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Sunday, July 29, 2012
Wit and Wisdom of an Engineer: Field Force Data Visualization ...
Additional information relating to the previous blog - -
EPRI
3412 Hillview Ave.
Palo Alto, CA, 94304
USA
Press release date: June 14, 2012
Background Utilities struggle with inaccurate data, lack of standards and vendor "lock-in," which can prevent the cost effective use of their technology investment. Data exists in disparate systems, inaccessible to both the operations center and field personnel. Mobile computer power is wasted displaying out-of-date or irrelevant data. Often, data is not used because it is not available in the vendor specific software that is loaded on the mobile computing device. In short, the investment made in IT by utilities has yet to reach its full potential.
As utilities begin to integrate systems that previously operated with little or no data interconnection, it becomes easier to link together related data. Creating access to that data in a visual way could be of significant benefit to utilities. A standards based IT architecture is needed for the visualization of data and the use of visual data in the decision making process. This can result in the creation of powerful diagnostic and management tools that can utilize interconnected data and make it accessible to utility professionals to better understand the network and the context of any unexpected behavior.
Industry Opportunity Emerging technologies in the mobile computing field could be used to create a mobile integrated data access platform. One such emerging technology that exists in other industries is augmented reality. Augmented reality is believed to have been coined in 1990 by Thomas Caudell, who worked at Boeing, and is a combination of computer generated elements such as geospatial data, sensory input, video and other graphics that are overlaid on a direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment. The reality that is displayed to the user by a device has additional context aware information added (or augmented) to it. Augmenting reality is a way to enhance the user's current perception of reality. A familiar example of augmented reality is superimposing the line of scrimmage and the 10 yard line-to-gain colored lines that are now commonly displayed during televised football games in the United States.
Developing New Technology The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is developing data visualization technology for the utility engineering and operations professionals. Using tablet and smart phone technologies, real-time data from the internal magnetometer and 3-axis gyroscopic are combined to stabilize and provide a more accurate "compass" when a user points the mobile device at distribution pole or at transmission and distribution conductors. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Common Information Model (CIM) messages serve to locate and retrieve segmented GIS data from a utility GIS database and the device renders the GIS data segments on screen as a map information overlay from the camera image. An example of this would be seeing a pole structure symbol through the camera while the screen displays the camera image with the one line circuit drawing overlaid.
This data serves as an overlay on live camera images that incorporates the data from multiple sources and wraps the information into a picture of real images and enhanced data overlays. This augmented live camera data can serve to present data overlays such as the maintenance history of a power line device, fault location data, asset ID information, and outage management information in a concise form at the specific location. Data can be hidden or displayed on screen as needed. The rendered information links to other systems in the utility back office such as the outage management system (OMS), work management system, asset management system, document management system and other systems and databases. By utilizing the touch screen capabilities of the tablet platform, actions may be performed that link the user in the field to the capabilities in the back office via further CIM messaging.
Illustrating How This Technology Can Be Applied To illustrate how this can work, consider an engineer or technician working in the field that has been assigned to assess the condition and performance of distribution assests in a specific neighborhood. Upon arriving at a location, the GIS and magnetometer (compass) built into a tablet would identify the location and by holding up the tablet, would allow them to see in real-time a video of the area with data overlays on the view and a single line diagram and on the map. Using this interface this person could navigate through all the data for a transformer or switching device, identify its location in the GIS and a single-line; be shown the down-stream circuit on a map, query into its asset history, maintenance history, manufacturer information and catalogue. They could also query as to the state of a switch, execute a switching order, display maintenance procedures, identify premises with outages, automatically tag devices, create work orders, etc. This could all be possible with a properly integrated data environment and accurate GIS data.
The mobile device would use its computational power to render segments of the GIS data base much the same way as games do today. These segments of the GIS database can be sent wirelessly or held in local mobile device memory for image rendering. High speed wireless data coupled with CIM commands allow a variety of database information to be interfaced for a fast, seamless visualization of the data on the mobile device. Evolving technology advances already allow higher wireless data transmission speeds for communication to mobile devices. These technologies, coupled with the rapid development of mobile device capabilities will largely overcome the obstacles that have plagued mobile computing in the past: inferior performances (CPU, memory), connectivity (latency, bandwidth, reliability) and usability (small screen, uncomfortable input controls).
As a first step in bringing this technology to reality in utility environments, EPRI is developing a field force data visualization tool on an iOS based device (such as an iPad or iPhone) which utilizes the Common Information Model (CIM) for messaging. The advantages of such a platform include: ? Cost - this platform can be considerably cheaper than a tough-book style laptop. ? Simplicity - upgrades to iOS devices are simple and can be done in the field. ? Communication - iOS devices typically switch from Wi-Fi to cellular communications and back without issue. ? Cloud data and computing capabilities - large amounts of data could be securely transferred directly between devices even over large geographic distances.
Potential for the Industry The impact of this technology on utility field operations could be significant. The cost of automating field operations could be greatly reduced because even when ruggedized, the tablet platform would still be substantially less costly than traditional ruggedized laptops. Operational costs could be reduced because the application on the tablet would replace a number of seat licenses for the individual applications that are currently needed. Finally, operational efficiencies could be increased as work such as maintenance, switching, design, storm damage and outage restoration workflows would be performed from a common platform that would link the correct data with the correct systems.
About EPRI The Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI, www.epri.com) conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery and use of electricity for the benefit of the public. An independent, nonprofit organization, EPRI brings together its scientists and engineers as well as experts from academia and industry to help address challenges in electricity, including reliability, efficiency, health, safety and the environment. EPRI's members represent more than 90 percent of the electricity generated and delivered in the United States, and international participation extends to 40 countries. EPRI's principal offices and laboratories are located in Palo Alto, Calif.; Charlotte, N.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Lenox, Mass.
Contacts: Don Kintner Communications Manager 704-595-2506 dkintner@epri.com
Source: http://witandwisdomofanengineer.blogspot.com/2012/07/field-force-data-visualization-continued.html
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Saturday, July 28, 2012
Plastic Surgery Can Help Improve the Way You Feel
With everyone placing so much importance on looking attractive, sexy and better than the next person, it can make being yourself and comfortable with the looks you were born with very hard to do. Think about it, who wants to go around feeling inadequate, unhappy and with low self-esteem since they are not secure in their appearance. Thanks to plastic surgery, there is no need to spend the rest of your life feeling ashamed of any part of your body. You can change any part of your body and look like a celebrity in your own right. You don?t have to become a brand new person; by altering your appearance you can simply take on a new personality that shows just how confident and secure you feel about your new looks.
Plastic surgery is not new; it has been around for several decades. In the earliest of times, there were crude forms of skin repairs and transformations. Although the methods and materials have evolved to make it a much safer field, the goal remains the same. Now that technology has also made plastic surgery much easier to perform and it requires a lot less time with fewer risks, anyone who is interested can have a procedure or two to change their looks until they are satisfied.
There are so many different products available that are all designed to give people more confidence and pride in their appearance. Once people felt like they were at a bug disadvantage because they didn?t have the same designer duds the next person had; everyone was so focused on looking like someone else. Now everyone seems focused on looking gorgeous and attractive without looking like the next person. When you add in the different clothes, styles and other products that are available to help anyone develop an exclusive look that is symbolic of their personality, it is very easy to see why plastic surgery has remained so popular throughout the years.
You don?t have to feel trapped in a body that does not fit your personality or lifestyle. If diet and exercise can?t help you meet your goals, then you can always turn to the marvels of medical science and get the body you want and deserve. When you decide to get an operation to fix your nose or make your breasts bigger, it is a decision that you should make for yourself and no one else. At the end of the day, you are the one who goes under knife, has to endure the procedure and recover. It is your body that you are having altered, so you need to make sure that you are pleasing yourself first and don?t let anyone else convince you to do something that you were not originally considering.
If you have been thinking about getting surgery to improve your appearance, you should consult with a surgeon that is board certified and highly experienced. They can provide you with information about any plastic surgery procedure and answer any questions you may have and give you other things to consider before you make your decision.
Thinking of changing the way you look? Learn more about Pennsylvania plastic surgery ?at:? http://www.chatwithdana.com.
Source: http://toddsblogs.com/healthandfitness/2012/07/28/plastic-surgery-can-help-improve-the-way-you-feel/
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Autopsy: Arsonist killed self in court with cyanide
Michael Marin could be seen putting something in his mouth after he was found guilty in an Arizona courtroom, NBC's Thomas Roberts reported for TODAY earlier this month.
By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News
An autopsy report confirmed Friday that Michael Marin, the former Wall Street trader who collapsed and died in court minutes after he was convicted of arson last month, committed suicide by taking cyanide.
M. Alex Johnson is a reporter for NBC News. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.Authorities immediately suspected that Marin, 53, killed himself June 28 in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix by swallowing a homemade cyanide pill.
Marin had just been convicted of burning down his mansion in 2009 when he went into convulsions at the defendant's table. He was declared dead at the scene.
?
The autopsy confirmed that Marin died of cyanide poisoning, The Associated Press reported.
Marin was often described as a larger-than-life figure. He made a fortune on Wall Street, flew his own planes, held a law degree from Yale University and climbed Mount Everest.
But he had retired from finance several years ago and?was no longer able to keep up with?his $17,250-a-month mortgage payments, prosecutors said. So he burned down his home, on which he owed?$2.3 million, and made headlines by escaping from a second-floor window in scuba gear.
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
After Marin's death, police?found a canister of cyanide in his?car, along with a note to his son saying his will was up to date and in place.
James Dearing, medical director at John C. Lincoln Medical Centers in Phoenix, said cyanide poisoning was an especially unpleasant but highly effective way to kill oneself.
"It's a very fast-acting chemical that comes in gas or crystal form," Dearing told NBC station KPNX of Phoenix. "What this chemical does is it prevents oxygen from leaving the blood and going into the cells, so the cells will die."
Watch the full interview with James Dearing at KPNX-TV
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Blood sisters | Cancer Kick
It was 10 years ago that 2-year-old Caroline Watters of Queens was diagnosed with leukemia and got a lifesaving bone-marrow transplant from her 4-year-old sister ? and they marked the anniversary in May by trying to help others.
Their parents threw a party to celebrate the fact that Caroline, now 12, has been cancer-free for a decade. She and her sister, Lisette, now 14, urged guests not to bring gifts.
Instead, ?we asked them to donate money to The Leukemia Lymphoma Society so one day they?ll raise enough funds to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma or any kind of cancer,? Caroline said.
Caroline, who plans to be a cheesemaker and a vet, and Lisette, who hopes for a career in the fashion business, won a 2011 New York Post Liberty Medal in the Young Heart category for telling their inspiring story once or twice a month to help raise awareness and funds for blood-cancer research.
Lisette ?rejoices? at her sister?s 10 years of good health and said, ?I want other people to have that same joy that we have.?
Article source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/blood_sisters_cnkV1opDj0E5qcyBqmpPsO?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Local
Source: http://cancerkick.com/2012/07/27/blood-sisters/
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Friday, July 27, 2012
Merck quarterly earnings beat forecasts
(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc
The No. 2 U.S. drugmaker said on Friday it earned $1.79 billion, or 58 cents per share, in the second quarter. That compared with $2.02 billion, or 65 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.
Excluding special items, the company earned $1.05 per share. Analysts, on average, expected $1.01 per share.
Company sales rose 1 percent to $12.31 billion, topping estimates of $12.15 billion. Sales would have risen 5 percent if not for the stronger dollar, which lowers the value of sales in overseas markets.
Despite the negative impact of foreign exchange, Merck reaffirmed it expects earnings of $3.75 to $3.85 per share for the full year, excluding special items. That compares with last year's profit of $3.77 per share.
Merck is girding for the U.S. patent expiration next month on its biggest product, asthma drug Singulair, which will open the flood gates to cheaper generics and hurt results for the rest of the year.
Singulair sales rose 6 percent in the second quarter to $1.43 billion.
(Reporting By Ransdell Pierson; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merck-quarterly-earnings-beat-forecasts-112411059--finance.html
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Drought bill may carry mammoth farm bill into law
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A comparatively low-priced disaster bill for livestock producers hit by the worst drought since 1956 may be the ticket to passage for a $500 billion farm bill now in limbo in Congress.
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives scheduled a potential vote for next week on disaster relief. Farm and environmental lobbyists said the vote could create a path to enacting the farm bill although there was no agreement among House Republicans on the scope of the legislation.
Two-thirds of the continental United States was under moderate to exceptional drought with 40 percent of U.S. counties declared agricultural disaster areas. While crop insurance will aid many growers, livestock producers with drought-stunted pastures face skyrocketing feed prices.
The Obama administration has opened environmentally fragile land, normally off-limits, for haying and grazing to provide an emergency supply of forage but can do little else. Programs that allowed the Agriculture Department to share the cost of livestock feed or to help fruit, vegetable and tree farmers expired at the end of 2011.
"I do believe the House will address the livestock disaster program that unfortunately in the last farm bill was only authorized for four years," said Speaker John Boehner, the top House official. He said Republican leaders were working with the Agriculture Committee "on an appropriate path forward."
Republican leaders are sitting on a five-year House farm bill that faces so much opposition that it could be defeated if put to a vote. Some Republicans say it needs more reform and more spending cuts. Democrats oppose the bill's $16 billion in cuts in food stamps for the poor. The bill would save $33 billion over 10 years but boosts crop support prices.
While a stand-alone disaster bill was possible, some farm lobbyists said disaster aid could be wrapped into a one-year extension of the 2008 farm law, which expires on September 30.
In either case, it could open the door for a House-Senate compromise on farm subsidy reform and enactment of a long-term bill this year, said lobbyists.
Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said she was willing to make a legislative sprint to complete a farm bill in the coming weeks. The Senate has passed a bill to cut spending by $23 billion and replace almost all traditional farm subsidies with a new approach that protects farmer revenue against poor yields and low prices.
"If the House intends to send us a bill that will be used to negotiate the farm bill during August, I am open to that approach," said Stabenow. She said a short-term extension of current law is a bad idea that would wipe out farm reform.
House Republican leaders would have to agree for that approach to work, said Dale Moore of the 6 million-member American Farm Bureau Federation, which seeks a five-year farm bill.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said a vote was possible next week on "programs related to disaster assistance under the expiring farm bill legislation." He declined to say when the House would vote on the overall farm bill.
Disaster aid could cost from $300 million to a couple of billion dollars, depending on the terms of assistance and if it will cover crop losses, too. The House farm bill, for example, would pay farmers up to $125,000 in aid.
Steny Hoyer, the assistant Democratic leader in the House, said Republicans would defer action on a full-length farm bill because they "could not get their act together."
A short-term extension was a distasteful possibility for some activists. Lawmakers resorted to six extensions of farm law until they completed the 2008 law, a year later than planned.
"I think it's going to be an extension bill with disaster relief as a fig leaf to move it forward," said Ferd Hoefner of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a small-farm advocacy group.
The Environmental Working Group said a one-year extension of current law would postpone "long over-due reform of crop insurance subsidies." After explosive growth, the federally subsidized crop insurance program costs nearly twice as much as the $5 billion a year "direct payment" subsidy that is a prime target of reformers.
While the drought focuses attention on farmers, "the connection is slim" between disaster aid and a broad-scale farm bill, said Pat Westhoff, at a University of Missouri think tank.
Written every few years, farm bills set terms for crop subsidies, food stamps, agricultural research, farm exports, food aid, biofuel development and rural economic programs.
(Reporting By Charles Abbott; Editing by Neil Stempleman, David Gregorio and M.D. Golan)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/house-act-livestock-drought-aid-speaker-boehner-163916336.html
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