triangular wave generation, respectively. The square wave is characterized by a 50 ms period, and it synchronizes the baseband amplifier and active filter. The baseband stage, which comprises the IF amplifier and LPF, transmits the Rx signal to the Arduino because the microcontroller exclusively accepts positive voltages. Therefore, upon attainment of a positive voltage, the synchronizing square signal activates the baseband circuit. Subsequently, this square signal is transformed into a triangular wave by the integrator. The period of the triangular voltage wave also equals 50 ms. This triangular voltage wave controls the VCO, which subsequently generates an FM signal. Figure 3a depicts the time history of the generated voltage waveforms. Figure 3b reveals that the VCO output frequency is a function of the tuning voltage (Vt). The nearly linear increase in the VCO output frequency with increase in Vt can be modeled as the linear expression, as follows:
f 0 = 0.11 · V t + 5.4 GHz
As observed in this study, the VCO output frequency lies in the 5.83~5.94 GHz range, which corresponds to Vt values in the 3.88~4.93 V range. Table 1 lists the resistance and capacitance values of all COTS components used in the proposed system. The active LPF is designed using the conventional active-filter design principle. It comprises two second order LPF filters to reject noise signals and high-order harmonics. The 3-dB bandwidth of the fourth order LPF lies in the 0~1.5 kHz range.
2.2. Antenna Design
The cylindrical horn antennas used in the proposed system were designed based on the dominant-mode analysis. A commercial product package was used to this end, and it was metalized using a copper tape, as illustrated in Figure 4a. The simulations were performed using the Ansys HFSS 2021 R2 package. The horn antennas measured 35 × 88 mm (diameter × height), and they operated in a single dominant TM11 propagation mode in the 5~6.6 GHz frequency range. A 12 mm-long feeding probe was mounted 20 mm away from a shorting wall. All antenna parameters were measured inside an anechoic chamber. The measured antenna S-parameters cover the required operation frequency band of 5.83~5.94 GHz, and the isolation between the Rx and Tx antennas equals 40 dB when the distance between them equals 12 cm (Figure 1b and Figure 4b). The measured antenna gain values lie in the 6.8~7.8 dB range, and the cross-pol suppression level exceeds 20 dB at the rated operation frequency (Figure 4c). Figure 5 depicts the observed radiation patterns in the E- and H-planes (ϕ = 0° and ϕ = 90°, respectively). All measurements demonstrate good agreement with the simulation results.
2.3. Operating Principle of Proposed FMCW Radar
The Arduino UNO ADC used in this study operates at a 4.5 kHz sampling rate, thereby limiting the FMCW radar bandwidth to 2.25 kHz in accordance with the Nyquist sampling theorem. The bandwidth of the proposed FMCW radar system equals 1.5 kHz, which is lower than the above-mentioned limit. The VCO output frequency (fT) as a function of time T could be expressed as
f T = f 0 + K · t ( 0 ≤ t < T / 2 ) f M − K · t ( T / 2 ≤ t < T )
where f0 and fM denote the lowest and highest frequencies, respectively, and K denotes the time rate of increase of the triangular wave. As described in (3), the received signal frequency (fR) is delayed by τ = 2·R/c where R denotes the distance between the radar and detection target and c denotes the speed of light (c = 3 × 108 m/s).
f R t = f T t − τ
The down-converted signal is filtered by the active LPF over half the square-wave period (T/2), thereby producing a beat signal frequency, as illustrated in Figure 6. This beat signal frequency (fB) can be expressed as
f B t = f T t − f R t
where fT and fR denote the Tx and Rx signal frequencies, respectively. The time-domain data of the beat signal are sampled using the Arduino UNO ADC at 4.5 kHz and sent to a PC via serial communication. The duration of the beat signal is 25 ms. Each i-th range bin (SBB(i, N)) stores 450 data points (N = 450) because they comprise 112.5 beat signal data points. The remaining 337.5 sample points represent zero-padded data, as described in Figure 6. The zero-padded data format increases signal smoothness in the frequency domain [33]. The proposed FMCW radar system requires DC offset filtering because it uses a homodyne system. As described in (5), DC offset can be removed from the baseband signal by subtracting the averaged value (Save) of each data stored in the range bin.
S B B ′ i , N = S B B i , N − S a v e
Thus, a new DC-offset-removed range bin S B B ′ i , N is created, and a range-time intensity (RTI) graph can be plotted based on the magnitude of the new fast-Fourier-transformed (FFT) range bin.
3. Experimental Results
3.1. Indoor FMCW Radar Measurement
The performance of the proposed low-cost FMCW radar system was verified in an indoor environment maintained at 25 °C. A 30 × 30 cm2 copper plate was placed facing the radar, and the distance between them was measured. As observed, the DC offset was successfully removed, and the peak-signal strength was clearly observed to facilitate distance measurement. Figure 7 illustrates the effect of the DC offset removal described in (5). The time-varying distance (R) between the radar and object can be calculated as follows. In (6), B denotes bandwidth of the proposed FMCW radar system, fB is beat frequency, T is frequency rising time, and c is the speed of light.
R = f B · c · T / 2 · B
The maximum detection range (RM) of the proposed FMCW radar is realized when the beat frequency of the FMCW radar equals fB. In this study, the value of RM equaled 56.3 m, which is sufficient in an indoor environment. The theoretical range resolution (Rres) of the proposed FMCW radar system (BW: 110 MHz) equals 1.36 m, as described in (7). It can be improved by using the broad bandwidth.
R r e s = c / 2 · B
Figure 8 depicts plots of the measured and actual positions of a metallic object in the range–time space. In this study, the piecewise cubic Hermite interpolating polynomial (PCHIP) was employed to extract distance data from the measured range bin. As observed, the average range error equals 0.37 m, which is less than the distance resolution.
3.2. Through-Wall Detection
To validate the through-wall detection capability of the proposed system, the FMCW radar system was used to detect a metallic object through a 4 cm-thick plywood wall (Figure 9). The FMCW radar and target were placed on an 80 cm-high wooden table. A 4 cm-thick plywood was placed at 1 m away from the radar. The width and height of the plywood equaled 2 m and 1.2 m, respectively. Subsequently, a metallic object was placed behind the wall, and the Rx signal was analyzed using the previously described algorithm. The object was placed at value of R in the 2.5~4 m range, as depicted in Figure 9a, and the corresponding measurement results are depicted in Figure 10. They show FFT magnitude of signal stored in the range bin over the range. As can be seen, the maximum error between the actual and estimated positions equals 10 cm, and the average range error equals 5.6 cm. The proposed FMCW radar system demonstrates a high range accuracy of 5.6 cm, albeit its corresponding range resolution equals 1.4 m.
This paper presents a low-cost C-band FMCW radar system based on the Arduino platform and designed using COTS components for educational purposes. It incorporates a simplified modulator circuit for VCO control and baseband-circuit synchronization. The circular Tx and Rx antennas are designed based on the dominant-mode analysis of commercial product packages. The results of this study reveal that the proposed PCHIP-based range-estimation algorithm significantly improves the range-measurement accuracy. The performance of the proposed system has been verified by performing metallic object-detection experiments in an indoor environment with and without a large plywood wall, thereby demonstrated its through-wall detection capability. The proposed FMCW radar system, including the PCB, ICs, resistors, and MLCCs, costs less than USD 100. Overall, the proposed educational low-cost FMCW radar represents a scalable technology that can be utilized in several applications, such as indoor IoTs.
Conceptualization, S.K.; validation, H.J. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea Government (MSIT) under Grant 2020R1C1C1003362.
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Figure 1. Proposed Arduino-ADC-based low-cost FMCW radar system for through-wall detection: (a) system block diagram and (b) radar prototype.
Figure 2. (a) Designed frequency modulator (FM) and (b) baseband circuits.
Figure 3. Variation trends concerning (a) output signals obtained from proposed modulator and (b) VCO output frequency.
Figure 4. Designed circular horn antenna: (a) fabricated antenna, (b) S-parameters, and (c) realized gain.
Figure 5. Measured antenna radiation patterns.
Figure 6. Operating principle of proposed FMCW radar.
Figure 7. Amplitude of received signal in frequency domain (a) with and (b) without DC offset.
Figure 8. Range–time intensity (RTI) of proposed FMCW radar in indoor environment.
Figure 9. (a) Through-wall detection measurement setup and (b) measurement environment.
Figure 10. Through-wall object-detection results: (a) R = 2 m, (b) 2.5 m, (c) 3 m, (d) 3.5 m, and (e) 4 m.
Table 1. List of components used in the proposed FMCW radar system.
R1 22 kΩ R2 10 kΩ R3 10 kΩ R4 51 kΩ R5 510 kΩ
R6 4.3 kΩ R7 2.2 kΩ R8 1 kΩ R9 220 Ω R10 10 kΩ
R11 6.8 kΩ R12 6.8 kΩ R13 12.1 kΩ R14 1 kΩ R15 6.8 kΩ
R16 6.8 kΩ R17 1.62 kΩ R18 2 kΩ R19 47 kΩ R20 47 kΩ
R21 10 kΩ C1 1 μF C2 1 μF C3 1 μF C4 10 nF
C5 10 nF C6 10 nF C7 10 nF
Jeong, H.; Kim, S. Educational Low-Cost C-Band FMCW Radar System Comprising Commercial Off-the-Shelf Components for Indoor Through-Wall Object Detection. Electronics 2021, 10, 2758. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10222758
Jeong H, Kim S. Educational Low-Cost C-Band FMCW Radar System Comprising Commercial Off-the-Shelf Components for Indoor Through-Wall Object Detection. Electronics. 2021; 10(22):2758. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10222758
Jeong, Hyunmin, and Sangkil Kim. 2021. "Educational Low-Cost C-Band FMCW Radar System Comprising Commercial Off-the-Shelf Components for Indoor Through-Wall Object Detection" Electronics 10, no. 22: 2758. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10222758
Electronics, EISSN 2079-9292, Published by MDPI


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text:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Athletics
Madison Fehr, Providence HS, Awarded Scholarship
By staff, 05/07/19, 9:15AM EDT
Pictured are: dad, Madison, and mom
Madison Fehr was awarded the Liz Murray scholarship at the May Hood-Hargett breakfast. Madison is a 12th grade student-athlete who participates on the Providence High School swim team. She is the senior class vice-president and a co-chair of the Special Events Social Chair on the Executive Board at Providence. She is also a member of the National Honor Society and Youth Commission International at Providence. She will attend the University of Tennessee Knoxville in the fall.
Congratulations Madison!
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The student athlete should have secured for the period from the beginning of a quarter or trimester up to the end of the regular marking period, which shall not exceed a maximum of twelve (12) weeks, a passing grade in sixty (60%) percent of his/her program (credits)." This means a student athlete must obtain a passing grade in five out of seven (5/7) courses at the end of the marking period. Eligibility is based on grades earned for each of the four quarterly marking periods. Therefore, students' eligibility will be determined equally and fairly for each and every quarter. A student who has any "incompletes" at the end of the quarter will have two weeks to satisfy the requirements of incomplete courses. A student with three or more "incompletes" will be considered academically ineligible. The principal and the Athletic Director reserve the right to deem students ineligible due to violation of school rules.
● they do not comply with rules outlined in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League's Rules and Regulations. This publication may be found at www.riil.org.
● Student-athletes who arrive after 10:30 a.m. at SHS will be deemed ineligible to participate in athletics or extracurricular activities on that day.
Gallagher Middle School abides by the RIPCOA regulations regarding eligibility (Article II), which can be found here: RIPCOA Rules and Regulations.
○ may not fail 2 or more subjects that meet daily or fail any combination of 3 subjects (on the most recent report card).
○ may not be excused from physical education class for a physical reason and still play in any practice, game, or contest on that day.
● Student-athletes who arrive after 11:00 a.m. at GMS will be deemed ineligible to participate in athletics or extracurricular activities on that day.
● The principal and/or designee compiles the eligibility list.
● The eligibility list is shared with the athletic director, head coaches and school counselors via email.
● Coaches must provide an electronic acknowledgement (Coaches Acknowledgement of Eligibility Form) that they have received the eligibility list.
● The principal and/or designee will meet with each ineligible student.
● The principal and/or designee will contact the parent/guardian of each ineligible student.
● Coaches will ensure every student-athlete is scholastically eligible. Each coach must review the quarterly ineligibility list and at a minimum check players' midterm and end of quarter grades.
A firm and fair policy of enforcement is necessary to uphold the regulations and standards of the athletic department. The community, school administrators, and coaching staff feel strongly that high standards of conduct and citizenship are essential in maintaining a sound athletic program. Student-athletes are expected to abide by this code of conduct, which will earn them the honor and respect that participation and competition in the interscholastic athletic program affords. Conduct which results in dishonor to the student-athlete, the team, or the school will not be tolerated. All rules apply to all student-athletes including players, managers, trainers, and all other student-athletes representing a team from Smithfield High School or Gallagher Middle School.
Good sportsmanship, ethical behavior, honesty, integrity, and the respect for others are the guiding principles that permeate all interscholastic activities in our schools. In perception and practice, sportsmanship is defined as those qualities, which are characterized by generosity and genuine concern for others. All individuals, regardless of their role, are expected to model sportsmanship because of their influence on the behavior of others.
Medical research substantiates that the use of alcohol and mood-modifying substances produces harmful effects on the human body and will affect athletic performance. Student-athletes who experiment with such substances jeopardize program morale, reputation and success, do physical harm and risk injury to themselves and others during their activity. Student-athletes who wish to participate in the Smithfield Public Schools athletic program must make the commitment to refrain from the use of alcohol, drugs (non-prescription and/or illicit), tobacco (including but not limited to, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars or smokeless tobacco), performance-enhancing supplements, and steroids. Student-athletes are considered in violation of these expectations if they are "in the presence of", "possess", "consume" (including being under the influence of), and/or "distribute", other than as prescribed by a physician for personal use, any tobacco product, controlled drug and/or intoxicant, or steroid at any time whether during school, at any school activity, on school property, or at locations off school property.
1. Suspension from practices and interscholastic competitions (per the discretion of administration and/or coaches).
2. Student-athlete and parent/guardian meeting with the Athletic Director, coach, school nurse, and/or Student Assistance Counselor.
3. Forfeiture of captaincy (when applicable).
Under no circumstances will any type of hazing and/or initiation be tolerated. The term "hazing", as defined by Rhode Island State Law, means any conduct or method of initiation which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student-athlete or other person (abbreviated from State of Rhode Island Hazing Law, section 11-21-1(b)). Violation of this policy will result in strong disciplinary action, including suspension from the athletic team and loss of captaincy (when applicable).
It is not appropriate to discuss with the coach playing time, team strategy, play calling or other student-athletes. It is also not appropriate to confront a coach before, during or after a game or practice. The coach's responsibility at those times is to supervise his/her student-athletes.
The coach must schedule a pre-season meeting with parents/guardians and all parents/guardians must attend this meeting. Pertinent information concerning expectations, practice time, and policies and procedures will be communicated and coaches will answer questions concerning the rules and regulations.
● Student-athletes will remain with their team under the supervision of the coach when attending away contests.
● Student-athletes may return from an away contest only with their parent/guardian and only for exceptional reasons. In that event, the parent must request permission from the coach prior to the contest. The student-athletes will be released only to parent/guardian upon the personal recognizance of the parent/guardian by the coach.
● Student-athletes are not permitted to drive their own vehicles to away contests.
● Student-athletes who miss the bus departure will not be allowed to participate in the contest unless there are extenuating circumstances.
● The expectation is that parents/guardians will be punctual when arriving to pick up student-athletes at the completion of a contest (home and away) or a practice session.
● All regular school bus rules will be followed.
Student-athletes are responsible for the proper care and security of all issued/loaned equipment. School-furnished equipment is to be worn only for contests and practice or when authorized by the coach. All equipment must be returned immediately after the season. It is the student-athlete's responsibility to make sure any issued and personal belongings are properly secured at all times.
Student-athletes who do not return equipment in good condition or who lose equipment will be assessed the replacement cost of the equipment. Additionally, student-athletes may not participate in another sport until this obligation has been fulfilled. Equipment cannot be issued to student-athletes out of season, per Rhode Island Interscholastic League Rules.


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text:
Debunking Robert McKee
Aloha and mele kameekeiiemaaakaaa (I think that's how you spell it). Here are some Friday questions you've posed over the last couple of weeks.
paul get us started:
I just finished reading Robert McKee's Story, about screenwriting for film. One of the interesting things he instructs is about how in each scene there must be a change of value, from positive to negative, or vice-versa. Do sitcoms follow the same rule?
No. Because it is a made-up, bullshit rule. We try to make sure each scene moves the story forward and is as fresh and funny as possible. I'm not saying that Robert McKee doesn't provide a valuable service in stressing the importance of story structure, but his dogmatic theories and over-analysis do as much to strangle the process as aid it.
I'd love to be in the room where Chuck Lorre is pitching out a scene and a writer says, "There's still no change of value yet in this scene". Talk about a "big bang"...
Ed Blonski asks:
What is your favorite "era" to write for?
Was it the 50's for MASH? Contemporary for Cheers & Fraiser?
The reason I ask is because I miss the sitcoms or dramadies set in the 30's & 40's. Such as Tales of the Golden Monkey, Hogan's Heroes, Remember WENN, and the Waltons.
Any possibilities that we would see something like that again on TV?
I tend to prefer writing contemporary because there's more to draw upon, but it depends on the project. The problem with period comedies is that to be authentic a lot of the references will be too obscure.
We had that issue with MASH but honestly, just ignored it. We were sprinkling in Adolph Menjou jokes. We knew most people wouldn't get them but oh, those that did really got some boffo laughs.
There have been some historical sitcoms including THANKS and BEST OF THE WEST. And so far audiences have had a tough time connecting to them (despite the fact that both were terrific shows). But you know this business – someone with clout will do a period piece comedy. It will be a big hit. And the next year there will be eight of them.
Care to guess how many GLEE-type musical shows are being developed this year?
From Alex:
Back in college I had a Korean friend who hated MASH because, in his words, the Koreans were always played by Japanese actors. I know that wasn't literally always true but a lot of times it was.
So I'm curious if there was any particular reason for this. And secondarily when it comes to casting and the character is presented as a specific race or ethnicity, how much effort is put into the actor matching that.
On MASH we always tried to cast Koreans first. But there just were not that many of them. We were forced to widen our net. What became really tricky was when ywe had two actors vying for a role. One was Korean, the other was not, but the non-Korean was a better or funnier actor. It depended on the case, but sometimes we opted for authenticity and other times we just went with the better performer.
John wonders:
Ken, What's the longest you've ever held a story idea, because the premise/key scene was good, but overall just didn't feel right of flow correctly for whatever reason and required retinkering before it was strong enough to film?
There are movie and play ideas in my drawer that have been there for twenty years. What I do, when I think of a notion, I write it down and file it. Often something will come along months or years later and I will say, "that's the element that was missing!" And suddenly the project takes shape. The key is to always be on the lookout for ideas, or interesting characters, or stories. You never know when that "aha" moment will hit.
Sometimes movie or play ideas come to you whole cloth. Other times you have to be patient.
For series, at the start of each season, we'll usually spend a few weeks just spitballing ideas, coming up with possible stories. Some work out, some don't, some get held over until later seasons. It took two years to get "Point of View" off the ground at MASH.
And finally, from sjml:
Ken, I notice that the overwhelming majority of How I Met Your Mother episodes are directed by the same person, Pam Fryman.
How common is it in sitcoms to have this level of continuity in the director's chair? Do you think it can adversely affect a show's tone to have too many directors?
It's more common now that there are fewer sitcoms. Directors used to like the variety and flexibility of working on different shows. Now they're happy to just lock up a series.
Especially if a show has a very distinctive format, like HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, it's a big advantage to have the continuity of one director. And in the case of that show, they have one of the very best in Pam Fryman. I love her so much I had her direct a pilot of ours… and I'm a director myself.
The main thing is the director has to get along with the cast. The crew may love him, the writers may love him, but if there's friction with the cast, it's just not going to work.
But when there is a director that everybody is comfortable with, it does make the process easier. A certain rhythm is established.
That said, sometimes it's very helpful to have a different eye and sensibility once in a while. On the MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW they had a series director, Jay Sandrich. There was one script he absolutely loathed; to the point where he refused to direct it. So the producers got Joan Darling instead. And she did a pretty spectacular job on "Chuckles Bites the Dust".
What's your question, bruddah?
Ken, you forgot That '70s Show! It ran for 8 seasons, which has to make it the second-longest running period show after MASH. I never got into it but it did pretty well for itself.
The Korean/Japanese issue for MASH reminded me of watching an episode of Murder She Wrote years ago. That week's story had a character that was supposed to be American Indian, but somehow they had someone that was clearly an India Indian playing the role. I'm guessing the casting got mixed up and there must not have been time to make a correction.
The actor was fine, but just looked misplaced in a scene where I think he was in full headdress.
Ken, I just read this over at thebitterscriptreader.blogspot.com, and I thought you might get a kick out of it:
Some of you might remember that a while back I noted that actor/comedian Richard Belzer has appeared as Detective John Munch on six different shows: Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The X-Files, The Beat and The Wire. The obvious implication of this is simple - via the transitive property, Law & Order and The X-Files exist in the same universe.
Better still, since Law & Order has crossed over with several other spin-offs (Criminal Intent, Trial by Jury, Law & Order: Los Angeles and Conviction) and The X-Files crossed over with Millennium and The Lone Gunman, that means that this TV universe contains at least 12 distinct TV shows.
And yet, Homicide has a few other crossovers to add to the mix - notably St. Elsewhere, and here's where things get interesting. See, St. Elsewhere crossed over with Cheers (no, really!). Cheers spun off Frasier and crossed over with Wings, and because of NBC's ubiquitous crossover and cameo stunts in the 90s, Frasier is linked to many other sitcoms.
So in theory, it's possible that Fox Mulder could have stopped into Boston and had a beer with Norm and Cliff, then headed to New York and butted heads with Detective Lennie Briscoe over jurisdiction.
Ian: That's hardly a revelation. There's an entire website devoted to TV characters sharing the same universe.
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~kwgow/crossovers.html
It goes well beyond the examples cited. For example, characters from White Shadow, Mary Tyler Moore & Bob Newhart Show appeared on St. Elsewhere. Munch also appeared on Arrested Development. It goes on and on...
Richard Cosgrove said...
I must say I have a different view of the likes of McKee, Field and Synder. I don't think they strangle the creative process of screenwriting.
That's done by the screenwriters, directors and producers, who dogmatically follow their chosen guru's instructions in the belief they're being creative.
While that works when you're starting out - there's wisdom in "run before you walk" - and structure is vital to a screenplay, writing to a fixed formula does not always make for good writing.
When a sitcom does a two parter or an hour long episode, do you shoot all in one night. Or do you split it up over two weeks? And are these usually the result of a network request?
RDaggle said...
also re: That '70s Show, I believe it had one director for all their episodes - David Trainer.
Can it be the answer for any other of this week's questions, y'know, for the hat trick?
AlaskaRay said...
"Back in college I had a Korean friend who hated MASH because, in his words, the Koreans were always played by Japanese actors."
I must admit that I had the same problem with MASH. Your lack of authentic North Korean actors playing enemy combatants and spys really hurt the show's realism for me.
Neal... said...
So I should wait until next year for my Modern Family meets Mad Men pitch then?
Brian Phillips said...
Regarding "Thanks". I never saw the show, but it does have another fairly prominent champion: actor/author Sarah Vowell. She mentioned it on the "This American Life" radio show.
Have ANY episodes of this been rebroadcast? I can only find quotes.
David O'Hara said...
I took Mc Kee's seminar after I had read his book. It was three days of Mc Kee performing his book. A good performance and that's just that - a performance. Didn't learn any thing that was actually useful - except that I wouldn't pay to do it again.
You can't learn talent - you have it or you don't. Many great movies don't follow Mc Kee's format or Sid Field's format or any other Guru's format.
Just added more fuel to: those that can, do - those that can't, teach.
Nat G said...
For those interested in the inter-series crossovers, a more complete guide is at http://poobala.com/crossoverlist.html
It's melekalikehama you dumb houle!
The Bitter Script Reader said...
Hey Ian, thanks for the plug. The post he's referencing can be found here.
RockGolf - Ian didn't explain this, but the whole post is actually a plug for that site you reference and link to.
Nat G - thanks for that link. I ran across that page years ago and have never been able to locate it.
Ken, have you ever discussed the Cheers/St. Elsewhere crossover? Was that during your time on the show?
Speaking of directors, Nick Colasanto from Cheers -Coach- directed more than two dozen television episodes. Mannix, Streets of San Francisco, Columbo, etc.
Brother Boomerang said...
I wonder if Germans get in a huff when brits play nazis in old WWII movies?
"Carson said...
When a sitcom does a two parter or an hour long episode, do you shoot all in one night. Or do you split it up over two weeks?"
I went to a Will & Grace" taping once that turned out to be the first half of a two-parter. They only shot the one episode that night. The second part was shot a week later. I don't know if that's industry standard, but that's the answer for Will & Grace.
St. Elsewhere turned out to be all in the imagination of an autistic child, so I guess all of those crossed-over shows were imagined by that autistic child. What an imaginative child!
Yes, I was always being jolted out of M*A*S*H by Japanese (and Chinese, I'll betcha) actors playing Koreans. It ruined it for me! And worse, even though Hawkeye is supposed to be from Maine, they used an actor from New York City to play him! What sham! How can anyone watch such an inauthentic show? Am I supposed to accept a lame excuse like we had no actor from Maine that was right!
And what about all those actors playing killers when they've never killed any one at all? More sham! And you know what? Bela Lugosi wasn't even undead when he played Dracula! "Oh, we couldn't find a real vampire who could do day shoots," they lamely defended themselves with.
And now they're casting The Hobbit, and there's not one real hobbit in the cast! I say, boycott it!
Nino Mojo said...
Ken: I want to play devil's advocate and propose that maybe each time the staff room thinks "okay, this scene is moving the story forward", there has indeed been a change of value.
McKee says it himself, it's not a rule, it's a princple, which means you don't have to do it but if you're stuck it'll help. I've now watched hundreds of movies with the "value change" principle in mind, and in my viewer experience it holds true most of the time. Same with the "a character is how they choose under pressure" principle.
I find those two "guidelines" to be really helpful in general and you can see them at work in many many shows and films.
Edit: Oh, also, because you recommended it on this blog I bought and read Bill Idelson's Writing Class, and I was riveted by it! Although Idelson has a totally different disclaimer as to what his class teaches, I feel the core principle in it ("makes the juices flow") is actually similar to McKee's "value change" principle. To me they're the same thing, the same advice.
Ok, Ken, I just saw a Becker episode that you directed - Toast - I think it was called. I'm sure you've been asked about the orange many times, but not by me and not recently. For those who don't know...Liz goes to Becker's apt. and he offers her "something." He opens the fridge and we can see (from left to right) one orange and 3 beers. The camera goes back to Liz, then back to the fridge. The orange is gone. Becker removes 2 beers and as he turns, it appears that the orange is on the far right hand side of the fridge. Is that a prank you play w/the audience, a little self-entertainment?
Mele Kalikimaka - from Don Ho's Xmas album, so we know it's right! Aloha.
Max...Nick Colasanto also directed episodes of HAWAII FIVE-O. Ken...was he the one who got you interested in spending time in Hawaii?
(or was it Ron Jacobs)
Futoshi said...
You can feel like you're getting your revenge now, because out of 10 Japanese characters on TV now, 5 are played by Koreans. It used to drive me nuts to listen to that Korean guy on "Heroes" speak Japanese.
And @Anonymous, why is it okay to call Ken a "dumb haole?" Would you feel okay calling him a "dumb (choose your favorite anti-semetic term and insert it here)" or if he were black would you let the the "N word" fly?
Ken, I think it would be appropriate for you as the moderator of this blog to delete that comment. If you want to apologize for misspelling the Hawai'ian holiday greeting, that is your preroggative, I guess. I would accept it as social commentary on the Christian hegemony of Hawai'ian culture. After all, why should Hawai'ians need to say "Merry Christmas" if it weren't for the missionaries who brought Christ to the islands?
The movie Adaptation confused me about McKee. I am sure that Charlie Kaufman thinks that he is a joke an tells him so in the movie but then resorts to his method when he is stuck. I guess Kaufman confuses everyone.
Dave from Athens
Chris Anton said...
I'm currently watching the "Oops" episode of Frasier. In the third act a wall hole is used as a plot point, with the wall prominently displayed. I noticed defined shadows on the wall. The shadows were a result of the angle, with no relation to the story. Shadows are typically a taboo in television, with multiple lights used to eliminate them.
My question is: Have you ever been inspired to use shadows/special lighting to tell a story? And, if so, how did you accomplish it?
A next Friday question: you've often talked about "breaking down the story" in the room or with your partner. Can you talk a little about what that entails? Is it just fleshing out the idea? Finding specific lengths or number of scenes?
Thanks! Hope Hawaii is treating you well. It's raining in Vancouver. : (
Philippe said...
Hey Ken -
About your comments regarding Robert McKee; you've seen instances where applying his structure elements was definitely detrimental?
Some final questions as we wrap up this year
The guy who built the MASH set comments for this b...
My favorite quotes of 2010
My Best & Worst of 2010
How to sell a one-hour drama to FX or USA or A&E o...
The winter wonderland of Hawaii
Great name for a SPORTS ILLUSTRATED swimsuit model...
L.A. is so much better without people!
A Xmas show by Matt Weiner & me
My favorite Christmas video
Was Sid Caesar supposed to play the Coach on CHEER...
The digital Nativity scene
How did we handle drinking on CHEERS?
Confessions of a night person
My Christmas movies recommendations
Finally! Something important to vote for!
A touching Christmas story
How could EVERYBODY get this wrong?
Some dude built the MASH set in his backyard
FRASIER starring Lisa Kudrow?
How FRASIER came to be
Stupid pilot notes
Who is Richard Castle really?
One of these pictures is not of Hawaii
Okay, you can play Christmas music now
Anna Faris: I sexted my dad
Black & Blue Christmas
My all-time favorite sitcom scene
Shopping at the Sky Mall
The night I met John Lennon
Trailer moments
Today's Wal-Mart Chanukah special!
WALKING DEAD fires their entire writing staff
What's it like writing for animals?
A non-Christmas Christmas show
Ron Santo
Directing FRASIER
What was in the envelope
My role in the Patty Hearst kidnapping
You've got to read this Spiderman review
Leslie Nielsen jokes? Already?


text:
5 Reasons "Anina Net" IS Fashion Tech Today
Author: xoxo The Guest
LED lights, 3D prints, EEG devices: They all made a splash at New York Fashion Week in February 2016. Fashion tech has only just begun its reign on the runway. But it's a trend that international model and fashion tech entrepreneur Anina Net envisioned long ago. While other fashion visionaries were playing with silhouettes, fabrics, and hues, Anina was building a network of fashion and tech professionals to revolutionize the space as we know it. As Queen of Raw prepares for the release of the 360Fash Tech Kit and LED Ribbons with Anina and a slew of other experts, we figured you should know know a bit more about one of the first fashion tech-preneurs. Here are five things that make Anina Net someone you NEED to know before New York Fashion Week kicks off.
1. Her family's tech heritage almost took her down a different career path.
"My family [is made up of] all computer engineers, and so I was expected to follow in their footsteps. But then I took a left at the Paris catwalks and began a career in modeling. I used technology to help me network faster, communicate better, and promote myself across social media. I am the original "Model Blogger" and one of the first to ever share the backstage of modeling on a public platform."
2. She's the CEO and founder of 360Fashion Network.
"I started 360Fashion Network actually as a mobile blogging, 360 degree overview on fashion, and empowered people like Imran Ahmed from Business of Fashion and Diane Pernet from A Shaded View on Fashion with the latest technology. I knew their sites would grow into the new kind of news platforms. I moved to mobile apps and geo-location, and if I had to hear one more time in 2005 'who would ever make a mobile app' from a fashion designer, I was going to scream. I was simply too early."
3. She's a big deal in the Chinese fashion world and the go-to expert on entering the market.
"I kept my passion [alive] for applying new technologies to fashion and in 2007 decided to go where there were 1.3 billion people with mobile phones, blogs, and an emerging market: China. I decided I would become China's number one foreign fashion model, and in two years I achieved that as [CCTV's "China's Top Foreign Model" in 2009]. My face everywhere, I decided it was the right time to launch my company in China and work from the top down."
"[Today], the innovation coming out of China is phenomenal. Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, all are producing great apps, wearables, IOT—it's simply behind a firewall, and Chinese are not notorious for investing in marketing and brand communication. They are still on a practical sales level, so that is a great opportunity for brands to partner on design, ideas, and sales channels. Without Asia, fashion doesn't work. And the China market is ripe for foreign technologies--they are starting to understand the value of high quality. There's a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to expand their business. We are creating that bridge between east and west, fashion and technology."
4. She attributes modeling for giving her an inside look into how fashion meets tech.
"Models are mobile, so I used my phone for EVERYTHING. Due to my tech background, I could do things with my phones that others could not do—configure it, hack it, and make it work for me in ways that are very common place today, but at that time it was near impossible unless you were the god of Nokia. In fact, it was thanks to Nokia that I was given technical support, training, and education on the latest tech. I knew about technologies that shape our world today before they even entered the marketplace so I could envision how they would be applied or could be used in the fashion industry."
5. She launched the yearly 360Fashion & Tech Expo and "Startup Runway & Innovation Awards" to unite and celebrate movers-and-shakers in the field.
"The fashion industry is a tactile industry. We need to see it, touch it, feel it to then imagine how it can be and how it can be better...By bringing together the latest technology entrepreneurs with leading fashion brands in an interactive VISIONARY environment, it is an experience that lets everyone imagine how the future could look. It sparks new and better ideas. It allows them to play and try the new technologies, gather more information, learn, and for the entrepreneurs, they can create new partnerships, gain clients, and get valuable feedback.
"The events also create an atmosphere that is attractive to women. We really want to attract more women to the technology industry, and fashion tech seems to be a place where women feel powerful and non-competitive. Lastly, how do you get the whole eco-system in the room to talk about innovation? Most events are segmented: only engineers, only fashion, only IOT...to create the new digital lifestyle, all aspects need to work and think together to create our world...It's not a one-sided decision, we need to think together, the whole ecosystem, to find our way."
For both aspiring and established designers, Anina is the reason why fashion tech is not only a reality on the runway but also accessible for your future creations. So all you have to do is focus on the art.


In October, 2015, I wrote an ArtsHacker article about new proposed overtime limits and wage rules. In May, 2016, the Department of Labor released the finalized rules which will go into effect on December 1, 2016. Since these new rules have the potential to affect millions of employees, particularly those who work in arts nonprofits, it's important to take a look at them.
Since 1940, the regulations implementing the white collar exemption have generally required each of three tests to be met for the exemption to apply: (1) the employee must be paid a predetermined and fixed salary that is not subject to reduction because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed (the "salary basis test"); (2) the amount of salary paid must meet a minimum specified amount (the "salary level test"); and (3) the employee's job duties must primarily involve executive, administrative, or professional duties as defined by the regulations (the "duties test").
The new rules which go into effect on December 1, 2016 maintain those exemption tests, but up the minimum salary to $47,476 per year. So, to be exempt from overtime pay under the new regulations, employees must meet all three tests and make more than $47,476 annually. There are some caveats to this rule, mainly that the organization must make $500,000 in earned revenue each year, but many mid and large sized arts groups will fall under these wage rules.
An excellent guide to the ways this could affect nonprofit employees was published by the Department of Labor. Included are ways to determine if your organization is covered under the Fair Standards Labor Act, determining who falls under the new overtime labor rules, and potential solutions for compliance.
If there is any question whether you as an employee fall under the new rules, be sure to consult with someone with legal expertise.


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The texture permits varying degrees of coverage and ensures staying power. The tip can be sharpened for an effortless, accurate application. The pencil's small size allows you to take it with you everywhere. Water resistant. Dermatologically tested. Paraben free.
Intense colour and shine that feels wonderfully smooth. In a single stroke, achieve well-defined, wet-look. Apply to the lips. Reapply several times a day.
HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE, BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2, SQUALANE, BIS-BEHENYL/ISOSTEARYL/PHYTOSTERYL DIMER DILINOLEYL DIMER DILINOLEATE, POLYETHYLENE, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, TRIISOSTEARIN, DIISOSTEARYL MALATE, CERA MICROCRISTALLINA (MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX/CIRE MICROCRISTALLINE), TRIMETHYLOLPROPANE TRIETHYLHEXANOATE, MICA, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRAETHYLHEXANOATE, POLYAMIDE-3, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, PROPYLENE CARBONATE, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-t-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE, TOCOPHEROL. +/- (MAY CONTAIN): CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE), CI 77491 - CI 77492 - CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES), CI 15850 (RED 6, RED 7 LAKE), CI 19140 (YELLOW 5 LAKE), CI 15985 (YELLOW 6 LAKE), CI 42090 (BLUE 1 LAKE), CI 45380 (RED 22 LAKE), CI 45410 (RED 28 LAKE).
Very little product for your money - only 1.5g. The crayon is so small that you have to spend time applying.
These are really dinky lip crayons with some sheen rather than lip glosses. They are more like the size of a lip liner. I have found this means that you have to really smoosh your lips together and go over them if you don't have a mirror handy to ensure you have covered all of your lips. It does mean you can fit them into the smallest bag.
All the shades looked very wearable. I have 02 Vibrant Camellia and 04 Chic Geranium. One is a very nice every day pink and the other is my kind of pinky purply shade.