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An Actor’s Dilemma

Bobby Steggert, Broadway, film, and TV actor

I ask myself why in the world I choose live performance as a career on, perhaps, a daily basis. It depends on when, as to the vote for or against such a peculiar vocation. And I often hear sound bites fly out of my mouth, previously formed, and only rarely the whole truth, proving that I can’t even trust my own damn cultivated, prepackaged answers:

“Well, I may worry about money and insurance constantly, but I’m never bored!”

I’ll be fully forthcoming for once -- yes. Yes, I am bored. Often. And there are several kinds of boredom. There’s the boredom of sitting on your ass when all you have planned on your productivity list for the week is an audition in three days and to walk the dog -- when free time stretches out in a frightening wasteland of laziness and inability to stop streaming a Netflix original series. And there’s the equal boredom of having to do a Wednesday matinee of a show you’ve been running for months, only to enter the stage and encounter an entire front row of sleeping geriatrics wheezing their death rattles at deafening frequencies. The truth is, there are a million ways to be bored in anything we do, and anyone with a few self-help books on his shelf will quickly direct me to my own fucking attitude. I know.

I’ll be honest about something else. Money and insurance and stability and regularity and a consistent sense of purpose are very powerful, important elements of a happy life. I’d love to take away the thick slice of the worry-pie that is consumed with whether or not next month’s rent will be covered, or the slice that when, looking for a job, very inconveniently forgets the dozens of professional jobs I’ve been successful in before, which should be a fairly positive sign that another will come. The archetypical artist is, yes, a little crazy, and, frankly, you might be too if you didn't have that direct deposit every Thursday, assuring you with its soft, compassionate voice, “Yes, you CAN pay your phone bill and ALSO eat dinner tonight.”

It also amazes me when an actor says, in all earnestness, “You know, a teacher/mentor/friend once told me.....if you can imagine doing anything else in life, then do it.” First of all, the cliche of it all is so ingrained into our conversations about being an artist that I mildly judge you for spouting it off as if it even approaches an original idea, and secondly, artists are some of the most aware, alive, intelligent, and brave people I know -- they can definitely do something else in life. Many things. And often, they do, in order to continue being an artist.

I come up against a very powerful wall of fear every time I approach the end of an artistic process, and I'm encountering a particularly daunting one right now. It’s because the end of an experience marks such a peculiar confluence of endings -- the money, regularity, responsibility, personal and external validation, and sense of purpose all wrapped up into one confusing ball of human angst.

Again, sound bites escape the mouth, and they justify an ending with relief at gaining a little more free time, and at giving my sore body and tired voice a rest, but how much pleasure in these mild inconveniences have I been hiding behind the larger fear that I won't be needed to contribute the part of me that feels most alive, until I’m one day, hopefully, invited back into the ring?

But when thinking back historically, the job ends, life laps up on you, and other responsibilities eventually do fill the fearful void. And when thinking outside the box of my own little world, I can see that life presents a myriad of insecurities to us all. I recently polled a group of friends on Facebook about their personal feelings about their job circumstances, and many people expressed a fear of complacency and repetition in their salaried positions that I imagine rival my own of instability and inconsistency.

When I do open up to people closest to me, as I do now to you complete strangers (and hopefully with as few simplified sound bites as possible), I often get the same well-meaning suggestions -- find other empowering purposes, get a side job, write! (well there is that), relish in time off and relax. They all have meaning and significance, but, admittedly, only for a time, and only with partial success.

So, ultimately, I am left with the burning, persistent question, still, as to WHY? Why is being an active contributor to the live theater so desperately important to me? The selfish, insecure, validation -- needing parts of me are all accounted for, sure, but what is that deeper part that knows I'll never leave despite all the complaints and worries?

This is the most truthful answer I can give:

It is the silence of a room filled with hundreds of people, all intent on the same human interaction, all subconsciously committed to the social contract of live storytelling. It is the rare moment when a theater becomes a vacuum, when coughs and sniffles magically cease, when all eyes hold on the same point of focus, and when we are in the presence of something impossible to measure beyond the indelible experience of cohesion.

Funnily, this doesn’t happen regularly. It might not even happen once on a particularly scattered evening when the alchemy if off and the stars just don't align. But when it does, and it can be during the most unexpected instance of theatrical tension, you suddenly feel it, and you know you’re alive.

The other opportunity that theater provides -- one that movies and television and music simply cannot -- is to watch, in real time, human beings take the ultimate risk -- that of looking into each others eyes, braving vulnerability, and asking each of us to conquer the discomfort out there in the real world too.

I leave the theater every night having stared deeply into the eyes of my colleagues, often having traded spit and tears and sweat in the most intimate of ways, and though objectively insane a daily task, it is also one that helps me to be just a little bit braver out in the light.

These realizations lead me to believe that live theater certainly isn't the only place to experience these revelations -- I’ve felt it at Christmas dinner, during a sports event, during sex, at church (never sex at church), and even on a subway platform when an surprisingly amazing singer manages to blow away a disparate group of jaded commuters. What all these experiences have in common, though, is the somewhat impossible reality that a large, completely unconnected body of people have the inherent ability of plugging into one another and experiencing something as one. And argue all you want, but a movie has never once pulled me out of my private experience and landed me together with the people eating popcorn behind me.

This is the entirely healthy drug fix that I simply can’t give up, even at the risk of losing my insurance and binge watching three seasons of House of Cards in a stoned blur. I’m not a sports fan, I left the Catholic church the day after I was confirmed, and I’m not particularly into yoga.

Until another portal into the religion of human connectivity presents itself as an equally viable calling, I’ll keep at it with the knowledge of what I’m missing, and with the small but indestructible comfort that we are here to connect...and not much else.


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Little Governors' Camp

Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Little Governors' Camp has 17 tents situated in a wide curve around a small marsh. The marsh acts as a magnet for game in the dry season and sitting in camp you can often see buffalo grazing or elephant coming to drink. Beyond the marsh the plains stretch toward the escarpment.

Each tent is comfortable and has a covered outdoor veranda with two safari chairs and small table. Inside, simple furnishings include twin beds, a wardrobe rack, a desk / dressing table and safari chairs. The en suite bathrooms have hot showers and WC. Screened windows let in light and air during the day and are covered at night (although if you want the blinds left up to enjoy the stars and breeze it is possible).

At the corner of the lagoon is an open sided dining room, bar and cluster of tall trees under which many meals are served. At night there is no electricity and camp is lit only by lanterns and candles. The atmosphere is friendly and guests often sit around the large campfire recounting the day's events.

With no fences guests are escorted to their tents at night where the calls of the wild can often be heard.

OUR RATING: First Class

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Tour ideas in Masai Mara National Reserve

Our itineraries are there to spark ideas for how you could include a stay at Little Governors' Camp as part of your trip. Treat them simply as suggestions, because every aspect of the trip we create for you will be yours to define.

Location & places nearby

Places & hotels on the map

    Alternative places to stay nearby

    Where possible, we like to offer a range of accommodation for each stop of your trip, chosen by our specialists as some of their favorite places to stay. To help you make the right choice, we give each property a rating based on its facilities and service, but we also look for hotels with distinct character or a location that can’t be bettered.

    Experiences while staying here

    The following activities are designed to give you the most authentic experiences of the area where you’re staying. We work with local guides, who use their knowledge and often a resident’s eye to show you the main sights and more out-of-the-way attractions. Our specialists can also suggest outdoor pursuits and activities, such as cooking classes, that will introduce you to the traditions of the area’s inhabitants.

    • Charity volunteering
      Bogani Cottages and Tented Camp, Free the Children

      Charity volunteering

      Charity volunteering

      ME to WE provides you with the opportunity to experience life with locals in rural Kenya, working on sustainable projects that benefit these communities in the longer term.

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    • Hot Air Balloon Flight
      Hot air ballooning from Little Governors Camp in the Masai Mara

      Hot Air Balloon Flight

      Hot Air Balloon Flight

      Watch out for the giraffe hiding in the trees, antelope on the plains and roosting birds. As the sun comes up the views are superb — one of the most beautiful sights in Africa.

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Thomas Barrack, Trump Fund-Raiser, Indicted on Lobbying Charge

1 week ago 7

U.S.|Thomas Barrack, Trump Fund-Raiser, Indicted connected Lobbying Charge

Mr. Barrack, who served arsenic president of Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, was accused successful the Eastern District of New York of failing to registry arsenic a lobbyist for the United Arab Emirates.

Federal prosecutors person  been investigating Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a adjacent  person  of erstwhile  President Donald J. Trump, for astir   3  years.
Credit...Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Sharon LaFraniereWilliam K. Rashbaum

July 20, 2021Updated 3:25 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a adjacent person of erstwhile President Donald J. Trump and 1 of his apical 2016 run fund-raisers, was indicted connected Tuesday greeting connected national charges of violating a national instrumentality requiring lobbyists for overseas interests to disclose their enactment to the Justice Department.

Federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. person been investigating Mr. Barrack for astir 3 years, focusing connected whether helium tried to sway Mr. Trump’s 2016 statesmanlike run oregon his medication connected behalf of Persian Gulf nations with immense stakes successful United States policy.

The enquiry was overseen by prosecutors successful the nationalist integrity conception of United States attorney’s bureau for the Eastern District of New York. In an interrogation 2 years ago, a spokesperson for Mr. Barrack said helium had acted arsenic an autarkic intermediary betwixt Persian Gulf leaders and the Trump run and administration, not connected behalf of overseas officials oregon entities.

The indictment charged Mr. Barrack and 2 different men with failing to registry arsenic agents of the United Arab Emirates government. The different 2 men charged were Matthew Grimes, a erstwhile apical enforcement astatine Mr. Barrack’s company, and Rashid al-Malik Alshahhi, an Emirati businessman who is adjacent to the U.A.E. rulers.

The 7 number indictment besides accused Mr. Barrack of obstruction of justness and making aggregate mendacious statements during a June 20, 2019, interrogation with national agents.

The charges were announced by the United States Attorney successful the Eastern District of New York, the Justice Department’s nationalist information division, and the F.B.I.

“The defendants repeatedly capitalized connected Barrack’s friendships and entree to a campaigner who was yet elected president, high-ranking run and authorities officials, and the American media to beforehand the argumentation goals of a overseas authorities without disclosing their existent allegiances,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark Lesko of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Mr. Barrack’s existent property and backstage equity firm, Colony Capital, benefited from important investments from Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. In the 3 years aft Mr. Trump became the Republican Party’s nominee for president successful July 2016, Colony Capital received astir $1.5 cardinal from those 2 Persian Gulf counties done investments oregon different transactions. Of that, astir $474 cardinal came from sovereign wealthiness funds controlled by their governments.

Mr. Barrack stepped down arsenic the firm’s enforcement chairman successful March. The steadfast was precocious renamed DigitalBridge. According to a filing this period with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Barrack owns 10 percent of the steadfast and is 1 of its directors.

Mr. Barrack, 74, has been friends with Mr. Trump since the 1980s. He helped rise wealth for Mr. Trump’s archetypal statesmanlike run and ran his modulation squad aft Mr. Trump won. But helium was possibly champion known for starring Mr. Trump’s inaugural committee, which raised $107 cardinal — the astir wealth ever collected and spent to observe an inauguration.

Critics claimed the committee became a hub for peddling entree to overseas officials oregon concern leaders, oregon those acting connected their behalf, but investigations by respective section jurisdictions into the committee’s activities petered retired with nary charges filed.

The national enquiry into Mr. Barrack’s ties with overseas leaders, reported by The New York Times successful July 2019, was an outgrowth of the probe led by the peculiar counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian interference successful the 2016 statesmanlike election.

The peculiar counsel’s enactment enactment a spotlight connected violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known arsenic FARA, and led a greater effort by the Justice Department to enforce it. The instrumentality requires those who enactment for overseas governments, governmental parties oregon different entities to power American argumentation oregon nationalist sentiment to disclose their activities to the department.

Several erstwhile Trump aides who were charged by the peculiar counsel acknowledged violating the statute successful blameworthy pleas, including Paul Manafort, the erstwhile run president and Rick Gates, the lawman chairman. Mr. Mueller referred questions astir Mr. Barrack to the U.S. attorney’s bureau successful Brooklyn, seemingly due to the fact that the allegations went beyond his investigative mandate.

In 1 occurrence reported by The Times, Mr. Barrack tried to coordinate what Mr. Trump would accidental successful a May 2016 run code astir vigor argumentation with his contacts successful the Persian Gulf, including Mr. al-Malik Alshahhi, the Emirati businessman.

In an evident notation to Mr. Barrack’s Persian Gulf contacts, Mr. Manafort asked him successful an email astir the speech: “Are you moving this by our friends?”

Sharon LaFraniere reported from Washington, and William K. Rashbaum from New York. Kitty Bennett contributed research.

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We took this mini 4x4 box called the Suzuki Jimny out for the week

Listed at P790,000, the Suzuki Jimny is currently the most affordable 4x4 in the Philippines that you can buy brand new. It has 3 doors, seats 4 people, and has a footprint that's smaller than a Mirage. But the question is, how well does it drive?

We got our hands on one, with the help from Suzuki Philippines Inc. (SPI), and lived with it for a whole week.

Its simple boxy exterior design has been around for more than a decade, yet it still looks quite attractive in its own way. The large wheel arches, short overhangs, and the spare tire that hangs at the back also give it a tough attitude. Unfortunately, the air scoop on the bonnet is non-functional.

Mirroring the outside, the cabin features basic yet functional amenities such as a 2-DIN headunit that can play AM/FM/CD, buttons to switch drivetrain modes, large storage compartments, and foldable rear seats. Although it could use a more modern infotainment system and maybe some interior trim, we did admire its simplicity.

Surprisingly, despite its strict 4-person seating capacity, the Jimny boasts a 113L cargo capacity. That's enough for a couple of overnight backpacks, half a dozen grocery bags, or even a baby stroller. Front legroom is also quite generous, but the rear passengers might feel a bit cramped.

Another thing I noticed is the Jimny's large windows. It gave me a wider field of view, making it a lot easier getting into tight spots and seeing what what's going on around you.

Behind the wheel, the first thing we noticed was the spongy brake pedal. This made us feel a bit nervous at times as it could use a bit more stopping power. The clutch for this 5-speed manual version was also on the heavy side, but it was to be expected from an SUV. On the flip side, the 1.3L 4-cylinder gasoline engine was quite responsive and gave good fuel economy figures... or at least according to our estimates that we pegged at around 13 km/L on the highway.

With that said, we wish that the Jimny was equipped with an on board fuel consumption gauge.

But where the Jimny really shines is on the rough stuff. Only it can go from 2WD to 4WD to 4WD-Low in its class and it does it with a touch of a button. Solid front and rear axles are also the best tools for going over uneven terrain. The only trade-off is the bouncy ride that was amplified by the short wheelbase.

The Jimny is definitely not the fastest compact SUV out there. It's also not the most spacious nor is it the most technologically advanced. So, why would anyone want to buy it?

Well, for starters, it's a fun little machine that loves to be driven around. The small footprint allows it to squeeze through traffic and fit in even the smallest parking spots. Then there's the off-road potential. This little toy can drive on challenging trails much like larger off-roaders do and more practically, cross through floods.

The absence of complicated electronics also mean that there are less things to go wrong. Yes, it does have some quirks, but you have to love it for what it is.

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July 2018

Innovations in Comfort, Efficiency, and Safety Solutions.

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Trisala ChandariaEMAIL INTERVIEW –  Ken Sinclair and Trisala Chandaria

Trisala Chandaria, Co-Founder and CEO, Temboo

Trisala is the co-founder and CEO of Temboo, an industrial IoT software platform that allows any type of engineer to build and maintain internet-enabled automated systems. As experts in MCUs, PLCs, APIs, and more, Temboo is uniquely positioned to help companies implement IoT solutions without all the complexity of other solutions on the market. Recently, Temboo won an IoT award for their smart building solutions and released their Kosmos IoT System to make it even easier to implement connected sensor systems in any industry. The Kosmos System provides IoT data monitoring & remote control architecture in one easy-to-implement platform.

To sign up for early access to Kosmos, go here.

The Internet of Things & Smart Buildings

Retrieving data from systems that are already in place can have a profound effect on the efficiency and sustainability of a building, as well as the people who live and work inside.

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Sinclair:  What role does the Internet of Things (IoT) play in building automation?

Chandaria: The scope of the variety of different ways IoT technologies can be used is huge and growing every day. We’ve seen Temboo’s IoT platform used on octopus farms, by aviation component manufacturers, in wearables-based medical research, and more. And there are equally as many use cases for IoT in the building automation and smart building space. For example, water supply systems can be automated to detect leaks, monitor quality, and automate heating and cooling systems. You can even remotely control these systems using actuators so that if something goes wrong, you can quickly take action, preventing further damage.

Let’s say you’d like to set up the lighting network in your commercial space to reduce energy costs. With new technologies like Bluetooth Mesh, it’s possible to connect systems wirelessly in large buildings even if they are not within radio range of each other. This can enable the lights to track people and objects in the building and automatically turn on and off based on who is in the area, leading to significant energy cost savings.

By adding internet-connected sensors and actuators to your buildings systems, you gain access to valuable data that can lead to major cost savings and lowered environmental impact. Plus, it helps the people who live and work inside to be more comfortable or efficient.

Sinclair:  What are some of the challenges of implementing IoT in buildings? Is it feasible for someone without an engineering degree to start pilot programs in their own buildings?

Chandaria: Well, you address one of the biggest challenges to implementation in your second question. Not everyone has the technical background and knowledge to begin trying out pilot programs in their properties and hiring an expert to do it for you can be costly. While you may be an expert in building management and the systems that make your building run every day, internet-connected sensor systems are a different field, and it can be intimidating to get started.

Some of the other challenges to implementation are the difficulty of updating legacy systems, the proprietary hardware that is often involved, and the cost associated with hiring IoT experts and engineers. All of these issues have been mentioned to us by Temboo customers and other people we’ve talked to over the years.

That’s why we decided to build our Kosmos IoT System - to allow everyone and anyone to implement IoT solutions in a cost-effective and easy way. Our goal was to make sure that our system extends the abilities of those who are using it, rather than coming in and replacing them.

Sinclair:  That’s an interesting approach. Can you tell me more about the Kosmos System?

Chandaria: Kosmos is the platform that all of your internet-connected systems will live on. It links all of your hardware and software components into one easy to use IoT solution.

We give you a guided setup process with detailed documentation for connecting edge and gateway devices, auto-generated code and system wide architectures, beautiful graphs for data visualization, online dashboards for live views of all your devices, remote control, and update capabilities, and predictions powered by machine learning. All in one place.

So if you are trying to see all of the data from disparate systems in your building, you can view it easily from any device. You can even view the correlations between different sensors and the effects they have on your building’s performance.

The great thing is that you can start small - Kosmos doesn’t require a full year and millions of dollars to implement. We designed the product with robust over-the-air update capabilities so that it’s easy to scale up once you find the right configuration.

And finally, Kosmos is hardware agnostic which means you can use it with any machinery or system that you already have - no need to upgrade your equipment. In fact, we recently did a site visit at a 4 million square foot manufacturing facility that was built in 1918. Obviously, there had been some updates to the building since then but a lot of the systems, like the water pumps, were from the ‘70s. Those systems would still be able to use Kosmos to monitor and optimize their performance, without needing a major upgrade.

Sinclair:  You mentioned Kosmos’ machine learning capabilities, can you explain more about those aspects of the product and how they can be beneficial to building owners and operators?

Chandaria: One really useful application of machine learning is detecting anomalous operations and potential problems before they happen. This allows you to set up maintenance operations ahead of time, which will reduce the downtime and costs associated with maintenance.

You can also leverage advanced analytics to show how the various systems in your building affect each other - does the heating system play into the efficiency of the water pumps? Can energy usage be optimized by allowing cooling and heating systems to respond to outside weather conditions, instead of having them on a set schedule? All of these optimizations are possible using machine learning technology.

Sinclair:  What are some of the other benefits of smart building solutions?

contemporary Chandaria: One of the most obvious benefits are the cost reduction possibilities for building owners. We spoke with a management company that implemented an energy-reducing smart building solution in one of their buildings, saving them almost a million dollars in the first year alone. And as these solutions get scaled and implemented in other buildings, the cost savings start to multiply quickly. So the business case is for smart building solutions is extremely evident.

Building owners can also benefit from lowered insurance premiums and monitoring to ensure compliance regulations are always met. For example, by implementing connected sensor solutions, you can make sure that your fire extinguishers are up to code and get alerted if they have been tampered with.

A big one that Temboo is really excited about is sustainability. Large buildings tend to use a lot of energy, and this contributes to increased greenhouse gas emissions. By reducing energy use in your building, you can help create a more sustainable environment.

An example of this is The Crystal which is one of Siemens’ office buildings in the UK. With smart building solutions in place, it produces about 70% less CO2 than comparably sized buildings and includes things like rainwater harvesting and solar heating to make it even more sustainable.

Another great advantage is the way that these systems can have an impact on the people who live or work in the building. For example, we’ve talked with building maintenance crews that use smart building systems to get alerted of any problems that arise, which means they can quickly take action to prevent further damage. And with solutions like Kosmos, they can sometimes even prevent that damage from becoming an issue in the first place.

Tenants can also benefit from improved safety measures implemented in smart buildings. IoT systems can detect things like power outages and safely get people in the elevators to the closet floor before shutting down.

With all this access to the data from inside smart buildings, the opportunities for innovation in architecture and design are endless. It’s exciting to consider where these technologies could take us next and how the buildings of the future will incorporate the data collected from the smart buildings of today to make them even better for future generations.

We like to think our Kosmos IoT solution can benefit everyone: building owners through cost reduction, tenants and workers through safety, comfort, and efficiency optimizations, and the global community at large through a reduced environmental impact.

If you are interested in learning more about Temboo and the Kosmos IoT system, please contact us at or sign up at

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June 2018

Babel Buster Network Gateways: Big Features. Small Price.
Control Solutions, Inc. - Minnesota

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Improving the Occupant Experience

with Haystack

Patrick Coffey

Patrick Coffey, CTO
VRT Systems

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As Smart Building owners and operators seek to enhance user experiences and provide better data transparency, solution providers and equipment vendors are having to go beyond their traditional solutions and deliver more to their clients. Amongst this buzz of IoT solutions, overcoming general adoption barriers and choosing the right technology to meet current and future demands is difficult. For VRT, one clear standout for IoT in buildings is Haystack.

While Haystack has clear and numerous benefits in Smart Buildings for data analytics, I'll demonstrate how it's interoperability, and semantic model capabilities helped us quickly build a solution where building occupants have a window to their data in real time and in an easy to use manner.

The Problem

Making the building operational data available to occupants can have positive economic and social benefits, for example:

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) also recognises these benefits, and awards Green Star points for residential building developers that provide utility data to occupants in real-time.
However, there is a technical gap between the operational data produced by the many different systems that permeate buildings, to make this data freely available to occupants. With this gap there are two key challenges:

  1. Centralising the operational data from multiple meter types in an organised manner so all interested parties can access it.
  2. Providing a secure window for each party to freely view only their data online.

In 2016, we initially faced these challenges for a customer in Sydney, and we built a web application (TenantView) that sits on top of our existing Haystack server (WideSky), which provides building occupants online access to their data in real-time on their own devices (smart phones and tablets) in a secure manner.

How we solved it with Haystack

Step 1: Integrate the data to a Haystack server and host online

Using common industry protocols, e.g., BACnet, Modbus, M-bus, etc. we integrate building systems into a secure online data service that's built on Haystack and has fast time series data support. If a vendor has already modeled their system in Haystack or used nHaystack in a Niagara based product, great, this makes this step a breeze.

Step 1

Step 2: Model the data in Haystack

We use Haystack semantic modeling techniques to relate the equipment monitoring the various spaces or tenancies within a building. In our case, we need to lay out individual space entities for representing the various spaces or tenancies, and link these to the relevant 'equip' entities. For example, an energy meter links to a residential apartment.

Step 2

Step 3: Build a web app that uses the Haystack API

We used existing Haystack client source code to build a web-based app written in node.js. During development, we realised we could rely on our haystack server to the point where we didn't need to use another database in the back-end. We instead followed the haystack methodology and extended the semantic model to store the additional data we needed. As our Haystack API implementation supports create, read, update, delete extensions, we could also provide a seamless experience for admins to manage and invite users to view their data using only a browser.

Step 3

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While having success in both commercial and residential applications, the 'built on haystack' architecture allows VRT to constantly offer TenantView as a value-add for projects that already have Haystack as part of the solution. One of our notable applications is the Barangaroo South project, which is a $6B redevelopment by LendLease and Sydney’s largest urban renewal project since the 2000 Olympics. Our WideSky solution provided metering and monitoring systems for utility services in Barangaroo's first residential buildings, and TenantView helped them gain Green Star points from GBCA for the construction project. LendLease eventually reached a six Green Star rating for both buildings.

Since 2016, we have employed the same techniques to deliver TenantView in other market segments, e.g., for a complete commercial building, the Floth Head Office in Brisbane (viewable live through the VRT Living Lab online demo site), and for a large commercial tensix6 Green Star ratings.

The world never stands still. The first version of TenantView was delivered prior to the introduction of GDPR and related regulations. We are now in the process of upgrading to support these as part of a planned deployment covering thousands of new apartments in multiple buildings across Australia. Haystack will help.

Haystack Connect 2019
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Manufacturing AUTOMATION

Features Industry 4.0 & Smart Manufacturing
Closing the IoT gap: Q&A with Microsoft Azure IoT experts

Photo: Microsoft

November 28, 2018 – On November 27, Microsoft highlighted several new additions to its Azure IoT system at the IoT in Action event in Toronto, including the IoT-ready version of Azure Security Center, a dashboard for security deployment, the Azure Sphere for secure microcontroller devices, and Azure Digital Twins, a platform to create virtual models of physical environments or products.

How do these innovations add to the IoT landscape? And how can the IoT bridge the gap between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT)? We sat down with our colleagues at Design Engineering to find out those answers from three Microsoft experts: Khalil Alfar, general manager of the Azure cloud and enterprise business division for Microsoft Canada, Michael Kuptz, general manager for Microsoft America device experiences – IoT, and Tony Shakib, general manager of Microsoft Azure IoT.

Manufacturing Automation: It’s clear from the turnout today that there’s interest in IoT. But how does Microsoft see that reflected in real use cases? And what’s the momentum like in Canada for IoT adoption?

Khalil Alfar, general manager of the Azure cloud and enterprise business division for Microsoft Canada: A lot of organizations are realizing that it’s time to do something about IoT. They’re starting to realize that there is a significant opportunity to connect directly now into the heart of the organization. It means really doing something outside of just the very specific scenarios operationally.

We’re seeing so many different industries starting to understand that this is so important, and having this embedded compute capabilities in devices opens up significant opportunities for business.

Design Engineering: One of the biggest things that we’ve been seeing is this convergence of OT and IT, where security-wise, those ecosystems were once separated. How is Microsoft using IoT to close that gap?

Tony Shakib, general manager of Microsoft Azure IoT: We have a very rich history with the IT community…We have a very good relationship in terms of understanding their business needs, migrating them to a cloud, managing data and overall making them productive.

With this OT division that we’ve created, we actually had to go learn the line of business. We hired a lot of people from different industries – a lot of people from manufacturing. We had to figure out, one: How do we make sure that we provide the right set of technologies for both groups, and two: How do we really help bring these teams together and make them relevant?

IT people come to us saying, “Hey, I want to be more relevant to my line of business.” To us, we hear: “Give me the right tools so I can connect more and more devices, make it secure, and run the applications that we’re looking for.” At the same time, we’re working with the OT department. We’re telling them, “Okay, we understand the environment you’re coming from” – security in OT is very different than IT – all of the legacy equipment that they have, those real-time needs of how to have that compute capability closer to where the action is.

MA: What are some specific gaps Microsoft is noticing when it comes to IoT security architecture? Specifically, where companies and organizations believed they were secure, but in reality, they aren’t at all?

TS: A lot of people honestly don’t know their environment and how vulnerable they are to hackers. A lot of the security incidents that are happening aren’t even malicious. It’s unintended.

When you have a device, it has a set of parameters [that] it operates in. If you don’t confine its limits, it does unusual things and often breaks, bringing down the whole manufacturing line. Part of the Azure Security Center service that we just unveiled is where organizations can take their Azure subscription, point it to their plant, hospital or assembly line and we will go through every device, port, and operation that it should be executing.

It’s a simple way to visualize and take stock of what’s connected and what’s potentially vulnerable. The second thing is that companies recognize the issues but have no idea what to do about them. For us, it’s to help them remediate – which one of these things do you address? Really pinpointing and organizing priorities.

Related news
Microsoft Azure event shares IoT best practices, security updates and digital twins

Michael Kuptz, general manager for Microsoft America device experiences – IoT: Adding to that, from a manufacturer’s perspective, when you differentiate between industrial and consumer, there’s an inherent fear that continues to persist around connecting consumer devices. The home environment and home gateways are probably as open and transparent as any environment.

The announcement of Azure Sphere did three things. It first addressed a massive gap in the awareness around what is secure. Many companies that we met with before we announced Azure Sphere told us, “We’re secure enough.” There wasn’t a benchmark to be able to model what “secure” meant. Microsoft’s seven security properties delineate between having a secure hardware, a secure OS, and a secure software base.

In terms of a holistic approach to securing devices, Microsoft is saying, “We’ll take on the operation support side of securing that device” – it is an outsource of device security. When you move that into the consumer environment, parallel to the commercial/industrial environment, it sets a whole new pattern of engagement that we’ve never had before.

The third facet says, “We’ll extend that support and we’ll be responsible for securing those devices for 13 years.”

Images (from left): Khalil Alfar, Michael Kuptz, Tony Shakib

DE: Why do you think we’re not seeing more movement towards that second phase of IoT solutions – from implementation and data collection to analysis and improvement?

MK: I’ll address it from an engagement perspective. In the Americas, I have roughly 3,100 OEMs that I’m responsible for. And of those OEMs, the primary focus is, “Do I want to be the disruptor? Or be disrupted?” Once they decide that they’re going to be the disruptor, they become the aggressor in terms of accelerating their transformation. If they’re disrupted, it’s a defend-and-protect strategy, which takes longer because they’re trying to maintain the core business and revenue streams while dabbling in this “How long can I survive?” mindset.

These engagements fall into two identity factors, the first being, is there an executive sponsor across the organization that says, “We will make this transformation happen”? You see that with companies like Johnson Controls, in trying to go to an autonomous type of device that will then auto-update based upon the environment that it’s in. They’re going to be the disruptor.

The disrupted then becomes, “I gotta make something, connect it and be able to compete in added value to my end customers.” The fear factor and the reason it takes longer isn’t because of technology and it isn’t because of the architecture, it’s because of the uncertainty and doubt around being all in or partially in.

KA: To [MA’s] question about what gaps Microsoft is seeing, a lot of organizations felt like this environment is not secure and they don’t want to connect OT to this network that they believe exposes them to unsavory elements. Being able to have a view of that and have the tools and environments to show them something that’s operationally sound and secure at the same time is what we’re trying to do.

MA: Could you elaborate on Microsoft’s involvement with legacy systems? A big concern of our readers is the overall investment costs associated with updating those systems with IoT. So how does Azure specifically work with the network architecture that’s already in place?

TS: That’s a great question, and it’s a pretty complex problem to solve. We always realize that the refresh cycle in manufacturing environments [is] very long. When you look at an assembly line, that assembly line is there for 30 years. But we can tap into the existing infrastructure, extract the data, and do a protocol conversion either at the IoT edge because we have the compute engine, or at the cloud.

Then it’s an IP-based packet with the new protocol. We try to push the conversion points as close to the port as possible. The second thing is that we’re driving standards. Like OPC UA, where we can actually push that responsibility to the vendors, [so] that they would be responsible for getting to common-based standards that everyone can understand.

The third thing is that we’re working on a program called Plug-and-Play that we haven’t announced yet. Ten years ago when you bought a PC, you had to go home, download the drivers, or this and that version. You don’t do that anymore. We’re trying to do the same thing for the IoT world where every device will self-subscribe itself to a service and say “I’m this kind of device, these are my characteristics.” We then create a common data model of what these devices should be doing and their functions – which is automatically brought into the network to perform those functions.


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Manufacturing AUTOMATION

StatCan: Manufacturing sales down 0.2% in January

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 0.2 per cent to $56.1 billion in January.

The agency says it was the fifth consecutive monthly decline.

Economists had expected a drop of 0.5 per cent for January, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

Statistics Canada says sales were down in nine of 21 industries, led by lower sales in the transportation equipment and petroleum and coal products industries.

Sales of transportation equipment fell 6.0 per cent to $9.9 billion in January due to longer temporary shutdowns at some assembly plants as well as the recent closure of the General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ont. Petroleum and coal product sales fell 5.2 per cent to $5.9 billion due to lower sales volumes and lower prices.

In volumes terms, manufacturing sales fell 0.4 per cent.

News from © The Canadian Press Enterprises 2020


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For more than 25 years the Siegen-based tuning partner B&B optimizes VW and Audi cars. The newest development of B&B, the tuning program for the new VW Scirocco has been finished and enables the Scirocco`s stronges engine, the 2.0 TFSI, enormous performance values up to 350hp and 450 Nm.

The engine program with its 6 stages begins with a modification of the engine electronics and a slightly increased loading pressure to higher the car`s performance up to 235hp and 340 Nm to the price of 998 EUR. In graduations of 250, 265, 286 or 300 hp the scirocco reaches in the final EVO R stage racing values of 350 hp / 450 Nm. This enormous power can only be achieved by a complete change of the original engine by a special engine equipped with a bigger turbo loader, optimized crank shaft and forged pistons bundled with a modification of the cylinder head. To reduce exhaust back pressure, B&B mounts a special sport exhaust system with a modified pre exhaust pipe as well as a high class sport catalyst. Finally the technicians reprogram the electronically engine characteristics. To perfectly adjust the engine's oil temperature, B&B mounts a slim-line oil cooler. The following performance values show the characteristics of the B&B Scirocco EVO R: 350hp / 450Nm ; 0-100km/h in 4,9 sec ; 0-200km/h in 16,5 sec ; Vmax up to 274 (according transmission).

B&B Volkswagen Scirocco, 1 of 3
B&B Volkswagen Scirocco, 2 of 3
B&B Volkswagen Scirocco, 3 of 3

Engine modifications for the new 2.0 TDI Common-Rail with its 143hp / 320Nm are also available. The first stage enhances the performance values up to a level of 180hp / 390Nm. The second stage reaches 210hp and 410Nm. The "smallest" engine version, the 1.4TSI achieves in 3 stages a maximum of 240hp and 360Nm. The prices begin with 998 EUR.

To reach the risen requirements and allow better steering performances B&B offers several chassis modifications, for example 35mm lower sport springs or adjustable thread chassis. Orderable for the Scirocco are also wheel sets in 18" / 19" and 20", 4-/6- and 8-stroke braking systems as well as short shift adaptions. To reach a unique outer appearance B&B offers aerodynamic parts in qualities which are normally preserved by original manufactures.


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BMW i Details Brand Philosophy

As indicated by recent news from the United States on an aggressive 54.5 mile per gallon fleet mandate for all car companies by 2025, the global push to lower fossil fuel consumption is very active. Opening the realm of what was once only dreams to automotive engineers, creations crafted to contend in the compliance to future efficiency targets are receiving the investments they so gravely needed to land on driveways and parking lots. Considering not just one innovation, the future vehicles being guided to production could be the very radical shape you’ll soon accept in everyday life.

BMW (an auto company already earning creditability for advanced vehicle engineering) announced earlier this year the intent to create a sub-brand to unleash what would become a bolder form of automotive expression. Describing the BMW i as “Naturally vibrant, highly aesthetic images with a futuristic atmosphere will characterise communications”; the German automaker’s awaited division is the latest stepping-stone from their Megacity initiative. Led by only word that the BMW i brand will set on producing highly electrified powertrain configurations, seekers of greater amounts of hard information on the type of automobiles expected from the organization has now been satisfied by this past Friday’s premiere in Munich.

Given form through a grand introduction, the BMW i brand was showcased by physical forms of the i3 and i8 vehicles. Encompassed in their LifeDrive vehicle architecture, both vehicles represent structures especially conceived around electric propulsion. Aerodynamic maximization and usage of aluminum as well as carbon fiber materials are aspects used in exterior design of the BMW i automotive products. Employing lightweight construction, the BMW i vehicles will enter life produced using eco-minded processes. Aluminum will be manufactured using 100 percent renewable energy. In the cabin, customers will notice unique design details such as the absence of center tunnelling, increased window area and an 8.8 inch information display. Besides the many changes, much of the beloved BMW design traits have been lent to the i3 and i8 concept vehicles including the kidney-shaped grille openings.

First to the market for 2013, the subcompact BMW i3 design is a four-seat vehicle weighing around 1,250 kilograms (2755.79 pounds). In the prelude to the BMW i product launch, the BMW company has been gaining real-life input on the expected usage of electrified vehicles. Turning a multitude of MINI Coopers into MINI E cars, these small cars were turned into rolling labs for BMW to collect information for making their BMW i line-up desirable with little compromise from customers. Evaluating the MINI E’s data, BMW reported that 90 percent of drivers were able to commute within the battery pack range of the electric vehicle. For this reason, the BMW i3 will be primarily sold as a fully electric vehicle. However, the i3 will also come with an optional plug-in hybrid configuration that will feature a range extender powerplant. As an all-electric vehicle, the BMW i3 lithium-ion battery contains the capacity for 100 miles of driving at a top speed of 93 miles per hour. Charging in 6 hours on standard circuit, an optional quick-charge method is also available that can load the i3 battery with 80 percent capacity in only a single hour.

Planned to be added to the i3, the BMW i8 will follow to market in 2014. A plug-in hybrid sport coupe, the i8 is propelled by 96 kilowatts of electric power through the rear wheels and a 220 horsepower, three-cylinder gasoline engine. Provides being capable of fuel economy near 100 miles per gallon, the BMW i8 is slated to deliver acceleration to 62 miles per hour in less than 5 seconds. Going 20 miles on pure electric power, the i8 shifts to the gas engine. When both powerplants work together, the BMW i8 moves with all-wheel drive to top speeds up to 155 miles per hour.

With the initial two cars presented to the public, the BMW i sub-brand also touts advanced solutions that can greatly improve driving experiences inside of urban areas. In-car technology such as Parking Assistant, Traffic Jam Assistant and Proactive Front Protection insures the highest chance of a safe return from city driving. BMW i is also vocal about partnerships created through their i Ventures. i Ventures have invested into services such as MyCityWay and ParkatmyHouse that allows individuals to rent out their property as parking space.

Information and photo source: BMW Group

How to Get Invoice Pricing

  1. It’s a long time until will see this cars on the roads. The technology for electric cars should have been more advanced by now but the oil companies had played their cards very well.
    When electric cars will increase their autonomy to at least 300 Km and charging time to 1-2 hours, they will be good to buy. The “green trend” is here but we need more then concept cars, we need good and reliable cars .

Comments are closed.


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Audi has tested autonomous flying taxi

Audi has tested autonomous flying taxi

November 28, 2018 0 By autotimesnews

Audi has conducted the first successful tests of a flying taxi in the framework of the project Pop.Up Next, which took place in Amsterdam. It is reported by the press service of the German mark.

The participants of the project Pop.Up Next, besides Audi, are the aircraft manufacturing company Airbus and the Italian bodybuilding studio Italdesign. The concept is that a special passenger capsule can stand on a special platform with wheels for movement on the ground. When injected into the cork, the module is attached to an aircraft with four rotors, which takes passengers to their destination.

For testing, developers have created reduced prototype devices of a quarter of the actual size. The aircraft is a quadrocopter. During the tests, he airborne the capsule with the cabin and set it on the ground chassis. After that, the resulting car in unmanned mode was able to leave the test site.

In the summer of 2018, Audi, together with Airbus, announced the launch of a project for the new urban mobility system Urban Air Mobility in the German Ingolstadt. The project of the new service received the support of the German Federal Ministry of Transport, which approved the idea of Audi, Airbus and several other companies to create a new air communications system.

At the moment, the development of flying cars are several dozen companies from around the world. For example, in addition to Airbus, Boeing is working on a similar project. Plus, the Uber company is going to launch the “air taxi” service, for which NASA will create a special dispatch service, and Dubai is already undergoing tests of a similar service with devices from the German startup Volocopter. Finally, Toyota is working on a flying car, which will present the finished model in 2020 at the Tokyo Olympics.


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2021 Ducati Monster Is Alive! It's Alive!

The original factory naked bike remains true to its pure riding roots, which stretch back almost 30 years now.

When the first Ducati Monster came out almost 30 years ago, it was revolutionary. Before that it seemed all street bikes had to be slathered in fairings, like it was some kind of global government mandate for the industrialized, motorcycle-producing world. People wanted fairings, was the conventional wisdom, and as a result, everything had fairings. But designer Miguel Galluzi didn’t like fairings, at least not on everything. He kept trying to get his bosses at the Cagiva Group, which at the time included Ducati, to let him make something without any fairings whatsoever, something with an exposed frame, the bare essence of motorcycling. When he finally got permission to do so, he made the Ducati Monster M900 and the world freaked out.

That was 29 years ago.

With no bodywork and a relatively inexpensive 950 motore, that first Monster was even (relatively) affordable. Success! Everybody bought one. It was the bike that saved Ducati.

You control the Monster.

And so it went for almost three decades of Monsters, leading us here, to the latest generation. But there are distinct differences with this one. It is still lacking fairings, yes, so you’re right there in the elements and the bugs. It still has a similarly sized engine to that original - the new Monster you see here has a 937-cc Testastretta L-Twin, making a twisting-good 111 hp at 9250 rpm and 69 lb-ft of torque at 6500 revs. And it is still relatively affordable (at least compared to superbikes) at $11,895.

Gone, however, is the exposed trellis frame, replaced with a lighter cast-aluminum frame very similar to that on the Panigale V4 that incorporates the engine as a stressed member of the bike instead of just baggage, a design that saves weight. The engine itself is 5.3 pounds lighter, but efficiencies throughout the bike save a total of 40 pounds versus the previous Monster 821.

There’s a new, more upright and comfortable riding position, with the handlebars moved back almost three inches and the pegs a little lower. Seat heights range from 30.5 inches to 32.3 inches to accommodate any number of riders. There are three ride modes: sport, urban, and touring, and within those you can control how much intervention you want based on how aggressively you want to ride and how much electronic help you need to get there. To that end, you can adjust the cornering ABS, traction control, and wheelie control. There’s even launch control. You adjust it all on a new 4.3-inch TFT screen that responds to gloved fingertips.

The 320-mm dual-disc Brembos up front really work well.

So it’s 40 pounds lighter (414 pounds wet), a little more powerful (2 more hp, 6 more lb-ft), and still has the distinct look that sets it apart from everything else at Newcomb’s Ranch or the Rock Store or wherever it is that you ride.

“The new Monster represents all the essence of Ducati in the lightest, most compact form,” read a company release.

The essence, I would say, is “fun.” A few times over the last several years I got to ride the previous Monster 821 and, apart from some weirdness with the front end where it didn’t seem to want to return to straight coming out of turns, I loved it. The steering weirdness is gone on the new bike, thanks, perhaps, to seven degrees more steering angle to 36 degrees.

The new bike gets a new six-speed transmission with Ducati Quickshift, too. After leaving a stop you don’t need to disengage the clutch to shift gears up or down, just bang on the shifter. That’s a handy feature on your favorite mountain road.

Ah yes, favorite mountain road. Now I must preface this by saying I was totally spoiled by that Panigale V2 I had last year. That was a pure sport bike. While the Panigale seemed to do everything necessary to lure you deep into corners and then gently usher you out, Il Mostro takes a little more engagement on your part to be smooth. You have to plan your attack on each corner and execute it well before you have any kind of smoothness. You cool professionals will pick it up immediately. The rest of us must practice.

The Monster doesn’t compete in the same class as the superbike Panigale. It’s competition comes from the likes of the Yamaha MT-09 889-cc triple making 117 hp; the Triumph Street Triple with 765 ccs making 121 hp; the Kawasaki Z900 with 940 ccs making 125 hp; and the KTM 890R Duke with 889 ccs and 119 hp, to name a few. I haven’t ridden the Triumph or the Duke, but I would say the Yamaha and Kawasaki are smoother on curvy mountain roads and the Monster might be a better street fighter.

Pricing for the Monster starts at $11,895, almost the same as the KTM 890R Duke and Kawasaki Z900. The Triumph Street Triple straddles that price with R and RS models, both offering just a few more horsepower and a little less torque. The Yamaha MT-09 is the bargain with more hp than the Duc and almost $2500 less sticker price. Still, a lot of people like the prestige of owning a Ducati. It’s kind of like owning a Ferrari, if Ferraris were in the low five-figures.

So what should you do? I say, buy one of the above and start riding. You will not be disappointed with the Monster. You can keep it under your bed with all your other dreams.

Share your thoughts on Ducatis in general, Monsters specifically, or whatever Italian machines you may dream of in the comments below.

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Mazda MX-5

Mazda MX-5

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Print | Real petrolheads are easy to recognise. They talk about cars all day and they dream about that one unreachable sports car during the night. Lacking the necessary financial means, that dream car will remain a dream. Smart petrolheads are also easy to recognise: they drive a Mazda MX-5. If they have something to wish for, it's a new MX-5.

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Skoda Rapid Spaceback

Skoda Rapid Spaceback

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Print | Skoda specialises in building large cars at small prices. By keeping it simple and by making clever use of existing technology, Skoda can offer larger cars than others, while asking the same price. So far Skoda has steered clear of the most popular segment of the market: mid-sized vehicles. This is now all about to change. Is the Rapid a true mid-sized car at the price of a compact car?

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Skip to main content

Switch Hitter

Switch Hitter

Choosing An Optical Switch To Match Your Application

Optical switches are an integral part in fiber optic transmission systems and contribute to the development of the "all-optical" network. The AV market can adapt these telecom components to enhance the capabilities of the overall AV transport system. There are two basic types of optical switches, the OEO (Optical to Electrical to Optical) and the OOO, or all-optical switch. Each has its place in fiber optic systems with their unique features and capabilities.

The fiber industry's first optical switch was a simple mechanical 1x1 on-off switch using a moving fiber typically activated by a small DC control voltage. Since then a number of switch variations have evolved, including the more popular and versatile 1x2 switch. This switch is used as a building block to develop more complex switching systems for optical routing and broadcasting.

to convert the incoming optical signal to its native electrical digital data stream. Similar optical transceivers are used on each of the corresponding outputs to convert the switched electrical data stream back to an optical signal for further transmission. The switch matrix is electrical and includes other functions such as reclocking and retiming to help clean up the signal and return it to its original condition, discounting any conversion-related anomalies. Most of these switches are multi-rate and can support a wide variety of data rates from approx 5 Mbps up to 4.25 Gbps, and some even higher. However, the reclocking functions are generally performed at very specific data rates, namely 270Mbps, 1.485Gbps, 2.97Gbps, and 4.25Gbps. Other data rates are simply passed through the switch and regenerated without any retiming, reclocking, and reshaping of the electrical signal.

These OEO switches have several features worth noting:

Point-to-Multipoint (broadcasting) capability
Fully non-blocking
Uses Optical I/O (SFP devices) with electrical switch engine— electrical "3R" functions at selected data rates (Recovery, reclocking, and regeneration)
Does not degrade optical signal strength
Available up to 4.25Gbps (Fiber Channel) data rate
Available in configurations up to 1024 x 1024

Extron FOX 4G DA8 And FOX 4G SW8 some years ago and has evolved to suit the AV market. Products such as matrix and protection switches in addition to ROADM (Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop) and other function-specific optical switches are becoming staples in AV. The key feature of an all-optical switch is, as the name implies, that the signal is kept in the optical domain throughout the switching and routing process. This has clear advantages over the OEO switch in that the alloptical switch is data rate and protocol agnostic in the AV market space. That is, any of the standard AV signals (video, audio, and data) can be passed through the switch in any format (analog or digital). In addition, these switches can also send bi-directional data on the same port—something the OEO switch cannot do. In other words, bi-directional data on a single fiber (one port) can be easily routed in all-optical switches. (Please see the "Matrix Switch Characteristics" sidebar for a comparison of OEO and alloptical matrix switches.)

1xn Optical Switches: Many people consider fiber a simple replacement transport infrastructure to copper. This represents only one aspect of the overall capabilities of a fiber system. Once the signal is in an optical format a number of other switching and routing capabilities exist. As an example, a simple 1x4 or 1x8 optical switch provides routing and broadcast capabilities very easily and they are much less expensive than an OEO equivalent. Just as with the all-optical matrix switch, these optical broadcast switches are signal type, data rate, and format agnostic. Any signal that can be transported over fiber can be routed through one of these switches. An alternative to this is the 2x4 or 2x8 all-optical switch, which provides additional capabilities.

FIGURE 4: In a digital signage application, a Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Module (ROADM) can deliver specific content to a display while other wavelengths continue down the fiber to the next location. mission critical applications where it's important to ensure fiber continuity between the transmitter and receiver units. At the transmit location the signal is split into two redundant signals and sent over two diverse optical paths. This switch design accepts these two optical signals from the same transmitter via the different fiber paths and will monitor the optical activity on each fiber. One path is set as the primary optical path and will automatically switch to the redundant fiber path if this primary path were to be interrupted or if the signal level falls below a pre-determined optical threshold.

As with the other all-optical switches, this switch is data rate/protocol agnostic and will monitor and switch any optical signal presented to it. In addition, this switch design will also switch bi-directional information on the same fiber further increasing its flexibility and versatility for such applications as video conferencing, remote arraignment, video with PTZ control, HD video with audio talk-back, etc.

The OEO switch has its place in the AV market and is seeing increased use. As with any conversion process, there are always some artifacts or anomalies generated when converting from one format to another (optical to electrical and back) leading to increased errors and system degradation. All-optical switches do not have such anomalies and maintain the signals' high quality throughout the switching process. They also have much higher potential since they are protocol, data rate, and direction agnostic.

All-optical switches help define the advanced role of fiber in the AV market and further illustrate the fact that fiber is significantly more than just a replacement for copper. Once consultants better understand and accept the diverse capabilities of fiber, you will see increased and far-reaching AV applications using this technology, and at a lower cost.

This article provides an overview of some of the optical switch types and technologies available to system designers. Using these and other optical switch products, many other AV applications can be created to provide you with increased system versatility and help move to the holy grail of fiber systems—the all-optical network.

Ed Miskovic (emiskovic@meridiantech. com) is executive vice president of sales and marketing for Meridian Technologies.


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My Spouse Asked for a Divorce. What Do I Do Now?

Whether your relationship has been on the rocks for a while now or the news is a complete surprise, hearing the words come out of your partner’s mouth is painful.

“I want a divorce.”

The next steps from here are critical. We understand the heartbreak and anger you may be feeling right now, but you need to start thinking about protecting yourself. Our team at Law Office of Alexandra White, PC is here to help you prepare for your upcoming divorce and advise you on what to expect.

Blindsided by the news?

When you and your spouse walked down the aisle and spoke your vows, divorce was never in the picture. If you truly want to avoid dissolving your marriage, both parties will need to be willing.

Research has shown that it takes the average person more than two years to go from thinking about divorce to actually telling their spouse they want one, meaning this was probably not a decision made lightly.

If you are both willing to go to marriage counseling or look inward at the behaviors that are causing your spouse to want a divorce, there may be hope. But if your spouse is deadset on moving forward with their plans, there’s not much you can do to stop it from happening.

No matter what the outcome is, you should not act out in anger or vengeance. This will hurt your opportunity to save your marriage, and it can also hurt your chances of a favorable outcome if you proceed with the divorce.

As much as you want the situation to be different, now is the time to prepare for the road ahead.

Get Educated

Some people think they can ignore the divorce, and it will just go away. The consequences of this mindset can be disastrous. Rather than being in denial, the smartest move you can do in this situation is to get educated.

Start learning about the divorce laws in your state. Will your property be divided equitably rather than 50/50? Do you have a prenuptial agreement that will affect your divorce? How do you plan to divide parenting responsibilities?

The three main topics of divorce are generally property division, child custody, and spousal support. Make a plan for how you want these matters to be handled and list out your ultimate goals. Having this in front of you will help you stay focused during an emotional time.

Get Empowered

When people find themselves facing a divorce, they go through feeling sad, scared, and shocked. What if you could turn this into an empowering experience? Try to view this as an opportunity for a new chapter in life, and you might get there.

It won’t be easy, but it could be the best decision in the long run. First, you need to get into the right mindset. Take a step back and realize that divorce does not mean you have failed. The end of a relationship is painful, but you have the power to direct that pain elsewhere. Instead of zeroing in on why the marriage didn’t work, concentrate on what you want to get out of the divorce.

The next step might be even more challenging, but it’s important to let go of blame. Holding onto a grudge will only bring you down and delay your positive transition. Fighting with your spouse or retaliating against them will undoubtedly leave you in a worse place financially and emotionally. Only you are in control of your actions, realizing this is the best way to be empowered.

Get an Experienced Attorney

You do not have to go through this alone. It’s crucial that you find an experienced divorce lawyer who will advocate for your interests. Divorce is a legally complex and highly personal process, but we can ease your burdens by taking on some of the stress. At the Law Office of Alexandra White, PC, we can help you understand your options and guide you to the happy ending you deserve.

To talk to an experienced Colorado divorce lawyer, contact us at (303) 647-4245 and schedule your consultation.


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The Formation de Combat (FC) was a paramilitary group formed by the Rexist movement in Wallonia, Belgium, on 9 July 1940. By 1942 most of the members had joined the Légion Wallonie, Garde Wallone or the NSKK and the organization was becoming insignificant.

In the summer of 1942 plans were made to organize a Hilfsgendarmerie as a replacement of the FC but that was a failure.

Rutger Simoens (July 1940 - Feb 1941)
Fernand Rouleau (Feb 1941 - Sep 1941)
Henrik Brahy (Sep 1941 - Feb 1942)
Albert Constant (Feb 1942 - Jan 1943)

Sources used

Eddy de Bruyne & Marc Rikmenspoel - For Rex and for Belgium: Léon Degrelle and Wallon Political & Military Collaboration 1940-45
Carlos Caballero Jurado - Resistance Warfare 1940-45
David Littlejohn - Foreign legions of the Third Reich, vol 2

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -


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My my My my
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Learning a language when you're a perfectionist

Perfect written in lights
Letting go of perfect is not easy

Being a perfectionist might have its good points but it is quite an obstacle to learning a language. (If you are a perfectionist and you want help with your English, I use Neurolanguage® Coaching to help my clients achieve the most perfect results for them!)

If you are a perfectionist you get frustrated that you can't learn to speak a language perfectly in record time. You get annoyed with yourself for forgetting vocabulary or for not understanding every word of an article or a film. And speaking is very stressful, as you know that what you are saying is not perfect, in fact it is often very far from perfect. All this can lead to perfectionists being afraid to speak the foreign language altogether and eventually giving up.

The key to language learning is to put yourself out there and just communicate, which makes most people feel vulnerable at first. For a perfectionist, speaking a foreign language is like taking all your clothes off and walking naked through town.

Learning a language takes time. A long time. You won't speak perfect English 3 months after you start studying it. And you will make plenty of mistakes, have some embarrassing misunderstandings and make a fool of yourself by calling the taxi driver a taxi screwdriver (Yes, this is a real mistake.)

When you are stressed or anxious, your brain's limbic system is engaged, which means you go into fight or flight mode. When this happens, the last thing your body wants to do is learn, the best state for learning or performing is when you are relaxed. Your perfectionism is actually hindering your brain's learning capacity.

I know you can't suddenly stop being a perfectionist overnight, so what can you do?

Here are a few tips:

  1. Consciously focus on the positives. (You might have to force yourself to do this at first.) You just had a conversation with someone in Spanish? Did that person understand you? Did you understand them? Great! DO NOT think about the mistakes you made in the conversation. You just watched a video and you understood most of it? Fantastic! DO NOT stress because you can't understand every word. One day you will.

  2. Work with a language coach, who will understand how to put you in the right mode for learning. Someone kind, who makes you feel relaxed and happy about speaking a foreign language. This will go a very long way in giving you the confidence to speak in the real world.

  3. Laugh. So what if you said something ridiculous? It will make a good story.

  4. Remember that most people are happy to hear you making an effort to speak their language. The majority of people do not laugh or get annoyed. The people that do are not worth bothering about.

  5. If you have to do a presentation or you have a meeting in a foreign language, practise in advance. Learn some useful phrases (not too many!), think about what vocabulary you might need to know and practise as much as you like. Once it's finished, DO NOT think about it again. It's over, you did fine.

  6. DO NOT try to learn big word lists. It's a waste of time. Be realistic with your goals - one word a day is perfect.

  7. Be kind to yourself. You are doing just fine. Everyone has good days and bad days. Some days I speak beautiful French. Other days I can barely order a coffee. That's ok.

  8. Break your language learning down into small goals: having a chat with someone, writing a tweet, giving your opinion in a meeting, understanding a TED talk. If you focus on the big goal (become fluent in French!) you will be disappointed in yourself many times over. Push yourself a little further every time and congratulate yourself when you've done it. In learning a language, it's the doing it that is important, not the doing it perfectly.

  9. It's not all bad news! Your perfectionism can be useful: it will push you to learn things properly. Instead of saying the same phrase wrong all the time, you have the willpower to check how to say it correctly and then use it. Perfectionists often make the best writers of a foreign language, as you will work on writing well. (Although you might want to set yourself a time limit when you're writing. Nothing is ever 100% perfect.)

  10. Don't give up!

33 vues0 commentaire


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• I feel like a man who has been asleep somewhat and under someone else's control. I feel that what I'm thinking and saying is now for myself. Before it was for and by the guidance of Elijah Muhammad. Now I think with my own mind, sir!

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Helicopter Audio

From: Jim Friedman NBC 10, Philadelphia, Pa

When you need that audio of cockpit chit-chat and you can’t plug in to their system, try this. Take the passenger headset and remove the earmuff pad from one side of the headset. Place your lav mic head between the foam and the speaker. Tape the lav head to the speaker. Put the padded ring back on to the headset. Press both earmuffs together and wrap gaff tape around the headset to squeeze it together. I never had a problem with this method plus the pilot will be glad when you don’t have to “tamper” with his comm system.

One comment

  1. Bridgette says:

    I’ve used a similar method to interview pilots in-flight. Everyone in the aircraft (me, pilot and reporter) were wearing headsets so we could communicate during the flight. I stuck the lav in the headset I was wearing and recorded the reporter/pilot interview that way as they talked to each other over the comm system. The space inside the earmuff was large enough for me to do this comfortably and get pretty decent audio. It still sounded like an airplane comm system but it definitely made the interview much more interesting than interviewing the pilot on the runway.

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Can I continue to see a midwife if I'm having twins?

Maybe. If you've been seeing a midwife for your early prenatal care, the discovery that you're carrying twins will mean taking another look at your plans. Some certified nurse-midwives will continue to work with women carrying twins, but many will not.

Even if you're young and in perfect health, a multiple pregnancy is considered "high-risk." Carrying more than one baby makes having a premature birth (delivery before 37 weeks) as well as other complications more likely.

That means you'll probably need to see an obstetrician or perinatologist (an obstetrician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies), but your midwife may be able to stay involved in your care and may even be able to deliver your babies.

Some midwives who work in hospitals have collaborative agreements with obstetricians who support and consult on midwife-managed twin pregnancies. However, some hospitals have guidelines that don't allow midwives to care for women pregnant with twins or deliver them.

If your midwife delivers exclusively at a birthing center, she won't be able to continue your prenatal care because a multiple pregnancy is considered too high-risk for a birth center delivery.

Some home birth midwives do care for twin pregnancies, but delivering twins at home is risky. A certified nurse-midwife is likely to recommend giving birth at a hospital.

If the twins share an amniotic sac or aren't growing properly, or if you or they develop other complications, you'll be advised to be under the sole care of a perinatologist for the duration of your pregnancy.

If you see both a midwife and an obstetrician or perinatologist, the three of you will need to discuss how the collaboration will work. Your midwife may be able to continue directing your care, with your obstetrician available as needed. Or your obstetrician may take the lead, with your midwife playing a supporting role.

Assuming you haven't developed any complications and you've continued to see your midwife, she may end up delivering your babies as long as they're both in the optimal head-down position and your labor goes smoothly. The birth would take place in a hospital delivery room – or possibly a birthing room – with an obstetrician in attendance, as well as the rest of the medical team that would typically be present for twins.

Even if both babies are head-down during labor, there's no guarantee that the second twin will stay in that position after the delivery of the first (although your medical team will do what they can to enhance the probability). The obstetrician will very likely take over immediately if the second twin is not head-down or you end up needing a c-section. In that case, your midwife would probably stay and provide supportive care for you and your partner.

If you decide to see a midwife, be sure to choose someone who is experienced with twins and has admitting privileges at a hospital with a level III neonatal nursery, in case of preterm delivery or other complications. Use our printable midwife interview sheet to help you make your decision.

Kate Marple is a journalist with more than 25 years of experience writing and editing health content. Her work has won the Online Journalism Award Grand Prize for best service journalism from the Online News Association at Columbia and numerous Digital Health Awards.
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