text:
ARRL Board Okays Changes to DXCC Program, VHF and Above Contesting Rules
ARRL Roanoke Division Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, Retires
ARRL Executive Committee Approves Education & Technology Program Grants
ARRL Submits Comments to FCC on WRC-15 Draft Recommendations
ARES Volunteers in Ohio Activate Following Loss of 911, Telephone Services
Michigan Passes, Governor Signs Antenna Accommodation Legislation
Navassa DXpedition Team Poised to Offer "Once in 32 Years" Opportunity
EP6T Team Pleads for "More Respect" from Operators
Fox-1A Satellite Launch Date Launch Set for August
Australian "Pico Balloon" Piques Ham Radio Interest
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events
The ARRL Board of Directors has tweaked the DX Century Club (DXCC) rules to clarify and expand their recognition of remotely controlled station technology. It has also added a rule that puts greater ethical responsibility on operators with respect to remotely controlled operation. In addition, the Board adopted changes to the ARRL VHF/UHF contest rules that are aimed at encouraging greater participation. The Board took the actions during its annual meeting January 16-17 in Windsor, Connecticut.
ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, prepares to gavel the 2015 Annual Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors to order. [LJB Special Photography photo]
The DXCC Rules changes, which affect Section I, subsections 8 and 9, explain and extend how contacts with remotely controlled stations now may be applied toward the DXCC award. According to ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, the changes are subtle but significant. The modified rules make clear that contacts with legally licensed, land-based, remotely controlled stations count for DXCC, but the control point -- the operator's location -- of a remotely controlled station no longer has to be land based; the operator can be literally anywhere.
"It has always been permitted for a QSO to count for both stations, if either station was operated remotely from a control point within the same DXCC entity," Sumner explained. "Now the location of the operator doesn't matter; the operator could be on the far side of the Moon, if he or she could figure out how to remotely control a station on land back on Earth from there." Transmitter location continues to define a station's location, and, for DXCC purposes, all transmitters and receivers must be located within a 500 meter diameter circle, excluding antennas.
The ARRL Board met January 16-17 in Windsor, Connecticut. [LJB Special Photography photo]
Under the old rules, if either station was operated from a control point in another DXCC entity, the contact did not count for DXCC for either station. "This was unenforceable unless someone was transparent about what they were doing," Sumner said.
The Board further adopted a new rule, now Subsection 11 (subsequent rules have been renumbered accordingly), that acknowledges the reality of the technology enabling remote operation, and it puts greater responsibility on individuals when it comes to applying that technology ethically and responsibly.
Midwest Division Vice Director Art Zygielbaum, K0AIZ, attended his first Board meeting. [LJB Special Photography photo]
"Issues concerning remotely controlled operating and DXCC are best dealt with by each individual carefully considering the ethical limits that he/she will accept for his/her DXCC and other operating awards," the new rule states. It adds, in part, "the owner of these achievements needs to be comfortable standing behind his/her award and numbers. Peer attention has always been a part of awards chasing, of course, but in these times with so many awards and so many players, it is more important than ever to 'play the game ethically.'"
Subsection 11 acknowledges that technological advances "add to the difficulty in defining rules for DXCC," but stresses that the intent of the rules is what's important. "It will continue to be up to the operator to decide what types of legal remote control operating he/she will use (if any) to contribute to an operating award," the new rule concludes.
VHF and Above Contest Rules Revised
The Board also adopted amendments to the General Rules for ARRL Contests Above 50 MHz to encourage greater participation and band utilization. The changes become effective with the 2015 June ARRL VHF Contest. The revisions stemmed from recommendations offered by the Board's Programs and Services Committee's ad-hoc VHF and Above Revitalization subcommittee, composed of active VHF/UHF contesters, and they received strong support from the VHF/UHF community.
Board members welcomed new Atlantic Division Vice Director Bob Famiglio, K3RF. [LJB Special Photography photo]
The subcommittee was charged with developing recommendations to increase the level and breadth of ARRL VHF and Above contest participation and encourage operation on lesser-used bands. As a start to the process, the Board approved three changes that will permit the use of assistance for all operator categories, with no effect on entry category; permit self-spotting for all operator categories, and allow single operators to transmit on more than one band at a time.
The changes will permit assistance in arranging contacts, but not in conducting contacts. They will, for example, allow a station to announce its location in a chat room, on a repeater, or even via e-mail.
In other actions, the Board instructed the HF Band Planning Committee -- which will soon solicit members' comments on proposed changes to the ARRL HF Band Plans -- to include the possibility of requesting that the FCC add RTTY and data privileges for Novices and Technicians on 15 meters.
The Board also
Bestowed the 2014 George Hart Distinguished Service Award on David B. Colter, WA1ZCN.
Added "Assistant Section Traffic Manager" as a new field appointment.
Authorized ARRL Headquarters staff to implement guidelines to expand opportunities for field checking of 160 meter QSL cards for DXCC.
Honored several professional journalists with the ARRL Bill Leonard Award for their outstanding coverage of Amateur Radio in video, print, and audio media.
ARRL Roanoke Division Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, has stepped down, and Vice Director Dr Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, has succeeded him. Bodson announced his retirement on January 16 -- before the official end of his term next January 1 -- at the Board of Directors' Annual Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut.
Retiring ARRL Roanoke Division Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF (right) and his successor as Director, Dr Jim Boehner, N2ZZ.
Fellow Board members gave Bodson a standing ovation in recognition of his years of service to the League. The Board elected Bodson as an Honorary Vice President.
Bodson served as Roanoke Division Vice Director from 1993 through 2000 and as Director from 2001 until his retirement.
Earlier in the meeting, ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, had presented Bodson with his 60-year ARRL membership certificate.
An ARRL Life Member, Boehner served as ARRL South Carolina Section Manager from 2003 until 2009, when he was elected Roanoke Division Vice Director. He was re-elected in 2013.
Boehner is an avid DXer and has achieved DXCC Honor Roll and 5-Band DXCC. Originally from New York, Boehner is in private medical practice in Aiken, South Carolina.
ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, has appointed Bill Morine, N2COP, of Wilmington, North Carolina, to complete the remainder of Boehner's term as Roanoke Division Vice Director, effective immediately.
An ARRL Life Member, Morine served as North Carolina Section Manager from 2010 until 2014, and is a past ARRL Public Relations Committee chairman. Morine was the 2001 recipient of the ARRL Philip J. McGan award for public relations.
The ARRL Executive Committee has approved Education & Technology Program (ETP) station and progress grants to five schools. Two schools received ETP station grants at an estimated total of $3600, while three others already enrolled in the program received progress grants totaling $800.
Station grants will go to the Banning Lewis ranch Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and to Southport Elementary School in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Banning Lewis Academy wants to set up an Amateur Radio station at the school for a club formed within the past year. Eleven students already have become licensed and have participated in the ARRL School Club Roundup and other on-air activities using borrowed equipment. The school also offers a class in basic electronics and radio. Southport Elementary plans to set up an Amateur Radio station at the school, form a radio club, and integrate the ARRL wireless technology curriculum into the classroom.
Receiving progress grants were Forest Knolls Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland; Ankeny Centennial High School in Ankeny, Iowa, and South Hopkins Middle School in Nortonville, Kentucky. Forest Knolls requested funds for an additional antenna for a second school club station. Ankeny Centennial High School asked for additional funds to purchase antenna supplies (wire and coaxial feed line) for a student project to build a portable antenna for Field Day and other activities. The school's Amateur Radio club boasts some 30 active student members. South Hopkins Middle School sought a progress grant to fund the purchase of fox hunt transmitters and handheld transceivers to conduct school Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) activities with the support of local ham radio clubs.
The goal of the ARRL Education & Technology Program, directed by Education Services Manager Debra Johnson, K1DMJ, is to facilitate the integration of wireless technology into participating school curricula. The League provides curriculum development support, resource libraries, ham station equipment grants and progress grants, and ARRL Teachers Institute in-service training. The current -- and expanding -- count of ETP schools/teachers stands at 663.
The ARRL has commented on two draft recommendations of the FCC's 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) Advisory Committee (WAC) as well as on a draft proposal provided to the FCC by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
The ARRL expressed support for the status quo regarding an allocation to the Mobile Service for broadband applications at 3400-4200 MHz and 4500-4800 MHz, which is under consideration as part of Agenda Item 1.1 at WRC-15. The 3400-3500 MHz segment is allocated on a secondary basis to the Amateur Service in ITU Regions 2 and 3, with a secondary allocation by footnote in some countries in ITU Region 1. The League said advocates for the allocation have failed to account for the protection of existing services.
"[The] failure to even superficially address the protection of all existing services -- including the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services -- is glaring," the ARRL said. The WAC's so-called "View A" -- to make no change in the allocation -- in part said, "The secondary nature of the Amateur Service allocation requires flexibility in frequency selection to permit an Amateur Service licensee to use the allocation and fulfill his or her obligation not to cause harmful interference to the numerous primary services, including the FSS [Fixed-Satellite Service]."
ITU-R Resolution 233, adopted at WRC-12, spelled out explicit requirements for the studies of the candidate bands, including sharing and compatibility studies with services already having allocations. As the League noted in its comments, a relevant ITU-R Recommendation stated that additional sharing with the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services should not introduce high signal density services in the spectrum at issue, and that sharing studies should consider the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services' needs for "weak-signal" reception.
The ARRL supported the FCC WAC view on Agenda Item 1.12 that the US not be added to international footnote 5.480 -- basically an exception -- to the Table of Allocations that could make part of the 10.0-10.5 GHz segment vulnerable to additional allocation for Fixed Service applications. The Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services have a secondary allocation in the band, and the Federal Radiolocation Service is primary. The proposed "footnote amendment," the League argued, "plainly, clearly, and indisputably contradicts existing United States regulations." The League's comments accused Mimosa Networks, which has argued in favor of having the US sign on to the international footnote, of advancing an "illogical construction to obtain the result it desires."
Mimosa Networks has petitioned the FCC to permit unlicensed Part 15 wireless broadband services in the 10.0-10.5 GHz band. In comments last year, the ARRL called Mimosa's Petition "fatally flawed" and said it should be dismissed. Among other things, the League told the FCC last year that Mimosa's Petition was inconsistent with a US footnote in the domestic Table of Allocations, and that alone was sufficient reason for the Commission to quash Mimosa's request.
In its comments on WRC-15 Agenda Item 1.12, the League said that Mimosa did not raise an objection to the WAC's initially adopted position until months after the comment deadline. The ARRL said the FCC should use its original position -- and not a later one that includes Mimosa's arguments -- as the baseline for any discussions with federal agencies to reconcile the agenda item.
The League also said the NTIA was correct in proposing that regulatory changes for nanosatellites and picosatellites be addressed under standing Agenda Item 7 at WRC-19. Read more.
ARES volunteers in northeast Ohio activated on January 13 after 911 and other telephone services went down in six counties due to a power failure at a major AT&T center in Akron. The outage was blamed on a burst steam pipe. Cell telephones and the 800-900 MHz digital Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) remained functioning.
The Medina County Emergency Management Agency requested ARES communication support with surrounding counties, with the Ohio Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Columbus as a backup. At the same time, EMA Directors in Stark, Summit, Portage, Mahoning, and Columbiana counties alerted their ARES organizations.
Ohio ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator Stan Broadway, N8BHL, also requested activation of RACES station W8SGT at the Ohio EOC. Communication was established on 75 meters with several county Emergency Coordinators. The EOC also was able to link up with the Stark County 2 meter repeater, some 135 miles away.
The Amateur Radio activation terminated after 4 hours, once the 911 system was brought back online. "My thanks to all who were involved!" Broadway said. "Our response was quick and professional and was a great opportunity to show the value of Amateur Radio." Read more.
Ten years of work within the ARRL Michigan Section have culminated in an Amateur Radio antenna bill that mirrors the "reasonable accommodation" provisions of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed the measure, Senate Bill 0493, into law on January 15, creating Public Act 556. Senator Rick Jones sponsored the bill. ARRL Michigan Section Manager Larry Camp, WB8R, said Michigan is the 31st state to have a PRB-1 bill on its books.
"The current PRB-1 Team has been working for 3 years to get this accomplished," he said. "Our bill endured four votes on its way to becoming law -- Senate and House committees and the Senate and House floors. Each vote was unanimous."
The most pertinent language in the new Michigan law, which comes directly from §97.15 of the FCC Amateur Service rules, states:
An Amateur Radio Service station antenna structure may be erected at heights and dimensions sufficient to accommodate Amateur Radio Service communications. Regulation of an Amateur Radio Service station antenna structure by a local unit of government must not preclude Amateur Radio Service communications. Rather, it must reasonably accommodate those communications and must constitute the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish the local unit of government's legitimate purpose.
The new law also provides for an advisory committee that may be established jointly by the Michigan Section and other state organizations, such as the Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan Township Association. Camp said the PRB-1 Team believes the advisory committee will be an important tool in situations where community officials know little or nothing about Amateur Radio. Read more.
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The K1N Navassa DXpedition team hopes to be on the air with up to eight stations in less than 2 weeks, offering a "once in 32 years" opportunity to work the most-wanted DXCC entity. It's been 22 years since the last Navassa operation, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which is responsible for the island, will not permit another operation for at least 10 more years. The team said its exact departure date will not be determined until the last minute and will depend on the USFWS and on weather conditions. The team will arrive at its staging point a few days before the earliest possible departure window and will be ready for rapid deployment to Navassa.
"As soon as the USFWS has landed on the island and declared it is safe to proceed, we will start the helicopter flights and commence operations," the K1N team said this week in a media release.
"We hope to have a basic camp established by the end of the first day, and, if things go extremely well, we hope to have several stations on the air by nightfall on the second day," the K1N media release said. The K1N team will take along a VHF/UHF transceiver and an Arrow antenna in the hope of making some satellite contacts via FO-29. AMSAT has provided the DXpedition with a Yaesu FT-817 transceiver and associated equipment, as well as pass predictions, an operational plan, and training.
The K1N stations will always operate split frequency, listening up or down, depending upon the band plan. Stations should avoid transmitting on the DXpedition's frequency. Read more.
The EP6T DXpedition team now on Iran's Kish Island (IOTA AS-166) has implored operators hoping to work the rare DXCC entity to show more respect and exhibit better operating manners. The EP6T team said it's aware that the majority of contacts have been with Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia, and the operators are doing their best to work other regions, but that 10 days may not be long enough to satisfy the surging demand, and "ham spirit" has been hard to find.
The EP6T DXpedition team. The Rockall DX Group is sponsoring the operation. [Photo courtesy of the Rockall DX Group]
"Jammers calling with fake calls and disrespecting the operators, sending disgraceful e-mails, and calling us names is sometimes too much for us," the EP6T team said. "Please, a little more respect is needed."
The operators report that many stations from Japan have made it through on the low bands and some North American stations have gone into the log on 80 meters. So far, though, only KV4FZ and NP2X have been successful on 160, and even Europe has been hard to work at sunrise.
The team has four receive antennas and has intended to focus on 160 meters, but, they said, "when conditions are bad, there's nothing we can do."
The Rockall DX Group is sponsoring the DXpedition to Iran, which is #33 on ClubLog's DXCC Most Wanted List. -- Thanks to The Daily DX
AMSAT has announced that its Fox-1A satellite will launch on August 27 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 National Reconnaissance Office flight. Fox-1A will include an FM transponder with an uplink frequency of 435.180 MHz, and a downlink frequency of 145.980 MHz. The first phase of the Fox series 1-Unit CubeSats will allow simple ground stations using hand-held transceivers and simple dual-band antennas to make contacts. The Fox-1 CubeSats also will be able to transmit continuous telemetry during normal transponder operation. The satellites will feature 200 bps telemetry in the audio spectrum below 300 Hz.
AMSAT said other satellites in its Fox series will take advantage of additional launch opportunities this year and next. The Fox-1B satellite is scheduled to fly next year. Fox-1C will launch during the 3rd quarter of 2015.
AMSAT has purchased the Fox-1C launch opportunity, which was not funded by the CSLI ELaNa program, and fundraising to cover the $125,000 cost is under way via the AMSAT-NA website and the FundRazr crowdsourcing website. Read more. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service via the Fox-1 Team
A foil "party balloon" released in late December from Melbourne, Australia, carrying an HF Amateur Radio payload, ended its journey on January 16 off the east coast of Africa near Madagascar. Andy Nguyen, VK3YT, of Kensington, Victoria, Australia, released his PS-30 "pico balloon" on December 27, hoping that it might circle the globe. Its 13-gram Amateur Radio payload included a solar-powered 25 mW transmitter, sending telemetry on 30 and 20 meters using WSPR and JT9 digital modes. Many radio amateurs tracked the balloon's progress during its 20-day flight.
A map showing the track of the PS-30 pico balloon -- from Australia to Madagascar.
"There was some bad weather in the region, but speculations also include the possibility it was brought down (attacked) by the naughty penguins on the Island," Nguyen quipped, referring to the 2014 animated movie comedy, "Penguins of Madagascar." Several radio amateurs in South Africa reported that PS-30 was down. Following its launch, the balloon had traveled east across the southern tip of New Zealand, across the Pacific Ocean to South American and then to southern Africa. To return home, PS-30 would have had to cross Madagascar, the Indian Ocean, and part of Australia.
"The level of interest from all around the world has been amazing," Nguyen said. "The trip would not have been so successful without the collective effort of the like-minded community built up along the way."
Transmissions from the balloon at times were plagued by poor propagation, and its progress was impeded by the fact that it circled on a few occasions along the way. Nguyen said the balloon looped for an entire day at one point while over the Pacific.
"HF propagation has been different from previous flights," he commented during the flight, noting the lack of long-range WSPR spots. "Reception of JT9 packets so far generally requires some type of directional antenna with some gain," he said.
Nguyen said planning for PS-31 is already under way. "See you at the next trip," he said. -- Thanks to Jim Linton, VK3PC
VHF/UHF/Microwave Conference Seeks Speakers and Papers: The 41st Eastern VHF/UHF/Microwave Conference has issued a call for speakers and papers at the gathering or for inclusion in the conference Proceedings. The conference, sponsored by the ARRL-affiliated North East Weak Signal Group, will take place April 17-19 in Manchester, Connecticut. The conference sponsors are looking for presentations, papers, and talks, both long and short. Topics can include, but are not limited to, operating, contesting, construction, homebrewing, and microwaves. Anyone considering a presentation or paper should contact Paul Wade, W1GHZ, as soon as possible but no later than March 18. Conference organizers are planning a Friday afternoon workshop and are seeking topic suggestions. Visit the conference website for details and a schedule. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service via Paul Wade, W1GHZ
ITU Management Team Inaugurated: The new management team of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), led by Secretary-General Houlin Zhao (photo), of China, was formally inaugurated on January 15, at ITU Headquarters in Geneva. Representatives of member states to the United Nations Office in Geneva and the heads of UN agencies attended. Zhao was elected Secretary-General at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference last October in South Korea. He previously served as ITU Deputy Secretary-General and as director of the ITU Standardization Bureau. The incoming Deputy Secretary-General is Malcolm Johnson of the United Kingdom. François Rancy and Brahima Sanou were re-elected as directors of the Radiocommunication Bureau and Telecommunication Development Bureau, respectively, while Chaesub Lee of South Korea was elected director of the ITU Standardization Bureau. 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union.
Amateur Radio Newsline Assumes Low Profile as Editor Recuperates: The long-running Amateur Radio Newsline -- a weekly audio report of ham radio news -- has scaled back temporarily while its editor, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, recuperates from injuries sustained in a fall at home and undergoes additional testing and rehabilitation to address some chronic issues. Pasternak was hospitalized on December 19 and initially scheduled to stay for a couple of days. He told ARRL on January 22 that Tim Goodrich, N5ASH, now is serving as interim producer, and Newsline could be back as early as this week. Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, has been producing a shortened audio/video report that's included in the weekly Ham Nation webcast, posted on YouTube, and linked from the Amateur Radio Newsline website and Facebook page. The roughly 30-minute weekly Newsline audio report and the text script, posted weekly on QRZ.com, have been on hold.
Intrepid DX Group Announces Intrepid Spirit Award Recipient: The Intrepid DX Group has announced that Dmitri Zhikharev, RA9USU, is the recipient of its 3rd annual Intrepid Spirit Award. "This award is to recognize Dmitri's outstanding efforts to activate Yemen from 2012 through 2014 as 7O6T and 7O2A," the announcement said. "Dmitri is largely responsible for fulfilling the need for 7O contacts since 2012. Yemen is a place of much uncertainty and danger. We recognize Dmitri's unselfish acts to activate this challenging and much-needed entity. We acknowledge Dmitri's pursuit of operating excellence and his quest to activate the rare and often dangerous entities." The Intrepid Spirit Award will be presented at the International DX Convention, in Visalia, California, on April 18. This Intrepid Spirit Award was made in memory of James McLaughlin, T6AF, who died in Afghanistan in 2011. -- Thanks to Intrepid DX Group President Paul Ewing, N6PSE
Average daily sunspot numbers for January 15-21 dropped by 50.7 points, relative to the previous 7 days, to 61.9. Average daily solar flux declined from 151.3 to 126.2. For the past 9 days sunspot numbers have been below 100. This benchmark has no special significance, but the last time there were this many consecutive days with double-digit sunspot numbers was October 5-20, 2014.
Geomagnetic numbers indicated more stable conditions, with the average daily planetary A index declining from 9.6 to 6.4, and the average daily mid-latitude A index dropping from 8 to 4.7.
The latest USAF/NOAA prediction has solar flux at 125, 130, and 135 for January 22-24, 130 for January 25-26, 135, and 140 for January 27-28, 135 for January 29-February 1, 130 for February 2-3, 125 for February 4-6, 130 for February 7-9, and 125 for February 10-11. Solar flux reaches a low of 115 for February 18, and peaks again at 135 for February 26-28.
Predicted planetary A index is 15 for January 22-24, 18 for January 25-26, 8 for January 27-28, then 10 and 12 for January 29-30, 15 for January 31 through February 1, then 12, 15, 12, and 5 for February 2-5, 10 for February 6-7, 8 for February 8-9, 5 for February 10-12, then 8, 5 and 12 for February 13-15, and 10 for February 16-18.
This weekly "Solar Update" in The ARRL Letter is a preview of the "Propagation Bulletin" issued each Friday. The latest bulletin and an archive of past propagation bulletins is on the ARRL website.
In the January 23 bulletin watch for a revised forecast, reports from readers, and more about the National Radio Quiet Zone. Send me your reports and observations.
January 23-25 -- CQ World Wide 160 Meter Contest (CW)
January 24-25 -- REF French Contest (CW)
January 24-25 -- Winter Field Day (SSB, CW, digital)
January 24-25 -- BARTG RTTY Sprint
January 24-26 -- ARRL January VHF Contest
January 24 -- WAB Top Band Phone Contest
January 28 -- CWOps Weekly Mini-CWT Tests
January 31 -- Feld-Hell WAAAEO Sprint
January 31-February 1 -- UBA Contest (SSB)
See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information.
January 23-24 -- Mississippi State Convention, Jackson, Mississippi
January 23-25 -- Puerto Rico State Convention, Hatillo, Puerto Rico
January 24 -- Georgia ARES Convention, Forsyth, Georgia
February 7 -- South Carolina State Convention, North Charleston, South Carolina
February 7 -- Virginia State Convention, Richmond, Virginia
February 13-15 -- Southeastern Division Convention, Orlando, Florida
February 20-21 -- Arizona Section Convention, Yuma, Arizona
February 28 -- New Mexico Techfest Convention, Albuquerque, New Mexico
February 28 -- Vermont State Convention, S Burlington, Vermont
March 7 -- Santa Clara Valley Section Convention, Del Rey Oaks, California
March 13-14 -- North Carolina Section Convention, Concord, North Carolina
March 14 -- West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas
March 20-21 -- Louisiana State Convention, Rayne, Louisiana
March 21 -- MicroHAMS Digital Conference, Redmond, Washington
March 21 -- Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska
March 21 -- Southern Florida Section Convention, Stuart, Florida
March 28 -- Texas State Convention, Rosenberg, Texas
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
Amateur Radio News and Information
NCJ -- National Contest Journal. Published bi-monthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO Parties.
QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bi-monthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns, and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.
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text:
Colin Currie
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Technoscience Research Unit (TRU) at the University of Toronto is searching for a Web Designer who will work closely with the Director and TRU members on a community facing website for the Visualizing Colonial Violence Research Project.
This is an Indigenous-led project focused on the past and present operations of refineries in Chemical Valley, which is located on Anishinaabe land and specifically Aamjiwnaang First Nation. The website will share archival and environmental research with the ultimate goal of providing a useful resource for community members.
The TRU is a cross-faculty hub for critical and creative research on the politics of technoscience. The TRU is affiliated with the Faculty of Information, the Faculty of Arts and Science, and the Women and Gender Studies Institute. The TRU draws together social justice approaches to Science and Technology Studies, with particular strengths in research on Indigenous technoscience, environmental justice, decolonial and feminist STS, and data politics. The TRU is committed to being a research home for Indigenous, Black, People of Color, and LGBTQ2S researchers. Please visit the TRU's website for an overview of our members and projects.
Manage the design and prototyping of the project website in collaboration with the research team.
Execute all visual design stages from concept to final website launch.
Experience and interest in social justice, Indigenous research, anti-racism, decolonial methods, environmental justice, data visualization, STS, civic tech, feminist tech, or a related field are an asset.
Please send cover letter, C.V., and link to a portfolio to trupositions@gmail.com by January 2, 2019. This is a contract position of approx. 200 hours beginning by the end of January with project finishing date for May 1. Estimated hourly rate is $35.00/hour, but open to negotiations based on experience.


The meaning of the given name Megerova represents versatility, enthusiasm, agility and unconventional methods.
❶ What Does Megerova Mean?
❷ What Is The Meaning Of Megerova?
This way you can slowly but surely build a solid foundation for your success. Getting a good education will benefit anyone named Megerova particularly well.


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The Darien scheme was an unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth and influence by establishing New Caledonia, a colony in the Darién Gap on the Isthmus of Panama, in the late 1690s. The plan was for the colony, located on the Gulf of Darién, to establish and manage an overland route to connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The backers knew that the first sighting of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa was after crossing the isthmus through Darién.

The attempt at settling the area did not go well; more than 80% of participants died within a year, and the settlement was abandoned twice.
There are many explanations for the disaster. Rival claims have been made suggesting that the undertaking was beset by poor planning and provisioning; by divided leadership; by a lack of demand for traded goods, owing to an English trade blockade; by devastating epidemics of tropical disease; by the successful collaboration between the English East India Company and the English government to frustrate it; and by a failure to anticipate the Spanish Empire's military response. It was finally abandoned in March 1700 after a siege by Spanish forces, which also blockaded the harbour.

As the Company of Scotland was backed by approximately 20% of all the money circulating in Scotland, its failure left the entire Scottish Lowlands in financial ruin. This was an important factor in weakening their resistance to the Act of Union (completed in 1707). The land where the Darien colony was built is located in the modern territory of Guna Yala, an autonomous indigenous territory home to the Guna people.

The expedition also took sovereignty over 'Crab Isle' (modern day Vieques, Puerto Rico) in 1698, yet sovereignty was short-lived.

Origins
The late 17th century was a difficult period for Scotland, as it was for much of Europe; the years 1695-97 saw catastrophic famine in present-day Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden, plus an estimated two million deaths in France and Northern Italy. The 1690s were Scotland's coldest decade in the past 750 years as documented in tree ring records.

Scotland's economy was relatively small, its range of exports was limited, and it was in a weak position in relation to England, its powerful neighbour (with which it was in personal  but not yet  political union). In an era of economic rivalry in Europe, Scotland was incapable of protecting itself from the effects of English competition and legislation. The kingdom had no reciprocal export trade and its once-thriving industries such as shipbuilding were in deep decline; goods that were in demand had to be bought from England for sterling. Moreover, the Navigation Acts further increased economic dependence on England by limiting Scotland's shipping, and the Royal Scots Navy was relatively small.  Though the unusual cold affected much of the Northern Hemisphere, Scotland suffered disproportionately and lost 10-15% of its entire population, possibly due to its political isolation.  A series of domestic conflicts, including the 1639-51 Wars of the Three Kingdoms and unrest related to religious differences between 1670-1690 exhausted the people and diminished their resources. The so-called "seven ill years" of the 1690s saw widespread crop failures and famine, while Scotland's deteriorating economic position led to calls for a political or customs union with England. However, the stronger feeling among Scots was that the country should become a great mercantile and colonial power like England.

In response, several solutions were enacted by the Parliament of Scotland: in 1695 the Bank of Scotland was established; the Act for the Settling of Schools created a parish-based system of public education throughout Scotland; and the Company of Scotland was chartered with capital to be raised by public subscription to trade with "Africa and the Indies".

In the face of opposition by English commercial interests, the Company of Scotland raised subscriptions in Amsterdam, Hamburg and London for the scheme. For his part, King William II of Scotland and III of England had given only lukewarm support to the whole Scottish colonial endeavour. England was at war with France and hence did not want to offend Spain, which claimed the territory as part of New Granada.

One reason for English opposition to the Scheme was the then prevalent economic theory of mercantilism, a concept as widespread and accepted then as capitalism is today. Modern economics generally assumes a constantly growing market but mercantilism viewed it as static; that meant increasing one's market share required taking it from someone else. This meant the Darien Scheme was not simply competition but an active threat to English merchants.

England was also under pressure from the London-based East India Company, who were keen to maintain their monopoly over English foreign trade. It therefore forced the English and Dutch investors to withdraw. Next, the East India Company threatened legal action on the grounds that the Scots had no authority from the king to raise funds outside the English realm, and obliged the promoters to refund subscriptions to the Hamburg investors. This left no source of finance but Scotland itself.

Returning to Edinburgh, the Company of Scotland for Trading to Africa raised £400,000 sterling in a few weeks (equivalent to roughly £ today), with investments from every level of society, and totalling about a fifth of the wealth of Scotland. It was, for Scotland, a massive amount of capital.

Scottish-born trader and financier William Paterson had long promoted a plan for a colony on the Isthmus of Panama. Essentially the intention was to tame, occupy and administer the land of the Darién Gap, later known to be virtually untraversable. The colony was to be situated on a gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans permitting trade between them – the same principle which, much later, led to the construction of the Panama Railroad, and then the Panama Canal. Paterson was instrumental in getting the company off the ground in London. He had failed to interest several European countries in his project but, in the aftermath of the English reaction to the company, he was able to get a hearing for his ideas.

The Scots' original aim of emulating the East India Company by breaking into the lucrative trading areas of the Indies and Africa was forgotten, and the highly ambitious Darien scheme was adopted by the company. Paterson later fell from grace when a subordinate embezzled funds from the company, took back Paterson's stock and expelled him from the Court of Directors; he was to have little real influence on events after this point.

First expedition (1698)
Many former officers and soldiers, who had little hope of other employment, eagerly joined the Darien project. Many of them were acquainted from serving in the army and several – Thomas Drummond, for example – were notorious for their involvement in the Massacre of Glencoe. In some eyes they appeared to be a clique, and this was to cause much suspicion among other members of the expedition. The first Council (appointed in July 1698), which was to govern the colony until a parliament was established, consisted of Major James Cunningham of Eickett, Daniel Mackay, James Montgomerie, William Vetch, Robert Jolly, Robert Pinkerton and Captain Robert Pennecuik (commodore of the expedition fleet).

The first expedition of five ships (Saint Andrew, Caledonia, Unicorn, Dolphin, and Endeavour) set sail from the east coast port of Leith to avoid observation by English warships in July 1698, with around 1200 people on board. The journey around Scotland for those kept below deck was so traumatic that some colonists thought it comparable to the worst parts of the whole Darien experience. Their orders were "to proceed to the Bay of Darien, and make the Isle called the Golden Island ... some few leagues to the leeward of the mouth of the great River of Darien ... and there make a settlement on the mainland". The fleet called at Madeira and the West Indies, and took possession of Crab Isle which would be taken over by the Danish after the failure of the colony. Employing ex-buccaneer Robert Allison as a pilot, the fleet made landfall off the coast of Darien on 2 November.

The settlers christened their new home "Caledonia" declaring "we do here settle and in the name of God establish ourselves; and in honour and for the memory of that most ancient and renowned name of our Mother Country, we do, and will from henceforward call this country by the name of Caledonia; and ourselves, successors, and associates, by the name of Caledonians". With Drummond in charge, they dug a ditch through the neck of land that divided one side of the harbour in Caledonia Bay from the ocean, and constructed Fort St Andrew, which was equipped with 50 cannon, but no source of fresh water. A BBC report in 2014 identified this ditch as the only identifiable remnant of Caledonia. A watchhouse on a mountain completed the fortifications. Although the harbour appeared to be a natural one, it later proved to have tides that could easily wreck a vessel trying to leave. The colony was a potential threat to the Spanish Empire by being located near routes used for silver shipments. The feasibility of the scheme, especially for a country of Scotland's limited resources, has often been considered doubtful, although some modern authorities consider that it might have possessed good prospects of success if it had been given the support of England.

The chosen site is indeed only 80km from the Pacific Ocean, but it is a highly inhospitable 80km.

New Edinburgh

Close to the fort, the settlers began erecting the huts of the main settlement, New Edinburgh (until 2011 known as Puerto Escocés (Scottish Harbour), now Puerto Inabaginya, in Guna Yala Province, Panama), and clearing land to plant yams and maize. Letters sent home by the expedition created a misleading impression that everything was going according to plan. This seems to have been by agreement, as certain optimistic phrases kept recurring. However, it meant the Scottish public would be completely unprepared for the coming disaster.

Agriculture proved difficult and the natives, though hostile to Spain, were unwilling to trade for the combs and other trinkets offered by the colonists. Most serious was the near-total failure to sell any goods to the few passing traders who put into the bay. With the onset of summer the following year, malaria and fever led to many deaths. Eventually, the mortality rate rose to ten settlers a day. Natives brought gifts of fruit and plantains, but these were appropriated by the leaders and sailors, who mostly remained on board ships. The only luck the settlers had was in giant turtle hunting, but fewer and fewer men were fit enough for such strenuous work. The situation was exacerbated by the lack of food, mainly due to a high rate of spoilage caused by improper stowing. At the same time, King William instructed the Dutch and English colonies in America not to supply the Scots' settlement, so as not to incur the wrath of the Spanish Empire. The only reward the council had to give was alcohol, and drunkenness became common, even though it sped the deaths of men already weakened by dysentery, fever and the rotting, worm-infested food.

After just eight months, the colony was abandoned in July 1699, except for six men who were too weak to move. The deaths continued on the ships, and only 300 of the 1200 settlers survived. A desperate ship from the colony had called in at the Jamaican city of Port Royal, but it was refused assistance on the orders of the English government, who feared antagonising the Spanish. Those on the single ship that returned home found themselves regarded as a disgrace to their country, and were even disowned by their families. The Caledonia, with 250 survivors, including William Paterson and the Drummond brothers, made a desperate passage to New York, then just a small town of 5000, landing on 10 August. Four days later, Unicorn (commanded by Captain John Anderson) limped into New York harbour. In a letter to Hugh Montgomerie, a Glasgow merchant, Robert Drummond reported that sickness and mortality continued to afflict the remnant of the colonists. When the Scots were told that two ships, the Olive Branch and Hopeful Beginning, had already sailed to re-supply the now deserted colony, Thomas Drummond commissioned two sloops to aid their efforts in Darien.

Re-supply (1699)
In August 1699, the Olive Branch and Hopeful Beginning with 300 settlers arrived in Darien to find ruined huts and 400 overgrown graves. Expecting a bustling town, the ship's captains debated their next move. When the Olive Branch was destroyed by an accidental fire, the survivors fled to Jamaica in the Hopeful Beginning, and landed in Port Royal harbour. The Scots were not allowed ashore, and illness struck the crowded ship.

On 20 September, Thomas E. Drummond set sail from New York in the sloop Ann of Caledonia, (formerly the Anne), picking up another fully supplied vessel (the Society) on the way. They arrived in Darien to find the burnt timbers of the Olive Branch rotting on the shore.

Second expedition (1699)

Word of the first expedition did not reach Scotland in time to prevent a second voyage of more than 1000 people.

A new company flagship, The Rising Sun, boasting 38 cannon, led the way, supported by The Duke of Hamilton, the Hope of Bo'ness, and a smaller vessel, the Hope. They sailed from the Clyde, on the west of Scotland, cutting out the perilous round-Scotland route taken by the previous ships.

The expedition had the blessing of the Church of Scotland who had appointed Alexander Shields as the senior of the 4 ministers (including Archibald Stobo and Francis Borland).

The second expedition arrived in Caledonia Bay on 30 November 1699 and found Thomas Drummond's New York sloops already there. Some men were sent ashore to rebuild the huts, which caused others to complain that they had come to join a settlement, not build one.

Morale was low and little progress was made. Drummond insisted there could be no discussion, and the fort must be rebuilt as a Spanish attack would surely come soon.

Drummond clashed with the merchant James Byres, who maintained that the Counsellors of the first expedition had now lost that status and had Drummond arrested. Initially bellicose, Byres began to send away all those he suspected of being offensively minded – or of being allegiant to Drummond. He outraged a kirk minister by claiming it would be unlawful to resist the Spanish by force of arms, as all war was unchristian. Byres then deserted the colony in a sloop.

The colonists sank into apathy until the arrival of Alexander Campbell of Fonab, sent by the company to organise a defence. He provided the resolute leadership which had been lacking and took the initiative by driving the Spanish from their stockade at Toubacanti in January 1700. However, Fonab was wounded in the daring frontal attack and then became incapacitated with a fever.

The Spanish force – who were also suffering serious losses from fever – closed in on Fort St Andrew and besieged it for a month. Disease was still the main cause of death at this time. The Spanish commander called for the Scots to surrender and avoid a final assault, warning that if they did not, no quarter would be given.

After negotiations, the Scots were allowed to leave with their guns, and the colony was abandoned for the last time. Only a handful of those from the second expedition returned to Scotland. Of the total 2500 settlers that set off, just a few hundred survived.

Reactions to the disaster
The failure of the colonisation project provoked tremendous discontent throughout Lowland Scotland, where almost every family had been affected. Some held the English responsible, and others believed that they could and should assist in yet another effort at making the scheme work. The company petitioned the king to affirm their right to the colony. However, he declined, saying that although he was sorry the company had incurred such huge losses, reclaiming Darien would mean war with Spain. The continuing futile debate on the issue served to further increase bitter feelings.  An estimated 15-40% of all the actual capital in Scotland was invested in this project.

Hoping to recoup some of its capital by a more conventional venture, the company sent two ships from the Clyde, the Speedy Return and the Continent, to the Guinea coast laden with trade goods. Sea captain Robert Drummond was the master of the Speedy Return; his brother Thomas, who had played such a large part in the second expedition, was supercargo on the vessel. Instead of trying to sell for gold as the company's directors intended, however, the Drummond brothers had exchanged the goods for slaves, whom they sold in Madagascar. Carousing with the buccaneers for whom the island was a refuge, the Drummonds fell in with pirate John Bowen, who offered them loot if they would lend him their ships for a raid on homeward bound Indiamen.

Drummond backed out of the agreement, only to have Bowen appropriate the ships while Drummond was ashore. Bowen burnt the Continent on the Malabar coast when he decided she was of no use to him, and he later scuttled the Speedy Return after transferring her crew to a merchant ship that he had taken. The Drummonds apparently decided against returning to Scotland, where they would have had to explain the loss of the ships they had been entrusted with, and no more was ever heard of them.

The company sent out another ship, but she was lost at sea. Unable to afford the cost of fitting out yet another vessel, the company hired the Annandale in London to trade in the Spice Islands. However, the East India Company had the ship seized on the grounds that it was in contravention of their charter. That provoked an uproar in Scotland, greatly aided by the inflammatory rhetoric of the company's secretary, Roderick MacKenzie, a relentless enemy of the English. Fury at the country's impotence led to the scapegoating and hanging of three innocent English sailors.

Hangings

In July 1704, Thomas Green, the 25-year-old master of the Worcester, an English merchant ship, arrived at Leith. Mackenzie convinced himself that the ship was an East India Company ship that should be seized in reprisal for the Annandale. He succeeded in getting legal authority and Green, who had been given the command at 21, watched as his ship's cargo was impounded and the sails, guns and rudder were removed over the next three months.

In December, the crew was arrested for piracy. Although many in Scotland were delighted, it soon became clear to the directors of the Darien company that Mackenzie's charges were not supported by any proof, and it seemed the men would be released. However, Mackenzie suddenly claimed to have ascertained from the crew of the Worcester that Green had drunkenly boasted of taking the Speedy Return, killing the Drummonds and burning the ship. Green and two of his crew, John Madden and James Simpson, were sent for trial in Edinburgh. Mackenzie produced several witnesses including members of Green's crew; their statements contradicted one another and none of them could accurately describe the dates, locations, or descriptions of the supposed victims of the Worcester. The prosecution case, which was made in medieval Latin and legal Doric, was unintelligible to jury and accused alike. The defence advocates' objections were dismissed by court officials and they fled after the trial. Some jurors resisted bringing in a verdict of guilty, but the men were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.

The Queen advised her 30 privy councillors in Edinburgh that the men should be pardoned, but the common people demanded for the sentence to be carried out. Nineteen councillors made excuses to stay away from the deliberations on a reprieve, fearing the wrath of a huge mob that had arrived in Edinburgh to demand the sailors be put to death. Even though they had affidavits from London by two of the crew of the Speedy Return, who testified that Green and his crew had no knowledge or involvement in the fate of the ship, the remaining councillors refused to pardon them.

Green, Madden and Simpson were subjected to derision and insults by the mob before they were hanged. Green had complete faith that as an innocent man, he would be reprieved, and he was still looking to the Edinburgh road for a messenger as the hangman placed the hood over his head. The remainder of Green's crew were quietly pardoned and released.

Consequences of failure
The failure of the Darien colonisation project has been cited as one of the motivations for the 1707 Acts of Union. According to this argument, the Scottish establishment (landed aristocracy and mercantile elites) considered that their best chance of being part of a major power would be to share the benefits of England's international trade and the growth of the English overseas possessions and so its future would have to lie in unity with England. Furthermore, Scotland's nobles were almost bankrupted by the Darien fiasco.

Some Scottish nobility petitioned Westminster to wipe out the Scottish national debt and stabilise the currency. Although the first request was not met, the second was, and the Scottish shilling was given the fixed value of an English penny. Personal Scottish financial interests were also involved. Scottish commissioners had invested heavily in the Darien project and believed that they would receive compensation for their losses. The 1707 Acts of Union, Article 15, granted £398,085 10s sterling to Scotland to offset future liability towards the English national debt.  This amount equates to about £100,000,000 in 2020 money.

In popular culture

Novels
 The Rising Sun by Douglas Galbraith (2000). Fictional account of the Darien catastrophe, written in the style of a journal, from the perspective of a cargo-master on the Rising Sun.
Siphonophore by Jaimie Batchan (2021). Begins as the account of a settler from the Darien scheme who has been left behind when the surviving members of the colony return to Scotland.

Stage plays
 Caledonia by Alistair Beaton (2010). A satire about the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Scottish colonial ambitions of the late 17th century.
 "Darien, a commonplace book of Murdo Macfarlane" by Richard Robb (2019). A musical about the Scottish attempt to settle the Darien gap imagined through the eyes of one settler Murdo Macfarlane. Presented by Bell Baxter high school.

Music
 "Dreams of Darien" by The Paul McKenna Band (2011). A Scottish folk song describing the events of the Darien Scheme and the reaction in Scotland.
 The Darien Venture, a math-pop band from Glasgow, Scotland, who were active from 2008-2013.
 "Darien" by Stanley Accrington, Manchester-based folk singer/songwriter (1986) included on his CD Semi Final Second Leg.

Games
 Darien Apocalypse, a 2018 Euro-style boardgame from British producer Ragnar Brothers where players cooperatively or competitively strive to develop the Darien trading colony and either help or hinder each other as much as possible against the depredations the original settlers faced.

Installations
 Astro-Darien by Kode9 and Lawrence Lek. An audiovisual installation that takes inspiration from the Darien Scheme, space races, and simulation games. Displayed at Corsica Studios, London in 2021.

See also
 Lionel Wafer
 Gregor MacGregor
 the Marquis de Rays

Other Scottish settlements in the Americas:
 Darien, Georgia
 Perth Amboy, New Jersey
 Nova Scotia

Notes

Citations

References

Further reading

  (fictionalisation)

 Orr, Julie (2018), Scotland, Darien and the Atlantic World, 1698 - 1700, Edinburgh University Press,

External links

 The Darien Scheme, an article by Roger Moorhouse
 The Darien Scheme – The Fall of Scotland
 The Darien Adventure
 The Darien Chest
 Pathfinder Pack on The Darien Scheme
 Account, written in 1700, by a colonist
 "Pivotal chapter in Scottish history", Financial Times article regarding Caledonia, a play by Alistair Beaton about the Darien scheme

Former Scottish colonies
1690s in Scotland
History of Panama
Political scandals in Scotland
17th century in Scotland
Settlement schemes in Panama
Former populated places in Panama
Former populated places in Central America
1690s in Central America
17th century in Central America
States and territories disestablished in the 1700s
1698 establishments in Scotland
1700 disestablishments in Scotland
1700s disestablishments in North America
Trading companies of Scotland

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


At the beginning of Term One Ōtaki College was approached by the Lux Festival of Lights organisers to have one of our classes involved in making a sculpture. Only ten schools were asked in the Wellington area. In the words of the organisers "in this project, technology and art merge, ushering the kids into the future".
During Term One, Jess Weichler, a media arts educator from "Media Box" came up from Wellington each week to work with the students. Under the guidance of their teacher, Mrs Deborah Hadlum, students then followed up on what had been started in class.
The skills involved included coding electrical circuits to get light colours, construction and using recycled materials.
Students used the theme of family for the artwork. They created an entrance to a home, made from wire netting and decorated with recycled plastic, bottles, and symbols that represented themselves, family and their culture. At the base of the entrance is a welcome mat. This has a frame made from recycled material to represent grass and in the middle is a flax mat. Words in Māori and English are written on bottle tops and express family and values that are important.
The College would like to thank the staff from the Council for setting up the installation in the Ōtaki Memorial Hall foyer and for organising an excellent opening evening on Thursday 11th May. We also thank Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki for their support. Click here to see photos of the project in its development phase. Click here to read the article on stuff by Adam Poulopoulis which provides further detail on the background and construction of the installation.


text:
Home Sports Andrew Yang Brings His Hoop Game, 2020 Campaign To A N.H. Gym...
Andrew Yang Brings His Hoop Game, 2020 Campaign To A N.H. Gym For New Series
Presidential candidate Andrew Yang chats with former pro basketball player Luke Bonner in Concord, … [+]
Windwood Productions
In an old brick gym in downtown Concord, N.H., Luke Bonner is bodying up against Andrew Yang and, truth be told, Yang doesn't have much of a chance. Bonner is, after all, a 7-footer who played professionally (he's retired now) in Europe and in the D-League, and is a member of New Hampshire's most prominent athletic clan.
Yang is an Ivy League-trained lawyer with a background in tech entrepreneurship who happens to be running for president. He counts himself as a basketball fan, but watching him dribble, it's clear Yang has no left hand. Asked to size up Yang's game, Bonner paused a few beats.
"Uh, it's not great," he said.
But that, in a way, is the point of Bonner's new video series, "Shooting the Sh*t," which premiered on YouTube last week. In the series, Bonner-brother of former NBA center Matt Bonner and himself an on-air analyst-will welcome 2020 presidential candidates to a court near his home in New Hampshire, shoot around a bit and chat with them about policy and basketball, but also whatever else might come up.
"It doesn't matter if the candidate doesn't know anything about basketball or has any experience with basketball," Bonner told Forbes.com. "That's almost enriching. Being bad at basketball is extraordinarily relatable to most people. It brings a realness to whoever the guest is, humanizes who they are."
The result, in the Yang episode, is an engaging look at a candidate who is still little-known in mainstream politics but has maintained enough support in Democratic primary polls to get himself on Tuesday night's debate stage. There will be more candidates to come, an impressive feat for an idea that came together quickly for Bonner, with the help of Concord's Windwood Productions and Bonner's friend, producer Garrett Richardson.
"We didn't have much time," Bonner said. "It went from this random idea to, 'We're shooting with Andrew Yang and we haven't done a practice shoot.' Within a couple of weeks. But we're rolling from here, getting as many candidates as possible."
Bonner approaches these interviews from unusual angles. He asked Yang to compare his campaign to an NBA player. Yang came up with Jeremy Lin, "with staying power." Bonner countered with Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who has described himself as a tech guy with a jumper. Yang noted that he's been in touch with Dinwiddie online and will be going to a Nets game soon.
Yang said, too, that he is a converted Knicks fan and prefers the Nets. "Better than the Knicks, man," he said. "The ownership is just too … too sh–y."
Yang also discussed two of his prominent campaign issues. He has been strong in his support, from the beginning, of college athletes being allowed to make money off autographs and uses of their likenesses, and he is the only candidate running on a platform featuring Universal Basic Income, which he is calling the 'Freedom Dividend.'
That would pay every adult citizen $1,000 per month, a position Yang explained as approaching the American economy as one of abundance rather than one of scarcity.
"It's a very mainstream idea," Yang said. "Thomas Paine was for it. Martin Luther King was for it. Nixon was for it. It's not that the Asian guy wants to give everyone money. Though I do."
A Break From the New Hampshire Presidential Grind
It's silly season in New Hampshire politics, with residents having been exposed to a steady stream of presidential candidates for months now. Yang has been running for president for nearly two years now and has made more than 40 stops across the state, which is only about 100 miles wide and has just 1.4 million people. He's been able to put himself in front of a large percentage of the state's population.
With more than 20 candidates in the Democratic field, a Granite Stater can hardly go for a walk without tripping over a presidential candidate these days. That's what got Bonner thinking.
"It's a small state, we know everyone," Bonner said. "Over the past year, frequently, I am getting contacted for a meet-and-greet or a house party or something or other with a different candidate. Or I'll just be going about my daily life, in a coffee shop, and there's a presidential candidate. You just run into them everywhere."
Often, the candidates look worn down, as they are shuttled from event to event and expected to deliver the same full-throated, soapbox speech wherever they go. The monotonous glad-handing of campaign work could be nicely broken up by spending an hour noodling in a gym with a basketball and a former pro who once made 38.8 percent of his 3s in a season at UMass.
"I don't know what it is," Bonner said, "but there is this catharsis that happens, this disarming that happens when there is a basketball in your hands and you are in a T-shirt talking to someone. It feels different for some reason. We don't send over talking points in advance. It's very improvisational. I research them but it is just more, where does the conversation go?"
For Yang, the chat turned to a specific basketball-related challenge he is up against in the near future: A one-on-one game with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz that grew out of a Twitter back-and-forth between the two. Yang mused on his expectations of Cruz's style. "From what I can tell," Yang said, "his game consists of backing you down in the post and doing the little scoop shots around you."
Yang mused that he would be hanging out with some NBA players soon for some tips. "That's probably a good idea," Bonner said as Yang laughed. "No offense."
'There Is Nothing Like Shooting Around In A Gym With Someone'
Bonner has been working with other campaigns for more episodes of "Shooting the Sh*t." He is scheduled to film this week with former Pennsylvania Rep. and Senate candidate Joe Sestak, who has pressed on with his quixotic presidential campaign even as he has failed to register in the polls. There are more candidates-high- and low-profile alike-in the works.
Bonner expects the show to carry on throughout the campaign season and even beyond. He's not fashioning himself as Mike Wallace in high tops, but he researches his subjects and asks sharp questions. When he was filming with Yang, a crew from CBS was tailing him for the day.
After Bonner wrapped up his questions, the reporter jokingly said, "All right Andrew, time for some serious questions now."
"I was like, 'I asked some serious questions!'" Bonner said.
He did. But the format for "Shooting the Sh*t" is so unconventional that it's easy to mistake Bonner and Yang for two old buddies catching up at the local gym, and not see them as an interviewer pitching queries to a guy who wants to be the most powerful man in the world.
That's the goal, in fact.
"Personally, there is nothing like shooting around in a gym with someone and just talking," Bonner said. "It's the best thing ever. It's kind of a fun thing that I figure is an interesting way to get to know candidates in a different light outside of traditional political media. I can do it every time there is political activity-Democrat or Republican, I can shoot with anyone. I see basketball and getting into the gym with someone as a universal language."
And who knows? Maybe Yang will begin to resonate with more Americans, maybe he will surprise in the early primaries and maybe he will somehow jump to the fore of the Democratic field.
Bonner might expect a call in that case. As Yang wrapped up the episode and walked off the floor, he raised his voice and said, "We're going to do this again from the White House basketball court. January 2021! We're gonna run this back!"
SOURCEForbes
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text:
Q: FFMPEG clogs up all the traffic The problem is this. I have a video file (it is in /mnt/....) on remote storage. When I run the command to copy it FFMPEG clogs the entire internet stream. Apparently when converting the video it copies it first. Because of this the whole application is temporarily unavailable.
I need to limit the baud rate for this task.
I am thinking to solve this problem by reading into BufferStream (or something else) and manually putting the stream into FFMPEG stdin.
But I can't find any example code where stream is put into FFMPEG .
This may not be the best solution, but I have to limit the speed of copying from remote storage.
I would be very happy with Java code examples
I invoke MMPEG like this
 ProcessBuilder processBuilder = new ProcessBuilder(
                getFfmpegPath(),
                "-safe", "0",
                "-protocol_whitelist", "pipe,file",
                "-y", "-f", "concat",
                "-i", "-",
                "-c", "copy",
                destination.toString()
        );
        processBuilder.redirectErrorStream(true)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
package org.eclipse.gemini.blueprint.service.importer;

import org.eclipse.gemini.blueprint.mock.MockBundleContext;
import org.eclipse.gemini.blueprint.mock.MockServiceReference;
import org.eclipse.gemini.blueprint.service.importer.support.ImportContextClassLoaderEnum;
import org.eclipse.gemini.blueprint.service.importer.support.OsgiServiceProxyFactoryBean;
import org.junit.Before;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.osgi.framework.BundleContext;
import org.osgi.framework.Constants;
import org.springframework.aop.SpringProxy;
import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;

import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.Dictionary;
import java.util.Hashtable;

import static org.easymock.EasyMock.createMock;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
import static org.junit.Assert.fail;

/**
 * @author Adrian Colyer
 * @author Hal Hildebrand
 * @author Costin Leau
 */
public class OsgiSingleServiceProxyFactoryBeanTest {

    private OsgiServiceProxyFactoryBean serviceFactoryBean;

    private BundleContext bundleContext;

    @Before
    public void setUp() throws Exception {
        this.serviceFactoryBean = new OsgiServiceProxyFactoryBean();
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setBeanClassLoader(getClass().getClassLoader());
        this.bundleContext = createMock(BundleContext.class);
    }

    @Test
    public void testAfterPropertiesSetNoBundle() throws Exception {
        try {
            this.serviceFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet();
            fail("should have throw IllegalArgumentException since bundle context was not set");
        } catch (IllegalArgumentException ex) {
            // expected
        }
    }

    @Test
    public void testAfterPropertiesSetNoClassLoader() throws Exception {
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setBundleContext(this.bundleContext);
        try {
            this.serviceFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet();
            fail("should have throw IllegalArgumentException since classLoader was not set");
        } catch (IllegalArgumentException ex) {
            // expected
        }
    }

    @Test
    public void testAfterPropertiesSetNoServiceType() throws Exception {
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setBundleContext(this.bundleContext);
        try {
            this.serviceFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet();
            fail("should have throw IllegalArgumentException since service type was not set");
        } catch (IllegalArgumentException ex) {
            // expected
        }
    }

    @Test
    public void testAfterPropertiesSetBadFilter() throws Exception {
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setBundleContext(this.bundleContext);
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setInterfaces(new Class<?>[]{ApplicationContext.class});
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setFilter("this is not a valid filter expression");
        try {
            this.serviceFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet();
            fail("should have throw IllegalArgumentException since filter has invalid syntax");
        } catch (IllegalArgumentException ex) {
            // expected
        }
    }

    @Test
    public void testGetObjectTypeCompositeInterface() {
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setInterfaces(new Class<?>[]{ApplicationContext.class});
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setBundleContext(this.bundleContext);
        this.serviceFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet();
        assertTrue("composite interface not properly created", ApplicationContext.class
                .isAssignableFrom(this.serviceFactoryBean.getObjectType()));
        assertTrue("mixing interface not introduced", ImportedOsgiServiceProxy.class
                .isAssignableFrom(this.serviceFactoryBean.getObjectType()));
    }

//    @Ignore("Ignored for spring 3.2.2 as cglib is inlined in spring-core in now.")
//	@Test public void testObjectTypeWOCompositeInterface() {
//		this.serviceFactoryBean.setInterfaces(new Class<?>[] { AbstractApplicationContext.class });
//		this.serviceFactoryBean.setBundleContext(this.bundleContext);
//		this.serviceFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet();
//
//		try {
//			this.serviceFactoryBean.getObjectType();
//			fail("should not be able to create composite interface when a class is specified since CGLIB is not in the classpath");
//		} catch (Exception ex) {
//
//		}
//	}

    // OsgiServiceUtils are tested independently in error cases, here we
    // test the
    // correct behaviour of the ProxyFactoryBean when OsgiServiceUtils
    // succesfully
    // finds the service.
    @Test
    public void testGetObjectWithFilterOnly() throws Exception {
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setBundleContext(new MockBundleContext());
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setInterfaces(new Class<?>[]{Serializable.class});
        String filter = "(beanName=myBean)";
        this.serviceFactoryBean.setFilter(filter);

        MockServiceReference ref = new MockServiceReference();
        Dictionary dict = new Hashtable();
        dict.put(Constants.OBJECTCLASS, new String[]{Serializable.class.getName()});
        ref.setProperties(dict);

        serviceFactoryBean.setBeanClassLoader(getClass().getClassLoader());
        serviceFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet();

        Object proxy = serviceFactoryBean.getObject();
        assertTrue(proxy instanceof Serializable);
        assertTrue("should be proxied", proxy instanceof SpringProxy);
    }

    @Test
    public void testClassLoadingOptionsConstant() throws Exception {
        serviceFactoryBean.setImportContextClassLoader(ImportContextClassLoaderEnum.CLIENT);
        serviceFactoryBean.setImportContextClassLoader(ImportContextClassLoaderEnum.SERVICE_PROVIDER);
        serviceFactoryBean.setImportContextClassLoader(ImportContextClassLoaderEnum.UNMANAGED);
    }

    @Test
    public void testNoInterfaceSpecified() throws Exception {
        serviceFactoryBean.setBundleContext(new MockBundleContext());
        serviceFactoryBean.setInterfaces(null);
        serviceFactoryBean.setFilter(null);
        serviceFactoryBean.setServiceBeanName("foo");
        serviceFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet();
        serviceFactoryBean.getObject();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub