Tag Archives: Boeing

How Big Data Is Exactly What It Sounds Like

When Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took to Capitol Hill to explain user data retention almost four years ago, he essentially sat in the hot seat on behalf of every entity that has ever collected and used personal information to craft better products. If that sounds like a massive catch-all, that’s because it is. However, Systems America, Inc. President Adesh Tyagi says it’s not as nefarious as it may sound. As the head of a global information technology services company, Tyagi knows that “Big Data” can be collected, applied and benefit the general public all at the same time.

Big data is exactly what it sounds like, says Tyagi, who has more than two decades of experience in this sector and whose company was previously awarded for being one of the fastest-growing in America.

It’s a compilation of information broken out by software that makes sense of the traits and behavior of service users. With a background that includes cloud computing and analytics plus Mobil Oil and McDonald-Douglas (now Boeing) among former clients, Tyagi says that any company can request an in-depth study of customer information to better design upcoming offerings.

This is sheer advertising at its core and it’s exactly what companies that work with Facebook do when they buy ad space on the social media platform. Do not confuse this with the fact that a third party was able to get its hands on 87 million Facebook accounts and use it as part of presidential election subterfuge.  This occurrence is prolific on a global level, recently the Indian government expressed a sincere concern that third parties may have influenced the country’s elections. Similar concerns have been expressed by the Kenyan & Nigerian governments.

Tyagi says that this is inexcusable and a result of either over-confidence and laid-back oversight and provides an illustration of how technology can be used against the greater good of mankind.

Why big businesses buy into big data. They believe insight gleaned from big data analysis offers:

  • Happier users and larger returns due to consistently in-tune goods and services.
  • Learning more about which goods and services are going to use while others are ignored and why.
  • Real numbers to pair with real-world efforts to show investors regarding current efforts.
Adesh Tyagi.

“You basically employ different analytical tools to come up with the best services or tools for that particular customer,” says Tyagi. An example he points to as it pertains to data-driven solutions are financial products being deployed by a bank such as insurance programs or a new credit card. By retaining Systems America before launch, an enormous amount of information about members can be broken down by geography, income history, account balances and more. In his view, this is no different from a grocery store looking at what people are buying and deciding which products to purchase when restocking the shelves.  For the Silo, Greg Adomaitis. 

Armstrong’s Heartbeat As Merged Artwork Beamed To Moon

image: space.com
“For me It was an incredible feeling to use this 120 ton radio dish, capable of peering into the far reaches of the universe, to create an artwork focusing on one of the greatest achievements in human history” Richard Clar image: space.com

Los Angeles, CA, – Richard Clar using an earth-moon-earth (EME), or moon bounce as it is also called, radioed two very special signals off the surface of the moon where their return was received at Dwingeloo Radio Observatory in the Netherlands.

Clar’s extraordinary two-part project, Giant Step and Lune sur la Lune, paid tribute respectively to Apollo Astronaut pioneer Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon on July 20, 1969 and to the far side of the moon itself, something witnessed only by a rare group of individuals, the Apollo Astronauts. The two radio transmissions to the moon and back emanated from a radio dish in Italy.

Giant Step is a personal response to an event Clar personally witnessed back in 1969, and he wanted to use his creativity to pay tribute to those who took part in the Apollo program, and especially Neil Armstrong for what he did on that momentous day.

He wanted this work to say something about the moon itself, using the moon.

His interest was piqued after hearing about an earth-moon-earth bounce (EME) from Italian artist and colleague, Daniela de Paulis, who together with radio specialist Jan van Muijlwijk developed the process of using EME to send images to the moon and back in 2009. As he researched the Apollo Archives, he came across an Electrocardiogram (EKG) of Neil Armstrong as he took the first step on the moon on July 20, 1969 – and Richard found his inspiration!

While data scientist Dr. Ryan Compton created the sonification tone from Armstrong’s actual EKG graph, prominent Los Angeles-based double-bass jazz performer and composer Roberto Miranda used the tone to create compelling sounds that have been called “edgy and hauntingly beautiful.”

In addition, an image of the first footprint on the moon was transmitted and bounced back to Dwingeloo. [Listen to Neil Armstrong’s heartbeat beginning at the 2:10 mark here Ed.]

“I wanted the art to say something about the first humans to set foot on the moon. Think how many living beings have observed the moon for eons…and now we have made a number of trips to the moon and back. I want people to have new experiences through my artwork,” says Clar.

Lune sur la Lune, an image of the far side of the moon, was transmitted in a poetic gesture onto the earth facing side of the moon. Since only the Apollo astronauts have seen the far side of the moon, using the radio-reflective surface of the moon to produce a site-specific artwork makes the moon a unique part of the process rather than just a subject matter ─ and also gives people on earth an opportunity to witness this phenomenal event and experience the moon in a new and different way.  Shortly after the sound and image from Giant Step and Lune sur la Lune were received and processed at Dwingeloo, and will soon be accessible to the world at www.rockthemoon.com.

There was considerable excitement at the Dwingeloo Radio Dish on September 26th by those who witnessed the sound signal and image signals being received from the surface of the moon after the moon bounce. All in all, the art mission was a great success.

“For me It was an incredible feeling to use this 120 ton radio dish, capable of peering into the far reaches of the universe, to create an artwork focusing on one of the greatest achievements in human history,” stated Clar.

Richard Clar’s timeless work has been exhibited in museums, galleries and universities throughout the United States and Europe. His visionary ‘art in space’ began in 1982 with a NASA-approved concept for an art-payload for the U.S. Space Shuttle. Philosophical in nature, many of Clar’s themes originate in space environment issues, such as orbital debris, war and peace, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), and water management on earth.

Clar studied at the Chouinard Art Institute (now Cal-Arts). In 2001 and 2002, he coordinated the Leonardo/OLATS/IAA Space Art Workshops in Paris. Clar is the Director of Art Technologies; a Member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA); a Member of the IAA SETI Permanent Study Group; a Member of Women in Aerospace, and a Member of the Leonardo Space Art Working Group. He was the Secretary of the former Art and Literature Subcommittee of the International Academy of Astronautics, and a past Member of the Executive Board, Graphic Arts Council, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

An early example of Richard Clar's Space Art
An early example of Richard Clar’s Space Art

Richard Clar ArtistClar founded Art Technologies in 1987 as a liaison between the worlds of art and technology. By collaborating with such partners as the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Boeing Aerospace Corporation, and contemporary composers, Clar generates high-visibility art works that transform state-of-the-art technology and highly-engineered materials into evocative contemporary art. His work is found in many corporate collections, including JBL Sound, Home Savings of America, and the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

After spending the last fourteen years in Paris, Richard Clar now resides in Northern California. For more information on his extraordinary artwork, please visit:

http://arttechnologies.com
http://rockthemoon.com
https://www.facebook.com/RichardClar.ArtTechnologies

Canada’s Original Black Friday- ‘Cancelled Arrow’ Was Cutting Edge 1950s Jet Interceptor

The first Arrow RL-201
The first Arrow RL-201

I began writing this post after an annual viewing pilgrimage of sorts. Each year on the eve of shopping’s busiest day, I crack open the well worn plastic jewel case and fire up the DVD player. It’s a fictional account but based in fact and is very entertaining and I can’t help but wonder what “might have been” after watching CBC’s 1996 mini-series “the Arrow” again. [You can watch this right here at the end of this post CP]

Over the decades fact and fiction have become tangled but the basic truths remain intact. In the late 1950’s a highly advanced jet interceptor designed to seek (and if necessary destroy) Russian nuclear bombers was conceived, designed, built and flown in Canada by a predominantly Canadian team. Here’s where things get fuzzy. The Arrow was developed when the federal Liberal party were in power but was finished and flown when the Conservatives were in power. It represented not only the technological capability of Canada’s aviation industry- but also the econo-political agenda of the mid-twentieth Century. So what happened at that time to help spell the doom of the Arrow?

-The ICBM- intercontinental ballistic missile was viewed as the future of warfare not the nuclear bomber. This meant that a jet interceptor was obsolete because it would be unable to intercept approaching missiles.

-Bad timing: on the day of the rollout of the very first completed Arrow, the Russians launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. In the public eye jets seemed unimportant.

-The American Bomarc missile system was designed to intercept incoming nuclear bombers and ballistic nuclear missiles. The Bomarc had a small nuclear warhead which would detonate in the pathway of approaching missiles (or bombers) and create a nuclear ‘shield’. The Bomarc was highly controversial at the time because our Prime Minister did not want nuclear missiles on Canadian territory. However, our Defence Minister did not agree and eventually resigned over the matter. This defence ‘split’ exacerbated the Arrow program and any chance for an Arrow squadron legacy.

-The Canadian designed Iroquois engines were not  readied in time and were not fitted into the Arrow. These engines were innovative and theoretically could have propelled the Arrow to speeds of Mach 2.5 or possibly Mach 3.0- far beyond every fighter of the time with the exception of secret black technology projects like the American Blackbird SR-71. Had the Canadian engines been readied and proven, there seems little doubt that international orders would have offset some of the Arrow’s mounting costs.

Black Friday…….almost 15,000 workers lose their job.

Canadas Black Friday

There is no official record of just who ordered the destruction of the remaining Arrows. Other than a few recovered test models, an incomplete cockpit and a few seconds of in flight film, nothing remains of this wonderful airplane . For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

 

The completed Arrows being cut up and readied for a Hamilton,ON scrap dealer.
The completed Arrows being cut up and readied for a Hamilton,ON scrap dealer.

 

Supplemental-

University of Saskatchewan The Nuclear Question in Canada http://www.usask.ca/diefenbaker/galleries/virtual_exhibit/nuclear_question_in_canada/

Post Featured Image- http://plunkettgw.deviantart.com/art/AVRO-ARROW-17-139364086

Boeing’s  Bomarc Missile http://www.boeing.com/boeing/history/boeing/bomarc.page