20081224

Fiber optic cable - the backbone of the Internet


fibre optic cable, originally uploaded by spore2002.

If you are looking for something to read when the holiday overdosing kids put you are the verge of a nervous breakdown - just find a warm browser and bring up the following article by Neal Stephenson (author of the Cryptonomicon) about the construction of the FLAG (Fiber Optic Link Around the Globe) cable.

Service through the FLAG cable was disrupted earlier this week - when what has been termed a 'seismic event' off of Malta.

Another section of this same cable network was cut in off Egypt back in January - probably by a ship's anchor.

20081216

Winter in the Desert - rainy season


Large waterdrops on glass, originally uploaded by rob-the-org.

Winter has finally arrived in the desert - which means rain isn't just a dream in the weatherman's eye. It started with just a sprinkle yesterday and has been a steady rain overnight.

I wonder how many overconfident SUV drivers will have to be pulled from their vehicles after driving through flooded washes.

But now I have bigger fish to fry - one of those overconfident SUV drivers has just rear ended my wife while she was driving to work.

Beautiful.

20081117

Roadside service for a Commercial Airliner

In the November 2008 issue of Air & Space (Smithsonian) Magazine had an interesting article on Boeing's Aircraft on Ground (AOG) team. The author was able to follow the team as they repaired a Boeing 767 that had been damaged when it had been backed into a jet blast fence and the rear pressure bulkhead had been punctured.

[Air & Space said that they were asked not to disclose whose airliner this was and what airport that this took place at]

Here's a picture from Boeing - showing the vertical stabilizer being put back on (contrary to the caption). If this was the only picture you saw - you wouldn't know that the caption was wrong. I'll explain how I can tell in a minute - the hint is in the lower left hand corner of the picture.

This past weekend on the National Geographic channel - their (HGC) series "World's Toughest Fixes" featured this specific 'fix'. NGC wasn't nearly as shy about saying where this was all taking place. It was in Paris, at Charles DeGaulle airport. The damage occurred on Chrismas Eve (2007).

If you can catch this episode either this week or in repeats - set the Tivo/DVR for it. Its interesting to see what goes into a job like this. If you don't get NatGeo or don't have the time for it - click here - for a quick 2 minute summary of the repair.

Ok - so back to that first picture. The lower left hand corner is a video camera (filming the NGC episode), and the green section of the underside of the fuselage is what gives this picture away as being post-repair. That green section of the fuselage is the section of skin that was replaced as part of the repair.

Also - look at this picture - showing the pressure bulkhead being replaced - the guy on the right in the red hat is the host of "World's Toughest Fixes." You can pick him out because he is the only one with chest pouch/toolkit.

Finally - to answer the question 'whose airliner was this' - I present links to two pictures;
It actually wasn't too hard to find pictures matching this airline livery on-line. The TV show helped somewhat - when they had a close up of the vertical stablizer being put into its temp cradle - you could see what looked like two white birds in flight (in between the red and green fields).

BTW - the airline really wanted to get the plane back in the air. They only have two 767's in service. So while this one was laid up for 3 weeks - they long range fleet was at 1/2 capacity.

20081116

How to - make your own QR Code

[if you watch CSI:NY on CBS, the episode last week featured QR codes on the back of the 'tell all' stationary that was part of the murder investigation]

I have already shown how you can decode a QR code - and now you want to create a QR code of your own. Start by going to the Google Chart API developers guide. In addition to the standard line charts, bar charts, pie charts, Venn diagrams and maps - the Google Chart API also supports QR codes.

You call the API just as you would call any other image that you would link to;

http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chl=URL:http://www.strongholddigitalservices.com&choe=utf-8&chs=200x200&chld=Q|10
  • Chart AP - http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?
  • Chart type - cht=qr
  • Data to encode - chl=URL:http://www.strongholddigitalservices.com
  • Encoding - choe=utf-8
  • Size (in pixels) - chs=200x200
  • Error correction | margin - chld=H|5
Note - the amount of data will determine how many bits are in the QR code. The size just determines how big the output will be.

The Error correction letter says defines how much of the QR code can be missing or obscured, while still allowing the data to be retrieved. The 'H' code allows up to 30% of the image to be missing or obscured, and still able to maintain the data.

Here are some samples to illustrate the differences.

Size 200x200, Error Correction = H


Size 100x100, Error Correction = H



Size 200x200, Error Correction = L (worst, only 7% error/missing/obscure)

All three images contain the exact same data - but they differ only in size (between 1st and 2nd) and data correction (1st and 3rd).

Now - why has Google gone to such trouble to include the QR code in their Chart library? I don't know for sure - but it happens to be part of their Android mobile phone OS on TMobile's G1 handset. Beyond that - we will have to see if these start showing up and get adopted by more than just the twenty-something's.

20081111

Veterans Day - 2008


Flag in the wind, originally uploaded by rob-the-org.

Don't forget to thank a veteran for their dedication to making the US a better place to live.

20081102

Getting an early start on her technical education

20081030

Get Out and Vote


Get Out and Vote, originally uploaded by videoal.

Yes - this is a real sign - no Photoshop.

This guy is running for state house on the other side of town. Drove past one of these signs a couple of weeks ago when I didn't have my camera. He even ran a couple of TV ads before the primary.

20081022

Minor Challenge results

Last week - I posted two images - one of which is above - and challenged someone to decode it. No one rose to the challenge.

This is a 2-dimensional bar code - in the QR Code format. One of the leading uses of QR Codes is to;

QR Codes storing addresses and URLs may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards or just about any object that users might need information about. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader software can scan the image of the QR Code causing the phone's browser to launch and redirect to the programmed URL.

If your phone isn't set-up to translate the above image - then there are on-line websites available to allow you to decode the image.
  1. Save image to your computer
  2. Go to Zxing decoder online site
  3. Browse to the location of the saved image file (or if the image is posted on-line - you can point the web page to the URL of the image)
  4. Submit query
  5. Decoded text is returned to the web browser as a line of text
Performing that decode on the above QR Code should display the following information;

geo:33.635801,-112.232906

The 'geo:' denotes geographic co-ordinates. So go over and open Google Maps and enter the Co-ordinates (actual lat-long) in the search box at the top.

You should get a image/map (depending on your settings) that looks similiar to this image;


That location - denotes my local Chick-Fil-A. Where you can find me getting breakfast during the week between 9am and 9:15am MST (about 1/2 the time).

Decoding the 2nd barcode is left as an exercise to the reader.

[Next - how to create a QR code of your own]

20081017

So what is BOINC?

Down the right hand side of this blog - is the following graphic;


What this is - is the CPU workunits/progress and standings/statistics about my participation in different BOINC projects. BOINC - stands for 'Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing'.

Basically - it is a framework under which different distributed applications can be run. When SETI@Home first started - it was its own dedicated application. That would only have a single workunit in process at a time. I have been running SETI@Home since 1999. And from the table above - you can see that it is the project I have my 2nd highest total credit with.

There are a large number of projects that are available, so if searching for ET to phone home isn't your idea of a good use of spare computer cycles - there are plenty of other options.

I look for projects that are contributing to the general good, and not contributing to something that someone can patent and sell (several of the bio-sciences projects were looking for gene mappings or drug interactions - no thanks).

A couple of the newer projects have skipped the idea of a screensaver. And just have a simple logo to display instead. I like the idea of the screensaver - if it pertains to the project. LHC@Home's - just seems to put bouncing balls on the screen that changes color. But when I am running it at work - an interesting screensaver will prompt people to ask what I have running. That curiousity - could ultimately result in another computer or two working on that project.

Every time a work unit for a project is completed - the user's account gets credit for the work done. But - since the dawn of man if you give him a way to compare himself to others - he will find a way to gain an advantage for himself. For some - this can include installing BOINC 'quietly' on extra computers, writing a code module to increase the speed at which a workunit can be completed or even just buying more computers to run.

Now the credit granted to the participants - has gotten controversial. Some sites have revised the credit they grant - downwards. These 'Kredit Kops' - have been trying to get all of the projects to grant credit based on similiar work.

I don't agree with this policy. Let each project set their own limits. That would allow the less popular or mainstream projects give out more credit as a way to attract more participants.

Remember - these are all volunteer projects. The credits are the only thing that the participants get in return for donating their computer cycles (and power bills) to the project's goal.

20081016

Bored? Here's a minor challenge

Figure out what information is encoded in this graphic;



And then send your answer using the following contact information;



Explanation will be posted next week.

20080929

Urban Camoflage - Cell towers

Most people take the NIMBY ('Not in my backyard') approach - especially when it comes to the area around their homes.
  • They want to have reliable electrical power, but not have a power plant in their backyard, or high voltage transmission lines.
  • They want a quality TV signal, but don't want to live next to the transmission tower. Or they want a clear satellite signal, but don't want to see the dish.
  • They want go get anywhere quickly, but not live right next to the highway (or an airport).
  • They want to be able to get their calls all of the time - but don't want a Cell tower right next door.
Out here in the Phoenix area - towers in general, and cell phones specifically can be a sore subject. The Phoenix metro area - is largely flat terrain - which means cell towers pop-up on the horizon - and have nothing to blend in to.

The slide show below - is the start of a photo collection of different ways that Cell Towers are or are not disguised around Phoenix.

20080911

Remembering 9/11

I remember 9/11....

I was late going into work. The office was in Chantilly, VA - and one of the non-standard routes I would use took me along the backroads around Washington Dulles International Airport (KIAD).

Since I was on the backroad - I wasn't listening to News radio (it was WTOP's FM feed - only one I got decent signal on that far out from the city). I switched over as I got close to the airport - and I heard about the first plane hitting New York. At that point it wasn't clear from the reports about what type of plane it was - or what the weather was like.

[Just after World War 2 ended - a B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the Empire State Building while lost in fog. And the building (obviously) withstood it.]

At that point I was just curious for more details on the plane crash. A few minutes later - I got into the office to find everyone huddled into the boss's office watching streaming video of the scene from New York. It was obvious from that coverage - that it was a large jet - and that weather had nothing to do with it. And then the 2nd jet hit the other tower.

Now - it was pretty clear that this wasn't an accident. The talking heads w/ on the coverage were starting to talk about Hijacking's and Terrorism. Several of my co-workers decided they would rather be at home with family - or just didn't want to be in the office.

You have to realize my office was about 3 miles South of the end of the east side North-South runway at Dulles. When the weather was nice - a couple of us would take a walk around the circle and watch the planes from Europe coming in.

[there was one other item of interest within a mile of our office. An office building that didn't exist - and Congress was royally miffed when they found out how it was paid for. The planes were going after symbolic targets - and an office building wouldn't stir anyone up.]

I guess I can't blame them - especially after the Pentagon was hit. And then the panicky reports of another plane headed for DC - I didn't blame them at all.

[it wasn't until a couple of days later - that I realized that my wife and I had been on the flight that had crashed into the Pentagon - earlier in 2001. American Flight 77. We took it out to LA and then on to Vegas in January. It was a nice flight. First thing in the morning. Maybe a third full. Crew relaxed after an overnight in DC. A perfect target for a hijacking.]

After trying to do some work - and checking in with family - I finally went home. And on the way back by Dulles - as I was turning onto a backroad to go home - there was a Loudoun Co Sheriff's Deputy sitting (in his car) just about in the middle of the intersection. He wasn't doing anything - just sitting there.

Just a show of force - in a small way - to show that the world had changed.

20080822

Out with the Old - In with the New

I finally did it. I finally upgraded my basic point and shoot (which I originally bought for my wife) to a D-SLR.

I have already started just shooting at anything - to get used to the camera. The Canon has the new 'Live View' - but I haven't turned it on yet. Don't know if I will.

20080805

Airbus A380 flight to no-where (SFO)

If you don't travel internationally - and don't expect to be able to fly on the new Airbus A380 anytime soon - then take a look at the Telstar Logistics blog and photostream.

20080727

Will the rush to Electric cars - short-circuit?


EV-1 Cutaway, originally uploaded by 85Gripen.

As the price of a gallon of gas has risen dramatically during the summer of 2008 - more and more consumers are looking for alterntaives to the internal combusion engine. Several manufacturers, some new to the car industry and some established players have accelerated their plans to bring the Electric car to the mainstream.

One of the manufacturers getting the most press - is Tesla Motor's Roadster. This is a true electric - which will require a plug-in to recharge. But will run you over $100,000.

Even GM's Chevrolet Volt - while originally touted as an all electric (plug in) vehicle - is actually going to have a small 3-Cylinder engine on board (to recharge the batteries due to the Volt's short range (~ 33 miles) on a charge). An initial estimate (since retracted) was $40,000.

And you know the push for a plug-in Electric car is getting serious when the Electricity Industry has to put out a press release saying that they have enough capacity on the grid to handle Electric car being plugged in at homes across the country.

But - Electric cars still have an achilles heel. The batteries.

I live in Arizona. The Arizona weather (heat) kills batteries. It doesn't matter if you have 3, 4 or 5 year battery. The average life span of a battery in Arizona is 22 months. I will have had my truck for years next month - and it is already on its 3rd battery.

How many batteries need to go into a hybrid or all-electric car?

GM maintenance estimates for their EV-1 all-electric (pictured above) was that the battery pack would have to be replaced every 25-35,000 miles. Reduce that by 50% - and you are starting to look at replacing the battery pack every year - even w/ moderate driving.

Let's figure 15 Die-Hard sized batteries make up a 'pack'. A Die-Hard Gold goes for $80 (list price - prob another $5-10 for the assorted municipal recycling fees). So $90 per times 15 batteries = $1350. That's 3x what I have spent on maintenance for my truck each year.

This is the hidden cost of a hybrid/electric vehicle - which I don't think anyone has realized is part of the cost to be Green.

Until the capacity and cost of the batteries improves (more miles per charge) - an electric vehicle won't be able to replace the internal combustion engine - at least in my garage.

20080709

Jedi Swiss Army knife


n1291140192_17042_1242, originally uploaded by illallangi.

The caption says it all.

I would pay Amazon for next day shipping if they had this.

20080613

Optical Illusions / Subliminal messages

A long time ago in a Galaxy far far away - I went to school to get an education. Still trying to figure out how that happened, and why I still remember the craziest things.

But one of the more creative things I was exposed to - was Subliminal advertising. That was the idea that images are retouched ever so slightly to impart a theme to the viewer, w/o the viewer actually realizing or consciously recognizing what they were seeing.

There were some doozey's - but you have to realize it was the late 70's/early 80's - and there was no such thing as 'Photoshop' - so any images either in stills or motion pictures - had to be altered by hand.

Two of the examples that have stuck w/ me all of these years are;
- skulls in the ice cubes of liquor ad's
- the word 'Sex' in Lincoln's Beard (on the old $5 bill)

Now all of that said - I came across the following link to Mighty Optical Illusions today - and all I could think about was that old 7th grade class (it was part of English - still trying to figure that relationship out).

Let me warn you - if you 'see' the allusions in these pictures - you might be offended by what they are suggesting.

20080603

I found my Dayton pictures!


Boeing Bird of Prey, originally uploaded by rob-the-org.

I had this set of pictures (and there are several more than what I have posted to Flickr so far) that was MIA somewhere on one of my PC's.

They were taken when we blew threw OH - on the drive out to Phoenix in 2004, so they would have been on my older laptop or my big desktop. But I couldn't find them.

Obviously - I finally found them (they were in the Shared Pictures directory - because I put them somewhere that Pam could get to them since she always says she never sees the pictures I take), and have started to post them.

And I have found a really quick way to get hits/views on your picture - is to include a Star Trek reference in the tags/descriptions. Because there is a Star Trek fan site - http://trekweb.com searches Flickr for Star Trek related pictures. And in the course of a couple of hours - I had over a hundred hits on this particular picture. Now - enough pictures of peoples cats named 'Spock' have taken me off their home page.

:(

20080507

Yes - I live in a desert


DBG - a young Cactii, originally uploaded by rob-the-org.

I think I have finally adjusted to life in a desert environment. Yes, Phoenix is a desert. Don't let all of the trappings of civilization fool you - it is still a desert.

I think I finally realized this the other day. I was driving back from running one errand or another - and I went past a block where they are putting in a new planned development (yes - I know the housing market isn't the best in the world right now - but some builder's insist on trying to build and sell new homes anyway). I passed a street sweeper going down one of the streets trying to keep the dust under control (this is serious - local govt's fine the builders if they don't keep the dust down from their building sites. So there is a whole industry of street sweepers and water sprayers out there soley for keeping the dust down). And as I passed by - I could 'feel' the increase in the humidity due to the water that the sweeper was spraying on the road.

There are a couple of fountains at the entrances to some of the other neighborhoods - where I have noticed the same thing the last couple of times I have gone by.

[Click to see historical temp/humidity from Phoenix during a week last July (2007)]

My father-in-law has joked that when he gets out of the bath - that by the time all of the water has drained out of the tub - he is usually dry.

20080410

My how Stealth has changed in 20 years


DSC06729, originally uploaded by PlaneJared.

In 1978 Northrup engineer's started to work on 'Stealth' as an idea to allow aircraft to fly places that other people (i.e. the Russian's) didn't want our planes to go.

Usually those no fly zones were strictly enforced with AAA and SAM's - as shown by the Vietnam War. And Air Force planners wanted to limit the chances of the opposition to harm their pilots and their pretty planes.

This was their first attempt. Northrup's Tacit Blue aka the Whale. It is currently on display at the US Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH.

If you go to the Museum page for the Whale, and click on the More pictures, you can see a better look at the wings and tail surfaces. The canted tail surfaces have carried through to the F-117 and the F-22. The JSF (aka F-35) has canted surfaces - just not as dramatic.

And then there is the B-2 - that decided they didn't need a tail at all. But it shares the curves that the Whale tested.

When I first saw this plane - it was parked over in the main building - under the wing of the XB-70 Valkyrie. And at first glance - all I could think of - is a Star Trek Shuttlecraft.

20080325

Travel tips for the Occasional Traveler

A couple of travel hints for any newbies out there trying to get around the US by air these days;
  1. Check the airline or airport web site to see how far in advance of your flight you should be at the airport. Taking an hour for breakfast at the airport restaurant and then trying to shove your kid's stroller through the long screening line, saying you are about to miss your flight - is NOT going to get you anywhere.
  2. You cannot take your 2 liter bottle of soda/water/liquor through security. So start chugging now.
  3. Don't complain about the lines to get through security - unless you are willing to go to work for TSA. Maybe there is a reason that only 5 of 10 screening lines are open.
  4. If you packed the bag - you get to carry it (and lift it in and out of the overhead bins). If you can't - maybe you should travel lighter.
  5. Buy a watch to tell time on the airplane.
[the last one is my fault. My favorite watch fell apart a year or so ago - and I got a cheap one as a stopgap. I am picky about watches - it took me more than 2 years of looking to find that last one. The cheap one died a couple of months ago - and I figured I didn't really need one - since I always have my cell - and it shows the time just fine. But when I was travelling yesterday - I realized why I need a watch. Because you don't have to turn off your watch while the plane is in flight!]

20080218

Book Review - Learning to Love the Bomb


Rookie Missile Commander, originally uploaded by rob-the-org.





Sean's Book - Learning to Love the Bomb

Things must be rough all over at Strategic Command - if they are letting a character like this be in charge of a ICBM.

But seriously - I just finished reading one of my best friend's latest book, "Learning to Love the Bomb - Canada's Nuclear Weapons during the Cold War."

(Yes - it is on Amazon - that's where I got my copy when it came out last summer)

I have always been an amateur military history buff - but Sean is the professional.
The picture above - was taken during a visit to the Titan Missile Museum in January 2006. That is him at the Missile Commander's console - with his hand posed to execute the launch order - "turn the key" (the fact that you don't see the Deputy Missile Commander in the chair on the left - means that no matter what Sean does, the missile won't be flying today. The fact that the missile has been decommissioned, de-fueled and has two large holes in the body is only a minor set-back).

Back to the book. Sean's specialty is the Cold War era. And as we get farther and farther in time from this era - there is still research being done every day, bringing new stories of that turbulent time to light.

Some of Sean's previous works in this era are;

But this book - his latest on the Cold War - revolves around Canada's access to and control over nuclear weapons. I won't kid you - this isn't an easy read. It is full of meeting notes, political in-fighting, larger than life ego's, all revolving around the why, how, and when that Canada had nukes. But Sean did a pretty good job of pulling it all together to explain this - through three separate Canadian governments (and these were some pretty different governments),
the formation of NORAD, through the evolution of NATO's European defense policies.

The early NATO defense concepts - incorporated the use of tactical nuclear weapon's into their plan because there was a realization that the smaller NATO conventional forces would just be a speed bump in the road to the overwhelming size of the Soviet armies. It wasn't until the late 70's/early 80's - where the NATO technology was starting to provide quality over quantity that there was a sizeable shift away from nuclear weapon's (and the fact that it isn't really defending a country if you ended up destroying it while the enemie's army is the advancing across it).

One thing that you have to remember about the timeframe - late 50's to the 60's - was that just like the Battleship leading up to World War 1 - the Bomb was the weapon that everyone HAD to have. If you didn't have the Bomb, then your country wasn't part of the top tier of nations. In some ways - this policy has continued today with countries like Iran and Libya (Iran doesn't want to admit that this is the case - but I don't think that anyone buys the other excuses coming from their firebrand of a President - and Libya has given up theirs in exchange for 'normal' relations with the rest of the world).

I have to admit - that there are times that I am the 'ugly American' because I am not as knowledgeable about the world around me. I can name every single US President since World War 2 - but couldn't name any Canadian Prime Minister's except for Trudeau or Mulroney. So all of the material in this book - was brand new to me. That's one of the things that I value in Sean's friendship - he brings an outside perspective and opinion to our discussions and debates.

[Now you be asking why I haven't posted this review on the book's page on Amazon... well - I figure it wouldn't necessarily be given the proper credit. Because you see the picture above - was the one that Sean used for his 'About the Author' on the inside of the dust jacket. I was the photographer who took it. And am credited with taking it. So now - I am an 'internationally published photographer.' I think I was ROFLMAO for a least 10-15 minutes when I first opened the book up. My wife keeps telling me I need to put this picture on my CV/resume - just as an ice-breaker for interviews]

20080106

DIY Identification

Flickr - create an ID

Flickr - create an ID, originally uploaded by rob-the-org.

This psuedo ID was created via a web/php page that someone had put together to show support for Yahoo's Flickr photo sharing service.

I just cropped one of my pictures (in this case - from my Warbird ride last March), and selected the template I wanted and the text I wanted added, clicked 'Generate' and this is what I got.

What I find is so funny/ironic/nostagic about this - is that trying to create ID's was one of the first things I remember doing on my buddy's new Mac way back when. It was an old 'Fat' Mac - with a whopping 512kb of RAM (if I remember correctly). The IDs weren't going to fool anyone who actually looked at them - and we soon moved on to making custom game pieces for wargames - but there were only so many things you can do with MacPaint in those days.

Zooming in and changing one pixel at a time - to get the letters small - but still readable.

A much simpler time ;)