text:
Category: Food For Thought
PhotoSynth & Web 2.0—Worth Thinking About
Sunday Thought Dept.
Warning: this is seriously different from the usual fare here but fits roughly into my occasional "Sunday Thought" posts. I've been thinking hard about how to make the web more compelling for users and especially how to integrate the local interests that seem so weakly represented on the internet. As part of that exploration I ran across a research program labeled "PhotoSynth." It offers a way to integrate "place" into the abstract digital world of the web in a pretty compelling way if your interest is in localism: it automatically recreates a 3 dimensional world from any random set of photographs of a scene and allows tags and links to be embedded in them. Once anyone has tagged a local feature (say the fireman's statue on Vermillion St. or a associated a review with a picture of Don's Seafood downtown.) everyone else's images are, in effect, enriched by their ability to "inherit" that information.
But it seems that it is a lot more than just the best thing to happen to advocates of web localism in a long time. It's very fundamental stuff, I think, with implications far beyond building a better local web portal…. Read On…
Photosynth aka "Photo Tourism" encapsulates a couple of ideas that are well worth thinking hard about. Potentially this technical tour de force provides a new, automated, and actually valuable way of building representations of the world we live in.
This is a big deal.
Before I get all abstract on you (as I am determined to do) let me strongly encourage you to first take a look at the most basic technical ideas behind what I'm talking about. Please take the time to absorb a five and a half minute video illustrating the technology. If you're more a textural learner you can take a quick look at the text-based, photo-illustrated overview from the Washington State/MS lab. But I recommend trying the video first.
(Sorry this video was removed by YouTube).
You did that? Good; thanks….otherwise the rest will be pretty opaque—more difficult to understand than it needs to be.
One way to look at what the technology does is that it recreates a digitized 3D world from a 2D one. It builds a fully digital 3D model of the world from multiple 2D photos. Many users contribute their "bits" of imagery and, together, they are automatically interlinked to yield, out of multiple points of view, a "rounded" representation of the scene. The linkages between images are established on the basis of data inside the image–on the basis of their partial overlap—and ultimately on the basis of their actually existing next to each other—and this is done without the considered decisions of engaged humans.
Why is that a big deal?
Because its not all handmade. Today's web is stunningly valuable but it is also almost completely hand-made. Each image or word is purpose-chosen for its small niche on a web page or in its fragment of context. The links that connect the web's parts are (for the most part) hand-crafted as well and represent someone's thoughtful decision. Attempts to automate the construction of the web, to automatically create useful links, have failed miserably—largely because connections need to be meaningful in terms of the user's purpose and algorithms don't grok meaning or purpose.
The web has been limited by its hand-crafted nature. There is information (of all sorts, from videos of pottery being thrown, to bird calls, to statistical tables) out there we can't get to—or even get an indication that we ought to want to get to. We rely mostly on links to find as much as we do and those rely on people making the decision to hand-craft them. But we don't have the time, or the inclination, to make explicit and machine-readable all the useful associations that lend meaning to what encounter in our lives. So the web remains oddly thin—it consists of the few things that are both easy enough and inordinately important enough to a few of our fellows to get represented on the net. It is their overwhelming number and the fact that we are all competent in our own special domains that makes the web so varied and fascinating.
You might think that web search, most notably the big success story of the current web, Google's, serves as a ready substitute for consciously crafted links. We think Google links us to appropriate pages without human intervention. But we're not quite right—Google's underlying set of algorithms, collectively known as "PageRank," mostly just ranks pages by reference to how many other pages link to those pages and weights those by the links form other sites that those pages receive…and so on. To the extent that web search works it relies on making use of handmade links. The little fleas algorithm.™ It's handmade links all the way down.
Google was merely the first to effectively repackage human judgment. You've heard of web 2.0? (More) The idea that underpins that widely hyped craze is that you can go to your users to supply the content, the meaning, the links. That too is symptomatic of what I'm trying to point to here: the model that relies solely on the web being built by "developers" who are guessing their users needs has reached its limits.
That's why Web 2.0 is a big deal: The folks designing the web are groping toward a realization of their limits, how to deal with them, and keep the utility of the web growing.
It is against that backdrop that PhotoSynth appears. It represents another path toward a richer web. The technologies it uses have been combined to contextually indexes images based on their location in the real, physical world. The physical world becomes its own index—one that exist independently of hand-crafted links. Both Google and Yahoo have been looking for a way to harness "localism," recognizing that they are missing a lot of what is important to users by not being able to locate places, events, and things that are close to the user's physical location.
The new "physical index" would quickly become intertwined with the meaning-based web we have developed. Every photo that you own would, once correlated with the PhotoSynth image, "inherit" all the tags and links embedded in all the other imagery there or nearby. More and more photos are tagged with meta-data and sites like flicker allow you to annotate elements of the photograph (as does PhotoSynth). The tags and links represented tie back into the already established web of hand-crafted links and knit them together in new ways. And it potentially goes further: Image formats typically already support time stamps and often a time stamp is registered in a digital photograph's metadata even when the user is unaware of it. Though I've not seen any sign thatPhotoSynth makes use of time data it would be clearly be almost trivial to add that functionality. And that would add an automatic "time index" to the mix. So if you wanted to see pictures of the Vatican in every season you could…or view images stretching back to antiquity.
It's easy to fantasize about how place, time, and meaning-based linking might work together. Let's suppose you stumble across a nifty picture of an African Dance troupe. Metadata links that to a date and location—Lafayette in April of 2005. A user tag associated with the picture is "Festival International." From there you get to the Festival International de Louisiane website. You pull up—effectively create—a 3-D image of the Downtown venue recreated from photos centered on the stage 50 feet from where the metadata says the picture was taken. A bit of exploration in the area finds Don's Seafood, the Louisiana Crafts Guild, a nifty fireman's statue, a fountain (with an amazing number of available photos) and another stage. That stage has a lot of associations with "Zydeco" and "Cajun" and "Creole." You find yourself virtually at the old "El Sido's," get a look at the neighborhood and begin to wonder about the connections between place, poverty, culture, and music….
The technologies used in SynthPhoto are not new or unique. Putting them all together is…and potentially points the way toward a very powerful way to enhance the web and make it more powerfully local.
Worth thinking about on a quiet Sunday afternoon.
Lots o' Langiappe:
TED talk Video — uses a Flickr data set to illustrate how the program can scoop up any imagry. This was the first reference I fell across.
Photo Tourism Video — Explains the basics, using the photo tourism interface. Shows the annotation feature of the program…
Roots of PhotoSynth Research Video—an interesting background bit…seadragon, stitching & virtual tourist, 3D extraction….
PhotoSynth on the Web Video: a version of the program is shown running in a web browser; only available to late version Microsoft users. (Web Site)
Microsoft Interactive Visual Media Group Site. Several of these projects look very interesting—and you can see how some of the technologies deployed in PhotoSynth have been used in other contexts.
Microsoft PhotoSynth Homepage
Author FiberFolkPosted on July 22, 2007 August 27, 2016 Categories BestOf, Dreams, Food For Thought, International, Lafayette, Lafayette Commons, Local, National, Sunday Thought1 comment
Verizon's fiber-optic payoff | CNET News.com
Food for Thought, Learning from the Big Guys Division:
"Verizon's fiber-optic payoff;" The premise of this story is that Verizon did right by going with a Fiber To The Home plan…and AT&T/BellSouth messed up by trying to get by on the cheap. Verizon will have the bandwidth and the flexibility to compete more than adequately against the cable companies. But AT&T will not, on the basis of this author's analysis.
Lafayette can mine Verizon's experience for insight into how an all-fiber network can compete against the cablecos. Verizon will be several years ahead of LUS in the deployment of a new fiber system and its successes can be followed and its failures avoided. Verizon is, happily for Lafayette, not the incumbent locally. It's enormous numbers will allow suppliers and developers for its products to supply a place like Lafayette almost as an afterthought–and at reasonable prices since the big-ticket purchaser is the giant Verizon. Even better, the also-rans on giant Verizon contracts will be looking for a place to prove their ideas. If Lafayette's buyer's are wise we'll be able to cut some interesting deals on cutting-edge ideas that badly need a place to demonstrate that their ideas are viable before marketing it to the big fellow. A real danger has always been that LUS would be so far ahead of what the market in other places can provide that useful products would have to be untested and hand-crafted for us. That could be exciting…but expensive. Much better to have a big trailblazer proving basic concepts somewhere else. Then we only have to lay in a better implementation.
Apparently Verizon is succeeding. Thought its stock has taken a hit because of its heavy, long term investment in fiber has suppressed earnings its subscriber numbers are very healthy for the same reason. Its bet on a combination of old-style cable technology, fancy new IPTV for the extras, and fiber to the home capacity is allowing the company success in delivering both a high-quality, reliable TV experience, and fancy new IP services. AT&T, on the other hand, has high stock prices but low subscriber numbers for its new hybrid fiber/DSL that uses unstable IP for all its services. If I were looking at a long-term investment I know where my money would go.
The ticket for Verizon so far appears to be sticking to the absolutely reliable technology on the cash cow—cable TV—and using the capacity of fiber to deliver more channels; especially to deliver more bandwidth-hungry HDTV. In addition they are mounting an aggressive push into IP-based services. Verizon is clear about the need to migrate to a full IP system as soon as the technology is proven and it, and AT&T's committment, ensures that the kinks will be worked out of IPTV sooner rather than later. All in all Verizon's success validates the similar decisions made by the technical guys at LUS; the bottom line is that it's good news for LUS.
Is there a downside for Lafayette? Sure. LUS may not compete with Verizon but Cox does. And as Verizon proves that fiber means deadly competition Cox is more likely to feel the pressure to develop effective ways to expand its own bandwidth and competitive delivery of services. But that's not all bad of course–for the consumer. The catch for Cox is that Verizon is currently succeeding without competing much on price. LUS will and that and the local loyalty that LUS has gained (and Cox forfeited) makes LUS a much tougher target locally than Verizon is through most of its footprint.
The real loser? AT&T/BellSouth who will have the least capable system in the city and very little room to really compete on price.
Author FiberFolkPosted on June 25, 2007 Categories BS/ATT, Competition, Cox, Food For Thought, Lafayette, Local, Sunday Thought0 comments
Creating a Lafayette Commons
Here's something that's worth the read on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It's an inspiring essay titled "Reclaiming the Commons" by David Bollier. He bitterly complains about the growing tendency to allow our common resources and heritage —from concrete public property like oil or grazing rights on public land, to more abstract rights to goods created by regulation like the electro-magnetitc spectrum, to truly abstract (but very real and increasingly valuable) rights to common ideas and intellectual resources— those common resources are being taken from us and handed over to the few.
The argument is that we are all poorer for it. And that society would be richer if those things remained in the public domain. He convincingly argues that undue private ownership of ideas stifles the invention of new variants and new ideas.
The point for Lafayette is that we are about to create a new common resource: the Lafayette fiber intranet, and we are creating it as a publicly-owned resource. If Bollier is right then we have a real responsibility to make sure that our common property serves the common good and that it not be "enclosed" by the few.
We here in Lafayette will be in the nearly unique position of commonly owning a completely up-to-date telecommunications infrastructure ranging from a fiber-all-the-way-to-the-home network, to a wifi network using the capacity of that fiber. A citizen who wants to will be able to get all of his telecommunications needs met using local resources, resources that are owned in common.
A lot of what is missing on the web is access to local resources-the church calendar, the schedule for the shrimp truck, what vegetables are available at the farmer's market, specials at the local restaurants, nearby childcare, adult ed resources, local jobs…and much more aren't available or are the next best thing to impossible to usefully gather in one place. We could, by acting together, fix that.
Creating a thriving network-based commons is the task that is set before us. Bollier gives us some insight into the magnitude of what is at stake. We can, by the way we participate and what we create, create a truly common and truly valuable resource.
Give the Bollier article a look. Then think a bit about what we can do to make ours a transparently valuable network–one that will encourage all to participate fully.
(Hey, we can be idealists if we want. :-))
Author FiberFolkPosted on June 18, 2007 Categories Dreams, Food For Thought, Lafayette, Lafayette Commons, Local, National, opportunity, Sunday Thought0 comments
Thinking in Tucson, AZ: Getting it Right
Muniwireless points to a study, meant to inform about how to write up a request for proposals for Tucson's prospective wireless RFP that caught my attention. First, the extent of the research and the detail in the study far exceeds that which goes into most full proposals, much less the RFP. A large amount of information about broadband usage, digital divide issues, and market questions is in this study—enough to provide plenty of well-researched data to support both public purposes (like economic expansion and bridging the digital divide) and to support a strong marketing plan (it includes current costs of broadband and geographical usage patterns).
Lafayette needs such a public document. Without the baseline it provides it will be difficult to demonstrate the success of the fiber project. You need such a baseline to demonstrate the economic benefits and to document the effects of lower cost broadband on bringing new faces into the broadband world.
But if possible, even more impressive than the original survey research was the quality of thought exhibited. Doing a study like this is a job–and most folks are tempted to do the job to specs even if that is not what is called for by the reality of the situation. CTC, the consultants doing this study didn't succumb to that temptation. The job specs, it is clear, were to tell the city how to write an RFP that get private agencies to provide city-wide wifi without municipal investment. Universal coverage, closing the digital divide and economic development were apparently important parameters given the consultants.
Trouble is, it's become clear that the private sector simply won't, and perhaps can't, fill that wishlist. And CTC, instead of just laying out what would give such an RFP the best chance, more or less told the city it couldn't have all that without at least committing as the major anchor tenet. That was responsible, if unlikely to make the clients happy. And on at least two other points (Digital Divide issues and Fiber) they pushed their clients hard.
1) Digital Divide issues:
The interviews indicated that as computers become more affordable, the digital inclusion challenge that needs to be addressed is not as much equipment-based but rather how to overcome the monthly Internet access charge. (p. 18)
Concentrate WiFi provider efforts on low-cost or free access – not the other elements of the digital divide. (p. 17)
Entering the digital community is no longer about hardware; it's about connectivity. The hardware is a one-time expense that is getting smaller and smaller with each day. Owning a computer is no longer the issue it once was. Keeping it connected is the real fiscal barrier these days. As their survey work shows, the people most effected know this themselves.
A CTC review of Lafayette's project would note we're doing several things they say most cities neglect to do: 1) LUS has consistently pushed lower prices as it major contribution to closing the digital divide—(and we must make sure that there is an extremely affordable lower tier available on both the FTTH and the WiFi components). 2) Ubiquitous coverage is a forgone conclusion; LUS will serve all–something no incumbent will promise (and something they have fought to prevent localities from requiring). 3) Avoiding means-testing. Lafayette's planned solutions are all available to all…but most valuable and attractive to those with the least. Means-testing works (and is intended to work) to reduce the number of people taking advantage of the means-tested program. If closing the digital divide is the purpose means-testing is counterproductive.
About hardware, yes, working to systematically lower the costs and accessibility of hardware through wise selection, quantity purchase, and allowing people to pay off an inexpensive computer with a small amount each month on their telecom bill makes a lot of sense and should be pursued. But the prize is universal service and lowering the price of connectivity. Eyes, as is said, on the prize.
CTC additionally recommends against allowing extremely low speeds for the inclusion tier and for a built-in process for increasing that speed as the network proves itself. It also rejects the walled-garden approach, an approach which they discreetly don't say out loud, turns the inclusion tier into a private reserve that will inevitably be run for the profit of the provider.
2) The Necessity of Fiber
CTC also boldly emphasized fiber, not wireless, as the most desirable endpoint for Tucson.
We strongly recommend that the City of Tucson view the WiFi effort as a necessary first step, then look at ways to embrace and encourage incremental steps toward fiber deployment to large business and institutions, then smaller business, and eventually to all households. (p. 19)
Although wireless technologies will continue to evolve at a rapid pace, wireless will not replace fiber for delivering high-capacity circuits to fixed locations. In addition, fiber will always be a necessary component of any wireless network because it boosts capacity and speed. (p. 20)
The report explicitly rejects the theory that wireless will ever become the chief method for providing broadband service to fixed locations like businesses or homes. Few in the business of consulting on municipal wireless networking are so forthright in discussing the limitations of wireless technologies and the role of fiber in creating a successful wireless network that is focused on what wireless does best: mobile computing.
Again, good thinking.
Communities would do well to think clearly about what they want, what is possible, and the roles of fiber and wireless technologies can play in their communities' futures. CTC has done a real service to the people of Tuscon. Too much unsupported and insupportable hype has driven muni wireless projects. That unrealistic start will come back to haunt municipal broadband efforts nationally as the failed assumptions show up in the form of failed projects. But those mistakes were not inevitable. The people of Lafayette should take some comfort in the fact that we haven't made the sorts of mistakes that Tuscon's consultants warn against and are planning on implementing its most crucial recommendations.
Author FiberFolkPosted on June 4, 2007 Categories BestOf, digital divide, Dreams, Food For Thought, Lafayette, Local, National, Sunday Thought, WiFi0 comments
Just Not True: Cable Rates Not Falling in Texas
Here's something to think about:
Competition has not led to lower basic cable-rates in Texas. (MultiChannel News)
That's the long and the short of it according to a study by the Texas chapter of NATOA.
Two years ago Texas' Telephone companies (basically SBC (now AT&T) and Verizon) used the Texas legislature's famous penchant for failed deregulation to initiate a national push to move control of cable franchise from local communities to the state. The phone companies' purpose was to avoid the demand that cable companies serve the entire community—and not just the most profitable part–if the companies wanted to use the right-of-way property owned by the community to turn a profit on the people living there. Local counties and municipalities consistently insisted on this principle….and the new state "regulators" (deregulators) do not. Louisiana dodged a bullet last year when Governor Blanco vetoed a similar bill approved by our legislators.
The Texas legislators were promised that they'd see "competition" and dramatic reductions in prices in exchange for removing local government's ability to determine what is done with local property. And as the phone company juggernaut rolled through state legislatures they promised state after state the same — and told them it had worked in Texas, the first state in the union to enact such a law. They told that story about the success of competition in the halls of Congress as well. It was easy to believe; after all everyone knows that competition brings lower prices.
Except it hadn't worked. And it still isn't working….
You can take a look at the data gathered by the Texas chapter of NATAO. What is clearly shown is that the cable companies are not lowering their rates to compete with Verizon and SBC/BS/AT&T's very limited rollout.
This is very similar to the disappointment that has accompanied the fashionable deregulation of electricity in a number of states. The data shows that the electricity is cheaper in the regulated states–and the gap is growing.
What's wrong with picture? Why hasn't "competition" worked? Legislators across the nation have endorsed the politically correct argument raised by the monopoly corporations that owned the electrical and telecom wires and bet their citizen's money on the faith that deregulation would lead to falling prices. They, and their constituents, have lost that bet. And a whole lot of people are trying to make sure that the public does not notice.
Here is a hard truth: The blind faith that "deregulation" leads to true price competition is a false faith. In natural monopoly markets regulation–or public ownership–is the only real way to establish fair prices. Utility markets are monopoly markets…and giving the monopolists free reign won't lower prices–quite the contrary. Utility deregulation is a failed experiment.
It is something the country as a whole ought to be thinking through rationally. The honest solution is to reinstitute real regulation where markets don't work. Most places don't have the resources to resist the drain on community wealth that private energy utilities and private telecommunications utilities represent. But a few communities, like Lafayette, can choose to opt out of the mistakes that the rest of the country is making. Lafayette has done so and will have its own locally-regulated power and telecom utilities.
Lafayette made the right choice on July 16th two years ago.
Author FiberFolkPosted on May 27, 2007 Categories BS/ATT, Food For Thought, Lafayette, Local, National, Sunday Thought1 comment
We are in the final days…of TV1.0. The signs are everywhere. Most recently, I received an invite (thanks to a sympathetic reader) to beta test Joost–a combo software client and web-based content library that allows the user to demonstrate for themselves that the old way of doing things is numbered.
TV1.0 is the familiar old broadcast model of one broadcaster sending to many, passive "receivers." TV stations send their signal out and we sit and watch it. Defined by limited spectrum, there were only a few channels, shows appeared in their set time slot, for the defined number of minutes less the minutes devoted to the ubiquitous ads. Shows are designed to appeal to the broadest number of people and offend the fewest. Cable changed very little except that it gave you more channels. PBS introduced the idea of voluntary subscription support–but remains in other ways locked into the broadcast model as well.
There's lots to hate about this model of video. (And I've been happy to jump in; see "Die TV. Die! Die! Die!" or "Why You Want Real Bandwidth".) I've called the emerging model "DV" for Downloadable Video. The basic idea is that when bandwidth is no longer scarce (e.g. when we have fiber to the home) and we can download video to our hearts content, then the reasons for the old, annoying way of getting video will go away and new forms will emerge that cater to our obvious interest in watching shows whenever we want to, unlimited by advertiser-defined time slots, and uninterrupted by ads. Shows can be designed to appeal to the passionate viewer and world-wide, cheap, direct-to-consumer distribution can be counted on to provide an audience to support even the most specialized shows.
Joost plays in to this because it has become the most credible contender for long-show, commercially-produced content king. (YouTube has the short piece, self-produced end of the DV market pretty much sown up–and in some ways is even further into a DV1.0 world.) Joost first hit the news as the brainchild of the same guys who brought you the telephony-disrupting Skype and terrified the music and video businesses with Kazaa. The trick in all these enterprises was leveraging the unused bandwidth of customers using an idea described as peer-to-peer aka P2P. In return for the downloaded service you get you let the network use your spare uploading capacity.
Joost uses this technology as well and so holds down their main operating costs…but the real splash came when they began to sign up real, long-form content and supported it with in-video advertising. That gave them both content credibility and a visible business plan–something no similar competitor has. The jury is still out on whether long-form content has to be supported by advertising that is embedded in the download or whether, like YouTube, advertising can be on the supporting web page or whether, like iTunes, a pay-per-view model is possible.
Part of what is interesting about Joost is that they are setting up to be a very social site. They've got chat, you can invite friends, and there is an API for new widgets that could further extend the ability to hook into IP services and RSS feeds. This opens doors. Conceivably one could invite friends from all over the country to watch the same show or sporting event and chat online while it was playing. No doubt "clubs" will arise focused around particular shows and scheduled meetings. RSS will allow for further amalgamation and integration with other services and video feeds.
But the proof is in the pudding; or in this case, the viewing. I recently sat down, played around with the (very slick) interface and actually settled in to watch a commercial TV/now DV show. It played at full screen on my laptop–there was noticeable blockiness but no actual hesitations even though the feed was being relayed over my wifi. Cox had provided me access to the first real, commercial television show I've streamed down and watched in its entirety over the internet instead of watching it when it was scheduled to be on cable. It's a sign. We're in the final days of TV1.0.
(Like the idea and have found by clicking through that Joost is still in beta and requires an invite from a user? Happy days: GigaOm's influential NewTeeVee blog has the pull to get a simple sign-in sheet for its readers. You can use it too.)
Incidently, there are other, less high-profile startups trying to do something similar. The Joost page on Wikipedia points to several. I'd particularly recommend the Democracy site and player.
Author FiberFolkPosted on May 20, 2007 Categories Dreams, Food For Thought, Lafayette, National, Sunday Thought3 comments
Learning & Teaching—and the Library
Here's something that is a short, fun, watch but deserves a longer, contemplative, consideration.
It's a roller coaster ride done in a classic Atari program. Go try it, noting the long, long rise at the end where you get to look down on the roller coaster below you.
Go on, this is fun and the rest won't make sense unless you've actually tried it: YouTube – Real Estate Roller Coaster
OK, now the not-so-fun part. That is a video that maps the cost-adjusted price of housing stock since 1890. (Here's what that looks like in a NYTimes graph–you'll recognize the "ride.") Before you cry "boring–the worst of social studies" let me hasten to say that while I do not find the content boring (after all I was a social studies teacher in another life–and own my home) that is not why I've posted this for your lazy Sunday consideration.
I'm more interested in the context of this blog in the very interesting fact that you can learn something from this video that you can't learn in more standard ways. We learn most usefully from "experience." Educators mean something pretty specific when they use that term and it doesn't preclude learning that takes place in schools. It includes things like this video which give you the experience of change over time. This is pretty different from the all -at-once time-abstracted image you get from the graph.
Long story short: this is a fine learning/teaching tool.
What makes that interesting here is that it was made by a "regular person" using the cheapest of hardware and software to help folks understand something which is otherwise difficult to put across about a very special interest of his or her own. That sort of individually localized "production" of sophisticated material is new…and very encouraging.
If we want more of this sort of thing we should do a couple of things: 1) Supply big, cheap, upload bandwidth–so that people can do video uploads or serve a few videos effectively from their own server. 2) Provide access to sophisticated and flexible software…this video required mating graphs with a 3D game program.
We'll soon enough have #1 covered in Lafayette, and with the amazing bandwidth that will make available, at least on the local intranet, we'll have the potential to use increasing sophisticated programs located on the net that will help with #2. If we choose, we can buy access to amazingly sophisticated programs and offer fast access to them through a local "library" organization. The library here has some technically sophisticated folks; librarians caught on to the value of communications technology early. I see no reason that the Lafayette Public Library couldn't offer such a "loan" program and occasional classes on the software. (They already offer more basic computer/net classes.)
It is worth really thinking about how we can set the stage for our community to have access to the creative tools they might need to create really interesting products.
An on-net software library might be an way to exploit the utility of our fast intranet and the power of the pooled resource of the community library for everyone's benefit.
Author FiberFolkPosted on April 22, 2007 Categories Dreams, Food For Thought, Lafayette, Local, Sunday Thought0 comments
Food For Thought: LUS' Wireless RFP
A little more than a week ago I posted a piece about LUS' Wireless RFP (request for proposals) and asked a few questions. Since no one else answered them I decided to go down to City Hall and pick up a copy for myself.
For those who might have missed the story, LUS put out a call for proposals to supply what was described as a wireless network for LUS and city use. No mention of public access was made, though locals familiar with the way that the LUS fiber project evolved from purely utility purposes are reasonably hopeful that a wireless network will evolve in the same way.
The RFP itself is pretty simple as such things go and you have to think that bidders will need to request further specifications. But there is enough there take a stab at answer the questions I asked earlier.
Note: this is an 802.11 "WiFi" mesh network. That's the same architecture that is being used in metro wireless installations from Philadelphia to San Francisco. For the technically inclined: the hardware standard described involves two radios operating in two different bands. Specifically, the equivalent of Tropos' most advanced access points, and its software, is specified. (Tropos is the market leader in metro WiFi.)
1. Does it include a very strong backbone "supply" element?
Yes, It is hung directly off LUS's current fiber ring. –It will not be crippled by running off a wireline supply source that has less capacity than it is able to use. (The expense of providing for adequate "backhaul"–and sometimes the ability to find such at any price has been a major limiting factor in most public muni WiFi efforts.)
2. Are upgrade "hooks" part of the proposed deal?
Yes, the request makes it clear that there will be at least a "phase 2" (official protestations aside) and that proposal should take into account the networks eventual expansion to full coverage of the 45 square miles of the city. The access point model specified is the first of a new generation from its maker and future models in the family are promised to be interoperable with these and to support emerging technology and standards like MIMO and WiMax and older standards like public safety.
3. Does it assume ubiquitous fiber?
Hmmn…well maybe or at least implicitly. Nothing beyond the first layer, "phase 1" is specified. But assuming that what is described for phase 1 sets the pattern for the future it looks like the plan is to make full use of the fiber. Wireless mesh networks are built around ratios between aggregation access points that are connected to backhaul networks and simple mesh network which are only connected to other access points via wireless. Common acceptable ratios are 5 or 6 mesh nodes per aggregation point. All too many systems are using larger ratios and putting up with the resulting performance issues. A gold-plated system would use a slightly smaller number. The ratio LUS is suggesting for phase 1 is 1:1.3. That is astonishingly low and only makes sense where the wireless owner also owns the backhaul network (in our case fiber). Other users would have to pay per drop for their microwave, WiMax, T1, fiber link, or the like and such per drop costs would run up the expenses very quickly. Maintaining such a low ratio would mean deploying a system of pretty astonishing capacity. While policy might limit the bandwidth allowed, nothing in the network itself limit network speeds. They could conceivably run at near the rated speed of 802.11 protocols that underpin it–currently about 54 megs.
4. Does it use owned spectrum for local backhaul? Or open? Or fiber?
Fiber. This is certifiably yummy. See above.
5. Does it use open spectrum for the final connection?
Yes. This is a "good thing," for it means that a multitude of low-cost hardware will be able to access the network. Proprietary spectrum has some advantages for local governments and, generally, some is available to it for various safety functions but such networks cannot be practically be opened for public use.
6. What technologies are specified….WiFi, WiMax, etc…?
WiFi is specified. The suggested hardware is software upgradeable.
7. What applications are supported; either explicitly or through the specification of indicative standards?
Support for a wide range of applications including surveillance video, voice, data, mobile communications-seamless roaming, VPN, and meter reading are in the specs.
Long story short: There is nothing here that would impede using this as the core of a very capable public wireless network. Caveat: there is no particular reason for me to assume that it will be — beyond sheer desire and my own belief that a wireless component will be necessary in the coming competition with AT&T/BS and Cox.
Author FiberFolkPosted on January 28, 2007 Categories Construction, Food For Thought, Lafayette, LUS, WiFi221 comments
Municipal Campaign Strategy; Learning from Lafayette
So what did we all learn from the battle of Lafayette? I've been asked recently and have been thinking about it some…What follows is a first draft which focuses pretty much on the active strategies of the two sides as I see it. —It's about what they tried to accomplish and where they wanted the conversation to go. This ignores some interesting larger factors (like trust in the mayor, or the relaxed southern Lousiana attitude toward government, or Lafayette's peculiar ways of organizing influence, for instance) that could be considered important but background factors. It also mostly ignores the tactical questions–how the strategies were enacted–that are some of the more interesting things to come out of this fight. Instead this is a more birds-eye view of what, it seems to me, both sides might have learned from Lafayette's fight for fiber.
First off, it's pretty apparent that the incumbents don't have much new up their sleeves. The campaign they waged here mirrored campaigns they've waged in the past. We didn't see the as dramatic a finish as we saw in the Tri-Cities but that may well have been because the battle was already lost for BellSouth and Cox before the end arrived. But that doesn't mean that their basic idea about what makes for an effective campaign has changed: the basic strategy of sowing fear, uncertainty, and doubt seems pretty constant. The tactics seemed to involve a lot of replays as well…Push polls were used here, albeit pretty counter effectively. We got two last minute overexcited direct mail focusing on false claims about taxes, the repeatedly disproven idea that all municipal broadband (or even most) is failing, and silliness about the debt families are supposedly taken. Too, as in the Tri-Cities, an editorial writer who played a prominent role in the opposition was taken to task for unseemly involvement with the incumbents or their allies. The tactics were mostly retreads; what was different was that the predictable campaign was not fronted entirely by the incumbents themselves but, especially in the last days by their allies at Fiber 411.
One of the things the incumbents learned here was that long campaigns are bad for them. Given time, and an aggressive willingness to fight back, lies can be disproved, push polls turned to outrage, and promoting fear and insulting the intelligence of the locals begins to sour any possible relationship with the community. In Lafayette the fight went on for too long. The incumbents had to trot out their best weapons too early and pro-fiber partisans were able to correctly label them as FUD and drive home the message that the incumbents were not being truthful—a message that inoculated the public against further last minute lies.
Unfortunately, I think the incumbents also learned that, saved to the last minute, and promoted through a local proxy, their FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) approach can still be effective. I agree with Don's analysis that the last minute mailers, the full page ads that simply reprinted a (non)local editorialist's massively inaccurate take and automated phone calling about a new fantasy "debt" issue were effective. They were simply not effective enough. The local pro-fiber groups kept up a dogged insistence, even during the incumbents' quietest moments, that the incumbents and their allies were not truthful. Radio time remained filled with a recut version of the push poll and Lafayette Coming Together (LCT) was relentless in pushing the issue. LCG and LUS, while toning down this message near the end and moving it away from the Terry and Joey, never fully abandoned it.
What the pro-municipal fiber forces learned was probably more valuable: that they can win. The overwhelming economic power of the incumbents can be blunted. Their willingness to leave accuracy and truthfulness aside in the pursuit of their own interests can be turned against them. What it takes is something that most municipal officials will not have the stomach for: a full throated attack on some of the most powerful corporations in their city. Telephone corporations have a long history of being the most "generous" investors in state election campaigns and the most powerful lobbying force in state legislatures. Cable companies control what politicians understand to be the most powerful media in town. Lafayette was willing to fight with a strong local and populist message that clearly labeled its opposition as "greedy" "out-of-state" "monopolies." The spectacle of our Mayor and the head of the utility system "standing up" for Lafayette in a press conference after every bit of misinformation spread by the incumbents and being uncompromising in calling them on each and every false claims was crucial to the campaign. Driving home the message that the incumbents self-interest and greed was driving this process was invaluable in resisting the final onslaught.
There is little doubt that Lafayette had advantages that might not be available in all locales. The bravery of the leadership and its willingness to call a monopoly, a monopoly and greed, greed has already been noted and was tremendously important. There was also a determined, deliberately broad-based coalition of citizens that made it hard to paint the project as one fostered by wealthy technocrats. The coalition group, Lafayette Coming Together, was also quite sophisticated about the use of both old and new media. But the greatest advantage was a pride of place born out of a realistic belief that the region, and Lafayette as the heart of that region, is unique and not subject to rules imposed on us by outsiders. It mixture of cultures, its cultural identities, and the ways the people have found to sustain their cultures make it very difficult for outsiders to successfully come in and infer that the locals are incompetent or successfully introduce effective divisive tactics. (One of the more despicable strategies, used all the way through and culminating in simple lies on Black radio near the end, was to try and split the Creole and black communities away from the rest of the community by using historical resentments which had nothing to do with the issue at hand. Without the aid of community leaders this attempt did not take hold. But the attempt is destined to be one of the longest remembered stains on the campaign of the incumbents and their allies.) Most communities have never had to develop that sort of resilience in the face of outside disapproval but the communities of Acadiana are very good at dismissing outsiders.
Other considerations that helped support a victory in Lafayette appear to be a result of market and national policy worries of the incumbents. Fights like the one in the Tri-Cities can be considered Pyrrych victories—the cost was high, not necessarily in terms of money, but in terms of their reputation both locally and nationally. The cable and telephone companies simply are regional monopolies in their core business and maintaining a favorable regulatory relations at the state level and franchise agreements at the local level depend upon their being perceived as good, or at least benign, local citizens. It will surely take a decade or more to regain that status in the Tri-Cities; even voters who succumbed to the arguments of the incumbents could not help but notice the fear-based tactics that were used to bring them along. There was no large federal issue ongoing at the time of the fight in Illinois. But major initiatives of both the Cable and the Phone companies are before statehouses and more importantly, the Congress. The centrally important 1996 telecom act is up for revision this legislative season, in but one example. An ugly, high-profile attack on Lafayette when the defenders were willing to fight back by identifying the incumbent corporations as "greedy monopolists" may well have been too much to stomach for those at corporate central who felt they had bigger fish to fry and to much to lose to risk that sort of battle in a single small city.
Finally there is the basic market motivation: too much bad behavior damages the bottom line–if you lose. Surely BellSouth and Cox had done their own polling and could read the writing on the wall as well as anyone. The referendum was going to succeed and p0lling no doubt showed that the first reaction of the population to a new round of misinformation would turn more people against them than it gained. If there was any doubt about that the swift and overwhelmingly hostile reaction to the second push poll this summer proved the point that the usual incumbent tactics had become counter-productive. The hard truth was that BellSouth and Cox still had to compete in Lafayette and a loss in a full scale assault would have immediately pushed the likely "take rate" among voters past 5o% percent if corporate behavior turned a "Yes" vote into a vote against Cox and BellSouth. Working through proxies and saving the mail pieces and scare phoning until the end when they could not be answered might well have been all that can be done without damaging their market position by turning the referendum into a marketing tool for LUS.
Lafayette's battle deserves, I believe, to be seen as one model for regaining local control of crucial monopoly infrastructure. The underlying populist message of local self-determination and legitimate anger toward regional monopolies like BellSouth and Cox was what drove the winning argument in Lafayette. People saw nothing wrong with building for themselves a network that the incumbents refused to build for them. Similarly, people do understand that these companies are monopolies whose bottom line has nothing to do with what is best for the communities across the country in which they reside. That is the core upon which electoral success was built. Lafayettes' leadership, her aware citizens' group, a committed 'old Lafayette' leadership, and the way her cultural distinctiveness played out made the message relatively easy to develop and denied the opposition virtually all local assets. Other communities might not share those particular advantages but the anti-incumbent message that can win has now been established and future communities can sharpen the message and develop their own resources.
Lafayette can be proud to have developed a winning model and strategy—not without help of course, but with plenty of verve. It will be up to our successors to sharpen the tool and make it more generally useful.
Author FiberFolkPosted on July 26, 2005 Categories BestOf, Fiber 411, Fiber fight, Food For Thought, Lafayette, Local, Louisiana, VOE3 comments
"Die TV. Die! Die! Die!" or "Why You Want Real Bandwidth"
Television is really aggravating. We are so used to it that we forget how irritating most of the time but occasionally something happens to remind us just how bad things are. And we go off on TV (and sometimes even go off it for awhile). But we almost never realize why it is so bad.
We hate our TV because of limited bandwidth.
A fella named Ernest Miller reminded me of this with a post of his called "Die Channel. Die! Die! Die!" Ernest is one of those brilliant men who sit down, locate a problem of real substance, and try to fix it. His area is the intersection of law and technology. He's at Yale now and is noted for his work on modern copyright issues. But his complaints about having to watch TV on someone else's scheduling and about the artificial lengths of TV shows is what led me to think once again about how irritating TV is.
And I think we hate our TVs because of long-standing bandwidth limits.
Things to be justly irritated by:
Your favorite show is scheduled at a fixed time every week. (But your schedule isn't fixed to match!)
Somebody in New York thinks all the good stuff ought to come on while you want to sleep. (And you refuse to change your sleeping habits or job to accommodate that New Yorker!)
Apparently there is some "normal" person in Kansas who all these shows is supposed to please mildly without offending very often. (But this fare pleases you about as well as the food in Kansas . . . you want something with a little more life!)
Someone has made up a rule that TV shows can only be shown in increments of a half-hour. (But you are irritated by shows that are have 23 minutes of decent content and 7 minutes of utter fluff!)
Every time something dramatic or interesting is about to happen on a TV show, they go off on a commercial break. (Even worse, you suspect that the only reason anything interesting happened was so that you'd hang around till the commercials were over!)
212 channels and they can't find anything worth watching? (What's that about? A rerun of the Mary Tyler Moore Show is my best choice? Why?)
Not only that–but all that junk is expensive. (I hate paying for stuff I not only don't like but wouldn't have in my house if I had a choice!)
All that can be attributed to limited bandwidth — to bandwidth that is rare and therefore expensive. Now nobody much thinks about it this way right now. But that is because you seldom can see what the problem is until it has been solved. And I suspect that the problem with TV is about to be solved.
The solution is Downloadable Video (DV instead of TV). You go to the internet and find the show you want to watch, (pay probably), download it, and watch it.
You can watch episode one at 7:12 one Wednesday night and episode two at 2:00 the next Thursday if it suits your schedule.
Watch your favorite show at 3:15 in the afternoon every day and sleep when you want, thank you very much.
You don't have to watch anything that that guy in Kansas would watch. And you don't have to eat his food, either.
Some episodes of a show are 52 minutes long and some are 68 minutes long and it is all good stuff, 'cause nobody bothers with fluff if it doesn't have to fit the schedule of some advertising executive.
The rhythm of DV shows is not determined by advertising breaks the way that TV shows are. The plot actually drives the show. At first it seems weird but it's easy to get used to.
You're not limited to 212 channels. Like bass fishing? Download your favorite show from 1982. Have a strange sense of humor? Download 12 Andy of Mayberrys and have a party with an Aunt Bee theme.
You pay for what you download. But you only pay for what you want to watch. None of that awful schlock. (Unless you like awful schlock–then you can have as much as you want—there is plenty.)
But you can't fix TV this way unless you have real, big, bandwidth—cheap. Fiber to the home is the way out of the wasteland. Nothing else will provide adequate bandwidth to do this and everything else you might want to do at the same time. It is the future. Even after we get big bandwidth it will take a while to mature. Only those companies that have capacity to burn will be able to compete. And only those communities that have really big bandwidth will get it early. It will be well worth having, don't you think? Replace your TV with DV.
You can put in an order on July 16th by voting Yes!, For Fiber.
Author FiberFolkPosted on June 11, 2005 Categories BestOf, Dreams, Fiber fight, Food For Thought, Lafayette, Local7 comments


text:
About LTAW
Delft, The Netherlands, February 2019
Montevideo, Uruquay, October 2018
East Hampton, April 2017
University of Delaware – April 2017
East Central University – April 2017
Water Micro Movie Festival NL 2017
Central Michigan University, October 2016
CUAHSI Biennial Event, July 2016
University of Florida February 2016
OECD, Paris – September 21, 2015
Recife, Brazil – May 29, 2015
Vermont Fairbanks Museum, October 2014
Northwestern, April 2014
Perugia, March 2014
University of New Hampshire, January 2014
Budapest Water Summit 2013
2013 World Water Week
Ohio University (Athens), April 2013
Delft, The Netherlands, March 2013
World Wildlife Fund, March 2013
NASA Goddard October 2012
World Water Forum, Marseille, March 2012
Ohio University (Athens), February 2011
Beetle Queen
Blue Vinyl
Coal River
Powers of Ten
Rivers and Tides
Spiral Jetty
Tar Creek
UMass Boston, October 2010
Duke University, February 2010
Ohio University (Athens), January 2010
13 Lakes
Apago y Vamonos
Water First
UC Irvine, October 2009
Challenge Grant Awards Program
Saint Leo University, October 2015
Butler University, September 2015
Oregon State University, April 2015
University of Illinois, April 2015
NC State, February 2015
Duke University, January 2015
Kentucky, September 2014
Michigan Tech, March 2014
Rutgers University, October 2013
Texas A&M University, April 2013
University of Saskatchewan, April 2013
California State University (Chico), March 2013
The Adventures of Junior Raindrop
Three Short Films About Water
Film Inventory
Keyword Tag Index
Multiple Tag Query
3D Tag Cloud (Fun)
Let's Talk About Water
Using film for earth science education
Ohio University (Athens), February 2011 Event Films
Dir. Alan Dater and Lisa Merton, 80 min., U.S.A., 2008
Saturday 12, 2:00 PM · Tuesday 15, 4:00 PM.
Planting trees for fuel, shade, and food is not something that anyone would imagine as the first step toward winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet with that simple act Wangari Maathai, a woman born in rural Kenya, started down the path that reclaimed her country's land from 100 years of deforestation, provided new sources of food and income to rural communities, gave previously impoverished and powerless women a vital political role in their country, and ultimately helped to bring down Kenya's twenty-four-year dictatorship. TAKING ROOT tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy–a movement for which this charismatic woman became an iconic inspiration.
Preceded by THE GIRL EFFECT, a three-minute internet call for action.
Dir. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein, 93 min., U.S.A., 2009
Saturday 12, 4:00 PM · Wednesday 16, 7:00 PM.
Author Colin Beavan, in research for his next book, began the No Impact Project in November 2006. A newly self-proclaimed environmentalist who could no longer avoid pointing the finger at himself, Colin leaves behind his liberal complacency and vows to make as little environmental impact as possible for one year. No more automated transportation, no more electricity, no more non-local food, no more material consumption–no problem. That is, until his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife, Michelle, and their two year-old daughter are dragged into the fray. What began as one man's environmental experiment quickly becomes an experiment in how much one woman is willing to sacrifice for her husband's dreams. NO IMPACT MAN provides both a front-row seat into the experiment that became a national fascination and media sensation, and a behind-the-scenes look at the marital challenges that result from Colin and Michelle's radical lifestyle change.
Reading the Water
Dir. Niklas Sven Vollmer, 40 min., U.S.A., 2007
Friday 11, 9:00 PM · Monday 14, 4:00 PM.
READING THE WATER is an experimental "home video" and personal-poetic essay that mobilizes the coast of Maine–the sandbox of Vollmer's youth and his marine biologist and naturalist professor-photographer father's area of expertise–as a metaphor for exploring the depths and masculine relationships and family ecosystem sustainability across three generations of men. The work also acts as a love letter to Vollmer's son and father.
Dir. Angelo Vermeulen, 23 min., Belgium, 2007
In Dutch and French with English subtitles
Wednesday 16, 9:00 PM.
UN MAL POUR UN BIEN is a documentary that focuses on the aftermath of the avian flu threat in the National Botanical Garden of Belgium during the summer of 2006. Up until then vast geese populations resided in this botanical garden. However, the birds both disrupted the local ecosystem and posed a potential health hazard because of avian flu. Consequently, drastic measures were taken to reduce their numbers. A ban on feeding by visitors was imposed and part of the geese population was–allegedly–gassed and eradicated. The film follows a micro-community of regular visitors who are strongly attached to the animals. Throughout the film they fiercely debate the relationship between man and the natural world, intolerance and aggression. They divulge alternative scenarios to handle the problems and contrive their own ecological analyses. It is evident that they are appalled by the events, and some try and show recorded traces of the apparent annihilation. Interestingly, this seems to be a widespread global phenomenon. Local pressure groups and action committees recurrently emerge to battle similar events in other countries. The rhetoric is often extremely anthropocentric and characteristically borrows vocabulary from the Holocaust.
An Injury to One
Dir. Travis Wilkerson, 53 min., U.S.A., 2002
AN INJURY TO ONE provides a corrective–and absolutely compelling–glimpse of a particularly volatile moment in early 20th century American labor history: the rise and fall of Butte, Montana. Butte, home of massive copper mining and hence saddled with a legacy of environmental destruction, provides the back drop to this chronicle of the mysterious death of Wobbly organizer Frank Little–a story whose grisly details have taken on a legendary status in the state. Much of the extant evidence is inscribed upon the landscape of Butte and its surroundings. Thus, a connection is drawn between the unsolved murder of Little, and the attempted murder of the town itself.
Ohio University 2011 Film Clips
On Coal River
Other Films – no clips available
LTAW Events
East Central University, OK – April 2017
OECD, Paris – September 2015
Oregon State University, April 27, 2015
University of Illinois, April 10, 2015
Budapest Water Summit, October 2013
2013 World Water Week, September 2013
NASA Goddard, October 2012
University of Massachusetts, Boston, October 2010
University of California, Irvine, October 2009
Tag Cloud | Sitemap | Contact Us | Contact Webmaster
Copyright © 2020 Let's Talk About Water

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


TOLEMAN team was running its fourth F1 season in 1984 and previous year had been the best for the british squad headed by R.Byrne, J.Gentry and P.Symonds for the technical side. With a total of 10 points, won by D.Warwick and B.Giacomelli, all in the 4 last races, the team had high hopes for 1984. If they began the new season with the old TG183B, based on 1982 car, the new TG184 appeared at the french GP. The monocoque was retained from the previous car but aerodynamics, engine layout and suspensions were completely new. R.Byrne had abandoned the distinctive front radiators and diffusers for a conventional front wing less prone to porpoise. The improvement in downforce for the TG184 was said to be about 25 %. The engine layout, very important with turbos, was new with longer sidepods and vertically mounted coolers, an innovative feature. Louvres on the upper of the sidepods were also helping the cooling (another idea brought back in F1 since some years). The TG184 was retaining the double rear wings first seen in the TG183B but at the end the season winglets were used to reduce the drag. On the engine side, the Hart 415T which required big radiators, was constantly improving. An electronic injection system was introduced at Monaco during practice and, with a new turbo from Brands Hatch, A.Senna (the only driver to run electronic engines) could now show his skills and also the good handling of the chassis. Hart ended the season with about 700 bhp in race trim, not so far from the best engines (about 750 bhp for the TAG Porsche and BMW). In qualifying Hart didn't have specific engines of course and about 150 - 200 bhp were lacking compared to the BMW. At last race Estoril A.Senna was third on the grid, only 2 tenths slower than pole man N.Piquet (Brabham BMW) but with a trap speed no less than 20 Km/h slower on the finish line ! Toleman eventually ended the season with 3 podiums and 16 points at the seventh place in the constructors championship.
Monaco Grand Prix in 1984 is one of these races which are making the history of Formula 1. After the first rounds, Ayrton Senna, for his first season, had shown some talents. If the results were poor, only a sixth place at Kyalami with the old car, he had overshadowed his team mate J.Cecotto and was still considered in his own team as a future star. Monaco hadn't begun so well for Senna. If in free practice he did the third time when trying the new electronic engine, qualifying was less impressive with a thirteenth place on the grid. The rain had begun to fall in before the warm up and the race is now part of history. You could see below the lap times for A.Prost and A.Senna for the whole race which ended after 31 laps.


THURSDAY, Jan. 25, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Working toward a healthier environment involves more than separating glass and plastic. Try a new take on the three "R's" — recycle, reduce and reuse — to save money, energy and natural resources.
Start in your pantry. Donate packaged foods you know you're not going to eat to a local food bank or soup kitchen.
When you shop, buying in bulk and choosing items in refillable containers translate to less packaging. These options are often more economical in the long-term, too.
To make the most of some of your food waste, start a compost pile. This is a mix of organic material that can be used in your vegetable or flower garden. Compost piles do double duty by keeping this waste out of landfills, where it releases the potent greenhouse gas methane.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that food scraps and yard waste represent up to 30 percent of what Americans throw away and could be easily composted instead. But compost only fruit and vegetable waste — no meat or bones, for instance.
Greens: grass clippings, vegetable and fruit waste, and coffee grounds.
Browns: yard materials like leaves, branches and twigs.
Water: add to the greens and browns to help the composting material develop.
When it's ready, use your compost to feed your soil. It can help sandy soil hold nutrients and water, or be used to loosen hard clay soil.
If you aren't able to compost, try "grass-cycling." Mow higher and leave the clippings in place.
These steps are just the beginning. Most communities have recycling programs. Get involved by helping to organize activities and promoting sustainable practices. Find out more at epa.gov.
The EPA has specific guidelines for easy composting to help you get started.


text:
News > Andrew Assimo appointed Mercedes-Benz Trucks director
Andrew Assimo appointed Mercedes-Benz Trucks director
2020-03-23 18:11:20 Source:Big rigs
Tags: MERCEDES BENZ DAIMLER TRUCKS HEAVY VEHICLE INDUSTRY MERCEDES-BENZ TRUCKS
ANDREW Assimo has been appointed the director of Mercedes-Benz Trucks Australia Pacific.
Daimler Truck and Bus President and CEO, Daniel Whitehead, said Mr Assimo is clearly the best person for the role, which covers the Australian and New Zealand markets.
"Andrew has played a key role in establishing Mercedes-Benz as the premier heavy duty cab-over brand for smart business operators in Australia and we are confident he can guide the brand to even greater success," said Mr Whitehead.
"He has a close relationship with our Mercedes-Benz customers, having helped them improve their businesses during the last few years, and we know they will be pleased with this appointment."
Mr Whitehead said Mr Assimo takes over the Director role at an exciting time for the brand.
"Mercedes-Benz has the best cab-over truck in the market and is about to move further ahead with an even smarter Actros featuring MirrorCam and a host of other upgrades that its rivals simply can't match," said Mr Whitehead.
Mr Assimo joined Daimler Truck and Bus in 2007 as a Mercedes-Benz heavy vehicle product engineer and was promoted to Senior Manager in 2015, overseeing sales, production, operations and marketing.
Reporter:Transporter Editor:运输人网编辑
MERCEDES-BENZ	TRANSMISSION
Mercedes-Benz's Gaggenau plant produces its 5 millionth CV transmission 05 December 2018
Mercedes-Benz Actros truck gains semi-autonomous driver assists 26 October 2018


text:
"Micro-Nano bubble generation system" to wash with the power of foam"
Generate Nano bubbles of 1 micron (0.001 mm) or lessTriBiox Laboratories
Possible to wash the soil with oil only
"Micro-Nano bubble generation system" that generates bubbles of 1 micron (0.001 mm) or less
Learnning Points
High awareness of the environmental burden of washing with water only
Development mind keeps asking for more advanced performance
Tribiox Laboratories, which is developing a business that makes full use of a database relating to heat sterilization to provide safe foods and environments without microbial hazards. Based on long-standing research, the company has a diameter of 30 microns (0.03 Developed "Micro-Nano bubble generation system" capable of peeling oil stains, etc. by generating bubbles below mm. We are introducing it to metal processing manufacturers and others.
"Micro-Nano bubble generation system" is a device incorporating a pump and a micro-Nano bubble generator in a box-shaped container having a length of 50 centimeters, a width of 50 centimeters, and a height of 55.3 centimeters. The "Swirling flow system" in which the generator rotates when the pump sucks in water is adopted, and the air is sheared inside the water by the rotation of the generator, and bubbles of 30 microns (0.03 mm) or less in diameter occur. The bubble has the property of shrinking to 1 micron (0.001 mm) or less due to the pressure from the surroundings, and when it is reduced to 0.1 micron (0.0001 mm), energy is generated by shock, various oil and dirt Peel off things. Because of these properties, it is possible to drop oil and others adhering to the metal only with water without using organic solvents as in the past. Although the cleaning time differs depending on the object, the dirt that required half a day until the end of the washing in the conventional method can be dropped in about 1 hour in the same product.
The structure of the product. Bubbles are generated by rotation of the generator from the water sucked up by the pump.
The product was developed at a research facility for the venture in 2012 and the generator, which is the core of the product, acquired the patent in 2015. In development, trial and error were repeated on the occurrence of foam "Nano bubble" of 1 micron (0.001 mm) or less. At the time of construction, Mr. Tetsuo Hiraga, a deputy representative of the company, said he was struggling to recognize whether the Nano bubbles are correctly generated or not because there was no way to accurately analyze foam that had been reduced to 0.1 microns (0.0001 mm).
In 2017, we developed a new model with the more compact shape. Currently, we are continuing research towards the completion of a system that improves performance and generates ozone-containing foam "Ozone micro-Nano bubble." Ozone micro-Nano bubble can obtain strong oxidizing power and sterilizing effect, so it can be expected to be used in the medical field, such as washing at the time of treatment of teeth, for example. It is said that we are already in the development stage and we are in the adjustment stage to optimize to the field where products will be used, and it is expected to be commercialized as early as 2018 in the future.
Besides washing, various effects such as water purification and supply of dissolved oxygen can be expected.
Currently, the development system of "Ozone micro-Nano bubble" that we are developing is expected to have a bactericidal effect against viruses and bacteria. For example, it will be possible to sterilize raw oysters and so on, so it seems that applications in the food field are fully considered. We would like to expect not only medical and manufacturing sites but also dissemination to more familiar areas.
TriBiox Laboratories Co.,Ltd
Reduction of environmental burden
Maintain a space" that is "Suitable for that area"
"GEO power system" "Nose mask pit super" which can be used regardless of the scene, cutting 99% of ultrafine particles
Recycle tons of glass bottles that can not be processed entirely to environmentally friendly lightweight embankments
TRIM Co.,Ltd
Development of electrostatic actuator for use in artificial muscles
STRAWB Inc.
Maintenance almost unnecessary "Zero Clear" that provides peace of mind and cleanliness for both people and the environment
Gogoh Co.,Ltd
related companies to this article
We are a manufacturer engaged in the development, ...
Established in Hiroshima city, we provide inspecti...
Through the electric casting micropipe technology ...
Since our founding in 1904, we have manufactured c...


text:
Blog>>
Member Shoots Robbers
Second Call Defense Member Shoots 2 Armed Robbers
We received an emergency call recently by a member who was forced to defend himself.
An attorney immediately took the call and learned that the member, who worked at a pizza shop in New Carlisle, Ohio, had no choice but to take immediate action.
Here's how a newspaper described the incident:
An employee at a New Carlisle Papa John's where one person died during an attempted robbery Sunday night described the shooting as self defense to a 911 dispatcher.
"Someone just broke in and they were shot in self defense," the man told Clark County Sheriff's Office 911 dispatchers, according to records obtained by this newspaper. "They came right in with weapons and tried to rob us. They're still in here. There's one shot and wounded on the floor. One of them ran out."
According to an eye-witness, both robbers were armed, one with a crowbar and another with what appeared to be a knife. The robbers sprinted toward workers in the pizza shop.
Our member shot both with his concealed carry weapon. One died on the scene, and the other remains at large.
With legal representation provided by Second Call Defense, the member has not been charged. And the local sheriff's office has been quoted saying this incident appears to be justified use of lethal force.
We've seen examples of pizza shop workers fired for legally carrying a concealed gun or using justified lethal force to defend their lives. Fortunately, our member works for an enlightened employer.
From the same news account:
"I'm just so glad my driver has a concealed carry," the 911 caller said. "Because I wouldn't know what to do with them running in like that."
This is just one of many examples of members who suddenly faced their worst fear and have been forced to take action in a life-or-death situation. They were glad to have a firearm at the moment they needed it most. And moments later, they were equally glad they had that little membership card in their wallet with the Second Call Defense Emergency Number on the front.
Brutal Reality
5 Stages of Violent Crime


text:
Former GAP CEO says Kanye shouldn't have partnered with the brand
Despite claiming West's Yeezy jacket made Gap $7 million overnight.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Maya Ernest
Kanye West's highly anticipated Yeezy Gap era began in June, when at two in the morning, he dropped a $200 pre-order for a blue puffer coat. The jacket, to no one's surprise, sold out instantly, as did the pre-order for a black iteration released in July. Each one produced $7 million for Gap "overnight," according to the brand's former CEO Mickey Drexler — who says Gap shouldn't have partnered with West's Yeezy, no matter the profit.
"So, I know the jacket sold out. They did $7 million on the jacket overnight," Drexler said in an interview with Yahoo Finance Live. "[Kanye] is a smart guy but he shouldn't have done it. And I don't think [Gap] should have done it, either." Perhaps referencing West's loose loyalty to Adidas, which produces the artist's Yeezy line, Drexler said that working with the brand long-term "doesn't work for someone like Kanye." He "isn't a corporate person," according to Drexler, "and Gap is a big corporation."
Haters gonna hate — Drexler, who oversaw Gap from 1983 to 2002 after being recruited by the company's founder, is widely credited for its success in the '90s. He only left the brand after a slump in sales — and a clash in management styles — reportedly forced him out of his CEO position. Still, Drexler maintains he has friends at Gap, telling Yahoo Finance Live that, "I probably shouldn't say this but I told [Kanye] he shouldn't do the deal because it doesn't make any sense in my opinion."
Drexler in 2017. Michael Cohen/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Sales — and obviously Kanye — disagree with Drexler. Demand for the two puffer jackets, the only appeal of which may be their Yeezy label, has caused the $200 pre-orders to sell out instantly and resell for upwards of $500. And Gap, which has fallen behind trendier labels like Urban Outfitters and Nike, arguably needs the profit West is bringing in through his 10-year Yeezy partnership.
Bad blood — The former Gap CEO, other than stating West wasn't "a corporate person," didn't give much reason for why else the artist shouldn't work with Gap, prompting some newsreaders to suggest he was jealous of the company's success. "As an investor you care about profits… there are no emotions in business," said a commenter on Hypebeast, who identified themselves as a double business major. Comments on Yahoo News' story read, "[Drexler's] reasoning isn't explained," and "he's so oblivious to his racism."
Regardless of Drexler's underlying message, Yeezy Gap will likely continue to prove him wrong. Already, West has been spotted wearing a third puffer jacket from the line, which may be available for pre-order soon — what are the odds we see Drexler donning one later down the road?
Kanye's red version of his Yeezy Gap puffer. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images


text:
Q: HTML file that loads another HTML via AJAX and then replaces itself I want to have a simple HTML file act as a bootstrap for a second HTML file (which will be loaded using AJAX, then processed with javascript), which would replace the first entirely.
bootstrap.htm

*

*loads content.htm using AJAX (jQuery fine for this job)

*modifies content using javascript (various custom filters/modifications required)

*replaces itself with newly modified content

I expect it might not be 100% possible, as replacing the doctype might be hard, but I expect it is not too hard to replace all the body content, and all the head content (maybe just all the content of HTML?)
Does anyone have any advice on how to go about this?
EDIT: I tried to directly do what I really want...
$.get("content.htm", function(d) {
  console.log(d);
  return $(document).html(d);

But this does not work, and leaves me with an empty document
    });
EDIT: Best solution so far (still conceptual)

*

*bootstrap.htm loads, and is very careful only to create one global variable (lets saybs)

*bootstrap.htm then loads the content.htm file, and processes it further

*bootstrap.htm replaces the html tag content with the contents of the processed content.htm's html tag

*bootstrap.htm then searches the new content, and executes any inline javascript, being careful not to execute code that has already been executed

*bootstrap.htm removes it's global variable (although there is little point at this stage, when most of the imported code has already been run)

This still does not allow the DOCTYPE to be changed, and the executing of imported code seems a bit unreliable, but this is the best idea I have so far.

A: Sure you can. Have you tried? Hints:
$('body').load( url,[data],[callback] );

A: I think that the main caveat would be for JavaScript code that is not executed. If you are loading "pure" HTML, I think the methods suggested by the other user (and that you foresaw) will be fine, providing that docype and HEAD will not be changed.
See also: Calling a JavaScript function returned from an Ajax response

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Make America Great Again? Ain't Nobody Got Time for That Rhetoric!
By Michelle E. Brown|2018-01-15T18:53:44-05:00August 25th, 2016|Opinions, Viewpoints|
Waiting in line at a popular restaurant, I overheard another patron (Caucasian male around 70) approach the hostess and say "Where's the men's room or should I just use the ladies' room? That's what they want, right?"
The hostess blushed, pointed and, with a sheepish smile, said "The men's room is over there." Her body language said his comment made her feel uncomfortable but she said nothing. She then turned to us and said "How many" and led us to our table.
As for me well – as my mother would say – if looks could kill, orange would be my new black!! I was beyond pissed and contemplating what action I was going to take when the man rejoined his group which, remarkably, was seated at the next table from us. There are no coincidences in life – IJS!!
My partner had not heard the full comment, so I enlightened her. Trying to talk me down off my "angry activist" ledge, (after moving all the sharp utensils from my reach) she commented that the man was just a dinosaur whose time was running out.
True but those words that tone. Words have power. You say what you mean and, whether intentionally or unintentionally, you mean what you say.
Words, like ashes from a fire, can remain incendiary long after they've been uttered with unintended consequences long after the media firestorm has died down.
Those words – that off-handed bathroom remark alluding to transgender bathroom rights – were just a reminder that many have similar feelings about the place of African Americans, Latinos, immigrants, LGBTQ people and others in our society as second class citizens.
I get it, he was/is just a dinosaur, but the rhetoric of the 2016 political season has, for many of these dinosaurs, defined their last stand. Sadly they have found a gladiator willing to wield all the hate-filled rhetoric used historically to divide those of us in the 99% and extend their hold on power just a little longer.
You would think in this age of "Google," instant fact-checking, and 24/7 media coverage, we would be a smarter electorate.
However, I've seen too much injustice, hatred and inequality to find solace in the fact that the days for his ilk are numbered or that change will come merely by our hoping for the best while remaining silent when confronted by bigotry and ignorance.
I've also lived enough years to recognize that greatness is a relative term and for the vast majority of Americans the greatness talked about by Trump-ites has never been a reality only, at best, a dream.
It's not an impossible dream! It is dream held and passed down – regardless of race, class, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or gender expression – through the generations.
It is the dream best articulated by Martin Luther King Jr. and, despite many advancements, still a dream deferred.
The Langston Hughes' poem "Montage of a Dream Deferred" begs the question of how a people might react if they have a cherished dream for many generations that has failed to come true. It reads:
"What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore — And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over– like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?"
Hughes was writing at a time when African Americans were still suffering the injustice of Jim Crow laws. Fast forward to 2016, and although Jim Crow may be gone, the net of inequality lives on and has been expanded to include not just African Americans but other communities of color, has crossed boundaries of gender, sexual orientation, race and class and includes the many immigrants who answer Lady Liberty's call to the "tired, poor and huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
So here we stand at this moment in time. On one side there's a demand for inclusivity, attention to issues of social justice/equity and the beginning of a social revolution. It did not end when Bernie Sanders was not the nominee but was the beginning of conversations, actions and a movement that might ultimately bring about real change.
On the other side, well there's that call to "make America great again" building upon racist, bigoted, and xenophobic tactics that historically have only diminished the country not made it great – NEVER!
Grace Lee Boggs once said, "We urgently need to bring to our communities the limitless capacity to love, serve, and create for and with each other." We are stronger not just in our communities, our country and our world when we work to attain not just the American dream but a global dream of equality, social, environmental and economic justice for all instead of kicking the can down the road on the backs of those less fortunate or different from the status quo.
Any crackpot can make statements in the media that fan the flames of hatred, insecurity and fear. Words have power. Even if retracted, walked back or claimed to be sarcasm, once uttered words take on a life of their own and the results can be divisive, tragic and even fatal.
As Sweet Brown (no relation) said in her infamous You Tube Video "Ain't Nobody Got Time for That!!"
Let's be stronger together, not just at the polls in November, but each and every day. Stand up for what you believe in; push back against hate speech; fight for all our dreams; love who you love boldly, proudly and unapologetically. Claim your space in this expanding, intersectional world and be OUT!! There's room on our rainbow wave for every one because we ARE stronger together.
About the Author: Michelle E. Brown
Michelle E. Brown is a public speaker, activist and author. Her blog radio podcast "Collections By Michelle Brown" airs every Thursday at 7 p.m. Current and archived episodes can be heard on Blog Talk Radio, iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/CollectionsbyMichelleBrown/.