Tag Archives: Connecting the Dots

Earth Day For the Future

Earth from Space, Courtesy NASA

In 100 years our descendants will not be burning coal, oil, natural gas or using nuclear fission. They might be using terrestrial nuclear fusion. They will be using solar, wind, geothermal, marine current hydro, tidal energy systems – clean, renewable, sustainable energy systems. No fuel: No Waste. No mines, mills, wells, spills. No arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium, thorium – no fly ash to be contained or to leak.

We have started. California and New Jersey lead the U. S. Germany and Spain lead Europe. Boeing and Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic want to build aircraft that run on biodiesel. We need to move forward in a big way – to 100% clean energy in 10 years, to retrain coal miners and oil rig operators to build and run solar arrays and wind turbines, and dig deep geothermal systems.

KE2YK Reports on Ham Radio in Haiti

Ham Radio

[Many thanks to Bill Seidel of Revanche, a long-time ham operator, for his infinite patience in explaining ham and RF operations. We’re going to try to keep reporting on ham operations in, to, and from Haiti.]

KE2YK’s Random Oscillations reports on ham radio efforts in Haiti. From ARRL Sends Ham Aid To Haiti:

Even though the communications infrastructure in earthquake-ravaged Haiti is being rebuilt, there is still need for Amateur Radio communications. To assist in this effort, the ARRL’s Ham-Aid program is providing equipment for local amateurs to use.

On Friday, January 22, the League sent a programmed Yaesu VHF repeater with a microphone, as well as ICOM handheld transceivers, Yaesu mobile 2 meter rigs with power supplies and Kenwood mobile 2 meter rigs. Comet antennas, Larsen mobile antennas with magnet mounts, coax and batteries were also included in the package that was shipped to the home of the President of the Radio Club Dominicano (RCD) for distribution. All items were donated by their manufacturers.

Haiti

“In the horror of this tragedy, there still are stars and the cooperation between the ARRL, IARU Region 2 and the Radio Club Dominicano and has been bright,” said ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP .

“It was donations from our members and friends that began the Ham Aid program in Katrina’s aftermath. Now once again, that sharing between hams will provide help in another worst-case incident. ARRL members and donors need to know that their gifts will be used very well indeed.”

How You Can Help in Haiti

Continue reading →

Ethics in the Workplace Improved During the Recession

Ethics in the Workplace Improved During the Recession,

“A national employee survey shows that like the Enron era, ethical conduct improves temporarily during periods of economic stress.

“Arlington, VA – Do Americans in the workplace behave better in a down economy? Apparently yes, according to the Ethics Resource Center, which today announced the results of its sixth National Business Ethics Survey® (NBES). The full report, Ethics in the Recession, is available here.

“Seventy-eight percent of U.S. employees say they or their colleagues experienced the impact of the recession. Yet key measures of ethical behavior – the amount of misconduct observed, the willingness to report misdeeds, the strength of ethical cultures and the pressure to cut corners – all improved since ERC’s last survey in 2007, shortly before the recession started. Only retaliation against those who reported misconduct ticked upward by 3 percentage points.

How do I interpret the data? People realize that there is more to life than money and material goods. Or –

There is less money to steal.
People watch more carefully.
The smart crooks hide.
Some of those who would steal if given the chance choose not to because they can’t afford the risk.

So if the crooks steal less and do so less brazenly then the general level of dishonesty is lower and the general level of ethical behavior is increased. But, an ethicist might say, for the wrong reasons. They don’t “sin” out of the fear of “Hell” not out of the joy of “Heaven.”

Popular Logistics Congratulates President Obama on the Nobel Prize for Peace, 2009

Popular Logistics Congratulates President Obama on the Nobel Prize for Peace, 2009.

Popular Logistics is a Policy Blog, not a Politics Blog. We don’t really have to answer “Why Obama?” We are not on the Nobel Committee, we don’t know anyone on the Nobel Committee, and the Nobel Committee does not answer to us. However, since I’m diving into this head first, here’s how I see it.

Watching the election results in Athens, Greece

No other world leaders come close. Not Gordon Brown, not Nicholas Sarkozy, not Angela Merkel, and not the Pope. And certainly not Putin, Medvedev, Castro, Kim Jong-Il, Chavez, or Achmadinejad, altho I am sure that the Nobel Committee could have awarded the prize to a dissident or a journalist in Russia, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, or Iran.

Step-Grandmother Sarah Obama in Kenya

It has been speculated that the Nobel Committee wanted to influence Obama to de-escalate the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If so, maybe that would be a good thing. If more world leaders act with history in mind, if they compete to make the world a better place for all, not only a better place for their friends and family, then the world would be a better place.

In Jerusalem, Israel

And look at these photos. These are Obama supporters around the world from the day after the election. This is why Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. With his focus and eloquence, his intelligence and education, his humble origins and demeanor, Barack Obama inspired a strong majority of American voters in the election of November, 2008. Prior to the election he inspired a small army of supporters, mostly volunteers, who took his campaign to the streets of all 50 states.

Sydney, Australia

He has inspired people of good will all over the world who see in him, and in the America, and the Americans who nominated, elected, and inaugurated him the America and the Americans who climbed out of the Great Depression with public works not a military rebuilt for an invasion, who fought and won World War II, who put men on the moon, and brought them safely home.

At his school in Jakarta

We see an America in which, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, we are “judged by the content of our character not the color of our skin.”

The America in which President Kennedy said “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

“

Senator Robert F. Kennedy said: “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why… I dream of things that never were and ask why not.“

And Senator Edward M. Kennedy said: “It is better to send in the Peace Corps than the Marine Corps.“

Questions on Sustainability and Human Ecology, Part 3

Dancing Naked On The Bridge – While You’re Building It

Part 3 in a Series.

movie dirty movie

Robert Quinn describes wresting with uncertainty as “Building the Bridge as You Walk Across It” (ISBN 0-7879-7112-X Amazon / City Lights)

I just spent a day configuring an iPhone to “talk” to a Microsoft Exchange email system, to transmit “packets of data” back and forth. We humans call these “packets of data” “email messages.”

The Blackberry, by Research In Motion , is really easy to configure, even if you’ve never done one. Blackberries have been around for about 10 years, and have been tightly integrated with MicroSoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange for all that time. Most implementations use a Blackberry Enterprise Server, aka a “BES” or “BES Server.” They are really easy to configure. Apple‘s iPhone is very new. Apple looks forwards, not backwards, so configuration with Exchange 2007, the “current” release is easy. Implementation with Exchange 2010, the next release, will also be easy. Implementation with Exchange 2003, the most recent release, is easy – after you’ve done it. The first one is a gangbuster, humdinger, man-eater, meat-grinder. I spent hours on the phone with network security people, Apple tech support, and email gurus.

Continue reading →

Questions on Sustainability and Human Ecology, Part 2.

Observations on society and civilization

Part 2 in a series.

John Muir once told Edward Harriman that he was “wealthier” because while he had much less money, he knew exactly how much he needed to live comfortably. Stepping back and looking at society and civilization from the perspective of a John Muir …

Aerial view of Jackie Onasis Resevoir, Central Park, Manhattan

Aerial view of northern Manhattan, showing the Jackie Onasis Resevoir, Central Park, the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side, and southern Harlem.

I commute, on a daily basis, to a job in New York City, some 45 miles north of my home in New Jersey. This commute is accomplished via car and bus, at an average speed of 30 miles per hour. If I was to I leave my home at 6 AM, and travel as Thoreau might suggest, by walking, I could cover the distance in 15 hours, and arrive at 9 PM. This would not be practical, since the purpose is to arrive, work, and go home, not travel, enjoy the sights, and learn. I could make the trip on a bicycle in 3 to 4 hours. While bicycling 6 to 8 hours each day would be terrific cardiovascular exercise, this would not be practical in conjunction with the need to work 8 hours per day. The cars and buses are heated and air conditioned, so I and other commuters are comfortable year round, despite the air conditioning that is so cold that in the summer that we need sweaters, the heat that is so hot that in the winter we perspire, and the traffic that cuts our average speed from 50 or 60 mph to 30 on a good day.

The Lizzie McGuire Movie video

During my commute I read, sleep, listen to music, write, or work. I can be productive with a laptop computer or hand-held cellphone, email device, or book. Sometimes I non-productively talk to strangers I encounter on the way. Continue reading →

HOW WE WILL READ IN 100 YEARS

Google asked “How will we read in 100 years?”

Here’s what I think.

If we reinvent our economy to run on solar, geothermal, and kinetic energy, we will get our news and technical information electronically. We will still read classics on paper and mount on our walls images of loved ones and special places. If we don’t those left will struggle for survival.

Shell Shock or PTSD

George Carlin observed that what they called “Shell Shock” in World War I, was called “Combat Fatigue” in World War II, “Operational Exhaustion” during the “Korean Conflict” and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” in Viet Nam. It’s now called “PTSD.” Carlin also observed that the words we use to describe a thing influence the way we react to it. “Shell Shock” is vivid. When you hear someone suffers from “‘Shell Shock” you want to help, provide first aid. The Boy Scout training kicks in. Someone’s in shock. Find a blanket. Keep him or her warm. Elevate their head. When it’s “Combat Fatigue” it’s like they are tired. They just need some rest. No big deal. When it’s “Operational Exhaustion” it’s abstract. Tired of the operations. OK, what’s your point? Really tired. OK. What’s your point? When you hear someone has “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” your reaction is different. It’s out of my hands. It’s a disorder. They need a therapist, not first aid. Now of course, it’s “PTSD” and it’s totally devoid of any emotional triggers or context. Which means we don’t have to worry about it. We can let the experts handle it.

But as Carlin observed, if we still called it “Shell Shock” we would want to treat poeple who have it, and maybe even try to prevent it. Maybe he was on to something. Maybe we should call it what it is. Shell Shock, and try to help people, and prevent it.

On Failure

“There’s no success like failure, and failure’s no success at all.”

– Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero, No Limit.”

Failure is not only an option; it is a fact of life. But giving up is not an option. When you’re ready to give up, it’s time to retire or better yet, go work for the competition. So understand that sometimes you will fail. And when you fail, try something else. Because failure to succeed, and then failure to try something else; that’s giving up.

RECYCLED LAPTOP PROJECT

Popular Logistics needs several laptops and laptop drives. We need Macs running OS X, Linux machines, or netbooks running Windows or Linux. Non-operational machines that can be used as spare parts are also of interest. If you would like to donate, e-mail Larry at “L Furman 97 ‘@’ gmail . com”. Donations to Popular Logistics are not tax deductible.

ENERGY POLICY & PUBLIC HEALTH

There really is no such thing as “Clean Coal.” Mining coal destroys mountains, and often kills the miners. Burning coal releases tons of carbon into the atmosphere and the oceans, and even if you could sequester the carbon, burning coal releases other pollutants, including mercury into the biosphere. The mercury makes its way into fish. This is why people, especially children and pregnant women, should not eat a lot of tuna or swordfish. Wind, solar, geothermal, ocean current, and “negawatts,” on the other hand, really are clean energy. Offshore wind turbines don’t release pollution. On the contrary, they create artificial reefs, which enhance fish habitat. This is also good for fishermen, the economy, etc.