Category Archives: Transhuman News

In March 2020, COVID-19s epicentre was moving west from China, heading towards Europe: already the Italian region of Lombardy was being locked down.

Tan Suee Chieh, now president of the UKs Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), was blogging and tracking the pandemic, needing to verify projections he was making on the number of infections reaching one million by early April.

He contacted actuaries he knew in the UK through LinkedIn. These included Joseph Lu, director, longevity science at Legal & General, and Nicola Oliver, a former public health specialist and epidemiologist, now director of life and health with the research company she co-founded, Medical Intelligence.

Tan also contacted Chris Martin, director and head of modelling at Crystallise, a firm specialising in managing and modelling biomedical data.

Nick Spencer, chair of the IFoAs sustainability board, suggested that Tan contact Stuart McDonald, head of demographic assumptions and methodology at Lloyds Banking Group, who was saying the same thing on Twitter.

Over the weekend of 7 to 8 March, the idea of an informal group outside IFoA emerged from their discussions.

It was quickly agreed that a multi-disciplinary group needed to mobilise the professions response to the crisis. The initial members were Matthew Edwards, Nicola Oliver, Joseph Lu, and Chris Martin, Daniel Ryan and Craig Butler.

The COVID-19 Actuaries Response Group (ARG) was first convened on 10 March 2020. Instinctively, the group knew that humanity faced a global crisis of epic proportions, and had to do what it could quickly, meaningfully, and thoughtfully.

Now numbering 12 members with a range of specialities, from actuarial to medical, the groups aim is to help people understand and respond to the crisis, and establish itself as a reliable source of information.

The aims are to learn, share, educate and influence, says Tan.

That, he says, was the ARGs objective. But, that this could also lead to the IFoA confidently finding its voice in the public domain, was Tans thinking as he prepared for his presidential inauguration in June 2020.

He says: COVID-19 is a tragic event of epic proportions, but it gave us an opportunity to unlock our expertise and revive our public interest role to address not only longevity but other related areas as well. It is a way for the profession to make itself more relevant and more widely heard.

The concept of the ARG as a group of professionals dedicated to studying the wider scheme of things, beyond the immediate area of its own point of view, is shared by other group members.

KEY POINTS

The ARGs target audience was originally the actuarial profession, but its reach has grown beyond expectations, says Edwards, a Willis Towers Watson actuary and longevity specialist. Edwards is also ARG co-chair, along with McDonald and Oliver an arrangement reflecting the groups collaborative nature.

Getting to know Tan Suee Chieh

Born in Malaysia and based in Singapore, Tan Suee Chieh is a true citizen of the world, in a philosophical and geographical sense.

Tan holds degrees from the London School of Economics and Columbia University, alongside fellowships from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), Society of Actuaries (in the US) and Singapore Actuarial Society, as well as being a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society.

As the current IFoA president, and with a high-profile track record in the insurance industry, he sees himself as an enabler in broadening the relevance of the actuarial profession outside the narrow remit of longevity statistics.

COVID-19 is not a black swan, but a grey swan, Tan says. How could we have missed seeing it?

But global risks are not restricted to the virus, he says: We see many inter-locking systemic risks. We have had the global financial crisis, the loss of biodiversity, climate risk and other events besides the pandemic all of this has increased because of globalisation, networks and societal emphasis on growth.

This all has an impact on sustainability, he says. Asrisk professionals, we have a public duty to help ensure the systems we live in are more sustainable.

Tans passion for psychology led him to take a sabbatical in 2002 to complete his Masters in social and organisational psychology and this has informed his work with the ARG. He says the debate on COVID-19 has spread to other social issues.

The zeitgeist has changed, he says. There is a range of choices as to how active actuaries could be in terms of issues ranging from economic security equality to climate risk, and these include the use of social media such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

He adds: COVID-19, climate risk and inequalities highlighted by Black Lives Matter are all relevant as they impact sustainability. As actuaries we cannot take action on everything, but we can take a more active and positive role in the public debate. This speaks to the voice and thought leadership of the profession.

The ARG has published over a hundred bulletins, covering not only the mortality implications of COVID-19 but also vaccine efficacy and approval, hospital admissions and R estimates from sources around the world. Bulletins are published on its website at http://www.covid-arg.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Several of these reports have considered the medium and long-term longevity impacts of COVID-19. For example, a bulletin on the longer-term mortality and morbidity impacts of the pandemic examined the consequences of COVID-19 relating to:

Economic shock heavy reductions in GDP for the large western economies predicted by the OECD are likely to mean reduced government funding for health.

The physiological impact on severe symptoms survivors. These include lung scarring and cardiac damage. Such problems are set to be significant, on the basis of fallout from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic in 2003 their prediction has been borne out with the emergence of long Covid.

Behavioural changes, such as in alcohol usage, smoking, diet and exercise.

Mental health here, isolation and extreme uncertainty, plus the possibility of unemployment, are likely to provoke mental health problems, for example, affecting an estimated 500,000 people in the UK. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was a common condition among SARS survivors.

The conclusion was that the sum of all four factors and given the impact of behavioural changes will probably be short-term is likely to be material and negative.

The impact on survivor mortality of importance to pension funds and life insurers is examined in another bulletin.

This points out that COVID-19 mortality is associated with risk factors such as obesity and diabetes that also imply higher normal (all-cause) mortality. One effect could be that the overall mortality of the post-pandemic survivor pool turns out to be lighter than before.

The bulletin sets out how this impact might be estimated. The example it uses shows that the effect is likely to be low, other than in subgroups with a high proportion of COVID-19 deaths.

Another bulletin focused on social isolation.Social isolation is associated with higher mortality. Several research studies are cited to substantiate this. For example, a 2018 Danish study of about 21,600 people found social isolation was associated with 60-70% increases to all-cause mortality.

However, there is no good research on the effects of mass lockdowns, rather than the individual social isolation that is already known (which may partly be caused by, rather than causing, bad health), and the studies looked at are more suggestive guides to possible impacts.

With much of the next year, if not beyond, likely to involve continuing social distancing and isolation in various forms for many parts of society, we need to consider the possible mortality impacts of such isolation, says Edwards, writing in October 2020. The onus of enforced or heavily prescribed isolation is likely to fall on the oldest, and this may have a material impact on longevity.

At the time, Edwards suggested a plausible scenario to estimate the impact of this would be to assume that 50% of the over-75s endure a long period of either formal social isolation or heavily reduced social participation.

He says research implies that scenario could lead to a 25% to 50% increase in mortality for one to two years for those affected. This would be equivalent to anything from an increase of 12.5% to 50% in a typical years deaths for the over-75s, although perhaps spread over several years.

Considering the effects of COVID-19 as a whole, Edwards concludes: We think its longer-term impact on mortality will be negative. It probably wont be the case that life expectancy declines. But mortality improvements will be lower.

There is a great deal of flexibility involved in the group as a whole, particularly in trying to avoid the need for unanimous decisions, says Edwards.

Its less about rules and procedure, more about mutual trust and competence, he says. Having said that, when you have a common enemy like COVID-19, its easier to have unity.

The group meets for an hour over Zoom initially weekly and now fortnightly to discuss the strategic issues and ideas, with, of course, frequent WhatsApp and e-mail contact in between.

Most UK members of the group already knew each other, given their leading roles in the industry, but Tan and other non-UK members have met only virtually for instance, Tan has never met Edwards or McDonald.

COVID-19 is a human tragedy but it may have changed the way we work and create, Tan says.

But he says he has now met all IFoA council members: Thanks to Zoom, Im meeting more people than ever.

Looking to the future, Tan says that one of the few positive outcomes of COVID-19 is that the ARG could become a model for bringing other strategic and thought leadership issues under the IFoA umbrella for discussion.

It is a bottom-up creation which can shine a light on areas of focus, he says. Other subjects may not be as immediately compelling as COVID-19, but are no less important. The ARG has been and continues to be a forum for ongoing work. It can produce measured, erudite and long-term output to give actuaries guidance and help them to learn.

The ARG has pointed the way for the IFoA to be slightly bolder and more imaginative in our public engagement, but always in a manner which does credit to the profession, he says.

In the short term however, and with the hope that the world is close to the end of the second wave of the virus, there is a more immediate aspiration.

We hope that were gradually winding down and the vaccine will make us extinct, says Edwards. Wed like to not have a reason to exist.

Read the rest here:
Perspective: Exceeding expectations | Features | IPE - IPE.com - IPE.com

It is unclear how old Mr. Burns is. Based on Simpsons canon and various clues throughout the series run we can surmise that Charles Montgomery Burns has surpassed the boundaries of human longevity. His vehicle ownership also gives the shows audience a fair idea that he is from a bygone era:

You there, fill it up with petroleum distillate and re-vulcanize my tires, post haste. from r/TheSimpsons

The Ford Quadricycle was the first vehicle developed by Henry Ford and produced from 1896 to 1901. It is a true Horseless Carriage that could hit 20 mph under the power of its 59ci two-cylinder 4hp engine. A two-speed manual transmission without reverse was paired with the engine.

In the season seven episode Scenes From The Class Struggle In Springfield Mr. Burns drives a Quadracycle to a gas station and says, You there, fill it up with petroleum distillate and re-vulcanize my tires, post haste.

Charles Goodyear came up with the concept of vulcanizing tires and received the patent for it in 1844. A part of me thinks that Goodyear and Burns were peers based on using antiquated jargon for tires.

Charlie Merz of the United States with his riding mechanic Harry Martin aboard the #2 Stutz Motor Company Stutz Bearcat racer during the third running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on 30 May 1913 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indianapolis, United States. (Photo by Topical Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images).

In season nine, episode 20 The Trouble With Trillions, Mr. Burns absconds to the airport with Homer and Waylon Smithers. Mr. Burns loyal assistant is behind the wheel of his boss maroon 1936 Stutz Bearcat.

The Bearcat was introduced in 1912 and was produced until 1924. It was right-hand drive, featured external .gearshift and brake levers, and had a 360ci 16-valve four-cylinder engine.There was a revival of the model in 1931and its run ended in 1934

At a price of $2,000 in 1914, $52,602 today, it was a luxury vehicle and would suit Mr. Burns. There is the slight issue that there isnt a 1936 Stutz Bearcat for Mr. Burns to own, but we have suspended reality in regards to his age and we can do the same with the year of his car.

At one time Mr. Burns had a drivers license issued by the Springfield DMV but it expired in 1909. Even if it hadnt expired with would been revoked or suspended after he ran over Bart in the shows second season. The matter went to trial and despite Mr. Burns obvious guilt in the matter the civil suit aspect was doomed by the Simpsons lawyer Lionel Hutz. The case was settled for nothing and we dont see Mr. Burns drive again for four-seasons.

In episode 17 of season seven Mr. Burns operates his own car but it seems that years of being chauffeured about has led him to forget how to drive.

Im sure the manual will indicate which lever is the velocitator and which the deceleratrix. Mr. Burns in Homer the Smithers.

A cursory search on Merriam-Webster indicates that neither velocitator or deceleratrix are words. But he conveys his point that he is not clear how modern cars operate and his not obeying traffic laws or common sense create havoc in downtown Springfield.

For the greater good of the community maybe its better that Smithers drives Mr. Burns around Springfield.

More:
Mr. Burns: Expired License To Drive - Art of Gears

What is epigenetics?

The word epigenetics is derived from the Greek word epi, meaning over or above, and in this case, over or above the genome. This area of research involves the study of how our behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way our genes work. Genes are made of a chemical called DNA.

Epigenetic changes are vital to normal biological functioning and can affect natural cycles of cellular death, renewal, and senescence. Different lifestyle and behavioral factors such as diet, sleep, exercise, smoking, and drinking alcohol can also affect the composition and location of the chemical groups that bind to our DNA. Environmental factors such as stress and trauma or even neighborhoods or zip codes may also have an impact.

As part of NIAs work to increase health span the part of a persons life during which he or she is generally in good health several NIA-funded researchers are accelerating understanding of these epigenetic markers and mechanisms of aging.

Payel Sen, Ph.D., a Stadtman investigator with the NIA Intramural Research Program, leads a team using epigenetic techniques to study the repair of aging or damaged cells. Her lab is currently focused on whether liver tissue and cells can be restored to a younger state to heal the damage from aging, disease, or injury.

The first step to better understanding epigenetics, Sen said, is understanding the intricate way long strands of DNA are packaged inside our cells. Inside the nuclei of cells from all living things, each of those tightly coiled, very long DNA strands contain a set of instructions to build that organism.

If you drew out the DNA that's wound up inside of just one cell nucleus, it would be six feet long, she added.

DNA inside the cell nucleus is highly organized and specifically structured, wound around proteins called histones, which are proteins found in cell nuclei that impact the packing and formation of DNA, into structures known as nucleosomes. Similar to clothespins arranged in intricate three-dimensional patterns on a winding clothesline, nucleosomes can be spaced tightly or far apart. Their spacing and organization is affected by exposure to various chemicals, both those that are found naturally inside our bodies as well as those that originate from our environment including food, drugs, and toxins.

As DNAs spacing and organization changes, different genes become accessible to other parts of our bodies genetic machinery that read genes and turn them on. This is called gene expression, which starts the process to create the proteins that are the building blocks of the cell activity and growth connected to that gene. Conversely, other chemicals in the body, especially compounds called methyl groups, at certain positions on histones, can alter the spacing and organization of genes. This, in effect, turns them off so they wont be read. This process is known as gene regulation.

A variety of other biological interactions are involved, but in general, epigenetics provides an additional layer of instructions that can affect where and when our genes are expressed that doesnt change the genetic code itself.

Our epigenetic processes are under exquisite control in our bodies, but they are also extremely influenced by the environment, Sen said. Lets say you go to the beach and you get exposed to a lot of ultraviolet rays. Certain regions of your skin cells genomes are going to react to that and produce byproducts that may not be good for our skin.

On the other hand, Sen points out that mild levels of environmental stress can be beneficial. Exercise, being exposed to changes in temperature by not just being in an air-conditioned room all the time, and so on, these kinds of things might make us more resilient, she added.

Epigenetics can also mark accurate chronological time versus biological time. Our chronological age is based on our birthdate, but biological age means the true age that our cells, tissues, and organ systems appear to be, based on biochemistry. Our epigenome is affected by our environment and experiences over time, similar to how rings on the inside of a tree can tell us the trees age and mark where it had encountered damage or stress.

Steve Horvath, Ph.D., Sc.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles, along with his twin brother and their friends and collaborators, have been interested in longevity since they were teenagers.

We were complete amateurs, but at some point, we realized that extending healthy lifespan is a prerequisite for addressing many other grand challenges of our civilization, Horvath said.

Horvath went on to discover an epigenetic clock that allows us to measure the age of all human tissues. Past models of biological versus chronological age were based on an analysis of telomeres. These are structures at the end of chromosomes that keep them from tangling with each other and play an important role in DNA replication during cell division.

Horvath zeroed in on a natural epigenetic process known as DNA methylation, through which methyl groups attach to cytosines, one of the four main building blocks of our genetic code. By studying changes and patterns in DNA methylation over time in various body tissues, he perfected a molecular clock. More recent human clocks have been developed as estimators of mortality risk. Horvath and his team have since analyzed the DNA methylation clocks from 174 different mammalian species, including exceptionally long-living animals such as the naked mole rats, bats, and bowhead whales. This work resulted in a universal biological aging clock for all mammalian species.

As Horvath has refined this work, it has informed projects seeking epigenetic mechanisms with therapeutic potential. He currently is participating in the expansion of a small, preliminary human study to see if a treatment to change the methylation of sites on ones DNA could help restore youthful function to the thymus gland. The goal is to prevent the natural age-related degradation of our immune systems ability to ward off disease and infection.

Like much of the epigenetic field, many obstacles remain for translating animal and cellular lab models to human trials, but the potential is intriguing. Horvath hopes that continued studies, and eventually, rigorous human trials, will someday unlock new ways to slow biologic aging and extend human lifespan.

Thats kind of the Holy Grail in my lab, to identify and validate anti-aging interventions, he said.

Multiple scientists are researching how to use epigenetics to help heal the body. Others seek to determine how physical or emotional scars from ones environment or early years, along with our lifestyle and habits, can affect our biological age and outcomes as we grow older.

For example, NIA-funded Researcher Morgan Levine, Ph.D., of the Yale University Department of Pathology, has made major strides in applying modern computational analysis to finding biomarkers that connect to differences between calendar and biological age. Biomarkers are signatures in the body that can help measure natural processes or disease, infections, or toxin exposure. Levine used a machine learning approach to find patterns in big longitudinal studies like the CDCs National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to identify a set of nine biomarkers that were accurate predictors of future disease risk, functioning, and mortality when combined with participants calendar ages.

A lot of times well define biological age in one dimension, but we know aging itself is multidimensional, so we want to better understand personal aging, not just the rate but the diversity of experiences, plus different risk factors based on lifestyle or background.

Levines research has shown evidence of big differences in healthy aging outcomes between socioeconomic groups. For example, accelerated aging among African Americans makes their biological age about three years greater than white peers of the same chronological age. We see huge disparities between racial and ethnic groups, Levine said. We dont think those are innate genetic differences but more about what different groups experience and encounter over their lives.

Terrie Moffitt, Ph.D., of Duke University, another NIA-supported researcher this field, studies how behavioral and social factors in early life may influence long-term differences in biological age, mortality, and health outcomes. Her team tracks early life adversity, chronic stress, childhood health, personality, and intelligence along with less measurable but vital puzzle pieces such as social connectedness, isolation, and a sense of purpose throughout our lives.

Moffitt and her team study data from longitudinal studies like New Zealands Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study that has been tracking and testing participants since the early 1970s. One study revealed a surprising factor connected to our biological age: intelligence levels measured earlier in life. Dunedin participants who had higher IQ test scores as children consistently had younger biological age measures as adults than fellow participants with lower childhood intelligence.

There are many possible explanations. It could be that kids with higher IQs grow up into adults who tend to have indoor, white collar jobs that are less physically taxing and require less exposure to the stressors, thus not accumulating years of extra biological age. Perhaps higher intelligence means a stronger family support network, access to resources, and an understanding of the importance of healthy diet and exercise.

But Moffitt sees the lifelong connection between aging rate and intelligence as a puzzle that needs further study. She says it could underscore the importance of working to close gaps in education, nutrition, and health care for at-risk children across the world.

There's the possibility that childhood intelligence is sort of like a canary in the coal mine, she said. The brain is our hungriest organ and uses the most resources of all the body. So, it could be that if there's anything wrong anywhere in the body with physical health, that it shows up first in the functions of the brain. So even though children often look pretty darn healthy, if you give them IQ tests you can find some variation that gives you a clue for who's going to end up aging fast or slow.

Multiple studies have shown that racial and ethnic minorities tend to have lower socioeconomic status and education levels, which tend to co-occur with higher levels of adversity, trauma, obesity, addiction, depression, and stress. These all need to be accounted for, along with biology, if we are truly going to get an accurate picture of human aging and the different rates at which we age, and the variations in resilience to obstacles. Research on these types of health disparities remain a strategic priority for NIA.

One of the most promising, Nobel Prize-winning epigenetic techniques uses a harmless virus to introduce special genes called Yamanaka factors (after the researcher who discovered them) to undo the epigenetic programming of mature cells. This process transforms the mature cells back into their younger stem cell form. Having those younger cells in place has been shown to regenerate some function lost to age, illness, or injury.

Recently, NIA-supported researchers led by David Sinclair, Ph.D., A.O., of Harvard University, also came up with a novel technique using Yamanaka factors in an experiment in lab mice that shows great promise for future paths toward treating age-related vision problems. Working in lab cell cultures, the team was able to reverse damage to vision-related neural cells and later made progress restoring some vision loss in a mouse model of glaucoma, a leading cause of age-related human blindness.

Yamanaka factors also feature prominently in the work of another NIA-supported researcher in this field, Thomas Rando, M.D., Ph.D., of Stanford University. Rando is working to uncover whether there is a way to keep our muscle cells young and vital. Another focus of his work is in identifying therapeutic interventions that may be able to mimic the natural benefits of diet and exercise.

We started pursuing this idea that aging is at least in part an epigenetic phenomenon and that the age of a cell can be modified and modulated, said Rando. We want to find out whats responding to these external stimuli at a molecular level thats actually making an old cell young. What is that reprogramming process and what is the state of young versus old?

Today, his team pursues research on combining Yamanaka factors with different body tissues to revitalize and repair them. Rando likens it to the popular comic book character Wolverine who has a mutation giving him a super-fast healing factor that regenerates injured tissue and protects him from toxins.

We see this in a movie, and we all say, Yeah right, but thats exactly what we do biologically, but we just do it more slowly, he said.

Rando hopes to someday find safe, effective techniques for stem cell-based, targeted treatments for everything from sports injuries to muscular dystrophy to broken hips. The idea is to get injured tissues or diseased organs to heal faster like they did in their younger days. While modern science is still very far away from such a proven intervention, Rando is optimistic. Say you break a bone. If youre 70 years old and break a bone, youd like to apply a therapy to make that bone heal like a 20- or 30-year-old, he said.

The science of epigenetics offers intriguing windows into how and why we age at different rates. It also holds both great promise and potential peril for unethical or inequitable use. While this field is growing fast, it is still evolving, and many of the technologies are still only used in animal models and have not yet been approved for humans. Be skeptical and cautious when considering any anti-aging interventions, especially if something seems too good to be true.

While its nice to imagine how epigenetics could someday be manipulated to heal or restore, common sense advice on healthy aging remains: eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, moderate unhealthy habits, and stay socially connected.

Thereve been a lot of books and movies about how people want to extend their lifespans through technology, but I think we're already there in a sense, through medical technology, whether its hip replacements, cataract surgery, or heart pumps that extend our years of life, Duke Universitys Moffitt surmised. But what we all would really like is to have a longer health expectancy: to still be healthy, active, happy and well into our golden years.

More here:
The epigenetics of aging: What the body's hands of time tell us - National Institute on Aging

An average vaccination rate isn't going to be enough for New York and New Jersey, where the COVID-19 infection rate is climbing. The former coronavirus hotspots are again the site of the highest rates of COVID-19 infection in the country, according to several trackers.

Both states top NPR's heat map, which shows the risk level of infection in each state: New York with an average of 9,709 new cases per day in the last week and New Jersey with 4,395 new cases per day, which is an 11 percent jump from last week. Transmission levels are high across the entire Garden State, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, while in New York community transmission is highest in the southeast region of the state, including New York City.

Our country is in a historic fight against the Coronavirus. Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

Despite being lauded for its response to the coronavirus pandemic in the fall, avoiding the surge in states that reopened more quickly, New Jersey saw a dramatic spike after reopening at the end of winter. The state is now pausing its reopening and expanding vaccine eligibility to restaurant workers as new variants are identified in the region.

In New York, the surge is not as deadly as it was last year, when the state was an epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, and has plateaued albeit at a relatively high rate of infection. Still, some are questioning the state's reopening plan.

"I ask the governor to stick to the science, trust the experts, and pause the planned reopenings now, before they take effect and more are infected," New York City's Public Advocate Jumaane Williams told The Associated Press.

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Original post:
This is now the worst US state for COVID-19 infections | TheHill - The Hill

Longevity for the Nevada man is projected to be 75.6 years, probably because we drink, smoke, gamble, and stay up 'til midnight howling at the moon. However, low as that number may be, it would be lower yet, were it not for saintly Nevada women who will be the saving of us.

Grandmother, mother, wife, friend, they are the bedrock that keeps a man's body & soul together, not to mention providing comfort and joy.

Truth be known, were it not for the steady hand that rocks us from cradle to grave, we men would have blown ourselves to kingdom come by now, mistakenly taking the sunnier sex along with us for the ride. No, it's the women folks who have the greatest capacity for love.

Only she can put a stop to internecine wars, for only when world powers are governed by women will we finally see warfare for what it is, the most grotesque of all embezzlements ever perpetuated by man.

When women finally rule we can say goodbye to genocide, jihads, crusades, and forever wars. A womans hand on the cradle of globalization is what our weary, worn-out world needs, and we need it right now today.

A tenacious pandemic along with an escalating climate crisis has temporarily focused our attentions more on saving lives than on threatening lives. For the first time in perhaps a hundred years the world has more heroes in the field of health than on the field of battle, and a good portion of those heroes are women.

Hunters have ruled and riled the world all along throughout the hoary halls of history, its time we give the gatherers a showing. Having already passed the longevity age for Nevada males myself, I will not be around to get to see the heaven-sent day, but the day will come when promoting general welfare and greater good will prevail, and it will be women who will usher in that all too belated and much welcomed day.

To my mind, there is nothing more reassuring than a goodhearted woman with lines in her face where the smiles have been, and a sparkle in her eye that hints of her eagerness to humor man into striving to be a better man, a kinder man, a more charitable man, with each passing day, month, and year. It's stirring, really, to know that this same goodhearted woman can take the reins of a country and usher that country into an age of world-wide reconciliation and goodwill.

Oh, and not to forget, we must remember to look out after our dear old mother, Mother Nature, along with our consanguineal mothers of course.

In closing I would leave you with an age old question, where would we be without women? Scarce, my friend, mighty scarce.

For more than 30 years, in over 4,000 performances, columnist and Chautauquan McAvoy Layne has been dedicated to preserving the wit and wisdom of The Wild Humorist of the Pacific Slope, Mark Twain. As Layne puts it: Its like being a Monday through Friday preacher, whose sermon, though not reverently pious, is fervently American.

Go here to see the original:
Pine Nuts with McAvoy Layne: They're goodhearted women and much more | Carson City Nevada News - Carson Now

For decades, if not longer in the U.S., theres been a prevailing notion that the decision to support the essential needs of our fellow human beings is a selfless act of charity.

We stuff shoeboxes, pluck angels from trees, donate cans, and deliver heaps of clothing to nonprofits, all largely rooted in the assumption that were doing something generousfor someone else.

But as we cope with the COVID-19 pandemica virus that started literally on the other side of the world and made its way into our homes in Northeast Indianamaybe its time we reexamine how connected we truly are to our fellow human beings, in our neighborhoods, in our cities, in our country, and around the world.

The pandemic has, in many ways, given us a visceral depiction of an often invisible reality that affects our communitys health, wellness, and economic vitality on a scale far grander than many of us realize.

We are all connected.

The actionsor inactionsof a few do affect the whole.

Sometimes, the effects are not immediate. Sometimes, the effects are not direct. But the underlying impact is usually there, lying dormant until something awakens it, like generations of suppressed pain and unaddressed wrongdoing fanned into a flame by a Minneapolis mans murder.

If the life of even one person does impact the wellbeing of the whole, then are selfless acts of charity truly selfless acts? Or is the decision to help another ultimately the decision to help ourselves, too, in the long run?

Welcome to the first story in Input Fort Waynes Solutions Series, made possible by support from United Way of Allen County, the NiSource Foundation, Brightpoint, and a host of other innovators in Northeast Indiana who believe in the power of human connectedness.

This 10-part, 10-month series will be exploring how our regional community is addressing its residents essential needs that have come to light during the pandemicfrom food to housing, childcare, mental health, and more. It will be zooming into the specific challenges facing certain segments of society, with the understanding that the challenges directly impacting SOME ultimately affect us ALL.

We are all more connected than we think, regardless of age, gender, religion, race, language, or political affiliation. And when any member of our community is being held back, we all suffer the consequences, in some form.

We hope you will join us for this exploration of the human condition in Northeast Indiana, starting with the challenges our nonprofit leaders are facing themselves during this turbulent time and the innovations they're developing.

***

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Turnstone Center in Fort Wayne was struggling to find sustainable ways to support its essential services and therapies for people with disabilities.

The nonprofit does not typically receive any government funding. Instead, its clients receive federal Medicare or Medicaid benefits to pay Turnstone for its services, more than of which are subsidized.

But theres a point where Medicare or Medicaid benefits are capped, and for Turnstones clientele, who frequent doctors and specialists, these caps on benefits are reached quickly.Rena Shown is Chief Development Officer for Turnstone Center.

Rena Shown, Chief Development Officer for Turnstone, points out that 66 percent of Turnstones clients are currently living 200 percent below the federal poverty line. So even on top of its subsided programs and clients federal benefits, the funding that reaches Turnstone is never enough to cover its cost of services.

Its only a small piece of the pie, Shown says.

What complicates matters is that Turnstones services for people with disabilities are not just nice to have, says Chief Marketing Technology Officer Stasha Carrasquillo. Theyre 'need to have.' If we stop providing these services to people with disabilities, they regress.

So historically, to make up for funding gaps, Turnstone has relied heavily on the generosity of Northeast Indiana donors, and donors have shown up. The nonprofit sources 60-70 percent of its annual budgetroughly $3.4-4 million dollars a yeardirectly from the Fort Wayne community in the form of grants, donations, foundation support, and corporate sponsorships.

The kicker is, even with these donations, Its just not enough, Carrasquillo says.Turnstone Center's Chief Marketing Technology Officer Stasha Carrasquillo.

Rates of givingwhile incredibly generous in Northeast Indianasimply arent keeping up with the rates of inflation in the U.S. or with the wages Turnstone needs to retain its staff of roughly 100 full-time and part-time employees. And that was all before the pandemic.

As budgets tighten, volunteers are restricted, and more organizations compete for a limited pool of relief dollars to meet Northeast Indianas essential needs, nonprofits like Turnstone, who have been paddling this lifeboat for years, are asking themselves some critical questions.

Why is the current system for meeting our communitys essential needs set up this way? How will the pandemic ultimately affect the system? And how can the system be improved?

There will always be a role philanthropy should play in caring for our fellow humans, but there are also serious funding gaps, and we cant overcome those gaps by relying on the kindness of peoples hearts, Carrasquillo says. There doesnt necessarily need to be more funding, but it needs to be structured better. It comes back to the fact that were providing services that are critical to the health of a community, literally and figuratively. And to be in a position where youre filling such a critical need and not having sustainable support from societyin whatever manner that looks likethats a really hard place to be. COVID-19 has highlighted that for us.

Sixty-six percent of Turnstones clients are currently living 200 percent below the federal poverty line.

Creating trust-based, relational models

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, it not only complicated the essential services many nonprofits provide, but also their annual fundraisers to support these services.

Thankfully, along with the support of local donors, many foundations in Fort Wayne moved quickly to create rapid response grants, allowing service providers to be nimble and direct dollars where needed.

In March 2020, the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, AWS Foundation, and Foellinger Foundation teamed up to create Emergency Relief Rapid Response mini-grants up to $5,000 each, which they deployed at their own funding capacities.

These grants,with fewer restrictions and less reporting required by nonprofits,helped organizations like Turnstone stay afloat during COVID-19. They also gave nonprofit leaders, like Carrasquillo, hope that the future of philanthropy might be more trust-oriented, allowing nonprofits to focus on their work rather than metrics and deadlines.

We talk a lot about empowering people at Turnstone, but theres something to be said for empowering nonprofits, too, Carrasquillo says. Trust nonprofits to do what they do and do it well, and youll free up their energies to focus on that.

Ed Kominowski, President/CEO, of Foellinger Foundation, says this concept is part of a larger trend in the philanthropic community, known as trust-based philanthropy, which has been getting attention during COVID-19.

At its core, trust-based philanthropy is about redistributing the power dynamics between foundations and nonprofits, rooted in the understanding that nonprofits are often deeply embedded in the communities they serve and intimately understand their needs without extensive oversight. It also acknowledges that inequities, like racism, classism, and patriarchy, can affect grantmaking, too.

Kominowski says that since the Foellinger Foundation wascreated in 1958 by Helene Foellinger, addressing inequities and taking a highly inclusive approach to grantmaking have been quintessential to its work. While he sees a growing interest in additional trust-based practices locally, the shift can come with complications for funders, too.

Whereas fewer restrictions and less reporting on grants can create a more equitable environment, these changes can complicate the ability of foundations and donors to understand what theyre supporting and why it matters.

As a private foundation, we are stewards and accountable for resources that have been entrusted to us to meet the needs of our community, Kominowski says. At times, that can create a tension between nonprofits, feeling like theyre always having to report back to us, and us, as funders, saying, We just need to understand what youre doing with the resources being provided. There are layers of value in reporting, however. Ive actually been thanked by nonprofit partners for reporting outcomes, as its helped them better tell their story to other potential funders and steward their own donors.

Ed Kominowski, President/CEO, of Foellinger Foundation.

Although Foellinger is streamlining its data requirements attached to grants, its also leaning more heavily into its relationships with nonprofit leaders in one-on-one visits and conversations.

Rather than asking them to write a report, were trying to walk in their shoes for a bit, Kominowski says.

DawnMartz, Director of Programs, says this shift was happening at Foellinger before the pandemic, and has been expedited with the help of tools, like Zoom, which connect funders with nonprofits virtually rather than requiring time-intensive office visits.

She sees these changes reducing the amount of paperwork involved in funding and improving funding relationships with greater understanding.

There still will be grant processes, but they will be more focused on learning and building relationships, she says.

Supporting the service providers

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, the U.S. Congress has passed four special appropriations laws for the federal government to use in relief efforts. The largest was the more than $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which includes assistance for individuals, businesses, and nonprofits.

However, while an influx of government funding can help nonprofits address societys most urgent challenges in some ways, it can also create obstacles for them in the process. Because federal funding is often allocated to go directly to people in need, it doesnt always provide nonprofits with enough administrative support to effectively administer the programs and services it creates.

This became the case for some Fort Wayne area nonprofits during COVID-19.As organizations received CARES Act funding, they sometimes found themselves needing to spend dollars by artificial deadlines without the infrastructure to do it effectively and strategically.Lutheran Social Services of Indiana (LSSI) President and CEO Angie Moellering.

At Lutheran Social Services of Indiana (LSSI), President and CEO Angie Moellering says the specific and sometimes narrow limits on federal funding is one reason LSSI has been extra thankful to its local donors and foundation partners during COVID-19 who have provided her staff with a lifeline of flexible, administrative support.

Having this operational support allows us to fill funding gaps and to stay with families in ways that create continuity and longevity, she says.

Under normal conditions, LSSI walks alongside Northeast Indiana families facing economic and stability challenges, helping them develop holistic, long-term life changes with services ranging from childcare to financial literacy lessons and employment assistance.

We see ourselves as always looking at what the community needs, what gaps exist, and how we can adapt our services to better meet needs, Moellering says.

In recent years, LSSI has taken an increasingly collaborative approach to this work, connecting with other organizations in Northeast Indiana to bridge gaps in the social services sector. Since the pandemic began and more people are in need of greater assistance, Moellering says these collaborations have helped LSSI and others create continuity so they arent duplicating efforts.

Its another way they see themselves walking alongside families during this time when information is confusing, and people arent sure where to turn for what they need.

At the onset of the pandemic, Development Coordinator Gillian Frazier was busy helping clients on LSSIs website navigate a myriad of supports and resources that changed day-by-day. She spearheaded the creation of guides, like a financial stability toolkit, to answer peoples' questions about loans and other complex situations that could end up costing them in the long-run.

Moellering says the goal of LSSIs work is to move away from responding to immediate challenges and to move toward preventing problems before they start. As such, she credits her staffs ability to maintain this approach throughout the pandemic, thinking strategically under pressure and meeting an ever-evolving list of needs, while also creating as much sustainability as possible for the future.

After all, when vaccines are administered and emergency funding is spent, the challenges people face at or below the poverty level in Allen County will persistand could increase.

It takes a heavy lift by staff not only to meet peoples immediate needs, but also to do it in a way that doesnt just kick the can down the road, but makes a longer-term impact, Moellering says. Our team has been running at very fast pace.

Lutheran Social Services walks alongside Northeast Indiana families facing economic and stability challenges, helping them develop holistic, long-term life changes.

Even so, as a nonprofit leader, she is also concerned about the ability of the nonprofit sector, as a whole, to retain talent in a post-pandemic world, amidst the threat of burnout and increasing competition for highly skilled workers.

We need to continue to attract, grow, and retain those who are effective leaders and work well with families, she says.

As a result, LSSI has been investing in support for its roughly 70-person staff throughout the pandemic, turning Frazier into an amateur video producer to send staff members encouragement and skill-building tips on a regular basis.

We found videos to be a good way to stay in contact with staff and to help them feel like theyre a part of the team during this time, Frazier says.

While some of LSSIs services have been able to go virtual, much of their work, like childcare and case management, still requires high-touch, Moellering says. As a result, her team has been encouraging staff members to find safe ways to keep caring for clients and to take time off as they can for well-deserved mental health breaks.

Were telling them: Do something restorative; do something that feeds you, Moellering says.

Revealing the nature and significance of service work

Retaining talent in the nonprofit sector and generating awareness about the economic importance of this sector is a concern shared by Steve Hoffman, President and CEO of Brightpoint.Steve Hoffman, President and CEO of Brightpoint.

For years, Hoffman has witnessed local residentseven leadersundervalue the critical role that human service organizations play in the fabric of society, calling them mere charity organizations.

He believes this mischaracterization is rooted in a lack of understanding about the nature of social inequities and the extent to which Fort Waynes most vulnerable residents impact the citys overall wellbeing and economic vitality.

Its something Matthew Purkey, President & CEO of United Way of Allen County and former active duty U.S. Marine, has witnessed, too.

In the Marines, where everyone is equally given boots, the popular onus to pull yourself up by your bootstraps truly depends on each individuals personal grit and stamina to rise to the challenge. But when applied to social issues, like rising out of poverty, this same command makes the false assumption that everyone has boots to begin with, Purkey points out.Matthew Purkey is President & CEO of United Way of Allen County and a former active duty U.S. Marine.

The way he sees it, nonprofits are not trying to give out boots so everyone can be pulled up.

We are simply trying to provide an equitable arena in which everyone has the opportunity to get their own boots, Purkey says.

In the process of leveling the playing field, so individuals can thrive by their own merit, nonprofits are essentially taking on the challenges that cities other sectorsthe government, business community, school districts, and healthcare providerseither cant or wont address.

And in Northeast Indiana, the nonprofit sector is the regions third-largest industry.

Yet, despite this critical mass and challenging work, nonprofits are frequently undervalued economically, Hoffman points out.

Ive been in meetings where Ive been specifically told by leaders in our community that nonprofits like Brightpoint are not a part of economic development, he says. Its kind of shocking to hear when were a major employer, a major revenue generator, and there are a lot of people were moving toward economic self-sufficiency.

Hoffman says local residents are often surprised to learn how many clients Brightpoint serves on a daily basis via calls, texts, emails, and on-site visitsand during the pandemic, this number has grown exponentially.

People typically know that Indianas 2-1-1 service line gets a lot of phone calls, Hoffman says. We get more calls a day than 2-1-1.

With this knowledge in mind, Hoffman helped found the Alliance for Human Services even before the pandemic in 2018. The Alliance is a group of about 50 local service organizations generating economic growth and resilience in the community. They meet monthly to collaborate, offer support, and develop a united voice in Fort Wayne to educate the public about why their work is important, from an economic standpoint.

Hoffman says in his 22 years in the social service sector, hes never witnessed a challenge like the COVID-19 pandemic that area nonprofits are rallying to withstand. But hes hopeful this extreme experience will wake up residents to the essential role nonprofits play in the local economyand remind them that this role does not diminish once vaccines are administered. It just takes different forms.I want nonprofits and social service agencies to be respected, Hoffman says. I dont think people view it that way enough. They see us as do-gooders, or we help people, but people should really pick themselves up by their bootstraps, and poor people dont impact my life. Thats not the case. If we have a poverty issue in our community, thats bad for the economy; thats bad for all of usnot just bad for some families.

Going digital years ahead of schedule

While COVID-19 hasnt benefitted nonprofits in many tangible ways yet, Shown says one silver lining her team is seeing at Turnstone is finding new, socially distant and virtual ways to deliver their services, which could save them and their clients time, money, and energy in the future.

At the onset of the pandemic, Turnstone received emergency relief funding from the AWS Foundation to outfit their staff with laptops and technology to go digital essentially overnight. They also received funding for PPE and technology from United Way.

I feel like, in some ways, COVID has really brought us into the 21st century, Shown says, noting that Turnstone had planned to digitize some of its services two or three years down the road, but was able to expedite the process.

Turnstone Center is located at 3320 N. Clinton St.

Along with going virtual by necessity during the pandemic, the transition has also helped Turnstone better meet the needs of some of its clientele who have transportation challenges, scheduling challenges, gas money challenges, or simply prefer virtual environments, Carrasquillo says.

Looking to the future, she sees Turnstones new model benefitting from this highly adaptive and personalized approach.

Some clients need to be in-person, but keeping that virtual option open to them will be important in meeting them where theyre at and giving them options of how to best receive support, she says.

Its this highly personalized, hybrid method of meeting the community where theyre at that is part of a growing shift among Fort Wayne nonprofits likely to continue in the post-pandemic world.

Meeting the community where they are

As residents across Allen County prepare for vaccinations, an end to mask mandates, and the ever-promised new normal, nonprofit leaders like Melissa Rinehart, Executive Director ofWellspring Interfaith Social Services, remain largely immersed in the chaos of COVID-19.Executive Director of Wellspring Social Services Melissa Rinehart.

Wellspring serves youth and adults across Allen County with a variety of needs from food and clothing, to opportunities for educational advancement and socialization from itstwo locations at 1316 Broadway. During the pandemic, food is the most urgent essential need it is meeting.

Were still going like gangbusters, and its just getting worse, Rinehart says.

Since its founding, Wellspring has traditionally expected residents to come to them for resources, like food. But COVID-19s limitations on public gatherings have changed their highly centralized model.

Weve had to pivot, to go to the where the needs are, instead of having people come to us, Rinehart says.

Wellspring serves youth and adults alike with everything from food and clothing, to opportunities for educational advancement and socialization.

Since she became director of Wellspring in March 2019, Rinehart has been interested in mobilizing the nonprofits food pantry and clothing shop to reach more residents. As the creator of Welcoming Fort Wayne, which serves the areas immigrant community, she is acutely aware of just how much need there is in the city among people who have transportation challenges.

So over the years, shes developed community partnerships to extend the nonprofits impact. In August 2019, she led an initiative to take Wellspring's mobile food pantry to Autumn Woods Apartments, where many immigrants and refugees live.

When the pandemic began, Wellspring took this effort a step further by turning its Broadway location into a drive-through only model and doubling down on its mobile food pantry, setting up shop in multiple locations throughout the Fort Wayne area every Tuesday and Thursday.

By going mobile, weve doubled the number of people we normally serve in the last year, Rinehart says.

Go here to see the original:
Fort Wayne funders and nonprofits share innovations in 'essential' systems during COVID-19 - inputfortwayne.com

Edge computing and the cloud are friends when it comes to autonomous vehicles.

Cats versus dogs.

Wrong!

Instead of saying cats versus dogs, it would be better to emphasize cats and dogs.

Anyone that has watched online videos about cats and dogs would certainly see that these two beloved animals can get along. There is nothing more endearing than to see an excitable dog and an effervescent cat that opt to play together, plus sharing a hard-earned nap side-by-side, and otherwise relishing jointly their coexistence on this planet.

Yes, they can coexist and even become BFFs (best friends forever).

What tends to tear them apart in non-domesticated settings amid the wilds of nature involves the bitter fight for survival and having to battle over scarce food that they both are seeking desperately to obtain. One can certainly understand how being pitted against each other for barebones survival purposes might get them into fierce duals when keystone nourishment is on the line.

Some distinctive animalistic behavioral differences enter into the picture too. For example, dogs delight in chasing after things, and thus they are prone to chasing after a cat that they might perchance spy and seek to play with. Cats arent necessarily aware that the dog is giving chase for fun and are apt to therefore react as though the pursuit is nefarious.

Another aspect of a notable difference is that dogs tend to wag their tails when they are happy, while cats usually whisk their tails when they are upset. From a dogs perspective, the cats tail wagging might seem like a friendly gesture and an indication that all is well. From a cats perspective, the dogs tail whipping back-and-forth might be interpreted as a sign of an angry beast that ought to be avoided. In that sense, you could conjecture that the difficulty of having cats and dogs get along is based on everyday miscommunication and misunderstanding of each other.

Why all this discussion about cats and dogs?

Because there is another realm in which there is a somewhat false or at least misleading portrayal of two disparate entities that supposedly dont get along and ergo must be unpleasant adversaries. Im talking about edge computing and the cloud.

Some pundits claim that it is edge computing versus the cloud.

Wrong again!

The more sensible way to phrase things entails striking out the versus and declaring edge computing and the cloud (for those of you that prefer that the cloud get first billing, it is equally stated as the cloud and edge computing; you are welcome to choose whichever order seems most palatable to you).

The point is that they too can be BFFs.

Lets consider a particular context to illustrate how edge computing and the cloud can work together hand-in-hand, namely within the realm of autonomous vehicles (AVs).

As avid readers of my column are aware, Ive emphasized that we are on the cusp of some quite exciting days ahead for the advent of autonomous vehicles (see my coverage at this link here). There is a grand convergence taking place that involves high-tech advances, especially in the AI arena, along with continued miniaturization of electronics and the ongoing cost reduction of computing that is inexorably making AI-based driving systems efficacious.

When I refer to autonomous vehicles, you can generally interchange the AV moniker with a reference to self-driving, which is the somewhat informalized and less academic-sounding way to describe these matters. There are autonomous cars, autonomous trucks, autonomous drones, autonomous submersibles, autonomous planes, autonomous ships, and so on that are gradually being crafted and put into use. You can readily recast this by saying there are self-driving cars, self-driving trucks, self-driving drones, self-driving submersibles, self-driving planes, and self-driving ships, rather than using the AV naming.

A rose by any other name is still a rose.

For this discussion about the cloud and edge computing, it will be easiest to perhaps focus on self-driving cars, though you can easily extrapolate the remarks to apply to any of the other self-driving or autonomous vehicle types too.

How does the cloud pertain to self-driving cars?

Thats a straightforward question and an equally straightforward answer (for my detailed rendition, see the link here).

Via the use of OTA (Over-The-Air) electronic communications, it is possible and extremely useful to push new software updates and patches into the on-board AI driving system of a self-driving car from the cloud. This remote access capability makes the effort to quickly apply the latest software an enormous breeze, rather than having to take the vehicle to a dealership or car shop and physically have the changes enacted.

OTA also provides for uploading data from the on-board systems up into the cloud. Self-driving vehicles have a slew of sensors that are used to detect the surroundings and figure out where to drive. In the case of self-driving cars, this oftentimes includes video cameras, radar, LIDAR, ultrasonic units, and the like. The data collected can be stored within the vehicle and can also be transmitted up into the cloud of the fleet operator or automaker.

You hopefully have a quick gist now of what the cloud and self-driving cars have in common.

Next, consider the nature of edge computing and how it applies to self-driving cars.

Edge computing refers to the use of computer-based systems that are placed at the edge or near to the point at which a computing capability is potentially needed (see my indication at this link here). For roadway infrastructure, there is earnest interest in putting edge computing devices along our major highways and byways. The notion is that this computing facility would be able to keep track of the nearby roadway status and electronically signify what the status is.

Imagine that you are driving along on a long and winding road (hey, thats something worthy of making a song about). You are dutifully keeping your eyes on the highway and are trying to drive with abundant care and attention. Unbeknownst to you though is that there is some debris about a mile up ahead, sitting smackdab in the middle of your lane.

Without getting any kind of precautionary alert, you are bound to unexpectedly come upon the debris and react impulsively. Perhaps you swerve to avoid the debris, though this veering action might cause you to lose control of the vehicle, or maybe you slam head-on into traffic coming in the other direction. Had you been tipped beforehand about the debris you could have prepared to cope with the situation.

Assume that an edge computing device has been placed along that stretch of road. The edge computer has been getting info about the roadway and accordingly taking action. Upon getting notified about the roadway debris, the edge computer has contacted the local authorities and requested that a roadway service provider come out and remove the debris. Meanwhile, this edge computing device is also acting as a kind of lighthouse beacon, sending out an electronic message to alert any upcoming traffic about the debris.

A car that was equipped with a receiver that could read the edge computer emitted signals could let a human driver know that there is debris up ahead. In the case of a self-driving car, the AI driving system would be receiving the signal and opt to plan the driving task to deal with the soon to be reached debris.

There are major efforts underway to develop and deploy V2I (vehicle-to-infrastructure) capabilities that would undertake the kind of activities that Ive just depicted (for more on this, see my coverage at this link here). We will eventually have traffic signals that are more than simply light-emitting red-yellow-green lanterns. You can expect that traffic signals will be packed with computing capabilities and be able to perform a host of traffic control tasks. The same can be said for nearly all types of roadway signs and control features. The speed limit can be conveyed electronically, in addition to being shown on a signboard.

Since we are discussing V2I, it is worthwhile to also mention V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) electronic communications.

Cars will be equipped to send messages to other nearby cars via V2V. Returning to the debris scenario, suppose a car came upon the debris and no one else had yet encountered the obstruction. This first car to do so could transmit an electronic message to alert other nearby cars to be wary of the debris. Other cars that are within the vicinity would presumably pick-up the electronic message and then warn the driver of the vehicle accordingly.

One aspect of V2V that comes into question is the longevity of such messages. If there is a bunch of car traffic, they would all be sharing about the debris. On the other hand, if the first car to encounter the debris sends out a message, but there isnt any other nearby traffic, this implies that the debris warning wont be hanging around and able to forewarn others. A car that perchance comes along an hour later on this perhaps somewhat deserted highway will not be within range of the other car and therefore not get the helpful warning.

This is a key point in favor of edge computing as an augmentation to V2V (or, in lieu of V2V if not otherwise available).

An edge computing device could be stationed along a roadway and be scanning the V2V messaging.

By examining the V2V crosstalk, the edge device opts to start beaconing that there is debris on the road up ahead. This now allows for greater longevity of the messaging. Even after that first car is long gone and much further away, the edge computer can continue to make any additional traffic aware of the situation. Note that it is also possible that the car finding the debris might have done a direct V2I to the edge device, in which case thats another means for the edge computer to discover what the status of the roadway is.

Time for a twist in the tale.

I mentioned earlier that some are suggesting that edge computing and the cloud are at logger's heads with each other. You might be puzzled as to how cloud computing and edge computing are rivals when it comes to the self-driving car setting that Ive described (they arent, but some are claiming that they are).

Heres the (vacuous) assertion.

Those pundits are claiming that the time lag of the cloud versus edge computing means that the cloud is unsuitable for self-driving cars, while edge computing is suitable since it is a lessened latency (by-and-large) for electronically communicating with those in-motion self-driving vehicles.

We can unpack that contention and reveal that it is invalid overall.

First, it will be useful to clarify the difference between autonomous vehicles and semi-autonomous vehicles.

Understanding The Levels Of Self-Driving

As a clarification, true self-driving cars are ones that the AI drives the car entirely on its own and there isnt any human assistance during the driving task.

These driverless vehicles are considered Level 4 and Level 5, while a car that requires a human driver to co-share the driving effort is usually considered at Level 2 or Level 3. The cars that co-share the driving task are described as being semi-autonomous, and typically contain a variety of automated add-ons that are referred to as ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems).

There is not yet a true self-driving car at Level 5, which we dont yet even know if this will be possible to achieve, and nor how long it will take to get there.

Meanwhile, the Level 4 efforts are gradually trying to get some traction by undergoing very narrow and selective public roadway trials, though there is controversy over whether this testing should be allowed per se (we are all life-or-death guinea pigs in an experiment taking place on our highways and byways, some contend).

Since semi-autonomous cars require a human driver, the adoption of those types of cars wont be markedly different than driving conventional vehicles, so theres not much new per se to cover about them on this topic (though, as youll see in a moment, the points next made are generally applicable).

For semi-autonomous cars, it is important that the public needs to be forewarned about a disturbing aspect thats been arising lately, namely that despite those human drivers that keep posting videos of themselves falling asleep at the wheel of a Level 2 or Level 3 car, we all need to avoid being misled into believing that the driver can take away their attention from the driving task while driving a semi-autonomous car.

You are the responsible party for the driving actions of the vehicle, regardless of how much automation might be tossed into a Level 2 or Level 3.

For Level 4 and Level 5 true self-driving vehicles, there wont be a human driver involved in the driving task. All occupants will be passengers. The AI is doing the driving.

Delving Into Edge Computing And The Cloud

Returning to the point made about the claimed slowness of cloud access in contrast to edge computing access, youll see in a moment that this is a generally legitimate distinction but that it is being misapplied and used in a misguided or misleading manner.

As an aside, there are obviously instances whereby the access to a conventional cloud could be slower than access to an edge device (all else being equal, we might expect this), but there are also instances whereby the cloud access might be faster (though, likely rarer, depending upon numerous technological assumptions).

Anyway, do not be distracted by the ploy about the access timing. It is like one of those infamous card tricks or hat tricks, getting you to look elsewhere and not keeping your eye on the ball. The trickery involves an allusion to the idea that an autonomous car is going to be taking active driving instructions from either the cloud or edge computing. To this, I say hogwash. Admittedly, some are pursuing such an approach, but Ive previously and extensively argued this is a dubious avenue (see my exhortations at this link here).

Heres what I mean.

Consider for a moment the role of a human driver when approaching the earlier depicted scenario about debris being in the roadway. A human driver might receive a message, however so received, whether by text message, phone call, etc., letting them know that there is debris up ahead. The human driver then decides to perhaps slow down, getting ready to potentially come to a stop. Upon reaching the debris, the human driver opts to veer into the emergency lane to the right of the roadway, undertaking a means to deftly drive around the roadway debris.

Notice that the driving actions were entirely performed by the human driver. Even if a text message might have said to slow down and get ready to aim to the right of the debris, nonetheless the final choice of how to drive the car was on the shoulders of the driver. They merely received hints, tips, suggestions, or whatever you want to call it. In the end, the driver is the driver.

The reason for covering that seemingly apparent aspect of the driver being the driver is that (in my view) the AI driving system has to be the driver being the driver and not be driven via some remote outside-the-car entity.

If messages are coming from the edge device about what to do, the AI driving system is still on-its-own, as it were, needing to ascertain what to have the driving controls undertake. The same thing applies to any communications with the cloud. The AI driving system, despite whatever the cloud might be informing the vehicle, should still be the driver and undertaking the driving task.

I think you can see why latency would be a crucial matter if the AI driving system was dependent upon an external entity to actually drive the controls of the vehicle. Just imagine that a self-driving car is moving along at say 75 miles per hour, and there is an external entity or being that is controlling the driving (such as a human remote operator). All it takes is for a split-second delay or disruption in the communications, and a calamity could readily result.

Okay, so if the AI driving system is the driver, this also implies that the latency from the edge computing or the cloud should not make a demonstrative difference per se. Just as a human driver cannot assume that something external to the car is always available and always reliable, the driving aspects have to be dealt with by the on-board AI driving system and do so regardless of available externally augmented info.

In the roadway debris example, suppose that there is an edge computing device nearby that logged an indication about the debris, and accordingly is beaconing out an electronic warning. A car is coming along. In a perfect world, the beacon signal is detected and the driver is forewarned.

In the real world, perhaps the beacon is faltering that day and not sending out a solid signal. Maybe the edge device is broken and not working. Furthermore and alternatively, whatever device on the car that picks up the signal might be faulty. And so on.

As long as the AI driving system considers such connections as supplemental, there is not a glaring issue per se, since the AI is presumably going to cope with the debris upon directly detecting the matter. Sure, we would prefer that a heads-up be provided, but the point is that the heads-up is not essential or an incontrovertible requirement to the driving task.

Some might misinterpret this point as though I am suggesting that there should not be any such external information being provided, which is not at all what I am saying. Generally, the more the merrier in terms of providing relevant and timely info to a driver. The key is that the driver, even without such info, must still be able to drive the car.

Conclusion

The use of edge computing and the use of the cloud for self-driving vehicles is decidedly not one of a win-lose affair, and instead ought to be considered a win-win synergy. Unfortunately, it seems that some feel compelled to pit the advent of edge computing and the advent of the cloud against each other, as though these two have to be acrimonious enemies. Use the edge, dont use the cloud, because of the claimed latency aspects, these pundits exclaim.

They are making a mishmash that doesnt hold water in this context.

One might (generously) excuse their misguided viewpoint as being similar to misunderstanding the wagging of the tail of a dog and the whisking of the tail of a cat. In any case, trying to rile up a sensible and peaceful coexistence into a seemingly adverse battle or struggle of one over the other is not particularly productive.

A last thought for the moment on this topic.

The remaining and beguiling question is whether the somewhat analogous example entailing the dogs and cats means that the cloud is the dog and the edge computing is the cat, or perhaps the dog is the edge computing and the cat is the cloud. Ill ask my beloved pet dog and cat what they say, and maybe let them duke it out to decide.

Well, then again, I know that will likely take things in stride, gently nudging upon each other as they mull over this thorny question, and they are likely to arrive at an answer that they both find delightful. Thats just how they are.

See the article here:
Edge Computing And The Cloud Are Perfect Pairing For Autonomous Vehicles - Forbes

What's next? (Sculpture from Dakar's Museum of Black Civilizations)

Michael and Linda decided back in their 40s that theyd like to work together in retirement. Clive doesnt even entertain the r word let alone the concept. Helga knows she has done her most impactful work in her 70s, after the earlier work-family juggle familiar to many women. Jonathan suddenly got laid off after decades with the same company and began accumulating a portfolio of occupations like pearls illuminating his values and wide-ranging passions. Deborah left behind the pursuit of profit and a lifetime in entrepreneurship for the pursuit of purpose, accompanying hundreds through a sageing process for later life. All are redefining how we live our third ages the September of our lives.

Increasing longevity has gifted humans with extra decades of healthy and active life. Companies and countries have not yet caught up with the consequences nor have most people. We still approach our 60s thinking about retirement, or are pushed into it by ageist employers, a phenomenon which accelerated dramatically during the covid crisis. Yet we are likely to have healthy decades yet to live. Careers are stretching from 30-year sprints to 50-year marathons, but most of us arent training for the long haul. We arent even thinking about it. A growing body of research is starting to show that inactivity is not only bad for our stretched and under-funded pension systems; turns out its bad for humans too.

While lifespans have expanded, mindsets have not kept up. Long lives require a rethink and a roadmap for transitioning gracefully through entirely new phases from millennials to perennials. Longevity will impact the young as much as the old as it redraws the very shape of what careers and lives will morph into and how to pace yourself across perhaps ten decades. The second third of life may one day be seen as the building block for the third our late work. Or what some summarise as the shift from roles to souls. At its best, this autumn season of life brings an extraordinary freedom to re(define) the narrative of lives and legacies. Yet many people experience it more as a shocking tumble into a phase of life they have not thought about and for which they are sorely unprepared.

There are a flurry of emerging concepts, from encore careers and un-retirement to the age of no retirement, but no real playbooks yet. Most of the people attending The Midlife Rethink workshops I run admit they have few role models for positive, purposeful maturity. Many of us are marked by how our own parents, some of whom were taken aback by their own, often unexpected, longevity (mis)managed it. There are many examples, and mountains of guilt, multiplied a thousandfold by the pandemic, of nightmare endings. Age has for too long been a negative. Weve internalised these messages in a strange form of collective self-harm. We all age. Too many of us still hate the idea.

The opposite is also on offer. A growing number of books present idealistic dreams of an army of wise elders who will rise up to save humanity from itself. That through mindfulness and meditation we will become mature adults, able to resist the loneliness of capitalisms care homes, reverse the breakdown of family structures, and fight inequality and climate change with grey-haired grandparents and inner serenity.

It sounds appealing, but Ive been looking for a modest middle ground. On the cusp of 60 myself, I am wondering how to design my own late work and have been interviewing people who seem to hold some part of the answer I am seeking. They are alive, engaged and vibrant. They are an inspiration, offering insights into alternative roadmaps for our collective ageing adventure. They come in all shapes, cultures and backgrounds. They share an energy I can only call joy.

There is a veritable explosion of models of how and what people do in late work. But it is generally a million miles from a model of retirement dedicated to recreation. Golf and cruises dont fill decades. And the loneliness of irrelevance can be far more brutal than we suspected when still locked in unsatisfying jobs. Here are some of the models Ive heard described (feel free to reach out with alternatives).

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox

There are obviously overlaps between them. They are offered here less to categorise than to start a conversation.

Transitioning Mechanisms

Transitioning consciously (rather than just stumbling oldwards) towards the second half of life may require taking some time to mine the first half for its lessons and treasures. You have to do the inner work the sages of all cultures, faiths and traditions advise. How, where and when people will do this is now the big question. You can find lots of financial advisors who will help you with your pension planning. Harder to find people and organisations devoted to helping you find your place and purpose in an ageist world.

They will come. Educational institutions could play a big role and are just starting to talk about what it might be. They may want to contemplate a subscription model suggests Sri Reddy, SVP Retirement and Income Solutions at Principal. You sign up in your 20s and your annual membership is geared to lifelong learning and regular re-invention (and perhaps your degree expires if you dont update it, like any professional certification). They urgently need to develop what Chip Conley calls long life learning which builds communities as much as content. He has done that with his Modern Elder Academy designing programs aimed at fostering communities of midlife peers who cultivate, harvest, and share wisdom with one another.

Companies and countries have a role to play, but Ill reserve that for future columns. They are just starting to awaken to the implications of one of the most dramatic demographic shifts in our human history. There is huge diversity and inequality in their stories. The gap in life expectancy between the well off and worst-off men in the US is an astronomical 15 years. A first major Global Report on Ageism has just been published by the World Health Organisation and a working group bringing together a cross-sectoral group of stakeholders at the World Economic Forum is focusing on Redesigning Retirement for financial wellness.

For the moment, its individuals who are moving first. A groundswell of change agents are rethinking, re-creating and re-designing late work for themselves, nudging the institutions to follow. The stories of these individual efforts are as yet little known and little told. But watch this space. Learning how to age well will become a key 21st century skill. It may also be an adventure, a calling or a revelation. Up to you.

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Late Work: From Recreation To Re-Creation - Forbes

A 'Thank You' letter to our pets

Every day of the year we are thankful for our furry and fishy friends for being the best pets.

Animalkind, USA TODAY

Dogs and cats of Austin, this pandemic has been hard on you, too. Your humans came home and are there all the time. Now you don't know what to do without them and are experiencing separation anxiety.

You also are spending hours of the day watching Netflix with your humans, who give you attention withsnacks multiple times a day. Often, they're giving you human food like peanut butter or high-calorie packaged snacks.

When they are hard at work in their makeshift offices, theyfeel bad that you're just hanging out looking bored or sleeping(but they don't know that when they were gonein the pre-coronavirus days, that's just what you did all day). They feel guilty, and so they give you another treat.

Now, just like your humans, you've put on someCOVID-19 pounds or ounces (depending on your size).

At your yearly doctor visit, they're going to make you get on the scale. The truth of your weight gain and all those excess treats will be unavoidable.

A conversation will take place and all those fun extra treats will need to go away.

You're not alone.

Pets during COVID-19: During pandemic, your new dog has missed out on socializing

Dr. Emily McCann of Firehouse Animal Health Center in Kyle says she's seeing a lot of cats and dogs come in with weight gain lately because of those multiple, high-calorie snacks.

Instead of using snacks as forms of attention, she says, humans should pay attention to what they are feeding their pets, how much they are feeding and what activities they are offering their pets.

Here are some recommendations for helping pets get to or maintain a healthy weight:

Pets during the pandemic: Could your pet carry coronavirus?

Dogs and cats should have an hourglass figure when humans look down at them from above; from the side, you should see a tuck up from the chest to the abdomen.

Most dogs or cats can lose a 1/4 pound to 1/2 pound a week with some modifications to their food intake and exercise.

Like humans, pets who areat a healthy weight have better heart health, life longevity and joints. Dogs also avoidthings like pancreatitis, which canplague dogs around the holidays when humans give them too much fatty food.

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Another sign of the COVID-19 pandemic: Our overweight pets and how to help them lose weight - austin360