Still Diving August 27, 2015

The current issue of Popular Mechanics, September 2015 has great tribute to Bob Ballard. He has been one of my heros from back in the days that I worked for the Marine Systems Engineering Laboratory at UNH. At the time I was working for Dick Blidberg and Jim Jalbert. They gave me a great opportunity to get into computer hardware and software after a few years away from the tech world which had changed by leaps and bounds. And I got to have fun in and around boats. They were working on autonomous underwater vehicles, ADOM and EAVE. Actually ADOM was under ice but that is just water in solid form. This was at about the time Ballard became famous for finding the Titanic and as I recall he had visited our lab prior to the discovery. We were hoping to interest him in an autonomous tender vehicle for his Argo vehicle.

Finding the Titanic was just one triumph of the many he has had and he shows no interesting is stopping now. I like that. His JASON project is an educational initiative that reaches out to school children to give them more opportunities to learn about the world around us and under us. I am wondering about his emphasis on the individual though, becoming stars. He has become a star but I gather from what I read he gives his team credit for making it possible. Will look for more to read on him.

I am also wondering what an “avalanche” looks like on the ocean floor. He talks with excitement in finding them. But to me they are a event. So did he see avalanches happening, and they continue to happen? Or the aftermath of avalanches? Again need to read up more on that.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/a16715/bob-ballard-oceanographer-titanic/

Maybe there is an answer to nuclear power. June 6, 2015

Re-reading an old Popular Science from July 2011 yesterday which focused was The Future of Energy. It covers all forms and there is a very reveling chart that shows all of our sources of energy, for the US, where it goes to, and how much is lost. More than half of what is produce is lost!

The article explains the various ways nuclear power is generated; light-water, molten salt, and fusion. The first is what we use world wide now, the second has been proven 50 years ago, but not done commercially, and the third is pie in the sky, but being developed.

The first is very dirty, and wasteful, only 4% of the fuel is used, leaving us with 96% around to store for ever, and is inherently dangerous. They have to have humans there to keep them from blowing up.

The second can work with lower grade fuel and uses up 95% it, leaving on faction of the waste that the first does. And it can use the “spent” fuel from the first. And it is inherently safe. Yes there is radioactive material but if the humans were to disappear on all power be lost, it will  self-decommission into a pool of solidified salts.

Then I read a story in the current issue of Popular Science on two young scientist at MIT who are hard at work launching a company to create commercial versions of the second. There are challenges, but they are more of implementation, rather that how it works. They have two issues, lack of funding, the US is pouring money into very dirty oil and gas and has no interest in nuclear, and regulation, the NRC is just keeping the status quo. not interested, or funded to do anything new. But on the other hand, the Chinese are all over it. They are planning to build 70 new nuclear power plants. Now how has it come to the point that the US no longer even cares about being the leader in science or industry? Health and safety?

Nova – The Great Cathedral Mysteries, the Dome a Florence February 27, 2015

Ocean (surface) to Space (air space) February 6, 2015

I heard two stories on NPR yesterday morning that both grabbed my attention and I linked in my head. I wonder if anyone else will? One was on tracking illegal fishing. Its very difficult to do. Fish that are illegal to take in one area are not in others and once the fish is off the boat that caught it you loose track. So John Amos  who runs Sky Truth in West Virginia uses the automatic identification system (AIS) that ships to avoid collision to do just this. AIS uses VHF radio to communicate location, vessel information and other data one to another, and to satellites that then gather that information and make it available on the internet. I just took a look at our area on http://www.marinetraffic.com/. Its pretty fascinating. Radar has been the primary collision avoidance for boat for a long while but there are times it does not work so well. Over horizons, in bad weather of if you are a very low boat, like our sailboat and a large ship which is headed your way and cannot turn to avoid a close encounter. Amos uses this to plot movement of boats on the other side of the world and coordinate with officials when they think that a boat is involved in illegal fishing so they can intercept it before it leaves the area or transfers the catch to another boat. Pretty clever use of existing technology I think. See:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/02/05/383562379/gotcha-satellites-help-strip-seafood-pirates-of-their-booty

Then I heard another story on an U.N. agency that is holding a conferece on how we can track airliners during their flights. Our current tracking is very limited so once a plane is way out there we just have to hope it is going to come back into view again. They want to have a system where the plane transmits its position heading and other vital information every 15 minutes. Sounds like they just need to go over to West Marine and pick up some AIS enabled radios. Get them for about $300. OK I know, its not anywhere near that simple. And you would want the air traffic on a different frequency. Either that or with different encoding. But the technology has already been tested and is in use world wide.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/05/383963482/new-standards-for-tracking-aircraft-in-flight

iTunes in Decline, and I Agree. January 7, 2015

A recent online article on NPR talked about how iTunes is losing its following, not only because it is so hard copy centric in a cloud world but is clunky to use and getting worse.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2015/01/06/375173595/with-downloads-in-decline-can-itunes-adapt

I tried to use it myself, and really worked hard a trying to understand why I couldn’t just do what I wanted to and so gave up. And I lost all the work I had done when the old desktop went away. I have a lot of CD’s and other music I have already purchased and I want access to it. iTunes almost works, but sounds like it will never be there.

I’ve looked around but have not seen anything that does what we wanted iTunes to do. Store our music somewhere that is accessible from multiple locations, like both my office and the living room and have a interface that keeps it all organized they way I want it organized.

Going for the XPrise November 13, 2014

I’ve been noticing announcements about this group, what are they? They are a non-profit that partners with others to sponsor public competitions to discover uses of technology to benefit humanity. I like that. They get involved with space exploration, the oceans, cleaning up the environment, healthcare and education. You can sign up for a email about events and they are on Google+ and do Hangouts from time to time. The next on is coming up November 18, 2014 at 1:00 PM. Alas, I am busy at that time.

I do not like their web site, lots of rotating banners which have proven to turn people off, and clicking on them does nothing. So you see something interesting scroll by and, . . . , sorry its gone.

I was looking at the Visioneering section, an annual event, apparently one in 2012? 2013 and its not on their web site but there was one in May 2014 as well. Some of the ideas discussed intrigued me. Web In a Box is a cool idea, a portable emergency neighborhood WiFi hotspot. Reminded me of DEKA’s deal with Coke to make community centers in a shipping container for clean drinking water, supplies and internet access.

The winner for 2013 was Forbidden Energy, getting energy from places not normally used for energy but I have not found anything on it yet.

Also Ali Velshi was on the rotating banners. I used to like him when he was on CNN. Now he is on Al Jazeera America. WIll have to try to look up what his connection was as well.

The 2014 had topics like Disaster Prediction and Response and  The Future of Cities, both topics I want to know more about.

IBM Partners with 28 Business Schools and Universities to Help Train Tomorrow’s Data Scientists – United States May 29, 2014

New programs provide big data and analytics degree seekers with skills that merge business and IT for successful data science careers

ARMONK, N.Y. – 28 May 2014: IBM (NYSE: IBM[1]) today announced it is partnering with 28 new business schools and universities to help prepare students for the 4.4 million jobs[2] that will be created worldwide to support big data[3] by 2015.

Working hand in hand with universities and business schools gearing up for the upcoming Fall 2014 semester, IBM is helping expand and launch new curricula providing students with business knowledge and IT skills for data intensive careers. For example,Case Western Reserve University[4] is offering a new undergraduate program in data science and analytics that will provide a broad range of students with industry-specific skills to capitalize on big data for competitive advantage.

The explosion of big data has rapidly created a global and industry-wide opportunity for job candidates who can uncover insights from data to solve problems and act on findings quickly. Between now and 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a faster-than-average increase[5] in employment opportunities for computer and information research scientists. Yet, a recent IBM CFO study noted that even though 82 percent of those surveyed see the value of integrating enterprise-wide data, only 24 percent think their team is up to the task. Educators and employers must work together to narrow this skills gap.

IBM is helping to ensure the explosive demand for data scientists is met by partnering with the following universities to offer Big Data and Analytics curricula: Arizona State University, Babson College, Boston University, Case Western Reserve University, Dakota State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Illinois State University, Indiana University, Iowa State University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University,Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, San Jose State University, Southern Methodist University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas Fayetteville, University of Denver, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Maryland – College Park, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Missouri, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Tennessee – Chattanooga, University of Tennessee – Knoxville, University of Virginia and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

“Taking advantage of the transformational opportunity presented by Big Data and Analytics has become a key priority for organizations around the globe,” said Bob Picciano, Senior Vice President, Information and Analytics Group, IBM. “To embrace this growing opportunity, companies today must hire a workforce with a broad range of Big Data and Analytics expertise. IBM is dedicated to partnering with academic institutions and providing students with the skills needed to make an impact.”

Unlocking data to make better business decisions has become a crucial part of success across a variety of professions. In fact, 83 percent of business leaders[6] cite big data and analytics an important part of their plan to enhance competitiveness. By partnering with both universities and business schools, IBM is helping develop curricula that mix both business and IT skills. For instance, students can build depth and breadth across multiple disciplines and become more marketable to future employers by applying a minor in Analytics to a major in Business, Marketing or Mathematics.

“Working with IBM, our goal is to design programs that will provide students with big data and analytics domain expertise,” said Case Western Reserve University Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Don Feke, who is leading development of the new programs with faculty from across our campus. “In addition, by offering both a major and a minor in data science, we can essentially ‘data enable’ a wide range of students including those studying computer science, mathematics, communications and marketing. The opportunity is far reaching.”

Working with IBM, these 28 business schools and universities will join the more than 1,000 institutions that already have access to the latest Big Data and Analytics-focused technology innovations, hardware, curricula material, project-focused case studies, guest lecturers, and faculty awards to help accelerate curricula development. For example:

• Boston University’s Metropolitan College[7] is offering a Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems with a concentration in Database Management & Business Intelligence to help equip students with the latest skills needed to manage the explosion of data in today’s modern enterprise.
• Case Western Reserve University[8] is launching a new undergraduate program in data science and analytics in the Fall 2014 semester. This effort includes a major and a minor in applied data science, and eventually a post-baccalaureate certificate program.
• Johns Hopkins University’s DC-based Center for Advanced Governmental Studies[9] is offering a Master of Science in Government Analytics and a Certificate in Government Analytics to provide students with the needed skills to address contemporary political, policy and governance challenges.
• University of Missouri[10] is developing an interdisciplinary Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics degree, providing students with access to IBM’s Open Cloud Architecture to have a comprehensive skill set in building, deploying, and managing cloud resources to analyze big data in journalism, engineering, informatics, and learning analytics.

These new university partnerships support IBM’s Academic Initiative[11], which includes a larger network of more than 30,000 unique partnerships between IBM and higher education professionals to help advance curriculum in areas including Big Data and Analytics, Cloud Computing, Security and Social Business. IBM also recruits from universities and business schools throughout the U.S. via career fairs and info sessions, leading classroom discussions and participating in student organization events.

IBM has established the world’s deepest portfolio of Big Data and Analytics technology that spans research and development, solutions and software. IBM has invested $24 billion to build its capabilities in Big Data and Analytics through R&D and more than 30 acquisitions. Today, more than 15,000 analytics consultants, 6,000 industry solution business partners, and 400 IBM mathematician are helping clients use big data to transform their organizations.

For more information about the IBM Academic Initiative, please visit: http://www-304.ibm.com/ibm/university/academic/pub/page/academic_initiative[12]

For more information about IBM Big Data and Analytics, please visit http://www.ibm.com/big-data/us/en/big-data-and-analytics/[13]