Podcast appearances and mentions of bell laboratories

Episode 166 Chapter 26, Early Computer Music (1950–70). Works Recommended from my book, Electronic and Experimental Music  Welcome to the Archive of Electronic Music. This is Thom Holmes. This podcast is produced as a companion to my book, Electronic and Experimental Music, published by Routledge. Each of these episodes corresponds to a chapter in the text and an associated list of recommended works, also called Listen in the text. They provide listening examples of vintage electronic works featured in the text. The works themselves can be enjoyed without the book and I hope that they stand as a chronological survey of important works in the history of electronic music. Be sure to tune-in to other episodes of the podcast where we explore a wide range of electronic music in many styles and genres, all drawn from my archive of vintage recordings. There is a complete playlist for this episode on the website for the podcast. Let's get started with the listening guide to Chapter 26, Early Computer Music (1950–70).  from my book Electronic and Experimental music.   Playlist: EARLY COMPUTER MUSIC (1950–70)   Time Track Time Start Introduction –Thom Holmes 01:40 00:00 1.     Tones from Australia, 1951. All produced using the CSIR Mark 1 computer built at the CSIR's radio-physics division in Sydney. The computer had a speaker—or hooter—to signal when operations were completed. A clever programmer thought of manipulating the signal tones into a melody. 02:18 01:42 2.     Alan Turing's computer music. 1951. Recording made of tones generated by the mainframe computer at the Computing Machine Laboratory in Manchester, England. Snippets of the tunes God Save the King, Baa, Baa Black Sheep, and Glenn Miller's swing classic In the Mood. Plus, the voices of computer lab members listening to the sound as it was recorded. Original acetate recording from 1951 restored by University of Canterbury composer Jason Long and Prof Jack Copeland. 01:55 02:36 3.     Max Mathews, “Numerology” (1960). Introduced by a narrator. From the album Music From Mathematics, Bell Telephone Laboratories. While working at Bell Labs in telecommunications research, Max Mathews was one of the earliest computer engineers to use a general-purpose computer to program music and digitally synthesize musical sound. His programming language Music I allowed composers to design their own virtual instruments, a breakthrough during those pioneering days of computer music. “Numerology” was composed to demonstrate the various parameters, or building blocks, available to the composer using this programming language: vibrato (frequency modulation), attack and decay characteristics, glissando, tremolo (amplitude modulation), and the creation of new waveshapes. 02:49 04:38 4.     John Robinson Pierce, “Beat Canon” (1960). Introduced by a narrator. From the album Music From Mathematics, Bell Telephone Laboratories. Played by IBM computer and direct to digital sound transducer. 00:52 07:28 5.     James Tenney, “Noise Study” (1961). So named because “each of the ‘instruments' used in this piece includes a noise-generator.” 04:24 08:20 6.     “Bicycle Built For Two (Accompanied)” (1963) From the demonstration record Computer Speech - Hee Saw Dhuh Kaet (He Saw The Cat), produced by Bell Laboratories. This recording contains samples of synthesized speech–speech artificially constructed from the basic building blocks of the English language. 01:17 12:42 7.     Lejaren Hiller, “Computer Cantata, Prologue to Strophe III” (1963). From the University Of Illinois. This work employed direct computer synthesis using an IBM 7094 mainframe computer and the Musicomp programming language. 05:41 14:00 8.     J. K. Randall, “Lyric Variations For Violin And Computer” (1965-1968). J. K. Randall's piece had a complex section that pushed the limits of computer processing power at the time. Although the section consisted of only 12 notes, each note was 20 seconds long. Each note overlapped with the next for 10 seconds, making the total length of the section only about 2 minutes. But this required 9 hours to process on one of the fastest computers of the day. 03:34 19:40 9.     John Robinson Pierce, “Eight-Tone Canon” (1966). “Using the computer, one can produce tones with overtones at any frequencies.” Produced at Bell Telephone Laboratories. 03:53 23:14 10.   Pietro Grossi, “Mixed Paganini” (1967). “Transcription for the central processor unit of a GE-115 computer of short excerpts of Paganini music scores. Realized at Studio di Fonologia musicale di Firenze (Italy). 01:46 27:08 11.   Pietro Grossi, “Permutation of Five Sounds” (1967). Recording made on the Italian General Electric label. Realized at Studio di Fonologia musicale di Firenze (Italy). Distributed in 1967 as a New year gift by Olivetti company. 01:33 28:54 12.   Wayne Slawson, “Wishful Thinking About Winter” (1970). Produced at Bell Telephone Laboratories. 03:53 30:26 13.   John Cage and Lejaren Hiller, “HPSCHD” excerpt (1967-1969). The piece was written for Harpsichords and Computer-Generated Sound Tapes. Hiller and Cage staged a lively public performance in 1968 at the University of Illinois in Urbana. The first 10,000 individual recordings came with an insert in the form of a computer printout insert designed to allow the listener to program their own performance. And I quote from the jacket: "The computer-output sheet included in this album is one of 10,000 different numbered solutions of the program KNOBS. It enables the listener who follows its instructions to become a performer of this recording of HPSCHD. Preparation of this material was made possible through the Computing Center of the State University of New York at Buffalo." I happen to have three copies of this album, each with the printout. 07:20 34:16 14.   Jean-Claude Risset, “Computer Suite From "Little Boy" (1968).  Realized at Bell Laboratories. 04:28 41:46 15.   Peter Zinovieff, “January Tensions” (1968). Zinovieff's notes, from the album: “Computer composed and performed. This piece is very much for computer both in its realization and composition. The rules are straightforward. The computer may begin by improvising slowly on whatever material is first chooses. However, once the initial choices are made then these must influence the whole of the rest of the composition. The original sounds must occasionally be remembered and illustrated but a more and more rigid structure is imposed on the randomness. The piece was electronically realized and composed in real time by an 8K PDP8/S and electronic music peripherals.” 09:48 46:12 16.   Barry Vercoe, “Synthesism” (1969). Realized in the Computer Centers of Columbia and Princeton Universities using MUSIC 360 for the IBM 360 mainframe computer. Vercoe authored this musical programming language. 04:33 56:00 17.   Charles Dodge, “The Earth's Magnetic Field” excerpt (1970). Composer Charles Dodge helped close the gap between computer music and other electronic music practices in 1969– 70 by working on computer code at Princeton University and then traveling to Bell Labs to have the code synthesized by a mainframe computer. The work, “Earth's Magnetic Field” (1970) was an outcome of this process. Dodge realized this piece by fusing computer composition with synthesis, one of the earliest examples of a practice that would become the norm many years later but that was quite difficult at the time. He used a “general- purpose sound synthesis program” written by Godfrey Winham at Princeton University. Every sound in the piece was computed into digital form using the IBM/ 360 model 91 at the Columbia University Computer Center and then converted into analog form at the Bell Telephone Laboratories. 07:45 01:00:32 18.   Irv Teibel, "Tintinnabulation (Contemplative Sound)" from Environments (New Concepts In Stereo Sound) (Disc 2) (1970 Syntonic Research).  One side of the record is a rare work of purely electronic computer music in a series that otherwise consisted of natural ambient sounds. It used computer-generated bell sounds, falling back on Teibel's experience processing sounds on an IBM 360 mainframe computer at Bell Labs. The record was promoted for meditation. A sticker on the cover read, "A Sensitizer for the Mind." From the liner notes: “As an illustration of the possibilities currently under examination, Syntonic Research decided to experiment with bell sounds as an environmental sound source. . . . Tintinnabulation can be played at any speed, from 78 to 16 rpm, in full stereo. At different speeds, the sounds change in tone and apparent size, although the harmonics remain unchanged. The effect, unlike real bells, is fully controllable by the use of your volume, bass, and treble controls.” 30:10 01:08:16   Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes. My Books/eBooks: Electronic and Experimental Music, sixth edition, Routledge 2020. Also, Sound Art: Concepts and Practices, first edition, Routledge 2022. See my companion blog that I write for the Bob Moog Foundation. For a transcript, please see my blog, Noise and Notations. Original music by Thom Holmes can be found on iTunes and Bandcamp.

Send us a Text Message.Our perception of frequency balance varies with loudness, a fact documented by Harvey Fletcher and Wilden A. Munson, two scientists at Bell Laboratories. In 1933, they published a paper called, “Loudness, its definition, measurement and calculation.” It was groundbreaking science in the field of human hearing, and has implications today for how we perceive music. This is especially important when we are mixing.In this episode, I explain the basics of the Fletcher-Munson Curves and how we can use that knowledge to make better recordings.email: dwfearn@dwfearn.comwww.youtube.com/c/DWFearnhttps://dwfearn.com/

Robert Fourer is co-founder and President of AMPL Optimization and Professor Emeritus of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences at Northwestern University. In collaboration with colleagues at Bell Laboratories, he initiated the design and development of AMPL, a widely used optimization language and system; he has also been a contributor to the NEOS Server and other efforts to make optimization services available over the Internet. He shared the Beale-Orchard-Hays Prize for NEOS, and the INFORMS Impact Prize in recognition of the influence of algebraic modeling languages for optimization. Bob contributed to the advancement of the simplex algorithm by introducing extensions to allow for the objective to be convex separable piecewise-linear, and he also tackled the resolution of indefinite linear systems found in interior-point methods. In 2004, has was elected fellow of INFORMS.

Episode 376 Overview In this insightful episode of "Grow Your Video Business," Ryan Koral dives deep into the importance of having discipline in both personal and professional life, drawing parallels from his own experiences in high school football to the video production business. He emphasizes the significance of having a vision, a plan, and how these elements fuel discipline, leading to success. The episode also explores the impact of strategic growth through effective client attraction strategies, sharing firsthand experiences of securing projects by establishing genuine connections and showcasing expertise. Key Takeaways Discover the foundational role of discipline in achieving success and how to cultivate it in your business. Learn how having a clear vision and plan can streamline your path to growth and prosperity in video production. Gain insights into attracting clients by leveraging genuine connections, showcasing expertise, and providing unparalleled value. About Frank Farrell Frank Farrell stumbled into the world of video production as a child when he discovered old film equipment in his attic. Ignoring his father's warnings, he delved into filmmaking, showcasing his creativity early on by producing short 8mm films. Recognized for his ingenuity in grade school, he quickly mastered the latest technology, leading him to establish Custom Video Productions in 1978 during his junior year of high school. His journey continued through college, where he secured a summer internship and later became the go-to video expert for major corporations like Bell Laboratories, AT&T, and Lucent Technologies, showcasing his enduring passion and dedication to sharing his creative vision. In This Episode [00:00] Welcome to the show! [03:33] Developing discipline [11:10] Attracting clients [13:31] Successful client communication [19:43] Ensuring profitability [26:18] Learning from others [31:36] Outro Quotes “My journey from high school football to running a successful video production business taught me the invaluable role of discipline." "Without a vision or a plan, it's nearly impossible to maintain discipline and achieve success." "Our most unique client engagements and how we attracted them through genuine connections and showcasing our expertise." "The significance of strategic planning in video business growth and client satisfaction." Guest Links Find Frank Farrell online Follow Frank Farrell on Facebook | YouTube Connect with Frank Farrell on LinkedIn Links Find out more about 10xFILMMAKER  Join the Grow Your Video Business Facebook Group  Follow Ryan Koral on Instagram Follow Grow Your Video Business on Instagram Check out the full show notes

John Joseph Hopfield (born July 15, 1933) is an American scientist most widely known for his invention of an associative neural network in 1982. It is now more commonly known as the Hopfield network. Hopfield was born in 1933 to Polish physicist John Joseph Hopfield and physicist Helen Hopfield. Helen was the older Hopfield's second wife. He is the sixth of Hopfield's children and has three children and six grandchildren of his own. He received his A.B. from Swarthmore College in 1954, and a Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University in 1958 (supervised by Albert Overhauser). He spent two years in the theory group at Bell Laboratories, and subsequently was a faculty member at University of California, Berkeley (physics), Princeton University (physics), California Institute of Technology (chemistry and biology) and again at Princeton, where he is the Howard A. Prior Professor of Molecular Biology, emeritus. For 35 years, he also continued a strong connection with Bell Laboratories. In 1986 he was a co-founder of the Computation and Neural Systems PhD program at Caltech. His most influential papers have been "The Contribution of Excitons to the Complex Dielectric Constant of Crystals" (1958), describing the polariton; "Electron transfer between biological molecules by thermally activated tunneling" (1974), describing the quantum mechanics of long-range electron transfers; "Kinetic Proofreading: a New Mechanism for Reducing Errors in Biosynthetic Processes Requiring High Specificity" (1974); "Neural networks and physical systems with emergent collective computational abilities" (1982) (known as the Hopfield Network) and, with D. W. Tank, "Neural computation of decisions in optimization problems" (1985). His current research and recent papers are chiefly focused on the ways in which action potential timing and synchrony can be used in neurobiological computation. Audio source⁠⁠ Buy me a coffee⁠ John Hopfield - Wikipedia ⁠⁠Internet Archive⁠ CHAPTERS: (00:00) Intro (06:00) Artificial Neural Networks and Speech Processing (01:04:19) Q&A --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theunadulteratedintellect/support

This episode is sponsored by Innovate Audio. Innovate Audio offers a range of software-based spatial audio processing tools. Their latest product, panLab Console, is a macOS application that adds 3D spatial audio rendering capabilities to live audio mixing consoles, including popular models from Yamaha, Midas and Behringer. This means you can achieve an object-based audio workflow, utilising the hardware you already own. Immersive Audio Podcast listeners can get an exclusive 20% discount on all panLab licences, use code Immersive20 at checkout. Find out more at innovateaudio.co.uk *Offer available until June 2024.* In this episode of the Immersive Audio Podcast, Oliver Kadel and Monica Bolles are joined by the Chief Executive Scientist for Audio and Multimedia fields at Fraunhofer International Audio Laboratories - Juergen Herre from Erlangen, Germany. Juergen Herre received a degree in Electrical Engineering from  Friedrich-Alexander-Universität in 1989 and a Ph.D. degree for his work on error concealment of coded audio. He joined the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Erlangen, Germany, in 1989. There he has been involved in the development of perceptual coding algorithms for high-quality audio, including the well-known ISO/MPEG-Audio Layer III  coder (aka “MP3”). In 1995, he joined Bell Laboratories for a PostDoc term working on the development of MPEG-2 Advanced Audio Coding (AAC).  By the end of 1996, he went back to Fraunhofer IIS to work on the development of more advanced multimedia technology including MPEG-4,  MPEG-7, MPEG-D, MPEG-H and MPEG-I, currently as the Chief Executive  Scientist for the Audio/Multimedia activities at Fraunhofer IIS,  Erlangen. In September 2010, Prof. Dr. Herre was appointed full professor at the University of Erlangen and the International Audio  Laboratories Erlangen. He is an expert in low-bit-rate audio coding/perceptual audio coding, spatial audio coding, parametric audio object coding, perceptual signal processing and semantic audio processing.  Prof. Dr.-Ing. Herre is a fellow member of the Audio Engineering Society  (AES), chair of the AES Technical Committee on Coding of Audio Signals and vice chair of the AES Technical Council. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Juergen  Herre is a senior member of the IEEE, a member of the IEEE Technical  Committee on Audio and Acoustic Signal Processing, served as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Speech and Audio Processing and was an active member of the MPEG audio subgroup for almost three decades. Juergen explains the science of the key technology concepts behind the worldwide adopted family of MPEG codecs and we discuss the latest addition of the reference model for the virtual and augmented reality audio standard - MPEG-I Immersive Audio. This episode was produced by Oliver Kadel and Emma Rees and included music by Rhythm Scott. For extended show notes and more information on this episode go to immersiveaudiopodcast.com If you enjoy the podcast and would like to show your support, please consider becoming a Patreon. Not only are you supporting us, but you will also get special access to bonus content and much more. Find out more on our official Patreon page - www.patreon.com/immersiveaudiopodcast We thank you kindly in advance! We want to hear from you! We value our community and would appreciate it if you would take our very quick survey and help us make the Immersive Audio Podcast even better: surveymonkey.co.uk/r/3Y9B2MJ Thank you! You can follow the podcast on Twitter @IAudioPodcast for regular updates and content or get in touch via podcast@1618digital.com immersiveaudiopodcast.com

I rarely have met someone who, throughout his life, has been presented with so many challenges but always moves forward with strength, poise, and vision. Robert Schott and I first met 27 years ago when Karen and I moved to New Jersey for a job. Robert immediately took a liking to both of us as we were asked to help our church, also the church Robert and his wife Erica attended, design wheelchair access both for Karen and others. As I got to know Robert I recognized that he was quite a determined individual who worked hard to bring success to whatever endeavors he undertook.   Robert's story both in the work he has done for others as well as his own inventing mindset is well worth hearing. In fact, as you will hear, he has designed a new toy currently looking for a manufacturing home, but that already has been described as the first invention creating a new way of play for children.   If all of us ever encounter through these podcast episodes someone unstoppable it is Robert Schott. I hope his thoughts, life lessons and his enthusiastic mindset rubs off on all of us. His faith and his attitude really do show all of us that we can be more unstoppable than we think we can.     About the Guest:     Robert Schott has more than 40 years of business and employee communications design experience currently concentrated in employee benefits and retirement plans. With Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Mr. Schott specializes in customizing people engagement strategies on financial literacy and to prepare his clients' employees for their future retirement income needs. Pensions & Investments magazine recognized two of his recent projects with First Place Eddy Awards for superior achievement in Retirement Readiness and Financial Wellness communications design. Mr. Schott help similar roles at Merrill Lynch Retirement Plan Services, J.P. Morgan/American Century Retirement Plan Services, J.P. Morgan Investment Management, and Coopers & Lybrand Human Resources Group. Additionally, Mr. Schott founded and owns Bopt Inc., a consumer product development and sales company featuring two notable inventions, WOWindow Posters® and SprawlyWalls™. WOWindow Posters are translucent posters designed for illuminating Halloween and Christmas images in windows simply by turning on the room lights. SprawlyWalls is a build, decorate, and play system for children ages 5 to 11 to create play spaces for their dolls and action figures. The Strong National Museum of Play/Toy Hall of Fame recently included SprawlyWalls in its in-museum Play Lab. Mr. Schott is a member of the Leadership Forum Community (LFC) which convenes to explore leadership challenges, develop conscious leaders, and create solutions that result in meaningful and equitable change in organizations, education, and society. He collaborated on the concept of ‘Conscious Dialogue' presented at the LFC Summit in July 2023. Notably, in 2019 and 2021, Mr. Schott participated in America in One Room, an experiment in Deliberative Democracy designed by social scientists at Stanford University to foster civil discourse on political themes by convening over 500 USA citizens for moderated discussions. In 2021, Mr. Schott's community, Cranford New Jersey, recognized him with the annual Kindness Award for bringing joy to others through his massive annual front yard snow sculptures. In June 2023, he joined an expedition in Newfoundland Canada to search for a missing French biplane that would have beat Charles Lindbergh in 1927 for the $50k prize money had it landed in front of the Statue of Liberty coming from Paris. Mr. Schott holds a bachelor of arts with honors in communication design from Rochester Institute of Technology. He completed a Mini-MBA certification program at Rutgers, Center for Management Development. He had previously held Series 7 and 66 licenses for his financial industry work.     Ways to connect with Tony:   https://www.facebook.com/robert.schott.33/ https://www.facebook.com/SprawlyWalls/ https://www.facebook.com/WOWindows/ https://www.instagram.com/sprawlywalls/ https://www.instagram.com/shotinthedarkguy/ Twitter: @wowindows     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, Hi, and welcome once again to unstoppable mindset. I am your host, Mike Hingson. And today, I get to really have a wonderful pleasure and honor to even introduce you to someone who I've known for a long time, Robert Schott lived fairly close to us when we lived in New Jersey, we lived in Westfield, New Jersey, but we both went to the same church, which is where we met, we met the shots and others became good friends. And Robert was a very good supporter of ours, especially helping Karen because if and when we started at the church, it was not very wheelchair accessible. And there were a lot of issues to try to make it more accessible. And Robert and others were really helpful in advocating and recognizing the value of that. So he's become a great friend. He's had associations with Rochester Institute of Technology and actually helped get me to do a speech there one. So Robert and I have known each other for a long time. Gosh, if we were to really go back and count, Robert, it's since what 1996. So that is what 27 years long. I know. Welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Robert Schott ** 02:34 Well, thank you, Michael. And I appreciate the warm regard as friends that's top of mind and you create helped create a fascinating part of my life. And Erica's life, which we're grateful for. And we were sorry to see you move west. But I know that was all for good things   Michael Hingson ** 02:53 are good things. But we still get to stay in touch. And yeah, and one of these days, I hope to be able to get back to New Jersey and spend some time with all of you, which would be good. So we'll have to figure that out at some point. But for now, let's let's talk about you a little bit. Why don't you tell us a little bit about as I love to do with the deepening of these things, the the early Robert growing up and all that sort of stuff and kind of what got you to where you are at least a little bit and then we can always go back and talk more about that. But yeah, love to hear some of the early Robert stories.   Robert Schott ** 03:30 Yeah, and cut me off when we need to pivot but okay, I'm cutting you off now.   Michael Hingson ** 03:33 Thanks.   Robert Schott ** 03:36 You're funny, man. Yeah, go ahead. Well, in fact, I grew up in a town past Westfield, which was Fanwood nestled by Scotch Plains. I went to Scotch Plains Fanwood high school I was one of five children to two middle class English parents. My mom was the high school nurse where I was went to high school I had a hard time cutting class or calling out sick because she knew   Michael Hingson ** 04:02 my dad told us no anyway.   Robert Schott ** 04:05 Yeah, you know, my dad actually have pretty fascinating place to work. He was a lab technician on the brainiac floor at Bell Laboratories and Murray Hill that could go on and on about that but one little thing was the tech across the hall from him he had made the first transistor which set a whole lot of things in motion. But we we you know mom and dad were around dad would go down in the basement and do oil painting and I mentioned that for a reason I'll tell you what, we were very involved in our school and activities band, I was a big into Boy Scouts. And all along the way I would became very interested in art. And that was I mentioned that was a fine art oil painter became professional grade but he taught me how to oil paint when I was seven years old and always made sure I was supplied with tools and gear. You know from what caravita oil painting in watercolor. So that became a nice side thing for me to focus on, which kind of fizzled out as a creative arts. But by the time I went to college, where I shifted to Applied Arts and what that what I mean is graphic design was my major at Rochester Institute of Technology. It's interesting, I think about that decision. And when I was in junior high school, I made a proclamation to my family, I said, I don't like TV advertising, I'm going to go into advertising and change it, I'm going to change the world of advertising. And so when I was studying schools, Syracuse University was, you know, one of the two that I narrowed down or it was the other. And I got to Syracuse, I would have been in New House School of Communication, which was more advertising and media focused, whereas it was more graphics and artistic focus. But the decision which was relevant for 18 year old was the ice rink at RMIT was on the way from classes. And if I went to Syracuse, it would have been a two mile train. So we make our decisions. It all turns out,   Michael Hingson ** 06:13 you my brother in law, is in Idaho, and for years was a master cabinet maker, he's now more of a general contractor, but his winters were all controlled and covered by skiing. And in fact, in the winter, for many years, he as an Certified International Ski guide, would take people to France and do off piste, skiing and so on. But I understand exactly what you're saying about the ice rink because he was all about skiing, and still likes to ski but he's a lot older and doesn't do the events. And he's also got work in the winter. So responsibilities change, but I know what you're saying.   Robert Schott ** 06:57 Yeah, I was. I learned how to ice skate on my backyard after an ice storm in 11th grade and I began playing ice hockey pickup with some friends and I had two years to get ready before college and I I actually made I got cut from the junior varsity team. But I said to the coach, hey, listen, I really want to learn this game. Can I can I come to all the practices? Can I come to the games and carry everybody sticks in the water? He said sure. And so I didn't miss a practice and mid season. I guess enough guys got hurt or quit. Or I showed progress. He put me on in a game. He gave me the last minute of a game. And the only thing I was able to do was when I jumped over the boards the puck was coming by. And so as the opponent, I just put my hip out and I gave the guy a hip check. He went flying and the game was over. So he said, Yeah, you're qualified. We need you for the next game. Like I had, I had two goals and three assists and eight games. So I actually was a producer.   Michael Hingson ** 07:55 Well, it's always better to be a producer than not needless to say. So what was your actual major then?   Robert Schott ** 08:03 Well, it was called Communication Design. And it was focused on communicating through graphic arts, and largely the two dimensional realm of graphic arts. And I was a high achiever in my classes, mostly A's and what I did some standout work. It led to a summer job at a welding products company in the art department. And I remember getting rejected by Texas wiener hotdogs that summer. And then I went to this agency and as I was walking out the door, they because they said they had nothing for me, oh, here's something Oh, you have to know how to type. So I said, Holy cow. I know how to type. My mom made me take typing in eighth grade. So I ended up in the art department, you know, go figure and I was using an IBM Selectric components, not yet knocking out, you know, graphic text writing with that, that early typesetting machine. And so it was a great and that summer job. One of our one of our vendors would come in and pick up work and he ended up at the end of the summer saying come work for me when you graduated. I help you with your homework for the rest of the year.   Michael Hingson ** 09:16 God does provide doesn't teach Oh, it's pretty funny. Yeah, there you go. So you graduated when did you graduate?   Robert Schott ** 09:25 That was 1981. Okay, then I was really busy student you know, between a little bit of ice hockey and academic word, the artwork was very time consuming. And I also was a pretty high level student leader in on the campus and that led to some pretty fun things too. So I was pretty harried, you know, really had to burn the candle on both ends a lot of the time. But in 1981, I had that job offer, which I took and it was he they put me on the artboard to Do graphic arts and there was a small boutique, there was a dozen people doing business to business communications, which included business slides, industrial videos, other graphics and advertising materials. And it turned out I was, I was actually not very good as an artist on the board on demand, you know, I was a good student, but it didn't translate. And so getting into the thick of it, they went into computer graphics, there was a machine called jet graphics that allowed us to make business presentation slides, instead of using the old graphic art, code Iliff and other kind of build your slide business that way. And they put me in charge of them. And within three years, we had seven of these machines in two locations running around the clock, seven days a week. And it was a grind, if I may think I really, I discovered the limits of the physical limits of sleep deprivation, which is not a healthy thing, but I did it. And that's what was probably the first thing I ever became an expert at in the country may be further making these slides and supervising and training, you know, a team 24/7.   Michael Hingson ** 11:21 So how long did you stay there? So this was after college? Right?   Robert Schott ** 11:24 Yeah, so I was there for seven years. Wow. Okay. And I mentioned one thing about a large part of my career was in reflection, I'm trying to coach my own young adult children don't fall into the same trap. Maybe I didn't really have the aspirational goal in my mind, like when I did when I was in junior high school. But what I did do was accept the next job that somebody offered me. One because I was ready to leave and two was a good job offer. But it didn't. After doing that three or four times it didn't ever really align with where maybe the root of my skills or passions lay. So a lot of years went by just, you know, three, seven year stints to say, Yeah, I'll take that job and, you know, going to have children, I need a professional job, and I needed benefits. And, you know, I took my I took my eye off the market, what I was really maybe meant to be   Michael Hingson ** 12:28 right. So you say you went off and you took other jobs. And so where did you end up?   Robert Schott ** 12:36 So the sequence was I left? We were doing business slides for the Coopers and Lybrand can see accounting and consulting firm and I was making the earliest of its kind slide presentations for 401k plans in the middle early 80s. And from that, I got to work with Coopers and Lybrand. You know, my first job was working with Coopers and Lybrand. And they said, why don't you come over here, because they liked what I was doing producing the record on case stuff. So I learned how to be an A Communication Consultant, the full gamut it was writing and directing and strategy at Coopers for their human resource advisory group clients. And sure enough, in the 401k plan at Cooper's they had JP Morgan investment funds. And that when they brought those funds in, I got to know the funds. And we communicated to 20,000 people about those funds. And eventually, JP Morgan said, why don't you come work over here? There you go. So I went over there. And you know, each time I was still have a relationship, or I left, which was, you know, kind of unique.   Michael Hingson ** 13:44 But good. She kept a positive relationship,   Robert Schott ** 13:47 no burn bridges. It was natural for me to move on. And the Morgan thing was in your marketing grew up helping to communicate the value of these types of 401k plan funds that other companies would put into their 401 K plans. So it was kind of there that I moved into another role where they formed a partnership with a company called American century. And we formed a partnership in retirement plan servicing and I moved over to that side of the business. But things didn't really go very well, after a while and I was getting frustrated with the work environment and the work I was doing. That's what led to the spark of doing something different.   Michael Hingson ** 14:36 So you, you decided you really needed to do something different than working in those kinds of environments. And did you have an idea of what you wanted to do and where you were going to go?   Robert Schott ** 14:46 Well, it it's interesting, because, you know, there was no there was no real physical track to making Something happened that would put me in a new place. But there was a seed to have an invention idea I had to pursue. And that was really the mission. Can I take this idea? Get it further, far enough along? And then then from there, it was the idea, could I license it to a big manufacturing company? And so the inspiration was in a day of wallowing in my corporate anxiety, I went upstairs. And you remember my daughter, Carly, she was seven years old and 2000 2001, I think it was. And she was playing a certain way with her Barbie dolls. She was making rooms to play with her dolls across the floor with cardboard bricks. And I just went up to watch her play. That was my relief release. And I said, Hey, Carly, I wonder if a toy exists, where you can build walls. And you don't have to, you know, I can get something official that it was a Sunday afternoon. And I said, What, hey, let's go downstairs and draw what this toy could do. So seven year old, Carla and I went downstairs and we started drawing this idea of connecting walls to make dollhouse rooms. And I said to her right there, okay. This is all I need to know that this is something I have to pursue. And I'm going to work really hard to make this get this product made for you. And that's what kicked off the inventions probably was back then.   Michael Hingson ** 16:30 So basically, though, were you working for someone else at the time? Or Did Jesus decide to do this full time? Or how did all that work?   Robert Schott ** 16:37 Yeah. So initially, I was still working at JP Morgan investment. And at one point, I got laid off. Another fell out that they were rejiggering things. And of course that happens. But they gave me a generous severance package. And I said, Oh, holy cow, here's my moment. I'm going to go full blast on this toy idea. So I've been working on it for a year. Now I had this open time, with some, you know, compensation to cover my expenses, and then went hard at it. Now in the meantime, I was anxious. So I ended up pursuing five other part time things. I got a benefits consulting job, and I was dabbling with these other things that were really distracting and, frankly, the ability debilitating because I couldn't get anything to stick to make additional money. And and to have the free time to work on a toy.   Michael Hingson ** 17:34 That totally Sarika doing.   Robert Schott ** 17:37 She can. She's been working ever since you've known her in occupational therapy,   Michael Hingson ** 17:42 since she continued to work. Yeah. So   Robert Schott ** 17:46 yeah, I mean, I had the severance. So that was key. But I also didn't know if I was going to have another job at the end of it. So I had to continue thinking about how to make money if the toy thing doesn't, you know, come to Canada really fast. But in that period, I really refined the concept I filed for design and utility patents on the mechanical element of the walls, the way they would connect together. I created a logo and branding and I created a packaging design. I made prototypes, dope models for the kids to play with Ram focus groups with groups, a little kids, and all the proofs of this really cool thing we're coming through. And through. You know, a friend of mines likes to say it's, it's not serendipity or accident or luck, it's intentionality. And when you have really crisp intentions, some things kind of can just happen and out of the most unexpected places. And that that happened, I ended up getting a meeting with Hasbro, a college friend of mine, and it was like the Tom Hanks at Hasbro. He had a lab where he'd make stuff for the inventors. So I said he introduced me the creative guy. And they said, Yeah, if we really liked your idea, but it's not really for us, at least not at this time. And we back up a second when I was in the outplacement Center at Morgan, a former client then friend said hey, talk to this guy, John, John Harvey, and he'll coach you on your transition because he started a free coaching Transition Network out of Maplewood, New Jersey. So I called John and he said, what do you what do you really want to do? And I said, Oh, I really want to make this toy. He said to me, Hey, listen to this. Three months ago. I was at a think tank session. I might get the details fuzzy here, but it was the heads of innovation from Nike, somewhere else and Mattel and when you're ready, I'll introduce you to the head of innovation at Mattel. And so after my Hasbro meeting I called on Joe It said yeah. And he made the introduction and through another couple things. I got to make a meeting with the Creative Director for Barbie at Mattel, the biggest toy brand on Earth, and I got an hour. That's what I left the building that the young lady said, I know you got it in here because people like you don't. To Joe told you stuff about Barbie probably shouldn't have because, you know, it's proprietary, but he really liked what she came up with. And I'll share that walking out of that building was the singular highest moment, work moment of my life. And nothing is taught that yet. Even though the deals didn't turn out, just the sense that I made an impression to this big company, as a novice said, Man, I really ready to I'm really able to do something different.   Michael Hingson ** 20:57 So you have When did you have the meeting with Mattel?   Robert Schott ** 21:01 That was the late spring of 2003.   Michael Hingson ** 21:05 Okay, so that was always ago that was 20 years ago? Yeah. 20 years. And but did you have a basic conceptual design? Or did you actually have a model at that point?   Robert Schott ** 21:17 Oh, yeah, I had the prototypes, I had play models, you know, everything was, you know, in a condition that was acceptable from a toy inventor for a big company to take it on. And I didn't make any errors about what I anything beyond what I knew what I did. I didn't say I knew how to price it or manufacture it, or anything like that, which other toy inventors would have known more about. But, you know, no deals came through and I solicited all companies, you know, Lego and connects, and I went to FAO, Schwarz and Toys R Us and all in fact, the last meeting I had was with the head of brands at Toys R Us that was through an acquaintance, a friend of mine who I worked with in my first job out of out of school, he introduced me the head of brands, and I met there and Susan said, Oh, Robert, I really really liked your idea. I can't work with you. Because it's not real yet. You know, I need to be able to product to put on the shelves. But go back to Mattel tell them they're not they got their heads in the wrong place. Because this is what we need on the shelves. And I'll spare you the EXPLAIN of that. What was that? So, you know, here's another validation from the biggest toy distributor on earth without my concept. And crazily I just kind of got burnt out and I need to get a new job and I let it go. I just had to let it go for a while.   Michael Hingson ** 22:41 So what did you do?   Robert Schott ** 22:45 Well, two things happened. One, the realization that I knew I could do something different, I thought about what else I had made around my home. And in fact, it was in the year 2000. For Halloween I had made out of hardboard and red cellophane giant cutouts of cat eyes that I hung in the Windows upstairs. And with a room lights on they lit up like a giant cat was looking at. I thought, holy cow. There's an idea. Maybe i i figured i can get that done myself. I don't need to sell the idea. I'll just get after it. And so I worked on it for three quarters of a year. And then I talked to a friend. I remember you remember Brian Jenkins and Cindy Jenkins from the church. Brian was a printer by trade and I said Hey, Brian, what do you think of this idea. And in the same call, he said, Hey, I was just drawing a pumpkin that would light up to put in the window. And we agreed to go into business together. And it took us two more years to figure out how to make them. We ended up with a outfit in Green Bay, Wisconsin that agreed to work with us. And a little thing that I learned along that way was never, never, never admit your deficiencies on something always present yourself as confident and professional. And they this big company that served enterprises like Procter and Gamble allowed us to come into their space and dabble with manufacturing this printed window posts around big wide plastic sheets on 150 foot long printing press. And we pulled it off, you know we made a poster that that worked. So now I said there was two things. That's one track and I'll tell you more. But at the same time I needed to get back to day job with income and the fellow that I got laid off with from Morgan said, Hey Robert, I saw a posting for that's made for you and it was with Merrill Lynch and I put my resume into the black hole. And the next day I had a call that never happens. And three days later, I had an interview. And remember the second part of that interview that the hiring manager took me back to the first interviewee, or, as she said to the first, the second one, Hey, give this guy an offer yet. So it was a slam dunk, I got back to work, right at the end of my 15 month severance. So that all kind of worked out nice.   Michael Hingson ** 25:29 But you did keep on dreaming, which is part of the whole story at first, which is great, but you did go back to work. And that works for a little while, at least while Merrill was around.   Robert Schott ** 25:40 Yeah, well, kind of they never really went away. They took up, you know, partnered up. But I worked there for, I think, six years. And this is how you can do things sometimes in life that are, it's creative thinking. And I said to the boss, hey, look, I had a bunch of bad things happen with the poster business after we had a tremendous start, you know, we, we ended up in three years with a million and a half dollars of sales. And we were getting attention by the biggest enterprises in consumer, brick and mortar stores. But then, sadly, Brian passed away in 2009. And I had to take on the whole thing myself. And I approached my, my boss, I said, Look, I gotta leave, you know, I gotta work on this. And she said, Well, why don't go so fast. We need you here. How about if we give you a reduced hours, but still keep you on benefits? I said, that works. So I went from 70 hours a week to 40 kept my bike benefits. And then I worked another 40 a week on the   Michael Hingson ** 26:44 poster business, back to sleep deprivation.   Robert Schott ** 26:47 Yeah, well, that was easy street from earlier years. So I did that for another year. And finally, I said, No, this isn't going to work. And I cut out and I worked on the poster business full time for five years, which was had diminishing returns, the world was changing. And there's a lot of obstacles that I had overcome. Amazon was starting to come into play in the big box store, the big Oh, my wholesale accounts were drifting away, and it was just a mess. So I ended up going back again, through fellow I worked with at Merrill said, Hey, come work for us. And I won't get into that, because it's my current work. But that's, that's where I've been for seven, eight years. Now. It's the next corporate gig.   Michael Hingson ** 27:41 Things that I react to. And the most significant to me is no matter what with all of the job changes. I don't know that I would say all of it's not like there were such a huge amount, compared to some people who can't hold a job, you moved from place to place. But one of the things that I find most striking is that you kept really wonderful relationships, wherever you went. And whenever you left, you continue to have relationships. And that's been very supportive for you, which I think is really cool. A lot of people don't do that and burn too many bridges, which is unfortunate.   Robert Schott ** 28:21 Yeah, thanks for recognizing that I, I hold friendships or business acquaintances from all the roles I had. And I'm, you know, happy about reconnecting with people and reminiscing. But they've also come into play. Over time, what at different points, I'd reach out and say, hey, you know, I know you're doing this now. But that was, you know, there's a 40 year relationship from that first a few of them that I've been able to go back to currently and say, Hey, let's talk about this thing I'm working on.   Michael Hingson ** 28:55 And there must be ways that you're obviously benefiting and helping them as well.   Robert Schott ** 28:59 Oh, sure. Yeah, absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 29:03 Well, you know, clearly, by definition of what this podcast is all about, you are absolutely unstoppable. in mind, and so on. Give me a couple of examples in your own mind, or from your own perspective of how you've been on top of that, maybe a small one and a big one.   Robert Schott ** 29:20 Yes, that's a good question. It was a couple of small ones that are more recent. I'll just stick to the more recent because it's shows I still have the ability to persevere, and it has a lot to do with a lesson my mom taught me was you always have to finish what you start. And I learned that you know, when I was five, six years old, you know, she wouldn't let us quit something at school because we were unhappy or didn't like it. We had to finish it. And so I got into for fun making big snow sculptures out in my front yard. And I've been doing in our town of Cranford for over 30 years and I did a MIT college and back in high school. Well, in 2020, it was 2021 There was a big blizzard. And I'd been waiting to do this particular snow sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, half scale. So half scale is for 15 feet tall. And I had gotten skilled enough to know how to prepare my drawings. And I built a wooden form to fill as the base. And we we had a convergence of things and I need one was a big snowstorm to it has to get warm afterwards because I mold and build. And I had to have the time. So this thing started on a Sunday afternoon. And as I got to do this, this, this is it. This is the moment of truth. And so from Sunday afternoon, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then some nights after my work job. And then all day Saturday, I worked on Abraham Lincoln. And I realized that it was probably over six tons of snow that we moved. I spent 435 hours sculpting carving, and I had a bunch of helpers. And it was magnificent. And it attracted national media attention. And the beautiful part was it landed right on Lincoln's birthday when I finished it. You have pictures? Yeah, I do. I have some good pictures of it.   Michael Hingson ** 31:23 Once we have a picture or an article, loved it featured in the podcast notes.   Robert Schott ** 31:27 Yeah, I absolutely send that. But here's the kicker. And I didn't tell a lot of people that week, that Sunday when I started, I had body aches and a fever. And I said, I have to do this. This is the moment of truth. Well, I didn't find out till Thursday that I had COVID. I was climbing ladders and lifting snow six hours a day changing clothes three times because I was sweating so much. And I just it was so hard to get up in the morning and get at this thing, but I did it. So there's, there's I guess that's a good example of a small thing. Getting it done.   Michael Hingson ** 32:04 Not sure it's so small, but I hear you. And then once you said 14 feet tall,   Robert Schott ** 32:08 14 feet tall. Yeah. of Abraham Lincoln, nestled in his chair looking out from the Lincoln Memorial. Right. So that's, that's an unstoppable, I'd say, you know, pursuing the window posters is an exciting things that I feel really proud of achievement, that I can look back on fondly and say I really got something good done there. And I think that, you know, the window posters I've been doing for, yeah, I've been working on it for 20 years 17 In business. And it's, it's been, it was wildly successful when we got going. And it's had a lot of setbacks, and been losing money for 10 years. So it's something that's kind of weird, because I can't even get out of it. You know, I couldn't sell the business, I couldn't sell the inventory. But I'm straddled with some debt from it. And from, you know, having things I just don't want to throw away. Every year, it's all online, and I sell them online, and I make make some money, just about is covering expenses now. So, back to unstoppable during the pandemic, I'll say I had the good fortune of being able to cut out three or four hours a day of commuting to New York City. And I said, Alright, I gotta get this toy made. And I picked up this volleyballs again, and I I got serious about pursuing it to the finish. And to the act of that, you know, fast forward. Last November, I got product in hand. You know, I took it from further engineering, prototyping, manufacture, testing, then you fracturing, packaging, patent filings marketing. I've been working on its sale since last November. So 20 years later, you know, or more. It's coming to fruition. Now, once   Michael Hingson ** 34:06 Yeah,   Robert Schott ** 34:08 let me add a point here. Because when I said I was gonna make the window posters, I said, Alright, I'm not giving up on the toy, but I'm going to make so much money from the window for posters, I can afford to make the toy pins some day. I just told you I was I've been losing money on the toy on the posters. But what I didn't, what finally occurred to me a year ago was holy cow. I got a I got the value and benefit of experience from learning how to make a product bring to market to make the toy. So the the, the outcome was, I didn't make a lot of money to make it but I earned a lifetime of experience to know how to make it. I think that's pretty cool.   Michael Hingson ** 34:51 That's worth a lot.   Robert Schott ** 34:53 Yeah. Yeah, let's How do you make a barcode? I don't know. Well, you have to figure it out. So every part of bringing your part like to mark it from scratch, has these learning hurdles,   Michael Hingson ** 35:03 you know, you go to the bar and you make it home.   Robert Schott ** 35:07 You go to the bar you drink, you talk to the guy next, know how to make barcodes. Or   Michael Hingson ** 35:15 it seems easy to me. Well,   Robert Schott ** 35:18 Michael, I was experimenting with making glow in the dark window posters. So I went to Green Bay to do a glow in the dark test. And just in my travels, I met three more people on the airplane in the airport and at lunch that day, who were in the glow in the dark business. So intentionality, you know, I talked about what I was doing. Oh, I do go to dark paint that will happen in one day.   Michael Hingson ** 35:47 As you said a lifetime of experience, which is something that is priceless.   Robert Schott ** 35:53 Yeah. I'll put a cap on that one. I'll say that, you know, maybe not financially. I haven't blown it out financially. But I'm really rich for the experience.   Michael Hingson ** 36:03 Yeah, exactly what I'm saying. Yeah. Well, so what exactly is happening with sprawling walls then today?   Robert Schott ** 36:11 Well, I had envisioned, pursuing direct consumer through E commerce only and using virtual communities to help create viral interest in the modern way of exposing a product. And that's not going like I envisioned this past nine months. It was disheartening to see one, even in a few years, how that realm has changed, and how much harder it is to get out, reach out and trade attention. And on a shoestring budget, you know, haven't been able to engage at a higher level where people, you know, for 50 grand, they could help make that happen. But in the meantime, I was working with a person who was critical of me spending time on the idea of networking. And I said I'm because he was helped me think through some of the marketing stuff. And so I've gone up to ra T, I was invited to go to the hockey game, I'll be in the President's booth at the arena at the campus. I'm going I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm gonna make the trip us up my time. And he said, Why are you gonna waste your time showing something that's not really ready for I'm going anyway, fella. So I went, and guess who was in the President's booth. But I mentioned I was a student leader and are at, and the Director of Student Affairs who I became very close to in a lifetime friend, and eventually become number two, at RMIT, as the Secretary to the institute. And he was in that booth with his wife. And it's like, holy cow. Well, of course, I brought my prototype. So I'm showing everybody in the President's booth, my toy idea. And then Fred pulls me aside and says, hey, hey, Robert, and if you know this, but I'm on the board of directors at the strong National Museum of Play, and Toy Hall of Fame. If you want, I can get your meeting there. Like it was the perfect storm for networking, and meeting. So here, I had an hour with the chief curator of the National Museum of Play, and he's been in this business for 35 years, who looked at what I was doing and said, Man, this is such a great story. And I think the trouble with you getting exposure with your product is because people don't know what to make of it yet. In fact, Robert, you've invented a new category of play. As well, that isn't that because he couldn't think of a comparable to what I've created. And furthermore, they said, we'd like to bring this product into our life play lab, we're in the side, the museum kids can come in and play with, you know, free play type of building toy systems and learn a lot from that. Yeah, so I think they're putting it in there in a few weeks, in reality, and they're also bringing my toy out in public outreach to children who have troubled circumstances, and may not have a environment where they live to be able to play. So they bring these children to places where they expose them to just pure play, just for the sake of playing in the creative collaboration that goes with that. So I'm grateful to be turning my product into something bigger than just me making a toy to sell but actually influencing young children.   Michael Hingson ** 39:49 But hopefully it will turn into a real product that sells which is always a good thing. But you know, one of the things that I react to keep thinking back on is house Bro, then had no interest in it with things like GI Joe and so on, I would have thought they would have been very interested in sprawie forte, but I guess   Robert Schott ** 40:08 it's you, you're spot on, you know, when I went to Hasbro, I didn't come with just the Girl doll system. Right.   Michael Hingson ** 40:16 I understand.   Robert Schott ** 40:17 I came with the Army system. So I brought my GI Joes and I had camouflage wall panels that connected together to make, you know, Fort scenes. But yeah, they didn't see it that what they said was Well, that's all good. And well, but, you know, boys like to build and destroy. So   Michael Hingson ** 40:40 that was a funny line. Yeah, especially well, yeah. All the way around. Well, you know, clearly though, everything that you're doing, you continue to move forward. And you get sidelined along the way, sometimes from circumstances over which you have no control. But, but you still do, which I think is great. What puts you in keeps you in a mind frame of being unstoppable and just continuing to move forward? Because no matter what's happened, you've had a lot of things that have been setbacks, and a lot of people would just be held back by that. But you've continued to move forward. And you've done it very intentionally and in very positive way. How does that work?   Robert Schott ** 41:27 Yeah, thanks, Michael. I'm gonna go back to the root of a painting I did when I was seven years old side by side with my dad. And it was an apple with a sugar jar on burlap. And he painted his version of paint in mind. And I remember getting it done and maybe didn't reflect on it back then. But I reflect on it now that I created a piece of art that I can look at and enjoy. And we got that done together. And through the pursuit of art, the creative arts, oil painting, sculpture, watercolor painting, and other things. I find the greatest joy for myself looking at, if I can look at something that I did, or that someone else did, and see joy in it, and continuous enjoyment and keep coming back to it like a good movie, like the Wizard of Oz, I can watch that every time. To me that describes what art is that it has this appeal that you can continue to enjoy. And you don't get there by not working at it. Right. So I think when I see something I want to do and get done, a need to see it finished, because I want to sit back and look at what I did it, you know, despite many obstacles, like with the window posters, you know, there was a storm that there was a hurricane that wiped out Halloween when winter and snow blizzard the next Halloween and then my warehouse got hit by lightning and all my product deliveries were late, my partner passed away and you know, all these things that just just bang on? Yeah, but you just got to keep going. So I think presently, like with what I'm pursuing, the side gig, if you will, I have this vision of what it would be. And there's something bigger than I realized last year. But it's so big that it overrides any doubt that I have or fear or even the skepticism of others. And even the regard for risking money on it, I come to realize that, you know, money saved isn't helping me create and invest in in my own pursuit. So I've let loose let go and I don't let it get me down. Like I would have, you know, 30 years ago.   Michael Hingson ** 43:47 So how do you view money today? Or how is your attitude about the whole issue of money changed? Both from the standpoint of you personally, but you've obviously been in companies that specialize in that stuff. So you must have a lot of ways to to answer that.   Robert Schott ** 44:02 Yeah. So it's kind of a little funny contradiction. I teach a lot about saving for retirement yet I'm spending a lot of my retirement savings. I'm investing in my future is what I'm doing. You know, I discovered I had a to really make it happen. I had to use what I have with the belief that it will work out and I'll be better off for it financially one day. Certainly, the cut three high end college educations at a time when I thought money was going to really be flowing from the window posters and my work. That was a drain as it is on anybody today, the way college expenses go. And then just trying to keep my head above water with the poster business. It's been technically losing money. You know, just I'm resolved that this is my way to pursue something bigger in my life. And I'll figure it out. I'll just keep Working I have, I'm so resourceful and I have so many ways that I could earn money for the next 20 years, if I have to that, I just, I don't like it that I'm in a spot. But I love that I feel hopeful and confident in my abilities.   Michael Hingson ** 45:15 But you've made the commitment to do it. And if it means that you'd have to put some things on hold for a while and do more mundane or more things that are not directly in line with what you want to do. Right, you're going to get to do what you want to do. And you'll, you'll let some of the other stuff be a part of what you do to make that happen.   Robert Schott ** 45:36 That's right. And I'll just finish off on the Toy Story, if you will, I have two big events coming up. In the next month. I was accepted to a when he call it up a media showcase. I'll be on Pier 60 in New York City on September 12. So by the time people see this, I might have been well past but the showcases of is for the best toys of 2023. And while I didn't make the cut as a best toy, they accepted me to be present, which is I think a nice credit to that I'm recognizing what I have to be in the presence of major media as well as social influencers. And then I was also accepted on the last day of this year's Toy Fair at the Javits Center in early October for Toy inventors day. So that didn't come easy, either. I had to qualify. And I'll be in front of major manufacturers to potentially come back to the idea of licensing the product. So I've got four tracks, I can sell direct to consumer, I can make the product and sell wholesale. I can pursue other avenues like homeschool and teaching networks and Montessori schools where play free play is the thing, or I could make a licensing deal. So all these are on the table right now and making some of those big opportunities happen.   Michael Hingson ** 47:06 Have you thought of doing anything like trying to go on to Shark Tank and showing this to the world through that?   Robert Schott ** 47:14 Oh, I've thought about it a lot. But I've also tried out for shark tank with the poster idea. And there's a lot of reasons I don't want to do that. A lot of reasons why I won't do that is I won't get into that. But I think I can pursue avenues through my own. Maybe I could put it this way. I've discovered how I can make tracks doing things. And I think maybe other people don't think that's their only avenue. Yeah. Success. And I don't believe that for me. So that's a there's a good answer. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 47:51 and clearly in partisan businesses zine and you want to make it the way you want to make it. So it's just a question out of curiosity, but it makes sense. You know, to, to at least ask the question, and you thought about it. Not that answers it, which is great. Yeah. The you continue to be resilient, about pressing through and finishing whatever you start. I think you've hit on it some but why is it that you are so firm at being able to press through and continue to work? What, what, what keeps you going? And always moving forward like you do?   Robert Schott ** 48:33 Well, you know, I think when you first introduced the idea of me being a guest, I had this theme in my head, which was real, that some bit of my career, I didn't feel very interesting anymore.   Michael Hingson ** 48:49 What and I said you were interesting. Yeah,   Robert Schott ** 48:52 I know. But I'd go on vacation with four other families and these other guys were all entrepreneur, for Nouriel, I had nothing to talk about in my work life that would be of any interest at the dinner table. So it's going to be interesting again, but anyway, I think it's there was lessons growing up about endurance and achieving things, you know, I was a boy scout, and we we camped every month of the year, whatever the weather was, wherever we went so, you know, five below zero in a tent with no floor and a summer sleeping bag. You have to somehow get through that night and learn where your limits are in pain points. I made Eagle Scout at college I was in academics and sports and and student leadership and you know, I actually the one and only time I sought professional help was at school, the counselor to say I'm falling apart, you know helped me put my pieces back together again and the coaching I got there it was really valuable. You know, encourage anybody who's feeling a bad spot to take it Then under the resources out there, and then that first job I had was 12 people. And it was all for one one for all, we were all the hats, you know, when when we move to a new building, they said, We're gonna come in Saturday and work on the wiring together and this new building. So the boss was running out around teaching us how to do wiring, it wasn't really legal, but that's what we did. So you learn how to solve little and big problems. And nothing is an obstacle when you have that frame of mind. And so when I get stuck on a business problem with my side gigs, I hunt down the answer. And I find people who know the answer, and I get coaching and make alliances. And so there's an answer to at all, it's just matter how you pursue that. And the other part of that is, you can set up a business plan and say, These are the steps we're gonna get done. But you can take yourself off of that anxiety by saying, I'm working on this thing to get done. And then the next thing or maybe three things at once, but I'm not going to worry about where it is two years from now, because I can't do that I have to work on what I can figure out today. And I've gotten really good at that. And, you know, setting the expectation, like I thought I would be blowing up my product by June. And yet, most of it's still sitting on the shelf. Alright, dial down my expectation, slow down, what I'm trying to get done, work on some bigger game things. And here's the bigger bigger game, Michael, I want to make sure I get in a year ago, I realized that invented this toy. But then I discovered this world called free play. And I've been studying the meaning of what free play is it's the definition is children given us a place to play and things to play with, that are non electronic. And without parental supervision. And sing alone or with a group or a friend's day will discover how to keep keep an afternoon going through trying and failing and trying and failing and trying and succeeding and solving each other's problems. And what I further learned is that there's incredible power in the development of a child through this kind of activity. And there's some important studies that Mattel and has done with Cardiff University and Melissa and Doug with Gallup, that are proving how children will mature with greater empathy and social skills, when time is devoted to free play versus playing by themselves or electronic play. And I realized I have a new direction that the bigger game is getting my toy out there. But helping children in their free play development   Michael Hingson ** 52:37 is part of what the museum really referred to when they said you develop the whole new way to play.   Robert Schott ** 52:44 Yeah, yeah, fits right in there with all of that. And so I'm becoming a student of that realm. I'm a novice. But I can see a third act for myself in pressing forward in becoming the leader or spokesperson in that model of play.   Michael Hingson ** 53:02 Some Yeah. So writing about it and getting some other things to help enhance your credibility would mean sense writing about it, speaking about it, as you said, and then going to places and talking about it would make sense. And that takes away a little bit from the toy, but maybe not. Maybe certainly something to explore.   Robert Schott ** 53:20 Yeah, I think it actually feeds the toy.   Michael Hingson ** 53:23 It does feed the toy, I think. Yeah. Which makes sense to do. Well, so for you. You, you continue to, you know, to move forward for you. What do you think about your journey now, as opposed to 20? Or even 30 years ago? Do you think your journey has really changed as your mindset changed? Have you changed?   Robert Schott ** 53:51 Well, you know, I've certainly learned a vast amount in pursuing nice things. And like you said, I've given up a lot of things to, you know, it's hard to stay inside on a gorgeous sunny weekend, you know, doing bookkeeping, and accounting and inventory management for for things. But I think my motivation has never been hired to see something come to fruition. And my understanding of how important it is to our society is feeding that and to also know that I'm getting the attention of important players. And what I'm pursuing is gives me great hope. So I'm going to continue with my corporate life. In fact, I'm actually trying to shift that a little bit more to around the realm of Community Oriented financial literacy. And I may have opportunities where I work now, to make that my work. To take all I've learned over 40 years in financial education, and actually be out in the communities leading programming that's a picture on anything for myself that could come around in a couple years where I am, but pursue the toy, pursue the Childhood Development theme. But personally, I'd like to free myself of the amount of work I'm doing, if I can make it financially viable. And get back to my basic artwork, I haven't finished an oil painting last year, that got recognized with a second place in the Union County art show here in New Jersey. And I started that 140 years ago, I finished it last year, I want to create new things now. So I need to find the time to get back to my arts, work on some of my athletic ambitions and other crazy adventures, I have room in my system for off the wall things. So that's, that's where I'm at mentally and emotionally, so   Michael Hingson ** 55:52 well, and you continue to, to move forward, as I said before, which is, which is great, and you continue to clearly be as unstoppable as one can imagine. So what's ahead for you?   Robert Schott ** 56:05 Well, immediately, it's just keep doing great work and my day job, is that what you mean? And then just keep chipping away at the toy, you know, manage my expectation on the toy, keep finding avenues, because I can't work on it full time. Just find out what I can get done. And but aim bigger, you know, I need to think for think for a while on what's the best bigger hits that I can get to make it come really to life. And in fact, this morning, I prove the banner I'm going to bring to the media and the toy vendor showcase that illustrates the future of the toy. And what I mean by as I've got five phases of development, that take it from a single size eight by 12 inch panel that connects with others, to 16 different sizes, and four different palettes of colors. And eventually, mechanical elements like pulleys and levers and drawing and graphic applications to the panels and maybe even LED lighting. So I'm paying you to picture the future so others can see it with me, you know, I, what I've got today isn't really describing what it could become. And I want to make sure people understand that.   Michael Hingson ** 57:19 Yeah, and I think as I said a minute ago, doing some writing about it really composing some things and putting it out in places might very well be helpful and actually lend a lot to credibility, I think people need to be drawn into your vision and why you can only do so much of that with an actual model of the toy, writing, talking about it, speaking about it, having slides that show it in action, whatever, I think those are things that will help pull people in to realize what visionary ideas you have. And it'll be interesting to see what happens when it goes into the, to the free play area and the museum and how all that works. Yeah, and I because that's gonna lend a lot of support to what you're doing.   Robert Schott ** 58:10 I completely agree on the visibility through my own initiatives, whether you know, certainly joining you, but other situations like this I'm going to pursue, we're going into a little higher gear on our social media, visibility of the product with examples and videos, and I've got social media influencers creating content. So I'm in a big content build phase, but I like the idea of the writing side. It's right now it could be you know, reflections of what I've learned about childhood development and, and free play. And even though I'm a novice, I have something to say and point people to where they can learn more. In fact, when I, when I go to the Showcase, I'm putting up something into the showcase gift bag for all the media is going to include a rolled up window poster, and then two sheets that describe both products. And there'll be QR codes that lead those who see my sheet, to the studies by Mattel, Melissa and Doug and a survey I've started on for parents to take to tell me about what their children's play patterns are today. It's an open survey and I'm encouraging all parents with children, four to 11 to complete it that helps inform me about what current children are doing and what they need next.   Michael Hingson ** 59:34 When can you get some photos of kids actually playing with the toys?   Robert Schott ** 59:38 I've got? I've got a bunch of photos new one came in today, but I probably have you know 50 or 60 photos and videos saying some videos putting some of that I would think past to be helped them Yeah, most importantly I want those that content from strangers. You know, I don't want you know Exactly right. And there's some beautiful things coming in Michael I, I did some street fairs in the spring. And I'm going to do one more in Cranford in October. And I set up a play space for the kids, I invite them to play. And the spirit of what I created shows up, you know, one kid joins in, and then three more come by, and then they're all playing together, and they're creating things. But there's surprises like, I think they can build walls. But all of a sudden, this kid takes all the sticks that hold the walls together and makes a sword out of it. And another kid takes the walls and built a ramp down off the table with a structure that he engineered to run his cars down it. There's all this innovation is what this is about. And the kids are showcasing it at the street fair. So I've got all those photos too.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:45 That's great well, and put them out. I mean, that's those are all cool things. I want to thank you for being here. And I'm excited for you. And I'm excited by what's going to happen. And I look forward to hearing more about it. So definitely keep us in your and on your email list. But one of these days, we'll get back there to visit. But I really hope that it all goes well for you and that this will catch on soon, and people will start to get really excited about what you're doing. And I agree, I think it's really interesting that although you intended it as walls on the house, kids are doing a lot more with it and so much the better that they do. Yeah, future engineers.   Robert Schott ** 1:01:25 And you know, the, the key selling point about it, and a couple of them is that it integrates and connects to Lego. It connects with connects, you can put Avery removable papers that you run through your printer to make wallpapers and you can draw on it with Expo markers. And the best part is you can collapse it back down into the box in like no time flat. Parents love that you can put it away into a little box.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:52 That's not messy when you do that. No, just   Robert Schott ** 1:01:55 don't think that the pick pick up the little clips because they hurt your feet just like little Lego. That's fair. Yeah, Michael, thanks.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:05 This has really been fun. Well, you're absolutely welcome. And this has been great. I really appreciate that we finally got a chance to do this. And you need to come back in a little while and let us know how it's going and tell us about the adventure because it clearly is an adventure. And I hope that you listening have enjoyed this. If people want to reach out to learn more about you what you're doing and so on. Robert, how do they do that?   Robert Schott ** 1:02:28 Well, I just set up a new email address yesterday morning to Robert dot Schott S C H O T T  at bopt Inc. It's B O P T inc.com. And little funny there Mike, I'll close with this. I named my company bopt because I was told it's how I spelled my name when I was four years old. There you go. From Robert to Bob to Bobt But two weeks ago, I was going through a folder my mom left for me my drawings from when I was five. Just two weeks ago I saw these for the first time and I discovered I actually spelled my name B O P P T and my sister said, well don't worry about it. Robert, you can just say Bobt is the nickname for the longer version B O P P T   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:19 so it's Robert dot Schott or just Robert Schott. Robert dot Schott at S C H O T T  at B O P T.com. Yeah, well, great. Well, please reach out to Robert. We've got some social media links and other things that are in the cover notes. Please send me a picture of Abraham Lincoln that will be fun to add in anything else that you want us to put in there. We definitely want to do and be supportive of you. And thank you for listening. I'd love to hear what you all think. Please feel free to email me Michaelhi at accessibe A C C E S S I B E. I can spell.com or go to our podcast page www dot Michael Hingson h i n g s o n.com/podcast. We'd love to hear from you. And Robert, for you and for you listening if you know anyone else who want to be a guest on unstoppable mindset. You've heard a lot of the stories that people tell you heard Robert today. We'd love to hear from you about people, you know, who ought to come on unstoppable mindset as well. So please let us know. Please give us introductions. We appreciate it. And so once more. Robert, I want to thank you for being here. And we really appreciate your time late in the evening in New Jersey. You get in the spring   **Michael Hingson ** 1:04:43 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.

EPISODE 1669: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Rafael Yuste, author of LECTURES IN NEUROSCIENCE,  about how today's advances in neuroscience will eventually lead to a new Renaissance in understanding who we are as a species Rafael Yuste is Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. He studies the function and pathology of the cerebral cortex. Yuste obtained his M.D. in Madrid. After working in Brenner's laboratory in Cambridge, he was a Ph.D. student with Katz in Wiesel's laboratory at Rockefeller University, and postdoctoral student of Tank at Bell Laboratories. He joined Columbia in 1996 and is director of its Neurotechnology Center and co-director of its Kavli Institute for Brain CircuitsIn 2011 Yuste led a group of researchers who proposed the US BRAIN Initiative, and in 2016 he helped coordinate the International BRAIN Initiative. He is involved in ethical guidelines for Neurotechnology (“NeuroRights”).Yuste is a member of Spain's Royal Academies of Medicine and of Science and has obtained awards from the Mayor of New York City, the Society for Neuroscience and the Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He recently shared the Eliasson Global Leadership Prize. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

for full 4.5 hour episode support the show on Patreon 4.5 hour sequel of A History of Leisure and Free Time focusing on lesser known movements, innovations, and countercultural operations of the 20th century - a consummate historical excursion into how we can redeem the Realm of Freedom in the 21st Century.  Robert Rauschenberg's Captiva Island getaway in post 68', Bell Laboratories, Experiments in Art and Technology, and Expo 70' in Osaka, Robert Maynard Hutchin's Civilizations of the Dialogue, Book Clubs, Feminism and the 6 hour work day, The UK Free Festival Circuit: Ritual Madness at Stonehenge ft. Ozric Tentacles, Utopian Communities during the Great Depression, how labor unions turned into "a carbon copy of capitalism", Taft-Hartley act, Frank Lloyd Wright pt. 2, FDR and the spiritualization of work...

Heute vor 75 Jahren stellten die US-amerikanischen Bell Laboratories den ersten Transistor zum Steuern elektrischer Spannungen vor.

David Tse received the BASc degree in systems design engineering from University of Waterloo in 1989, and the MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991 and 1994 respectively. From 1994 to 1995, he was a postdoctoral member of technical staff at A.T. & T. Bell Laboratories. From 1995 to 2014, he was on the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently the Thomas Kailath and Guanghan Xu Professor at Stanford University. David Tse was elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2018. He was the recipient of the IEEE Claude E. Shannon Award in 2017 and the IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal in 2019. Previously, he received a NSF CAREER award in 1998, the Erlang Prize from the INFORMS Applied Probability Society in 2000 and a Gilbreth Lectureship from the National Academy of Engineering in 2012. He received multiple best paper awards, including the Information Theory Society Paper Award in 2003, the IEEE Communications Society and Information Theory Society Joint Paper Awards in 2000, 2013 and 2015, the Signal Processing Society Best Paper Award in 2012 and the IEEE Communications Society Stephen O. Rice Prize in 2013. For his contributions to education, he received the Outstanding Teaching Award from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at U.C. Berkeley in 2008 and the Frederick Emmons Terman Award from the American Society for Engineering Education in 2009. He is a coauthor, with Pramod Viswanath, of the text Fundamentals of Wireless Communication, which has been used in over 60 institutions around the world. He is the inventor of the proportional-fair scheduling algorithm used in all third and fourth-generation cellular systems, serving 2.7 billion subscribers around the world. He is a member of the Stanford Center for Blockchain Research. David Tse'sTwitter: @dntse Babylonchain Website: https://babylonchain.io/ Logan Jastremski's Twitter: @Loganjastremski Frictionless Capital: https://frictionless.fund/

Michael Kerrisk is a Linux expert and runs a Linux System Programming course, which is a very popular course for Form3 engineers. He started working with UNIX, the predecessor of Linux, and has used this knowledge in his Linux courses. Linux was roughly a re-implementation of the UNIX kernel that had been writted more than 20 years before at Bell Laboratories. His primary area of focus is not the kernel internals, but the kernel interface that it presents to the world, which is the same as classical UNIX. Michael has always had a passion for teaching, having spent years as a university teacher, before starting his corporate career. He joined the Training department of a previous employer and started delivering the system programming course for them. This was the ideal job for him, as it brought together the two things he was passionate about: UNIX and teaching. He is also the author of "The Linux Programming Interface", which is a a detailed guide and reference for Linux and UNIX system programming.Our  .tech series invites guests inside and outside of Form3, discussing current trends in the engineering world alongside shedding light into some of the engineering practices here at Form3. Get in touch with us via this short form if you'd like to be  a podcast guest. 

Welcome to February 11th, 2023 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate amazing inventors and snappy patties. James West was born in 1931 in Prince Edward County, Virginia. As a boy, he loved taking things apart and after an accident involving a radio, he discovered a curiosity for electricity. This led West to obtaining a degree in physics and a position with Bell Laboratories as an inventor. By 1968 his inexpensive, highly sensitive compact microphone was in mass production and the technology is still used in 90 percent of today's microphones as well as telephones and tape recorders. James West was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1999 and today holds over 250 patents for his inventions. He is 91 years old and is currently a professor at Johns Hopkins University. On National Inventors' Day we celebrate the men and women who continue to inspire us with their amazing achievements.  The flavor combination of chocolate and mint has been around awhile. As early as 1840, the Quiggins brothers created a soft mint cake dipped in chocolate. And while the UK based Kendal Mint Cake Company still produces them today, the peppermint patties we love to celebrate got their start in America in 1940. At the York Cone factory inventor Henry Kessler had only one rule; the candy had to pass the snap test. If it didn't snap in two the patties were out! It's estimated that over 1.5 billion are produced each year, proving that this candy is still a fan favorite! On National Peppermint Patty Day celebrate the candy that kids still find cool.  I'm Anna Devere and I'm Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Nick and Chris investigate the so-called consolidation-disruption index, impact factor, patient rights and the overall slog of scientific research. They also look at Ig Nobel Prizes, the Bell Laboratories history and discuss AI in language. ____________________________________________ Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3Dzux1a Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/gametheorypod/comments/w35b8d/welcome_to_rgametheorypod/ Website: https://www.gametheorypod.com Game Theory on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gametheorypod Game Theory on Twitter: @GameTheoryPod https://twitter.com/GameTheoryPod Nick on Twitter: @tribnic https://twitter.com/tribnic Chris on Twitter: @ChrisAndrews315 https://twitter.com/ChrisAndrews315's choice to abandon Trenton and march on Princeton. _____________________________________________ Googliography: Consolidation-Disruption Index https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/01/academia-research-scientific-papers-progress/672694/ Father of Ob/Gyn https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/17/603163394/-father-of-gynecology-who-experimented-on-slaves-no-longer-on-pedestal-in-nyc#:~:text=Press-,'Father%20Of%20Gynecology%2C'%20Who%20Experimented%20On%20Enslaved%20Women%2C,Park%20statue%20to%20a%20cemetery. 2018 Nobel Prize Winners James Allison and Tasuku Hanjo https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2018/summary/ "Papers and patents are becoming less disruptive over time https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05543-x Ig Nobel Prize https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ig_Nobel_Prize#:~:text=The%20Ig%20Nobel%20Prize%20(%2F%CB%8C,trivial%20achievements%20in%20scientific%20research. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gametheory/message

Historians of technology once famously asked, “does technology drive history?” Their answer was, “it depends.” The phenomena of history do not float atop of the changes within material practices and technology, but neither do they stand apart from them; the two are intimately entwined in the contingent, intermittent unfolding of history. The challenge for the historian is to open the black box of technology, and to make its social setting and connection explicit to allow for a better understanding of its role in continuity and change over time. Alexander Liebman, geographer and PhD candidate at Rutgers University, asks how this complicated set of interrelated factors have ramified upon the ground in agricultural spaces as twentieth-century engineers, planners, and others applied the technologies of computation and automation to farming. Among the major figures in this story was Arthur Hall, an engineer at Bell Laboratories and innovator in computerized agriculture. His patented 1970s-era “autofarm” aimed to save the small family farm by promoting the farmer from laborer to manager, and equipping him or her with a system of computerized, automated tools to grow, harvest, and process crops from a central indoor terminal. While Hall's particular system did not change the world of agriculture, his ideas were part of a wider turn toward computer technologies as a solution to problems in American farming. In that regard, the “autofarm” is still with us, and is a touchstone in the history that has led to self-driving tractors and drone fleets of twenty-first-century American farms. In support of his research Liebman received funding form the Center for the History of Business, Technology, & Society at the Hagley Museum & Library. For more Hagley History Hangouts and more information, visit us online at hagley.org.

Ed Stanley, a former engineer for AT&T, Bell Laboratories, and Western Electric joins Lisa Dent to explain how to properly dispose of your smoke detectors and why it’s important for you to recycle them. Follow The Lisa Dent Show on Twitter:Follow @LisaDentSpeaksFollow @SteveBertrand Follow @kpowell720 Follow @maryvandeveldeFollow @LaurenLapka

Quizmasters Lee and Marc meet for a general knowledge trivia quiz with topics including Video Games, Famous Characters, Technology, Anthropology, Cars and Boats, The Muppets, Desserts and more! Round One VIDEO GAMES - What is the name of the mascot for the Fallout video game series? STAR WARS - What Star Wars character has the first name Shiev? ANTHROPOLOGY - The species name for a modern human, homo sapien, translates to what in Latin? BETTER KNOWN AS… - Which country singer, who released the albums It Matters To Me and Take Me As I Am was born Audrey Perry? TECHNOLOGY - What kind of tiny semiconductor, now common in most electronic devices, was first introduced by Bell Laboratories in 1947? CARS - Which car manufacturer produced the models Giulietta, Berlina, Brera and Spider? Round Two STATE NICKNAMES - What state is known as the Lead State, the Iron Mountain State, the Cave State and the Pennsylvania of the West? BOATS - Getting its name from a Tamil word for "logs bound together", what kind of boat is known for its two hulls of equal size? FAMOUS CHARACTERS - What is the name of the antagonist in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? TENNIS - Sharing its name with a type of bread item, what is the term in tennis for a set which ends in 6-0 (of which Swedish tennis legend Björn Borg won 116 throughout his career)? MUPPETS - How many fingers does the Swedish Chef have on each hand? Which series by Hanna Barbera tied Silly Symphonies with most wins for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film? Final Questions INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES - Named after the psychologist who developed it in the 1950's, what nine-step interrogation technique is often used by law enforcement during interrogations to produce confessions? DESSERTS - What flambéed dessert is generally credited to Auguste Escoffier for Queen Victoria's 75th year as Queen? Upcoming LIVE Know Nonsense Trivia Challenges May 25th, 2022 - Know Nonsense Challenge - Point Ybel Brewing Co. - 7:30 pm EDT May 26th, 2022 - Know Nonsense Trivia Challenge - Ollie's Pub Records and Beer - 7:30 pm EDT You can find out more information about that and all of our live events online at KnowNonsenseTrivia.com All of the Know Nonsense events are free to play and you can win prizes after every round. Thank you Thanks to our supporters on Patreon. Thank you, Quizdaddies – Gil, Brandon, Adam V., Tommy (The Electric Mud) and Tim (Pat's Garden Service) Thank you, Team Captains – Matthew, Captain Nick, Grant, Mo, Rick G., Skyler, Dylan, Lydia, Gil, David, Aaron, Kristen & Fletcher Thank you, Proverbial Lightkeepers – Trent, Justin M., Robb, Rikki, Jon Lewis, Moo, Tim, Nabeel, Patrick, Jon, Adam B., Ryan, Mollie, Lisa, Alex, Spencer, Kaitlynn, Manu, Luc, Hank, Justin P., Cooper, Elyse, Sarah, Karly, Kristopher, Josh, Lucas Thank you, Rumplesnailtskins – Issa, Nathan, Sai, Cara, Megan, Christopher, Brandon, Sarah, FoxenV, Laurel, A-A-Ron, Loren, Hbomb, Alex, Kevin and Sara, Tiffany, Allison, Paige, We Do Stuff, Kenya, Jeff, Eric, Steven, Efren, Mike J., Mike C., Mike. K If you'd like to support the podcast and gain access to bonus content, please visit http://theknowno.com and click "Support."

Text Hawk to 66866 for Mindful Monday... A carefully curated email sent to you every Monday to help you start your week right... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12      https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. His book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics for the best book on the history of mathematics for a general audience, and the Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. His book, Jane's Carousel, completed with the late Jane Walentas, captured one woman's remarkable twenty-five-year journey to restore a beloved carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Jimmy's most recent book is called, The Founders - The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.  Notes: “Your life will be shaped by the things you create, and the people you make them with. We tend to sweat the former. We don't worry enough about the latter." The founders and earliest employees of PayPal pushed and prodded and demanded better of one another. Instead of "Acknowledgements" to end his book, Jimmy titled the section "Debts" "A debt is deeper than an Acknowledgement." Envy the optimist, not the genius. There's real power in optimism. The world is built by optimists. Look for the silver things. Have belief. Be the type of person that believes in themselves and others… Optimism builds confidence in yourself and others. Be an optimist. Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan – The fact that Phil told the best player in the world… “We aren't going to win a championship if you keep playing that way. You have to buy into the triangle offense.” It shows the value of a friend (or a coach) telling you the truth in order to help you (and the team) get better. "Walter Isaacson made me believe in its (the book) importance and potential. At the very end, he provided the kind of advice that can only come from someone who has spent years laboring in the same fields. Peter Thiel refined Max Levchin's thinking... He made him better. Ask, "Have you thought about it this way?" Watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi Kobe Bryant was an incredible learning machine. His insatiable curiosity made him better. You can become curious about anything. Mr. Beast spent hours every day on Skype with his friends talking about how to grow a YouTube channel. We live in a moment were you can connect with others who are passionate about the same topics you are. With the internet, you can connect with anyone. Qualities of the leaders who created PayPal: It was so hard. They all experienced failure and bounced back. Highly intelligent. Hard-working. They worked 7 days a week. There was no work-life balance. They weren't just resilient, they were fast-moving. Life Advice: What looks like expertise on the outside is generally messiness on the inside. Leadership in Solitude. There are benefits to spending some time by yourself. Ask – The people who make things happen are willing to ASK. Steve Jobs to Bill Hewlitt. Elon Musk to Dr. Peter Nicholson. Those "asks" changed the trajectory of their lives. Who knows, maybe your next ASK will change yours… Claude Shannon, Bell Laboratories, renowned as an incredible hub of innovation…  whose work in the 1930s and '40s earned him the title of “father of the information age.” Geniuses have a unique way of engaging with the world, and if you spend enough time examining their habits, you discover the behaviors behind their brilliance.

Dr. Ronnie Parson has served in the pastoral ministry for over thirty-five years and is presently the senior pastor of The Living Church Ministries located in Charlotte and Statesville North Carolina (NC) and Regional Apostle in the Church Of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith Inc. Region 12 includes churches in (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts-Lawsonian, Oregon, Washington, Caribbean Islands (Jamaica, Caracas, Trinidad, and Grenada). Dr. Parson holds an earned Doctorate in Marriage and Family Counseling, and a Masters of Theology Arts in Christian Counseling, both from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Also, he holds a Bachelor of Biblical Studies (Lee University) and a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology (Richmond Technical College). From 1980 to 1985 he worked as a member of the senior technical staff at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill. NJ. After being divinely called into ministry Pastor Ronnie L Parson has served in pastoral ministry from 1987 to the present time. Dr. Parson has recently served as professor of Pastoral Counseling and Pastoral Theology at William L Bonner College (WLBC), Columbia, SC. He has also taught courses in Homiletics, Church and Pentecostal History, and Biblical Studies. Presently he teaches Pastoral Theology and Christian Counseling for the online segment of WLBC College. Dr. Parson serves as head of the Counseling Department for the Church Of Our Lord Jesus Christ of The Apostolic Faith Inc, overseeing a staff of licensed professional counselors. Dr. Parson is a published author of several pamphlets and 4 books: "I Took a Beating for this blessing", "A Cellular Communication Approach to Brief Marriage Counseling", and "The Divine LGBT Agenda", being a believable believer in a post-truth world and "A Pastoral Guide to doing Referrals". He co-authored a book with His wife entitled. To Serve with Nerve and verve". He has also co-authored engineering publications: 1983 at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey. Pastor Ronnie Parson and His wife and best friend, Lady Rubina Parson, travel extensively teaching, training, and conducting seminars that range from leadership essentials, marriage, and family development to a variety of contemporary topics and theological themes impacting the twenty-first-century church. His ultimate goal is to please his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and hear him say, Well done good and faithful servant. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/odell-glenn-jr/support

Full Transcript: Captain Janet:Welcome to The JP AstroCast, where we are traveling at the speed of thought. Today's episode is brought to you by Hunt Brothers Pizza. Eyezak, can you come help me tidy up our hologram stage for our guest today?Eyezak:Oh, I'm kind of in the middle of something. Can you come here for just a sec?Captain Janet:Oh, well sure Eyezak, how can I help?Eyezak:Well, captain Janet, after hearing Dr. John Grunsfeld speak about being an astronaut, going out for spacewalks, and fixing things in space, I decided that I want to be an astronaut. (Singing).Captain Janet:That's wonderful Eyezak, but as an alien, aren't you already an astronaut?Eyezak;Not the official NASA kind. I'm just looking for where to start.Captain Janet:Well, maybe let's use the search words, 'Apply to be a NASA astronaut.'Eyezak:Wow, This is the link. I'm going to send my information in. Oh, a master's degree in engineering? I don't have that. Oh, but I am a pretty good pilot. Well, not really, but I am very good on my PlayStation 4. Any special talents? Well, I am an alien that ought to put me way ahead of the pack.Captain Janet:Well, certainly you have some interesting qualities for sure. I'll tell you what, help me get the hologram stage ready and you can ask our guest astronaut Don Thomas, some questions about how he became an astronaut.Eyezak:Perfect. And then I'll become an astronaut for sure.Captain Janet:Well becoming an astronaut can take years of preparation and applying.Eyezak:Years? Like how many years? I'm not getting any younger in alien years, or human years, or dog years.Captain Janet:Let's talk about that later. I think I hear the kids coming.Kids:Eyezak:Captain Janet, the crew is here. We can work on my astro thing later.Captain Janet:Perfect Eyezak! Sounds good. All right my JP space crew, happy to have you gather here at our hologram stage to hear from astronaut Dr. Don Thomas. We have some great snacks for you, so please help yourself, get cosmically comfy and then we'll beam up Astro Don, and talk about his experiences as an astronaut.Eyezak:Hunt Brothers Pizza is proud to support the JP AstroCast, with over 8,000 locations in convenience stores near you, finding a Hunt Brothers Pizza is easy as pie. Choose between Hunt Brothers Pizza's original crust or thin crust, and top your pizza with any of our 10 toppings at no extra charge. With that many options, there's sure to be a topping combo for everyone to enjoy a Hunt Brothers Pizza.Captain Janet:All right, everyone allow me to introduce our guest today. What an honor it is to have Dr. Don Thomas beam up today. Astronaut Don Thomas first got interested in becoming an astronaut when he watched the early astronauts like Allen Shepherd, John Glynn, and Neil Armstrong blast off into space and that made him want to follow in their footsteps, and 33 years later, he would do exactly that.Captain Janet:Don started his professional career as a senior member of the technical staff at the Bell Laboratories Engineering Research Center in Princeton, New Jersey, working on materials issues and semiconductor devices. Ooh, he's super smart. From there, he joined Lockheed's Sciences and Engineering in Houston, Texas as an engineer, working on the space shuttle program. Selected as a mission specialist astronaut in NASA's 13th group of astronauts in 1990, he is a veteran of four space shuttle missions, three aboard Columbia, and one aboard discovery.Captain Janet:He has spent 44 days in space, completing almost 700 orbits of the earth, and traveling 17.6 million miles in the process. After retiring from NASA in 2007, Don became the director of the Hackerman Academic of mathematics and science at Towson University, working to encourage and inspire young Maryland students about the wonders of STEM. Since 2015, Don has been engaged in public speaking, continuing his efforts to excite and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and astronauts and encouraging all students everywhere to reach for the stars. Most wonderfully astronaut Don Thomas always says yes to speaking to the students of Janet's planet. Welcome Astro Don, thank you for being here today.Kids:Hello Dr. Don!Dr. Don Thomas:Oh, that's the way to do it there.Captain Janet:Eyezak has a question. Eyezak, can you ask about how one becomes, what you want to become?Eyezak:Yeah. How do you become an astronaut?Dr. Don Thomas:Yeah, that's a great question, Eyezak. I wanted to do this since I was just six years old, and when I was six years old, back in 1961, that's when we launched the first American into space and I watched the launch at my kindergarten class there. And as soon as our astronaut was in space, I knew I wanted to do that as well. So this was the dream my whole life, and one thing I recognized early on was, it was going to be really difficult to do this. I knew there was a lot of competition, thousands of people apply to be astronauts and then just a small handful gets selected. So I knew the key, had to be working hard and doing my best in school every single day.Dr. Don Thomas:I never knew if I was good enough, if I could get selected, but I figured I'm going to give it a try, and to do that I got to work as hard as I possibly can and do my absolute best. So that's what I did all through school, and after high school, I went on to college and got my bachelor's degree in physics, one of the sciences. And then I went on to graduate school and got my master's and Ph.D. in engineering, just because I knew that would help me become an astronaut. I also learned to fly. I got my private pilot's license. I learned to skydive, and I taught a university course.Dr. Don Thomas:These are things that are not requirements to be an astronaut, but I noticed that they seemed to really help. I looked at the people that they were selecting, and most of the people had flying experience, skydiving or maybe had taught a university course. So I watched who NASA was selecting and tried to model my career, a little bit around those requirements and what everybody was doing that was getting selected, and the key also for me becoming an astronaut was persistence.Dr. Don Thomas:I dreamed of this when I was six, and I started applying to NASA when I was in my late twenties, and I applied four times, and I got turned down the first time, the second time and the third time. And I felt like giving up on it all, but I really wanted to do this. So the key in any dream you have in life is to never give up on it. You want to keep improving yourself, keep making yourself a better candidate. You don't have to be a A++, 100% perfect student, you just have to work hard and do your absolute best, and nobody will ever argue with that ever. And if you don't give up, you work hard, you keep going on your journey, on your dream. I'm convinced that you can become anything you want to in your lifetime.Captain Janet:One of my favorite stories is how deep they went into looking into Dr. Don's past when he applied to NASA. And wow, can you imagine being investigated by the FBI? Maybe you might think twice before you post something that isn't so nice on social media. Dr. Don, can you tell us more about that?Dr. Don Thomas:Yeah, that's a great question there Miss Janet. The third time that I applied, NASA invited me down to the Johnson Space Center for a week of medical testing in an interview. And out of the thousands of people that apply NASA selects a hundred individuals. They bring you to Houston and again, you spend a full week, most of it is on a very thorough medical exam, and then there's a one hour interview. The interview is very simple, they just ask me, "Hey, tell me what you did since high school? Why'd you major in physics." They're just asking... They want you to talk about yourself and asking general questions.Dr. Don Thomas:And I went through all that and it went really well, and then a week later, some of my friends started calling me up from across the country. And they were calling me up and they said, "Hey, Don, the FBI's been calling about you." So usually when the FBI is calling about you, it's either really good or really bad, right? In this case, it was really good. NASA was doing a security background check on me and they looked into my background. They checked the police records in every city, wherever I lived.Dr. Don Thomas:They met with all my former bosses, every company that I worked for, from high school on. They would talk to my bosses and ask, what kind of worker was I? How did I treat the customers and coworkers? And did I show up to work on time? And then they went up and down the streets in all the neighborhoods, wherever I lived talking to the neighbors, and asking what kind of person was I in the neighborhood? How did I treat people? And had we had social media, we didn't have social media 40 something years ago when I was going through this but had we had social media, can any of you guess what they might have been doing?Isaiah:Stalking it?Dr. Don Thomas:They would've been looking at every single post that I had put online there. So you have to be careful today, because you never know, maybe five years, 10 years, 15 years from now, you're applying for some incredible job, maybe to go to Mars or do something else really incredible. And they may do a security background check on you, and just know they're going to be looking at everything they can find, and all your posts are there forever. So you got to be really careful. Be smart about what you post today, because you never know in the future if somebody's going to be looking into that.Andrew:So I've heard that you've had an engineering career. So my question is, how did your engineering career compare to your astronaut career?Dr. Don Thomas:Good question, Andrew. I start it off as an engineer, I became an astronaut, and for the last 15 years, I've been working in education. I had a great job in engineering. I really loved the work that I was doing, but almost nothing compares to going in space. I worked as an engineer for six years at a company called Bell Laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey, and then three years I was working at the Johnson Space Center as an engineer before I became an astronaut. And I loved those careers. And I was just so thankful to be working at NASA as an engineer. I really loved it, but I'll tell you nothing can compare to being an astronaut and going in space.Dr. Don Thomas:And I did that for 17 years, and then I told you I've been in education for 15 years, and this is pretty close. There hasn't been a day since I left NASA that I've been sitting around saying, "Why did I leave? Why oh why did I ever leave?" I found a good career to do after the astronaut job, working with young students like yourself, working with great educators, like Miss Janet here. And it's really rewarding work for me. So, I think my favorite career would be the astronaut, the second favorite on the list would be working in education, and maybe the engineering was a close third there.Dharma:You mentioned that you got your private pilots license. So what was the best memory you've ever had about learning how to fly? And what's some advice you would give to a student pilot learning to fly like myself. I really look up to in your whole flight career.Dr. Don Thomas:Wow. That's fantastic. That's great. You're doing that Dharma. I'll tell you my memory of my very first flight. We took off, the instructor gave me the controls, and we started bouncing around. It seemed like a really rough day. And I asked the instructor, I said, "Is that me? Or is this turbulence?" He said, "Let go of the column." So I let go of the stick and the plane smoothed out. And then I took control again and I was bouncing around the sky.Dr. Don Thomas:So that's one of those funny moments that I remember. I also remember when I soloed the first time, I don't know if I had 20 or 30 hours, I don't know how many hours of flying time I had, but we were practicing touch and goes, coming down, landing, taking off, going around and doing more landings. And after one of those, the instructor just said, "Hey, go over to the control tower, let me out, you're going to go solo." And my jaw dropped, it's like, "Wow." And it was an amazing feeling knowing that, once I took off, there was only one person that could land that plane. That was me. I always had the instructor sitting next to me, and that made it a lot easier, if anything goes wrong, there's an instructor there to take over. But when you solo, you're there on your own. It's a little scary, but in incredibly exciting.Captain Janet:Dharma, do you have a favorite moment from your flight training so far?Dharma:I'm often very stressed, but when I get in the plane, just this calmness washes over me. So anytime I get to be in the plane is my favorite moment ever, just that I could be away from everything. So that's my favorite thing ever, I couldn't pick a single memory.Isaiah:Did you serve in the military, and is it a requirement for the astronauts?Dr. Don Thomas:Yeah Isaiah, good question. We have two types of astronauts that we select, pilot astronauts and then mission specialists. And almost all the pilot astronauts come out of the military, and even some of the mission specialists do as well, but I never served in the military. I just went the science route. When I was in high school, the United States launched a space station called Skylab, it was our first space station, and they were selecting science astronauts to fly on those missions to do science. And I loved science when I was your age, and I knew that that was my path.Dr. Don Thomas:Probably about two thirds of the astronauts they select, come out of the military, maybe a third or just strictly civilians. Typically, they select a lot of people out of the military.Eyezak:What makes a good crew mate?Dr. Don Thomas:Eyezak, good question. We are in space, like on the space shuttle on my missions, we're in a very small area for two weeks or more in space. So, the number one requirement is to really work as a team, to get along with other people. That's why NASA was carefully looking at, interviewing my neighbors to see how I treated people in the neighborhood and talking to my former bosses to see how did I get along with my coworkers. Because it's so important in space, almost everything we do in space, it's a team effort, and it takes everybody working together, and you have to learn to work with different personalities.Dr. Don Thomas:So I think that would be the number one thing to be a good crew member. You need to be a really good team player, and work together with the team.Isaiah:What was your favorite food in space?Dr. Don Thomas:You are talking with the very first human being to take pizza to space.Captain Janet:Famous even, right? You're famous for this, right?Dr. Don Thomas:I'm, famous for that. Yeah. I'm not famous for much else, but I'm famous for flying the first pizza in space. And I'll just tell you the story quickly, we're allowed to carry a sandwich with us out to the launchpad, on launch morning, because we may be laying on our backs out there for a few hours if there's weather to even longer than that. So they would let us take a sandwich, and most of the time you may take a Turkey sandwich or something like that. But on my third mission I asked instead of a Turkey sandwich, could I get a slice of pizza? Because I love pizza. And they said, "Yeah, we can do that." So they made me a little personal pizza. It was pepperoni, and we flew that in space. I did that both on my third and fourth missions.Dr. Don Thomas:So, we don't normally fly pizza, most of our food, as you probably know is freeze-dried food or military rations, MREs Meals Ready to Eat, that come out of the military. And most of that food is okay. When I get asked the question, what's my favorite space food? I say none of them. Because it isn't that good, and I would never go to a restaurant that was serving space food. I wouldn't do that. But it's okay, it's a lot like camping food.Dr. Don Thomas:My favorite overall of the food that I had in space, they had beef and barbecue sauce. That was one of the MREs, the military rations that were pretty good. And we had sweet and sour chicken, which was good up there too. I did make, before I flew the pizza in space, we made what we call space pizza and that would be taking a tortilla, and then I would spread some spaghetti and meat sauce on top of that, and then roll it up. And that was as close as I could get to a pizza.Andrew:What was the funniest thing you saw in space?Dr. Don Thomas:We don't do a lot of practical jokes. People always ask that, so tell me about the practical jokes you do in space. And it's like, "Boy, I don't have any stories like that." Because you don't want to go up to somebody and try to scare them going, "Boo." And have them jump and maybe hurt themselves. So, we don't do a lot of practical jokes up there, but one of the funnier things that I saw in space, is sometimes when the astronauts have free time, we goof around. I don't know if any of you guys goof around all, but sometimes the astronauts goof around and what we like to do, we play catch, up in space. And when you play catch here on earth, you're probably using a football or a baseball. In space we don't have anything like that, so what we'll do, we have one of the astronauts, we'll tuck themselves into a little ball and then two of us can play catch with that individual. And it's really funny to watch two people playing catch, with a third person going back and forth, just tucked into a little ball like that.Dharma:Was there any feeling that compared to looking back on earth while in space?Dr. Don Thomas:There is nothing like that. Before I first flew in space on my first mission, I trained to be an astronaut for four years for that flight, and in that four-year period, I probably had 40 or 50 hours of training on earth observation training. So, specialists would come in, show us pictures of the earth taken from space and tell us what we're looking at. So once we got to space, we would be very familiar with what we're looking at back on planet earth. So I thought, okay, I've seen it, I know exactly what it's going to look like when I get to space, but that wasn't the case. Once I got to space and I looked out the window the first time I just gasped, I went, "Oh wow." It's just so incredible when you see it with your own eyes.Dr. Don Thomas:The pictures that we take, the IMAX movies that you'll see of the earth, they don't do it justice. You see much more detail and subtle color variations with your eyes, than any of the pictures can take. So, it just doesn't do it justice, and every astronaut, the very first time they look out the window with their own eyes, you'll hear that gasp. And I'm gasping at how thin the atmosphere is from space. Our atmosphere is just a paper-thin layer around the earth and it's glowing blue, like a blue fluorescent light glowing. And then I'm all also gasping at the black sky. The sky in space is a darker black color than I've ever seen anywhere else. I've been caving, where we all turned off our lights, it's pitch black, but I think the sky in space is even darker, darker than that.Isaiah:How old were you when you went to space?Dr. Don Thomas:Okay. When I got selected to be an astronaut Isaiah, I was 35 years old and the first time I made it to space, I was 39 years old. And 39 years old, that's pretty much an old man, right Isaiah? You could be honest. That's okay. Is that an old man or not?Isaiah:Kind of.Dr. Don Thomas:Kind of. Yeah. And my point is, some of the careers you're going to pick, it's going to take time to get there. If you want to be a teacher, doctor, lawyer, scientist, professional athlete, it takes a lot of time after high school to get there. So don't be turned off by that, just keep working hard, keep following your dream, follow your path. You can accomplish anything you want to, don't worry about how much time it takes.Captain Janet:JP Space Crew I really want you to hear this. I think sometimes we think that things are going to happen instantly, the moment that we apply, and if we just put our best out there, there's going to be an instant yes. But as we listen to Dr. Don's story, he applied, and applied, and then applied for a third time and got another no. And Don, I just have to say, please tell them more about this experience of getting that third no, going to bed that night and then waking up the next with what decision.Dr. Don Thomas:I thought I got to do something else. NASA doesn't want me, and I thought I'll go to bed, get a good night's sleep and then in the morning when I wake up, I would put together a new plan for my career that did not involve being an astronaut. Because I had worked hard, I did my best, and just three times in a row NASA said no to me. I went to bed that night, the next morning when I woke up, the very first thought that popped into my head was, I still want to be an astronaut. And that dream never died as I slept that night.Dr. Don Thomas:So I just kind of dusted myself off and said, "Okay, what else can I do? I've learned to fly. I've learned to skydive. I've taught a university course." And just looking at who NASA was selecting and who they weren't selecting, it was pretty clear that I could increase my chances quite a bit by working down at the Johnson Space Center. So I moved, I quit my job. I moved down to Houston, got a job there with NASA, as an engineer and did that for three years and then became an astronaut.Dharma:What is your life advice for students?Dr. Don Thomas:My life advice for students, whatever your dream is in life, you don't have to be dreaming of being an astronaut, whatever your dream is, if you want to be a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist, whatever, just work hard and always do your best. You want to do your best every single day, in all your subjects, because you never know when something you're learning today is going to help you out in the future. And the other thing is to never give up on that dream, keep working hard towards that goal. You'll get discouraged. You'll fail along the way, I failed three times, but you just got to pick yourself up and try to figure out, okay, what am I missing here? How can I make myself a better candidate?Dr. Don Thomas:But the key is to never give up. It takes hard work. It takes time, and never give up on your dream and you can accomplish anything you want to in your lifetime. Because I was just an average student in school, but I had a big, big dream and I was going to go for it and nothing was going to hold me back.Captain Janet:We are so glad that you stuck with it, that you didn't give up and that you persevered, otherwise we wouldn't be having this incredible conversation with you. To learn more about astronaut Don Thomas, you can visit his website, Ohioastronaut.com. And if you're really wanting to know more, read his book Orbit of Discovery available on Amazon.Dr. Don Thomas:Thanks. It's been great being with you, Isaiah, Andrew and Dharma, thanks for the great questions and Eyezak always great getting your questions as well. Thank you so much.Captain Janet:ByeKids:Bye.Eyezak:Wow. Astronauts are the best!Captain Janet:Indeed they are, and just like astronaut, Don said, NASA is looking for all kinds of people to be astronauts and especially those who are kind and know how to get along well with others. And Isaac, you definitely are one of the best crew members I've ever had.Eyezak:Wow, thanks Captain Janet. Hey, would you be willing to write me a recommendation letter?Captain Janet:You bet I would. Thanks everyone for listening to the JP AstroCast. Let your mind revolve around this thought, the universe is always expanding, let your dreams do the saying. And that's the view from the JP AstroCast. (Singing).

Dr. Ronnie Parson has served in the pastoral ministry for over thirty-five years and is presently the senior pastor of The Living Church Ministries located in Charlotte and Statesville North Carolina (NC) and Regional Apostle in the Church Of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith Inc. Region 12 includes churches in (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts-Lawsonian, Oregon, Washington, Caribbean Islands (Jamaica, Caracas, Trinidad, and Grenada). Dr. Parson holds an earned Doctorate in Marriage and Family Counseling, and a Masters of Theology Arts in Christian Counseling, both from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Also, he holds a Bachelor of Biblical Studies (Lee University) and a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology (Richmond Technical College). From 1980 to 1985 he worked as a member of the senior technical staff at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill. NJ. After being divinely called into ministry Pastor Ronnie L Parson has served in pastoral ministry from 1987 to the present time. Dr. Parson has recently served as professor of Pastoral Counseling and Pastoral Theology at William L Bonner College (WLBC), Columbia, SC. He has also taught courses in Homiletics, Church and Pentecostal History, and Biblical Studies. Presently he teaches Pastoral Theology and Christian Counseling for the online segment of WLBC College. Dr. Parson serves as head of the Counseling Department for the Church Of Our Lord Jesus Christ of The Apostolic Faith Inc, overseeing a staff of licensed professional counselors. Dr. Parson is a published author of several pamphlets and 4 books: "I Took a Beating for this blessing", "A Cellular Communication Approach to Brief Marriage Counseling", and "The Divine LGBT Agenda", being a believable believer in a post-truth world and "A Pastoral Guide to doing Referrals". He co-authored a book with His wife entitled. To Serve with Nerve and verve". He has also co-authored engineering publications: 1983 at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey.  Pastor Ronnie Parson and His wife and best friend, Lady Rubina Parson, travel extensively teaching, training, and conducting seminars that range from leadership essentials, marriage, and family development to a variety of contemporary topics and theological themes impacting the twenty-first-century church. His ultimate goal is to please his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and hear him say, Well done good and faithful servant.

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:   When you think about things made in Taiwan what comes to mind? Barbie dolls, textiles, plastics, toys, bicycles, or maybe these days its boba, bubble tea, or semiconductor chips?   What's made Taiwan the leader in the semiconductor industry, what is its competitive advantage, how can it maintain it going forward?   The story of how Taiwan's semiconductor industry was developed is really quite interesting if you consider that Taiwan was previously an agriculturally-based economy and had no expertise in hi-tech.   My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Dr. Bo-Chheng Lin, who has a PhD in solid state physics, and worked on semiconductors at AT&T Bell Laboratories. He is currently retired, and is one of founders of Living Well New Jersey, a group for retired Taiwanese Americans. This organization has been around for 10 years and I'm grateful for their support of Talking Taiwan.   Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Taiwan's semiconductor industry was set up How Taiwan went from an agricultural-based economy to the leader of the global semiconductor industry Taiwan's first industrial parks The establishment of TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited) The role of Philips, a Dutch multinational corporation and RCA, an American electronics company in the development of Taiwan's semiconductor industry How Tsing-Hua University and the Chiat-Tung University are the leading universities in the IC (integrated circuit) industry The establishment of UMC (United Microelectronics Corporation) and TSMC Moore's Law, the observation that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles about every two years, producing twice the processing power at half the cost The impact on the world's commerce that would result if Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing capacity got disrupted The current semiconductor chip shortage How the semiconductor industry is a cyclical business The impact of COVID-19 on the semiconductor industry How Taiwan's business model for the semiconductor industry compares to Korea's The situation between TSMC and Huawei, that resulted due to the U.S.'s concerns over safeguarding its intellectual property from China, and the impact this has on China's 5G Huawei is TSMC's second largest customer TSMC's plans to build a factory in Arizona The IoT industry and what is IoT (Internet of Things) If Apple and other companies start producing their own semiconductor chips what would that mean for the semiconductor industry and Taiwan? What it will take for Taiwan to maintain its competitive advantage in the semiconductor industry How the transistor was invented at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ How Taiwan's government should encourage engineers from foreign countries to work in Taiwan's semiconductor industry The Gold Card program How the construction needs of TSMC has influenced the construction of  housing in Taiwan What the next 10-15 years looks like for Taiwan and what other industries it might consider The China 2025 project   Related Links: To view all related links for this article, click link below: https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-bo-chheng-lin-taiwans-semiconductor-industry-and-the-current-chip-shortage-ep-160/  

We discussed a number of things including: 1. State of the entrepreneurial community in the region and worldwide 2. Investment outlook in various sectors in short and medium term 3. Advice for entrepreneurs as we look to the other side of the pandemic Steve has been a technology investor for over twenty years. Steve's interests are in enterprise software (particularly applications of AI/ML), infrastructure required to collect, store, and process data, internet of things, wireless, and environmental and materials technologies. He is currently on the board of ChoiceWORX, Data Inventions, Kintra Fibers, SunRay Scientific, and Vydia. He was recently a director of Airclic (sold to Descartes Systems), Alverix (sold to BD), Everspin Technologies (NASDAQ: MRAM), Neohapsis (sold to Cisco), Silicon Hive (sold to Intel), Sychip (sold to Murata), and an observer of Flarion Technologies (sold to Qualcomm). Steve has also been a leader in the corporate venture community and was Chair of the Corporate Venture Group within the National Venture Capital Association and on the Advisory Board of Global Corporate Venturing. Prior to Tech Council Ventures, he created a venture incubator for Lucent's Bell Laboratories for 5 years and then formed and ran New Venture Partners for 15 years investing in commercialization of technologies spun out of corporate labs. Steve received an MBA from The Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College where he is currently on the board of the Center for the Study of VC & PE. He received degrees in economics and mathematical sciences from Stanford University. ---- Daniella has been building life sciences businesses, developing and commercializing life sciences products for 20 years. Having co-founded Wave Biotech LLC from her dormitory room, she and a partner drove the start-up, growth and commercialization of a highly disruptive technology. As Vice President of the organization, Daniella established a high growth company with significant brand recognition, and led the group to a successful exit and acquisition by GE Healthcare in 2007. At GE Healthcare, Daniella held a variety of strategic, M&A and business development roles. One of her most notable achievements is the success in an entrepreneurial group within the broader GE Healthcare, where a focus on integrating the acquired Xcellerex business enabled global commercialization of a several hundred million dollar enterprise solutions business. Her extensive business development, negotiations and deal-making experience with multinational biopharma and governments in developed and emerging markets provides Dynamk with a broad network of colleagues, customers, innovators and key opinion leaders. She holds a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an Executive MBA from New York University Stern School of Business and has attended Harvard Business School Executive Education Courses in Private Equity & Venture Capital.

Barbara is the Executive Director of Boardbound by the Women's Leadership Foundation. She is an internationally recognized executive who has successfully led small start-up companies and large international organizations. Prior leadership roles include Director of the Women's Investor Network, Rockies Venture Club, Executive Office, Myanmar, for the Partnership for Change (PfC), and Princeton in Asia Senior Fellow. She has also started two businesses: GlobalSight Partners, an international management consulting organization, and Silk and Stones Travel, a boutique travel company specializing in custom designed trips to Southeast Asia. Barbara also developed and led the innovative ABLE Center for Women Entrepreneurs at the University of Denver. During her career as a technology executive she held senior positions at Sun Microsystems, StorageTek, US West, Raynet, and Bell Laboratories. Her academic credentials include a B.S. and M.S. in Physics, and the Stanford Summer Executive Program. www.womensleadershipfoundation.org Follow Heidi on Social Media! Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Spotify About Heidi As a homegrown Coloradan with a passion for keeping the spirit of our state alive and well, I started this podcast to bring the people of Colorado together to celebrate the amazing state we call home! Come along on this journey with me as I travel across our state in my vintage RV, interviewing folks who embody the true spirit of the Rocky Mountains. From the front range to the mile-high city, to the mountain towns and the Wild West of southern Colorado, we'll celebrate the history, beauty, and Coloradans that make this place the colorful state it is! Each week, you'll meet the people trailblazing the way for an even more colorful future for us all, and who are making a huge difference along the way. Visit heidiganahl.com to learn more about the podcast and where we are headed! Submit a guest to Heidi's Colorful Colorado! CLICK HERE!

Today Tom is sitting down with Dr. Trish Scanlon, CEO and founder of SoapBox Labs. Dr. Scanlon is one of the foremost leaders in voice technology — especially with regards to children’s voices. She has over 20 years of experience working in speech recognition technology, including Bell Laboratories and IBM. In 2018, Dr. Scanlon was named one of Forbes’ top 50 “Women in Tech.” In 2020, she was ranked sixth of seventeen global visionaries in voice by industry-leading publication, Voicebot.ai. Listen in as Tom and Dr. Scanlon discuss the possibilities of voice technologies, why children pose a unique challenge in the field, and how tech can be keeping ethics and well-being at the center. Don’t miss out on this A.I. deep-dive on learning, voice tech, and creating more access for learners with differences.   Key Takeaways: [:08] About today’s episode. [:54] Tom welcomes Dr. Scanlon to the podcast. [1:12] How did Dr. Scanlon become interested in voice technology? [2:32] Was Dr. Scanlon able to find advisors 20 years ago in voice technology? [3:50] Which machine learning tools are most useful in speech recognition? [5:24] When did Dr. Scanlon recognize that speech recognition was particularly challenging for children? [8:20] The origin story of Dr. Scanlon’s company, SoapBox Labs. [10:35] Dr. Scanlon explains the service that SoapBox Labs offers its clients. [12:37] About the Turnaround for Children Toolbox. [13:17] The current and planned applications for voice recognition, speech therapy, and voice tech in learning and development in the classroom. [15:53] How they manage varying accents in speech technology. [19:06] Discussing the challenges around the biases in voice recognition technology. [21:45] Other categories of assisted tech that Dr. Scanlon is excited about with regards to how they can better serve and create more access for learners with differences. [23:53] Is the next generation growing up as voice technology natives? How should we be managing or navigating this next generation of youth growing up as voice natives? [27:04] What Dr. Scanlon thinks students and teachers should know about machine learning today, as well as how and where we should be introducing this topic in school. [28:53] Why is Dublin a hot spot for ed-tech startups? Why have they become a world leader in technology? [31:13] How does Dr. Scanlon continue her learning? [32:26] Tom thanks Dr. Scanlon for joining the podcast.   Mentioned in This Episode: SoapBox Labs Dr. Trish Scanlon Voicebot.ai Toolbox | Turnaround for Children TechCrunch EdSurge Getting Smart Podcast Ep. 258: “Flynn Coleman on a Human Algorithm”   Get Involved: Check out the blog at GettingSmart.com. Find the Getting Smart Podcast on iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe.   Is There Somebody You’ve Been Wanting to Learn From or a Topic You’d Like Covered? To get in contact: Email Editor@GettingSmart.com and include “Podcast” in the subject line. The Getting Smart team will be sure to add them to their list!  

Dr. Kymn Harvin Rutigliano has a passion for nurturing the human spirit through her work as a professor, mentor, scholar, leader, and guide. She intends to live life fully and empower others to do making the world a better place.Dr. Kymn has been a change agent and leader of transformational initiatives in public and private sectors and academia. She served as Speech Writer to the Secretary of Education and Governor of Pennsylvania, Director of Information and Education for the Pennsylvania Commission for Women, Media and Employee Relations leader at Bell Laboratories, and as manager of Culture Transformation in the nuclear power industry.She is internationally known for her groundbreaking work at AT&T, the subject of her dissertation, "Bringing Love Back into Business." Dr. Kymn is the recipient of the Carl Barus Award for Outstanding Service in the Public Interest awarded by the Society on the Social Implications of Technology of the IEEE, the world's top engineering association. The award is for her contribution and personal sacrifice in drawing attention to significant safety problems at a U.S. nuclear facility.She earned a Ph.D. in Organization Development and Spirituality from The Union Institute and University. She is a member of faculty at Penn State University, Northcentral University, and the University of Phoenix before joining SUNY Empire State College. Dr. Kymn has a passion for making online learning transformational and championing courage and action for the greater good with her students.Dr. Kymn Harvin Rutigliano , Instructor | Courserahttps://www.coursera.org › instructor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1. Secretary Chu's work at Bell Laboratories and his Nobel Prize-winning research 2. Early research into climate change and new climate technologies 3. Serving as United States Secretary of Energy and his early championing of innovative energy technology 4. Secretary Chu's vision for the future of energy and the rapid rate at which decarbonization needs to take place

Julia Hirschberg is Percy K. and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor of Computer Science and was most recently the Chair of the Computer Science Department at Columbia University from 2012-2018, serving as one of two female chairs of the department. She received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked at Bell Laboratories and AT&T Laboratories -- Research from 1985-2003 as a Member of Technical Staff and a Department Head, creating the Human-Computer Interface Research Department. Professor Hirschberg has been active in working for diversity at AT&T and at Columbia. She has been active in supporting the Emerging Scholars program and other diversity initiatives at Columbia and has actively advocated for the further representation of minorities and women in the faculty and encouraged diversity in the undergraduate Computer Science community as well. We are so excited to share this episode with you about the importance of encouraging diversity in academic communities, and the value of creating deliberate programming to ensure the success of minority students in the field of Computer Science. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/compilher/support

Unix is the most influential operating system of all time. In this episode we discuss its history, its evolution, and its philosophy. We trace Unix from its origins at Bell Laboratories, through the Unix Wars, and into the dominance of its clone, Linux. We talk about its relationship to the C Programming Language, the four points of its philosophy as outlined by McIlroy, and its future. Join us for a quick dive into Unix. Show Notes Episode 2: What is an Operating System? Episode 12: Open Source Software Episode 19: What is Linux? Unix Time-Sharing System: Foreword by McIlroy, Pinson, Tague via Archive.org Unix: A History and a Memoir by Brian Kernighan via Amazon Review of Unix: A History and a Memoir by David Follow us on Twitter @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Find out more at http://kopec.live

Think the tech industry is geeky? Maybe. But what has come out of the telecom world may surprise you. Mobile phones are one tiny slice of their creative output. In fact, some of the things that were created at Bell Laboratories will surprise you.

Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson had a problem. In the 1960s, the researchers at Bell Laboratories were studying radio waves reflected from a giant balloon in orbit. But the signal was noisy. They eliminated every source of interference they could think of — including pigeon droppings inside their radio telescope. But the noise remained. When they talked to other scientists, though, they realized the “noise” was actually an important discovery: the “afterglow” of the Big Bang. Astronomy contains many such instances of serendipity — chance discoveries made while working on a different topic. In 1967, for example, graduate student Jocelyn Bell was using a radio telescope to study quasars — some of the brightest objects in the universe. She discovered several sources, though, that produced regular “pulses” of radio waves. She and her advisor ruled out many possible explanations for these “pulsars.” Another researcher eventually came up with the answer: They’re the spinning corpses of massive stars that “beam” energy into space. As Bell was making her discovery, satellites were making another. They were looking for nuclear bomb tests, which were banned by a treaty. Instead, they found bursts of gamma rays from deep space. The discovery was declassified in 1973. But it took decades to work out the sources of the gamma-ray bursts: the explosions of massive stars, or the mergers of the corpses of such stars — serendipitous discoveries in the stars. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

This Episode: When Computer Music was Experimental, 1951-1971 Early Recordings of Computer Synthesis Playlist Tones from Australia, 1951. All produced using the CSIR Mark 1 computer built at the CSIR's radiophysics division in Sydney. Alan Turing's computer music. 1951. Recording made of tones generated by the mainframe computer at the Computing Machine Laboratory in Manchester, England. Snippets of the tunes God Save the Queen, Baa, Baa Black Sheep, and Glenn Miller's swing classic In the Mood. Plus the voices of computer lab members listening to the sound as it was recorded. Original acetate recording from 1951 restored by University of Canterbury composer Jason Long and Prof Jack Copeland. Incidentally, synthesizing music …. Beat Canon (1960) by Dr. J. R. Pierce. From the album Music From Mathematics, Bell Telephone Laboratories. Numerology (1960) by Max Mathews. From the album Music From Mathematics, Bell Telephone Laboratories. Noise Study (1961) by James Tenney, from Music for Mathematics, Bell Labs, 1961 expanded edition. Bicycle Built For Two (Unaccompanied and Accompanied versions) (1963) From the demonstration record Computer Speech - Hee Saw Dhuh Kaet (He Saw The Cat), produced by Bell Laboratories. Computer Cantata, Prologue to Strophe III (1963) by Lejaren Hiller. From the album Computer Music From The University Of Illinois (1963). This work employed direct computer synthesis using an IBM 7094 mainframe computer and the Musicomp programming language. Lyric Variations For Violin And Computer (1965-1968) by J. K. Randall. From the record A Mitzvah For The Dead For Violin And Tape / Lyric Variations For Violin And Computer on Vanguard Records. Permutation of Five Sounds (1967) by Pietro Grossi. From the album GE-115 - Computer Concerto on the Italian General Electric label. Realized at Studio di Fonologia musicale di Firenze (Italy). Distributed in 1967 as a New Year's gift by Olivetti company. Mixed Paganini (1967) by Pietro Grossi, also from the album GE-115. HPSCHD by John Cage and Lejaren Hiller (1967-1969). The piece was written for Harpsichords and Computer-Generated Sound Tapes. January Tensions (excerpt) by Peter Zinovieff. Computer performed and composed in his private studio outside of London. Synthesism (1970) by Barry Vercoe. From the album Computer Music released on Nonesuch. Realized in the Computer Centers of Columbia and Princeton Universities using MUSIC 360 for the IBM 360 mainframe computer. Vercoe authored this musical programming language. Wishful Thinking About Winter (1970) by Wayne Slawson. From the album Voice of the Computer: New Musical Horizons (1970). Produced at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Eight-Tone Canon (1970) by J.R. Pierce. From the album Voice of the Computer: New Musical Horizons (1970). Produced at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Computer Suite From "Little Boy" (1970) by Jean Claude Risset. From the album Voice of the Computer: New Musical Horizons (1970). Produced at Bell Telephone Laboratories. The Earth's Magnetic Field by Charles Dodge (1971). From Nonesuch Records. Every sound in the piece was computed into digital form using the IBM/ 360 model 91 at the Columbia University Computer Center, and then converted into analog form at the Bell Telephone Laboratories. Computer says farewell, Music from Mathematics (1960).   The Archive Mix in which I play two additional tracks at the same time, to see what happens. Capriccio N. 5 (1967) by Pietro Grossi. From the album GE-115 - Computer Concerto on the Italian General Electric label. Computer synthesized sound. Pitch Variations (1960) by Newman Guttman. From the album Music From Mathematics, Bell Telephone Laboratories. From the album Music From Mathematics, Bell Telephone Laboratories.   Read my book: Electronic and Experimental Music (sixth edition), by Thom Holmes (2020).  

On Episode 32 of Livestream Deals, we discuss early-stage investing, the New Jersey tech scene and opportunities for startups in the current economy. Stephen Socolof of Tech Council Ventures joins Ross Brand of Livestream Universe as part of the PodMAX event presented by Propelify. SUBSCRIBE YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/LivestreamUniverse (https://YouTube.com/LivestreamUniverse) SHOP THE SHOW: https://livestreamdeals.com/ (https://LivestreamDeals.com) https://livestreamuniverse.com/Resources (https://LivestreamUniverse.com/Resources) https://amazon.com/shop/iRossBrand (https://amazon.com/shop/iRossBrand) Steve Socolof has been a technology investor for over twenty years. Steve's interests are in enterprise software (particularly applications of AI/ML), infrastructure required to collect, store, and process data, internet of things, wireless, and environmental and materials technologies. He is currently on the board of StratIS IoT, SunRay Scientific, and Vydia as well as the public company Everspin Technologies, an investment of his prior fund. He was recently a director of Airclic (sold to Descartes Systems), Alverix (sold to BD), Neohapsis (sold to Cisco), Silicon Hive (sold to Intel), Sychip (sold to Murata), and an observer of Flarion Technologies (sold to Qualcomm). Steve has also been a leader in the corporate venture community and was Chair of the Corporate Venture Group within the National Venture Capital Association and on the Advisory Board of Global Corporate Venturing. Prior to TCV, he created a venture incubator for Lucent's Bell Laboratories for 5 years and then formed and ran New Venture Partners for 15 years investing in commercialization of technologies spun out of corporate labs. Steve received an MBA from The Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College where he is currently on the board of the Center for the Study of VC & PE. He received degrees in economics and mathematical sciences from Stanford University.

On Episode 32 of Livestream Deals, we discuss early-stage investing, the New Jersey tech scene and opportunities for startups in the current economy. Stephen Socolof of Tech Council Ventures joins Ross Brand of Livestream Universe as part of the PodMAX event presented by Propelify. SUBSCRIBE Podcast: https://livestreamdeals.com/podcast/YouTube Channel: https://YouTube.com/LivestreamUniverseSHOP THE SHOW:https://LivestreamDeals.comhttps://LivestreamUniverse.com/Resourceshttps://amazon.com/shop/iRossBrandSteve Socolof has been a technology investor for over twenty years. Steve’s interests are in enterprise software (particularly applications of AI/ML), infrastructure required to collect, store, and process data, internet of things, wireless, and environmental and materials technologies. He is currently on the board of StratIS IoT, SunRay Scientific, and Vydia as well as the public company Everspin Technologies, an investment of his prior fund.He was recently a director of Airclic (sold to Descartes Systems), Alverix (sold to BD), Neohapsis (sold to Cisco), Silicon Hive (sold to Intel), Sychip (sold to Murata), and an observer of Flarion Technologies (sold to Qualcomm). Steve has also been a leader in the corporate venture community and was Chair of the Corporate Venture Group within the National Venture Capital Association and on the Advisory Board of Global Corporate Venturing.Prior to TCV, he created a venture incubator for Lucent’s Bell Laboratories for 5 years and then formed and ran New Venture Partners for 15 years investing in commercialization of technologies spun out of corporate labs. Steve received an MBA from The Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College where he is currently on the board of the Center for the Study of VC & PE. He received degrees in economics and mathematical sciences from Stanford University.

On today’s show we’re talking about Freedom of Speech and what it means to be neutral. The year was 1889 and Almon Strowger was the local undertaker in Kansas City Missouri. Clients would call the operator and ask to be connected with the undertaker. The operator was called Mabel. They were all called Mabel. In those days, the operator would patch you through by pulling a wire out of the console and connecting the call manually to the destination. The problem is that one of the operators was married to the other competing undertaker in town and Almon Strowger was losing business to his competition because, in his opinion, the operator was giving calls intended for him to the competition, her husband. So Almon Strowger invented the first mechanical electrical phone switching system that would allow users of the phone system to dial the number of the destination and the connection would be made with no human intervention and no bias. The machine was truly neutral and would connect the parties following the commands of the person dialing the number. The Stronger Step By Step Exchange was eventually sold all over the world and became the dominant phone system around the world for close to 70 years. The system was eventually replaced by a digital exchange invented at Bell Laboratories and at Bell Northern Research. These systems maintained the neutrality inherent in the initial system devised by Almon Strowger. If you called Fedex, you were sure that you would be connected with Fedex and not UPS or DHL. So that’s the concept of neutrality, and the phone network solved that about 130 years ago Now let’s talk about freedom of speech and we’ll come back to talking about Strowger later on. So exactly what does Freedom of Speech mean? Most Western democracies have some form of Freedom of Speech enshrined in the constitution. That’s true in the US, Canada, the UK, most of Europe and so on. So what exactly does that mean? It means that you can’t be persecuted for what you think or what you say. There are limits on those freedoms. You’re not free to harm others through your speech. For example, you can’t frivolously yell “Fire” in the middle of a crowded movie theatre. You can’t make defamatory statements which aim to damage the reputation of another person or company. You literally have the right to stand on a soap box in a public place and make a speech. In the good old days, that might have been on the Boston Commons, or perhaps in Central Park in NYC, or on the Mall in Washington DC. Today, that means on the Internet, perhaps on social media, or who knows, a podcast. The makers of social media platforms are the modern day manufacturers of the soap box. The manufacturer of the soap box clearly can’t be held responsible for what someone standing on the soap box says. They merely cut some wood and screwed it together to form a box. Arguably, social media is private property, not public. The use agreement between users of the platform and the owners of the platform is between a company and the user. This is clearly a legal gray zone. Something said on social media is not truly public, but in many ways it is public. There are so many messages being put out on social media. How is a piece of software supposed to figure out what’s a legitimate use of the platform and what is in violation of the use standards. The amount of fake news is astounding. This week, the CEO’s of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google appeared before congress to answer questions about the amount of power and influence they wield to shape public opinion. They are the modern day Mabel. By curating what’s displayed on the platform, they’re filtering out what you get to see. When that happens, then free speech gets suppressed, neutrality is gone and Mabel is back in control of how calls get routed to the undertaker, and how propaganda gets presented to the voting population.

Today, we are joined by Dr. Louis Gomez, senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and professor of education and information studies at UCLA. Dr. Gomez addresses the topics of Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) and the mindset shift that is necessary in order to promote equity in education. Join our conversation about how compliance can prevent initiatives from being implemented, the necessity of having a common aim and narrative when discussing improvement science as part of NICs, and that equity without the will to change or the respect for the community will not bring about social justice. Visit our Bronx ART website and connect with us on Twitter @BX_ARTeam! Today's hosts are Kris DeFilippis, Adelia Gibson, and Kaitlyn Reilley Guest Information: Dr. Gomez earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Stonybrook University and a doctorate in Psychology from University of California, Berkeley. He spent 14 years working in cognitive science and person–computer systems interactions at Bell Laboratories, Bell Communications Research Inc. and Bellcore. Dr. Gomez has held a number of faculty positions including positions at Northwestern University and the University of Pittsburgh, where he was also director of the Center for Urban Education and a senior scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center. Dr. Gomez is currently a professor of education and information studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since 2008, he has served as a senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where he leads the Network Development work. He is the co-author of Learning to Improve: How America's Schools Can Get Better at Getting Better. Dr. Gomez is dedicated to educational improvement and his numerous publications and studies have contributed greatly to bringing improvement science to the field of education. Connect with Dr. Gomez through email at lmgomez@ucla.edu Resources for Listeners: Information about iLEAD Learning to Improve: How America's Schools Can Get Better and Getting Better Why a NIC? Getting Ideas into Action: Building Networked Improvement Communities in Education Improvement Research Carried Out Through Networked Communities: Accelerating Learning about Practices that Support More Productive Student Mindsets How a Networked Improvement Community Improved Success Rates for Struggling College Math Students

Kenny Frank was raised in Chicago, where his father who had a PhD in electrical engineering was employed at Bell Laboratories. An internship opportunity, as a high school student led to his eventual career path, where he would attend and obtain a BS in Computer Science at the University of Southern California. He transitioned from USC to pursue his master's degree in Computer Science from Stanford University, and would embark on his professional career at Bell Labs. His fascinating career took him from Bell Labs to various important roles from Bell South to a startup company and ultimately Alcatel Lucent, where he served in various international roles. He is presently CEO of Aptean, a technology company owned by Vista Equity Partners.

Electronics manufacturer Morey expects that enlarging the cellular data pipeline by a factor of 10 with 5G going into place now will make jobsite data more secure, more up to date and more complete. Listen to this Digging Deeper podcast as Alan Mindlin, technical manager with The Morey Corp., talks about5G and how it will affect and improve construction jobsite data. Mindlin focuses on new business development and new customer acquisition at The Morey Corp. He does so by leading strong product design teams, creating state-of-the-art solutions and using best-in-class manufacturing facilities.  Mindlin has 40 years of engineering expertise, having worked with Bell Laboratories in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and as a consultant for startups. He also has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in marketing and operations from Washington University in St. Louis, as well as a master's degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University.  Mindlin is also the vice chair of the DuPage County Workforce Innovation Board; the board explores how to get people into the workforce and funds programs that help them to succeed.

Conversations on Race and Racism in the Covid 19 Pandemic How do we continue to address racism in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic while we practice physically distancing, shelter at home and become extreme hand-washers? Juan Lopez, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion thought leader, joins me to talk about racism in the time of COVID 19, and why conversations on race are so crucial right now. Listen to this episode of Everyday Conversations on Race to find creative ways to build community, connection and increase real communication in the virtual world of this global crisis, Juan was one of the first leaders in the movement to create organizations that support diversity, equity and inclusion. He shares his story about growing up a Chicano in California, as well as his past experience, present observations and future predictions for eliminating racism and division today. Key points from our discussion: We are seeing an increase in racist attacks against Asians who are being scapegoated and blamed for the virus. These racist verbal and physical attacks are a result of some people feeling powerless and looking for a target, direct messages from the white house, extreme right-wing media and some government officials. Those of us who are anti-racist, pro-unity and pro-love can take actions to stop people from harm and to help them be safe. We can let people who are potential targets of racist attacks know that they can come to us if they are afraid. If possible, we will accompany them on essential errands or find ways to help them get groceries, gas and what they need for survival. We can speak up on social media against racism and racist stereotypes, particularly against Asians. If we hear people, we know make racist or hateful statements, we can’t just excuse those comments but must intervene. We can continue to create community, increase connection and effective communication across differences by calling people to check in, set up Zoom calls or use other remote platforms. At this time, it’s important to let people know they matter. People who are targets of white supremacy need to know they are not alone and that we can be connected across those differences and go beyond just supporting those that look like us. On the playlist this week, is old school R&B with artists like the Eisley Brothers and I’m listening to “Wake Up Everybody,” by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. As we get closer to the Jewish holiday of Passover, I’m listening to Jewish songs of resistance during the holocaust and thinking about how we all need each other right now.  This is a scary time, but we can’t let our fear turn to panic or exclusion. This is the time for love, inclusion and unity for those of those that want to eliminate fear of difference and bring people together. Bio for Juan Lopez Juan Lopez is the President of Amistad Associates, a consulting firm that provides Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, Team Building, Leadership, Customer Service, and Managing Diversity. In addition, Juan was a founder and principal with the Center for Reinventing Government.   Juan has worked in the public and private sectors for the last 28 years.  Since 1986, fifty percent of his work has focused on organizational development with local government and educational institutions.  Under Juan's guidance, Amistad Associates has contributed to the organizational and leadership development of Port of Oakland, Port of Long Beach, Los Angeles Community Development Commission, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Sonoma State University, Contra Costa County, Napa County, Peralta Community College District, and several California Cities and non-profits. As a consultant with Sentient Systems, he provided training to cities and counties on changing organizational norms and taught the Continuing Education for Public Officials (CEPO) project, sponsored by the League of California Cities. Among Juan’s clients are corporations, government, and non-profit organizations.  He has provided leadership and diversity consulting services to AT&T, Bell Laboratories, NASA Johnston Space Center, Digital Equipment Corporation, Levi Straus and Co., Frito, Pepsi, Wells Fargo Banks, Avon Products International, Dupont, Fannie Mae, the U.S. Postal Service, public health centers, school districts, the Anti-Defamation League, Alameda Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, National Hispanic Corporate Council, University of California at Berkeley, and Sonoma State University. He is a member of the Diversity Collegium, professionals dedicated to advancing the field of Diversity through research and learning, and a co-founder of Diversity 2020      

Pat Helmers is an international business consultant and technology startup coach. He is the author of the Selling With Confidence sales system and host of the  award winning (https://www.salesbabble.com/press/)  Sales Babble sales podcast. Pat has been in the tech world his entire professional career. Key Take Ways: Know how to ask the right questions Fact tell Stories Sell How to connect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/) and Build relationships How to build relationships on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/) How to leverage a podcast to promote your business The power of podcasting for your business The GaryVee content model (https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/the-garyvee-content-strategy-how-to-grow-and-distribute-your-brands-social-media-content/) And so much more Connect with Pat: www.salesbabble.com (https://www.salesbabble.com/) www.habaneromedia.net (http://habaneromedia.net/) Habanero on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/habanero-media-llc) pathelmers@salesbabble.com www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhelmers (https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhelmers/) www.facebook.com/SalesBabble/ (https://www.facebook.com/SalesBabble/) @pathelmers on Twitter @pathelmers on WeChat 630.768.3134 Sales Babble Studio (https://plus.google.com/+SalesBabblePlano/posts) 13725 E. Main St. Plano, IL 60545  USA Pat Helmers is an international business consultant and technology startup coach. He is the author of the Selling With Confidence sales system and host of the  award winning (https://www.salesbabble.com/press/)  Sales Babble sales podcast. Pat has been in the tech world his entire professional career. Pat started his career as a software engineer for Bell Laboratories. It was there he became an inventor in GSM wireless technologies, earning two patents. He leveraged his expertise and became a trainer for emerging software Object Oriented methodologies, training 1000s of engineers in the USA and Europe. He was promoted and managed various training groups and a technology adoption organization promoting technology transfer. He then entered the software start-up arena, pursuing a career in business development for software startups, enrolling and selling early adopters on new technologies. Eventually Pat was promoted to the Vice President of Sales for an enterprise SaaS start-up, building from scratch an inside and outside sales team that generated 8 figure revenues. Still having the start-up bug, Pat created the Sales Babble brand with the Sales Babble Podcast. Sales Babble was created to stop the babble on the myth that you must be pushy to be successful in sales. He believes anyone can become skilled in sales if they adopt an attitude of “helping” clients and adding “value” to their lives and businesses. From the sales podcast sprung his consulting and coaching practice as well as authoring the Selling With Confidence sales system. Today Pat is an business consultant focusing on technology startups and founder of  Habanero Media (http://habaneromedia.net/)  podcast production services Pat enjoys golf, bicycling, history, and world travel. He is an avid father, husband and loyal friend. Powered By: (https://www.localfirstpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/New-Logo.png) (https://www.denaligroupwi.com/) Support this podcast

There are loads of cloud solutions for file sharing, messaging, conferencing, project management, and overall client/vendor communications, but managing all of these different services can get messy. In this episode, we talk to CEO of PanTerra Networks Arthur Chang, whose focus is on providing a solution for mid-level enterprises that unifies all these cloud services into one solution. Arthur Chang, who also goes by Artie, has over 20 years of hi-tech executive experience. Artie started his career at Bell Laboratories, worked as CEO of SoloPoint Communications, a provider of telecom equipment, and then was CEO of Cradle Technologies, a multi-core multimedia DSP company. Here's how he is innovating and getting more inspiration to develop new ideas and projects.

Welcome to the History of Computing Podcast, where we explore the history of information technology. Because understanding the past prepares us to innovate of the future! Todays episode is is on the microphone. Now you might say “wait, that's not a computer-thing. But given that every computer made in the past decade has one, including your phone, I would beg to differ. Also, every time I record one of these episodes, I seem to get a little better with wielding the instruments, which has led me to spend way more time than is probably appropriate learning about them. So what exactly is a microphone? Well, it's a simple device that converts mechanical waves of energy into electrical waves of energy. Microphones have a diaphragm, much as we humans do and that diaphragm mirrors the sound waves it picks up. So where did these microphones come from? Well, Robert Hooke got the credit for hooking a string to a cup in 1665 and suddenly humans could push sound over distances. Then in 1827 Charles Wheatstone, who invented the telegraph put the word microphone into our vernacular. 1861 rolls around and Johan Philipp Reis build the Reis telephone, which electrified the microphone using a metallic strip that was attached to a vibrating membrane. When a little current was passed through it, it reproduced sound far away. Think of this as more of using electricity to amplify the effects of the string on the cup. But critically, sound had been turned into signal. In 1876, Emile Berliner built a modern microphone while working on the gramophone. He was working with Thomas Edison at the time and would go on to sell the patent for the Microphone to The Bell Telephone Company. Now, Alexander Graham Bell had designed a telephone transmitter in 1876 but ended up in a patent dispute with David Edward Hughes. And as he did with many a great idea, Thomas Edison made the first practical microphone in 1886. This was a carbon microphone that would go on to be used for almost a hundred years. It could produce sound but it kinda' sucked for music. It was used in the first radio broadcast in New York in 1910. The name comes from the cranes of carbon that are packed between two metal plates. Edison would end up introducing the diaphragm and the carbon button microphone would become the standard. That microphone though, often still had a built0-in amp, strengthening the voltage that was the signal sound had been converted to. 1915 rolls around and we get the vacuum tube amplifier. And in 1916, E.C. Wente of Bell Laboratories designed the condenser microphone. This still used two plates, but each had an electrical charge and when the sound vibrations moved the plates, the signal was electronically amplified. Georg Neumann then had the idea to use gold plated PVC and design the mic such that as sound reached the back of the microphone it would be cancelled, resulting in a cardioid pattern, making it the first cardioid microphone and an ancestor to the microphone I'm using right now. In the meantime, other advancements were coming. Electromagnets made it possible to add moving coils and ribbons and Wente and A.C. Thuras would then invent the dynamic, or moving-coil microphone in 1931. This was much more of an omnidirectional pattern and It wasn't until 1959 that the Unidyne III became the first mic to pull in sound from the top of the mic, which would change the shape and look of the microphone forever. Then in 1964 Bell Labs brought us the electrostatic transducer mic and the microphone exploded with over a billion of these built every year. Then Sennheiser gave us clip-on microphones in the 80s, calling their system the Mikroport and releasing it through Telefunken. No, Bootsie Collins was not a member of Telefunken. He'd been touring with James Brown for awhile ad by then was with the Parliament Funkadelic. Funk made a lot of use of all these innovations in sound though. So I see why you might be confused. Other than the fact that all of this was leading us up to a point of being able to use microphones in computers, where's the connection? Well, remember Bell Labs? In 1962 they invented the electret microphone. Here the electrically biased diaphragms have a capacitor that changes with the vibrations of sound waves. Robert Noyce had given us the integrated circuit in 1959 and of microphones couldn't escape the upcoming Moore's law, as every electronics industry started looking for applications. Honeywell came along with silicon pressure sensors, and by 65 Harvey Nathanson gave us a resonant-gated transistors. That would be put on a Monolithic chip by 66 and through the 70s micro sensors were developed to isolate every imaginable environmental parameter, including sound. At this point, computers were still big hulking things. But computers and sound had been working their way into the world for a couple of decades. The technologies would evolve into one another at some point obviously. In 1951, Geoff Hill pushed pules to a speaker using the Australian CSIRAC and Max Mathews at Bell Labs had been doing sound generation on an IBM 704 using the MUSIC program, which went a step further and actually created digital audio using PCM, or Pulse-Code Modulation. The concept of sending multiplexed signals over a wire had started with the telegraph back in the 1870s but the facsimile, or fax machine, used it as far back as 1920. But the science and the math wasn't explaining it all to allow for the computer to handle the rules required. It was Bernard Oliver and Claude Shannon that really put PCM on the map. We've mentioned Claude Shannon on the podcast before. He met Alan Turing in 43 and went on to write crazy papers like A Mathematical Theory of Cryptography, Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems, and A Mathematical Theory of Communications. And he helped birth the field of information theory. When the math nerds showed up, microphones got way cooler. By the way, he liked to juggle on a unicycle. I would too if I could. They documented that you could convert audio to digital by sampling audio and modulation would be mapping the audio on a sine wave at regular intervals. This analog-to-digital converter could then be printed on a chip that would output encoded digital data that would live on storage. Demodulate that with a digital to analog converter, apply an amplification, and you have the paradigm for computer sound. There's way more, like anti-aliasing and reconstruction filters, but someone will always think you're over-simplifying. So the evolutions came, giving us multi-track stereo casettes, the fax machines and eventually getting to the point that this recording will get exported into a 16-bit PCM wave file. PCM would end up evolving to LPCM, or Linear pulse-control modulation and be used in CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray's. Oh and lossleslly compressed to mp3, mpeg4, etc. By the 50s, MIT hackers would start producing sound and even use the computer to emit the same sounds Captain Crunch discovered the tone for, so they could make free phone calls. They used a lot of paper tape then, but with magnetic tape and then hard drives, computers would become more and more active in audio. By 61 John Kelly Jr and Carol Lockbaum made an IBM 7094 mainframe sing Daisy Bell. Arthur C. Clarke happened to see it and that made it into 2001: A Space Odyssey. Remember hearing it sing that when it was getting taken apart? But the digital era of sound recording is marked as starting with the explosion of Sony in the 1970s. Moore's Law, they got smaller, faster, and cheaper and by the 2000s microelectromechanical microphones web mainstream, which are what are built into laptops, cell phones, and headsets. You see, by then it was all on a single chip. Or even shared a chip. These are still mostly omnidirectional. But in modern headphones, like Apple AirPods then you're using dual beam forming microphones. Beamforming uses multiple sensor arrays to extract sounds based on a whole lot of math; the confluence of machine learning and the microphone. You see, humans have known to do many of these things for centuries. We hooked a cup to a wire and sound came out the other side. We electrified it. We then started going from engineering to pure science. We then analyzed it with all the math so we better understood the rules. And that last step is when it's time to start writing software. Or sometimes it's controlling things with software that gives us the necessary understanding to make the next innovative leap. The invention of the microphone doesn't really belong to one person. Hook, Wheatstone, Reis, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Wente, Thuras, Shannon, Hill, Matthews, and many, many more had a hand in putting that crappy mic in your laptop, the really good mic in your cell phone, and the stupidly good mic in your headphones. Some are even starting to move over to Piezoelectric. But I think I'll save that for another episode. The microphone is a great example of that slow, methodical rise, and iterative innovation that makes technologies truly lasting. It's not always shockingly abrupt or disruptive. But those innovations are permanently world-changing. Just think, because of the microphone and computer getting together for a blind date in the 40s you can now record your hit album in Garage Band. For free. Or you call your parents any time you want. Now pretty much for free. So thank you for sticking with me through all of this. It's been a blast. You should probably call your parents now. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you. But before you do, thank you for tuning in to yet another episode of the History of Computing Podcast. We're so lucky to have you. Have a great day!

FreeBSD 12.1 is here, A history of Unix before Berkeley, FreeBSD development setup, HardenedBSD 2019 Status Report, DNSSEC, compiling RainbowCrack on OpenBSD, and more. Headlines FreeBSD 12.1 (https://www.freebsd.org/releases/12.1R/announce.html) Some of the highlights: BearSSL has been imported to the base system. The clang, llvm, lld, lldb, compiler-rt utilities and libc++ have been updated to version 8.0.1. OpenSSL has been updated to version 1.1.1d. Several userland utility updates. For a complete list of new features and known problems, please see the online release notes and errata list, available at: https://www.FreeBSD.org/releases/12.1R/relnotes.html A History of UNIX before Berkeley: UNIX Evolution: 1975-1984. (http://www.darwinsys.com/history/hist.html) Nobody needs to be told that UNIX is popular today. In this article we will show you a little of where it was yesterday and over the past decade. And, without meaning in the least to minimise the incredible contributions of Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, we will bring to light many of the others who worked on early versions, and try to show where some of the key ideas came from, and how they got into the UNIX of today. Our title says we are talking about UNIX evolution. Evolution means different things to different people. We use the term loosely, to describe the change over time among the many different UNIX variants in use both inside and outside Bell Labs. Ideas, code, and useful programs seem to have made their way back and forth - like mutant genes - among all the many UNIXes living in the phone company over the decade in question. Part One looks at some of the major components of the current UNIX system - the text formatting tools, the compilers and program development tools, and so on. Most of the work described in Part One took place at Research'', a part of Bell Laboratories (now AT&T Bell Laboratories, then as nowthe Labs''), and the ancestral home of UNIX. In planned (but not written) later parts, we would have looked at some of the myriad versions of UNIX - there are far more than one might suspect. This includes a look at Columbus and USG and at Berkeley Unix. You'll begin to get a glimpse inside the history of the major streams of development of the system during that time. News Roundup My FreeBSD Development Setup (https://adventurist.me/posts/00296) I do my FreeBSD development using git, tmux, vim and cscope. I keep a FreeBSD fork on my github, I have forked https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd to https://github.com/adventureloop/freebsd OPNsense 19.7.6 released (https://opnsense.org/opnsense-19-7-6-released/) As we are experiencing the Suricata community first hand in Amsterdam we thought to release this version a bit earlier than planned. Included is the latest Suricata 5.0.0 release in the development version. That means later this November we will releasing version 5 to the production version as we finish up tweaking the integration and maybe pick up 5.0.1 as it becomes available. LDAP TLS connectivity is now integrated into the system trust store, which ensures that all required root and intermediate certificates will be seen by the connection setup when they have been added to the authorities section. The same is true for trusting self-signed certificates. On top of this, IPsec now supports public key authentication as contributed by Pascal Mathis. HardenedBSD November 2019 Status Report. (https://hardenedbsd.org/article/shawn-webb/2019-11-09/hardenedbsd-status-report) We at HardenedBSD have a lot of news to share. On 05 Nov 2019, Oliver Pinter resigned amicably from the project. All of us at HardenedBSD owe Oliver our gratitude and appreciation. This humble project, named by Oliver, was born out of his thesis work and the collaboration with Shawn Webb. Oliver created the HardenedBSD repo on GitHub in April 2013. The HardenedBSD Foundation was formed five years later to carry on this great work. DNSSEC enabled in default unbound(8) configuration. (https://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20191110123908) DNSSEC validation has been enabled in the default unbound.conf(5) in -current. The relevant commits were from Job Snijders (job@) How to Install Shopware with NGINX and Let's Encrypt on FreeBSD 12 (https://www.howtoforge.com/how-to-install-shopware-with-nginx-and-lets-encrypt-on-freebsd-12/) Shopware is the next generation of open source e-commerce software. Based on bleeding edge technologies like Symfony 3, Doctrine2 and Zend Framework Shopware comes as the perfect platform for your next e-commerce project. This tutorial will walk you through the Shopware Community Edition (CE) installation on FreeBSD 12 system by using NGINX as a web server. Requirements Make sure your system meets the following minimum requirements: + Linux-based operating system with NGINX or Apache 2.x (with mod_rewrite) web server installed. + PHP 5.6.4 or higher with ctype, gd, curl, dom, hash, iconv, zip, json, mbstring, openssl, session, simplexml, xml, zlib, fileinfo, and pdo/mysql extensions. PHP 7.1 or above is strongly recommended. + MySQL 5.5.0 or higher. + Possibility to set up cron jobs. + Minimum 4 GB available hard disk space. + IonCube Loader version 5.0.0 or higher (optional). How to Compile RainbowCrack on OpenBSD (https://cromwell-intl.com/open-source/compiling-rainbowcrack-on-openbsd.html) Project RainbowCrack was originally Zhu Shuanglei's implementation, it's not clear to me if the project is still just his or if it's even been maintained for a while. His page seems to have been last updated in August 2007. The Project RainbowCrack web page now has just binaries for Windows XP and Linux, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Earlier versions were available as source code. The version 1.2 source code does not compile on OpenBSD, and in my experience it doesn't compile on Linux, either. It seems to date from 2004 at the earliest, and I think it makes some version-2.4 assumptions about Linux kernel headers. You might also look at ophcrack, a more modern tool, although it seems to be focused on cracking Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10 password hashes Feedback/Questions Reese - Amature radio info (http://dpaste.com/2RDG9K4#wrap) Chris - VPN (http://dpaste.com/2K4T2FQ#wrap) Malcolm - NAT (http://dpaste.com/138NEMA) Send questions, comments, show ideas/topics, or stories you want mentioned on the show to feedback@bsdnow.tv (mailto:feedback@bsdnow.tv) Your browser does not support the HTML5 video tag.

Pat Helmers started the Sales Babble sales podcast in March 2014. His goal was to cut through the babble of bad sales advice too often repeated by society. He disagrees with the idea that sales is a pushy and unethical profession. He believes that if you have a genuine desire to service your customers, anyone can become successful at sales. Pat started his career as a software engineer for Bell Laboratories. It was there he became an inventor in GSM wireless technologies, earning two patents. He leveraged his expertise and became a trainer for emerging software Object Oriented methodologies, training 1000s of engineers in the USA and Europe. He was promoted and managed various training groups and a technology adoption organization promoting technology transfer. How to connect with Pat: Linkedin: @Patrickhelmers Podcast: Sales Babble Production Company: Habanero Media Website: pathelmers.com How you can support Pat: Check out Habanero Media if you’re interested in starting a podcast or look into his personal website for consulting.  Recommendations from Pat: - Talk out your value proposition with people in person  - Ask your audience for reviews and use those to make sales  - Treat everyone as if they’re family  My book recommendation: To Sell Is Human, by Daniel Pink – this book is great for this episode because it re-emphasizes that selling is a part of being human and that even creatives can benefit from selling.  If you would like weekly summaries with TGI hacks from each episode, sign up here.  If you liked this episode, please let me know on Twitter. Feel free to join our community on Facebook here. Thank you for listening to the Traction Growth & Income podcast. If you haven’t done so already, I would sincerely appreciate a quick rating and review on iTunes! It really helps grow awareness for the show.  If you’re a creative wanting to make money from your craft, be sure to check out Stagepass today in order to let your audience support you by creating experiences for auction.

Mark Ziegler’s ham radio story began as a  youngster that moved him into a career as an electronics engineer with the famous Bell Laboratories.  Now retired, Mark enjoys operating from an RF quiet QTH in rural New Hampshire. Wind power is WA2ILB’s alternative power source of choice and is one of the subjects that we discuss in this QSO Today.

099 | Patrick Helmers Shares Why Knowing Your Ideal Client Leads to More Sales What is the most important thing you need to know in order to close a sale? Is it the product? Is it the price? Is it how it will be delivered, or how you will continue to serve your client after they have given you their money? The answer here just may surprise you. Pat Helmers is an international business consultant and technology startup coach. He is the author of the Selling With Confidence sales system and host of the award winning Sales Babble podcast. Pat has been in the tech world his entire professional career. Pat started his career as a software engineer for Bell Laboratories. It was there he became an inventor in GSM wireless technologies, earning two patents. He leveraged his expertise and became a trainer for emerging software Object Oriented methodologies, training 1000s of engineers in the USA and Europe. He was promoted and managed various training groups and a technology adoption organization promoting technology transfer. He then entered the software start-up arena, pursuing a career in business development for software startups, enrolling and selling early adopters on new technologies. Eventually, Pat was promoted to the Vice President of Sales for an enterprise SaaS startup, building from scratch an inside and outside sales team that generated 8 figure revenues. Still having the startup bug,  Pat created the Sales Babble brand with the Sales Babble Podcast. Sales Babble was created to stop the babble on the myth that you must be pushy to be successful in sales. He believes anyone can become skilled in sales if they adopt an attitude of “helping” clients and adding “value” to their lives and businesses. From the podcast sprung his consulting and coaching practice as well as authoring the Selling With Confidence sales system.Pat enjoys golf, bicycling, history, and world travel. He is an avid father, husband, and loyal friend. You know that sales is so much more than just bringing a product to a person, and expecting them to just hand their money over. To be most effective in sales, you need to know your client, and know their needs, so that you can help them find a solution to their biggest problems! In fact, you should know them better than they know themselves - where they hang out, what they need, what their problems are, what they eat - you need to KNOW them! Once you know your ideal client, you unlock the door of being able to serve them effectively. You’ll know how you can solve their problems. You know the answers to the questions they haven’t asked. If you close your mouth and simply listen, they’ll tell you exactly how to best sell to them. This week’s guest on the Success Unfiltered Podcast, Pat Helmers, jumped into a sales career after being laid off from his six-figure job. He quickly learned that the key to getting a YES is knowing your ideal client. Once he figured that out, he learned that all he had to do was listen, and they’d tell him exactly how to sell to them. When he did that, he began to hear YES a whole lot more! Feeling discouraged by the word NO? Ready to learn what it takes to know your ideal client? This episode of Success Unfiltered is a MUST LISTEN! Enjoy, and thank you for listening and tuning into Success Unfiltered! To share your thoughts: Email The Pitch Queen @ hello@thepitchqueen.com Ask a question over at www.ThePitchQueen.com Share Success Unfiltered on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, & LinkedIn To help the show out: Please leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe to the show on iTunes. Special thanks goes out to Pat Helmers for taking the time to chat with Michelle. Be sure to join us next week for our next new episode! Resilience is KEY. In Business and In Life. Of course, it’s not always easy. Staying positive when you keep hearing NO, focusing on your dreams when the world is stacked against you...none of it is for the faint of heart. How do you keep your eye on the prize? Resilience. My FREE guide will show you 3 Steps To Building Rock-Solid Resilience In Business. Want to make your business dreams come true? Click HERE! Here are a few key secrets we talked about in this episode: Michelle introduces Pat Helmers. The four-letter word “sale” is one of the best words because it makes your whole business tick! Pat shares how he learned to ask the right questions. He was laid off from a 6 figure job and moved to commission based sales as his only income. He was told to “stop calling” people after they’d demoed his software - he was so desperate for a sale which actually hurt Pat! Pat quickly learned to ask about sales cycles - he was pushing for sales in the wrong season. You have to let sales breathe - meaning you have to ride the ebb and the flow of the sales cycle and relax. Pat’s original focus in sales was on himself and making money - not on how he could best serve the customer. He came from a place of desperation rather than a place of service. The business of sales is all about helping people. Not about convincing them; it’s all about serving them well and providing great products and services. Sales have nothing to do with you - it’s all about your client. If you care about someone, you ask questions and listen to their answers. You want to hear so that you can know how to help them! Salling works the same way. Once you start asking questions, people will give you all the information you need to know to help them. Make sure that you ask lots of questions of the people you will be potentially working with! Make sure you understand who the decision makers are. Most of the time, you learn from the deals you lose. The deals you win aren’t that interesting - you learn from the ones you lose. Every salesperson has to “come of age” and learn how to read their ideal client. Sales can be FUN! It allows you the ability to be an artist, or to be the one who meets the needs of others. It’s an opportunity to push yourself. It’s critical that you truly, deeply understand your ideal client, know challenges and desires, and know them better than they know themselves. Take the time to know, the answers will come out naturally. You can’t learn while you’re talking. Listen. Listening is probably the most powerful thing that you can do in sales. Ask questions and listen empathetically. If you really listen, you’ll know how to help them - or help someone else help them. Michelle asks Pat what he would tell his younger self. Connect with Pat: Pat’s Website LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Resilience is KEY. In Business and In Life. Of course, it’s not always easy. Staying positive when you keep hearing NO, focusing on your dreams when the world is stacked against you...none of it is for the faint of heart. How do you keep your eye on the prize? Resilience. My FREE guide will show you 3 Steps To Building Rock-Solid Resilience In Business. Want to make your business dreams come true? Click HERE! Music produced by Deejay-O  www.iamdeejayo.com  

Das erste Licht das im Universum gestrahlt hat, ist immer noch draußen. Wir müssen uns allerdings ein wenig anstrengen, wenn wir es sehen wollen. Wie das geht erfahrt ihr heute im Podcast.

DragonflyBSD 5.4 has been released, down the Gopher hole with OpenBSD, OpenBSD in stereo with VFIO, BSD/OS the best candidate for legally tested open source Unix, OpenBGPD adds diversity to the routing server landscape, and more. Headlines DragonflyBSD 5.4 released DragonFly version 5.4 brings a new system compiler in GCC 8, improved NUMA support, a large of number network and virtual machine driver updates, and updates to video support. This release is 64-bit only, as with previous releases. The details of all commits between the 5.2 and 5.4 branches are available in the associated commit messages for 5.4.0rc and 5.4.0. Big-ticket items Much better support for asymmetric NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access) configurations. In particular, both the memory subsystem and the scheduler now understand the Threadripper 2990WX’s architecture. The scheduler will prioritize CPU nodes with direct-attached memory and the memory subsystem will normalize memory queues for CPU nodes without direct-attached memory (which improves cache locality on those CPUs). Incremental performance work. DragonFly as a whole is very SMP friendly. The type of performance work we are doing now mostly revolves around improving fairness for shared-vs-exclusive lock clashes, reducing cache ping-ponging due to non-contending SMP locks (i.e. massive use of shared locks on shared resources), and so forth. Major updates to dports brings us to within a week or two of FreeBSD’s ports as of this writing, in particular major updates to chromium, and making the whole mess work with gcc-8. Major rewriting of the tty clist code and the tty locking code, significantly improving concurrency across multiple ttys and ptys. GCC 8 DragonFly now ships with GCC 8.0, and runs as the default compiler. It is also now used for building dports. GCC 4.7.4 and GCC 5.4.1 are still installed. 4.7.4 is our backup compiler, and 5.4.1 is still there to ensure a smooth transition, but should generally not be used. buildworld builds all three by default to ensure maximum compatibility. Many passes through world sources were made to address various warnings and errors the new GCC brought with it. HAMMER2 HAMMER2 is recommended as the default root filesystem in non-clustered mode. Clustered support is not yet available. Increased bulkfree cache to reduce the number of iterations required. Fixed numerous bugs. Improved support on low-memory machines. Significant pre-work on the XOP API to help support future networked operations. Details Checksums MD5 (dfly-x86_64-5.4.0_REL.img) = 7277d7cffc92837c7d1c5dd11a11b98f MD5 (dfly-x86_64-5.4.0_REL.iso) = 6da7abf036fe9267479837b3c3078408 MD5 (dfly-x86_64-5.4.0_REL.img.bz2) = a77a072c864f4b72fd56b4250c983ff1 MD5 (dfly-x86_64-5.4.0_REL.iso.bz2) = 4dbfec6ccfc1d59c5049455db914d499 Downloads Links DragonFly BSD is 64-bit only, as announced during the 3.8 release. USB: dfly-x86_64-5.4.0_REL.img as bzip2 file ISO: dfly-x86_64-5.4.0_REL.iso as bzip2 file Uncompressed ISO: dfly-x86_64-5.4.0_REL.iso (For use with VPS providers as an install image.) Down the Gopher hole with OpenBSD, Gophernicus, and TLS In the early 2000s I thought I had seen the worst of the web - Java applets, Macromedia (>Adobe) Flash, animated GIFs, javascript snow that kept you warm in the winter by burning out your CPU, and so on. For a time we learned from these mistakes, and started putting the burden on the server-side - then with improvements in javascript engines we started abusing it again with JSON/AJAX and it all went down hill from there. Like cloud computing, blockchains, machine learning and a tonne of other a la mode technologies around today - most users and service providers don’t need websites that consume 1GB of memory processing JS and downloading 50MB of compressed data just to read Alice’s one-page travel blog or Bob’s notes on porting NetBSD to his blood-pressure monitor. Before the HTTP web we relied on Prestel/Minitel style systems, BBS systems, and arguably the most accessible of all - Gopher! Gopher was similar to the locally accessed AmigaGuide format, in that it allowed users to search and retrieve documents interactively, with links and cross-references. Its efficiency and distraction-free nature make it attractive to those who are tired of the invasive, clickbait, ad-filled, javascript-laden web2/3.x. But enough complaining and evangelism - here’s how to get your own Gopher Hole! Gophernicus is a modern gopher daemon which aims to be secure (although it still uses inetd -_-); it’s even in OpenBSD ports so at least we can rely on it to be reasonably audited. If you need a starting point with Gopher, SDF-EU’s wiki has a good article here. https://sdfeu.org/w/tutorials:gopher Finally, if you don’t like gopher(1) - there’s always lynx(1) or NCSA Mosaic! https://cryogenix.net/NCSA_Mosaic_OpenBSD.html I’ve added TLS support to Gophernicus so you don’t need to use stunnel anymore. The code is ugly and unpolished though so I wouldn’t recommend for production use. https://github.com/0x16h/gophernicus https://github.com/0x16h/gophernicus/blob/master/INSTALL.openbsd News Roundup OpenBSD in Stereo with Linux VFIO I use a Huawei Matebook X as my primary OpenBSD laptop and one aspect of its hardware support has always been lacking: audio never played out of the right-side speaker. The speaker did actually work, but only in Windows and only after the Realtek Dolby Atmos audio driver from Huawei was installed. Under OpenBSD and Linux, and even Windows with the default Intel sound driver, audio only ever played out of the left speaker. Now, after some extensive reverse engineering and debugging with the help of VFIO on Linux, I finally have audio playing out of both speakers on OpenBSD. VFIO The Linux kernel has functionality called VFIO which enables direct access to a physical device (like a PCI card) from userspace, usually passing it to an emulator like QEMU. To my surprise, these days, it seems to be primarily by gamers who boot Linux, then use QEMU to run a game in Windows and use VFIO to pass the computer’s GPU device through to Windows. By using Linux and VFIO, I was able to boot Windows 10 inside of QEMU and pass my laptop’s PCI audio device through to Windows, allowing the Realtek audio drivers to natively control the audio device. Combined with QEMU’s tracing functionality, I was able to get a log of all PCI I/O between Windows and the PCI audio device. Using VFIO To use VFIO to pass-through a PCI device, it first needs to be stubbed out so the Linux kernel’s default drivers don’t attach to it. GRUB can be configured to instruct the kernel to ignore the PCI audio device (8086:9d71) and explicitly enable the Intel IOMMU driver by adding the following to /etc/default/grub and running update-grub With the audio device stubbed out, a new VFIO device can be created from it Then the VFIO device (00:1f.3) can be passed to QEMU I was using my own build of QEMU for this, due to some custom logging I needed (more on that later), but the default QEMU package should work fine. The events.txt was a file of all VFIO events I wanted logged (which was all of them). Since I was frequently killing QEMU and restarting it, Windows 10 wanted to go through its unexpected shutdown routine each time (and would sometimes just fail to boot again). To avoid this and to get a consistent set of logs each time, I used qemu-img to take a snapshot of a base image first, then boot QEMU with that snapshot. The snapshot just gets thrown away the next time qemu-img is run and Windows always starts from a consistent state. QEMU will now log each VFIO event which gets saved to a debug-output file. With a full log of all PCI I/O activity from Windows, I compared it to the output from OpenBSD and tried to find the magic register writes that enabled the second speaker. After days of combing through the logs and annotating them by looking up hex values in the documentation, diffing runtime register values, and even brute-forcing it by mechanically duplicating all PCI I/O activity in the OpenBSD driver, nothing would activate the right speaker. One strange thing that I noticed was if I booted Windows 10 in QEMU and it activated the speaker, then booted OpenBSD in QEMU without resetting the PCI device’s power in-between (as a normal system reboot would do), both speakers worked in OpenBSD and the configuration that the HDA controller presented was different, even without any changes in OpenBSD. A Primer on Intel HDA Most modern computers with integrated sound chips use an Intel High Definition Audio (HDA) Controller device, with one or more codecs (like the Realtek ALC269) hanging off of it. These codecs do the actual audio processing and communicate with DACs and ADCs to send digital audio to the connected speakers, or read analog audio from a microphone and convert it to a digital input stream. In my Huawei Matebook X, this is done through a Realtek ALC298 codec. On OpenBSD, these HDA controllers are supported by the azalia(4) driver, with all of the per-codec details in the lengthy azalia_codec.c file. This file has grown quite large with lots of codec- and machine-specific quirks to route things properly, toggle various GPIO pins, and unmute speakers that are for some reason muted by default. The azalia driver talks to the HDA controller and sets up various buffers and then walks the list of codecs. Each codec supports a number of widget nodes which can be interconnected in various ways. Some of these nodes can be reconfigured on the fly to do things like turning a microphone port into a headphone port. The newer Huawei Matebook X Pro released a few months ago is also plagued with this speaker problem, although it has four speakers and only two work by default. A fix is being proposed for the Linux kernel which just reconfigures those widget pins in the Intel HDA driver. Unfortunately no pin reconfiguration is enough to fix my Matebook X with its two speakers. While reading more documentation on the HDA, I realized there was a lot more activity going on than I was able to see through the PCI tracing. For speed and efficiency, HDA controllers use a DMA engine to transfer audio streams as well as the commands from the OS driver to the codecs. In the output above, the CORBWP=0; size=256 and RIRBRP=0, size=256 indicate the setup of the CORB (Command Output Ring Buffer) and RIRB (Response Input Ring Buffer) each with 256 entries. The HDA driver allocates a DMA address and then writes it to the two CORBLBASE and CORBUBASE registers, and again for the RIRB. When the driver wants to send a command to a codec, such as CORB_GET_PARAMETER with a parameter of COP_VOLUME_KNOB_CAPABILITIES, it encodes the codec address, the node index, the command verb, and the parameter, and then writes that value to the CORB ring at the address it set up with the controller at initialization time (CORBLBASE/CORBUBASE) plus the offset of the ring index. Once the command is on the ring, it does a PCI write to the CORBWP register, advancing it by one. This lets the controller know a new command is queued, which it then acts on and writes the response value on the RIRB ring at the same position as the command (but at the RIRB’s DMA address). It then generates an interrupt, telling the driver to read the new RIRBWP value and process the new results. Since the actual command contents and responses are handled through DMA writes and reads, these important values weren’t showing up in the VFIO PCI trace output that I had gathered. Time to hack QEMU. Logging DMA Memory Values in QEMU Since DMA activity wouldn’t show up through QEMU’s VFIO tracing and I obviously couldn’t get Windows to dump these values like I could in OpenBSD, I could make QEMU recognize the PCI write to the CORBWP register as an indication that a command has just been written to the CORB ring. My custom hack in QEMU adds some HDA awareness to remember the CORB and RIRB DMA addresses as they get programmed in the controller. Then any time a PCI write to the CORBWP register is done, QEMU fetches the new CORB command from DMA memory, decodes it into the codec address, node address, command, and parameter, and prints it out. When a PCI read of the RIRBWP register is requested, QEMU reads the response and prints the corresponding CORB command that it stored earlier. With this hack in place, I now had a full log of all CORB commands and RIRB responses sent to and read from the codec: An early version of this patch left me stumped for a few days because, even after submitting all of the same CORB commands in OpenBSD, the second speaker still didn’t work. It wasn’t until re-reading the HDA spec that I realized the Windows driver was submitting more than one command at a time, writing multiple CORB entries and writing a CORBWP value that was advanced by two. This required turning my CORB/RIRB reading into a for loop, reading each new command and response between the new CORBWP/RIRBWP value and the one previously seen. Sure enough, the magic commands to enable the second speaker were sent in these periods where it submitted more than one command at a time. Minimizing the Magic The full log of VFIO PCI activity from the Windows driver was over 65,000 lines and contained 3,150 CORB commands, which is a lot to sort through. It took me a couple more days to reduce that down to a small subset that was actually required to activate the second speaker, and that could only be done through trial and error: Boot OpenBSD with the full list of CORB commands in the azalia driver Comment out a group of them Compile kernel and install it, halt the QEMU guest Suspend and wake the laptop, resetting PCI power to the audio device to reset the speaker/Dolby initialization and ensure the previous run isn’t influencing the current test (I’m guessing there is an easier to way to reset PCI power than suspending the laptop, but oh well) Start QEMU, boot OpenBSD with the new kernel Play an MP3 with mpg123 which has alternating left- and right-channel audio and listen for both channels to play This required a dozen or so iterations because sometimes I’d comment out too many commands and the right speaker would stop working. Other times the combination of commands would hang the controller and it wouldn’t process any further commands. At one point the combination of commands actually flipped the channels around so the right channel audio was playing through the left speaker. The Result After about a week of this routine, I ended up with a list of 662 CORB commands that are needed to get the second speaker working. Based on the number of repeated-but-slightly-different values written with the 0x500 and 0x400 commands, I’m guessing this is some kind of training data and that this is doing the full Dolby/Atmos system initialization, not just turning on the second speaker, but I could be completely wrong. In any case, the stereo sound from OpenBSD is wonderful now and I can finally stop downmixing everything to mono to play from the left speaker. In case you ever need to do this, sndiod can be run with -c 0:0 to reduce the channels to one. Due to the massive size of the code needed for this quirk, I’m not sure if I’ll be committing it upstream in OpenBSD or just saving it for my own tree. But at least now the hardware support chart for my Matebook is all yeses for the things I care about. I’ve also updated the Linux bug report that I opened before venturing down this path, hoping one of the maintainers of that HDA code that works at Intel or Realtek knew of a solution I could just port to OpenBSD. I’m curious to see what they’ll do with it. Why BSD/OS is the best candidate for being the only tested legally open UNIX Introduction The UNIX® system is an old operating system, possibly older than many of the readers of this post. However, despite its age, it still has not been open sourced completely. In this post, I will try to detail which parts of which UNIX systems have not yet been open sourced. I will focus on the legal situation in Germany in particular, taking it representative of European law in general – albeit that is a stretch, knowing the diversity of European jurisdictions. Please note that familiarity with basic terms of copyright law is assumed. Ancient UNIX The term “Ancient UNIX” refers to the versions of UNIX up to and including Seventh Edition UNIX (1979) including the 32V port to the VAX. Ancient UNIX was created at Bell Laboratories, a subsidiary of AT&T at the time. It was later transferred of the AT&T UNIX Support Group, then AT&T Information Systems and finally the AT&T subsidiary UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. (USL). The legal situation differs between the United States of America and Germany. In a ruling as part of the UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. v. Berkeley Software Design, Inc. (USL v. BSDi) case, a U.S. court found that USL had no copyright to the Seventh Edition UNIX system and 32V – arguably, by extension, all earlier versions of Ancient UNIX as well – because USL/AT&T had failed to affix copyright notices and could not demonstrate a trade secret. Due to the obsessive tendency of U.S. courts to consider themselves bound to precedents (cf. the infamous Pierson v. Post case), it can be reasonably expected that this ruling would be honored and applied in subsequent cases. Thus under U.S. law, Ancient UNIX can be safely assumed to belong in the public domain. The situation differs in Germany. Unlike the U.S., copyright never needed registration in order to exist. Computer programs are works in the sense of the German 1965 Act on Copyright and Related Rights (Copyright Act, henceforth CopyA) as per CopyA § 2(1) no. 1. Even prior to the amendment of CopyA § 2(1) to include computer programs, computer programs have been recognized as copyrightable works by the German Supreme Court (BGHZ 112, 264 Betriebssystem, no. 19); CopyA § 137d(1) rightly clarifies that. The copyright holder at 1979 would still have been USL via Bell Labs and AT&T. Copyright of computer programs is transferred to the employer upon creation under CopyA § 69(1). Note that this does not affect expiry (Daniel Kaboth/Benjamin Spies, commentary on CopyA §§ 69a‒69g, in: Hartwig Ahlberg/Horst-Peter Götting (eds.), Urheberrecht: UrhG, KUG, VerlG, VGG, Kommentar, 4th ed., C. H. Beck, 2018, no. 16 ad CopyA § 69b; cf. Bundestag-Drucksache [BT-Drs.] 12/4022, p. 10). Expiry occurs 70 years after the death of the (co-)author that died most recently as per CopyA § 65(1) and 64; this has been the case since at least the 1960s, meaning there is no way for copyright to have expired already (old version, as per Bundesgesetzblatt Part I No. 51 of September 16, 1965, pp. 1273‒1294). In Germany, private international law applies the so-called “Territorialitätsprinzip” for intellectual property rights. This means that the effect of an intellectual property right is limited to the territory of a state (Anne Lauber-Rönsberg, KollisionsR, in: Hartwig Ahlberg/Horst-Peter Götting (eds.), ibid., pp. 2241 et seqq., no. 4). Additionally, the “Schutzlandprinzip” applies; this means that protection of intellectual property follows the lex loci protectionis, i.e. the law of the country for which protection is sought (BGH GRUR 2015, 264 HiHotel II, no. 25; BGH GRUR 2003, 328 Sender Felsberg, no. 24), albeit this is criticized in parts of doctrine (Lauber-Rönsberg, ibid., no. 10). The “Schutzlandprinzip” requires that the existence of an intellectual property right be verified as well (BGH ZUM 2016, 522 Wagenfeld-Leuchte II, no. 19). Thus, in Germany, copyright on Ancient UNIX is still alive and well. Who has it, though? A ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, in the case of The SCO Group, Inc. v. Novell, Inc. (SCO v. Novell) in the U.S. made clear that Novell owns the rights to System V – thus presumably UNIX System III as well – and Ancient UNIX, though SCO acquired enough rights to develop UnixWare/OpenServer (Ruling 10-4122 [D.C. No. 2:04-CV-00139-TS], pp. 19 et seq.). Novell itself was purchased by the Attachmate Group, which was in turn acquired by the COBOL vendor Micro Focus. Therefore, the rights to SVRX and – outside the U.S. – are with Micro Focus right now. If all you care about is the U.S., you can stop reading about Ancient UNIX here. So how does the Caldera license factor into all of this? For some context, the license was issued January 23, 2002 and covers Ancient UNIX (V1 through V7 including 32V), specifically excluding System III and System V. Caldera, Inc. was founded in 1994. The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. sold its rights to UNIX to Caldera in 2001, renamed itself to Tarantella Inc. and Caldera renamed itself The SCO Group. Nemo plus iuris ad alium transferre potest quam ipse habet; no one can transfer more rights than he has. The question now becomes whether Caldera had the rights to issue the Caldera license. I’ve noted it above but it needs restating: Foreign decisions are not necessarily accepted in Germany due to the “Territorialitätsprinzip” and “Schutzlandprinzip” – however, I will be citing a U.S. ruling for its assessment of the facts for the sake of simplicity. As per ruling 10-4122, “The district court found the parties intended for SCO to serve as Novell’s agent with respect to the old SVRX licenses and the only portion of the UNIX business transferred outright under the APA [asset purchase agreement] was the ability to exploit and further develop the newer UnixWare system. SCO was able to protect that business because it was able to copyright its own improvements to the system. The only reason to protect the earlier UNIX code would be to protect the existing SVRX licenses, and the court concluded Novell retained ultimate control over that portion of the business under the APA.” The relevant agreements consist of multiple pieces: the base Asset Purchase Agreement “APA” (Part I) the base Asset Purchase Agreement “APA” (Part II) the Operating Agremeent and Amendment 1 to the APA the Amendment 2 to the APA The APA dates September 19, 1995, from before the Caldera license. Caldera cannot possibly have acquired rights that The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. itself never had. Furthermore, I’ve failed to find any mention of Ancient UNIX; all that is transferred is rights to SVRX. Overall, I believe that the U.S. courts’ assesment of the facts represents the situation accurately. Thus for all intents and purposes, UNIX up to and including System V remained with Novell/Attachmate/Micro Focus. Caldera therefore never had any rights to Ancient UNIX, which means it never had the rights to issue the Caldera license. The Caldera license is null and void – in the U.S. because the copyright has been lost due to formalities, everywhere else because Caldera never had the rights to issue it. The first step to truly freeing UNIX would this be to get Micro Focus to re-issue the Caldera license for Ancient UNIX, ideally it would now also include System III and System V. BSD/OS Another operating system near UNIX is of interest. The USL v. BSDi lawsuit includes two parties: USL, which we have seen above, and Berkeley Software Design, Inc. BSDi sold BSD/386 (later BSD/OS), which was a derivative of 4.4BSD. The software parts of the BSDi company were acquired by Wind River Systems, whereas the hardware parts went to iXsystems. Copyright is not disputed there, though Wind River Systems ceased selling BSD/OS products 15 years ago, in 2003. In addition, Wind River System let their trademark on BSD expire, though this is without consequence for copyright. BSD/OS is notable in the sense that it powered much of early internet infrastructure. Traces of its legacy can still be found on Richard Stevens’ FAQ. To truly make UNIX history free, BSD/OS would arguably also need to see a source code release. BSD/OS at least in its earliest releases under BSDi would ship with source code, though under a non-free license, far from BSD or even GPL licensing. System V The fate of System V as a whole is difficult to determine. Various licenses have been granted to a number of vendors (Dell UNIX comes to mind; HP for HP-UX, IBM for AIX, SGI UNIX, etc.). Sun released OpenSolaris – notoriously, Oracle closed the source to Solaris again after its release –, which is a System V Release 4 descendant. However, this means nothing for the copyright or licensing status of System V itself. Presumably, the rights with System V still remain with Novell (now Micro Focus): SCO managed to sublicense rights to develop and sell UnixWare/OpenServer, themselves System V/III descendants, to unXis, Inc. (now known as Xinuos, Inc.), which implies that Xinuos is not the copyright holder of System V. Obviously, to free UNIX, System V and its entire family of descendants would also need to be open sourced. However, I expect tremendous resistance on part of all the companies mentioned. As noted in the “Ancient UNIX” section, Micro Focus alone would probably be sufficient to release System V, though this would mean nothing for the other commercial System V derivatives. Newer Research UNIX The fate of Bell Labs would be a different one; it would go on to be purchased by Lucent, now part of Nokia. After commercial UNIX got separated out to USL, Research UNIX would continue to exist inside of Bell Labs. Research UNIX V8, V9 and V10 were not quite released by Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc. and Nokia in 2017. However, this is merely a notice that the companies involved will not assert their copyrights only with respect to any non-commercial usage of the code. It is still not possible, over 30 years later, to freely use the V8 code. Conclusion In the U.S., Ancient UNIX is freely available. People located everywhere else, however, are unable to legally obtain UNIX code for any of the systems mentioned above. The exception being BSD/OS, assuming a purchase of a legitimate copy of the source code CD. This is deeply unsatisfying and I implore all involved companies to consider open sourcing (preferably under a BSD-style license) their code older than a decade, if nothing else, then at least for the sake of historical purposes. I would like to encourage everybody reading this to consider reaching out to Micro Focus and Wind River Systems about System V and BSD/OS, respectively. Perhaps the masses can change their minds. A small note about patents: Some technologies used in newer iterations of the UNIX system (in particular the System V derivatives) may be encumbered with software patents. An open source license will not help against patent infringement claims. However, the patents on anything used in the historical operating systems will certainly have expired by now. In addition, European readers can ignore this entirely – software patents just aren’t a thing. OpenBGPD - Adding Diversity to the Route Server Landscape Introduction As of last year, there was effectively only a single solution in the Route Server vendor market: the BIRD Internet routing daemon. NIC.CZ (the organisation developing BIRD) has done fantastic work on maintaining their BGP-4 implementation, however, it’s not healthy to have virtually every Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in the RIPE NCC service region depend on a single open source project. The current situation can be compared to the state of the DNS root nameservers back in 2002 - their dependence on the BIND nameserver daemon and the resulting development of NSD as an alternative by NLnet, in cooperation with the RIPE NCC. OpenBGPD used to be one of the most popular Route Server implementations until the early 2010s. OpenBGPD’s main problem was that its performance couldn’t keep up with the Internet’s growth, so it lost market share. An analysis by Job Snijders suggested that a modernised OpenBGPD distribution would be a most viable option to regain diversity on the Route Server level. Missing features in OpenBGPD The following main missing features were identified in OpenBGPD: Performance In previous versions of OpenBGPD, the filtering performance didn’t allow proper filtering of all EBGP sessions. Current best practice at IXP Route Servers is to carefully evaluate and validate of all routes learned from EBGP peers. The OpenBGPD ruleset required to do correct filtering (in many deployment scenarios) was simply too lengthy - and negatively impacted service performance during configuration reloads. While filtering performance is the biggest bottleneck, general improvements to the Routing Information Base were also made to improve scalability. IXP Route Servers with a few hundred peering sessions are commonplace and adding new sessions shouldn’t impact the Route Servers’ service to other peers. We found that performance was the most pressing issue that needed to be tackled. Lack of RPKI Origin Validation As we’ve seen, Internet operators are moving to adopt RPKI based BGP Origin Validation. While it was theoretically possible to emulate RFC 6811-style Origin Validation in previous versions of OpenBGPD, the required configuration wasn’t optimised for performance and wasn’t user friendly. We believe that BGP Origin Validation should be as easy as possible - this requires BGP-4 vendors to implement native, optimised routines for Origin Validation. Of course, enabling Origin Validation shouldn’t have an impact on performance either when processing BGP updates or when updating the Route Origin Authorisation (ROA) table itself. Portability OpenBGPD is an integral part of OpenBSD, but IXPs may prefer to run their services infrastructure on an operating system of their choice. Making sure that there’s a portable OpenBGPD version which follows the OpenBSD project release cycle will give IXPs this option. Development steps By addressing the issues mentioned above, we could bring back OpenBGPD as a viable Route Server implementation. Since I was one of the core OpenBGPD developers, I was asked if I wanted to pick up this project again. Thanks to the funding from the RIPE NCC Project Fund, this was possible. Starting in June 2018, I worked full time on this important community project. Over the last few months, many of the problems are already addressed and are now part of the OpenBSD 6.4 release. So far, 154 commits were made to OpenBGPD during the 6.4 development cycle - around 8% of all commits ever to OpenBGPD! This shows that due to funding and dedicated resources, a lot of work could be pushed into the latest release of OpenBGPD. OpenBGPD 6.4 The OpenBGPD version, as part of OpenBSD 6.4 release, demonstrates great progress. Even though there have been many changes to the core of OpenBGPD, the released version is as solid and reliable as previous releases and the many bug fixes and improvements make this the best OpenBGPD release so far. The changes in the filter language allow users to write more efficient rulesets while the introduction of RPKI origination validation fixes an important missing feature. For IXPs, OpenBGPD now is an alternative again. There are still open issues, but the gap is closing! Feature highlights The following changes should be highlighted: Introduction of background soft-reconfiguration on config reload. Running the soft-reconfiguration task in the background allows for new updates and withdraws to be processed at the same time. This improves convergence time - one of the key metrics for Route Servers. BGP Origin Validation when a roa-set is configured Every EBGP route announcement is validated against the locally configured VRP table entries. Depending on the validation process’s outcome, the validation state is set to valid, invalid or not found. The filter language has been extended to allow checking for the origin validation state, and thanks to this, it is possible to deny invalid prefixes or regard valid prefixes different to the ones that aren’t found. The roa-set table is read from the configuration file and updated during configuration reloads. On production systems reloading the roa-set and applying it to all prefixes is done in a couple of seconds. Fast prefix-set lookups In OpenBSD 6.3 prefix-sets got introduced in OpenBGPD. A prefix-set combines many prefix lookups into a single filter rule. The original implementation wasn’t optimised but now a fast trie lookup is used. Thanks to this, large IRR DB prefix tables can now be implemented efficiently. Introduction of as-sets Similar to prefix-sets, as-sets help group many AS numbers into a single lookup. Thanks to this, large IRR DB origin AS tables can be implemented efficiently. Introduction of origin-sets Looking at the configurations of Route Servers doing full filtering, it was noticed that a common lookup was binding a prefix to an origin AS - similar to how a roa-set is used for RPKI. These origin-set tables are used to extend the IRR prefix lookup and generated from alternative sources. Improving third party tools Users can only benefit from the changes introduced in OpenBGPD 6.4 when the surrounding 3rd party tools are adjusted accordingly. Two opensource projects such as bgpq3 and arouteserver are frequently used by network operators and IXPs to generate BGP configurations. Thanks to our contributions to those projects, we were able to get them ready for all the new features in OpenBGPD. bgpq3 was extended to create as-set and prefix-set tables based on IRR DB entries. This is replacing the old way of doing the same with a large amount of filter rules. Thanks to the quick response from the bgpq3 maintainer, it was possible to ship OpenBSD 6.4 with a bgpq3 package that includes all the new features. arouteserver was adjusted to implement RPKI roa-set, as-set, prefix-set, and origin-set to generate a much better-performing configurations for the 6.4 version. With the v0.20.0 release of arouteserver, IXPs are able to generate an OpenBGPD configuration which is a ton faster but also implements the new functionalities. Looking at YYCIX (the resident IXP in Calgary, Canada) the ruleset generated by arouteserver was reduced from 370,000 rules to well under 6,000 rules. This resulted in the initial convergence time dropping from over 1 hour to less than 2 minutes, and subsequent configuration reloads are hitless and no longer noticeable. What still needs to be done A sizeable chunk of work still left on the table is the rework of the RIB data structures in OpenBGPD - these haven’t been changed since the initial design of OpenBGPD in 2003. There’s currently ongoing work (in small steps, to avoid jeopardising the stability of OpenBGPD) to modernise these data-structures. The goal is to provide better decoupling of the filter step from storing RIB database changes, to pave the way to multi-threaded operations at a later point. Looking forward Job Snijders oversaw this year’s fundraising and project management, he adds: It’s been incredibly productive to create an environment where a core developer is allowed to work full time on the OpenBGPD code base. However, it’s important to note there still is room for a number of new features to help improve its operational capabilities (such as BMP, RFC 7313, ADD_PATH, etc). It’d be beneficial to the Internet community at large if we can extend Claudio Jeker’s involvement for another year. Open source software doesn’t grow on trees! Strategic investments are the only way to keep OpenBGPD’s roadmap aligned with Internet growth and operator requirements. Beastie Bits DragonFly - git: annotated tag v5.5.0 created Torchlight 2 on NetBSD Older, but still good USENIX Login Article on Capsicum The Super Capsicumizer 9000 Dedicated and Virtual Server PXE provisioning tool Cirrus CI have announced FreeBSD support NetBSD PineBook Gameplay BSDCan 2019 CfP is out Allan’s first ZFS array, Zulu, turned 7 years old on Nov 29th Feedback/Questions Malcom - Installing Drivers in Development Samir - Introduction to ZFS Newnix - Drive Failures Send questions, comments, show ideas/topics, or stories you want mentioned on the show to feedback@bsdnow.tv

In this episode, Teri welcomes the "Oracle of Voice", Brian RoemmeleWelcome Brian Loemmele!Brian is the consummate Renaissance man. He is a scientist, researcher, analyst, connector, thinker and doer. He is also referred to as the “Oracle of Voice” and is actually credited for having come up with the term “Voice First”. Over the long, winding arc of his career, Brian has built and run payments and tech businesses, worked in media, including the promotion of top musicians, and explored a variety of other subjects along the way.Brian actively shares his findings and observations across fora like Forbes, Huffington Post, Newsweek, Slate, Business Insider, Daily Mail, Inc, Gizmodo, Medium, Quora (An exclusive Quora top writer for: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013), Twitter (quoted and published), Around the Coin (earliest crypto currency podcast), Breaking Banks Radio and This Week In Voice on VoiceFirst.fm that surfaces everything from Bitcoin to Voice Commerce.Getting into VoiceInitially thought he would be a physicist. Studied physics very early.He had a love for physics, astrophysics, astrobiology, mathematics, computers and a lot of other things.As a young boy he had friends whose parents worked at Bell Laboratories and that was how he saw a voice synthesizer for the first time.He was always interested in astronomy. The physics, mathematics and computer programming aspects of it was coming to play. He was always thinking what the technology would look like in the future. He started writing what he calls the “Voice Manifesto” which is now “Voice First” and it was based upon what he was seeing taking place and what he started to see as a true AI-informed personal assistant.He had to put a lot of that work to the side as the technology in the early 90s wasn’t there to achieve the things he knew they needed to achieve.He went into payments because he developed some of the first point-of-sale systems and later on some of the first payment systems that integrated with online shopping carts.The Voice RevolutionWe are in the embryotic stage of the voice first revolution.Because the computer was so dumb and so slow when it was invented, we had to invent a new way to communicate with it. We developed the keyboard and then the mouse.Steve jobs informed the first major revolution in computer-human interaction with the graphical user interface which liberated the human from having to remember a series of commands to inform a computer to do something.The next liberation was the touch screen.He had predicted that we would ultimately end up talking to our computers and they would understand us in a very practical way.Voice will be the way we do things.Anybody can increase their creativity by a huge margin just by talking to a recorder while they’re walking around to document their ideas. To be really good at it one can use Siri text-to-speech recording on the iPhone or the Android equivalent.It’s called a revolution because we are finally going to be liberated from being tied to the machine, and being the end project of a Google search. We can find 12 Billion results in a half a second on Google but we still have to sort it out.Amazon naming their assistant Alexa and Google not naming theirsWe tend to anthropomorphize anything that has human characteristics.If it has a female quality voice we are going to call it a “she”The female voice is a voice of authority because it’s the very first sound we hear before and after we are born.When we hear the female voice we assign it authority. Research shows we perk up when we hear our mom’s voice and our mom can command us to do things that no other human can do even at an older age.List of resources mentioned in this episode:Personal Voice Assistant with Brian Roemmele (Part 2 of this Interview)Brian on TwitterBrian on QuoraOther Useful resources:Voice in Canada: The Flash BriefingComplete List of Alexa CommandsReviews of top Alexa Skills in CanadaAlexa-Enabled and Controlled Devices in CanadaTeri Fisher on TwitterAlexa in Canada on TwitterAlexa in Canada Facebook PageAlexa in Canada Community Group on FacebookAlexa in Canada on InstagramPlease leave a review on iTunesShopping on Amazon.caThe Alexa Conference, presented by VoiceFirst.FMuse promo code ALEXAINCANADA for 20% off See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

“The main practical application of CPA so far has been in the eye surgery. It was the first one, and I think it is the one that is used by the most people for something practical.”Donna Strickland on the phone this morning with Göran Hansson of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, after learning that she had shared the Nobel Prize in Physics. CPA is chirped pulse amplification, a technique for producing incredibly short pulses of laser light of very high intensity.A few minutes before talking with Strickland, Hansson made the announcement:“This year's prize is about tools made from light. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has today decided to award the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics with one half to Arthur Ashkin for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems and the other half jointly to Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for their method of generating high-intensity, ultrashort optical pulses.“Arthur Ashkin was born in 1922 in New York City. He made his remarkable invention at the Bell Laboratories in New Jersey in the United States. Gérard Mourou was born in 1944 in Albertville in France. And he's currently at the École Polytechnique in Palaiseau in France, and also affiliated with the University of Michigan in the United States.“Donna Strickland was born in 1959 in Guelph, and she's currently at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Drs. Mourou and Strickland did much of their groundbreaking work together at the University of Rochester in the United States.”Physicist Olga Bottner, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, added:“Today we celebrate two inventions within the field of laser physics that have opened new scientific vistas. But what's more, have already led to applications of direct benefit to society. Optical tweezers allowing control of tiny living organisms. And an amplification technique enabling construction of high-intensity compact laser systems.”For an in-depth listen about the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics, look for the Scientific American Science Talk podcast later today.—Steve Mirsky[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]

“The main practical application of CPA so far has been in the eye surgery. It was the first one, and I think it is the one that is used by the most people for something practical.”Donna Strickland on the phone this morning with Göran Hansson of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, after learning that she had shared the Nobel Prize in Physics. CPA is chirped pulse amplification, a technique for producing incredibly short pulses of laser light of very high intensity.A few minutes before talking with Strickland, Hansson made the announcement:“This year's prize is about tools made from light. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has today decided to award the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics with one half to Arthur Ashkin for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems and the other half jointly to Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for their method of generating high-intensity, ultrashort optical pulses.“Arthur Ashkin was born in 1922 in New York City. He made his remarkable invention at the Bell Laboratories in New Jersey in the United States. Gérard Mourou was born in 1944 in Albertville in France. And he's currently at the École Polytechnique in Palaiseau in France, and also affiliated with the University of Michigan in the United States.“Donna Strickland was born in 1959 in Guelph, and she's currently at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Drs. Mourou and Strickland did much of their groundbreaking work together at the University of Rochester in the United States.”Physicist Olga Bottner, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, added:“Today we celebrate two inventions within the field of laser physics that have opened new scientific vistas. But what's more, have already led to applications of direct benefit to society. Optical tweezers allowing control of tiny living organisms. And an amplification technique enabling construction of high-intensity compact laser systems.”For an in-depth listen about the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics, look for the Scientific American Science Talk podcast later today.—Steve Mirsky[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]

Hayder Radha is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.   He is the director of MSU’s Connected and Autonomous Networked Vehicles for Active Safety, or CANVAS. Prior to teaching at Michigan State University, he was a research fellow and consulting scientist at Phillips Research. He was also a distinguished member of technical staff at Bell Laboratories. He earned his doctorate from Columbia University.

Lasers are machines that amplify light waves then shoot them out as narrow, intense beams. They are used everywhere today. Lasers read CDs and bar codes, guide missiles, cut through steel, precisely measure distances, entertain people and do a thousand other things. Lasers are used in several applications in urology. Most relevant to our discussion today is that we use lasers to break up kidney stones. L.A.S.E.R. is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. A laser's light is different from regular light and has three properties. A laser's light is coherent, collimated, and monochromatic. The idea and concept of the laser traces itself back to Albert Einstein in 1917, but it wasn't until May 16, 1960 that the first laser was actually built and fired in a laboratory at the Hughes Aircraft Company by Dr. Theodore Maiman. Dr. Maiman, who was trained in both engineering and physics bested many other scientists working at other prestigious institutions such as IBM, Bell Laboratories, and MIT. One of his breakthroughs was the use of artificial rubies as the active medium, persisting when other scientists had given up on the ruby due to failed calculations. Another breakthrough was the use of a flash bulb to stimulate the ruby rather than continuous light. On July 7, 1960 Dr. Maiman's laser was introduced to the world at a news conference in Manhattan, New York. When introducing the laser at the press conference Dr. Maiman was prescient but also humble about his new invention. “A laser is a solution seeking a problem,” he said. In urology, the laser solution has discovered a long standing medical problem in urinary stone disease. The history of lithotomy (treatment and removal of urinary stones) dates back to antiquity. The treatment of stones, which at the time most commonly occurred in the bladder, was very dangerous, often lethal.  As such, it led to the development of the lithotomist, who opened the urinary tract and removed stones directly. Recognition of this unique set of skills earned a distinction in the Hippocratic oath, written by Hippocrates around 400 B.C. and still recited by graduating medical students: “I will not cut for the stone, but will leave this to be done by practitioners of this work…” Today, “cutting for stone,” has been replaced by minimally invasive techniques.  We have discussed the shock wave lithotripsy in episode 30 and the percutaneous nephrolithotomy in episode 34. In today's episode, I want to discuss the third in the trio of options to treat kidney stone disease that has eliminated our need to “cut for stone.”  In this episode, we are discussing ureteroscopy, taking a small scope into the ureter to remove a stone. While this is the third option we are discussing it is the most common way to treat kidney stones in our specialty today. Here is some simple urinary anatomy. The kidney filters blood to make urine. Urine drains from the kidney into a collecting system consisting of individual renal calyces draining into a common, funnel shaped renal pelvis. The renal pelvis tapers into a narrow, long, muscular tube called the ureter that peristalsis and “milks” the urine into the bladder. The bladder stores urine, fills, and empties through the urethra. If you are a man your urethra travels through the prostate and the penis. The female urethra is much shorter. When urine is concentrated the minerals in the urine will form crystals.  When the crystals layer on top of one another they will form a kidney stone. When a stone chooses to try to come out it must travel through the ureter into the bladder and out through the urethra. The ureter is the narrowest part of the urinary tract. When a stone is too large to pass through the narrow ureter it will get stuck as it tries to come out. The analogy I use is let's say you have a strawberry milkshake, the kind where they used real strawberries.  I used to love those as a kid. But if there are strawberry chunks they get stuck in the straw. Maybe with some real sucking power you can get a small chunk all the way through the straw but if the chunk is too big you just can't suck hard enough. That's like a stone that won't pass.   In episode 7 we learned how a young Lyndon Johnson, the future President, had a stone stuck in his ureter during a campaign for the U.S. Senate and how doctors at the Mayo Clinic would perform a risky “blind basket” technique that allowed him to continue his campaign and win the Senate seat. Although we continue to basket stones to remove them we now we have advanced technology to actually get into the ureter and actually see what we are doing. We call this ureteroscopy. A ureteroscope is an endoscope designed to visualize and work within the ureter. We use both semi-rigid scopes as well as flexible scopes. The rigid scopes give us access just to the lower part of the ureter. Flexible scopes allow us to access all the way back into the kidney and have active deflection on the end of the scope that will allow us to see into all of the calyces within the collecting system. Once we perform ureteroscopy if the stone is small enough we are able to extract it using baskets, thin wire instruments that trap a stone so we can pull it out. But for stones too large to just pull out we have to use form of lithotripsy to break up the stone. These day we use a holmium laser to break the stone up into fragments small enough for us to remove safely. Advances in ureteroscopy and laser technology in stone care parallels my time in urology. It was in the late 1990's and early 2000's, while I was a resident and early on in my practice that ureteroscopes could routinely access and treat stones in the kidney and the laser technology to break up the stones was readily available. In fact, when I first moved to St Paul, MN in 2000 to start my practice we did not have lasers in the hospital at all times but they were brought in on special occasions. A doctor would have to order it well ahead of time.  Now almost all of our hospitals have a laser available where we can use the technology even on the weekends or in the evenings. When I started my practice, along with other younger surgeons I began to order the laser routinely and it quickly became obvious it would be economical for the hospital to buy a laser. Because this was brand new in the hospital this was a big deal, and introducing the technology in a safe manner was paramount. Lasers can do damage to your eyes. This is not a joke. When we first brought the technology into the the hospital we had to educate physicians and staff about laser safety to make sure we all understood the potential harm of the laser. So it was that one Saturday morning my partners and I all gathered for breakfast at the hospital to learn about laser safety.  To prove our knowledge and competence in the safe use of the laser we had to use the laser to bust up something. We weren't going to be allowed to just use the laser for the first time on a patient. So, we put a bunch of eggs in a pan of water. All of my partners and I stood around the pan of eggs, wearing our laser safety goggles taking turns cracking the eggs with the laser, laughing because we were feeling a little silly but, nonetheless, checking off the laser safety box. Such was the introduction of the holmium laser into routine use in St Paul, MN. Different laser mediums (solid, liquid, or gas) emit laser light in different wavelengths. Molecules, proteins, and pigments absorb light only in a specific range of wavelengths. In the real-world application of lasers in medicine different wavelengths of various lasers do different things and may have unique applications. The wavelength determines if the laser can or should be used on the skin, eyes, kidney stones or on some other tissue. The Holmium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser (Ho: YAG) is a solid-state, pulsed laser that emits light with a wavelength of 2.1 microns. It can transmit energy through a flexible fiber.  Because the wavelength rapidly absorbs in water the power dissipates quickly after it is released through the fiber and can be safely fired near the ureteral wall. The laser energy is able to fragment all stones regardless of composition. Lithotripsy using the holmium laser produces small fragments, a weak shockwave, and less retro-pulsion of the stone fragments than other forms of lithotripsy. All of these factors are important when breaking up a stone stuck in the very narrow, thin-walled ureter or renal pelvis. Accurate fiber contact against a stone is the primary safety factor. A clear visual field is important. Most surgeons will have their preferred settings on the laser machines they are familiar with but in general we start with low-pulse energy and pulse rate and increase as needed. Because we are breaking up the stone while we are observing using ureteroscopy we move the laser over stone surface in a “painting” fashion, creating stress lines that fragment a stone and/or vaporize it. A “snowstorm effect” is created as the stone breaks up because of the small particles created so patience and adequate irrigation is required. Much discussion in our field has centered recently around the technique of stone removal. Historically we would break the stone into fragments, like a rock quarry, and extract the fragments using a stone “basket.” But a “dusting” technique has developed as the lasers have become more powerful and are able to fire at a very high frequency. The current data suggests that basketing rather than dusting is probably a better technique in most cases but urologists should be familiar with all ureteroscopic treatment techniques. Ureteral anatomy, width, the ability to pass an access sheath, the available laser, as well as the stone themselves will mandate one technique over another for any particular patient. As you would expect, short term recovery for this procedure can be uncomfortable. Complications for this procedure also exist. Often urologists will leave a temporary ureteral stent to prevent swelling of the ureter as a result of the procedure. Blood in the urine after the procedure is common. Infections can occur.  Perforation of the ureter or long-term damage causing a stricture can also occur but is rare. Regardless of the technique used, the ultimate goal of the procedure should be to leave the patient free of stones. Stone-free is a big deal in the urology world. Residual fragments are likely sources of future stone formation. Crystals form on top of other crystals (listen to episode 3 of this podcast for my rock candy analogy). Residual stones commonly lead to growth, passage, and need for retreatment of more stones in the future. Lastly, surgery to remove a kidney stone is not the end of the relationship with a patient. A patient having ureteroscopy needs follow-up imaging of the kidneys to determine if all of the stones have been removed, whether or not a ureteral stricture (scar) has formed and whether kidney swelling (hydronephrosis) persists after the procedure. Furthermore, as many as 50% of people who have made their first stone will make another within 10 years. If you have ever had a kidney stone there are benefits to dietary counseling, metabolic testing, surveillance imaging, and other practices to prevent and detect stones over the long-term. We have come a long way since Einstein first proposed the laser in 1917, Dr. Theodore Maiman first displayed the laser in 1960, and I was learning laser safety cracking eggs in a hospital basement in 2001. To end this episode, here is a condensed excerpt from the Obituary for Dr Theodore Maiman published in the New York Times May 11, 2007. Theodore Harold Maiman was born in Los Angeles on July 11, 1927, and grew up mainly in Denver. His father, Abraham, was an electrical engineer who worked on inventions, included improvements to the stethoscope. Abraham wanted his son to be a doctor, but Theodore came to feel he had contributed more to medicine with the laser…. Theodore was rambunctious as a boy and aspired to being a comedian, but he was also very good at math. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering physics from the University of Colorado and completed a doctorate in physics at Stanford in 1955…. He went to work for Hughes and after some military contracts fell through, worked on the predecessor to the laser, the maser, which concentrated microwaves, not light… He told his bosses he wanted to make a laser, but they were wary of discouraging reports from other laboratories and said no. They wanted him to work on computers, or “something useful,” his wife said. But he threatened to quit and build a laser in his garage. So, the Hughes executives gave him nine months, $50,000 and an assistant. The assistant was Charles Asawa, who had the idea of illuminating the ruby with a photographic flash, rather than with the movie projector lamp first used. After Dr. Maiman succeeded, a news release predicted that doctors would use lasers to focus on a single human cell. For the rest of his life, Dr. Maiman insisted on emphasizing the laser's healing possibilities… …Dr. Maiman was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize and won many other awards, including the Japan Prize and the Wolf Prize in Physics. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1984, and he published the story of his discovery of the laser in “The Laser Odyssey” (2000). Theodore Harold Maiman died May 5 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was 79.

Ever wonder if voice science takes the artistry and joy out of music? Tune in to hear about this from Dr. Titze, who a big part of the foundation of modern voice science. I think of him as our Albert Einstein.  He is the director of the National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS) and President of the Pan American Vocology Assoiation. He has tenured professorship at the Univ. of Iowa, where he is teaching this semester, and teaches at the University of Utah.   The Conversation   Dr. Titze says his passion is to cover the whole territory of voice. But the field has gotten so big that it is difficult for him to do; music, theater voice, laryngology, speech pathology, and so on. Now one has to make some choices. The field now includes biologists, physiologist, engineers, and physicists. They try to serve the physicians. Also the field of neurology is exploding. NCVS works with Rachelle and Renee Fleming with what goes on in the airway for production of various different styles of sing.   Dr. Titze started down this road over 40 years ago, after starting a career at Boeing in engineering. He was studying singing and performing in the chorus of the Seattle Opera. In searching for a way to learn more about the science of singing, and following his passion for singing, he found that very little work had been done. There was very little knowledge of how the voice works. He sought out Harvey Fletcher, acoustician, at BYU in Provo, UT, who developed stereophonic sound for Bell Laboratories. He also worked with Bill Strong at BYU.   We took a side-trip to the story of his father, who was a German soldier in WWII. It is a touching story of his father who had to fire in the direction of Russian soldiers but was proud that he didn't think he ever shot anyone. Dr. Titze's father enjoyed talking about the community that soldiers from opposite sides of the war would occasionally have the opportunity to make. He was miraculously rescued after being shot. After the war the family was very poor and moved to the US in 1955 for a new chance.    Back on topic, if a person wants to get into voice science, they need to be willing to devote their focus to it as an engineer, or if not an engineer then to humbly jump in with a program like the NCVS Summer Vocology Institute, and learn as much science as they can in order to serve a team. Behavior sciences and neurosciences are also welcome. He says to, "keep in mind that we are all neophytes in something."   NCVS started in Denver as a bigger group than it is now. It has gotten smaller because of grants. A big part of their focus is education. They are largely funded by the National Institute of Health.    Dr. Titze gave a definition of the word Vocology. 1. The study of vocalization of any type and any animal. 2. The science and practice of voice habilitation. The Pan American Vocology (PAVA) is discussing creating credentials for a PAVA recognized vocologist.   In the area of the aging voice, Dr. Titze had a lot of advice for older singers (everyone post-midlife). The voice is always changing throughout life, and after midlife it requires more upkeep for various reasons such as atrophy, slow reflexes, tremors, hydration, arthritis, and stamina. He recommends that older singers sing frequently but not for very long, perhaps 15 min. at a time. In a choral rehearsal, singers often only need to sing for 15 min. here and 15 min. there, with breaks between.   He highly recommends semi-occluded vocal track exercises. Singing through a straw and doing slides and sirens. Learn more about the exercises from this video by Dr. Titze.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xYDvwvmBIM   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY_UnMI5Y-WIONNHdW8WJGA is the site for all NCVS videos.    Human voices are generally at their prime for singing around ages 45 - 50 when the cartilage has reached more calcification but the vocal ligament is still very flexible.   The vocal ligament is the cord part of the old term Vocal Cord. We now call them Vocal Folds to consider the skin on the outside, the lamina propria, ligament, and muscle. He likes to call the vocal folds a Fiber-Gel model. They are good at withstanding the thousands of collisions we have each minute while making sound. High pitches are controlled by the ligament, so keeping it healthy is important for a good voice in later years.   Regarding hydration, know the environment you are going to sing in. If you change environments (altitude or dryness) allow at least two days to sense the change. Drinking extra water during a climate adjustment doesn't really help that much because you pass it out quickly. It takes time to adjust.   He is not a big fan of personal steamers and such, because the effects only last 20 min. or so. He is a fan of Mucinex and expectorants to create mucus. The "object is to sniffle!"    Dr. Titze encourages engineers who have a passion for music to make room for it in their lives and pursue letting emotions go with singing. Dr. Titze greatly admired tenor, Fitz Wundelich but has found that opera singing doesn't work well with his voice. "At some point you have to stop putting your voice in a song and start putting the song in your voice."   Samples of Dr. Titze's singing are at NCVS.org under his biography.   Give Every Sing an iTunes review and contact Nancy so she can send you a free audiobook of her Amazon bestselling book, Singing 101: Vocal Basics and Fundamental Singing Skills for All Styles and Abilities. Contact Nancy on Facebook: Every Sing Podcast, on nancybos.net, or email her at nancy@studiobos.com   The gorgeous podcast cover art is by Ken Feisel at Ken Feisel Design.    Please donate to hurricane relief for voice teachers. Go to www.nats.org/nsaaf.html   Join the Every Sing podcast group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/    Every Sing on Twitter: @Every_Sing_Pod   Nancy’s website: NancyBos.net/podcasts   Support this podcast and add your name to the short list of deeply appreciated contributors who have direct input on show content through a small monthly donation and receive great rewards at https://www.patreon.com/everysing    

On today’s podcast, we celebrate some of the pioneers of early electronic ambient music, with the help of a long-time contributor, Fingers in the Noise. Here are all of the first explorations into the then unnamed genre, sometimes referred to as avant-garde, new-music, or simply electronic music. Pictured for the cover art of this mix is Laurie Spiegel, an American composer, who, while working in Bell Laboratories in the early 70s, composed with analog synthesizers using interactive software she wrote herself. Some of this music is hard to come by, with the early experiments a bit difficult to digest, so I thank Laurent Bisch for his wonderful selection of tracks for this very special tribute. For full track listing and more information about this mix, please visit headphonecommute.com

This week, we look forward with the latest OpenBSD release, look back with Dennis Ritchie's paper on the evolution of Unix Time Sharing, have an Interview with Kris This episode was brought to you by OpenBSD 6.1 RELEASED (http://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article&sid=20170411132956) Mailing list post (https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-announce&m=149191716921690&w=2') We are pleased to announce the official release of OpenBSD 6.1. This is our 42nd release. New/extended platforms: New arm64 platform, using clang(1) as the base system compiler. The loongson platform now supports systems with Loongson 3A CPU and RS780E chipset. The following platforms were retired: armish, sparc, zaurus New vmm(4)/ vmd(8) IEEE 802.11 wireless stack improvements Generic network stack improvements Installer improvements Routing daemons and other userland network improvements Security improvements dhclient(8)/ dhcpd(8)/ dhcrelay(8) improvements Assorted improvements OpenSMTPD 6.0.0 OpenSSH 7.4 LibreSSL 2.5.3 mandoc 1.14.1 *** Fuzz Testing OpenSSH (http://vegardno.blogspot.ca/2017/03/fuzzing-openssh-daemon-using-afl.html) Vegard Nossum writes a blog post explaining how to fuzz OpenSSH using AFL It starts by compiling AFL and SSH with LLVM to get extra instrumentation to make the fuzzing process better, and faster Sandboxing, PIE, and other features are disabled to increase debuggability, and to try to make breaking SSH easier Privsep is also disabled, because when AFL does make SSH crash, the child process crashing causes the parent process to exit normally, and AFL then doesn't realize that a crash has happened. A one-line patch disables the privsep feature for the purposes of testing A few other features are disabled to make testing easier (disabling replay attack protection allows the same inputs to be reused many times), and faster: the local arc4random_buf() is patched to return a buffer of zeros disabling CRC checks disabling MAC checks disabling encryption (allow the NULL cipher for everything) add a call to _AFLINIT(), to enable “deferred forkserver mode” disabling closefrom() “Skipping expensive DH/curve and key derivation operations” Then, you can finally get around to writing some test cases The steps are all described in detail In one day of testing, the author found a few NULL dereferences that have since been fixed. Maybe you can think of some other code paths through SSH that should be tested, or want to test another daemon *** Getting OpenBSD running on Raspberry Pi 3 (http://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article&sid=20170409123528) Ian Darwin writes in about his work deploying the arm64 platform and the Raspberry Pi 3 So I have this empty white birdhouse-like thing in the yard, open at the front. It was intended to house the wireless remote temperature sensor from a low-cost weather station, which had previously been mounted on a dark-colored wall of the house [...]. But when I put the sensor into the birdhouse, the signal is too weak for the weather station to receive it (the mounting post was put in place by a previous owner of our property, and is set deeply in concrete). So the next plan was to pop in a tiny OpenBSD computer with a uthum(4) temperature sensor and stream the temperature over WiFi. The Raspberry Pi computers are interesting in their own way: intending to bring low-cost computing to everybody, they take shortcuts and omit things that you'd expect on a laptop or desktop. They aren't too bright on their own: there's very little smarts in the board compared to the "BIOS" and later firmwares on conventional systems. Some of the "smarts" are only available as binary files. This was part of the reason that our favorite OS never came to the Pi Party for the original rpi, and didn't quite arrive for the rpi2. With the rpi3, though, there is enough availability that our devs were able to make it boot. Some limitations remain, though: if you want to build your own full release, you have to install the dedicated raspberrypi-firmware package from the ports tree. And, the boot disks have to have several extra files on them - this is set up on the install sets, but you should be careful not to mess with these extra files until you know what you're doing! But wait! Before you read on, please note that, as of April 1, 2017, this platform boots up but is not yet ready for prime time: there's no driver for SD/MMC but that's the only thing the hardware can level-0 boot from, so you need both the uSD card and a USB disk, at least while getting started; there is no support for the built-in WiFi (a Broadcom BCM43438 SDIO 802.11), so you have to use wired Ethernet or a USB WiFi dongle (for my project an old MSI that shows up as ural(4) seems to work fine); the HDMI driver isn't used by the kernel (if a monitor is plugged in uBoot will display its messages there), so you need to set up cu with a 3V serial cable, at least for initial setup. the ports tree isn't ready to cope with the base compiler being clang yet, so packages are "a thing of the future" But wait - there's more! The "USB disk" can be a USB thumb drive, though they're generally slower than a "real" disk. My first forays used a Kingston DTSE9, the hardy little steel-cased version of the popular DataTraveler line. I was able to do the install, and boot it, once (when I captured the dmesg output shown below). After that, it failed - the boot process hung with the ever-unpopular "scanning usb for storage devices..." message. I tried the whole thing again with a second DTSE9, and with a 32GB plastic-cased DataTraveler. Same results. After considerable wasted time, I found a post on RPI's own site which dates back to the early days of the PI 3, in which they admit that they took shortcuts in developing the firmware, and it just can't be made to work with the Kingston DataTraveler! Not having any of the "approved" devices, and not living around the corner from a computer store, I switched to a Sabrent USB dock with a 320GB Western Digital disk, and it's been rock solid. Too big and energy-hungry for the final project, but enough to show that the rpi3 can be solid with the right (solid-state) disk. And fast enough to build a few simple ports - though a lot will not build yet. I then found and installed OpenBSD onto a “PNY” brand thumb drive and found it solid - in fact I populated it by dd'ing from one of the DataTraveller drives, so they're not at fault. Check out the full article for detailed setup instructions *** Dennis M. Ritchie's Paper: The Evolution of the Unix Time Sharing System (http://www.read.seas.harvard.edu/~kohler/class/aosref/ritchie84evolution.pdf) From the abstract: This paper presents a brief history of the early development of the Unix operating system. It concentrates on the evolution of the file system, the process-control mechanism, and the idea of pipelined commands. Some attention is paid to social conditions during the development of the system. During the past few years, the Unix operating system has come into wide use, so wide that its very name has become a trademark of Bell Laboratories. Its important characteristics have become known to many people. It has suffered much rewriting and tinkering since the first publication describing it in 1974 [1], but few fundamental changes. However, Unix was born in 1969 not 1974, and the account of its development makes a little-known and perhaps instructive story. This paper presents a technical and social history of the evolution of the system. High level document structure: Origins The PDP-7 Unix file system Process control IO Redirection The advent of the PDP-11 The first PDP-11 system Pipes High-level languages Conclusion One of the comforting things about old memories is their tendency to take on a rosy glow. The programming environment provided by the early versions of Unix seems, when described here, to be extremely harsh and primitive. I am sure that if forced back to the PDP-7 I would find it intolerably limiting and lacking in conveniences. Nevertheless, it did not seem so at the time; the memory fixes on what was good and what lasted, and on the joy of helping to create the improvements that made life better. In ten years, I hope we can look back with the same mixed impression of progress combined with continuity. Interview - Kris Moore - kris@trueos.org (mailto:kris@trueos.org) | @pcbsdkris (https://twitter.com/pcbsdkris) Director of Engineering at iXSystems FreeNAS News Roundup Compressed zfs send / receive now in FreeBSD's vendor area (https://svnweb.freebsd.org/base?view=revision&revision=316894) Andriy Gapon committed a whole lot of ZFS updates to FreeBSD's vendor area This feature takes advantage of the new compressed ARC feature, which means blocks that are compressed on disk, remain compressed in ZFS' RAM cache, to use the compressed blocks when using ZFS replication. Previously, blocks were uncompressed, sent (usually over the network), then recompressed on the other side. This is rather wasteful, and can make the process slower, not just because of the CPU time wasted decompressing/recompressing the data, but because it means more data has to be sent over the network. This caused many users to end up doing: zfs send | xz -T0 | ssh unxz | zfs recv, or similar, to compress the data before sending it over the network. With this new feature, zfs send with the new -c flag, will transmit the already compressed blocks instead. This change also adds longopts versions of all of the zfs send flags, making them easier to understand when written in shell scripts. A lot of fixes, man page updates, etc. from upstream OpenZFS Thanks to everyone who worked on these fixes and features! We'll announce when these have been committed to head for testing *** Granting privileges using the FreeBSD MAC framework (https://mysteriouscode.io/blog/granting-privileges-using-mac-framework/) The MAC (Mandatory Access Control) framework allows finer grained permissions than the standard UNIX permissions that exist in the base system FreeBSD's kernel provides quite sophisticated privilege model that extends the traditional UNIX user-and-group one. Here I'll show how to leverage it to grant access to specific privileges to group of non-root users. mac(9) allows creating pluggable modules with policies that can extend existing base system security definitions. struct macpolicyops consist of many entry points that we can use to amend the behaviour. This time, I wanted to grant a privilege to change realtime priority to a selected group. While Linux kernel lets you specify a named group, FreeBSD doesn't have such ability, hence I created this very simple policy. The privilege check can be extended using two user supplied functions: privcheck and privgrant. The first one can be used to further restrict existing privileges, i.e. you can disallow some specific priv to be used in jails, etc. The second one is used to explicitly grant extra privileges not available for the target in base configuration. The core of the macrtprio module is dead simple. I defined sysctl tree for two oids: enable (on/off switch for the policy) and gid (the GID target has to be member of), then I specified our custom version of mpoprivgrant called rtprioprivgrant. Body of my granting function is even simpler. If the policy is disabled or the privilege that is being checked is not PRIVSCHED_RTPRIO, we simply skip and return EPERM. If the user is member of the designated group we return 0 that'll allow the action – target would change realtime privileges. Another useful thing the MAC framework can be used to grant to non-root users: PortACL: The ability to bind to TCP/UDP ports less than 1024, which is usually restricted to root. Some other uses for the MAC framework are discussed in The FreeBSD Handbook (https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/mac.html) However, there are lots more, and we would really like to see more tutorials and documentation on using MAC to make more secure servers, but allowing the few specific things that normally require root access. *** The Story of the PING Program (http://ftp.arl.army.mil/~mike/ping.html) This is from the homepage of Mike Muuss: Yes, it's true! I'm the author of ping for UNIX. Ping is a little thousand-line hack that I wrote in an evening which practically everyone seems to know about. :-) I named it after the sound that a sonar makes, inspired by the whole principle of cho-location. In college I'd done a lot of modeling of sonar and radar systems, so the "Cyberspace" analogy seemed very apt. It's exactly the same paradigm applied to a new problem domain: ping uses timed IP/ICMP ECHOREQUEST and ECHOREPLY packets to probe the "distance" to the target machine. My original impetus for writing PING for 4.2a BSD UNIX came from an offhand remark in July 1983 by Dr. Dave Mills while we were attending a DARPA meeting in Norway, in which he described some work that he had done on his "Fuzzball" LSI-11 systems to measure path latency using timed ICMP Echo packets. In December of 1983 I encountered some odd behavior of the IP network at BRL. Recalling Dr. Mills' comments, I quickly coded up the PING program, which revolved around opening an ICMP style SOCKRAW AFINET Berkeley-style socket(). The code compiled just fine, but it didn't work -- there was no kernel support for raw ICMP sockets! Incensed, I coded up the kernel support and had everything working well before sunrise. Not surprisingly, Chuck Kennedy (aka "Kermit") had found and fixed the network hardware before I was able to launch my very first "ping" packet. But I've used it a few times since then. grin If I'd known then that it would be my most famous accomplishment in life, I might have worked on it another day or two and added some more options. The folks at Berkeley eagerly took back my kernel modifications and the PING source code, and it's been a standard part of Berkeley UNIX ever since. Since it's free, it has been ported to many systems since then, including Microsoft Windows95 and WindowsNT. In 1993, ten years after I wrote PING, the USENIX association presented me with a handsome scroll, pronouncing me a Joint recipient of The USENIX Association 1993 Lifetime Achievement Award presented to the Computer Systems Research Group, University of California at Berkeley 1979-1993. ``Presented to honor profound intellectual achievement and unparalleled service to our Community. At the behest of CSRG principals we hereby recognize the following individuals and organizations as CSRG participants, contributors and supporters.'' Wow! The best ping story I've ever heard was told to me at a USENIX conference, where a network administrator with an intermittent Ethernet had linked the ping program to his vocoder program, in essence writing: ping goodhost | sed -e 's/.*/ping/' | vocoder He wired the vocoder's output into his office stereo and turned up the volume as loud as he could stand. The computer sat there shouting "Ping, ping, ping..." once a second, and he wandered through the building wiggling Ethernet connectors until the sound stopped. And that's how he found the intermittent failure. FreeBSD: /usr/local/lib/libpkg.so.3: Undefined symbol "utimensat" (http://glasz.org/sheeplog/2017/02/freebsd-usrlocalliblibpkgso3-undefined-symbol-utimensat.html) The internet will tell you that, of course, 10.2 is EOL, that packages are being built for 10.3 by now and to better upgrade to the latest version of FreeBSD. While all of this is true and running the latest versions is generally good advise, in most cases it is unfeasible to do an entire OS upgrade just to be able to install a package. Points out the ABI variable being used in /usr/local/etc/pkg/repos/FreeBSD.conf Now, if you have 10.2 installed and 10.3 is the current latest FreeBSD version, this url will point to packages built for 10.3 resulting in the problem that, when running pkg upgrade pkg it'll go ahead and install the latest version of pkg build for 10.3 onto your 10.2 system. Yikes! FreeBSD 10.3 and pkgng broke the ABI by introducing new symbols, like utimensat. The solution: Have a look at the actual repo url http://pkg.FreeBSD.org/FreeBSD:10:amd64… there's repo's for each release! Instead of going through the tedious process of upgrading FreeBSD you just need to Use a repo url that fits your FreeBSD release: Update the package cache: pkg update Downgrade pkgng (in case you accidentally upgraded it already): pkg delete -f pkg pkg install -y pkg Install your package There you go. Don't fret. But upgrade your OS soon ;) Beastie Bits CPU temperature collectd report on NetBSD (https://imil.net/blog/2017/01/22/collectd_NetBSD_temperature/) Booting FreeBSD 11 with NVMe and ZFS on AMD Ryzen (https://www.servethehome.com/booting-freebsd-11-nvme-zfs-amd-ryzen/) BeagleBone Black Tor relay (https://torbsd.github.io/blog.html#busy-bbb) FreeBSD - Disable in-tree GDB by default on x86, mips, and powerpc (https://reviews.freebsd.org/rS317094) CharmBUG April Meetup (https://www.meetup.com/CharmBUG/events/238218742/) The origins of XXX as FIXME (https://www.snellman.net/blog/archive/2017-04-17-xxx-fixme/) *** Feedback/Questions Felis - L2ARC (http://dpaste.com/2APJE4E#wrap) Gabe - FreeBSD Server Install (http://dpaste.com/0BRJJ73#wrap) FEMP Script (http://dpaste.com/05EYNJ4#wrap) Scott - FreeNAS & LAGG (http://dpaste.com/1CV323G#wrap) Marko - Backups (http://dpaste.com/3486VQZ#wrap) ***

  Started being a Recovery Educator in April 2009, but since April 2004,She have facilitated PSR classes in W.R.A.P., Self-Advocacy, Healthy Grieving, Understanding Bipolar Disorder, Ready for Change, Stress Management, Expressive Writing/Poetry, Expressive Arts, and various Pre-Vocational Classes at the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD). Her classes average 6-12 students, so each gets individualized attention, and the opportunity to express their points of view. She has witnessed much growth in many people during that period of time. She has also mentored some of my peers to lead classes on their own, e.g. Basic Drawing, Theater, and Arts & Crafts. In February 2010, She was promoted to a PSR Specialist. She believes she has a talent sharing her knowledge and experiences so that others may learn and benefit from them. An ambassador for the arts, am President of The Awakenings Project, where she has curated, organized exhibits, and written grants for this internationally recognized organization for the past 20 years. She worked full-time for nearly 20 years with Bell Laboratories, now Alcatel-Lucent, while living with and openly speaking about her bipolar disorder. While working full-time, She finished her B.S. degree, majoring in Computer Science, and graduated in 1986, Magna Cum Laude, from North Central College. She respects diversity and individual differences, and is open to learning more about all cultures. She speaks German, Spanish, and am proficient in American Sign Language. She was one of four illustrators of a children’s book entitled, “Coffee, Cream and In Between.” She has been prominently featured in several videos and articles produced by various media organizations, describing The Awakenings Project. She also maintains our website: www.awakeningsproject.org and have done so for several years. She believes she is an effective communicator, both individually and in groups. She has spoken publicly about Awakenings and about mental illnesses for many years. She loves my job, my volunteer work for Awakenings, and she loves people. I continue to do much public speaking about recovery. I believe I am a beacon of hope and encouragement for the people who receive services at DCHD, for Awakenings artists, for the general public, and she also learns a lot from everyone I come in contact with.

This podcast features Federico Capasso, a professor of applied physics, and an electrical engineering research fellow at Harvard University. In June of 2016, Capasso’s lab reported fabrication of an ultrathin planar lens based on nanoscale, metasurface concepts that he has been studying for the past five years. While he is perhaps best known for his role in the invention of the quantum cascade laser at Bell Laboratories in 1994, pinning down just one seminal work is a challenge for a scientist whose career is a multidisciplinary continuum.

Eric Schmidt, the now chairman of Alphabet and former CEO of Google from 2001 until 2011 speaks on stage with Startup Grind’s Founder Derek Andersen. Eric’s credentials’ and biography expectedly take a long time to describe, so here is an excerpt:    In addition to his well documented role at Google, Eric is a founding partner at innovation endeavors, founder of tomorrow ventures, chairman of the new america foundation. He is on the board at the economist group, the US foundation for inspiration and recognition of Science & Tech, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute for Advanced Study.    Eric has been the CEO of Micro Focus, CTO of Sun Microsystems, CEO of Sun Technology Enterprises, and a Principle at Bell Laboratories.    Eric has also served on the board of Apple & Siebel Systems. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, and his Graduate and Doctorate degrees from UC Berkeley.    Let’s listen into an illuminating conversation with one of the worlds richest and most powerful people on stage live in London: 

Rob Berkley's Questions to Ask for Getting Unstuck & Finding Success, Fulfillment, Happiness & More: This is the final segment of the Rob Berkley Strategies for Getting Unstuck in Life with radio talk show host Jesse Cannone, Founder of The Healthy Back Institute and author of The 7-Day Back Pain Cure. Rob Berkley proposes a series of questions that relate back to areas of getting stuck such as clarity, desire, opportunity, knowledge, ability, environment and planning. Jesse Cannone has been a student of Robert Berkley's for years and was actually taking notes during this interview. The questions are: Are you clear about what you want, is it defined, do you have a clear mission, vision and goals. What are your personal values and plans? What are your blocks, beliefs, emotional interferences? What are your resources, raw materials, space, friends, support? Anything beyond your control that will stop you? Anything in environment hold you back; associations, clutter, surroundings, tools, computers? Know what you want and have a plan. Create enough value for other people so you personally can move to the next level. "You can have anything you want if you first help people get what they want" said Zig Ziglar. About Robert C. Berkley: Rob is an executive coach and management consultant with over 10-years of experience coaching senior executives and leadership teams. His practice focuses on corporate leadership, executive teams, corporate boards and corporate evolution. In his over 21 years of professional experience, he has been a successful entrepreneur, board director both public and private, corporate leader (CEO, CIO) and executive coach. Prior to establishing his present coaching and consulting practice, Rob served as global CIO for the technology division of Pearson (a British media corporation that includes The Financial Times, Prentice Hall Books, Penguin Books and many other well-known media properties.) Prior to Pearson, he was CIO and senior vice president of technology management for Simon & Schuster. Other experience includes vice president and senior technology architect at Banker’s Trust; director of a management consultancy focused on the development and launch of technology products; and, before that, he was co-founder and CEO of The Fusion Systems Group, a Wall Street systems integrator responsible for introducing trader workstation technology to financial firms. Over the years, his clients have included: American Express, AT&T, Aristocrat (AU), Bell South, Bell Laboratories, Citibank, Chase Bank (Private Bank and MasterCard), Fidelity Investments, General Motors, IBM, Informix, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, and many others. He earned his BS from Cornell University and has received advanced education from Insead (Toulouse France), Harvard and Stanford. Rob has served on the Faculty of CoachU, the industry’s leading online coach’s training organization and holds the distinction of Master Certified Coach The highest level of accreditation proffered by the International Coach Federation. About Robert C. Berkley: Rob is an executive coach and management consultant with over 10-years of experience coaching senior executives and leadership teams. His practice focuses on corporate leadership, executive teams, corporate boards and corporate evolution. In his over 21 years of professional experience, he has been a successful entrepreneur, board director both public and private, corporate leader (CEO, CIO) and executive coach. Prior to establishing his present coaching and consulting practice, Rob served as global CIO for the technology division of Pearson (a British media corporation that includes The Financial Times, Prentice Hall Books, Penguin Books and many other well-known media properties.)

Intro of Rob Berkley on Goal Setting, Why People Achieve or Don't Achieve Their Goals: In the second interview of Robert C. Berkley, Executive & Life Coach, by Jesse Cannone, Founder of The Healthy Back Institute and author of The 7-Day Back Pain Cure, the task is the explore the many different ways people do and don't achieve the goals they set for themselves. There are many different elements to be explored in these podcasts in this interview and all are important to professional and personal success. About Robert C. Berkley: Rob is an executive coach and management consultant with over 10-years of experience coaching senior executives and leadership teams. His practice focuses on corporate leadership, executive teams, corporate boards and corporate evolution. In his over 21 years of professional experience, he has been a successful entrepreneur, board director both public and private, corporate leader (CEO, CIO) and executive coach. Prior to establishing his present coaching and consulting practice, Rob served as global CIO for the technology division of Pearson (a British media corporation that includes The Financial Times, Prentice Hall Books, Penguin Books and many other well-known media properties.) Prior to Pearson, he was CIO and senior vice president of technology management for Simon & Schuster. Other experience includes vice president and senior technology architect at Banker’s Trust; director of a management consultancy focused on the development and launch of technology products; and, before that, he was co-founder and CEO of The Fusion Systems Group, a Wall Street systems integrator responsible for introducing trader workstation technology to financial firms. Over the years, his clients have included: American Express, AT&T, Aristocrat (AU), Bell South, Bell Laboratories, Citibank, Chase Bank (Private Bank and MasterCard), Fidelity Investments, General Motors, IBM, Informix, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, and many others. He earned his BS from Cornell University and has received advanced education from Insead (Toulouse France), Harvard and Stanford. Rob has served on the Faculty of CoachU, the industry’s leading online coach’s training organization and holds the distinction of Master Certified Coach The highest level of accreditation proffered by the International Coach Federation.

Ability Area of Getting Stuck, Won't Hone Your Skills, Not Suited for Profession, Lack Proper Tools: Ability is a tricky on to talk about in the areas where people get stuck in their lives or profession, or even personal lives. Robert C. Berkley, talking with Jesse Cannone of The Healthy Back Institute, may not have the patience or skills to master the skill needed for their chosen profession. Or maybe someone was pushed into a profession by family, friends, spouse or teachers and, while good ad their job, are ill-suited for the job and find themselves totally miserable. Maybe they lack the proper tools at the time they are most needed, such as computers, car repair implements, etc. Or could they person be ill suited because of lack of intellectual abilities for what they want to do or don't have the personality to network or make friends in order to expand your business base. About Robert C. Berkley: Rob is an executive coach and management consultant with over 10-years of experience coaching senior executives and leadership teams. His practice focuses on corporate leadership, executive teams, corporate boards and corporate evolution. In his over 21 years of professional experience, he has been a successful entrepreneur, board director both public and private, corporate leader (CEO, CIO) and executive coach. Prior to establishing his present coaching and consulting practice, Rob served as global CIO for the technology division of Pearson (a British media corporation that includes The Financial Times, Prentice Hall Books, Penguin Books and many other well-known media properties.) Prior to Pearson, he was CIO and senior vice president of technology management for Simon & Schuster. Other experience includes vice president and senior technology architect at Banker’s Trust; director of a management consultancy focused on the development and launch of technology products; and, before that, he was co-founder and CEO of The Fusion Systems Group, a Wall Street systems integrator responsible for introducing trader workstation technology to financial firms. Over the years, his clients have included: American Express, AT&T, Aristocrat (AU), Bell South, Bell Laboratories, Citibank, Chase Bank (Private Bank and MasterCard), Fidelity Investments, General Motors, IBM, Informix, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, and many others. He earned his BS from Cornell University and has received advanced education from Insead (Toulouse France), Harvard and Stanford. Rob has served on the Faculty of CoachU, the industry’s leading online coach’s training organization and holds the distinction of Master Certified Coach The highest level of accreditation proffered by the International Coach Federation.

Knowledge, Finding It, Utilizing It & Having Good Advice Key Says Rob Berkley & Jesse Cannone: In the fourth area where people get stuck in life it is knowledge that Rob Berkely brings up to the radio talk show host, Jesse Cannone,founder of The Healthy Back Institute and author of The 7-Day Bay Pain Cure. One of the first point was Berkley saying that many people lack the knowledge or vocabulary to communicate their visions and desired outcomes. Going down the line he notes that people often lack success strategies and it urges people to "many things have already been done so try not to re-invent the wheel" in the process. This brought up the subject of mentors and elicited a number of good stories from both Jesse and Rob about seeking mentors, taking their advice and finding the right one at the right time to take you to the next level of success and life. About Robert C. Berkley: Rob is an executive coach and management consultant with over 10-years of experience coaching senior executives and leadership teams. His practice focuses on corporate leadership, executive teams, corporate boards and corporate evolution. In his over 21 years of professional experience, he has been a successful entrepreneur, board director both public and private, corporate leader (CEO, CIO) and executive coach. Prior to establishing his present coaching and consulting practice, Rob served as global CIO for the technology division of Pearson (a British media corporation that includes The Financial Times, Prentice Hall Books, Penguin Books and many other well-known media properties.) Prior to Pearson, he was CIO and senior vice president of technology management for Simon & Schuster. Other experience includes vice president and senior technology architect at Banker’s Trust; director of a management consultancy focused on the development and launch of technology products; and, before that, he was co-founder and CEO of The Fusion Systems Group, a Wall Street systems integrator responsible for introducing trader workstation technology to financial firms. Over the years, his clients have included: American Express, AT&T, Aristocrat (AU), Bell South, Bell Laboratories, Citibank, Chase Bank (Private Bank and MasterCard), Fidelity Investments, General Motors, IBM, Informix, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, and many others. He earned his BS from Cornell University and has received advanced education from Insead (Toulouse France), Harvard and Stanford. Rob has served on the Faculty of CoachU, the industry’s leading online coach’s training organization and holds the distinction of Master Certified Coach The highest level of accreditation proffered by the International Coach Federation.

Opportunity by Rob Berkley & Jesse Cannone, Awareness Why You're Stuck Hard, Getting Unstuck Easier: This segment from the interview of Rob Berkley by Jesse Cannone on the topic of Opportunity brings in key points people should think about when trying to move forward and getting unstuck in their lives. Berkley breaks it down into a few different categories; resources, interference, awareness, external factors of interference, why one is stuck and moving forward after finding out why one is stuck. Rob Berkley, who has been coaching Jesse Cannone on various issues, notes that the "hard part is figuring why you're stuck and the easy part is getting unstuck." Awareness is key because we all must assess our strengths, weaknesses, desires, wants and what you bring to the world in your big game plan. One person can change the world! About Robert C. Berkley: Rob is an executive coach and management consultant with over 10-years of experience coaching senior executives and leadership teams. His practice focuses on corporate leadership, executive teams, corporate boards and corporate evolution. In his over 21 years of professional experience, he has been a successful entrepreneur, board director both public and private, corporate leader (CEO, CIO) and executive coach. Prior to establishing his present coaching and consulting practice, Rob served as global CIO for the technology division of Pearson (a British media corporation that includes The Financial Times, Prentice Hall Books, Penguin Books and many other well-known media properties.) Prior to Pearson, he was CIO and senior vice president of technology management for Simon & Schuster. Other experience includes vice president and senior technology architect at Banker’s Trust; director of a management consultancy focused on the development and launch of technology products; and, before that, he was co-founder and CEO of The Fusion Systems Group, a Wall Street systems integrator responsible for introducing trader workstation technology to financial firms. Over the years, his clients have included: American Express, AT&T, Aristocrat (AU), Bell South, Bell Laboratories, Citibank, Chase Bank (Private Bank and MasterCard), Fidelity Investments, General Motors, IBM, Informix, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, and many others. He earned his BS from Cornell University and has received advanced education from Insead (Toulouse France), Harvard and Stanford. Rob has served on the Faculty of CoachU, the industry’s leading online coach’s training organization and holds the distinction of Master Certified Coach The highest level of accreditation proffered by the International Coach Federation.

Emotional & Intellectual Isolation Causes Stagnation Personally & Professionally, Need Challenging: In terms of environment, a vital part of that subject is isolation. One can get stuck life by being emotionally and intellectually isolated from support, feedback and encouragement. Loves ones and supportive professional colleagues will not only challenge one to excel but provide a much needed escape valve for feelings, success strategies, business tactics and emotional pain. Isolation from all these can spell the death of a soul and mind, the withering away of a connection needed that God, Church, Family and Friends bring to one's life. About Robert C. Berkley: Rob is an executive coach and management consultant with over 10-years of experience coaching senior executives and leadership teams. His practice focuses on corporate leadership, executive teams, corporate boards and corporate evolution. In his over 21 years of professional experience, he has been a successful entrepreneur, board director both public and private, corporate leader (CEO, CIO) and executive coach. Prior to establishing his present coaching and consulting practice, Rob served as global CIO for the technology division of Pearson (a British media corporation that includes The Financial Times, Prentice Hall Books, Penguin Books and many other well-known media properties.) Prior to Pearson, he was CIO and senior vice president of technology management for Simon & Schuster. Other experience includes vice president and senior technology architect at Banker’s Trust; director of a management consultancy focused on the development and launch of technology products; and, before that, he was co-founder and CEO of The Fusion Systems Group, a Wall Street systems integrator responsible for introducing trader workstation technology to financial firms. Over the years, his clients have included: American Express, AT&T, Aristocrat (AU), Bell South, Bell Laboratories, Citibank, Chase Bank (Private Bank and MasterCard), Fidelity Investments, General Motors, IBM, Informix, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, and many others. He earned his BS from Cornell University and has received advanced education from Insead (Toulouse France), Harvard and Stanford. Rob has served on the Faculty of CoachU, the industry’s leading online coach’s training organization and holds the distinction of Master Certified Coach The highest level of accreditation proffered by the International Coach Federation.

Rob Berkley on Planning, What Do You Want, Get Good Plan, Work It Daily, Be Flexible & Work Hard: Getting stuck in business and life often comes down to planning, lack of it, not having a good plan, failing to execute the plan, failing to work hard enough when one has a good plan. Robert C. Berkley, Executive Coach, is talking with Jesse Cannone, Founder of The Healthy Back Institute and author of The 7-Day Back Pain Cure, about various areas where people get stuck i life and planning is a key area. Berkley emphasizes that one must know the end goals, know what you want in terms of that plan. Work every day to bring about the plan successfully and change it if roadblocks or changes in the world warrant such changes. Many people don't follow instructions and when the time comes to pull the trigger and move forward, don't hesitate and find your way to the promised land. Don't take no for an answer without finding a lesson from that NO and getting YES to your dreams. Have a Good Plan and Execute That Plan. About Robert C. Berkley: Rob is an executive coach and management consultant with over 10-years of experience coaching senior executives and leadership teams. His practice focuses on corporate leadership, executive teams, corporate boards and corporate evolution. In his over 21 years of professional experience, he has been a successful entrepreneur, board director both public and private, corporate leader (CEO, CIO) and executive coach. Prior to establishing his present coaching and consulting practice, Rob served as global CIO for the technology division of Pearson (a British media corporation that includes The Financial Times, Prentice Hall Books, Penguin Books and many other well-known media properties.) Prior to Pearson, he was CIO and senior vice president of technology management for Simon & Schuster. Other experience includes vice president and senior technology architect at Banker’s Trust; director of a management consultancy focused on the development and launch of technology products; and, before that, he was co-founder and CEO of The Fusion Systems Group, a Wall Street systems integrator responsible for introducing trader workstation technology to financial firms. Over the years, his clients have included: American Express, AT&T, Aristocrat (AU), Bell South, Bell Laboratories, Citibank, Chase Bank (Private Bank and MasterCard), Fidelity Investments, General Motors, IBM, Informix, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, and many others. He earned his BS from Cornell University and has received advanced education from Insead (Toulouse France), Harvard and Stanford. Rob has served on the Faculty of CoachU, the industry’s leading online coach’s training organization and holds the distinction of Master Certified Coach The highest level of accreditation proffered by the International Coach Federation.

Environment & Associations, Find People Who Support, Lift & Inspire You & Change Your Life: Remember in Guys and Dolls when Sky Masterson, playing by Marlon Brando in the film version, blames evil companions for his gambling habits, well that is not far from the truth when Rob Berkley and Jesse Cannone talk about getting out of run by altering your environment and associations. Right out of the gate in this segment of the interview by Jesse Cannone, Founder of The Healthy Back Institute, Rob Berkely, an Executive Coach says, "If you want to have a great life you gotta have support, period. People who will lift you up and inspire." On top of being strong mentally with a solid will power, one still has to avoid people who won't help you advance your goals or enhance your to reach for your highest spiritual self, one who is a credit to friends, family and community. But even if you're strong minded, evil companions can drag you down, but the two are mutually exclusive. About Robert C. Berkley: Rob is an executive coach and management consultant with over 10-years of experience coaching senior executives and leadership teams. His practice focuses on corporate leadership, executive teams, corporate boards and corporate evolution. In his over 21 years of professional experience, he has been a successful entrepreneur, board director both public and private, corporate leader (CEO, CIO) and executive coach. Prior to establishing his present coaching and consulting practice, Rob served as global CIO for the technology division of Pearson (a British media corporation that includes The Financial Times, Prentice Hall Books, Penguin Books and many other well-known media properties.) Prior to Pearson, he was CIO and senior vice president of technology management for Simon & Schuster. Other experience includes vice president and senior technology architect at Banker’s Trust; director of a management consultancy focused on the development and launch of technology products; and, before that, he was co-founder and CEO of The Fusion Systems Group, a Wall Street systems integrator responsible for introducing trader workstation technology to financial firms. Over the years, his clients have included: American Express, AT&T, Aristocrat (AU), Bell South, Bell Laboratories, Citibank, Chase Bank (Private Bank and MasterCard), Fidelity Investments, General Motors, IBM, Informix, New York Stock Exchange, Reuters, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, and many others. He earned his BS from Cornell University and has received advanced education from Insead (Toulouse France), Harvard and Stanford. Rob has served on the Faculty of CoachU, the industry’s leading online coach’s training organization and holds the distinction of Master Certified Coach The highest level of accreditation proffered by the International Coach Federation.