Teams Update (Occasional): Data Worth Your Review
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
So you are ready to put a down payment on that electric vehicle (EV) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). You have had it with the pollution and figure if enough people do as you are planning, there might be hope for this planet.
BUT...
What if all those other guys DO go out and get that EV or PHEV?
Where is everyone going to charge up?
Check out A Better Place. They have big plans. They have a recharge unit that is growing in the popularity. It features a smart card billing convienience, but are being mysterious as to whose card or cards will work. This Silicon Valley start-up (SVSU) is using the units from Coulomb Technologies, also a SVSU; but delivery dates remain at this writing undefined.
Are they waiting for the golden goose in the form of gigantic federal stimulus monies?
After all, President Obama has promised, right?
BUT...
They are talking 10% of the planet's vehicles by 2020. Wholly unimpressive. A drop in the ocean to the growing threat to the atmosphere.
SO...
That all aside, let's look at practical aspects.
First, where are you going to recharge if and when you exceed the limited range of that EV?
Some envision using your cell phone to call a service (or maybe use Google Earth) to find the nearest facility. Cool.
BUT...
Will it tell you there is a place for you to recharge?
Will you have to wait or will you just place a placard in your window as is being suggested?
How is this gooing to work?
Or maybe some highways will have recharge "third rail" cables buried in the asphalt?
OR...
Well, duh.
Questions of convenience will act on the marketplace. It is so much easier to make a weekly ten to twenty minute stop at the gas pump than to remember to plug in the hybrid while you are wrestling groceries and the dog into the house. It seems a righteous cause, but the timetable, and the actual returns in the effort, in face of rising pollution from foreign nations, bring forth many "arguements of convenience" that are not being addressed. (At least not anywhere I have have found.) Like with any innovation, this absence of obvious design solution will be rectified as time reveals further posterior pains. It is the American Way.
So, must we look around and find those locations that afford a measure of security (like the top floor of a parking structure), create a better service enitity, and give people something that is an improvement?
Otherwise, we are just replacing one set of problems with another whole set of problems.
Or, just maybe, will we be creating replacements for a few of those businesses that went down in face of the competition from WalMart or wilted and disappeared because of EPA storage tank removal and replacement costs. Let's hope, if the SBA gets involved as promised, that some of the funds will go to American citizens this time.
In a strange way, the present financial crisis will act as a buffer against hasty action. This is all about hope being attached to potential; which will probably go unfulfilled, as operating corporate giants bribe away the dreams of small successes.
There are hundreds of good ideas out there. There are good people with good intentions that will come forward with their version of how to solve our problems. Sorting them out will be either a task to challenge the wisdom of Solomon and Jobs best character trait, or they will certainly drown in the present morass of American political process.
Without calling for violent overthrow, it is time for revolution; that is, change that will take the money out of represeting the people under actual threat of prison. It is time to seperate personal gain from greater social good without the stale solcialism dialogue. It is time for REAL, not radical. Decentralization will bring the greatest effort; as the many is seperated into few and come up with the width and breath of practical solution; from which the whole will benefit in this age of instant global communication.
BUT...
What if all those other guys DO go out and get that EV or PHEV?
Where is everyone going to charge up?
Check out A Better Place. They have big plans. They have a recharge unit that is growing in the popularity. It features a smart card billing convienience, but are being mysterious as to whose card or cards will work. This Silicon Valley start-up (SVSU) is using the units from Coulomb Technologies, also a SVSU; but delivery dates remain at this writing undefined.
Are they waiting for the golden goose in the form of gigantic federal stimulus monies?
After all, President Obama has promised, right?
BUT...
They are talking 10% of the planet's vehicles by 2020. Wholly unimpressive. A drop in the ocean to the growing threat to the atmosphere.
SO...
That all aside, let's look at practical aspects.
First, where are you going to recharge if and when you exceed the limited range of that EV?
Some envision using your cell phone to call a service (or maybe use Google Earth) to find the nearest facility. Cool.
BUT...
Will it tell you there is a place for you to recharge?
Will you have to wait or will you just place a placard in your window as is being suggested?
How is this gooing to work?
Or maybe some highways will have recharge "third rail" cables buried in the asphalt?
OR...
Well, duh.
Questions of convenience will act on the marketplace. It is so much easier to make a weekly ten to twenty minute stop at the gas pump than to remember to plug in the hybrid while you are wrestling groceries and the dog into the house. It seems a righteous cause, but the timetable, and the actual returns in the effort, in face of rising pollution from foreign nations, bring forth many "arguements of convenience" that are not being addressed. (At least not anywhere I have have found.) Like with any innovation, this absence of obvious design solution will be rectified as time reveals further posterior pains. It is the American Way.
So, must we look around and find those locations that afford a measure of security (like the top floor of a parking structure), create a better service enitity, and give people something that is an improvement?
Otherwise, we are just replacing one set of problems with another whole set of problems.
Or, just maybe, will we be creating replacements for a few of those businesses that went down in face of the competition from WalMart or wilted and disappeared because of EPA storage tank removal and replacement costs. Let's hope, if the SBA gets involved as promised, that some of the funds will go to American citizens this time.
In a strange way, the present financial crisis will act as a buffer against hasty action. This is all about hope being attached to potential; which will probably go unfulfilled, as operating corporate giants bribe away the dreams of small successes.
There are hundreds of good ideas out there. There are good people with good intentions that will come forward with their version of how to solve our problems. Sorting them out will be either a task to challenge the wisdom of Solomon and Jobs best character trait, or they will certainly drown in the present morass of American political process.
Without calling for violent overthrow, it is time for revolution; that is, change that will take the money out of represeting the people under actual threat of prison. It is time to seperate personal gain from greater social good without the stale solcialism dialogue. It is time for REAL, not radical. Decentralization will bring the greatest effort; as the many is seperated into few and come up with the width and breath of practical solution; from which the whole will benefit in this age of instant global communication.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Nearly Holloween now; the weather continues to be great for this time of year. I have picked-up and transported several hundred 2 by 2 'sticks' from a distant neighbor. They now lie sorted against a bending chain-link fence across the back of my space. My back is stiff and promises to be sore in the morning.
So now, I have something to burn this winter for my labors. And it was free but for the gas to get it here.
Gas is getting back to reasonable prices, but nothing in the future says it will remain within any affordability. Ditto propane and any other fuels.
Terry has put his Ark up for sale on craigslist. I think he is not asking enough for it; but he got his use out of it. We had a good time going to the Grand Canyon. (He claims some money troubles as reason to sell now. Me too. Everybody is hurting these days.)
The Stock Market continues to confound. I moved most of my money out of Edward Jones, following a 25% loss in value this year alone. I bought a (5 year) 5% CD on what remains. It will be my "hole card" cash and represents half of my inheritance. I have it setup for Baker to get something from his weird granduncle at some time in the future. I hope that reamins a reality long after....well, you know.
I opened a Scottrade account with a healthy portion of my savings. I am down nearly another 12% since; but, I think things will turn around after the Presidential election and the credit industry has time to adjust to a new set of values.
The news just keeps on being bad, despite all that has been done. It is all fear driven and people are just pulling out. Although this is a god time to buy, I have been holding off until "a bottom" is obvious. It shure isn't now. Or is it?
This incredible violability is said to be expected; but some say it will lead one way and others the opposite. I feel it so strange that this unprecedented situation would come when I finally have a few dollars to "play." Duh.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The greatest risk is not taking one.
Gotta play to win.
Etc etc etc.
Oh. The car pictured above is a compressed gas and multi-fuel hybrid from India. Thanks for nothing Detroit. They got a bail-out that seems only to pay off the benefits packages given when times were richer. I just spent an incredible $880 on my Neon, a car I paid less than half that for just about a year ago. I learned much about it I needed to know for that cash; first, that the computer thing is bullshit. (Long story. I won't bore you with it, but to say how they have cars set up these days is usurious.) What America needs is a car you can "shade tree" and keep your basic transportation running. Like "back in the day" past. But...
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Today was Clean Up Day in the Lockwood Trailer Park (aka LCC). Four whole hours were set aside, from 8AM to Noon, and a dumpster was provided for free dump of useless stuff and trash.I spent most of the four hours trying to get any of the THREE weed whackers I own to work. No success, so I borrowed a sickle from my neighbor and whacked the weeds across the street THE OLD FASHIONED WAY. (I had tried to buy a sickle, or a scythe, at Home Depot and Ace Hardware with no luck.)
The street looks better across from me and my neighbors. At least the work made it appear that I was dong something. Still, my back yard needs a cleanup before the snows come. Autumn starts Monday and there has already been a change of temperature.
After cleaning up the street (Peri Ranch Road), I loaded the cut sagebrush and other trash into my Ranger and went down to dump it in the container. Ninety-nine trailer spots here, and they wanted a through job; so they went out and got ONE twenty foot long container for the whole place! It was overflowing when I got there. Duh. Maybe next year they will get one big enough for the job. (This is how they do things around here...after the fact...not half-slow but definitely half-fast.)
At noon, I took the Big Bowl of Potato Salad I had made from scratch (5 lbs of potatoes, pickles, onions, olives, a quart of mayo, salt and pepper) up for the Free Potluck Lunch in Louise Peri Park (where I run my dog). My salad was a hit, as I thought it might be since Summer ends on Monday. I took about a serving and a half home with me after the crowd thinned.
I was surprised at the low turn-out; maybe twenty folks total. Most, if not all, of the Executive Board was there. This is a good idea; the whole community pitching in to get rid of the crap that accumulates with time and folks just living the life.
Every surface in my house is covered with stuff; I have to make more surfaces!
And I can't find my work boots! Been looking for two days. Oh, the frustration of losing it to years.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Summer is about to enter the memory phase. And what a summer it has been!
In June, I drove the Jeep Cherokee to St. Joseph, MO and back; had a nice visit with my niece Kappy and her family, Dr. Tim and Baker. Saw the Pony Express on that end, and Jessie James' stuff, the river, the town and barbeque features. Got RP's piano loaded and strapped onto my trailer; then, drove through some of the scairest and most terrible weather I have ever seen coming back. (Weather was a major feature this summer.)
Then, a few days after, my brother Terry came in his big RV. We drove down the see the Grand Canyon. And it was both a Canyon and very Grand. It was, in fact, awesome. Best time I have had with Terry ever (probably). And I only nearly-wrecked his "big toy" RV once.
Then, a day after returning, I went to a nifty SketchUp Base Camp'08 learning conference at Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA. It was one of those situations that let you know how much you don't know. But I have been using the app and learning from online videos. (This is a great and developing situation. And its fun!)
However, in an attempt to save a few dollars, I got in a major hassel with the California STate Park Service and their booking agent. Long story. Suffice that I am still waiting for a refund or my $54 for two nights stay. Don't book campspace online.
A week or so after that adventure, I got a notion to go to Burning Man this year. I live under 150 miles from where this gathering of lost tribes occurs and have not attended; scaired by the hefty ticket prices. But, I was losing my inheritance to the whims of the stock market anyway, so I blew the $300. It was worth it.
But...
I managed to badly burn my left leg early Wednesday morning, tipping a pan nearly full of boiling water off the single burner stove I brought to cook with; second degree burns over maybe a square foot of skin at the ankle. Hurt like hell; happend far too early in the week. It put a damper on my touring around, as did the lack of powered transportation. I will know better if and when I plan a return visit.
And...
A serious dust storm on Saturday delayed and nearly canceled the infamous 'Burn' itself, but it didn't. It did convince me that the only way to do that scene is off the ground; tent camping is just too difficult; especially if injured and constantly having to watch that the injury keeps clean. So, if I do go back, it will be in the RV or one of my campers.
Saw some pot smoking and a lot of alchohol. Nothing else of a serious drug manner. This was a bit suprising, as every other block seemeed to have either a full tilt rock stage with all the rock concert attachments, or some major theme camp cluster of a variety unimagineable but for those who participate in the event.
About a week to go until the season changes officially. Anniversary of 9-11 was yesterday; seven years have passed already. No Osama. (I think he is already dead.) The election proposes two equally unqualified and naturally ungifted men seeking an office that only an ego-maniac would could should hold. And the stock market is as manic-depressive as ever. (I think that large hedge funds are in control. Really.)
I am kicking back today after moving a pile of wood; that were the planks of a railroad flat car which is being made into a bridge. Been through a hassel with the Board of the corporation that runs this place over my cars and trailers; I have too many to fit into the "acceptable" area the old women around here would have this gulag. I have use now for the umbrella I bought for the playa and never used. At least, it is clean; unlike anything else I took out to Burning Man. (Yes, RV or a trailer/camper next time!)
Monday, June 30, 2008
Labels: Sportable Brazil SketchUp futsal
Friday, June 27, 2008
Traveling all month. Been to St. Joseph, MO and the Grand Canyon, not to mention a nifty conference at Google called the SketchUp 3DBasecamp. It has been fun, but expensive to a retired guy like me. Got to pay the bills and live the life.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
A Third Pipe Status Report: August 7, 2007
This long time blog is being highjacked for use a single information exchange site involving the transition of media from corporate based ("we will tell you what we want you to know and believe") to something closer approaching end user ideal ("I am tired as hell and won't take it anymore.")
We begin with some basic information about an upcoming FCC auction for frequencies in the unused broadcast television channel spectrum. It will be used to create what is being referred to as the Third Pipe; if the right people win (like Google). The other Two Pipes (broadcast and cable/satellite) have only created money machines; "licence to print money" commercialisms. This has created a political environment that is upside down; the money is the thing, the truth is spun to whatever whim necessary to maintain this environment, and there remains few, if any, means for messages to flow unfettered in face of the Patriot Act.
We then move to some of the jargon definitions needed to understand the material being published on a cornucopia of industry and consumer web sites. We end this post with development in the local area most influential to this writer.
The emerging world of WiFi (and WiMAX later) offer a means to decentralization of information. This is an inevitability as the broadcast world is coming to realize the impact of the Internet apon their influence and ability to generate audience. Audience should come as result of popular reaction to form and format. Today journalism and popular entertainment has degenerated to habit, mediocrities, and a time warp of political correctness. With decentralization, word of mouth will build audience; as Truth again becomes the motivator of political action.
Below are a few of the things needed to understand curent development of WiFi (and later WiMAX) video narrowcasting.
From the FCC:
The 700 MHz Band spectrum, which runs from 698-806 MHz, currently is occupied by television broadcasters and will be made available for other wireless services, including public safety and commercial services, as a result of the digital television (DTV) transition. The Digital Television and Public Safety Act of 2005 (DTV Act) set a firm deadline of February 17, 2009, for the completion of the DTV transition. The DTV Act also requires the FCC to commence an auction of the previously unauctioned commercial spectrum in the 700 MHz Band no later than January 28, 2008.
In implementing Congress’ directive to reallocate the airwaves, the Commission is focused on serving the public interest and the American people. The service rules the Commission adopts today help create a national broadband network for public safety that will address the interoperability problems of today’s system, provide for a more open wireless platform that will facilitate innovation and investment, and facilitate the emergence of next generation wireless broadband services in both urban and rural areas.
Today’s Order establishes a framework for a 700 MHz Public Safety/Private Partnership between the licensee for one of the commercial spectrum blocks and the licensee for the public safety broadband spectrum. As part of the Partnership, the commercial licensee will build out a nationwide, interoperable broadband network for the use of public safety. This network will facilitate effective communications among first responders not just in emergencies, but as part of cooperative communications plans that will enable first responders from different disciplines, such as police and fire departments, and jurisdictions to work together in emergency preparedness and response. Under the Partnership, the Public Safety Broadband Licensee will have priority access to the commercial spectrum in times of emergency, and the commercial licensee will have preemptible, secondary access to the public safety broadband spectrum. Many national and local public safety organizations have expressed support for a public safety/private partnership approach. Providing for shared infrastructure will help achieve significant cost efficiencies while maximizing public safety’s access to interoperable broadband spectrum.
In order to promote broadband competition and the development of innovative wireless services for consumers, today’s Order also makes several changes to the rules governing the commercial services portion of the 700 MHz Band. Most notably, the FCC determined that licensees for one of the spectrum blocks to be auctioned – the large, 22-megahertz Upper 700 MHz C Block – will be required to provide a platform that is more open to devices and applications. These licensees will be required to allow customers, device manufacturers, third-party application developers, and others to use any device or application of their choice on their networks in this band, subject to certain conditions. The FCC also adopted several changes to the 700 MHz band plan, the build-out requirements for licensees, and the auction procedures, as described below.
700 MHz Band Plan
• Under the new band plan, 62 megahertz of spectrum, divided into five spectrum blocks, will be auctioned for commercial uses.
• The commercial spectrum will be made available at auction in a mix of geographic area sizes, including Cellular Market Areas (CMAs), Economic Areas (EAs), and Regional Economic Area Groupings (REAGs).
• The 10-megahertz Upper D Block will be licensed on a nationwide basis and will become part of a 700 MHz Public Safety/Private Partnership.
• Within the 24 megahertz of public safety spectrum, the public safety wideband spectrum is being redesignated for broadband use to allow for nationwide interoperable broadband communications by public safety users.
• The public safety broadband spectrum is placed in a 10-megahertz block at the bottom of this band and the existing public safety narrowband spectrum is consolidated in a 12-megahertz block at the top of the band. Internal guard bands are placed in between the broadband and narrowband segments.
• There will be a single, nationwide license for the public safety broadband spectrum, assigned to a Public Safety Broadband Licensee, which will work with the adjacent commercial D Block licensee as part of the 700 MHz Public Safety/Private Partnership.
• The Public Safety Band is shifted by downward by one megahertz from 764-776/794-806 MHz to 763-775/793-805 MHz in order to protect public safety narrowband operations in the Canadian border areas.
• To accommodate the shift in the Public Safety Band, the Guard Band A Block is being relocated to a new location between the Upper C and D Blocks, and, to further protect the public safety narrowband operations from potential interference, the Guard Band B Block is being placed above the narrowband block at the top of the 700 MHz Band.
Public Safety/Private Partnership
• The Upper D Block commercial licensee and the Public Safety Broadband Licensee will form a Public Safety/Private Partnership to develop a shared, nationwide interoperable network for both commercial and public safety users.
• The terms of the Partnership will be governed both by FCC rules and by the details of the Network Sharing Agreement (NSA) to be negotiated by the Upper D Block commercial licensee and the Public Safety Broadband Licensee. The NSA is subject to FCC approval, and must contain certain provisions such as service fees and a detailed build-out schedule for the network.
Performance Requirements for Commercial Spectrum
• New, more stringent performance requirements were adopted for commercial licenses that have not yet been auctioned in order to promote better access to spectrum and the provision of service, especially in rural areas.
• For licenses based on CMAs and EAs, licensees are required to provide service sufficient to cover at least 35 percent of the geographic area of their license within four years, and 70 percent of this area by the end of the license term.
• For licenses based on REAGs, licensees must provide service sufficient to cover at least 40 percent of the population of their license area within four years, and 75 percent of the population of the license area by the end of the license term.
• If licensees fail to meet the four-year, interim geographic or population benchmark, the license term will be reduced from ten to eight years, thus requiring these licensees to meet the end-of-term benchmark at an accelerated schedule. Interim reporting requirements have also been adopted to ensure that build out is timely.
• If licensees fail to meet the end-of-term buildout requirements, the FCC will automatically reclaim the unserved portions of the license area and make them available to other potential users.
Open Platform
• The licensees of the Upper 700 MHz Band C Block of spectrum will be required to provide a platform that is more open to devices and applications. This would allow consumers to use the handset of their choice and download and use the applications of their choice in this spectrum block, subject to certain reasonable network management conditions that allow the licensee to protect the network from harm.
Auction Procedures
• In the upcoming 700 MHz auction, the FCC will use "anonymous" bidding procedures, in which any information that may indicate specific applicants’ interests in the auction, including their license selections and bidding activity, is withheld until after the close of the auction. These procedures will be used irrespective of any pre-auction measurement of likely competition in the auction.
• The FCC will use "package bidding" procedures when auctioning the 12 licenses in the Upper 700 MHz Band C Block in order to assist bidders that are seeking to create a nationwide footprint.
• The Order directs the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau to establish reserve prices for the upcoming 700 MHz Band auction.
Action by the Commission on July 31, 2007, by Second Report and Order (FCC 07-132). Chairman Martin, with Commissioners Copps, Adelstein, Tate approving in part/concurring in part, McDowell approving in part/dissenting in part. Separate statements issued by Chairman Martin and Commissioners Copps, Adelstein, Tate, and McDowell.
For additional information on the commercial services portion of the 700 MHz Band, contact Paul D’Ari at (202) 418-1550 or Paul.Dari@fcc.gov. For additional information on the public safety portion of the 700 MHz Band, contact Jeff Cohen at (202) 418-0799 or Jeff.Cohen@fcc.gov. For additional information on the 700 MHz Guard Bands, contact Paul Moon at (202) 418-1793 or Paul.Moon@fcc.gov.
WT Docket Nos. 06-150, 01-309, 03-264, 06-169, and 96-86
CC Docket No. 94-102
PS Docket No. 06-229
Some Definitions and Links
Also known as 802.11, AirPort and wireless LAN, Wi-Fi is a wireless network connection that uses a high-bandwidth radio transceiver to tap into networks at speeds of 11 mbps to more than 100 mbps, up to 350 feet from a base station. Wi-Fi cards most commonly found in laptops have the specifications 802.11a, b, and g. These three standards tap into different frequencies and allow for varying bandwidths. Most new cards can work with multiple standards.
WiMAX technology, also known as 802.16, will hit the market in 2005 and will function as a wireless alternative to cable modems and DSL. WiMAX plans to offer wireless connectivity up to 30 miles from an antenna at speeds of up to 75 mbps, cable modems bring in data at just over 1 mbps. WiMax, which carriers can use to wirelessly deliver broadband, will include the 802.16 standard, plus revisions and additions.
Simply known as a "cable replacement" technology, Bluetooth is a radio-frequency standard that functions as a personal-area network (PAN). It replaces cable-based connections, like USBs, with short-range wireless connections. The technology can be applied between desktops and notebook computers, handhelds, PDAs, mobile phones, camera phones, headphones, printers, digital cameras, headsets, keyboards and computer mice.
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered by using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. A general definition of IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks.
For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services such as Web access and VoIP. The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is referred to as "Triple Play" service. IPTV is typically supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure. This closed network approach is in competition with the delivery of TV content over the public Internet, called Internet Television. In businesses, IPTV may be used to deliver television content over corporate LANs.
Triple play is a term used to describe the delivery of voice, video and data services to the home. Adding mobility is called Quadruple Play.
STB is set top box.
More definitions and Anachronisms (mostly Cell Phone stuff):
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) gather, combine and analyze different layers of information about an area on Earth.
Personal communication service (PCS) is a second-generation mobile communications technology also referred to as digital cellular. The digital service, which works over CDMA, GSM and TDMA interfaces, operates at the 1900 MHz frequency range and can be used internationally.
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a digital wireless service that transfers data at rates from 40 to 144 Kbps. Unlike GSM, which assigns a specific frequency to each user, CDMA allows every channel to use the full available spectrum, allowing greater capacity and higher audio quality for more users.
Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system funded and controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense that is available to the public. It processes satellite signals in a GPS receiver to very accurately compute position, velocity and time. GPS works in all weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.
Division Multiple Access (TDMA) is a digital wireless service that divides a radio frequency into time slots and then allocates the slots to multiple calls, allowing a single frequency to support multiple, simultaneous data channels.
Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN) uses TMDA technology to provide cell phone voice communication, messaging, digital two-way radio and data transfers.
Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) is a high-speed wireless data connection on a CDMA network. The technology allows users to access high-speed Internet through portable devices, such as cell phones, laptops and PDAs.
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a digital cellular system that uses TDMA, which allows a single frequency to support multiple, simultaneous data channels.
Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE) is a faster GSM wireless service that can deliver data at rates up to 384 Kbps on a broadband. The standard is based on the GSM standard and uses TDMA.
3G is an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) specification for the third-generation mobile communications technology that was created for high-speed transfer of data and multimedia content, such as video, downloads, music and interactive games. 3G aims to increase bandwidth up to 384 Kbps when a device is stationary or moving at pedestrian speed, 128 Kbps in a car, and 2 Mbps in fixed applications. 3G will work over wireless air interfaces, such as GSM, TDMA, and CDMA. The new EDGE service was developed specifically to meet the bandwidth needs of 3G.
Currently in development, 802.20 promises all the benefits of WiMAX 802.16, but it will be optimized for broadband wireless access while traveling at high speeds.
CSD: Download speed: up to 9.6 & 14.4 Kbps, Upload speed: up to 9.6 & 14.4 Kbps
WLAN 802.11g speed: up to 54 Mbps
WLAN 802.11b speed: up to 11 Mbps
And Now Something Completely Different:
There is already a Reno citywide wireless network built by SkyPilot Network Inc. and run by Hot Spot Broadband.
...in the Reno-Tahoe area through Hot Spot, an offshoot of electrical contractor Garry Gomes' J.A.G. Wire Electric Inc. The ease of installation and operation, the reliability and the low cost sold him on the system. He expects to be offering phone service within two months. "I'm getting 4.5 megs consistently."
...in the Reno-Tahoe area through Hot Spot, an offshoot of electrical contractor Garry Gomes' J.A.G. Wire Electric Inc. The ease of installation and operation, the reliability and the low cost sold him on the system. He expects to be offering phone service within two months. "I'm getting 4.5 megs consistently."
Readers are encouraged to do Google searchs on any term used here to expand their personal knowledge.
Labels: Informational
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Friday, August 04, 2006
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Hello to anyone curious enough to arrive at this old blog.
It has been many days since my last post (er, confession?).
Whatever, retirement goes on swimmingly.
I am gaining more weight. (I know, I know.)
I have never seen Nevada more lush than this year.
Have a good one...
It has been many days since my last post (er, confession?).
Whatever, retirement goes on swimmingly.
I am gaining more weight. (I know, I know.)
I have never seen Nevada more lush than this year.
Have a good one...
Labels: Old HUH Posts
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Two seeks ago this was the building that was the issue for NMHI to have maintenence access rather than some parking for HUH
Labels: Old HUH Posts
Thursday, December 15, 2005
It was not the typical Christmas party. And the Facility has gone through major changes; not the least of which is a complete paint job. The place again looks like the prison cell block it did when I had come to work 3 years before. But that is the least of what has gone on in my absence.
Across the road, an entire building has beeen demolished (photo to come). It was said that the Institute's plans for the space remains "unclear;" perhaps a parking lot, or another building. To that, nothing has changed. Truly, the Institute is a loose cannon, with lives of citizens at balance, and with the state providing money enough to mess up those in need royally. The Unit Facility remains ready for the wrecking ball itself; rumor has that there is promise of moving The Program somewhere south of the city.
Of Staff, there remained none that I had previously worked with present at the party. I was told that there were a few (who did remain) on Staff, but were not expected at this, the annual Unit freebie. I received a very large mug, with three gift cards from Starbuck's and some fancy chocolates. This unexpected gift was greatly appreciated. Really. As was the opportunity to see evolution at work in the Unit.
'J' came with 'A'. Both have left the Program to pursue other interests, but remain with operational ties until the transitions find some sense of completion. Both were kind and considerate as they introduced me to new Staff and others I neither knew or knew me. A few concerned parents were attending, but there was an obvious lack of System Authorities. Some, including judges, had attended in the past but there may have been one exception "to prove the rule." 'A' told me that the entire program, and many other aligned programs, were being moved into MedicAid at the turn of the New Year. In other words, the ax is about to fall. After all, there is a trillion dollar war to fight, right?
'C' has become Program Director. She greeted me cordially and we had a nice conversation. There were also several other 'little talks' from staff and other party goers that ran the gambit of social courtesy. 'C' looked fully in charge, which I found strangely interesting and, on reflection, appropriate.
The three Clients left from my era I managed to engage in conversation. We talked about what has happened in the interim; to me and to themselves. In time, I managed a small audience at the table where we had seated ourselves.
Touching any impedence of motivation in these dark souls remains a delicate exersize. As my role was undefined beyond being a guest, I opted to generalize in the third person; giving options as though they were obvious, but knowing thoughts I was seeding came as new information. To several, their own internal dialogue, and the distractions of the event, drowned out any of my intended semblances. Rather, we talked of the military and its demands on a person. And we discussed how opportunity has changed since I was their age. It seemed incongruous to me that 45 years has elapsed in the meanwhile.
A troop of local Boy Scouts had arrived packing a full turkey dinner for all, with ALL the trimmings. They presented the boys a lesson in leadership, and a visual on the benefits of group effort and group discipline. Clients and Scouts mixed easily; for the differences between boys melded in subtle given distances measured through some ancient memory. It is personalities that shine through this common shell of group identity. That can be entertaining, informative and, at times, enlightening.
Lesson of the day: Treating oneself as being important, through thoughtful planning on how to influence coming events, places others in an equally important position to receive that influence. In other words, even under the guise of storytelling, a wise teacher will only stir thought, not bombard the senses with too much (or too shocking) information.
Across the road, an entire building has beeen demolished (photo to come). It was said that the Institute's plans for the space remains "unclear;" perhaps a parking lot, or another building. To that, nothing has changed. Truly, the Institute is a loose cannon, with lives of citizens at balance, and with the state providing money enough to mess up those in need royally. The Unit Facility remains ready for the wrecking ball itself; rumor has that there is promise of moving The Program somewhere south of the city.
Of Staff, there remained none that I had previously worked with present at the party. I was told that there were a few (who did remain) on Staff, but were not expected at this, the annual Unit freebie. I received a very large mug, with three gift cards from Starbuck's and some fancy chocolates. This unexpected gift was greatly appreciated. Really. As was the opportunity to see evolution at work in the Unit.
'J' came with 'A'. Both have left the Program to pursue other interests, but remain with operational ties until the transitions find some sense of completion. Both were kind and considerate as they introduced me to new Staff and others I neither knew or knew me. A few concerned parents were attending, but there was an obvious lack of System Authorities. Some, including judges, had attended in the past but there may have been one exception "to prove the rule." 'A' told me that the entire program, and many other aligned programs, were being moved into MedicAid at the turn of the New Year. In other words, the ax is about to fall. After all, there is a trillion dollar war to fight, right?
'C' has become Program Director. She greeted me cordially and we had a nice conversation. There were also several other 'little talks' from staff and other party goers that ran the gambit of social courtesy. 'C' looked fully in charge, which I found strangely interesting and, on reflection, appropriate.
The three Clients left from my era I managed to engage in conversation. We talked about what has happened in the interim; to me and to themselves. In time, I managed a small audience at the table where we had seated ourselves.
Touching any impedence of motivation in these dark souls remains a delicate exersize. As my role was undefined beyond being a guest, I opted to generalize in the third person; giving options as though they were obvious, but knowing thoughts I was seeding came as new information. To several, their own internal dialogue, and the distractions of the event, drowned out any of my intended semblances. Rather, we talked of the military and its demands on a person. And we discussed how opportunity has changed since I was their age. It seemed incongruous to me that 45 years has elapsed in the meanwhile.
A troop of local Boy Scouts had arrived packing a full turkey dinner for all, with ALL the trimmings. They presented the boys a lesson in leadership, and a visual on the benefits of group effort and group discipline. Clients and Scouts mixed easily; for the differences between boys melded in subtle given distances measured through some ancient memory. It is personalities that shine through this common shell of group identity. That can be entertaining, informative and, at times, enlightening.
Lesson of the day: Treating oneself as being important, through thoughtful planning on how to influence coming events, places others in an equally important position to receive that influence. In other words, even under the guise of storytelling, a wise teacher will only stir thought, not bombard the senses with too much (or too shocking) information.
Labels: Old HUH Posts
RE-turning to the Scene of the Fact
Things have happened since I left employ at that place which remains anan but is the source of this blog's being. I return today for the annual Christmas Party. I await with some apprehension. Who is still there? What has changed? What remains the same?
I shall soon learn of these and other things.
Things have happened since I left employ at that place which remains anan but is the source of this blog's being. I return today for the annual Christmas Party. I await with some apprehension. Who is still there? What has changed? What remains the same?
I shall soon learn of these and other things.
Labels: Old HUH Posts
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Weeks have gone by since Katrina and a few days since Rita. Another brews in the Caribbean, which has the potential to turn Hell into More Hell.
On the brighter side, one of the Big Media papers has reported that over a billion dollars (that is $1,000,000,000) has been contracted of YOUR MONEY to Hurricane Relief without a bidding process. Guess who got the money: Bechtel, the makers of Boston's Big Dig; and Haliburton, thieves of disproportionate dynamic! There were two others with as despicable histories, not to mention the Red Cross.
AND, those survivor/displaced individuals who make it onto America's TV screen, continue to bemoan the total lack of relief in their neighborhood. It is business as usual in America, the greatest country in the Whirled.
On the brighter side, one of the Big Media papers has reported that over a billion dollars (that is $1,000,000,000) has been contracted of YOUR MONEY to Hurricane Relief without a bidding process. Guess who got the money: Bechtel, the makers of Boston's Big Dig; and Haliburton, thieves of disproportionate dynamic! There were two others with as despicable histories, not to mention the Red Cross.
AND, those survivor/displaced individuals who make it onto America's TV screen, continue to bemoan the total lack of relief in their neighborhood. It is business as usual in America, the greatest country in the Whirled.
Labels: Old HUH Posts
