Daily Archives: July 2, 2017

Our nation may not be perfect, but it truly is exceptional – LancasterOnline

Posted: July 2, 2017 at 9:23 am

In recent years, I have noted that it has been increasingly politically correct for editorial writers and members of the public to bemoan the failures of our American democracy as a perverse way to celebrate the Fourth of July. This year, in our post-2016 polarized society, this trend is even more in evidence.

For our society to continue and prosper however, polarization must be temporary for only through working together can we advance. Eventually, just as in the past, we must get beyond our divisions.

Dont believe me? How about the Civil War? It took some time, but we did it.

You wont get much of that political correctness from this writer. I was fortunate enough to live abroad as an American diplomat in many countries under various and sundry systems of government: communism, socialism, social democracy, constitutional parliamentary monarchy, authoritarianism and near-anarchy.

Living and working in these societies, side by side with citizens of these countries, gave me a real appreciation of what life was like there. Those experiences lead me to acknowledge that, while we may not be a perfect society, we are a truly exceptional one.

Americans, from the earliest days of our republic, have exercised our freedom of speech to critique our imperfect society, from our treatment of Native Americans and the abomination of slavery, to the inequities of opportunity and fairness in modern life.

Our criticism has in many cases led to a better version of ourselves. That we Americans can criticize ourselves without dire consequences only proves the essential good inherent in our system.

Others in these pages may exercise their freedom of speech to criticize and complain; in a free society all are welcome to do so. But on this eve of the 241st anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, let us also pause to look unabashedly at our history and recall the many positives we have inherited from previous generations of Americans.

Americans, or more properly United States citizens, are something of a puzzle to many people abroad. We are seen as naive and Machiavellian, selfish and generous, idealistic and duplicitous, friendly and phony, diverse and homogeneous, religious and salacious, often by the same people at the same time!

One thing is generally agreed upon though. The USA is somehow exceptional and unlike any other nation on the globe. For most of the 20th century and into the 21st, this nation was and remains the indispensable nation. It is enormously influential, whether looking at economic power, military might, popular culture, science and technology, diplomatic weight or what we might call moral or humanitarian values. The combination of these factors has had an undeniable overall positive influence on world development. If you deny that, kindly come up with another candidate on this planet that can claim to be the indispensable nation.

Among these positive values is a government responsive to the will of the people through free elections. Anyone who qualifies has a right to cast a ballot. Regrettably, some of our fellow citizens just dont bother to do so. But they have a right not to vote too!

We are blessed with a system of checks and balances among the three branches of our government, so that a power-hungry branch is restrained in its actions. We complain that government is too slow or that nothing gets done, but our system deliberately slows the process so that our leaders must think through their actions and not simply rubber-stamp the public opinion of the moment.

The admonition that the government that governs best, governs least attributed variously to Thomas Jefferson, Henry David Thoreau or Napoleon Bonaparte has worked rather well for most of us for nearly 2 1/2 centuries. Im in favor of keeping it.

William P. Kiehl is a retired foreign service officer who served 35 years with the U.S. Information Agency and U.S. Department of State in Europe, Asia and Washington. He was also a Diplomat in Residence at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle. He resides in Lancaster County.

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Our nation may not be perfect, but it truly is exceptional - LancasterOnline

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Letter: Evolution’s new era of compassion – The State Journal-Register

Posted: at 9:21 am

The caring so needed in our shrinking world must go beyond caring for those we know and have actual ties to and investment in. The call is for caring for the collective human family and especially the most vulnerable and disenfranchised among us.

We need to resist in ourselves and our leaders that strong evolutionary survival tendency to achieve quality life only for ourselves and "our kind." Evolution was once necessarily and unconsciously barbaric in its survival of the most physically fit.

That need has changed. Human consciousness, not evolved to its present potential in past epochs, is now called on to shape the future of evolution. This shifts the need from viewing life as the "great competition" to the new epoch of cooperation and compassion toward all people and nature.

The hope-filled potential for a world-embracing compassionate consciousness I think has made a giant leap in the last century. Only humans can supply this feature to nature which alone leads to a more healed world. But we're not forced to embrace such a compassionate consciousness. We can instead stick to the well-worn paths of smaller mindedness.

Times are a changin' and new times call for a tough but compassionate and wise consciousness. These are the new key for the survival of our species and planet. The great world religions all point to such an era of surviving compassion. Are we already too late in receiving the saving compassionate consciousness which has been a cosmic goal of evolution for millennia?

Jim Hibbett

Riverton

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Letter: Evolution's new era of compassion - The State Journal-Register

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Evolution Dance’s Independence Day show ramps up plenty of patriotic feelings – Villages-News

Posted: at 9:21 am

World War II Vet Bob Emick 94 celebrates Uncle Sams upcoming birthday with Evolution Dance at Savannah Center.

Evolution Dances Independence Day celebrationSaturdaybrought bittersweet memories for dancer Mary Ann Dailey and fighting words from World War II veteran Bob Emick. When asked if he was happy to enjoy the Flags, Freedom and Fireworks show at Savannah Center, Emick, 94,gave a classic American reply: hell yeah. And if that wasnt enough, this real life Yankee Doodle Dandy added one more thing: Im going to be 95 next week. Happy birthday Mr. Emick, and happy birthday Uncle Sam. For Mary Ann Dailey, the joy of the holiday was mixed with love, gratitude and longing for her late husband, Joseph C. Dailey. He served two tours of Vietnam with the Army and died five years ago from Agent Orange.

Mary Ann Dailey made her Evolution Dance debut Saturday and paid tribute to her late husband Joseph Dailey a Vietnam veteran.

I miss him and I dedicated my performancetonightto him, Dailey said. Tonight, we saluted my husband and all Vietnam veterans. Thats important to me and everyone else.

Larry Rivellese

The night kicked off in Patriotic style when Larry Rivellese fresh off his appearance on NBC-TV with Steve Harvey brought the crowd to its feet with a stirring version of the National Anthem. Its an honor for me to sing that song, Rivellese said. A number of the performances in the music and dancing extravaganza were dedicated to Vietnam veterans. They included: A Soldiers Letter, read to parents played by Sue Schuler and Jack Filkins. The Ballad of the Green Berets, by Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler, and danced to by Rose Bianchini, Dolores Pittaro and Rosie Theiss. Also Billy Joels Goodnight Saigon, featuring Richard Blanchard, Chip Fuller, Phip Fuller, Frank Olive and Carter Poust.

Also, a table with an empty chair was in front of center stage, to honor those Missing in Action, held prisoner, or killed serving America. There was also a tribute to women veterans with the song Remembering the Hero, featuring Dailey along with dancers Kathy Chesley-Williams, Jacqie Davis, Paige Fleming, Mollie McCarthy, Leslie Rosenberg, Sue Schuler, Yuri Sohn, Diane Vargas and Dianne Zugnoni. Ive been dancing a long time but this was my first performance for Evolution Dance and that made it more special, said Dailey, a New Jersey native who moved to The Villages with her husband 10 years ago.

Diane Vargas, far right, and Carter Poust, center, during the Stars and Stripes Finale.

The entire Evolution Dance production was filled with emotion, joy, sadness and drama. Thats the way we wanted it because thats what makes an entertaining show, Diane Vargas, artistic director of Evolution Dance along with Helene Yelverton. The Fourth of July is about celebration, but its also about remembering the men and women who have served this country in the Armed Forces, Vargas said. The biggest thrill for us, is when the military veterans in the audience enjoy what we do. Thats what its all about. This show percolated with energy, talent and appreciation for veterans. It began in style with some rousing World War II numbers. The whole company was jumping and jiving to such 1940s classics as Sing Sing Sing, In the Mood Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Crazy Feet a delightful tap number by Helene Yelverton, with some help from Frank Olive and Carter Poust. Poust was in fine, vocal form, saluting the vets in the audience while singing This is Our Country. The tapping was frenetic on Yankee Doodle Dandy, with Violet Ray joined by Dailey, Chesley-Williams, McCarthy, Pittaro and Theiss.

Yuri Sohn does the split during a dance at Savannah Center.

Yuri Sohn, along with Vargas and the Fuller twins mixed ballet and contemporary dance moves on Strike Up the Band. The whole cast took to chairs while dancing, singing and slapping their knees on a red-white-and blue Our Favorite Son from Follies. The show closed with a fitting, explosive Stars and Stripes Finale. This was a great night, Vargas said afterwards. We started doing this last year and we hope to make it a tradition and do it every year. It means a lot of all of us. Just like the Fourth of July.

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Robotics Online – News

Posted: at 9:21 am

June 2017

Macomb-OU Incubator Introduces a New Client Company

POSTED: 06/30/2017

The Macomb-OU Incubator is pleased to introduce new client company CoPilot Vision Systems (CPVS). CPVS has developed a proprietary, commercial

MCRI Recognized for Safety Achievement

POSTED: 06/29/2017

Motion Controls Robotics was presented with a certificate of safety achievement through the Sandusky County Safety Council

Welding With OCTOPUZ Software

POSTED: 06/27/2017

Welding with OCTOPUZ is Unique A unique quality of OCTOPUZs software is that it is ONE software solution to program all

Robot Automation Making a Positive Difference

POSTED: 06/27/2017

Roger Varin, CEO of Staubli Corporation speaks about automation making a positive difference in the workplace.

OCTOPUZ Officially Certified by Universal Robots

POSTED: 06/27/2017

OCTOPUZ Inc. is proud to announce that is has officially become a certified software by Universal Robots. This means that

KC Robotics' Jack Justice Speaks at RIA Webinar - Robotic Welding Tools, Tricks, Accessories and End of Arm Tools

POSTED: 06/26/2017

KC Robotics Jack Justice wasa panelist in theRIA Welding Webinar, Robotic Welding Tools, Tricks, Accessories and End of Arm Tools.

FPC Series Suction Cup, Portrait of a Specialist!

POSTED: 06/22/2017

The universal suction cup for all types of FlowPack packaging. FPC stands for FlowPack Cup: COVAL's new suction cup is

Intelligrated Solution named to Supply & Demand Chain Executives 100 Top Supply Chain Projects for 2017

POSTED: 06/22/2017

Automated palletizing solution handles 95 percent of Bee Sweets fruit varieties with flexibility to run 27 different stacking patterns

A3 Fall Conferences Spur Manufacturing Growth and the Creation of Entirely New Categories of Jobs

POSTED: 06/22/2017

Conferences Provide In-Depth Training in Robot Safety, Motion Control, Vision Systems, and Collaborative Robots

Automated Painting Solution for General Industry

POSTED: 06/20/2017

Drr and Kuka, leading manufacturers in the fields of production and automation technology, have joined forces: together they have developed

The Miniature Servo Controller for Extreme Conditions

POSTED: 06/19/2017

A rugged, compact powerhouse: The new ESCON Module 50/8 HE servo controller from maxon motor controls DC motors up to

Schneider Packaging Equipment to Introduce its Newly Redesigned Bottom-Loading Vertical Case Packer

POSTED: 06/16/2017

Schneider Packaging Equipment Co., a leading manufacturer of end-of-line solutions for case packing, sealing and palletizing, is introducing its newly

Schneider Packaging Equipment Case Sealers With Water-Activated Tape

POSTED: 06/16/2017

Schneider Packaging Equipment Co., a leading manufacturer of end-of-line solutions for case packing, sealing and palletizing, is reducing downtime for

Schneider Packaging to Feature Cutting-Edge Pallet Generation Software

POSTED: 06/16/2017

Schneiders proprietary HMI software that powers their industry-leading palletizing solutions wasfirst unveiled at the PACK Expo International last fall, the

Schneider Packaging Brightens Productivity with Intelligent Illumination Technology

POSTED: 06/16/2017

The toast of computer gamers and lighting manufacturers now has a potentially critical role in the packaging industry with the

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Robotics Online - News

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ISU Robotics program builds functioning R2-D2 robots | Local … – Idaho State Journal

Posted: at 9:21 am

POCATELLO What started as a senior project for a student enrolled in Idaho State Universitys College of Technology Robotics program has evolved into something that many Star Wars fans have dreamed of for decades designing and building a fully-functional R2-D2 robot.

The Robotics program has one fully constructed R2-D2 robot and another thats under construction that program director Shane Slack said is hopeful will be done in time for Septembers Snake River Comic Con in Pocatello.

Originally, one of the students came up and said they wanted to build an R2-D2 robot for a final project, you know, and its movies and characters like this that get most kids excited to join this type of program, Slack said. We didnt really have 3-D printing at the time so trying to find the materials to make it and coming up with the mechanical aspects of it was difficult. Honestly, at the end of the two-month period it didnt look anything like R2-D2.

It took eight weeks to construct the first R2-D2 robots basic framework, which included two aluminum plates manufactured by the machine shop that serve as R2-D2s shoulders. The original model featured a plexiglass outer shell.

Over the next two semesters, students continued to shape the exterior skin, hardware and programming aspects until they had a functioning R2-D2 robot.

The red R2-D2 was started in 2010 and now we actually have some of the upperclassmen recruit some of the first- and second-semester students to serve as team members on these projects, Slack said. So the final semester students will have younger students come in and work on code, circuitry and other components to help them create these massive machines.

A few years later the implementation of advanced CAD, or computer-aided design software, laser cutting and 3-D printers allowed R2-D2 to get a makeover.

We had six or seven teams of students improving software, sensors and drive systems over the next few years, Slack said. The initial drive system only allowed him to travel about 2 mph and now hell go 28 mph.

R2-D2 robot is a fun pop-culture project students can relate to. But its also a teaching tool that lets students use what theyve learned through the construction process on other robotic systems, Slack said.

Inside the red R2-D2 several electronic and mechanical systems make the robot tick.

Inside we have a main board that communicates with the operator, so that main board receives commands from our remote and basically anything our operator does with the remote the robot interoperates those commands and executes a series of other commands, Slack said. We can open the doors, move the arms, it can run a vocal processor to communicate and the main board is capable of running 128 other circuit boards.

The process of designing and developing all the internal circuitry is completed by robotics students.

This process involves designing the board with CAD software. Students determine how each electronic component physically connects to another. The board itself is then machined out of copper and fiberglass.

The secondary board that mounts to the main board is a Wi-Fi radio, which is another student-built board that allows us to communicate directly with R2-D2, Slack said. With this student-built board weve tested the range out and it works just fine 3 miles out, and the board is about the size of an SD card.

After the first R2-D2 robot, Slack said the team really understood what worked well with the original model and what improvements could be made.

Theyre now in the process of building R2-D2 version 2.0. Slack said their goal is to document each step of the process into video and text files so that any person can download the materials and make their own R2-D2.

The students have to make the website, the manuals and technical documentation and the assembly videos just like they were working in industry, Slack said.

For the past several year, the Robotics program has showcased the R2-D2 robot at the Salt Lake Comic Con, all thanks to a bet made, and lost, by one of the events producers.

We were attending a Robotics competition in Salt Lake and on the last day one of the producers of the Salt Lake Comic Con came in and were doing an R2-D2 demonstration, Slack said. As he was walking around he saw our R2-D2 robot. When he noticed that it was 3-D printed he was actually floored that we were able to do it because he had stated a few weeks ago that he made a bet with a friend that nobody could 3-D print a R2-D2. But we did.

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UHV teaches robotics through summer camp (w/video) – Victoria Advocate

Posted: at 9:21 am


Victoria Advocate
UHV teaches robotics through summer camp (w/video)
Victoria Advocate
Dylan Herrig, 14, of Victoria, a freshman at Victoria East High School, fist bumps Christian Okwuchukwu, a teacher's assistant at University of Houston Victoria, after Herrig's robot successfully completed a task during UHV's Robotics Summer Camp ...

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Tough competition during FIRST Robotics final – Kdminer

Posted: at 9:21 am

Photo by Aaron Ricca.

A Lego robot moves stones across a table. Two robots faced off while moving and lifting different objects across the space-table for points. The robots also had avoid small obstacles in order to not lose points.

KINGMAN The competition was fierce, but fun.

After a week of learning to program and build Lego robots, as well as conducting research and building friendships, 40 third- through eighth-grade students put their skills to the test during the final trials of the 2017 FIRST Lego League Lego Camp at Kingman High School Friday.

Kingman FIRST Robotics Team 60 coaches and high school science teachers Celeste Lucier and Jody Schanaman, along with Team 60 student mentors, watched, learned, advised and cheered the various teams on as they and their Lego robots scrambled to lift, shift and move random Lego parts across a space-table during coordinated exercises for points.

Theyll also conducted research to identify real world problems, learning how to create innovative solutions and create a presentation to share their findings.

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Here comes India’s data behemoth: GSTN will handle 320 crore transactions a month – Economic Times

Posted: at 9:19 am

Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the information-technology backbone of India's new tax regime, is a data-storage behemoth. Nearly 80 lakh businesses will upload details and carry out transactions on the network. After Aadhaar, India has seen such a large scale of IT operations in GSTN.

GSTN, a not-for-profit private limited company, has 51 per cent equity of five private institutions -- HDFC Bank Ltd (10 per cent), HDFC Ltd (10 per cent), ICICI Bank Ltd (10 per cent), NSE Strategic Investment Corporation Ltd (10 per cent) and LIC Housing Finance Limited (11 per cent).

The central government has 24.5 per cent equity in the GSTN, whereas state governments, two Union territories and empowered committee of state finance ministers together hold another 24.5 per cent stake in it. India's leading IT company Infosys is managed service provider of GSTN.

With nearly 80 lakh users, 1.2 lakh transactions in a second and 320 crore transactions in a month, GSTN needs to have a mind-boggling capacity. It has designed its system so that it can handle 60,000 users per second. It can increase the capacity if the traffic increases.

"To size the system, looking at an average of 127, we took 3 times that, 400, as the average number of invoices. Multiplied by 80 lakh tax payers, it gives you 320 crore invoices per month. We planned for storage which was double of this requirement," GSTN chairman Navin Kumar said in an interview to a business magazine.

GSTN is opening the facility for upload of invoice data from July 16. To facilitate uploading, it has given an an Excel-based offline utility. "They can download this on their computer and they can keep adding the invoice data on that Excel and this tool will import this upload this to our system. The tool can handle 19,000 invoices in one go. It takes 17 seconds. For a medium enterprise with 50,000 invoices in a month, we are going to suggest that you upload every week," Kumar said.

Won't a system that receives so much traffic remain down often? Kumar says out of nearly 80 lakh taxpayers, 66 lakh have been able to come on the website, register and submit the application and get their provisional IDs. This has proved that the system is efficient enough to handle mega traffic.

GSTN is prepared to handle increase in traffic. At present, the capacity is for nearly 80 lakh users but it can be expanded about 5% every year, considering that the number of taxpayers might increase at that rate.

With such a mammoth user base and so many transactions in a month, GSTN needs to have robust technological infrastructure to handle billions of transactions. Even small glitches can mean major disruptions.

When it opened its portal to taxpayer registration in November, it suffered a cyber attack aimed at disrupting services and bringing down the host system. It suffered another cyber attack in which a malware creates a Trojan, which can execute unwanted actions from the user's end. GSTN has put in place systems to prevent malware attacks. It is setting up a hi-tech security monitoring and analytics centre to forewarn on cyber threats and secure the IT system handling over 300 crore invoices a month.

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Tourism bureau promotes Anaheim with a virtual reality tour – OCRegister

Posted: at 9:19 am

Anaheim has entered the virtual world.

The tourism and marketing arm of the city, Visit Anaheim, has introduced a virtual reality video giving people a first-person view of some of the citys landmarks and popular venues.

Were always looking for new ways to showcase our destination, said Jay Burress, chief executive and president of Visit Anaheim, which also promotesvisitors to Orange County. We thinkvirtual realityis a great way to do that.

The high-tech offering is just the latest the tourism bureau is doing to bring in more visitors and conventions to highlight the city. The tourism bureau, along with its partners from the Orange County Visitors Association, recentlyannouncedthe opening of a third office in Guangzhou, China. In 2013, offices opened in Shanghai and Beijing.

Last year, more than 100,000 visitors came to Orange County from China, Burress said.

And, more than 23 million people visited Anaheim last year, the group said. Since 2011, visitor numbers have increased 35 percent.

The city relies heavily on visitors staying in local hotels and shopping in the area to help pay for day-to-day operations such as providing police officers and firefighters, parks and road maintenance through its general fund. In the next 12 months, the citys general fund is expected to increase by 4 percent to $312 million.

The two-minute virtual reality video made by Costa Mesa-basedmarketing agency Idea Hall is available on YouTube. Filming began late last year and wrapped up after the NAMM convention. Visit Anaheim declined to disclose the cost.

When Visit Anaheim officials attend sales conventions, they bring two Samsung Oculus systems. Visitors don the virtual reality goggles which visually take them around the Anaheim Regional Transportation Center, the Anaheim Convention Center, the Packing House, Unsung Brewery and the Ranch restaurant. Visit Anaheim also gives away cardboard VR goggles.

This is just the first iteration of our use of virtual reality, Burress said. Disneyland is not the only thing in Anaheim. We want to highlight other parts of the city and this gives us a sophisticated and fun vehicle to do that.

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No quarters needed: Virtual reality arcade opens in Denver area – 9NEWS.com

Posted: at 9:19 am

It held its grand opening in conjunction with the beginning of Comic Con.

Joshua Aldredge , KUSA 9:48 PM. MDT July 01, 2017

Head Games VR has the honor of being the first virtual reality arcade in the Denver area. It held its grand opening Saturday night with a party in conjunction with Denver Comic Con.

The arcade has opened on Colfax Avenue near Kipling in Lakewood. Right now the arcade features three VR setups, but the owners have plans to expand on that in the future.

As for the idea? it came during a road trip.

"I was driving out to Las Vegas with my brother, Adam, and he and I were playing with the idea of escape rooms and then he mentioned they had VR in Sweden, where he's from," says Victoria Merchant, one of the owners of Head Games VR. "So we kinda turned to each other and said, 'let's do that. Let's do VR.'"

She says while they were driving theyneeded to come up with a name - and they made all sorts of lists for funny names.

"Head Games seemed perfect," Merchant says. "You're playing a video game on your head."

Nathan Hostetler, also of Head Games, says VR is fun for all ages.

"This is somewhere anyone of any age or background could come and try out VR and any kind of experience they want to - have a different experience every time," he says. "And they can see the potential that this entertainment has goinginto the future."

Merchant hopes to work with Colorado game developers to offer their new VR games to the public. She also wants to expand the business to include more headsets - and eventually more locations.

An hour of VR gaming will cost you $29 but up to five people can join you. You can reserve time online at this link.

2017 KUSA-TV

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