Since our subject matter often includes complicated, detailed, and disturbing factual situations, we hope to start compiling, and providing, well-documented historical data for purposes of illustration:
Author Archives: Jonathan Soroko
Miami PeopleMover System: an urban transportation success
How to blow $6 billion on a tech project | Ars Technica
n 1997, the Defense Department began its quest for the perfect family of radios: software-defined radios that, like computers, could be reprogrammed for different missions and could communicate with everything the US military used. Digital signal processing could adaptively use available radio spectrum based on the needs of the moment, turning soldiers, tanks, planes, and ships into nodes of a broadband radio-based network.The goal was to solve radio problems like this one in Afghanistan, detailed by the Center for Public Integrity in January 2012. Soldiers who watched an ambush forming on a ridge nearby found themselves limited by the hugely variable needs of their many radio systems: They had short-range models for talking with the reconstruction team; longer-range versions for reaching headquarters 25 miles away; and a backup satellite radio in case the mountains blocked the transmission. An Air Force controller carried his own radio for talking to jet fighters overhead and a separate radio for downloading streaming video from the aircraft. Some of these radios worked only while the troopers were stationary; others were simply too cumbersome to operate on the move.But the program meant to fix the mess, called the Joint Tactical Radio System JTRS, instead became a massive 15-year software and hardware development mess of its own, involving five sub-programs and multiple multi-billion dollar contracts. It has been a financial disaster for the DOD. Billions were thrown away on technology that will never see the light of day, despite multiple heroic efforts to pull the project back from the brink of disaster.JTRS provides a textbook case of what not to do in a technology development program, proving that even a few great ideas can’t save a project that has been over-specified and under-tested, and that remains blinkered to what’s going on in the world around it.
via How to blow $6 billion on a tech project | Ars Technica.
Rod Nordlund/NYTimes.com
Rod Nordlund, Tmes correspondent in and around Afghanistan:
This is the only passable route for heavy truck traffic bringing NATO supplies in from the Central Asian republics to the north, as they now must come.
There are other roads, but they are often single-lane dirt tracks through even higher mountain passes, or they are frequently subject to ambushes by insurgents and bandits. So a tunnel built to handle 1,000 vehicles a day, and until the Pakistani boycott against NATO in November handling 2,000, now tries — and often fails — to let 10,000 vehicles through, alternating northbound and southbound truck traffic every other day.
See also BBC News – US cuts Pakistan aid over jailing of ‘Bin Laden doctor’
Researchers posit new disease vector: trans-oceanic airbone pathogens: NPR
What do these two technologies have in common?
What is/are the relationship(s) between the technologies pictured here? We’re not trying to be unfair, so we’ll explain that one image is of a pilot climbing into an F-16, and the other is of a whistle.
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They differences, of course, are intuitive: The F-16, while still being manufactured for export to selected countries, is no longer being purchased by the United States military, but those still in service are intended to remain in service until 2025, which speaks volumes about the complexity of military aircraft design and the consequent length of the design cycle. The F-16 is unquestionably a weapons system or platform: there are many cofigurations of armament, electronic countermeasure, complex IFF systems (“Identify Friend or Foe,” an automated means of reducing friendly fire incidents on the one hand, and thereby permitting faster action by pilots who are, by using IFF, at less risk of accidentally attacking an ally, a colleague, perhaps even a friend and comrade); training is complex and demanding; because of its complexity and maneuvering ability, the F-16 is unforgiving of error.
The whistle, the WW-3 Res-Q™ Whistle, has a single function: to call for help and direct help towards the signaler (so perhaps two related functions), and its characteristics include:
- Loud, shrill, dual tone audible from great distance
- Unique flat design prevents holding water
- Required by SOLAS 83
- Meets USCG/SOLAS requirements
- Aids in land or sea rescues
- Use on life jackets, vests, foul weather gear, ring buoys, rafts, keychains, etc.
- Developed for the U.S. Navy; used by NASA, major airlines and shipping companies
- Complete with 18-inch (45.5 cm) lanyard
Its only safety defect is its greatest virtue: users and persons near them may experience discomfort or transient hearing loss because it is so loud. It’s simple to operate; as Lauren Bacall said in the film Key Largo,
“If you want me just whistle. You know how to whistle don’t you? Just put your lips together and blow.”
Lauren Bacall, The Complete Films of Humphrey Bogart; found at Lauren Bacall Quotes Page, via GoodReads.com
So what do they have in common?
- The same parent company, Cobham plc, makes both components and subsystems for the F-16 and other very complicated pieces of tech costing millions of dollars, as well as the Res-Q-Whistle, which often retails for under $3 USD. It’s hard to imagine that there’s much of an economic motive for Cobham in selling these whistles, but we’re glad they have them on the market.
- The pilot stepping into the F-16 probably has the Res-Q-Whistle in his survival gear which, because its most likely use is after ejection and parachuting and consequently has carefully rationed space, says something about the perceived value of the whistle. Insofar as we know, the $2 whistle must be purchased separately, and is not included in the price of the more expensive F-16 subsystems and accessories.
Thanks to RFCafe.com for providing the link which led to this piece.
Researchers posit new disease vector: trans-oceanic airbone pathogens: NPR
Kawasaki disease affects about 4,000 children a year in the United States, but many more in Asia. As a consequence, even the best American pediatricians may have difficulty making the correct diagnosis, particularly on first impression. Now researchers have correlated wind patterns to and from Japan and the U.S. West Coast with the timing of Kawasaki outbreaks in both locations.
A Windborne Clue To A Mysterious Childhood Disease: on NPR.org – a direct link to the audio is on the page.
Hydraulic Fracturing – accumulating record not particularly reassuring
Recent reports about the effects of hydraulic fracturing. Note that a critical aspect of this issue is the pressurized disposal of wastewater, which is injected (or perhaps more accurately re-injected) rather than the initial energy (gas) collection.
Mark Drajem, correspondent for Bloomberg News, reporting Fracking Tied to Unusual Rise in Earthquakes in U.S.
A spate of earthquakes across the middle of the U.S. is “almost certainly” man-made, and may be caused by wastewater from oil or gas drilling injected into the ground, U.S. government scientists said in a study.
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey said that for the three decades until 2000, seismic events in the nation’s midsection averaged 21 a year. They jumped to 50 in 2009, 87 in 2010 and 134 in 2011.
Those statistics, included in the abstract of a research paper to be discussed at the Seismological Society of America conference next week in San Diego, will add pressure on an energy industry already confronting more regulation of the process of hydraulic fracturing.
“Our scientists cite a series of examples for which an uptick in seismic activity is observed in areas where the disposal of wastewater through deep-well injection increased significantly,” David Hayes, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, said in a blog post yesterday, describing research by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey.
‘Fairly Small’ Quakes
The earthquakes were “fairly small,” and rarely caused damage, Hayes said.
He said not all wastewater disposal wells induce earthquakes, and there is no way of knowing if a disposal well will cause a temblor.
Last month, Ohio officials concluded that earthquakes there last year probably were caused by wastewater from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas injected into a disposal well.
In hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — water, sand and chemicals are injected into deep shale formations to break apart underground rock and free natural gas trapped deep underground. Much of that water comes back up to the surface and must then be disposed of.
There’s “a difference between disposal injection wells and hydraulically fractured wells,” Daniel Whitten, a spokesman for the America’s Natural Gas Alliance, which represents companies such as Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG), said in an e-mail. “There are over 140,000 disposal wells in America, with only a handful potentially linked to seismic activity.”
Let’s assume for the moment that seismic activity is linked to disposal wells, infrequently, as Mr. Whitten claims, at a rate of “a handful” for every 140,000 wells. To use round numbers, and use conservative estimates, let’s say “a handful” is five, out of a set of 100,000 (rounding 140,000 down by nearly one-third). That’s fifty seismic events per 1 million disposal wells. The United States “natural gas” ((It’s our understanding that we are, for the most part, talking about methane.)) industry is planning to rapidly and widely expand domestic exploration.
What’s the acceptable safety rate for seismic events caused by methane extraction? If we embark upon an ambitious program, and create one million new disposal wells (and fifty seismic events) per year, how long will it take for us to yield a catastrophic event?
For the moment, we will set aside the other risks: the toxic nature of methane, which is odorless, flammable, and can easily reach 2000°F (1093°C).
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Encyclopedic and accessible information about all matters electrical, electronic, and wireless.
Popular Logistics proudly adds link to Kirk Blattenberger and RF Cafe
In one of those amazing discoveries that makes one appreciate the thousands of years of human information (and other) technology that have led us to the internet, which, admittedly has its share of chaff, it also has some golden wheat: in this case RF Cafe, an amazing reference website which will be of great use to neophyte and expert alike, from experienced had operators to Make: Magazine readers and confirmed addicts of Instructables, by one very smart and when you’re not looking very funny electrical engineer named Kirk Blattenberger. How many bloggers can get Marconi, Johns Hopkins (he scientist, not the university named after him) onto one page and quote Chico Marx without it being a non sequitur?
Two. Us, because we told you about him, and the other is Mr. Blattenberger. For those who aren’t sure, “RF” in this context means “radio frequency.” Which can refer to many things, depending on the context, but is the over-arching category which includes wireless communications, garage-door openers, shock collars for dogs (which, in our experience. are only rarely a good idea, but as a philosophical matter, we believe in positive reinforcement training of dogs and children and even some adults, but that’s a longer conversation for another day), two-way radios which carry voice, data, medical data, help manage air traffic control, help rescue people in all manner of situations, and even provide entertainment and education and news in more languages than we can count. Plus all manner of serious and cool remote control from Predator drones to remote control toy boats. Mr. Blattenberger has well-researched information on these topics and more, and has also written software on related topics.
He’s also got a job board;
Pages (multiple) about renewable energy resources; one generally about green energy;
another principally about photovoltaic energy (think solar turned into electricity, rather than, say, heating water);
And one entitled “Solar Power/Energy Websites;” to use Mr. Blattenberger’s own words,
Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass account for most of the available renewable energy on Earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used.
Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass account for most of the available renewable energy on Earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used.
RFCafe is an outstanding resource; as we try to build our own knowledge of RF technologies and to make useful information available here on Popular Logistics, we’ll try to resist actual plagiarism and instead properly credit Mr. Blattenberger. Which may mean naming any “Radio Communications” reference pages after him.
Blast at School in Southern Italy Kills One and Injures Six – NYTimes.com
An unfortunate reminder that in counterterrorism and response preparations, we need to focus on more than just commercial aviation:
ROME (Reuters) – A bomb exploded in front of a school in southern Italy on Saturday, killing a 16 year-old girl and wounding at least six others, two seriously, authorities said on Saturday.
The explosion, near the entrance of a girls’ school named after the wife of murdered anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, occurred as pupils were preparing to enter the school at the start of the school day, which in Italy includes Saturdays.
- French trashcan design to deter bombing by making contents visible
Authorities said two gas canisters appear to have been placed in rubbish containers at the school, which local media said was located near the main court in Brindisi, a port city located in Apulia, on the “heel” of Italy.
“This is a tragedy,” Mimmo Consales, the mayor of Brindisi, told SkyTG24 news television, saying that two of the injured were in a “desperate condition” while four others were less seriously hurt.A surgeon told local TV Telenorba that one of the injured girls was currently undergoing a complicated surgery.
There was no claim of responsibility and no indication of who had placed the bomb but initial suspicions were directed at the mafia.
Consales noted that the incident occurred just a few days before the 20th anniversary of the murder of Falcone and his wife, Francesca Morvillo, by a bomb in Sicily on May 23, 1992. An anti-mafia march had been planned later in the day.
“You can understand the symbolism of this and what it all signifies,” he said.
Television shots of the scene showed a cement wall blackened by fire next to the school’s entrance gate on a sunny spring day.
Schools in the region were closed and President Giorgio Napolitano issued a statement condemning the attack. A group of investigators, including the region’s top anti-mafia prosecutor, will meet later on Saturday to discuss the probe.
U.N. Presence Fails To Prevent Syrian Bloodshe
U.N. Presence Fails To Prevent Syrian Bloodshed
Listen to the Story
[3 min 43 sec]
Enlarge Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty ImagesU.N. monitors in Syria leave their Damascus hotel on Wednesday on a mission. A day earlier, their U.N. colleagues were at the scene of a major clash in northern Syria that left more than 30 Syrians dead.
There was a deadly clash in northern Syria on Tuesday, but it was different than many other such episodes over the past 14 months of the Syrian uprising.
This time, United Nations monitors were watching. The monitors are in Syria to keep an eye on the government forces and the opposition, who are supposed to be observing a cease-fire and opening a dialogue.
But the trouble Tuesday began with a funeral the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun.
A man who was killed by Syrian security forces over the weekend was about to be buried. The funeral was held in a part of town that claims to be free — meaning it no longer considers itself under the control of the Syrian government.
It’s held by anti-government rebels who call themselves the Free Syrian Army. Still, the government’s army and security forces maintain checkpoints in other parts of town.
It was these checkpoints that reportedly drew the attention of the U.N. monitors. Under the U.N. peace plan, the government’s soldiers and security forces are supposed to pull out of cities and towns.
Funeral Turns Into A Protest
Residents of Khan Sheikhoun say U.N. monitors watched the funeral, which quickly turned into a protest against the government.
Emboldened by the monitors, protesters and rebels shouted insults at government soldiers.
The Syrian soldiers and security forces unleashed a barrage of gunfire. Parts of the confrontation were captured on video that has been posted on YouTube, including one that shows a tangle of bodies falling to the ground. Then the film goes blank. Activists in Khan Sheikhoun say the man who shot the video was killed.
Amid the chaos, U.N. monitors went back to their cars. Then, an explosion went off, producing a huge cloud of white dust. The lead U.N. truck was mangled by the explosion.
Other U.N. vehicles were also damaged. The vehicles speed away from the scene, at least one of them running over bodies of the injured or dead.
Like so many confrontations in Syria, there are multiple versions of this story. Residents say government security forces launched a grenade at the UN truck. The government says it was a bomb planted by what it calls terrorists.
The UN would only say that it was a homemade bomb.
Death Toll Is More Than 30
The blast and the shooting that preceded have left more than 30 people dead, many of them civilians.
Another video uploaded by activists on YouTube shows young men with gruesome gunshot wounds at a makeshift field hospital.
People who oppose the government in Syria are often too afraid to go to government hospitals.
Journalists have generally been barred from reporting in Syria, and none of the videos could be independently verified. However, residents of the village have confirmed that rebels and government soldiers clashed in Khan Sheikhoun after the explosion. An army tank was set on fire by the rebels, according to the govenrment forces.
The situation was so volatile Tuesday that the U.N. monitors could not leave Khan Sheikhoun. They ended up staying the night in the village.
Residents say the monitors were able to negotiate a halt in the fighting Wednesday and that other monitors were allowed to come and pick them up.
One final video shows the destroyed U.N. trucks being towed away while the young boys of Khan Sheikhoun look on. Residents say soon thereafter, the tanks rolled back into town and started shooting again.
The U.N. mission in Syria has found that there is no peace for it to monitor. Rather, the hope is that it can create the peace. In some parts of Syria, the mere presence of monitors has brought a lull in the violence. But not this week.
One activist in Khan Sheikhoun, speaking in an interview over Skype, said he thought the monitors should leave for good. Before they came, the town was bad, he said. Now that they’ve pulled out, Khan Skeikhoun is burning.
Lava Selo contributed to this report.
Town’s Effort To Link Fracking And Illness Falls Short : NPR
A proposed smartphone hack
How difficult would it be to turn smart phones into two-way radios operating in the Family Radio Service, FRS, bands? And would they work when the cell-phone towers fail?
FRS bands don’t require an FCC operating license.
Hat to helmet in nanoseconds: Shear Thickening Fluids (STF) – nanotech liquid
Shear Thickening Fluids (STFs) may be “liquid” in a strict sense – but they’re used in fabrics. Developed by Professor Norman Wagner and his research team, including students, of the University of Delaware, as a joint project between the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials and the United States Army Research Lab. They’re amazing – and are already in use. (Professor Wagner seems a bit shy, but very proud of his students. The website for his research group is filled with photos of his colleagues, graduate students and undergraduates – but what should be his personal page on the University of Delaware site is a dead link). STFs are added to Kevlar, making ballistic armor more effective;
D30 Labs has been making STF’s available to the civilian market. The Swiss Company RibCap has been making what look like normal knit caps – soft until subjected to a sudden force – at which time they behave like crash helmets:
At the moment not, apparently, available in the United States – but they’re available via some Canadian and British stores .Ribcap’s Swiss site here; their Canadian affiliate, DirtSurfer, also has a list of U.S. retailers.
We’d like to know more – and see test data – but if effective, these soft hats should be in every go-bag – and worn by every emergency responder who’s not already wearing protective headgear.
Via Wired (body armor) and CoolTools (RibCap).