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Indiana baby found in field after tornado dies
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An Indiana toddler found in a field after violent tornadoes died Sunday after being taken off life support, ending a hopeful tale for survivors in the Midwest and South picking through the storms' devastation.
Fifteen-month-old Angel Babcock of New Pekin, Ind., was found after her family's mobile home was destroyed in Friday's storms. Her father, mother and two siblings were killed.
When Angel arrived at Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville Friday night, she was opening her eyes - a hopeful sign, chief nursing officer Cis Gruebbel said.
Things turned on Saturday, when the swelling in her brain didn't decrease, he said. As the day went on, her eyes ceased to move and she continued to deteriorate. There was no sign of brain activity.
Medical staff told the family there wasn't anything more they could do. With extended family gathered to say goodbye, the family made the decision to end life support on Sunday.
Her grandfather, Jack Brough, said the family was thankful for the thoughts and prayers they have received and was looking to God.
The girl's death brings the overall toll from the storms to 39 across five states. Rescuers were still going door-to-door in rural areas to rule out more victims.
Across the region, people gathered Sunday to worship, comb through piles of debris and learn what happened to loved ones and friends, often without modern technology to help.
Cellphone signals were hard to find, Internet was out and electricity indefinitely interrupted. In many cases, word-of-mouth conversations replaced text messages, Facebook status updates and phone calls.
"It's horrible. It's things you take for granted that aren't there anymore," said Jack Cleveland, 50, a Census Bureau worker from Henryville, Ind.
Randy Mattingly, a 24-year-old mechanic, said he and his Henryville neighbors passed on information by word-of-mouth to make sure people were OK: "It was like, 'Hey, did you talk to this guy?'" He said state police quickly set up two gathering points for adults and children, at the church and at a nearby community center.
At Sunday's mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Henryville, Father Steve Schaftlein turned the church into an information exchange, asking the 100 or so in attendance to stand up and share what they knew.
Lisa Smith, who has been Henryville's postmaster for six weeks, told people that they could pick up their mail in Scottsburg, about 10 miles north. She said she was most worried about people needing medication and she had been shaking boxes to see if they had pills inside with hopes of connecting them to their recipients.
A local insurance agent, Lyn Murphy-Carter, shared another story. The founder of her agency, 84-year-old Tom Murphy, had told her always to keep paper records. That proved valuable without access to computers. She collected about 1,000 claims Saturday alone, and was gathering handwritten claims from policyholders at church.
In West Liberty, Ky., about 85 miles east of Lexington, loss of technology led to a confusing and stressful aftermath for Doris Shuck, who was cleaning her house when the storm approached. She grabbed her laptop, cellphone and iPod and put them in a tote bag to bring down to the basement. The storms took her home, leaving only the basement and front porch. Huge piles of debris and mattresses were strewn in the back yard.
"I could hear the glass and hear the wood breaking. I just thought the house is going to fall on top of me," she said. She had scrapes and bruises.
After the storm passed, she received a text message from her mother, 70 miles away in Prestonsburg, but couldn't reply.
"I was just trying to figure out what had happened and get my thoughts together and my phone beeped and I looked and it was from my mom. I couldn't answer it," Shuck said. She went to the hospital where she works, but there was no Internet access there, either.
She reunited with her husband and daughter at the hospital and left for Prestonsburg to let her mother know they were OK. But they didn't know her parents were on their way to West Liberty at the same time.
"We had no way to communicate that to each other. We're so used to our cell phones and instant messaging. We didn't have any of that."
Her parents asked a state fish and wildlife officer to go to their home. The officer eventually found Doris Shuck's name on a list at the hospital for people who were accounted for.
While it could be days before power and cell service are fully restored to the damaged areas, crews were making progress Sunday. In Indiana, about 2,800 homes were without power, down from 8,000 in the hours after the storms. But in some hard-hit areas, like Henryville, a substation and transmission lines need to be rebuilt, and that could take up to a week.
Almost 19,000 customers were without power in Kentucky, according to the state's Public Service Commission, and a few thousand more from municipal utilities and TVA, which the PSC does not track.
Cellphone companies were trying to help residents by setting up mobile charging and email stations so they could communicate while power and cell service was still difficult to find. They also brought in portable towers to boost signals, and service was improving Sunday.
Even with life upended in so many ways, one family got a reminder that even a deadly tornado can't uproot everything.
The home that Shalonda Kerr shares with her husband and Jack Russell terrier outside of Chelsea, Ind., was obliterated: The front wall was ripped clean, leaving the home looking eerily like a shaken dollhouse. An upended couch and a tipped-over fish tank lay in the rubble.
The mailbox was untouched. Its front hatch was tipped open, revealing a white piece of paper.
"Inside was a $300 IRS bill," Kerr said, laughing amid the ruins.


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We planned. We met to go over the plans. We talked. We planned some more. We made Wikis, created websites, and put it all our plans on spreadsheets and documents. We trained teachers on everything iPad from how to turn it on to how to create an ePub with lesson information. We overwhelmed them with information, and it wasn't always the information they needed most.
What we didn't do was address some of the simple day-to-day things that we never thought would be an issue. So let me tell you what I wish I'd done, and maybe I can save you a little bit of time and frustration if you are planning a deployment for next year.
When offering professional development to teachers on integrating iPads, give them training on a management system like Texas's Project Share from Epsilen (which is releasing an App soon), Edmodo, or Schoology or even eBackPack. You need a way to move information between the teacher and the student. You will want to have a way for students to back up work. We have a WebDav server that has made a huge difference, and there are several services like eBackPack which offer that type of backup solution. Teachers need to know how they are to receive assignments from students and tips on how to organize the student work they do receive. If the students will email work to the teachers, then help the teachers with an organizational format of student folders within class folders in their email.
Teachers also want to know how to deliver content to their students. Whether you choose to have them use a teacher webpage, Edmodo or some other system, please tell them a system to use and show them how to use it. Our mistake was telling them multiple ways they could do it and then letting each teacher choose whatever they wanted. It was difficult for the teachers because they couldn't collaborate easily. Also, they didn't know which would be best so they tried multiples which was confusing for them and the students. Finally, the students had so many systems to learn that it was confusing and frustrating for them, too.
Everyone agreed that the better way to do this would have been to choose one, train how to use it and stick with it for a year. If you do this, all of your students will have the continuity between classes, all of your teachers can help each other and collaborate easily, and you will have one system to support.
Finally, give your teachers clear expectations, not only of the iPad use in the classroom, but of how classroom management should look. Will you expect the iPads to be used daily? Say so. Will you expect lesson plans to reflect use of apps or online resources. Be clear and specific. Your teachers want to do what is expected, and they need to know very clearly from the beginning what that is.
We had an expectation that the iPads would be used multiple times a week if not daily. However, we did not model or show teachers what it might look like when students were not using the iPads. Several weeks into the school year, we still had teachers who were worried about telling students to put the iPad down. Obviously, it was not clear enough to the teachers from the beginning that we never expected it would be used every minute of every day. Had we anticipated that this would cause concerns and anxiety, we would have been much more clear and we could have modeled classroom management techniques for our teachers.
Some tips we used for classroom management are:
- "Apples UP!" This means students are to put the iPads face down on their desk with the Apple symbol facing up. No one is working on the iPad. Everyone is listening.
- Use background colors for assessments and individual work to be graded. If your Google form or quiz has a green background, any other color on the screen will be very obvious as you glance around the room. That works for all items you want to be securely graded.
- Paper and pen back-up plan. Students who do not follow rules won't have the iPad for that period and will resort to the old-fashioned way.
- Give up a little control! Don't focus on requiring a specific product. Tell the students what needs to be in their final product and then let them create the product of their choosing. Teachers don't have to feel that pressure of knowing all the tools in every app, and that is a great relief to them. From all reports, the student work improves greatly when students are given the choice to do even greater things than you could imagine.
I hope these tips will help those of you deploying iPads next year. When you plan your teacher training and handouts, make sure to think of the little day-to-day things required of everyone. Once you have those clearly defined, your teachers will be free to conquer the rest!
Find TericeSchneider on Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Polyvore.

subset: commoncrawl


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Navigating Restrictions on Telemedicine Abortion
Sunday, August 8, 2021 blog Share
A creative approach to getting abortion pills by mail.
By making everyone nervous about going to a medical office, COVID-19 really put telemedicine to the test – and it passed. Even as pandemic restrictions ease up, it's often a lot more practical and convenient to see a medical professional by videoconference in situations that don't require a hands-on exam. And that's been a massive benefit for dramatically expanding abortion access.
For example, people in the states of Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, New Mexico, New York, or Washington, or the District of Columbia, are eligible for the TelAbortion program. This program lets someone seeking an abortion have a video consultation with a certified doctor, then get mifepristone and misoprostol mailed to them so they can use the medications in their own home.
But what about people in the other 37 states, especially those with increasing restrictions on abortion access?
We recently learned about a particularly ingenious way some people are getting abortion pills: subscribing to a mail forwarding service in a state where telemedicine abortion care is available, and then having the service forward the package to their home. Here's what someone might do to take that approach:
1. They use a mail forwarding service, like iPostal1.com or Anytime Mailbox, with a location in a state that has legal online abortion services (see the list below). Setting this up requires the person to fill out a Post Office form and provide two forms of ID, which may be inconvenient for some people. The cost usually involves a one-time online notary fee of about $25 plus $8 to $10 monthly "rent," but since they only need the mailbox for a single delivery, they can cancel after one month
2. They do an online consultation with a telemedicine provider. Here are some providers and the states they serve:
- Abortion on Demand (CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, IL, ME, MD, MA, MI, MT, NV, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, VT, VA, WA)
- Aid Access (AK, CA, CT, ID, NJ, NM, NV, NY, VT, WA)
- carafem (GA, IL, MD, VA, DC)
- Hey Jane (NY, WA)
- Hey Jane (NY, WA)
- Choix (CA)
- Just the Pill (MN)
3. They list the mail forwarding service address as their shipping address. If the provider asks, they confirm that at the time of the consultation, they are in the state the provider is allowed to serve.
4. If they use a credit card to pay the telemed provider, they use the billing address associated with their credit card. (People who have done this report that this has not prevented them from having the pills shipped to the mail forwarding service, even though the addresses are not the same.)
5. When the package arrives at their forwarding address, the mail forwarding service alerts them, and they ask for it to be forwarded to their home address. Sometimes this involves a small (about $5) fee.
6. The package arrives at their home.
We love how clever and resourceful people can be in finding ways to access the care they need! Once someone has acquired abortion pills, SASS counselors are available to provide support before, during, and after the process of self-managed abortion. They can also find accurate, up-to-date information about self-managed abortion (and more!) at AbortionPillInfo.org and on the Euki reproductive health app for iOS and Android.


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Sure, MJ's kids have inherited their father's fortune but they've also inherited his misfortune of having to spend their lives as tabloid side shows – and now that they've apparently started dating this is only going to intensify. This week, Prince, Michael's oldest son (and oldest of two children named Prince!), has been photographed on what looks like a date with a classmate. Like his father, who famously romanced women such as Whitney Houston and Elvis's daughter, Prince isn't just chasing after some plain old Homeroom Hilary. This chick? She's an actual princess. Click here to see the photos.
Her name is Remi Alfalah and she's reportedly an heiress to the Kuwaiti throne and goes to the same private school as the Jackson kids. My first thought when I learned this was "oh man, can you imagine the birthday parties you must get invited to if you're in school with these kids??", but then I realized these two are on a date and what are they doing? They're f*cking bowling. Bowling, which is what I did in high school and what am I the heiress to? Some Michael Jackson vinyl, a weird stir-fry recipe and a place on the throne of the Ajax, Ontario curling league (not complaining!).
The point is, no matter how rich and privileged you are, whether you're pop royalty or actual royalty, the process of trying to work your teenage swerve on is lame and undignified for everyone. This fact led to a conversation with Lainey about whether Prince was a virgin or not. We both agreed that he has the creepy aura of desperate horny-ness that can only appear on someone who's yet to actually get it in. So good luck to you, Prince and Princess. I hope all your lame-ass bowling turns into, ya know, a real strike in the sack.


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Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist Provide Full Home Warranty Services in Alexandria, VA. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist Offers House Warranty Services To Protect Your Home And Electric Appliances in Any Situation.
It's no secret that home warranties are a valuable asset for homeowners, but it can be difficult to find the right company and plan that fits your needs. Not all Home Warranty Companies are created equal. Many offer low-quality plans with limited coverage and high costs. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist pride on being one of the Top-Rated Home Warranty Companies in Alexandria, VA. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist has multiple plans with comprehensive coverage at an affordable price. Plus, customer service is unbeatable.
Best Home Warranty Company in Alexandria, VA
Finding the best home warranty company in Alexandria, VA can be difficult. You want to make sure you are getting the best coverage and price. Most people only think about home warranties when something goes wrong with their appliances. By that time, it's often too late and they have to pay out-of-pocket for repairs or replacements. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist offers the best Appliance Warranty Companies in Alexandria, VA because Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist have the most comprehensive plans at the most affordable prices. Plus, Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist is available 24/7 to help you with any problems that may arise.
Refrigerators Warranty in Alexandria, VA
Most people don't think about their refrigerator warranty until it's too late. And by then, they usually have to deal with a long and complicated process to get the warranty they need. Did you know that most refrigerators only come with a one-year warranty? And if something goes wrong after that, you're on your own. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist have the Best Refrigerator Warranties in Alexandria, VA. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist offers a 10-year warranty on refrigerators, as well as an extended warranty for those who want extra coverage. Plus, the process is simple and easy to understand. You can get started today and be covered immediately.
Washing Machine Warranty in Alexandria, VA
It's no secret that washing machines break down. What is a secret, however, is the fact that most people don't know that they can get their Washing Machine Warranty. Most people think that if their washing machine breaks down, they have to purchase a brand new one. This isn't always the case. In fact, the washing machine warranty in Alexandria, VA provides covered washing machine repair or parts replacement. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist offers a variety of different Washing Machine Extended Warranty for your washing machine, so you can find the perfect fit for your needs. Whether you're looking for an extended warranty, 5-year warranty, or comprehensive warranty, Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist has you covered.
Home Warranty Cost in Alexandria, VA
The home warranty industry is full of companies that offer the same products and services at the same price. It can be hard to know which company is right for you. All of these Home Warranty Companies offer the same thing, but none of them are willing to negotiate on price. They all want you to pay the full cost, regardless of your budget. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist in Alexandria, VA offers a unique solution. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist are willing to work with customers to find an Affordable Home Warranty Plan that fits their needs. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist also have a wide variety of plans and services so that customers can find the perfect fit for their needs. Plus, Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist have the best prices in Alexandria, VA.
Dishwasher Warranty in Alexandria, VA
Owning a dishwasher is a huge convenience, but what happens when it breaks down and needs repairs? A dishwasher warranty can be a lifesaver. It can provide you with the coverage you need to get your dishwasher repaired or replaced without having to pay out of pocket. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist offers Comprehensive Dishwasher Warranties in Alexandria, VA, that cover not just the machine itself, but also all of the parts inside it. Plus, Dishwasher Dishwasher Warranty Service Plans are some of the most affordable on the market.
Water Heater Warranty in Alexandria, VA
Water heaters are a necessary part of every home, but they can be expensive to repair or replace. A Broken Water Heater can leave your family without hot water and cause a lot of inconveniences. If you're not sure if your water heater is covered under your home warranty, give Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist a call. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist offers several different types of warranties that cover both standard and Tankless Water Heaters Warranty. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist team is dedicated to providing the best customer service in Alexandria, VA. Alexandria Home Warranty Specialist have years of experience in the home warranty industry and want to help you protect your biggest investment--your home.


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Justice and Peace Studies
The Justice and Peace Council of Niagara University developed this interdisciplinary minor as a manifestation of the university's mission to assist and understand the needs of others. It is designed to provide students with an understanding of issues that affect the aims of justice and peace in the United States and in the global community. The role of liberty and restraint, violence and conflict resolution, justice and despotism, and ideology and empiricism are examined.
The justice and peace studies minor is a interdisciplinary program. It requires the completion of six courses. On completion of the minor program, a certificate in justice and peace studies will be awarded to the student. Students wishing to pursue the minor in justice and peace studies should contact the coordinator.


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China Labor Watch and authorities probe Apple supplier factory blast, aluminum dust linked to explosion
Local government authorities are investigating last weekend's explosion that injured 61 people at the Shanghai factory of an Apple iPad 2 back-panel supplier after much outcry from China Labor Watch.
CLW was founded in 2000, according to their website, and it is an independent not-for-profit organization that has collaborated with unions and labor organizations to assess factories in China.
The Dec. 17 blast at Ri Teng Computer Accessory Co., owned by Taipei-based Pegatron Corp., was similar to the explosion at a Foxconn Technology Group facility in May, according to a Dec. 19 statement from CLW.
"The blast in Riteng is a result of aluminum dust in the workshop where ipad cases are polished," said CLW in its press release. "A similar blast happened in the same workshop of a Foxconn's factory in Chengdu, killing 3 workers and hurting another 15."
CLW said there was "a lot of aluminum dust in the workshop," but apparently, the workers were not aware of the "potential danger before the blast."
The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration said aluminum dust is highly combustible, according to its online health guidelines. The administration stressed the need to take special precautions in handling the substance in occupational settings.


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I will be using Find Me Friday blog posts to showcase one or more of the unidentified photos that I have in hopes that someone will identify them. Occasionally I will post a picture of someone who is identified, but I don't know who they are, in that case maybe I can place a picture with a family member that previously didn't have one.
I don't know if these gentlemen are friends, or siblings, or maybe even cousins. This photo was unidentified.
These ladies look like they are about to go for an afternoon stroll. They are also unidentified.


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For this week's retromodo installation, we're looking at the Death Ray Machine, (awesome name). Apparently, the device was put together by a Cleveland scientist, and its abilities were only showcased in a one time display to members of the National Inventors' Congress at Omaha, Nebraska. The Death Ray Machine was witnessed to instantly kill dogs, cats and rabbits once its beam shone on them.
Blood was reported to spill from the deceased, unfortunate test animals, but it was instantly turned to water. Blood to water—not even Jesus could do that. The officials that attended were so in awe of the dazzling power, they prevented any further development until the Death Ray Machine could be put to a useful, defensive purpose by the government. No one knows what became of the Death Ray Machine, but we think it just may be the scariest vaporware ever. [Modern Mechanix via Boing Boing]


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The city of Przemyśl is about a 15 minute drive from the castle. The region's scenic landscapes are ideal for cycling, hiking and horseback riding. Take a hike up the Przemyśl Foothills and the Bieszczady Mountains. Visit the Casimir Castle or the museum of bells and pipes.
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Brooklyn Uncorked is Next Week
Consider this your reminder - next Wednesday May 16th you will, for the reasonable price of $30, have the opportunity to taste a load of Long Island wine. Come on down to Brooklyn uncorked! That's right, Shinn, Castello di Borghese, Paumanok, The Lenz, Macari, Wolffer, Palmer, and many others will be pouring their wines at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM.
New York is making great wine these days, Long Island in particular. This is a great opportunity to sample some excellent local wines, to meet fellow wine lovers, and to support local business. If you're in the area, you really should just get your &%#* together and come on down - no excuses.
Some of your favorite NYC area bloggers will be there too, if meeting people who write about wine in cyberspace turns you on...


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Quicken Loans released its Home Price Perception Index (HPPI) for January, finding that the range between expectations and actual appraisal values is getting smaller. On February 9, the retail mortgage lender announced average home appraisal values in January were 1.75 percent lower than homeowners' expectations.
For the fifth consecutive month, the gap between perception and actual value has decreased.
In the month of January, nationwide home values fell by 0.42 percent on a monthly basis and increased 3.37 percent annually.
"It's always important to understand your local real estate market," said Quicken Loans Chief Economist Bob Walters.
"If home values are growing in the area, homes may be gaining equity faster than consumers realize. On the other hand, if the local market is struggling, the appraisers – who are most aware of home value changes – may recognize this before homeowners come to terms with reality."
Denver and Chicago were on opposite ends of the spectrum, with Denver residents getting pleasantly surprised, but Chicagoans– not so much.
Miami and Seattle homeowners were the closest to being on point with the value of their homes. Seattle residents were slightly in the red and Miami homeowners were under-guessing a bit.
In Washington, D.C., homeowners are experiencing positive home appraisals.
In January 2015, the appraiser value was 1.60 percent higher than the homeowner perception of their home's value. Although that value has decreased, appraisals are still higher.
In December 2015 appraiser value was 0.29 percent higher than homeowner perception, and it increased slightly in January 2016 to 0.39 percent.


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Summer Holidays are for hitting the beach with a bit of 4 wheel driving thrown in for fun.
We departed Perth and drove 120 kilometers north along the Indian Ocean Drive to a small coastal town called Ledge Point. The main beach was crowded with holiday makers so we didn't stick around. We dropped the tyre pressure in our 4wds and followed the coast line back towards Perth.
In search for our own private beach to have lunch and relax. Taking our time to explore the coast line.
Only moments after leaving Ledge Point did we hit a large sand dune which proved to be a bit of a challenge for the land cruiser. After many failed attempts to reach the top Dixie let down the tyre pressure a bit more and we cruised it in.
Perched on top of the dune we were provided with a stunning view of Ledge Point and beyond. The kids young and old had a go at sand boarding down the dune. I had seen Dixie do it before with a beer in hand so I thought to myself how hard can it be? After a few attempts I got a feel for it. Your natural instinct is to lean back but you need to do the opposite and lean forward. Before long the board was building up speed and I was making my descent, thankfully without copping a mouthful of sand!
Back in the car we followed the tracks south. In parts the track was tight and we listened to the bushes scrap down the side of the car. An ear piercing sound, like finger nails down a blackboard.
Dotted along the coast are holiday shacks. There is even two railway carriages that once would have been holiday accommodation. It amazes me to think how they would have transported them to this secluded location. A snake skin was at the entrance a reminder of what is hiding in the scrub and sand dunes.
We searched for a secluded beach to cook up our lunch. A majority of the beaches were too soft to drive the vehicle on but eventually we found our own beach to explore.
It was an unusually cool summers day but the sun's rays still had a bite. We cooked up a feast, walked, splashed in the waves and beach combed.
The tracks are mainly sandy with the occasional patch of lime stone rocks to cross. Low lying scrub is visible at the start of the journey and then we spot a long iconic WA Christmas tree, also known as Nuytsia. The vibrant orange flowers only appear at christmas time stand out among the terrain. From this point the growth is taller and thicker.
If you are looking for a place to 4wd, fish and swim then this is a great day out. There is even a chance you will spot some kangaroos and dolphins while you are exploring.
Information on the Track
- Ledge Point is 120 kilometers from Perth on the Indian Ocean Drive.
- The track starts South of the main beach in Ledge Point.
- Choose the correct tyre pressure (around 16psi)
- Some of the beaches are not very wide so take note of the tide.
- The tracks are mainly sandy with the occasional patch of lime stone rocks.
- Safest to 4wd in a group.
You Tube – Life's a beach in WA
Check out our You Tube clip of our 4wd trip here.
If you want to keep up with what is happening on Let Me Be Free you can follow on Instagram here, Facebook here or Bloglovin here.


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Jazz owes a great deal to people who never take a chorus: Milt Gabler and Lucille Armstrong, Norman Granz and Helen Oakley Dance. And Charles Peterson.
Long before I knew anything about Charles Peterson, I admired the photography and artistic sensibility. Because photographs get reprinted without attribution, I had seen much of his work without knowing it was his. That is, until the fine book SWING ERA NEW YORK: THE JAZZ PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHARLES PETERSON (Temple University Press, 1994) appeared, with priceless shots by Peterson and commentary by W. Royal Stokes. (The book is now officially out of print, but copies are available from the usual online sources.)
Between 1935 and 1951, his camera and flashbulbs ready, Peterson went to jazz clubs, parties, concerts, and recording sessions. That in itself would be enough, but he also approached his subjects in subtle, ingenious ways. He avoided the formulaic full-frontal studio portraits or the equally hackneyed poses that jazz musicians are forced into. He saw what other photographers didn't.
Granted, he had wonderful visual material to work with. Many jazz musicians are unconsciously expressive, even dramatic, when they play, sing, or listen; many of them have eloquently unusual faces.
But who was Charles Peterson?
His son, Don, who takes such good care of his father's invaluable prints and negatives, told me about his father's fascinating life. And, not incidentally, the photographs that follow are reproduced with Don's permission.
Charles Peterson wasn't born with a camera in his hand, just off Fifty-Second Street. Rather, he was born to Swedish wheat farmers in Minnesota on January 3, 1900. On a trip to New Orleans while he was still in high school, he bought himself a banjo in a pawnshop. Musically self-taught, he spent his college years playing local dance halls and summer resort hotels. By 1926, he was such an accomplished jazz player on guitar and banjo that he was part of a band with a residency at the Dacotah Hotel in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The band was so good that its stars were raided for big bands as far away as Chicago — bands whose leaders were alumni of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra.
Peterson had what they called "pluck" in those days, and drove his Mercer Raceabout to New York City to interview for job in publishing. But once there he followed his love of music, and he met Pee Wee Russell and many of Russell's Chicago colleagues and friends — including one Eddie Condon. He and Pee Wee shared a room and Peterson worked with first-string hot jazz players including Wingy Manone. But hot jazz didn't pay well, and Peterson found steady employment with Rudy Vallee and his Connecticut Yankees, a successful but much more staid group. Married and with a son, Peterson looked for a steady job instead of one-nighters on the road. With the money he had saved from Vallee, where he had been earning $300 a week in the Depression, Peterson took a year off to study photography at the Clarence White School — on the recommendation of Edward Steichen (Peterson had met Steichen when Steichen was photographing the Connecticut Yankees for Vanity Fair.
Peterson's knowledge of the music business and his friendship with musicians were invaluable, and he was at the right place and moment in history — not simply because he took rooms above the Onyx Club. He began with portraits and publicity shots, then moved to capturing jazz players and singers in action — Jack Teagarden, Bunny Berigan, Billie Holiday, Sidney Bechet, and dozens of others in big bands and small, jam sessions and apartment get-togethers. His photographs were prominently featured in multi-page spreads in LIFE and other glossy magazines. Don remembers that while he was a fifth-grader at the progressive Walt Whitman School, his father assembled a jazz band to play for the students and their families in an informal concert that began at 1 PM and went on into the evening. The participants? Only Louis Armstrong, Brad Gowans, Pee Wee Russell, Bobby Hackett, Joe Sullivan, Eddie Condon, and Zutty Singleton — all Peterson's friends.
During the Second World War, Peterson's jazz photography came to a halt, and after the war, although he photographed Ella Fitzgerald and Terry Gibbs, Buck Clayton, Joe Bushkin, the Red Norvo Trio, and his friends at Eddie Condon's club, his career gradually came to a close in 1951. Peterson wasn't fond of modern jazz and had moved, with his wife, to a small farm in Pennsylvania. He had many interests outside music and photography, and devoted himself to them — from farming to literature to metalwork and boats — until his death in 1976.
Here are photographs by Charles Peterson that have not been published anywhere else — the first of several installments.
The first one isn't a classic photo, but we need to the man himself — in the best company. Peterson sometimes liked to include himself in the shot, so he would set up his camera, arrange the photograph, and ask a competent anonymous amateur to press the button. He did just that on December 29, 1940, capturing himself and Pee Wee Russell at a private party in what I assume is a New York City apartment. It is a candid snapshot: I imagine Peterson saying to someone, "Hey, take a picture of Pee Wee and myself," and the person holding the camera has waited a beat too long. Pee Wee's amused expression is beginning to freeze; surely he would rather have lit the cigarette in his hand. Peterson himself is caught in the middle of saying something perhaps under his breath, which I imagine as "Press the button already." A professional photographer wouldn't have made this a trio of Peterson, Rinso, and Russell, either. But we see Peterson in his natural surroundings, someone who could have been taken for a handsome, sharply-dressed character actor in a current film.
The next photograph moves both Peterson and readers away from boxes of crackers and detergent to a much more emotionallycharged space: the recording studio used by the newly-hatched Blue Note record label for the Port of Harlem Seven session on June 8, 1939. Peterson was fortunate enough to be invited to a number of recording sessions — his friends were playing and everyone hoped that a Peterson photograph might be published in a major magazine. (One of his most famous photographs is of drummer Zuty Singleton at a 1938 session for the Hot Record Society, featuring Pee Wee, Dicky Wells, and Freddie Green!)
Peterson captured the whole Port of Harlem Seven — including Frank Newton, J.C. Higginbotham, Meade Lux Lewis, Johnny Williams, Teddy Bunn — in action, but he chose in this shot to concentrate on Sidney Bechet, who would eventually give up the clarinet for the soprano saxophone, and Sidney Catlett.
In this photograph, it is June, and although musicians typically kept their suits and hats on while recording, Catlett has come prepared to exert himself, dressed for hot work in an open-necked short-sleeve shirt that seems more country than town, with suspenders that pull his suit trousers up beyond what we might think of as comfortable. If there was any doubt as to why he was called "Big Sid," this photo should act as silent testimony to breadth as well as height: his shoulders, the solidity of his upper arms, even though the fingers of his right hand are holding the drumstick gracefully and delicately, the suggestions of Native American bone structure in his face.
Catlett's mouth is part-open, and unlike the first photograph, where it seems that Peterson is inadvertently caught speaking, here Catlett is clearly exhorting, cheering Bechet on. "Yeaaaaaahhh," he says, quietly intent. Bechet's eyes are half-closed; his necktie seems a montage of mock-neon letters; he holds the clarinet at a distinct angle. His arm, or perhaps the clarinet, casts a dark shadow across the canvas that is his white dress shirt. (The angle itself is suggestive: Bechet said that he gave up the clarinet because the vibrations hurt his dental work. Does this picture capture him in pain, working hard to play that most difficult of single-reed instruments?)
What Peterson understood, even in the restrictive confines of the recording studio, where the photographer has no control over what his subjects are doing — this is obviously the very opposite of a "posed" shot — was the possibilities of shadow and light. Figuring out what the camera and the flashbulb would make bright, half-bright, dim, or black, determined much more about the total effect of the shot.
Look closely at Catlett's three cymbals — from the left, a Chinese cymbal, then in right foreground a ride cymbal, and apparently submerged beneath it, the top of his hi-hat: three pieces of round metal, all except the Chinese tapering down from a center cap to their edge. Without noticing it at first, the viewer takes in the different visual textures of the three: the Chinese cymbal, its surface not flat but rather a series of small convexities, appearing dark and light, "like gold to airy thinness beat"; the top of the ride bymbal, although not grooved, reflecting light much like the grooves of a 78 rpm record; the hi-hat, darkly hidden beneath it. The viewer senses the shadowing of Catlett's face, highlighting the texture of his skin, the solidity of his skull, and the dark shadow on the studio wall.
Peterson's photographs have resonant depth, unlike our modern digital snapshots of groups of people that make their subjects look like cardboard figures flattened against the wall. Nothing is blurred, even though these two men are in motion; one imagines the exultant, gutty sounds they make.
Many photographs of trumpet players catch them straight-on, their faces wracked with the effort of hitting a high note. Foreshortening makes them look tiny behind the bell of their horn. This June 1939 photograph, taken from the side, catches Roy Eldridge at the Arcadia Ballroom as he takes a breath between multi-noted phrases. Taking in air, he appears to be smiling, and it's a good possibility he is. To his right, tenor saxophonist Franz Jackson is clapping his hands, an arranged routine — the band marking time rhythmically as Eldridge, in the best Louis manner, hits some high ones at the climax of a hot number. The bassist, who may be Ted Sturgis, is concentrating, as is the guitarist. Jackson's section-mate in the reeds is also keeping time enthusiastically. Peterson has framed his shot so that Eldridge and his horn are central, an upturned capital letter L, with all the light focused on that silvery mute, where all the energy was focused. Luckily for us, this band broadcast on the radio, and airshots were issued thirty-five years later . . . . so one could play these exuberant performance while burying oneself in this photograph — the nearest thing possible to going back in time.
In 1945, Sidney Bechet formed a quintet for an extended run at "Boston's Hot-spot of Rhythm," the Savoy Cafe. This photograph captures the band when Bunk Johnson was the trumpeter; bassist Pops Foster stayed throughout the run. Bunk had a hard time keeping up with Bechet, who seemed to have limitless energy and stamina. Bechet also shared the front line with the rather introverted Peter Bocage; finally, the only trumpeter who could stand alongside Sidney and not be swept away was the 18-year old Johnny Windhurst, whose golden tone and youthful verve come through on airshots of the band's "Jazz Nocturne" broadcasts.
In this photograph, it's hard to imagine the tempo that the band is playing, but we feel the unstated contest of wills. Bechet is fierce: his head and eyes revealing the effort. Pops Foster is smiling at what Sidney is playing; one side of his shirt collar is trying to break free. Bunk is sitting down, his horn pointed downward, its shadow a dark arrow. His face is serious, even pained. Were his teeth bothering him? Was he feeling the strain of trying to equal Bechet? Was he only playing a quiet countermelody? It's impossible to tell, but the picture is a study in masterful power: Bechet has it, Pops Foster is riding in its wake, and Bunk looks nearly exhausted, defeated by it.
This photograph, taken at a Jimmy Ryan's Sunday afternoon jam session on November 9, 1941, is the emotional opposite of the struggle bwetween Bechet and Bunk. There is no struggle for mastery between trombonist Vic Dickenson and bassist Al Morgan. Rather, the bell of Vic's horn is close to Morgan's ear. Through that length of metal tubing, Vic is telling Morgan something important and gratifying. What's the secret? Is it a characteristically deep meditation on the nature of the blues, or is it exactly why all the boys treated Sister Kate so nice? We'll never know, but Morgan hears it, and his smile shows that he gets it, too.
And Peterson got it: the joy and the stress of the soloist trying to have his or her say, and the urging, happy community of jazz players bound together in common for expression and exultation. When SWING ERA NEW YORK appeared, the best assessment of Peterson's work came from another photographer-musician: bassist Milt Hinton, who wrote, "I saw it, lived it, Charles Peterson captured it. His visual imagery of the swing era in New York is authentic, intimate, and filled with emotion."
More photographs to come — including Billie Holiday, Frank Newton, Bobby Hackett, Eddie Condon, and some surprises.


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(Thanks to JP)
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He's not dead, he's just resting.
Actually, that's pretty much what his relatives have been telling people for the past 30 years.
Buddha huh?
He's just pining for the fjords.
My sympathies on the loss of your dear relative.
I got a slug.
If he was a registered voter in Chicago, this wouldn't be a problem.
He is still, of course, legally registered in Florida,
birthday spanks Lairbo.
He still looks better than Keith Richards.
So...that's what Kato's been up to lately.
孔夫子 Confucious say: man with bony complexion, probably dead.
Reekend at Kato's
I had a date with him just last week. No wonder he seemed like such a good listener.
You, too, Siouxie? Why, that double-crossing little...I'm gonna KILL him!
Happy Birthday Lairbo!
Happy birthday, Lairbo!
...Lairbo? Lairbo, wake up!
Uh-oh....dibs on his social security check!
nice to know the japanese are as larcenous as we are.
happy birthday lairbo! ahh, us july babies!
the japanese guy, not so much.
he's singing in the choir invisible.
"larcenous" - good word. Queensbee must be an anti-teetotaller.
Lairbosan, does this guy merit a haiku?
haaa! not anti teetootler, but a non-drinker. these days. my drug of choice is now coffee. did all my vocabulary-building, er, back in the daaay. now, i'm just a writer.
Japanese dead man
Bedridden for many years
Can't come out to play
Very good, Suzy Q-san.
It'll take you years to forge my signature, Annie.
Thanks to all for the birthday wishes; I wandered out to get the mail and was distracted by something shiny (the sun) and stayed outside.
I wonder if they'll posthumously award all the people who were older than this guy but died before this revelation?
Tokyo's oldest
Died long ago, but spirit
Lived on; does that count?
Happy Birthday, Lairbo!
Also: No.
*points flamethrower at Nike spammer*
*cancels Gandalf's fireworks show for Kato's eleventy-first birthday*
Not many people want to be number one at something bad enough to stick with it even after they're dead, but this guy was in it for the long haul. That's a guy for you.
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Two-time UFC veteran Junior Assuncao (13-5) has signed a multi-fight deal with the Texas-based Legacy Fighting Championship organization.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today learned of the signing.
Assuncao is expected to make his promotional debut at Legacy Fighting Championship 12 on July 13 against an opponent yet to be determined.
Legacy Fighting Championships 12, which is also expected to feature Robert Drysdale vs. Isaac "Ike" Villanueva, takes place at Houston's Arena Theater. Longtime vet Jay Hieron is also expected to compete at the event, which airs live on HDNet.
Assuncao made his UFC debut as a lightweight in 2006, earning a win over David Lee in between losses to Nate Diaz and Kurt Pellegrino. Following that three-fight stint, Assuncao returned to the regional scene, posting a 7-1 mark before earning a second call-up to the octagon.
Assuncao dropped to 145 pounds for the opportunity and debuted with a UFC 135 win over Eddie Yagin. However, he returned this past December with a decision loss to Ross Pearson. Assuncao retreated for most of the fight, looking to counter the British striker, but his gameplan proved ineffective, and he was promptly released from the promotion.
Assuncao campaigned openly for a return to the UFC, but the 30-year-old Brazilian will now return to work under the Legacy Fighting Championship banner.
For more on Legacy Fighting Championships 12, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.


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Table of Contents
Campus Alert: Don't Laugh Too Hard
New York Post
How would you feel if you got in trouble not for telling an off-color joke, but simply for laughing at one? Sounds inconceivable, right?
Not at Drexel University in Philadelphia, where school policy prohibits not only "inconsiderate jokes" but also "inappropriately directed laughter." Not only won't they let you tell certain jokes, they promise to punish you for finding them funny.
Drexel is not alone in its prohibition of what can only be described as typical college student interaction.
Northeastern University in Boston, apparently the self-appointed arbiter of good taste, prohibits sending any e-mail message "which in the sole judgment of the University is offensive." Attention Northeastern students: before you forward that e-mail to your friends, you had better try to discern whether "the University" might deem it offensive.
Johns Hopkins University prohibits any "rude, disrespectful behavior"—a regulation that sounds more suited to Victorian-era England than it does to a major institution of higher learning in 2007.
Speech codes on campus are laughably ridiculous until you realize they have a very serious side. They are so broad that they cannot possibly be enforced across the board—imagine the resources it would take to punish every instance of "inappropriately directed laughter" on campus. And they are incredibly common: between September 2005 and September 2006, we surveyed over 330 schools and found that an overwhelming majority of them—69 percent—explicitly prohibit speech that, outside the borders of campus, is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Speech codes are completely inconsistent with the role of the university as a "marketplace of ideas," and are often used to stifle speech that the university or students simply dislike. Campus speech codes place a stranglehold on campus dissent and should be put to rest.
View this article at New York Post.
Attached Files
- Campus Alert: Don't Laugh Too Hard, PDF, 483.9 KB , New York Post
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Press overview
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The second generation of blue multi-mode laser diodes doubles the range compared to previous LED solutions to 600 meters and simplifies the system design at the same time, when used in the auxiliary high beam of the car.Read more
Osram and GaN Systems introduce ultrafast laser driver with high-power, multi-channel for LiDAR
Osram Opto Semiconductors, a leading optoelectronics company and global number 1 in automotive lighting, announced an ultrafast laser driver with a high-power, multi-channel Surface Mount (SMT) laser for LiDAR (Light detection and ranging) systems. Osram, the leader in LiDAR lasers, and GaN Systems, ...Read more
Osram enters the 3D sensing market with two new VCSELs
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Osram makes car keys superfluous: unlocking with iris scans and facial recognition
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Picture: Rinspeed
Osram LEDs and laser solutions increase safety, enable customizable interiors in Rinspeed microSNAP vehicle
Osram, a global high-tech lighting company, today announced it is the exclusive lighting partner for Rinspeed's latest concept vehicle, microSNAP. The vehicle features a variety of Osram components for lighting and sensing applications, such as biometric identification, ambient lighting, smart headlights and more. These technologies are ...Read more
The future of quality control. Osram's new broadband infrared LED helps farmers plan the best time for harvest
One of the most important decisions that farmers and vineyard owners have to make involves getting the timing right for the harvest. This not only ensures that the produce has the best possible taste but also means that precious time and money can be saved at the subsequent processing and shipment stages. To make it easier for farmers and vineyard owners to gage the right time for the harvest, Osram now presents...Read more
Osram presents long-life LED for general lighting
The market for LED lighting is moving forward very fast and the demand for professional components with long lifetimes and extraordinary robustness is growing. In announcing the new professional Osconiq S3030, Osram Opto Semiconductors is successfully facing up to these challenges. These LEDs are state-of-the-art....Read more
Osram laser brings autonomous driving one step closer
LiDAR systems are an integral part of driving assistance systems, such as lane assist and emergency braking systems in autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles. The propagation time of very short light pulses is used to determine the distance between the vehicle and objects in its vicinity. When a laser pulseRead more
Picture: Studio Bachmannkern
From illumination to photonics: Osram shows a spectrum of infinite possibilities
"Connecting Everything" is the motto of electronica 2018. From 13th – 16th of November industry experts will demonstrate the decisive role electronics play for the future of application fields such as connected cars, smart industry or medical technology at the Munich exhibition grounds.Read more
Dynamic in-car lighting scenarios thanks to smart LED from Osram
The prototype of the RGB-LED Osire E4633i takes automotive interior lighting to a new level.
The more autonomous a car becomes, the more the way in which it is used will change. As developments continue toward autonomous driving, more and more attention is being focused on the passenger cell. [...]
Automotive lighting of the future: Osram's Oslon Boost HX opens up new concepts
Just like a normal projector can display pictures on a screen, a DMD system with its millions of micro-mirrors can project light onto the road in the form of symbols. Thanks to components such as the new Oslon Boost HX, each headlight achieves a resolution [...]Read more
Osram's new ambient light sensor provides the right brightness for in-car displays, day and night
One of the problems drivers often have in bright sunlight is that they cannot read the satnav screen properly or can only guess what speed is shown on the speedometer. [...]Read more
Homogeneous illumination for facial recognition thanks to VCSEL technology from Osram
Osram Opto Semiconductors is launching a new product family with Bidos PLPVQ 940A, its first Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser, or VCSEL for short. [...]Read more
Checking food with a smartphone thanks to a broadband infrared LED from Osram
Consumers will soon be able to use their smartphones to check how fresh supermarket food is, measure the calories in canteen meals and verify whether the tablet in their hand really is a painkiller. [...]Read more
Osram partners with Joyson Safety Systems to provide driver monitoring system for semi-autonomous driving
Osram Opto Semiconductors and Joyson Safety Systems are equipping the new Cadillac CT6 with an innovative system for semi-autonomous driving. 'Super Cruise' is the industry's first true hands-free driving technology for the highway. [...]Read more
A good view for security cameras: infrared LED provides light for razor sharp images
Osram Opto Semiconductors is expanding its proven Oslon Black portfolio for infrared illumination with the addition of an infrared LED with a narrower beam angle of ± 25°. [...]Read more
InteGreat project successfully researches new approaches to LED production
In the InteGreat research project, Osram Opto Semiconductors coordinated a consortium comprising seven partners from science and industry. [...]Read more
Osram Opto Semiconductors Wins 2017 Xiaomi Smartphone Best Innovation Award
Osram Opto Semiconductors was invited to the Xiaomi Core Suppliers Conference 2017, which was also attended by global telecom giants such as Qualcomm, Sony, and Samsung as well as over 100 other Xiaomi core suppliers. [...]Read more
Longer battery life for fitness trackers: Osram increases the efficiency of green LEDs by 40 percent
The significant drop in light output (green gap phenomenon) exhibited by green LEDs has often been the cause of efficiency problems and high costs in customer applications. [...]Read more
Osram Supports University of Michigan-Dearborn Autonomous Shuttle Project
Sunnyvale, CA – Osram Opto Semiconductors, a world leader in the optoelectronics industry, announced it is supporting the University of Michigan-Dearborn's autonomous shuttle (MDAS.ai) project, which will be unveiled on Friday, April 27, during Michigan Robotics Day at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.Read more
Safe journey: Osram adds to its Oslon Black family
Osram Opto Semiconductors is expanding its Oslon Black family for the infrared range with six new automotive IREDs. The 850 nm versions are intended for exterior applications such as night vision, pedestrian protection, pre-field recognition and lane detection. [...]Read more
IBELIVE research project working on new optical components
Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering, TEMICON and Continental, Osram Opto Semiconductors has been working since October 2017 [...]Read more
Osram and Nichia announce to expand IP co-operation
Osram and Nichia emphasize the significance of intellectual property (IP) in their business fields and announce their intention to expand the license co-operation. [...]Read more
Chip scale package LED from Osram takes retail lighting to another level
Osram Opto Semiconductors is unveiling the prototype of the Oslon Pure 1010 at this year's Light+Building in Frankfurt. [...]Read more
Start something bright with Osram Opto Semiconductors at Light + Building
Digital future meets design hotspot – with this motto the leading trade fair Light + Building will open its doors from March 18-23. [...]Read more
High-tech LEDs from Osram in the front headlights of the new Audi A8
Ingolstadt car manufacturer Audi uses the expertise of Osram Opto Semiconductors in the front lighting of its new flagship. [...]Read more
New infrared LED from Osram for 2D facial recognition
Smartphones, tablets and the like can now be unlocked in very different ways: with a password, fingerprint scan or even an iris scan. 2D facial recognition is another method and involves illuminating the user's face with an infrared light source [...]Read more
Osram's Regensburg location seen in a whole new light
As you approach on the A3 motorway heading toward Neutraubling, you can see the brightly lit façade of Osram Opto Semiconductors' new main building L01 from far away. [...]Read more
Osram lasers promote adoption of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles
Sunnyvale, CA – At this year's North American International Auto Show's AutoMobili-D 2018, Osram Opto Semiconductors is demonstrating how its high-power infrared pulse lasers are helping speed the adoption of autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). [...]Read more
New Osram LED for headlights on all vehicle classes
Osram Opto Semiconductors has added the new Oslon Compact PL to its portfolio of products for the automotive sector. The LED is particularly suitable for use in vehicle headlights. It can be used for adaptive glare-free high beam, daytime running lights, low beam and standard high beam.[...]Read more
Osram spotlights LED and laser solutions in Rinspeed's latest concept vehicle
Osram Opto Semiconductors, a leading lighting and technology company, is the exclusive lighting partner for Rinspeed's Snap concept car. Rinspeed is well known for its visionary ideas and progressive design. The Swiss-based think tank created Snap for a future defined by autonomous driving and urbanization. [...]Read more
"UV Power" research project is working on LED-replacements for conventional UV light sources
Since February 2017, a total of five research institutes and companies have been working on "UV Power", a collaborative project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The partners have made it their goal to provide high-power UV LEDs to cover a wide variety of applications.[...]Read more
New photodiode generation: revised package concept makes it easier for the customer
Osram Opto Semiconductors presents the world's first SMT package for large-area photodiode chips which complies with the strict demands of the automotive industry and is even approved up to an operating temperature of 125°C.[...]Read more
Eviyos LED prototype revolutionizes smart headlights
The Eviyos prototype developed by Osram Opto Semiconductors is the world's first hybrid LED and represents major progress toward the first market-ready smart controllable high-resolution LED. As soon as oncoming traffic is detected the appropriate pixels are automatically switched off so drivers of oncoming vehicles are not dazzled.[...]Read more
Mini LED for mobile devices: Osram launches compact Ceramos generation
Osram Opto Semiconductors is expanding its existing portfolio for flash applications with a product featuring a specially developed chip sized package (CSP). With Ceramos C, Osram is following the trend for miniaturization as the new LED is the smallest yet in its product family[...]Read more
A new name for high performance: Osram launches the Osconiq product family for professional applications
The new Osconiq product line from Osram Opto Semiconductors will cover professional applications including linear and area lighting, high and low bay lighting and street lighting. The familiar Duris P products, which are currently being used for these applications, will be transferred to the new Osconiq line[...]Read more
Tiny infrared LEDs from Osram allow for eye contact with virtual reality
The Japanese start-up company FOVE offers users a virtual reality headset that integrates eye tracking as a novel means of interaction. Tiny ChipLEDs from Osram Opto Semiconductors provide the infrared illumination to track the user's direction of gaze and eye movements.[...]Read more
First multi-chip LED with a lens improves camera flash applications: the right brightness for any photo
There is a new addition to the Oslux family from Osram Opto Semiconductors. For the first time, two LED chips and a lens have been integrated into a module. The compact Oslux S2.1 multi-chip LED brings together all the high-tech company's extensive technical know-how into a new LED version for camera flash applications[...]Read more
Topled E1608: The new generation of Osram's successful LEDs is setting new standards in miniaturization
More than 25 years ago, the Topled set a worldwide standard as the first surface-mountable LED. Osram Opto Semiconductors now presents the latest generation, the Topled E1608, which has a package that is smaller than its predecessor models by factor 20 [...]Read more
Sights set right! Augmented and virtual reality systems use infrared LEDs to "know" where the user is looking
Osram Opto Semiconductors is launching its smallest sidelooking infrared LED to date. The new SFH 4055 is based on the proven Firefly platform, used widely for LEDs in the visible spectrum. The new transmitter, which has a wavelength of [...]Read more
UNIQUE project for developing mass market UV LEDs for disinfection
Eco-friendly purification of water – UV light is already being used to kill water-borne germs but the light sources used for this purpose are still predominantly mercury vapor lamps. UV LEDs have so far proved unattractive for reasons of cost [...]Read more
Osram sets new standards in horticulture lighting with Oslon Square Hyper Red
At this year's Lightfair in Philadelphia (USA), Osram Opto Semiconductors is showcasing an LED prototype to promote healthy plant growth: the Oslon Square Hyper Red. This third-generation 2 watt LED features improved emission characteristics, higher optical output and impressive corrosion resistance, so plant lighting systems based on the Oslon Square Hyper Red can be made particularly economical.[...]Read more
Smooth traffic flow through automatic barriers: infrared LED optimizes license plate recognition
Osram Opto Semiconductors is expanding its offering of high-power infrared LEDs for illumination solutions to include a new wavelength (810 nm). This development will benefit camera systems, such as those used to read license plates. They can use this additional wavelength to improve image contrast making it easier to read patterns from recorded images. Moreover, camera sensors have higher sensitivity at 810 nm.[...]Read more
Osram infrared LEDs establish communication between distributed luminaires
The Australian company Organic Response controls large lighting installations in a way that enables each luminaire to communicate with its immediate neighbors – just like a school of fish would do. Communication is based on modulated infrared light signals that are emitted by high power infrared LEDs from Osram Opto Semiconductors.[...]Read more
Infrared LED protects mobile computers from unauthorized access
Osram Opto Semiconductors is expanding its Oslux product family for biometric security solutions with a specially designed variant for facial recognition. This compact infrared LED (IRED) ensures uniform illumination of facial features for high image quality. Osram is set to present the SFH 4796S at the upcoming Mobile World Congress [...]Read more
Safety in focus: infrared LED for iris scanners protects against intruders
Osram Opto Semiconductors is set to present a new infrared LED (IRED) for iris scanners at the upcoming Mobile World Congress. The SFH 4787S illuminates the eyes so evenly that the software identifying the iris pattern now hardly needs to correct artefacts. Like its predecessor, its direction of emission is slightly angled rather than vertical,[...]Read more
The FLINGO project: an international team of experts is improving the properties of LEDs
In view of the growing demands placed on the electrical, optical and thermal functionality of LEDs, more and more attention is being paid to research into new material properties. The purpose of the FLINGO project is therefore to develop new materials [...]Read more
Space-saving photodetector for fitness sensors
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A milestone for laser sensors in self-driving cars
At electronica 2016 Osram Opto Semiconductors is showcasing a four-channel laser that takes LIDAR systems (Light Detection and Ranging) for autonomous or semi-autonomous driving a step closer. The prototype laser has an extremely short pulse length and four parallel output channels. [...]Read more
Osram presents the world's first broadband infrared LED
Osram Opto Semiconductors is using converter technology for infrared emitters for the first time. The result is an LED that emits broadband infrared light in a wavelength range from 650 to 1,050 nanometers (nm). The main application is near-infrared spectroscopy, for example for analyzing food.[...]Read more
Osram has expanded its automotive portfolio
Osram Opto Semiconductors has launched the Oslon Black Flat S series, the world's first surface mountable LEDs with up to five individually controllable chips. Thanks also to the contrast ratio provided by the package, they are predestined for use in ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) headlights[...]Read more
A new generation of infrared LEDs for night vision assistance
A new infrared LED from Osram Opto Semiconductors reduces the size of lighting units for camera-based assistance systems in cars. Compared to the Platinum Dragon previously used, Synios SFH 4770S A01 offers 25 percent higher optical output and needs only about one tenth of the footprint. [...]Read more
Osram Opto Semiconductors reveals a spectrum of infinite possibilities at electronica
From November 8 through 11, 2016 Osram Opto Semiconductors will be showcasing its extensive portfolio of application highlights at electronica in Munich. Visitors to the fair will be able to see the products in action in an extremely wide range of applications and be impressed by the company's powers of innovation. Osram Opto Semiconductors can be found at booth 107 in hall A3.[...]Read more
Neues Autolicht revolutioniert Sicherheit im Verkehr
A German research alliance with well-known members from industry and research has developed the basis for smart, high resolution LED headlights, which takes adaptive forward lighting to a new dimension. The demonstration model was developed by overall project manager Osram in collaboration with the project partners [...]Read more
New lab record for brilliance achieved by Osram semiconductor laser
Osram Opto Semiconductors has produced a broad area laser diode with a lateral brilliance of up to 4.8 W/(mm*mrad) in the laboratory. The more brilliant the laser, the more efficiently it can inject its light into optical [...]Read more
Osram presents compact LEDs for mobile fitness applications
The new versions of the PointLED and Firefly LEDs are Osram Opto Semiconductors' latest additions to its portfolio for use in mobile applications such as fitness tracking and health monitoring. Osram can therefore offer [...]Read more
Powerful lighting solutions from Osram for the G20 Summit
Osram is putting the G20 Summit in China, which will take place on September 4 and 5 in Hangzhou, in the right light. High-quality lighting solutions from the Munich-based lighting specialist will be [...]Read more
Osram increases the luminous efficacy of white and blue high-power LEDs by 7.5 percent
Research success at Osram Opto Semiconductors. The high-tech company has considerably improved the luminous efficacy of its high-power LEDs by reducing the unwanted droop [...]Read more
World premiere: Osram presents 10° binning for white LEDs
New "TEN°" binning from Osram Opto Semiconductors provides the basis for unprecedented color consistency for white LEDs which are used for example as single-LED light sources in [...]Read more
Duris P 10: greater luminous flux and thermal benefits
A typical luminous flux of 1,100 lumen (lm) from a robust, leadframe-based high-performance package and up to 50 percent lower system costs – those are the main benefits of the new Duris P 10 [...]Read more
Osram welcomes Unity Opto as Licensee under its White LED License Program
Osram GmbH, one of the leading lighting companies, has granted Taiwan's Unity Opto Technology Co. Ltd. a royalty-bearing license to produce white LED packages under Osram core patents covering [...]Read more
Designing iris scanners just got easier
Iris recognition systems can be made less complex and with lower profiles thanks to the SFH 4786S infrared LED (IRED) from Osram Opto Semiconductors. At 1.6 millimeters (mm) this new IRED is around [...]Read more
New Osram LED as the light source for office projectors
A smaller package but more output. The new Osram Ostar Projection Power from Osram Opto Semiconductors enables customers to equip even mainstream projectors rated at more than 2500 lumen (lm) [...]Read more
Blinking replaces the double-click
The SFH 4770S from Osram Opto Semiconductors is currently the most compact infrared LED (IRED) in the high-power class. Its low height is of particular benefit in smartphones and tablets. The high [...]Read more
New Osram conversion technology for backlighting LEDs
The new Quantum Colors conversion technology from Osram Opto Semiconductors will set new standards in LED backlighting for TV displays as it offers much better coverage of the color space, significant [...]Read more
Investments of about €3 billion create new growth prospects for Osram
The shift in the lighting market toward semiconductor-based technologies is creating new growth opportunities, which Osram will consistently seize. To this end, the lighting company will invest around [...]Read more
Osram adds filament LEDs to its product portfolio
LED filaments instead of tungsten wire. Osram Opto Semiconductors presents the Soleriq L 38, the first filament LED in its product range. The long thin shape of the LEDs provides the basis for [...]Read more
New Osram Ostar Stage: twice the brightness from the same chip surface area
Osram Opto Semiconductors has expanded the product portfolio of its Osram Ostar Stage family. The four chips of the new high-power LED in red, green, blue and white can be operated at up to 2.5 ampere [...]Read more
A powerful performer: Oslon Black Flat S provides up to 2000 lumen
Osram Opto Semiconductors is unveiling an LED prototype in surface mount technology (SMT) with a brightness of up to 2000 lumen (lm) at ISAL 2015 – the Oslon Black Flat S. Experts achieved this [...]Read more
New sensor for fitness tracking in smartwatches and fitness armbands
The new SFH 7060 sensor from Osram Opto Semiconductors is designed to measure pulse rates and the oxygen saturation level of blood. It offers excellent signal quality and low energy consumption. The [...]Read more
Infrared Oslon Black LED expands portfolio for security applications
Osram is launching the Oslon Black SFH 4713A, an infrared LED (IRED) with a wavelength of 850 nanometers (nm). It is ideally suited to security applications, such as camera-surveillance of public [...]Read more
World premiere: Infrared LED from Osram for unlocking smartphones
Osram is making smartphones even smarter: Infrared technology enables mobile devices to be unlocked for the first time by scanning the iris of the user. Iris scanning is being used in the ARROWS NX [...]Read more
Low-cost LIDAR – a key technology to enable autonomous driving in urban environments
In the race to create the world's first self-driving car, Osram and Phantom Intelligence, a startup company specializing in LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) help pave the way with their [...]Read more
The first automotive camera with infrared and visible capabilities enables advancements in driver safety, accident avoidance
Driver monitoring can warn a fatigued driver to pull over and rest. It also supports other ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) features like lane departure warning and switching between [...]Read more
Osram develops high-power Duris S 10 LED
Duris S 10 is the latest addition to the Chip Array SMD family (CAS) from Osram Opto Semiconductors. This new LED is characterized by high efficiency, high light output and uniform color appearance. [...]Read more
ASUS tablet incorporating Unity Opto LEDs infringes Osram patent
Osram has obtained a favorable first instance judgment in a patent infringement lawsuit against the Taiwanese consumer electronics manufacturer ASUSTek Computer Inc. Osram had claimed that certain [...]Read more
Osram Oslon SSL 730nm wins two innovation awards at LIGHTFAIR International 2015
Osram Opto Semiconductors is pleased to announce that the Oslon SSL 730nm LED received an Innovation Award and a Technology Innovation Award at LIGHTFAIR International 2015. Judged by an independent [...]Read more
Efficient sensor for wristband heart monitors
The SFH 7051 from Osram Opto Semiconductors is an integrated optical sensor specially designed for heart rate monitoring. This component is used in fitness trackers, smart watches and other wearables [...]Read more
Osram presents a "borderless" LED as a fluorescent tube replacement
Osram Opto Semiconductors is extending its Duris product portfolio with a compact version without a classic package. The Duris S2 is in the low to middle output range and offers a high typical luminous efficacy of 160 lm/W, [...]Read more
The new Osram Ostar Projection: for continuous trouble-free operation
Osram Opto Semiconductors presents P2W 01, a particularly reliable addition to its familiar Osram Ostar Projection series. This new LED contains four chips which can be controlled in two separate groups. The LED therefore [...]Read more


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This article is more than 1 year old
Dual-screen Microsoft 'booklet' uncovered
Not a tablet PC or an e-book viewer, apparently
Microsoft is developing a dual-screen tablet, sorry, booklet that could seriously shake the foundations of Apple's rumoured tablet PC and Asus' dual-screen laptop.
Microsoft Courier's dual screens both look about 7in and are touch and stylus-sensitive
Credit: Gizmodo
Called Courier, the device is currently at the "late prototype" development stage – according to a report by Gizmodo, with Microsoft reportedly still heavily focused on advancement of the device's user experience.
It's thought that Courier's two displays each measure about 7in. A digital spine with iPhone-esque 'Home' button connects the two and also allows items – such as memos or pictures – to be moved between the screens.
No word on HDD/SSD storage or memory card slots
Speaking of pictures, the report added that Courier also has a rear-mounted 3Mp camera. A video of Courier also revealed that a stylus can be used to sketch, well, anything you like onto either screen.
Alternatively, the stylus allows users to write text into Courier's dual displays – which also support iPhone-like multi-touch finger input.
Technical details about Courier's innards haven't come to light, yet. However, images of the device have led to speculation that it may support wireless charging – much like the Palm Touchstone system.
1080p video playback, anyone?
In terms of applications, the Courier video shows the device linking into what looks like Google Maps. Friends in the gadget's address book can then be located on the interactive map - Google Latitude, anyone?
Courier's other features include a digital journal and a 'To Do' section – which also links into the address book.
Courier could charge itself wirelessly
Microsoft hasn't officially announced Courier yet, so its potential launch date and price remain a closely guarded secret. ®


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As one Flight MH370 mystery ends, another begins
One part of the mystery solved, another continues to build.
Malaysia's prime minister ended the rankest speculation with the announcement Monday that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was likely lost in the southern Indian Ocean.
It was, at least, a merciful gesture for loved ones of the 239 passengers and crew members after more than two weeks of agonizing over how and why a Boeing 777 could simply vanish — and whether they should hold out hope for a miracle.
A statement the airline sent to relatives said an analysis concluded that "none of those on board survived." The heartbreaking news let the families move on to a new phase of their vigil.
Prime Minister Najib Razak's announcement also should end conjecture over certain implausible scenarios, like those envisioning a terrorist plot to spirit the airliner to a host country. Saturation media coverage of the disappearance has often resembled a carnival side show, with a CNN host at one point asking a panel of supposed experts whether the plane might have been swallowed by a black hole or a Bermuda Triangle-like force.
Black hole, no; immense swath of ocean, yes.
The detective work to piece together why the Beijing-bound plane went drastically off course is no closer to definitive answers, however.
Why did the plane's transponder abruptly go quiet as the plane neared Vietnamese airspace? Was there hidden meaning to the first officer's last words: "All right, good night"?
Was the crew overcome by a suddenly depressurized cabin? Why didn't passengers make any cellphone calls? Did lithium batteries in the plane's cargo hold ignite?
The answers are significant to both the flying public and an airline industry that desperately wants to address lingering doubts about safety. The Boeing 777 has a remarkable safety record, with only two serious mishaps among hundreds of aircraft over 19 years. If it has an undiscovered vulnerability, analyzing that could save lives in the future.
The search for wreckage has also produced remarkable cooperation among 26 countries — including some bitter antagonists — that have flooded the search zone with an armada of ships, as well as air and satellite surveillance.
We hope to see that international cooperation continue on the technology front. The lead nations should address how a wide-body aircraft bristling with electronics could indeed seem to enter a Twilight Zone.
They should address why, in today's live-streaming world, solving the mystery of Flight MH370 depends on retrieval of the aircraft's flight-data recorder. It shouldn't, entirely. The condition of the wreckage and the black box (which, by the way, is orange) will have important clues.
But technology leaders should advance satellite-based systems that could track an errant aircraft and pinpoint the location of a crash. In Flight MH370's case, that could have advanced the investigation by 16 days and cut short the maddening guesswork over the fate of those lost at sea.
— The Dallas Morning News


text: There are a number of bicycles that have come out bearing the name of car companies. It follows reason to think that if a car company has its name on a bike it has to be good and some are genuinely good. Aston Martin charges almost $5,000 for the logo on its car brand bicycle Read on! →


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Celebrating Our Founder
For nearly 20 years, Alan Meier and I have had on one level a typical editor/author relationship. I bug him about writing the next editorial for Home Energy, and he procrastinates until the last minute. Maggie Forti, director of advertising, who has been at the magazine just as long as I have, put it this way, quoting Alan himself: "I'll get back to you." "I'm working on it." "There's candy in the drawer." (There always was.)
But on another level, I've been privileged to relate to Alan as a colleague and friend; during the hours spent in his office at Building 90 on the campus of DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) being educated in all things energy efficiency; sitting down to a meal at the cafeteria in Asilomar during ACEEE's Summer Study, talking policy with the experts; and visiting Alan and his family in Paris while Alan was working for the International Energy Agency. Even when I was a newbie in the energy efficiency world, I felt like I was an important member of a team of energy nerds. I think everyone who has been on the magazine staff over the years could say the same. I'm very, very grateful for that.
After this Fall issue, Home Energy will be listing Alan Meier as Founder in the masthead of the magazine, and he will no longer be the main editorial writer. Alan has written his last editorial as Senior Executive Editor in this issue. We plan on enlisting many of the leaders in building performance to take on the job as editorialists. I hope that many of you who've subscribed to Home Energy just to read Alan's quirky, relevant, thoughtful, challenging, and well-written editorials will still tune in. We expect him to make an appearance on our editorial page every now and then. (You can visit the Home Energy website and click on Departments and then Editorials to read all of Alan's editorial gems going back to 1992. You don't even have to subscribe to do it—they're free.)
Alan and colleagues at LBNL founded the magazine under the title Energy Auditor & Retrofitter (EA&R) in 1984. It soon became Home Energy but has always been the place where "all the energy news is fit to print." Alan is well known for his work on saving energy by lowering the standby energy use of electronic devices. At a meeting at the Bush (second one) White House with top scientists from DOE, he demonstrated the amount of standby electricity used by office equipment and other appliances. President Bush must have been impressed, because soon after he wrote up an Executive Order limiting the standby power of all the electronic devices purchased by the federal government to 2 watts. Alan is also well known for reducing electricity load in a hurry. When an avalanche cut off the supply of cheap hydropower in Juneau, Alaska, in 2008, the city sought out Alan's help. Juneau's electricity use dropped by 30% in a few weeks, much of that having to do with energy savings for lighting and heating.
Alan has many important connections with people at DOE in Washington, D.C., DOE national labs, UC Davis, the International Energy Agency, and countless nonprofits and organizations in Japan and all around the world. Most have been a part of Home Energy as research partners, authors, reviewers, and contributors since 1984. I wish we had space to hear from all of them, but here are a few.
Linda Wigington, a fellow home performance hero and founder of Affordable Comfort (now Building Performance Association), credits Alan with providing the name Affordable Comfort. He did a luncheon keynote on Thermal Comfort at the first Affordable Comfort Conference. "Alan's work was the genesis of my conviction that how we address and adapt in order to achieve comfort is a major opportunity to promote more-efficient, healthier, and more-affordable housing."
Steve Greenberg was an original staff member for EA&R and has continued to be a technical editor and advisor throughout the life of the magazine. "I first met Alan when I was an undergrad engineering student at Cal and took his Residential Energy Conservation class in 1980. Energy auditing was a very new thing then, and Alan and his colleagues at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab were pioneers. LBL (now officially the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) had formerly been the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, and many still referred to it as the 'Rad Lab'. With radical ideas coming from LBL folks, like the economy could grow without proportionate growth in energy use, 'Rad' took on a different meaning." Outside the office, Steve, Alan, and other friends have shared many long bike rides and hikes in the California wilds.
Greg Thomas, founder and current CEO of Performance Systems Development, has been involved in building performance work for more than 30 years. He was chair of Efficiency First, and past president of ACI (now Building Performance Association), among other leadership positions. "Alan is very good at keeping his eye on the prize, which is reducing energy use at the meter. He was an energy myth buster before cable TV got there. He early on positioned Home Energy magazine to fill a role as the publication of record for residential energy efficiency. Creating journalistic content that inspires that type of trust has been an important contribution to the growth of the industry."
"Alan has been an inspiration and example for how to think differently, work in several highly diverse areas at the same time, and get things done in a big way," says Bruce Nordman, fellow research scientist at LBNL and, along with Alan, Steve Greenberg, and others, an outdoor adventure enthusiast.
Finally, here is a note from one more person who was with Home Energy from the beginning, Peter Dupont. "In January 1984, with a $6,000 grant in hand, Alan Meier hired a physics undergraduate (Randy McFarland), a young artist, and a public health masters student (me) to help him start a new magazine called Energy Auditor & Retrofitter. What a diverse and ragtag group! But he created an inspiring vision of getting reams of DOE and LBL technical reports and test results and data; packaging it in a practical, engaging, and visually appealing way, leavened with humor and cartoons; and making it extremely relevant to a community of thousands of building auditors, energy professionals, and energy officials across the country. Eight months later, against all odds, we came out with the first issue of the magazine, and we knew we were on to something. Alan's vision, intelligence, humor, and search for meaning in the data inspired the birth of the magazine and have remained an inspiration for me during the 30 years since I left Berkeley and Home Energy to pursue a career working on energy efficiency and clean energy in Asia."
Lest this go to Alan's head, I'd better end it here. From all of us in the greater Home Energy family, our heartfelt thanks, Alan.
- 1
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The U.S. Senate's comprehensive immigration bill is expected to include an H-1B cap hike and a higher fee structure aimed at offshore outsourcers.
Work on the bill is continuing, and a snapshot of its various components were shared by three independent sources, each familiar with the discussions.
The eight senator-team, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), working on the comprehensive bill has rejected the graduated 300,000 cap proposed in the so-called I-Squared Act introduced earlier this year by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.).
Instead, the legislation may seek to double the current 65,000 H-1B cap, or to set it in the low l00,000-range.
It's less certain how the Senators will treat a separate cap of 20,000 for advanced degree STEM graduates because of a plan to offer them permanent residency.
The bill may call for increasing fees for large H-1B users. The increased fees would be an alternative to today's so-called 50/50 provision, which limits the number of visas available to a company to half of its workforce.
Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill), part of the Senate group developing the comprehensive immigration, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have been the major proponents of including include a graduated fee structure that sets higher H-1B fees once IT services providers hit certain thresholds.
For instance, if more than 30% of a firm's U.S. workforce holds a visa, they may pay a higher visa fee than firms with fewer visa holders.
A large users would pay a still higher fee once it declares that 50% or more of its workforce have visas. If a firm has 70% or 75% or more of its workers on temporary visas, the bill could either not allow it any more visas, or would set the fee for new ones at prohibitively high levels.
Offshore outsourcers, mostly located overseas, are the largest users of H-1B visas and may bear the greatest impact, depending on how bill is written.
The bill is expected to include unlimited green cards for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) advance degree holders. It would likely set restrictions on eligible schools, similar to a House bill that limits eligible green card candidates to advanced degree STEM graduates from research universities.
The tech industry has been pushing for the provisions in the I-Squared Act, but there is much hesitancy among lawmakers about H-1B visas, and much more support for a STEM green card.
Grassley this week reintroduced a bill that would impose a number of restrictions on the H-1B visa.
The overall immigration bill is expected to run hundreds of pages, and the high-tech provisions of it will be extensive. Significant details have yet to be released and many changes are ahead, especially as the House takes up the issue.
Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov, or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed . His e-mail address is email@example.com.
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