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Washington (CNN) - In June, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined four of her Supreme Court colleagues in overturning the federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
This weekend, she is poised to officiate at a same-sex wedding.
The couple is Michael Kaiser, president of Washington's Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and economist John Roberts. John Dow, vice president for communications at the Kennedy Center, told CNN the couple would be married on Saturday by Ginsburg.
Ginsburg's role in the ceremony was first reported Friday by The Washington Post, which said she spoke about it in a recent interview.
"I think it will be one more statement that people who love each other and want to live together should be able to enjoy the blessings and the strife in the marriage relationship," the Post quoted her as saying.
The ceremony will take place in Washington, where same-sex marriage became legal in 2009. Thirteen states and the district allow same sex marriage; it is banned in 35 other states, and two do not have laws on the matter.
The Post reported Ginsburg said "it won't be long before there will be another" same-sex marriage ceremony performed by a member of the high court, and that she will perform another in September.
JUDGING by some of the comments in this thread... a lot of folks are out there judging everyone else. The only proof they have of their god's judgment is written down ambiguously in a book written over many centuries by men, edited by men and ultimately sanctified by men. Somewhere in that book there is a statement "judge not lest ye be judged". Too bad all these judgmental folks don't read or follow the entire book they believe in....just the parts they like. In the meantime we have a Judge who apparently lives what she believes....fairness and equality for all. Good for Judge Ginsburg!
@to the haters and "so called christians", I thought your god(s) teaches u to love everyone. Guess not.
How terribly sad for you. Live and let live people!
Gays are who they are just as you haters are what you are.
"Theres a Man named Jesus there, who has answered and can answer your questions. And He answered it with the love and hope that you're seeking"
No one is questioning that Jesus has the answers, just that His earthly "missionaries" that are supposed to be "walking in His footsteps" seem to be doing His job.
I do believe that Dr Ruth would publicly praise Justice Ruth's behavior. Hot ziggity!!! I think I hear the Victorian age in its death throes!! And the religous zealots will have their minds full as new bibles will have the new number of the beast-"616". Then there is the new supplement to the New Testament to be published where Jesus' companion Mary(you remember her...right?from "The Da Vinci Code"...funny how She keeps turning up) tells Peter that Jesus said "There is no sin." Gee Willikers!! Man o man!! Will the fur fly then!!


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Patent war: Apple claims $2.5 bln in damages
Apple claims it is entitled to $2.525 billion of damages in its high-stakes battle against Samsung over patents for technology used in smartphones and tablets, such as the iPhone and iPad.
The estimate was revealed in a court filing early Tuesday, six days before the world's largest consumer electronics companies are scheduled on July 30 to begin a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.
Apple accused Samsung of infringing its patents by making its popular Galaxy phone and computer tablets "work and look" like Apple products, enabling the South Korean company to overtake it as the world's largest maker of smartphones.
Samsung has countered that it simply developed its own "unique" products in a bid to "best the competition," and that Apple actually owes money for using its patented technology.
In its court filing, Apple said Samsung owes "substantial monetary damages" because it illegally "chose to compete by copying Apple."
It said Samsung has been "unjustly enriched" by an undisclosed amount -- presumably $2 billion -- and deprived Apple of $500 million of profit and $25 million of reasonable royalty damages. This results in "a combined total of $2.525 billion" of damages, Apple said.
Apple called its estimates conservative, and still plans to pursue a permanent injunction to stop future violations.
Thirteen minutes after Apple's filing, Samsung countered with a filing accusing the Cupertino, California-based company of trying "to stifle legitimate competition and limit consumer choice to maintain its historically exorbitant profits."
It said Apple should pay for using patented Samsung technology, "without which Apple could not have become a successful participant in the mobile telecommunications industry."
The dispute is part of a worldwide legal battle over the alleged theft of technology used in smartphones and tablets, including those powered by Google Inc's (GOOG.O) Android, which Samsung uses in its most popular devices.
In its filing, Apple claimed it is entitled to reasonable royalty rates equal to more than $31 per unit.
This includes $24 for use of Apple's "design patents or trade dress rights," $3.10 for a patent related to "scrolling" technology, $2.02 for a patent covering a "tap to zoom" feature, and $2.02 for a patent that tells users with a "bounce" when they reached the bottom of screens.
Apple also said that any remedy to which Samsung could be entitled over its "declared-essential patents" is limited to one-half of one cent per unit for each infringed patent.
Last week, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and top Samsung executives participated in court-supervised mediation to try to resolve the case but a resolution appeared to be unlikely, people familiar with the matter said.
The companies also disagreed on the value of the disputed patents, one of the people said.
In afternoon trading, Apple shares fell 69 cents to $603.14 on the Nasdaq. The company is expected to report quarterly results after the market closes.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Solutions de conformité réglementaire
Organizations are subject to a number of regulatory and standards compliance requirements. Some, like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) affect only organizations that do credit card transactions. Others, like the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), affect every organization with European customers that collects personal data. There are also regulations, like Health, Insurance Portability and Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), that affect multiple industries (healthcare, academic, insurance, government entities and more.) Regardless of its reach, Fortinet is committed to ensuring that our products help you demonstrate compliance with applicable regulatory statutes, as well as internal compliance initiatives.
Regulations include:
Supply Chain Risk Management
Fortinet recognises that supply chain security is a critically important dimension of cybersecurity and enterprise risk management, for ourselves and our customers. This white paper details Fortinet's committment to implementing a comprehensive approach to protecting the security and integrity of its products throughout the product design, development, manufacturing, delivery and support processes.Apprendre encore plus
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)
Established by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express in 2004, its goal is to protect cardholder data and reduce credit card fraud. These policies and procedures should be followed by every organization that accepts credit cards. Find out more.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
One section of this government regulation from 1996 covers privacy of patient data. Covered entities must ensure patient information is kept safe while in storage and transit.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Enacted by the EU in 2016 and taking effect May 25, 2018, this law requires any organization in the world that collects data on EU residents, to protect that data.
Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
Passed by Congress in 2000, CIPA requires K-12 schools and libraries that receive E-rate discounts keep students from being exposed to inappropriate Internet content.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
This 1974 federal law requires all schools receiving funds from the U.S. Department of Education keep student data secure.
Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Bill 2016
This amendment to Australia's Privacy Act 1988 takes effect February, 22, 2018. It requires organizations to notify individuals suspected to be at risk of serious harm due to a data breach.


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Snowden: Hill, FISA need watchdog
National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on Monday called out the existing systems of oversight in the U.S., saying the Senate Intelligence Committee and the FISA Court are not doing their jobs.
"We have a good starting point," Snowden told a crowd at the influential South by Southwest Interactive festival in Austin, Texas. "We have an oversight model that could work. The problem is when you have overseers that aren't interested in oversight."
Appearing via a video conference connection from Moscow, where Snowden is staying on an asylum grant from Russia after fleeing the U.S., he called out Congress for allowing National Intelligence Director James Clapper to tell what he called a lie before them despite knowing it was not true based on the briefing they received.
( Also on POLITICO: Pompeo: Cancel Snowden at SXSW)
"The key factor is accountability. We can't have officials like James Clapper who can lie to everyone in the country, who can lie to Congress, and face no criticism," Snowden told the conference, which was livestreamed by The Texas Tribune.
He also called out the courts created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for interpreting law in secret.
"We also have the FISA Court, which is a secret rubber-stamp court, but they're only supposed to approve warrant applications," Snowden said. "At the same time, a secret court shouldn't be interpreting the constitution when only NSA's lawyers are making the case. … Those are the two primary factors that I believe need to change."
Snowden also called out NSA Director Keith Alexander and former NSA Director Michael Hayden, saying the two of them harmed Internet security more than anything he's done.
"It's very interesting to see officials like Keith Alexander talking about damage that's been done to, sort of, the defense of our communications, because more than anything, there have been two officials in America who have harmed our internet security and actually our national security: … Those two officials are Michael Hayden and Keith Alexander, two directors of the National Security Agency in the post-9/11 era," Snowden said.
( Also on POLITICO: Snowden still stirring political pot)
Snowden said that the two men made a critical mistake of prioritizing an offensive surveillance strategy instead of defending our own security against surveillance.
"They began eroding the protections of our communications in order to get an attacking advantage," Snowden said. That's a problem, he said, because "America has more to lose then everyone else when ever the attack succeeds. … [When your] vault is more full than anyone else's, it doesn't make sense to be attacking all day and never defending your vault, and it makes even less sense when you set the standards for vaults worldwide and leave a wide backdoor that anyone can walk into."
Snowden said the misplaced focus on collecting everyone's data in bulk led to mistakes.
"That lack of focus has caused us to miss leads," Snowden said.
Snowden highlighted Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the Boston marathon bombing suspect, and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Christmas day underwear attempted bomber, as examples of missed intelligence opportunities because of a focus on metadata.
Snowden said the security of our Internet and communications was critical to economic and national security.
"We rely on the ability to trust our communications and without that, we don't have anything, our economy cannot succeed," Snowden said.
With the green screen behind him displaying the text of the U.S. Constitution, Snowden spoke on a line through seven proxies for security, according to moderator Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project and Snowden's legal adviser.
( Also on POLITICO: NSA watchdog: Snowden should have come to me)
In the last question, Wizner asked Snowden how he felt about what he had achieved and his decision to make the disclosures. With an answer that was interrupted by applause, Snowden said the answer to whether he would do it all again is "absolutely yes."
"I saw that the Constitution was violated on a massive scale. The interpretation of the Fourth Amendment had been changed — thank you — the interpretation of the Constitution had been changed in secret from no unreasonable search and seizure to, 'hey, any seizure is fine, just don't search it.' And that's something the public ought to know," Snowden said.
Snowden answered questions appropriate to the setting, including why the tech community was an important group for him to address in one of his first direct interactions with the public and what kind of changes can be made to technology that would change the way the government can conduct surveillance.
He also advocated for encryption, saying repeatedly "encryption works" and calling it "defense against the dark arts for the digital realm."
Speaking of his own work with encryption, Snowden pointed to the government's investigation into him as evidence that it works.
"They still have no idea what documents were provided to the journalists, what they have and don't have, because encryption works," Snowden said of the investigation into what he leaked.
He also dismissed the notion that his data might have been accessed by Chinese or Russian authorities when he was in those countries, a charge leveled by some of his critics in Congress.
"The U.S. investigation actually supports that," Snowden said. "If suddenly the Chinese government knew what the government was doing, we'd see the changes."
Snowden fled the U.S. last summer after leaking thousands of documents about the government's surveillance tactics to journalists at The Guardian and The Washington Post. His revelations have spurred President Barack Obama to propose reforms to the NSA and has prompted debates in Congress about appropriate levels of surveillance.


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Jewish Day Care Is Missing Link
I recently attended a workshop for parents in Brooklyn on how to choose a preschool. I'll spare you my rant about how it's insane that we need a workshop on this. But there I sat, along with a dozen other parents in our semicircle, dutifully taking notes on things like the Montessori and Reggio Emilia educational approaches and how to ensure that a preschool has enough wooden blocks. I wish I were kidding.
It seems that since the day my daughter, Mika, was born two years ago, it has been one long struggle to figure out her child care. The search officially started when she was 5 months old and I went back to work. I toured a day care center where 10 highchairs were lined up like an assembly, next to 10 ExerSaucers, leaving the impression that no child was actually ever held. The organic food they promised looked more like tater tots and French fries.
When I left, I cried. I just couldn't imagine leaving my daughter there nine hours a day. With strangers.
Thinking back to that time, it's remarkable how vulnerable I felt. As a new parent, I had no idea what to look for or what would ultimately end up being important to me. I would now toss the wooden toys and fresh food that I cared about then in favor of truly loving and patient teachers. What I really longed for was something familiar, something that felt like home. Maybe something Jewish.
After that incident, I checked with all the local synagogues to see if they offered infant care. None of them did. The closest they came was a program for 2 year olds, and even that was only a few hours a day.
It seemed that in my 20s, there was a constellation of Jewish organizations whose sole function was to reach people like me — that is, Jews who were not members of a synagogue and weren't sure if they would be — and let us know that we could be Jewish and cool, too. But their energy and money are misplaced. Sure, I enjoyed Heeb's boozy parties, but there's nothing stable about life when you're 22. It's a time when you're trying on new identities and it's not clear that any one of them will stick.
Unlike now.
So, I'm going to let you in on a secret. Do you want to know the best way to ensure that young Jews get involved in Jewish life? Jewish day care. I can promise you that if you open amazing child care centers with bright open spaces, flexible hours and loving teachers, we will come. And we will love you. And our kids will observe the Sabbath. And we will make Jewish friends.
In the past two years, I've created a whole new social circle around my daughter. The last time that I had such a major social readjustment was in college. These first two years seem to be the most critical time in forming a community, which makes it the perfect time to invite people in.
And it's mystifying to me that Jewish organizations haven't seized this.
The only ones that seem to do this are the local community centers, which have done a good job of offering infant care. Out of the nearly 200 early childhood programs at JCCs across North America, more than half of them have infant care programs. But outside of that, a few synagogue schools, programs run by Chabad (kudos to them for targeting young secular families) and a couple others in synagogues, there's nothing else.
In all of Westchester County and Manhattan, there is only one full-day Jewish infant care program to which anybody could point. It opened just this year in New Rochelle, at Temple Israel; the hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and it accepts children as young as 6 weeks old. Parents of infants are automatically considered members of the synagogue.
All the experts I talked to said the same thing: The Jewish establishment is missing one of the greatest opportunities it has to welcome young Jewish families. Ruth Pinkerson Feldman, former director of early childhood services at the JCCs of North America, said it is a "no-brainer" that more money and energy need to be going into this.
So if it's obvious that there's no more effective way to reach young families than by creating excellent, affordable child care, why isn't it happening?
Basically, it's expensive. While preschools potentially generate income, programs for babies and toddlers are extremely pricey to run. Depending on the state, a ratio of one teacher to four or five children is required, in addition to special kinds of space and training.
But hey, Birthright is expensive, too. In that case, Jewish continuity trumps all thoughts of seeing any kind of financial return in the short run. Instead, counted as invaluable are the number of marriages, or at least hookups, that come out of it.
Do you want to know the best way to ensure young Jews get involved in Jewish life? Jewish day care.
Recently, I took my daughter for her first preschool interview. It wasn't at a Jewish preschool because I missed the 5 a.m. lineup to secure an application at the local synagogue. So, at this audition, six moms and I piled with our toddlers into a room where administrators seemingly evaluated the little and big people with equal scrutiny.
My daughter futzed around with some Play-Doh, fed a baby doll with a bottle and then made a ruckus during what I think was supposed to be quiet time. I'm not sure what the building was before the preschool took it over, but on the way out I couldn't help but notice the empty space on the door jam where a mezuza had been ripped off.
Deborah Kolben is the editor of Kveller.com. She has written for The New York Times, the Financial Times, the New York Daily News and the New York Post.


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Tag Archive | Tahoe
Getting Across the Mountains in the Winter
Over the last four years, I have made dozens of trips between California and Nevada, mostly in a Prius. I've learned a few strategies and gathered some resources for getting safely across the mountains.
Give Yourself Time
If you have to make a flight or a meeting at a specific time, give yourself a 36-48 hour window for travel. The main highways in the mountains don't close every time there is snow, but if they close in the 4-6 hours before you need to be in Reno, Sacramento or San Francisco, you'll be kicking yourself for not having left earlier. After a big snow storm, crews work to get the roads open quickly, but it can take several hours to plow the roads and clear spin-outs.
Watch the Weather
Conditions change suddenly in the mountains. It might be fine at 10 am and snowing heavily an hour later. Check the forecast regularly atweather.gov. Check the high point on your route frequently and pay attention what it says about snow levels and temperatures. If you are traveling over I-80 between California and Nevada, here's a link to a point in Donner Pass.
Watch the Traffic
Friday nights eastbound and Sunday nights westbound are notoriously bad times to travel. Avoid them. If you are working remotely, use that flexibility to time necessary travel so you avoid traffic and take advantage of breaks in the weather. The hours right after a major storm can also be slow, just because of backed-up traffic. Caltrans has a wonderful web site where you can check current road conditions and view videos of current conditions. Here's what Soda Springs looks like. You can also like Caltrans District 3 on Facebook and to get updates.
Prepare Your Car Make sure that your car is in good running condition and that you have the following accessible in the car:
Warm Clothing and a blanket or two
Window scraper
Washer fluid that won't freeze (available at auto supply and grocery stores in Nevada).
Pack as if you might get stuck and you probably won't, but you never know when an accident or sudden change in the weather will cause a delay–even if you have planned carefully.
Understanding Chains
Carry the correct tire chains in your car in the winter, unless you have a car with 4-wheel drive AND all-weather/M&S tires. One or the other isn't enough. N-DOT and Caltrans are absolutely serious about chains. If there's a chain control notice for I-80, there's going to be a little booth, with someone checking every car. Just before the booth, you will see chain installers who will put your chains on or take them off (if you're leaving the chain control area) for a fee. Last year, it was $30 to put chains on and $15 to take them off. Sometimes gas stations just off the highway offer slightly lower rates. I think it's worth paying a pro to put the chains on. They have the tools, the foul-weather gear, and it takes them about 2-3 minutes per car. I often take my own chains off because it's easier than putting them on and harder to mess up.
Prepare Yourself
Travel when you well-rested. If it looks like a long drive, share the driving with someone. Winter driving requires more concentration.
Prepare Options
Sometimes, no matter how well you plan, something goes wrong. A bad accident can close 80 for several hours. When this happens, it might be more efficient to take another route over the mountains, or to wait. Check your route ahead of time for rest stops, gas stops, restaurants that are open. Between Kingvale and Colfax, there just aren't a lot of places to stop. I once sailed through Auburn thinking I would get gas at Kingvale. Driving uphill took more gas (this was in a larger car) than I expected and I was anxiously counting the miles to Nyack. There are rest areas at Gold Run and Donner Summit.
Adjust Your Driving
Slow down, please. Even if you have 4 wheel-drive or chains, it still takes longer to stop on ice or snow. Pull well out in front of trucks when you pass them. Let people pass you if they're driving faster. If you're in a chain control area, obey the speed limits. Think well ahead of the car. If traffic is slowing down, gradually ease off of the accelerator, rather than braking. When I'm driving in winter conditions, I try to make the smallest, slowest inputs to the car. I avoid sudden turns, braking, or acceleration. Not only is it safer, but it saves gas.
Safe travels!


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…because nap time and night time are a long time to go without a potty break.
Although my son wore most of his non-fitted cloth diapers for a very long time (4 months to 24 months), his bigger thighs have rendered most of the smaller cloth one size rather unwearable.
You may have already read my extensive review on cloth diapers and tips for how to care for them.
Since I wrote the cloth diaper review in August 2008, more styles and brands have landed on the market. So, it's time for an addendum particularly targeting bigger babies and toddlers.
Again, a great benefit of cloth is how it makes babies conscientious of their wetness or diaper fullness, thus encouraging elimination communication at an early age. Even once your child enters the potty training stage and transitions to underwear during the day, there's the sleep time periods that require something other than underwear.
My son wore disposable training pants…once. Never again. He borrowed a pair from his cousin's stash. The extra amount of chemicals (polypropylene, polyethylene, polyacrylate) was irritating to his skin and caused an instant diaper rash. No thanks. We'll stick with cloth.
Kushies Ultra Lite, $12.49 – $13.99
- Effectiveness at night: 4/5
- Aesthetics: 5/5
- Lack of bulkiness: 4/5
- Ease of use: 5/5
- Maintenance: 5/5
- Comfort: 5/5
- Value: 4/5
The ultra lite is for infants is designed for babies who weigh 10 – 22 pounds, while the toddler-size is for babies who weigh 22 – 45 pounds.
This is a fitted diaper with hook and loop closure tabs using 6 layers of absorbent 100% cotton flannel plus an additional attached flannel soaker that can be folded up (boys) or down (girls). The roomy legs of the toddler version allow my son to run, jump, and walk without a discernible bulky cloth diaper waddle (totally cute in babies, but not desirable in walking and running toddlers). Compared to the Classic Kushies Diaper, the Ultra LIte feature two fewer layers of cloth and a lighter waterproof barrier.
My son used the classic Kushies beginning when he was 8 months old. They were fantastic–and they were hand me downs used by 2 other children (talk about a long diaper life). I love everything Kushies makes regarding cloth diapers–definitely a workhorse that's light weight and built to last, plus super easy to clean without pulling out stuffed pockets or removing snappies.
The Ultra Lite diaper is available in variety of fun and mod prints suitable for girl (pinks with brown accents), boy (blues with brown accents), and neutral (greens with brown or multi-color as shown above). As a day use diaper, I found it worked well compared to the majority of other cloth diapers that my son can barely fit into. The slimmer legs are perfect for mobile babies and toddler. As a sleep time diaper, I needed to use an extra layer of soaker for my son who is a heavy wetter. There's room to add soakers as necessary with this diaper.
Easy to clean since they're washing machine/dryer friendly, comfortable for my son, and delightful to the eye.
Read product details from Kushies. Purchase Kushies Ultra Lite Diapers.
Envibum One-Size with absorbency pad $23.99, Absorbency pads $2.99
- Effectiveness at night: 5/5
- Aesthetics: 5/5
- Lack of bulkiness: 3/5
- Ease of use: 5/5
- Maintenance: 4/5
- Comfort: 5/5
- Value: 4/5
Envibum's minkee soft outer features a PUL water barrier lining inside; plus, there's an unbleached cotton waffle with extra absorbency. It works like a pocket or with extra flannel soakers on top. Washer-friendly and line dry to keep this super cute and super soft diaper beautiful for the long haul. It's designed to fit the tiniest newborn to a growing toddler for babies weighing 8 to 40 pounds.
The soaker pads are optionally fit with hook and loop closures to keep them in place (no need to deal with stuffing and unstuffing soiled soakers in pockets!)–or you can get them without the hook and loop closure.
Envibum has a high commitment to creating green products that are useful for moms from all walks of life. This is a very high quality diaper that feels like a super soft stuffed animal. You'll want to snuggle your little one in this beautiful diaper. My son stroked the minkee fabric saying, "So soft! My diaper!" It's definitely his favorite cloth diaper and easily one of mine.
I LOVE that Envibum is owned and operated by a family who gives back $2 toward every all-in-one cloth diaper sale to a non-profit (based on the color of the diaper). Read more on their giving back page. Available colors include green, pink, red, aqua (each color related to a specific non-profit).
Mom4Mom diaper cover $12.99, t-shaped liner $9.99.
- Effectiveness at night: 3/5
- Aesthetics: 4/5
- Lack of bulkiness: 4/5
- Ease of use: 3/5
- Maintenance: 3/5
- Comfort: 4/5
- Value: 4/5
This is Envibum's take on prefolds with a cover. The t-shaped prefold is made from flannel–it's much less bulky than a rectangular chinese prefold, yet just as absorbent and durable.
Envibum claims you don't need to use pins or snappies to keep the front flaps of the prefold in place before applying the waterproof, hook and loop closure diaper cover, but I thought it was very hard to keep the prefold in place while applying the cover (and my son is old enough to hold relatively still for diaper time). Snaps or hook and loop closures would help with securing the prefold.
For every Mom4Mom diaper cover purchased, Envibum gives one to another mom in need. Reading about how moms in third world countries re-use disposable diapers as diaper covers…for months…made my heart heavy. Learning about the hope that Envibum provides for these moms (there and here in the US) and why they use brown velcro makes me want to support this company with all future cloth diaper purchases. Period.Read product details from Envibum and purchase diapers.
Note: I received diapers, soakers, and cover samples for the purpose of this review.
Filed under: CLOTH DIAPERED BABY, product review | Tagged: cloth diapers, cloth diapers for toddlers, Kushies, kushies ultra lite diaper |


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UPDATE: A great blog entry from Detroit's Metro Times on Iggy Pop's speech can be found here.
It was rock 'n' roll (as opposed to the more formal rock and roll) in action. And the fact that it took this band – who are the very definition of the term, with a lead singer who is the very embodiment of rock 'n' roll – eight years to get into this institution makes one question the validity of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame all over again…especially when Billie Joe mentioned a multitude of bands and solo artists who would've never existed without this crew's influence. As Iggy joked to me more than a decade ago when discussing the subject of the Hall of Fame and his chances of joining the elite crew: "Well, maybe if I titled one of my albums Fucking Heroic Young Record Executive or something like that…"
– Bill Holdship, Metro Times Music Blagh
Billie Joe Armstrong inducted legendary band, The Stooges, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night at the Waldorf. He was really excited and rattled off a long list of incredible bands that have been influenced by The Stooges. Afterward, the master himself, Mr. Pop, sang "I Want to Be Your Dog," and invited the rockers and the suits and the rich in the audience to sing with him onstage. Tre and Mike rushed up, Mike with bottle in hand. It was a classic and strange Iggy moment. If there is some sanctioned video out there of Iggy's performance (I love me some Mr. Pop), I'll add it to this post when I find it. Meanwhile, the GDA put up a gallery of photographs that can be found here.
Courtesy of the Green Day Authority (for however long the clip will stay up):
UPDATE: Stooges Press Conference:
UPDATE: Stooges performance of "I Want To Be Your Dog"
And VIA the political websites Balloon Juice and Wonkette, comes this lovely screen shot of Iggy scaring the former United States Rep. Harold Ford who is sitting in the front row of the Hall of Fame festivities, because, well, y'know, Harold's… uh… well… uh… rock and roll.


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I often spent my summer vacations visiting the Liverpool Public Library, where numerous magazines were archived. Growing up in Central New York during the 1960s, I was introduced to skiing on a neighborhood hill and became interested in finding out about the places that offered this sport to the public.
For Christmas 1966, my parents gave me an Eastern Ski Atlas, which detailed the many places to ski in the northeast, including pictures of trail maps. I can vividly remember being taken to the various names and locations from the maps and even writing the ski areas to obtain their brochures. This led to collecting and comparing road maps sold by several different gas stations, which also indicated where ski areas were. Some maps had the same locations noted while others did not, so I eventually created one map showing all of these locations collectively.
At the library, the older ski magazines mentioned a place in the Catskills called "Princeton Ski Bowl." I noticed that the gas station maps I'd collected never had it listed. I began noticing that this happened often with other locations, but being new to all of this, I couldn't figure out why. Many of these locations had "wintry" names and/or included "mountain" as part of what they were called. Princeton Ski Bowl, located in the Catskills, struck me as a funny name for a place to ski. Also, the little bear, seen in the ski magazine advertisements seemed unrelated.
In 1969, my family moved to the Albany area, which began a three-decade quest to experience for myself what northeastern skiing was all about. After numerous trips in the 1990s across the northeast, the western states and Canada, I returned to the curiosity of my youth and began investigating Catskill ski history. People I spoke with often mentioned Bearpen in terms of its overall importance. They related to me that because of when and where this area operated, many locations that we ski today came to be. What I had forgotten was that Princeton Ski Bowl was, in fact, Bearpen Mountain. I kept hearing about it, but did not make the connection until later.
Everyone talked about Bearpen in almost reverential tones, like it was "the one that got away." I found it interesting that no one really mentioned why it was no longer there. Later, the truth attached to this secret slowly unfolded. Sensing my passion, people all said, "You need to learn about Bearpen! You need to go see Bearpen!" In those days, when artificial snowmaking did not exist, many older people told stories of skiing at Bearpen in the middle of May. For me, in the Catskills, this seemed ridiculous, but I kept an open mind. Still, I kept thinking, "If it's so great, why haven't I heard of it before?"
First Visits to Bearpen
As information slowly trickled in while checking out other places to ski in the Catskills, a trip to Bearpen fell into place. I drove through the small town of Prattsville, over a steel bridge, and took a left onto Greene County Route 2. This wandering uphill road finally leveled off to a view of a massive ridge with two huge peaks on either side: Bearpen in all its magnificence. Moving on, I traveled another half mile to the next ridge and witnessed this magnificence yet again, but this time with depth! Remaining on Route 2, I drove downhill into Little Westkill Valley, where I parked and began my trek into the woods. Since this land was posted with New York State land signs, I knew I was not trespassing.
As I hiked uphill, I came upon stone walls running across the downhill contour and newer tree growth mixed with patches of grass. I determined these to be originally pastures. Farmers had used the stone to section off their property boundaries and Mother Nature had taken over due to it no longer being used. As it related to the existence of a ski operation, what I saw did not make sense. From the valley floor, ski trails were clearly visible coming down from above. However, because the stone walls had not been disturbed (at least in the area I had explored), the trails could not have reached down to this particular base location. This told me that the ski mountain could not have been operated from the valley and had to be an upside-down creation similar to Intermont, a Central New York area I had skied in my youth.
I returned to my car and continued through the valley about a mile, where the road intersected Greene County Route 3. I followed this road to the point where it became dirt. On my left stood Vly Mountain with its own unique character, creating an incredible feeling of depth. Steeper than Bearpen, I envisioned continuous expert terrain that was twice as long as "Outer Limits" at Killington. This mountain is the icing on Bearpen's cake.
A few days later, I made contact with Bob Hull, the Roxbury town assessor. Well-versed in the history of the area, this fantastic gentleman answered many of my questions. Over the course of three phone calls, Mr. Hull did several things. Initially, he opened the door to speak with Bruce German, one of two men who created the Roxbury Ski Center, aka "No Name." This aspect is a topic onto itself, but ties to Bearpen in an interesting way.
In preparation for the first season the Princeton Ski Bowl operated, the town of Roxbury granted a permit on the western side of the mountain for the existing but well eroded Vega Road to be regraded. This work would allow connection to an additional parking lot in that valley for those who came to ski. Initially, Bruce German, along with his soon-to-become partner, Romeo Signetti, would become the employees who ran that lot.
The following year, the permit needed to access that area would be denied. Inspired by what the operation had become, German and Signetti acquired the land that the road ran through the middle of and began construction of the Roxbury Ski Center. Mr. Hull also told me about the way it snowed in these parts. He mentioned that the ski area closed once because it snowed too much, which brought me back to what I had heard earlier about being able to ski the mountain in May.
Through our last phone call, Bob made arrangements for me to meet with his son Dennis, who would take me up on the mountain via ATV two weeks later. We rode from his home to a dirt road labeled, at that time, "Ski Run Road." This road was explained to me as the path traveled by old army trucks — vehicles that brought skiers up to and across the summit ridge ending at a small parking lot, which was the unloading area (elevation 3,500 feet).
Bearpen's Stats
After traveling a small distance, we came across a rectangular pond and some cinder blocks: remnants of the summit lodge. Continuing past this point, old ski trails, yet to be fully taken over by nature, became easily seen. I was also shown a couple of old trucks that had been used to power rope tows. At the absolute summit, a powerful engine was still in place, which he described as being the drive for the main rope tow. It was at this point that I finally understood why Bearpen was still a big topic around the area. Its northeast exposure and continuous fall-line of 1,900 vertical feet to the valley would be considered excellent criteria for any ski area. Through the use of topographical maps, I would later discover that Bearpen had an overall vertical drop of 2,120 feet: unheard of for lift-served skiing in the Catskills.
Moreover, Bearpen sits right in the middle of everything in the Catskills with gorgeous views in every direction. Depending on where one is on the mountain, Plattekill can be seen to the west, the backside of Windham to the east, Hunter West to the southeast, and Belleayre/Highmount to the south. On this particular day, the air was crystal clear, offering a beautiful view of the distant Adirondack foothills near Northville, the Berkshires, and many of the Catskills high peaks.
There were also some intangibles at work; things only a skier could appreciate. Most important was the feeling of depth, with spurs similar to the fingers of a hand that was unlike anything I had experienced at any of the large northeastern ski areas. A certain feeling came from the manner in which the trails were cut — using what the mountain offered rather than creating the skiable terrain anew. All this terrain is at the center of a 4.5-mile ridge at 3,500 feet, along with another 100 vertical feet at the actual summit. The north end of the mountain develops into a horseshoe shape, which creates an ideal protected location for a valley base village.
Bearpen apparently has no issues receiving its annual average snowfall of 200 inches. Similar to Plattekill, it is in a naturally advantageous position to grab snow, including lake-effect precipitation. But there's more. On the west escarpment, there are two huge terrain "scoops" that drive wind (and with it, snow) up toward the top of the mountain. Plattekill experiences a similar, but lesser phenomenon across its varied exposure.
The ski area at Bearpen was positioned at the center of where these two scoops meet. This same west wind carries the snow over and onto its northeast-facing trails, helping to build the snow base. During a visit one winter, I stood at 3,000 feet and saw this incredible phenomenon actually happen — watching snow fall onto the mountain from above and simultaneously rise from below.
Anyone who has been to such great northeastern mountains as Mad River, Mount Ellen, Stowe, and Sugarloaf can understand what makes those ski areas special. Bearpen, without a doubt, belongs in that group. What makes it even more attractive is its location: only 2.5 hours from a huge population to the south.
Meeting Bearpen's Founder
After my original ATV tour, Dennis Hull got me in touch with Prattsville native Tom O'Hara, who transported gas to the summit of Bearpen to run the tows when the ski area was in operation. Tom was also an ATV rider and took me to the summit, where he gave a detailed description of the mountain back then. Thanks to Tom, I was able to establish contact with the man who built Princeton Ski Bowl, Dr. Benjamin Lane, an eye doctor from New Jersey. Through his local contacts, Mr. O'Hara was able to provide me with his address.
At this point, the year 2000, I wrote a letter to Dr. Lane explaining my interest and asking for his help. This letter met with no response. After a second effort, I was able to get through to Dr. Lane at his office. He explained that my letter was sitting on his desk, and that he had intended to contact me, but his busy optometry practice kept getting in the way. He explained that no one had ever tried to contact him regarding the Ski Bowl's history. This point partially explained, in my mind, the reason for the mystery and lack of information that surrounded Bearpen. He and his older brother generously offered to meet me at the entrance of Ski Run Road about a month later.
Along with Tom O'Hara and the Prattsville town historian (a skier himself), we headed down the road on our tour of the mountain, my videotape capturing what a Hollywood screenwriter would die for. I began to understand Dr. Lane's rationale as the minutiae he developed almost 50 years before unfolded in front of me. At the end of the day, he and his brother thanked me for all that the day had been for them and hopefully we could do it again. Numerous phone calls spanning several months would follow with more meetings on the mountain and visits to his home, where his optometry practice is located. Through these efforts, the information necessary to create "The Bearpen Story" was developed.
The Beginnings of Bearpen Mountain Ski Area
While studying at Princeton in the early 1950s, Ben Lane became an avid skier. With the help of Ralph Nader, he was elected President of the "Outting Club," which included making arrangements for road trips with his college buddies to many mountains throughout the northeast. Ben became so obsessed with skiing that he began scouting locations in New Jersey to create a home mountain for the club.
Lane first investigated High Point in the northwestern corner of the state, but determined it to be unworkable. Then, he visited the ridge now known as Mountain Creek, which he saw as having far too much ledge on a northwest exposure. He later traveled north to the Catskills and climbed the fire trails of Hunter Mountain. In Hunter, Ben thought that he had found utopia, but Catskill Park rules and regulations prevented a full-scale development of this mountain, as it does to this day.
Quite popular with the Outting club were ski trips to Pine Hill, home of state-run Belleayre and its next-door neighbor, privately-owned Highmount. While skiing at both areas, Ben's eye was drawn to a ridge in the distance that always showed signs of tremendous snowfall. This mountain, later determined to be Bearpen, was always whiter than any of the surrounding peaks and often enshrouded by clouds. At Princeton in the spring, he took advantage of the university's resources to begin his study project, and determined that, on average, Bearpen received more snow than any other location in the region.
After summer recess, Ben drove to Bearpen via the Halcott side and into Johnson Hollow where he met, of course, the Johnsons. Bob Johnson would take Ben up a dirt road to their family hunting cabin on the western escarpment of the mountain. From there, they bushwacked their way to the summit ridge. As they explored the summit, Ben began to realize that the mountain met and even exceeded his requirements for a ski center. The combination of its location outside the Catskill Park, a valuable northeastern exposure (great for snow preservation), and a potential 2,120-foot total vertical drop were filled with promise. The mountain face, with little to no ledge, would allow for terrain to be engineered in a manner unlike and beyond what was found anywhere in the Catskills. Bearpen Mountain was absolutely perfect!
The biggest issue that Ben faced was the 17 working farms in the valley. Although these farmers saw the ski operation as an opportunity to work during the winter months, the farms were all they knew: their bread and butter. They would allow skiing into their pastures, but no base lodge could be built in and around the land he was soon to acquire. Ben, through title searches in the towns of Delphi and Catskill, was able to secure the rights to more than 700 acres of mountain-top property. A portion of this property, on the summit ridge, would be used to create a road that linked to the existing Prattsville Vega Road (later to become known as Ski Run Road) to the ski operation.
By the beginning of the 1958/59 season, the contacts Ben had made created interest from all of the major ski-lift manufacturers. Serious discussion would take place with Jean Pomagalski, founder of Poma lifts, to create the first detachable chairlift in America. Investors, including representatives of Sun Valley, eagerly came willing to discuss their involvement in bringing Bearpen to resort status.
A Villain Appears
Well before Ben knew of Bearpen Mountain, NYS surveyor Ed West took on the task of reestablishing the topography necessary for the issue of his 1946 survey. Through this process, the previous 1903 survey was drastically altered. Within Greene County, the already well established Halcott and Prattsville town lines, and where they intersected the Delaware County line, became corrupted. Beyond Ben's knowledge, this survey brought into question the actual location of the property deeds according to the details found in and around Bearpen Mountain.
This meant that even though Ben had bought titles handed down through the years, the land he purchased, according to the language of those deeds were now — based on what Ed West redrew — legally situated in a different location.
Since Ed West was employed by New York State, it became necessary for someone to be the means by which land could be acquired without creating a conflict of interest. Percy Goff, a Prattville native, by his own words knew and respected Ed West as a father figure. He entered into numerous business transactions with West, from which also came the knowledge associated with the lands on Bearpen Mountain. Through this information, Percy researched and located descendants of deed owners going back to the originally established land owners and was able to purchase quit claims that established him as the now rightful owner of key locations on the mountain (which were not where they originally were).
|1901 Survey
|1945 Survey: Redrawn Lines
One day, workers for Slutzky Construction, commissioned by Ben to create skiable terrain, were confronted by Percy who demanded they immediately stop because they were disturbing his land. I have spoken with Orville Slutzky and many other longtime Prattsville natives — all of whom confirmed the account of those events that Dr. Lane that had conveyed to me. Moreover, I also gained knowledge of other properties, not on Bearpen, on which Ed West had moved lines. These properties, sometimes even on New York State land, mysteriously became owned by Percy Goff. This process would then lead to a timbering of the land that would eventually return back to the State of New York. After many years of intense court room battles, Ben eventually lost ownership to Percy Goff of almost 300 acres: the heart of the ski area.
Some years later, Percy would present an accumulation of land parcels that Ben had owned and lost, along with other properties he had acquired on Bearpen Mountain, for sale to the state for just short of $1 million. Technically, New York State is now the rightful owner of "legally" stolen land!
The New York State Connection
In 2000, as part of my research, I traveled to Catskill to fully understand the tax maps associated with Bearpen Mountain. I could see that Bearpen was surrounded by, and for the most part, owned by the State of New York. For its size, the mountain is located in a rather unique position. Outside the Catskill Park "blue line," it is the highest elevation in the Catskills. This line divides the "Forever Wild" property from that designated for recreational use. The New York State constitution protects much of the land within this line and restricts how it is used. In short, it's easier to do something outside the blue line than inside. Since Bearpen is outside the Catskill Park, it becomes more attractive and easier to develop as a ski area.
What is maddening for skiers is that the Slutzkys, owners of the Hunter Mountain ski operation, can't develop the real summit of their mountain! New York City has spent incredible sums of money and resources to build and protect a reservoir system constructed over many years. Throughout the Catskills and beyond, with its massive infrastructure in place, they protect "their" water by buying up strategic pieces of land on which people cannot even set foot.
Attempts to Revive Bearpen
After putting together the Bearpen story in the spring and summer of 2001, I attempted to bring the ski area back to life. I located engineers who had previously worked with New York City to carry out an environmental impact study as well as an architect who was acquainted with investors who were ready to build the project.
As part of my plan, the present landowners, acting as a consortium, would get their taxes paid and become partial stockholders in the ski area. This would allow the investors to spend their money to build the area rather than immediately needing to buy the necessary land parcels. Eventually, the ski area could, after it had financially established itself, make an offer to acquire property from the various owners. The plan also called for a separate company to be created a couple years after start-up to build real-estate projects as a mechanism to transform the ski area into a full-blown resort. At the time, with Bearpen estimated as a $200+ million project, this approach seemed to be best way to move forward.
Then, 9/11 occurred and with it the fear of the unknown. Shortly thereafter came the ENRON fiasco, causing huge financial losses to those who were planning to invest in Bearpen. In short order, my original plan lost all its momentum. Since then, I have met with investors from Japan, Canada, India, and the U.S. in an effort to keep the project alive. All saw the resurrected resort as full of merit, but were unable to see a return of their investment within a reasonable amount of time. The economic downturn of the last few years has basically killed off any remaining investment possibilities for new ski areas nationwide, and especially in this corner of the U.S. The logic and common sense associated with its construction now mean nothing to those who would invest.
There was a time when ski entrepreneurs who thought big, like Walter Schoenknecht at Mount Snow, could easily find people who were ready to provide the necessary money to help them realize their vision. This attitude is no longer seen, having been replaced by the buy-out debt process of those areas that currently exist.
The Future of Bearpen
With my plan for a revived ski area no longer viable, for the past eight years, I have moved upon this mountain with the necessary tools to make it skiable again. Bearpen is a canvas and for many days, I have been its artist. Understanding nature and all of its interactions — the witness of a bald eagle flying proudly above the valley with its wings spread or a bear drawn in curiosity to the sound of a chainsaw as he moves on through the woods — is worth its weight in gold. As I come down into the valley, exhausted, there is a tremendous reward from knowing that something can be made possible by taking a rare, but certain lesson from the past and bringing it to the present, where it will hopefully determine this proud mountain's future.
Now that the full, yet unnamed trail is completed, Bearpen has direction and with it an offering to anyone willing to make the effort. New York State allows snowmobiles to travel on this land, so the summit is accessible via a road constructed by Percy Goff before it was sold to the state. By darting in and out of public and private property, you can backcountry ski the nearly 1,900-foot vertical right down to the vehicle you arrived there in.
Why Bearpen Matters
My immediate objective is to bring Dr. Lane (age 80) and his brother (age 83) up to the summit and watch them ski "their" mountain all the way to the valley. This is something I see as important. To witness these men, at their age, ski the mountain they love so much will make everything I've done over the years worthwhile. Whether he wanted to become a pivotal figure in northeastern ski history or not, because of the foundation that Dr. Lane laid more than 50 years ago, several Catskill mountains were founded and drew from his work at Bearpen. For the ski world, the concept of laying out trails on the mountain spines so the wind brings the snow onto rather than off is emulated today.
Picture, if you will, Dr. Lane in the early 1950's, standing in line for up to an hour to get on the single chair put in place by the state at Belleayre. As he waits, his eye is fixed upon an incredible mountain in the distance that was to become his destiny, only to be "legally" taken away a few years later. It's heartbreaking: unbelievable, but true.
While it's indisputable that the Vermont ski areas had and have enough going for them to attract plenty of people, if Bearpen had survived or been built anew, it would have completely reconfigured the northeastern ski map. Whereas a large percentage of the ski traffic today on the New York State Thruway bypasses the Catskills on its way to southern and central Vermont, the mountain could have served as an economic foundation for the entire region, including such already established areas as Plattekill, Belleayre, Hunter, Windham, and even now-dead Bobcat. Instead of Killington, which came later, Bearpen would have become the "Beast of the East."
In the meantime, Bearpen — with the right vertical, the right location, the right snow conditions, and thousands of acres of great terrain — sleeps and waits, as it has for many years. For more on Bearpen, see NY Ski Blog's interview with ThatNYguy, Russ LaChapelle.


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After all the excitement (and madness) of Disney World, it was time to take off towards the beach. I had actually joined my dad and his girlfriend for the exact same trip last year so I knew what to expect — and I couldn't wait. The white sand beaches and crystal clear water in Sarasota and the surrounding towns is gorgeous (and so relaxing).
But, before I get to Sarasota, I forgot to mention that on our last day in Orlando, my brother and I got locked out of our hotel room. Naturally, we did what any normal, rational person would do — we rented a mini speedboat. Of course, he took a few sharp turns just to make sure I got splashed. I haven't laughed so hard in ages!
It was too hot to even hang out by the pool. Please excuse the nubble stubble. Haha.
I woke up two mornings in a row, having visions of Mickey Mouse being totally down and out, spending his final days at the beach. My dreams got really weird as soon as we got to the beach leg of our trip.
Night time in Sarasota — local bars, local entertainment, time spent with my family.
I know it's a bit taboo to work on vacation but it was so relaxing and quiet that I managed to get things done that had been haunting me for months. It's amazing what a few days away from home can do. Thanks for reading. It's good to be home.


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My Anritsu
Recently, IoT services are spreading into many fields, such as industry and agriculture, as a result of the improved productivity from use of AI speakers, smart watches, smart meters, security cameras, various types of sensor, etc., and there is no doubt that the convenience of IoT will become an essential part of our future lives.Moreover, with the appearance of the next-generation 5G communications featuring high-speed and large capacity, low latency, and multi-connectivity, we can expect 5G-based IoT services and applications to spread into many fields, such as automotive, remote monitoring of heavy machinery, ultra-high-definition video streaming, tele-presence at sports events, etc.
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These pages outline the IoT market for customers examining or already participating in this new business field and explain some key points in developing and manufacturing IoT devices and equipment. Please use the following table to identify your customers' objectives.
IoT is expected to see widespread adoption in many fields, starting with automotive and spreading into smart homes, smart buildings, manufacturing and industrial plants, medicine and healthcare, safety and security, insurance, transport, energy, distribution, agriculture HEMS, smart meters (water, electricity, gas), etc. Recent services using IoT devices and products include AI speakers, smart watches, smart meters, security cameras, and more.In addition, the appearance of next-generation 5G communications, featuring fast and large capacity, low latency, and multi-connectivity is expected to drive even more explosive growth of IoT.In the IoT market, connection of many "things" (IoT devices and products) to the Internet will use wireless communications to collect data from either standalone or built-in sensors which will then be sent via the Internet to data centers for AI-based analysis with the analysis results returned via the Internet to other IoT devices and products, smartphones, tablets, etc..Some recent applications are described below.
The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Anritsu is under license
Features and application examples of each communications standard such as Bluetooth, WLAN, NB-IoT and Cat-M are explained.
Bluetooth features short-range low-speed communications with low power consumption and is commonly used for connecting to the Internet via a smartphone.The Bluetooth 5.0 standard has four times the communication range of previous Bluetooth standards and eight times the communications capacity.
The Bluetooth 5.1 standard is expected to be used by various services, such as warehousing, transport, and distribution due to its support for a low positioning error of just a few centimeters.
Wireless LAN is faster than Bluetooth but has higher power consumption.There are various WLAN standards, such as 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, with adoption of the recent 802.11ac/ax standard using MU-MIMO (Multi User MIMO) supporting simultaneous connection of multiple users. In addition to the faster speeds of 802.11ax, support for OFDMA offers more efficient use of the frequency spectrum.
Cat-M and NB-IoT are regulated by the 3GPP for IoT applications and use the same communications base stations as 4G LTE mobile phones for long-distance communication covering a wide area.The key difference of Cat-M and NB-IoT is the handover method (used by moving IoT products). The NB-IoT method with no handover function is used by static IoT products such as street lighting, water meters, etc.The Cat-M with handover support is used by dynamic IoT products such as smart bicycles, etc. Cat-M is also used for stationary larger-capacity communications. As a result, development of NB-IoT2 (Cat-NB2) is focusing on increasing NB-IoT communications capacity.
The 3GPP-defined 5G wireless standards feature high speed/large capacity, low latency, and multiple connections, with 5G services starting already in some countries. In addition to supporting conventional smartphones, tablets, etc., 5G is also expected to be adopted by the IoT market.
Last, the next-generation 5G communications technology featuring large-capacity, ultra-high speed, and low latency is expected to be adopted in many fields, such as self-driving automobiles, 4/8K video streaming, and remote control of construction equipment.
What is the best thing to do after a customer planning to develop and manufacture IoT devices and products has decided which wireless communications standard to adopt for those devices and products?In this case, the customer must choose the chipset (communications chip) or wireless (radio) module matching the adopted wireless communications standard.
As a result, customers developing and manufacturing IoT devices and products for the IoT market, tend to enter the market using the relatively safer method of purchasing communications modules for incorporation in their products.
When purchasing a communications module, is it not necessary to evaluate the performance of the finished product containing the purchased wireless (radio) module?No—it is very important for vendors of IoT devices and products to pay attention to 「National Radio legislation and Wireless (Radio) Communications Standards] even when incorporating a communications module in a product.
Recent new IoT gateway models (IoT AI gateways) appearing on the market are not just communications modules but also incorporate AI chips (using high-speed buses such as PCIe).With the future spread of IoT, these gateways will send large volumes of data from sensors for various services and applications to the Internet, imposing heavy loads on the network and Cloud-side processes and causing possible problems with slower processing speeds and longer times. To prevent these issues, there are plans to incorporate AI chips at the Edge side (Edge Computing) to perform data processing, lower the network load, and increase processing speeds.Evaluation of high-speed IF(PAM and IF evaluation) is critical for incorporation of AI chips.
Countries worldwide have national legislation on regulating radio use. Developers and manufacturers of products (electronic parts, IoT devices and products) outputting radio waves must comply with this legislation and require permission (certification) to sell such products. In addition, the various standards related to radio waves and radio equipment must be evaluated in accordance with these standards. These evaluation tests are handled by organizations, such as test houses and certification bodies as follows.
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The IoT market usually assumes that one of the many wireless technologies, such as 5G, LTE-Advanced FDD/TDD, NB-IoT, Cat-M, wireless LAN WLAN) , Bluetooth, sub-GHz band (920 MHz), etc., will be used for Internet connections, and commercial products, such as AI speakers, smart watches, etc., using wireless communications technologies are already coming to market.Anritsu's test solutions (measuring instruments) support these LTE-Advanced FDD/TDD, NB-IoT, Cat-M, wireless LAN (WLAN), Bluetooth, and sub-GHz band (920 MHz) technologies.As well as impacting M2M and IoT, the convenience of wireless communications is driving increasing use for other applications and services. On the other hand, correct operation of wireless systems can be blocked by unplanned generation of radio waves, such as wideband noise and unwanted leakage waveforms. Anritsu also has test solutions for inspecting the radio-wave environment and searching for interference.
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Anritsu test solutions help to verify designs to ensure IoT devices and modules performance in smart city and automotive field and so on.
Anritsu is leveraging its cutting-edge 5G test and measurement (T&M) technologies as a world-leading company offering tailored flexible measurement solutions targeting IoT market growth. Anritsu focuses both on providing solutions for the IoT world and for various wireless communications technologies, as well as on solutions for the future.
Smart cities require a level of interactivity that demand the highest chipset, module and device performance. Learn how Anritsu test solutions ensure these designs work in the crowded RF spectrum associated with smart cities.
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Candidates to succeed Pope Benedict XVI
EUROPE (24 percent of world's Catholic population)
Angelo Scola, 71, Italy
Scola is the archbishop of Milan and is considered one of the favorites to succeed Pope Benedict. He founded the Oasis International Foundation, whose goal is to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims.
Gianfranco Ravasi, 70, Italy
Ravasi serves as the president of the Vatican's council for culture and became a cardinal in 2011.
Christoph Schoenborn, 67, Austria
Schoenborn is the archbishop of Vienna. In 2012, he overruled one of his priests and allowed a gay Catholic to serve on a parish council.
Peter Erdo, 61, Hungary
Erdo is the archbishop of Budapest and heads the Conference of Bishops for Europe.
Angelo Bagnasco, 70, Italy
Bagnasco is the archbishop of Genoa. He became a target of threats from gay-rights activists after he condemned same-sex unions in 2007.
LATIN AMERICA (41 percent of world's Catholic population)
Joao Braz de Aviz, 65, Brazil
Braz de Aviz heads the Vatican's department for religious congregations. He became a cardinal in 2012.
Leonardo Sandri, 69, Argentina
Sandri was the chief of staff at the Vatican for seven years until 2007. He currently heads the Vatican's department for eastern churches.
Odilo Pedro Scherer, 63, Brazil
Scherer is the archbishop of Sao Paolo, Brazil, the largest diocese in the largest Catholic country. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2007.
NORTH AMERICA (7 percent of world's Catholic population)
Marc Ouellet, 68, Canada
Ouellet is the head of the Congregation for Bishops at the Vatican. In 2011, he was quoted as saying that becoming a pope "would be a nightmare."
Timothy Dolan, 62, United States
Dolan is the American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and the current archbishop of New York. In 2012, TIME magazine named Dolan one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World."
AFRICA (15 percent of world's Catholic population)
Peter Turkson, 64, Ghana
Turkson is the head of Vatican's Justice and Peace council. Last year, he caused an uproar at the Vatican by screening a YouTube video that made predictions about the growth of Islam in Europe.
ASIA (12 percent of world's Catholic population)
Luis Tagle, 55, Philippines
Tagle is the archbishop of Manila. He is one of the youngest members of the college of cardinals and is known for his charismatic nature.


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Guest blogger: afrey94
2011-12: The Year In Review
It's hard to believe we're in the middle of summer already and it's been almost a full year since we were eagerly looking ahead to the 2011-12 season (my preview, which did predict an ECF berth and loss, can be found at http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/2011/08/22/guest-blogger-afrey94/). I had titled that post "The Renaissance" to indicate the expectations that the season would see a significant change in how we viewed the Blueshirts. Just as The Renaissance brought about widespread change and bridged the gap between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era, so too did last season serve as a watershed moment for the Rangers. Going into the season fresh off of squeaking into the playoffs as an eighth seed and being summarily bounced in five games, the team was expected to improve with contributions from its evolving young core and one major free agent addition. In that sense, the season can be viewed as nothing less than a complete success. Now that we are somehow facing the possibility of yet another protracted lockout, let's look back on the year that was; the successes, the failures, and what indications it offers on the future of our beloved Broadway Blueshirts.
2011-12 was going to be a memorable year no matter what, with the team being featured on HBOs 24/7, playing in the NHL's Winter Classic, and adding to a strong and developing young core by landing the prize of the NHL's annual free agent derby, Brad Richards. The question was simply whether it would be memorable in a Landon Donovan scores to beat Algeria sort of way, or a Billy Cundiff misses a chip shot (and is subsequently murdered by Ray Lewis) sort of way. Through a painful season opening roadtrip across Europe and North America while Garden renovations were taking place, the team struggled out of the gate. The North American opener in Uniondale, which I was supposed to go to but ended up watching at my brother's place with pizza and margaritas (no complaints), was an embarrassing 4-2 loss which put me in a mild depression and raised some serious questions about their capabilities as a team. However, once they found themselves and started playing as we knew they could, they never looked back. I am unfortunately too young to clearly remember the euphoric splendor that was the 1994 Cup year, so for me this was the first time I saw a team that was at the top of the standings for most of the year. Most years, when we look at the upcoming schedule during the season we mentally peg certain games as likely wins, some as probable losses and a few toss-ups.
This was the first year I can remember where I truly expected the Blueshirts to win every single game I watched. Now this is not to say I expected them to go 82-0 because the fickle bounces of fate march to the beat of their own drummer, but there was no reason to doubt their ability to win any game. It was more than just having the ability, however, because there are plenty of teams with far more talent who couldn't match the Rangers' accomplishments this year (cut to bitter Penguins fans shaking their fists). I hesitate to call it swagger, but it was obvious that they truly believed they could win any game, no matter the circumstances. Down 2-0 to Philly in the second period of the Winter Classic? No problem. Playing a Boston juggernaut that, at the time, had scored the most goals in the league AND allowed the fewest? Let's win that one on a buzzer-beater just for fun. And, down a goal to Washington with 25 seconds left on this handsome writer's birthday? Let's give it to Brad Richards and send the Garden into a frenzy the likes of which I've never seen (I could've sworn, at one point, some guy in the section next to me was throwing a baby in the air while the crowd went wild). This team started the season as a hardworking but ultimately middle of the pack team from whom not much was expected from the majority of the hockey world; in fact, some writers even predicted they'd miss the playoffs entirely. That they will go into next season as a consensus top five Eastern team and with anything less than a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals being a mammoth disappointment is a testament to the progress that was made.
What was it that made this team so successful? Quite simply, it was a combination of big steps up from key contributors coupled with one of the finest coaching performances I've ever seen in any sport. To start, Torts had that team ready to play every single game of the season and instilled a workmanlike attitude which made them a terrible pain to play against. For the first time, you would hear mentions of their fine team play and glowing comparisons from other teams broadcasters on Center Ice, and every ounce of it was deserve. The departed Brandon Prust embodied the essence of this spirit with his motto of "It's just pain." This begins and ends with the coaching staff laying out a vision for the players to follow, and it's a testament to Tortorella. In Tampa Bay, we're all aware that his strategy was "safe is death," an easy one to implement when you're rolling Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Martin St Louis on the reg. However, the mark of a good coach is knowing your team and catering your approach to best utilize the personnel you have at your disposal. As much as I love the Rangers, it's obvious that this team simply did not have the personnel to play that sort of firewagon hockey. Tortorella realize that where the team was strongest was in a deep, developing defensive core and an all-world netminder between the pipes and, in a complete 180 from the Tampa days, he preached defensive responsibility and got the most out of his guys. He gets a lot of heat for being testy with the media, but I don't think anyone could argue that he wrung every win he could out of a young, raw team and provided us with some great HBO moments to boot (my personal favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biZlEtaXbw8).
Coaching is an integral part of any successful team, but at the end of the day it comes down to the guys on the ice, and this team would not be close to where they ended without big years from several players. A bounce-back year from Marian Gaborik gave the Rangers the bona fide scoring threat they were missing for the greater part of last season, and Henrik Lundqvist had arguably the best season of his already stellar career, culminating with a much deserved Vezina Trophy to take back to Sweden. However, in my opinion, the single most important contribution to the team came from defensive horse Ryan McDonagh. In addition to serving as a constant reminder to Rangers fans of one of the greatest trades in team history and rocking some fantastic facial hair during the playoff run, McD stepped up in Marc Staal's absence and established himself as the premier defenseman on a team built from the blueline out, no easy task for a 22-year-old with less than one season under his belt coming in. His offensive game began to come along while his defensive prowess was truly something to behold. At this point, there are maybe five defensemen in the entire NHL for whom I would trade him straight up, and it's a list of guys who aren't going on the block anytime soon.
Now that's not necessarily to say that I think, at this moment in time, he's a better player than a guy like Zdeno Chara or Shea Weber. However, when you factor in the age difference and the fact that McD is likely just scratching the surface of his potential, I wouldn't trade him straight up for either and we should thank our lucky stars everyday for the temporary insanity that allowed Bob Gainey to send him our way. Del Zotto's return to form and surprisingly responsible play (most of the time) was absolutely vital after the losses of Marc Staal and Mike Sauer. If you can believe it, he even got three Norris Trophy votes (not as many as McD or Girardi, but nonetheless a huge step up from last season's AHL demotion). The playoff addition of Kreider and his surprisingly effective play will hopefully continue to progress and give us the big power forward we've been looking for since the days of Adam Graves. And finally, don't underestimate the impact of a guy like Carl Hagelin. First, let's recall that the three games he missed in the playoffs yielded two losses (one an unacceptable shutout at home) and one 1-0 win made possible only by a generous contribution by the Henrik Lundqvist foundation.
Second, even if you (as I do) believe he's a second liner at best, its unbelievably important to be able to develop those guys yourself as opposed to having to pluck them from other teams. Think of it this way; if the Rangers were to acquire a player absolutely identical to Hagelin in every way save for his age and possibly his Swedish good looks, do you really think there's any chance they could get away with paying him less than a million? In the zero-sum game of the salary cap world, those saving add up to important pieces whose acquisition and implementation on the roster can be the difference between winning in six games or losing in seven. If the Rangers can find one more such diamond in the rough, they can use him to create three solid scoring lines or package him for one more elite talent to put them over the top. As this excellent piece (http://hockeyrodent.com/R2570.HTM) from one of my favorite NYR writers delineates, they were ultimately done in by fatigue due to a combination of brutal scheduling and over-reliance on a few key players. Adding one or two more pieces coupled with the upward trajectory we can reasonably expect most of the young guys to continue on gives us a chance to improve on a season where only two teams ended up doing better.
In light of all the fantastic times this Rangers team gave us and the groundwork they laid for the coming years, it's hard not to think of this year as a success. Sure, we didn't win the cup, but following a team sport is about more than that. I stated as much in my season preview that following a team in such a passionate way cannot simply be about wins and losses; otherwise, everyone would be dejected right now save for our friends on the west coast. Sports truly is about the journey, not the destination, and this was one of the most satisfying seasons I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing. People in general are unfortunately predisposed to remembering how something ended without reminiscing on the good times in between, the positive memories that were made and the growth that took place. By way of example, it is impossible for every single relationship we enter into to run completely smoothly and go exactly the way we'd imagine it; the odds are stacked against us, things happen, life gets in the way, etc. But, the hope is that you enjoy the ride and that it allows you to grow, develop, and learn something along the way that will make your next romantic endeavor, be it with someone different or the same person, all the more successful.
I'm reminded of a quote from one of my all-time favorite television shows, Lost, in which two characters are discussing the nature of humanity and, in response to a comment about how "it always ends the same," Jacob remarks "it only ends once; everything that happens before that is just progress." The year may not have ended with a storybook wedding or with us getting off the island, but I think we can all agree it's far better than being stuck in the dark ages.


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At some point last year I decided to play Champions Online, Cryptic Studio's spiritual successor to City of Heroes. Although I've never been a big fan of the superhero genre, I can appreciate the appeal of pulling on a pair of tights and stopping runaway locomotives. And even though I ultimately found City of Hero's gameplay too repetitive for any long-term enjoyment, I had gotten a couple of months' worth of fun out of it and expected something similar for Champions.
In case you are unfamiliar with superhero conventions, it should be noted that there is an unspoken, unwritten rule about how female superhero characters are portrayed in both comic books and video games: They will wear as little as possible, and often strike anatomically impossible poses.
Knowing this reputation for overt sexism – and with tongue firmly in cheek – I created my first Champions Online character: NAKED MAN!
Naked Man in his original incarnation was actually about as naked as a long-haired Ken doll. His backside was bare, but with only a hint of cheek delineation, and his front was asexually devoid of any external genitalia. He was never meant to titillate. His creation was as a joke, intended to poke fun at the ubiquitous hyper-sexualization of female superheroes. To further my subversiveness, I chose a flying ability that caused a rainbow to extrude from his heels (or butt – I was never sure which) whenever he took to the skies. I giggled in gay pride defiance every time I played him.
As expected, I quickly lost interest in Champions after a month of play and moved on to other MMOs. And also true to my nature, I returned to Champions Online a year later to pick up where I had left off. Unfortunately, during the interim, Naked Man had been stripped of all his…nakedness.
When I logged back into the game after my year-long hiatus, I was met with a Naked Man who had been reverted back to the game's default bald, blue unitard model and an in-game message informing me that Naked Man's nakedness was found to be in violation of Cryptic's ToS (Terms of Service).
So a FEMALE character with her bits barely covered and her cleavage precariously contained is ToS compliant? But a "naked" male character with no discernible genitalia is in violation?
While redesigning the now not-so-naked Naked Man, I discovered a curious discrepancy between the male and female models in regards to the amount of visible derriere. The game's character creation process forces a visible covering over the male model's backside that does not exist on the female model. Tarzan will now be wearing tighty whities?
I don't have a problem with games enforcing a certain level of modesty on character customization, otherwise you end up with something like this. But the difference in body coverage seen in Champions' character models is egregiously sexist and is obviously informed by the sexual objectification of female characters that occurs routinely in the comic book/superhero genre.
Ultimately, I don't object to a little eye candy – beefcake or cheesecake – but make it gender agnostic or don't do it at all.


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March 2009
Shiloh is binky free! 'Lil cowgirl and her papa in their new cowboy boots. A play day with Jeremiah and Lexi. Learning to eat yogurt with a spoon. Papa reading bedtime stories to Shiloh. Fun at the park with Ashley and papa. 'Lil mama with her taking care of her baby.Read More


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It's the final week of our Critterati contest (winners will be announced on Wednesday). The Book Bench asked one of our judges, Alexandra Horowitz, the author of "Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know," how your pet might feel about being dressed up.
The philosopher Thomas Nagel famously asked, in his titular essay, "What is it like to be a bat?": what, in essence, is the subjective experience of a non-human animal?
Around this time of year, one might revise Nagel's query to "What is it like to be a bat—dressed in a Superman costume?" Or, more accurately for of many contemporary American pets, "What might a dog (or cat or hamster or parrot) think of being costumed and festooned, or forced to don a hat and fake mustache in our celebration of Halloween?"
Inasmuch as I can speak to the experience of any animal (including members of my own species), my answer is "The dog, he does not like it".
This is not to say that it is entirely torturous for your pet. The dog is of the species Canis familiaris: the latter part of that name indicates their familiarity with, well, their extended family, humans. Thoroughly domesticated, having put up with human behavior and its attendant silliness for something on the order of fourteen thousand years, the dog may suffer some costuming gladly. And this is why: by submitting to be a jack-o-lantern, hot dog (with bun), biker dude, or princess, the dog gains something valuable. He gets your attention, and probably an extra round of liver treats. Aside from the liver, there is little as nourishing to a dog as the attention of his owner. So we have bred dogs, and so they cooperatively are—sometimes to a fault.
On the other hand, to put raiments on a dog is to blithely ignore his essential dogness. Consider the Canis part of his heritage. Both wolves and dogs are descended from some wolflike ancestor; thus, we might look at the behavior of the dog's cousin, the present-day wolf (Canis lupus), in order to provide one explanation for dog behavior. Among wolves, one animal may "stand over" another: literally placing his body on top of and touching the other, as a scolding or a mild putting-in-one's-place. To a dog, a costume, fitting tight around the dog's midriff and back, might well reproduce that ancestral feeling. So the principal experience of wearing a costume would not be the experience of festivity; rather, the costume produces the discomfiting feeling that someone higher ranking is nearby. This interpretation is borne out by many dogs' behavior when getting dressed in a costume: they may freeze in place as if they are being "dominated"—and soon try to dislodge the garments by shaking, pawing, or rolling in something so foul that it necessitates immediate disrobing.
Another approach to answering the question of what Halloween might be like for the costumed dog is to engage in a little exercise of perspective-shifting. Imagine that you arrive at work one day and are told that today is the day you will be walking around in your skivvies (the human equivalent of putting a naked dog in clothing, perhaps). Socially, this is awkward; physically, it might be decidedly uncomfortable. But your colleagues grin at you, point and giggle happily, and ply you with extra liver treats—er, I mean, candy. In the end, you might put up with it for the day, secure in the approval of those around you, and the happy circumstance that you can wear your full office regalia tomorrow. So might it be like for your dog.
We are, ultimately, a culture of celebrants, and our dogs will be included in that celebration, regardless. But if you are willing to be that over-exposed owner aside your over-dressed and be-costumed dog for Halloween, I feel certain your dog would appreciate the gesture.
(Photograph: "Daphne as Eustace Tilley," by Ann Leary, one entry in this year's contest.)