Russian cyborg stole the Super Bowl – Sierra Vista Herald

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The Russians hacked the Super Bowl last Sunday.

Thats right, you read it here first. I have long maintained that Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots, is a cyborg. Now, I believe he is a cyborg built in a secret underground KGB lab in Siberia. It should be obvious to everyone by now that Tom Brady is not a normal human being. An unimpressive sixth-round draft pick in 2000, he somehow became the starting quarterback for the Patriots his second year and immediately led them to a Super Bowl victory. He has been the starter ever since and is now 39 years old. The average career length for quarterbacks is less than four and a half years. Brady has been playing for seventeen which proves he is not completely human. Yes, I know George Blanda and Brett Favre played longer, but they didnt play as well at age 39 and, of course, Blanda and Favre may have been cyborgs also. Quarterbacks that are actually human start to decline in throwing ability in their later year s witness Peyton Manning. Not cyborg Brady. He just finished the 2016 season with a pass completion rate of 67.4 percent. Only once in his career did he do better and that was in 2007. Like any well-built cyborg, he does not age. It was recently revealed that he wears special pajamas at night that supposedly rejuvenates his body more quickly while he sleeps. I suspect that, in reality, these pajamas are designed to recharge his cyborg batteries while he sleeps at night.

Last Sunday, Brady the Cyborg, led his team to a victory after being down by an insurmountable 25 points midway through the third quarter. No team had overcome a score deficit of more than 10 points in a Super Bowl and still won the game.

The last one to do that was, of course, Brady. I predicted last month that during the Super Bowl, Atlanta Falcons edge rusher Dwight Freeney would sack Brady, causing his head to come off, and proving Brady was a cyborg. Well, Freeney did sack Brady, but his head didnt come off--at least not right away. After the epic overtime win by the Patriots, you may have seen Brady hunched over on the field, seemingly overcome with emotion, while a protective mob surrounded and screened him from onlookers. He wasnt overcome with emotion. His head, loosened by Freeney, had fallen off as he walked off the field and the Brady-cyborg was on his hands and knees trying to find it. Thus, I think I have fairly well proven that Brady is a cyborg. What we didnt know, until now, is the Russian connection. Using my unique investigative journalistic skills, I began to connect the dots on the Russian deal when it was revealed after the game that someone had stolen Tom Bradys game jersey. There can be only one explanation. The jersey was stolen for Vladimir Putin the Russian president with the KGB eyes. Way back in 2005, after the Patriots had just defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, Patriots owner Robert Kraft was in Russian on a business trip with a friend. Krafts friend urged him to show his Super Bowl ring to Putin. Putin put the ring on and weirdly remarked that he could kill someone with it. When Kraft asked for the ring back, Putin put it in his pocket and walked out of the room surrounded by a KGB escort. Kraft was afterwards strongly urged by the White House to say it was a gift to the Russian president.Krafts Super Bowl ring wasnt a gift, it was part of a payment. The New England Patriots needed a way to pay the Russians for the Brady-cyborg that wouldnt be detected by congress. Clearly, the ring and the jersey were the cost of creating the Brady-cyborg. We already know about the friendship between President Trump and the KGB cyborg Tom Brady. Although President Trump was not at the Super Bowl, Vice President, Mike Pence was. I suspect Pence managed to steal Bradys jersey and give it to President Trump so he could complete the payment and buy Putins silence about Brady being a KGB cyborg. Well know its all true when Putin wears the jersey and the ring the next time he poses for some of his macho-man photos while riding a bear or a lion or something. At least he wont be bare-chested this time. You are probably pretty amazed by now that I was able to put all this together. But, really, how else can you explain what happened last Sunday? Nobody comes back from a 25-point deficit in a Super Bowl. Nobody human, that is. Just because Im crazy doesnt mean KGB cyborgs arent stealing our Super Bowls.

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Russian cyborg stole the Super Bowl - Sierra Vista Herald

Ice-free Lake Erie takes toll on fishing, beaches – GoErie.com

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With ice on less than 6 percent of Lake Erie, there will be consequences on local beaches, sports and weather.

Lake Erie is mostly open water this winter.

Ice covered just 5.6 percent of the lake surface and 12.5 percent of all of the Great Lakes Friday, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.And higher-than-normal temperatures this weekend will have chipped away at that.

There are and will be consequences.

Ice concentrations significantly below the 1973-2014 winter average of 52.4 percent have all but eliminated ice fishing this winter, will affect the weather through early spring and will increase erosion at Presque Isle State Park.

"With the warmer winters we've had the last two years, we're going to have more erosion and are going to have to do a lot more to make the beaches usable in certain sections of the park," Presque Isle State Park Operations Manager Matt Greene said.

Lake ice, and ice dunes, help protect the beaches and beach habitats. With no dunes and only surface ice close to the shore this winter, that ice, rather than protecting the beaches, can scour away areas where it's pushed by waves and wind, Greene said.

Areas of the park from Beach 6 to the Presque Isle Lighthouse are hardest hit by erosion because of prevailing winds from the west and northwest, and park officials are seeing that this winter, Greene said.

Wind and wave-buffeted Mill Road beaches "don't exist right now," he said. "We've moved all of the picnic tables back, and lost a few there."

Park officials added sand at Beach 8 and Mill Road this past fall to supplement a smaller-than-normal 2016 replacement project. The park put down between half and two-thirds the sand it normally does because of a lack of federal funding.

"If we hadn't done that in the fall, the (shoreline) would be into the road right now," Greene said.

Open waters have also taken a toll on ice fishing. The sport isdependent on ice that is thick enough to walk on, and there hasn't been a lot of that this season.

"There were a couple of days in January when the experienced guys who really know how to check the ice were out. But there hasn't been anything like a whole city of huts out there," said Laura Daniels, owner of Presque Isle Angler Bait and Tackle, on lower State Street on Erie's bayfront.

Daniels' business this winter has slowed accordingly.

"I always tell people that when you have a business like ours, it's like being a farmer, it's that dependent on the weather," Daniels said. "Some years with ice fishing we're so busy we can't even stand ourselves. Other years, like this, we have to sit back and look for alternative measures to unload our ice fishing stock and we have plenty in clearance sales or on the internet.There's got to be ice somewhere, in Minnesota maybe."

The winter of 2013-14 was the best for ice fishing in recent years, with consistently low temperatures, thick ice and a long season to drop lines for bluegill and crappie. Fishermen estimated that the ice on Misery Bay that winter was 2 feet thick.

Temperatures have not been consistently low this winter; thehigh Jan. 21 reached 65 degrees. Monthly temperature averages also have been above normal, according to the National Weather Service, resulting in mostly ice-free waters.

And with the lakes largely free of ice, lake-effect snow could be possible through early spring.Lake-effect snow occurs when cold air draws warmth and moisture from lake waters, forming clouds and heavy snow.

"It's more common in November and December and even into early January," said Karen Clark, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Cleveland. "But with little ice coverage on the lake, the potential for lake-effect snow is still there, especially at your end of the lake. East of the (Sandusky area) islands, the lake is largely ice-free."

Still, snow happens, and there will be more winters with more consistently low temperatures and ice.

"There are always going to be peaks and valleys," Presque Isle's Greene said.

Valerie Myers can be reached at 878-1913 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNmyers.

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Ice-free Lake Erie takes toll on fishing, beaches - GoErie.com

Main drag to Atlantic beaches getting widened – Gainesville Sun

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Cindy Swirko @CindySwirko

The long awaited four-laning of State Road 20 from Hawthorne to Interlachen is set to begin this summer the time of the year when the road is used by many Alachua County residents to get to the Atlantic beaches.

Troy Roberts, of the Florida Department of Transportation Lake City district office, said the first leg, about 2 miles from Hawthorne to the Putnam County line, will likely start in the summer. The rest, from the county line about 9 miles to Interlachen, will follow.

Thats almost a $17 million project, Roberts said. It will probably be starting over the summer. As soon as they finish the one in Alachua, they will probably jump on the part in Putnam.

The stretch is the last two-lane gap of SR 20 between Gainesville and Interlachen. The drive can be frustrating because traffic is often slow on the hilly, curvy road, which has few opportunities for passing.

Yet the road is typically used by many Gainesville and southern Alachua County residents to get to Crescent Beach, St. Augustine and the Flagler County beaches.

The only other reasonably direct option and an alternative when construction is underway is taking State Road 26 through Melrose to State Road 100 and then on to Palatka.

Meanwhile, at the other end of Alachua County, an FDOT resurfacing project is about to get underway in High Springs that could affect commuters from neighboring counties.

The $2.6 million project involves three separate roads: U.S. 41 from Southeast Sixth Avenue to U.S. 441, U.S. 27 from Northwest Ninth Street to the Columbia County line and Northwest First Street from U.S. 441 to Northwest Ninth Street.

In addition to milling and resurfacing the roads, work will also include traffic signals, shoulder and curb work improvements, sidewalks, highway signing and other incidental construction.

An open house on the project will be today from 4 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Southeast Railroad Avenue and U.S. 27, next to the Christmas tree. Flyers and handouts will be available, and FDOT personnel will be there to answer questions.

Construction is scheduled to begin on Thursday and is expected to completed this summer.

Crews will work day and night, but lane closures will be only at night, Roberts said.

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Main drag to Atlantic beaches getting widened - Gainesville Sun

Battered Beaches: Restoring coastal erosion from Matthew could cost $50 million – Daytona Beach News-Journal

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Dinah Voyles Pulver @DinahVPMatt Bruce @Matt_BruceDBNJ

PAINTERS HILL Four months after Hurricane Matthew pummeled coastal Volusia and Flagler counties, reminders linger nearly everywhere. Nowhere more than on battered local beaches.

Dead trees and bushes stand where the Atlantic Ocean ripped away dunes and rushed into communities and golf courses. Repairs continue on homes flooded by water and sand. Other homes hover on the brink of eroded dunes, at the mercy of the next hurricane or even a strong Noreaster.

Matthew eroded nearly two million cubic feet of sand and dunes in a matter of hours. Estimates pieced together over the past four months indicate repairing that damage replacing just the sand the hurricane eroded, not any previous critical erosioncould cost nearly $50 million.

Another $32 million may be spent to repair and protect State Road A1A north and south of Flagler Beach, not including an already planned federal project.

As many struggle to recover from Matthew's devastation and cope with its continuing economic impact, one question worries many along the coast, especially in Flagler County. Can the battered shoreline the only protection against the powerful ocean be replenished before another storm arrives and compounds the damage?

The next one, if it came similar or worse, (the water) would go clear across the island, said Paul Pershes, president of the Ocean Hammock Property Owners Association in northern Flagler. Theres nothing stopping it.

The storm's wrath

At the peak of Hurricane Matthew on Oct. 7, a storm surge of 5 to 7 feet swept ashore along Flagler County, topped by waves 15 feet or higher, the National Weather Service said. The large breakers ripped out 30 feet of dunes from the shoreline in some locations. In other spots, sand and water were pushed far inland, flooding entire neighborhoods, and overwhelming storm water and septic systems.

In Volusia County, 19.4 miles of beaches were considered critically eroded even before Matthew pummeled the shore, according to a Florida Department of Environmental Protection report last August.

In that same report, very little of Flagler County was considered critically eroded, said County Administrator Craig Coffey. The report listed 4.8 miles in the county. But now?

Theyre re-evaluating it, Coffey said. We lost 1.5 million cubic yards of sand.

Volusia County saw far less damage to its dunes. Some beaches on the south end of the county actually gained enough sand that a November survey estimated an overall net gain of about 240,000 cubic yards south of Ponce Inlet. North of the Inlet, the survey found a net loss of about 359,000 cubic yards of sand.

In the flurry of meetings and tours with state and federal officials since the storm, local officials have learned restoring the dunes will take patience, partnerships between government agencies as well as private property owners. It will also take lots of money. DEP has worked with local governments on a draft hurricane recovery plan and they are refining strategies and cost estimates to complete a final version to be delivered to state legislators.

In Flagler County, coastal neighborhoods north of Beverly Beach are considered at greatest risk from the next hurricane. County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin said the public health and safety aspects of the at-risk neighborhoods in the most northern end of the county are the "biggest concern."

When those dunes were breached, the ocean came in and flooded the whole basin, affecting 600 homes, and all of those had septic tanks, McLaughlin said. He also worries about tourism. The beach, he said, is "our No. 1 attraction.

Businesses around Hammock Beach Resort have suffered as a result of the hurricane damage, said Terry Bechtold, the resorts managing director. Many businesses relied on customers staying at the resort, part of which was flooded by surging seas. Resort officials estimate it could do $8-to-$10 million less business in 2017 as a result of Matthew.That also has an unknown impact on tourism bed tax and sales tax collections.

Harder to measure but also of concern for Bechtold is the loss of reputation Flagler County had for being safe from hurricanes.

For prospective businesses and homeowners considering relocating to the area, if the dunes could be replenished and strengthened, it would put investors and prospective property owners at ease, he said. Now there's a vulnerability "that everybody is aware of."

Without the dunes, theres nothing to prevent the ocean from rushing into the community and flooding the homes of more than 2,500 people.

If this werent going to be redone in the next 10 or 15 years, Id seriously consider selling my house, said Pershes, who lives a block from the ocean.

Lingering economic impact from damaged coastal properties also concern Flagler County officials. Nearly a third of the county's tax base is collected from its coastal properties, said Coffey, who has spent much of the past four months coordinating and juggling all the moving pieces of hurricane restoration.

Working with FEMA

Local and state officials are working to pull together money and sand, from state-approved sources, for dune restoration.

Flagler County is scraping money together to match a $5.65 million award for an emergency grant recently announced by Gov. Rick Scott.

Were trying to structure that in a way that our participation is minimized cash-wise, McLaughlin said. They hope, for example, that part of the countys required match could come from money the county already spent, or money that private communities are spending on dune restoration.

Meeting the required matches for federal and state money could delay other projects in the county, such as a new library or a new fire station. McLaughlin said the commission also isconsidering adding a penny to its tourism bed tax to raise the money needed to restore the beach.

Volusia and Flagler counties are relying on possible reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for shoring up the dunes.

The program provides no less than 75 percent of the eligible costs of an accepted restoration project, said FEMA spokesman Phil Wernisch.The counties have met with FEMA and are putting together documentation the agency requires before funding is approved.

The counties contracted with Jacksonville-based Taylor Engineering to help with that documentation. The firm will study images taken before and after the storm to calculate how much sand was lost and propose alternatives and designs for restoration.

Carefully meeting each specific requirement for FEMA is an important part of the process,said Jessica Winterwerp, Volusia Countys coastal division director.If we went ahead and placed sand on the beach we would step over a couple of steps of the FEMA process and they may not approve us.

Looking for money

Counties also are waiting to hear how much money if any state legislators approve during the spring legislative session.

The Governors proposed budget recommends $111 million for beach restoration and renourishment, including $61 million to help communities recover from damages during the 2016 hurricane season. McLaughlin saidFlagler County hopes for $10 million.

The counties also are waiting to hear if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gets funding for planned projects that would benefit dune restoration.

Flagler County officials hope to move quickly to "sturdy up the dunes" and close breaches that might allow water to flood into surrounding communities.

A few private homeowners already have obtained emergency permits and are doing their own dune restorations in Flagler County. At Hammock Dunes, the property owners association will begin a private restoration starting Monday. The county's Varn Park will be closed to make way for the line of dump trucks hauling sand to the beach.

In Volusia County, which doesnt have the life-threatening dune situation that Flagler County does, the approach is to wait and see what FEMA deems necessary. Winterwerp said some of the sand eroded off Volusia beaches is likely sitting in the ocean just offshore and could work its way back to the beaches this summer.

Volusia County Chair Ed Kelley said he hasnt heard from any constituents asking for beach renourishment.

If you hear anything, its people asking, Why are you going to do renourishment when its just going to wash away again, Kelley said.

Replacing sand on Florida beaches has long been controversial with some critics questioning the high cost and the environmental effects.

But Kelley supports making use of the FEMA grants, he said.I think we need to do what we can to protect the businesses and the homes."

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Battered Beaches: Restoring coastal erosion from Matthew could cost $50 million - Daytona Beach News-Journal

Ketchikan Indian Community checking Ketchikan beaches and shellfish for toxins – KTOO

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Esther Kennedy of the Resource Protection Department collects water samples every week from Starrigavan. Along with six other tribes in Southeast, the group is working to create an early warning system to protect shellfish diggers from PSP. (Photo by Emily Kwong/KCAW)

Last summer, Ketchikan Indian Community began a phytoplankton and shellfish monitoring program in Ketchikan as part of the Southeast Alaska Tribal Toxins Program. KIC tests samples, and informs the public if dangerous levels of the toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning arefound in local clams and mussels.

Nicole Forbes is the environmental specialist at KIC in charge of collecting samples. She says its important for people to understand what paralytic shellfish poisoning is and how it is transmitted.

Basically there are tiny, microscopic plants in the ocean called phytoplankton. Most of them are not harmful. In fact, they produce 50 percent of our oxygen. But there are a few harmful species and one of those isAlexandriumand it produces something called saxitoxin. When the shellfish filter-feed, it gets collected in the shellfish, and when people eat it, thats what causes paralytic shellfish poisoning.

PSP toxins cannot be cooked or cleaned out of shellfish, and freezing does not destroy the toxin. Consumption of the toxin can cause paralysis and death. Commercial shellfish is tested and considered safe. The Tribal Toxins Program targets recreational beaches.

Forbes says KIC is testing samples at popular beaches in the Ketchikan area so people will know if clams, mussels, and cockles are safe to harvest. Currently, testing is being done at Settlers Cove and Whipple Creek. Forbes says they plan to add Seaport Beach in Saxman soon. She says the program is in the beginning stages and they are working to identify other sample sites.

Were trying to figure out where most people harvest, so that we can get those results. The thing is you have to get results for each beach. Because you could go two or three miles down and its going to be completely different down there.

Forbes says there are three steps to the collection process, which starts with weekly phytoplankton samples.

Which involves me going out there with a phytoplankton net and wading in the water, and grabbing a sample. I bring that back to our local lab, and I put it under the microscope and look for those harmful phytoplankton species that I was talking about. If I see one, thats the first warning sign that we need to get a shellfish sample out as soon as possible, because its possible that saxitoxin is in the shellfish.

Forbes says suspect samples are sent to the Sitka Tribe of Alaskas lab in Sitka. She says the turnaround time for testing is fairly quick.

I send it out on Tuesday, gets there Wednesday, I get results Thursday or Friday.

She says the third step of the process is filtration, which involves taking a water sample, filtering it, and then sending the filter to the lab, where phytoplankton species and quantities are identified, along with concentration of toxins.

Tony Gallegos, the cultural and natural resources director for KIC, saysAlexandriummay be present, but not necessarily producing toxins.

The scientific literature hasnt come to clear conclusion on how you know whether theyre going to produce the toxins or not, what triggers that. Thats still unclear. We can see the algae, but we need to actually do an analysis of those algae to see if they actually have toxins in them.

Forbes says phytoplankton arent as active in the winter because it is cold and dark, but she says no time of the year is safe to harvest without testing. She says they found high levels of toxins in butter clams at Whipple Creek this winter.

Actually butter clams hold onto the toxins longer, and then during the winter the shellfish slow down their filter feeding, so they can actually hold on to those toxins for the whole winter.

Forbes says she collects samples every two weeks, weather permitting, and if samples test positive, they are retested weekly. Results for all Southeast beaches being tested are posted in the data section of the Southeast Alaska Tribal Association Research website http://www.seator.org.Information is also sent to local media.

KIC is interested in identifying other local sites for sampling.

If you have suggestions, you can contact Nicole Forbes at KIC. Forbes email is nforbes@kictribe.org. The phone number is 228-9365.

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Ketchikan Indian Community checking Ketchikan beaches and shellfish for toxins - KTOO

Volunteers in New Zealand Race to Save 17 Whales Stranded After 650 Beached – NBCNews.com

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Volunteers and conservationists in New Zealand who endured frigid temperatures to help hundreds of beached pilot whales return to the water continue to have their work cut out for them.

A charity that helps protect marine mammals said Sunday that about 17 of the creatures were discovered stranded again near a roadside of South Island's Golden Bay after volunteers had spent Friday and Saturday trying to save 650 of them. Many of them were already dead, although about 240 whales refloated themselves.

"Our medics are attending to the 17 live whales," Project Jonah said on Facebook.

Nearly two dozen people were using buckets and cloths to help keep the beached whales wet, while a spotter plane was patrolling the area to see if there were any more whales heading inland toward the bay.

Pilot whales grow to about 25 feet and are common around New Zealand's waters.

The 17 whales came from a pod of 200 that were left stranded Saturday on Farewell Spit, a sand spit at the tip of the South Island, said Amanda Harvey, the Department of Conservation's biodiversity ranger.

Volunteers worked until late into the evening to help that pod return to the sea, with the humans having to jump out of the water when the high tide emerged, bringing the increased risk of stingrays.

"I was here first thing this morning and there was a small group of us," Kyle Mulinder, a volunteer with Project Jonah, told The Associated Press. "And essentially we went out and saw one of the biggest strandings I've ever seen."

Despite the new beachings, conservationists celebrated the successful refloating of about 180 whales, although they remained weary that they could strand themselves once again.

If the whales do rebeach themselves, Harvey said more volunteers will be needed.

Earlier, an initial group of 416 stranded whales were found early Friday, although many of them were dead.

A volunteer pours water on pilot whales at Farewell Spit on Saturday. MARTY MELVILLE / AFP - Getty Images

Department of Conservation Golden Bay Operations Manager Andrew Lamason said about 20 of the new group stranded Saturday were euthanized by conservation workers because they were in poor condition.

Lamason said about 100 surviving whales from the initial group on Friday were refloated, and dozens of volunteers had formed a human chain in the water to prevent them from beaching themselves again.

"I've never experienced death like this before," said volunteer Jonathan Jones. "You know, for such a majestic animal, it's really strange to see them doing this."

Experts have different theories as to why whales beach themselves, from chasing prey too far inshore to trying to protect a sick member of the group.

Farewell Spit has been described as a whale trap. It has a long protruding coastline and gently sloping beaches that make it difficult for whales to swim away once they get close. It has been the site of previous mass whale beachings.

Dead pilot whales line the shore at Farewell Spit, Saturday. MARTY MELVILLE / AFP - Getty Images

Officials will need to dispose of hundreds of carcasses soon.

Lamason said one option was to tether them to stakes in the shallow tidal waters and let them decompose. The problem with towing them out to sea or leaving them was that they could become gaseous and buoyant, and wind up floating into populated bays.

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of whale beachings in the world. Friday's beaching was the nation's third-biggest in history, the AP reported.

"So it's a very large one," said Rochelle Constantine, a marine biologist. "Logistically it's a massive undertaking."

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Volunteers in New Zealand Race to Save 17 Whales Stranded After 650 Beached - NBCNews.com

91 Astronomers Combine 1000 Images Into One Amazing Journey to Jupiter – Universe Today

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Universe Today
91 Astronomers Combine 1000 Images Into One Amazing Journey to Jupiter
Universe Today
I have been into Astronomy since I was a teenager in the early 1970's and immediately I got a passion for astrophotography, and more specifically, photographing the planets. I see astronomy as a life-long passion, so it is quite normal to strive for ...

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91 Astronomers Combine 1000 Images Into One Amazing Journey to Jupiter - Universe Today

How youngsters can reach for the stars with a career in astronomy – Daily News & Analysis

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Human beings have always been fascinated by stars, the moon and the ever-changing sky. The fascination endures till date, even when modern science has taken away much of the mystery. Driven by this fascination, many may have wanted to take up astronomy, the study of heavenly bodies, not simply as a hobby but as a career.

But how does one go about becoming an astronomer?

Curiosity is the key. You should be somebody who has lots of questions about the sunrise, sunset, stars, colours in the sky, etc, says Amanjot Singh, a 24-year-old amateur astronomer. Back in 2010, while still in school, Singh and his friend Sahil Wadhwa had found an asteroid the first Indian students to do so when they had taken part in the All India Asteroid Search Campaign conducted by SPACE, an NGO that works to popularise astronomy. The asteroid they discovered is named 2010 PO24.

One can start by reading books on the subject and joining an astronomy club in school, recommends Singh. Students in schools where there are no astronomy clubs can form their own or join clubs run by science NGOs like SPACE. Besides, there are web portals like Zooniverse and phone apps that provide a fun way to learn about astronomy. One could also buy a telescope or take up photography, Singh advises. A 76-mm telescope costs around Rs 10,000. Or they can start astro-photography with a DSLR camera or by attaching a mobile device to a telescope.

Busting a myth, Singh, who has studied aerospace engineering, says, It is not necessary to excel in maths and science to become an astronomer. One just needs to have an inclination for the subjects and lots of patience. In school, Singh also worked as a volunteer with space research organisations; they would send him data in the form of pictures or graphs from observatories and he had to process the data and send it back within 24 hours.

Those who want to take up astronomy as a profession need to get a Bachelors degree in physics or mathematics and follow it up with a Masters degree in astrophysics or astronomy, offered in India by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Indian Institute of Science and Homi Bhabha National Institute among others. Those seeking to study further and get a PhD need to appear for the Joint Entrance Screening Test, which is conducted annually in February. As for jobs, there are opportunities to work as a research scientist with organisations like the Indian Space Research Organisation and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Authority). They can also teach astronomy and astrophysics are specialisations offered in the physics course in several universities or they can become educators with NGOs like SPACE.

Astronomy requires specialised products whether it is instruments or computer programming and developing these is another way to get into the profession. Engineers with a specialisation in electronics, computer science, mechanical, aerospace or mechatronics fit the job. With growing popularity and a trend to innovate, a number of start-ups are coming up in the field of space education and technology. They provide career opportunities, but one has to be aware of the upcoming discoveries and technologies, says Shreya Santra, who works as a research assistant at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Russia.

Apart from these, there is also the option of an optician course, where one can study about lenses to pursue a career in astronomy.

To earn a good living in India, one needs to hold a PhD degree or has to be a senior scientist, says Santra, and adds that students with a PhD or Masters degree earn enough to support themselves.

Private companies and government agencies like Team Indus, ISRO, HAL, PRL, etc. have a good pay bracket if one performs well, she adds.

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How youngsters can reach for the stars with a career in astronomy - Daily News & Analysis

Ford Announces Investment in Artificial Intelligence Company Argo AI – Motor Trend

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Ford has announced that it will invest $1 billion in Argo AI, an artificial intelligence startup, to help develop the automakers autonomous vehicles, which are scheduled to arrive in 2021. Argo AIs main responsibility will be the development of a virtual driver system for Fords self-driving cars.

The next decade will be defined by the automation of the automobile, and autonomous vehicles will have as significant an impact on society as Fords moving assembly line did 100 years ago, said Mark Fields, Fords president and CEO. As Ford expands to be an auto and a mobility company, we believe that investing in Argo AI will create significant value for our shareholders by strengthening Fords leadership in bringing self-driving vehicles to market in the near term and by creating technology that could be licensed to others in the future.

As part of Fords continued development of autonomous vehicles, the automakers team responsible for developing a virtual driver system will be combined with Argo AI. The combined development team will then be charged of creating SAE level 4 self-driving cars. Ford, however, will continue to be in charge of developing vehicle platforms, systems integration, exterior and interior designs, manufacturing, and managing regulatory policies related to autonomous cars.

The investment also includes Ford becoming a majority stakeholder in the Argo AI but will remain independent from the automaker. Fords autonomous vehicle project will be the Argo AIs key initial focus but in the future, the automaker says that the startup could also license its self-driving technologies to other companies.

Source: Ford

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Ford Announces Investment in Artificial Intelligence Company Argo AI - Motor Trend

An artificial intelligence gamble that paid off – Minneapolis Star Tribune

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For a fleeting moment, the humans thought they had a chance.

Four professional poker players were convinced they found a flaw in the sophisticated artificial intelligence software that was beating them in a tournament of no-limit Texas Hold em. If they bet in odd sizes, it seemed to trip up the computer. Within a day or two, though, that weakness vanished.

It became very demoralizing showing up every day and losing this hard, said Jason Les, who has played professional poker for a decade.

When the 20-day tournament was done, the artificial intelligence, called Libratus, won a princely $1,766,250.

All four professional players Dong Kim, Daniel McAulay, Jimmy Chou and Les finished in the negative (although no money will change hands).

The win demonstrates the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence software as computer scientists work to digitally replicate the human thought process. In this case, scientists demonstrated that AI can outwit the human brain in situations where at least some of the information needed to make smart decisions is unknown.

Artificial intelligence systems have mastered and beaten humans at other strategy games, such as Go and chess, in which both players have a full view of the game board. But poker is tricky: The computer doesnt know the hands that opponents have been dealt, or what decisions other players might make as a result.

The tournament was conducted for research purposes by the computer science department at Carnegie Mellon University. Prof. Tuomas Sandholm and doctoral student Noam Brown hope Libratus can ultimately be used in a number of game theory scenarios, such as business negotiations, cybersecurity attacks or military operations.

This is not necessarily replacing humans, but its taking their negotiation and strategic reasoning ability to another level as a support tool, Sandholm said.

Sandholm and Brown said the tournaments outcome will help determine those next steps for their research and expect the AI to be a support tool.

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An artificial intelligence gamble that paid off - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankenstein’s monster – Economic Times (blog)

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By Debkumar Mitra

In 2016, a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver. It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash, but was the first of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas.

With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas: responsibility and ethics. Widely discussed at various forums is a dilemma where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers. Here, both responsibility and ethics are at play. The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the fear is that passengers sitting inside the car have no control.

Its us versus them, C3

Any new technology brings a new set of challenges. But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteins monster. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science and technology. Advances in technology, including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks, are behind many new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine.

However, though there is great positive potential for AI, many are afraid of what AI could do, and rightfully so. There is still the fear of a technological singularity, a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over the world.

Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question. This dark side of technology, however, should not be used to decree closure of all AI or genetics research. We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations.

Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology, celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with his laws of robotics.

Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround, Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws. The current forms of the laws are: 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

Given the pace at which AI systems are developing, there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things do not go out of hand.

There are many organisations now looking at legal, technical, ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed, an AI framework addressing the issues in place. AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovs laws to help people engage in a more fearless way with this beast of a technology.

In January 2017, Future of Life Institute (FLI), a charity and outreach organisation, hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference. AI experts developed Asilomar AI Principles, which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future of humankind.

The key points that came out of the conference are: How can we make future AI systems robust, so that they do what we want without malfunctioning or getting hacked? How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining peoples resources and purpose? How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient, to keep pace with AI, and to manage the risks associated with AI? What set of values should AI be aligned with, and what legal and ethical status should it have?

Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom, scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movement emphasising science for the betterment of man. This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb was manufactured in the US. Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot? With AI we are at the same situation or maybe worse.

No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework, the dominant thought was that the human and all living beings must remain at centre of all AI discussions. People must be informed at every level right from the design stage to development of the AI-driven products for everyday use.

While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies, it begs another question that has been raised at various AI conferences. Are humans ethical?

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankenstein's monster - Economic Times (blog)

Artificial Intelligence in Business Process Automation – Nanalyze

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I cant wait to push some paper today! Said no one ever. The mind-numbing work to keep the wheels of commerce rollingfilling out invoices, deciphering hand-written memos, processing insurance claimscan be a real grind. Its been that way since the time when Ebenezer Scrooge refused to provide another lump of coal to help warm overworked clerk Bob Cratchit. Lacking frailty of mind and body, artificial intelligence for business process automation appears to be a no-brainer.

In fact, a number of companies are employing AI techniques such as machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing to automate business processes. White-collar outsourcing is no longer going to Indiaits moving to the cloud.On one hand, that means job losses in the short term. Its already happening. The tech-loving Japanese are among the first to be replaced. For example, IBM Watson is now doing the job of more than 30 employees at an insurance company by calculating payouts. On the other hand, theres a lot of money in outsourcing. Global business process outsourcing was worth $63.5 billion in 2015, according to Statista. Companies rolling out artificial intelligence for business processes say automation will free employees from mundane tasks for more dynamic work, like checking Facebook more often.

You may recall that a few months ago we expressed some healthy skepticism about this new, so-called digital workforce. Our complaint was that much of this seemed like software automation repackaged with buzzwords like robotic process automation, cognitive technologies and desktop automation. However, we promised to dive further into this sector. In this article, well look at a couple of startups and a couple of veteran companies claiming to useartificial intelligence for business process automation.

New York-based WorkFusion is fresh off a $35 million Series D in January 2017. That brings the total investments to about $71 million since the company was founded in 2010. The latest series was led by Georgian Partners with participation from existing investors Mohr Davidow Ventures, iNovia, Nokia Growth Partners, Greycroft and RTP Ventures.

WorkFusion claims its machine learning platform can eliminate up to 90 percent of back-office business work and its AI-powered bots can increase service center capacity fivefold. Clients can reportedly enjoy a 50 to 80 percent ROI within the first year.

How does WorkFusion work its magic? Remember that machine learning is all about improving computer performance through experience rather than pre-programmed software. Its AI platform learns on the job. It has already studied the habits of 35 million users on its platform on how to do business-related processes, according to a story in Business Insider.

Last year, WorkFusion partnered with VirtusaPolaris, the market-facing brand created when Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ: VRTU) acquired Polaris Consulting & Services a year or so ago. VirtusaPolaris provides IT consulting and outsourcing support in the banking and financial services market. That would seem to open up bigger opportunities for fledgling WorkFusion. Though we wonder where this partnership might eventually go. Virtusa has been on a shopping spree since 2009, acquiring seven companies during that time.

Another startup from the Big Apple using artificial intelligence for business process automation is HyperScience. It comes to the table with nearly $19 million in funding, most recently a second Series A in December 2016 that netted $8 million, led by Felicis Ventures. Thats also when it announced its existence to the world with the launch of its website.

The company initially focused on back-office automation. Its first product, HS Forms, is meant to replace the tedium of data entry. Its machines can read and understand any kind of text, apparently even our atrocious scribble. Such automation speeds up the processing of products like mortgage applications or medical records faster than any human, even with a double espresso each morning. HyperScience says HS Forms uses advanced computer vision techniques to process documents, identify content types, and extract the content.

The company also lists two additional, more sophisticated products. HS Freeform can take unstructured data, whether digital or handwritten, and read, understand and digitize the information. HS Evaluate goes one step further, reviewing files and applications with human-like judgment. The company says its AI software can automatically review an extensive claim file, eliminate duplicate entries, assess eligibility, and then deliver precise adjudication decisions. Judge Judy, youre fired.

Apparently the water in New York isnt just good for making bagels. Yet another company applying AI to business process automation is IPsoft, a private company with offices in 11 countries. Its been around since 1998 as an autonomic and cognitive solutions service provider, but recently went full AI with Amelia. Amelia isnt just another chatbot, according to the company, but an artificial intelligence platform that can automate just about any business process currently done by bipedal cubicle critter. Amelias digital job resume includes everything from helping customers open new bank accounts to processing insurance claims.

Calling her a cognitive agent, IPsoft says Amelia can emulate human intelligence, making her capable of natural interactions with people. She can understand human language, learn through observation and determine what actions to take in order to fulfill a request or solve a problem.

In one case study, for example, Amelia was able to take over nearly 20 percent of all incoming IT service desk tasking for a European bank after only 45 days of training. And the multi-tasking cognitive agent proved to be a fast learner as a mortgage broker as well. Within two weeks, Amelia could answer three-quarters of all questions with an 88 percent success rate.

Meet Amelia in this video:

From across the Pond we found publicly traded Blue Prism (LON: PRSM). The U.K.-based company, with offices across three time zones in the United States and Australia, debuted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in March 2016. So far, the companyat least its stockhas performed admirably. An investment of 10,000 at the companys first closing bell on March 16 would have netted you nearly 40,000 less than a year later.

Founded back in 2001 by a group of process automation experts, Blue Prism counts more than 150 enterprise clients, including ten top global banks such as Barclays Africa Group, BNY Mellon, Commerzbank, Nordea, ING and Westpac, as well as several of the worlds leading insurers including Zurich, Swinton Insurance and Aegon. Other big names in various industries include Maersk, Siemens, IBM, Procter & Gamble and Nokia.

Heres how Blue Prism explains its robotic process automation (RPA) platform:

Blue Prisms RPA is built as the transactional platform, with its software robots helping AI turn decisions into actions. The cognitive decision making built into these software robots brings AI to life and also enables knowledge transfer between the robots and third-party AI applications as the two engage and interface with one another allowing the robots to recognize items and take action with no external intervention.

We see quite a bit of momentum in AI-powered business process automation. More than a few Global 2000 companies are signing up with players like Blue Prism and IPsoft. It wont be long before youre conversing with Amelia rather than John in Mumbai.

In a sense, this sort of automation has been around for a while, as we noted earlier. Its the artificial intelligence piece thats new. And like with many of the pieces we write on this topic, we want to caution you that anyone can slap AI on their website and call it machine learning. Its like seeing the word natural on a food label. You have to be sure to read the ingredient list first.

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Artificial Intelligence in Business Process Automation - Nanalyze

Keeping Canada at forefront of global leadership in aerospace sector – eTurboNews

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The Government of Canada is committed to keeping Canada at the forefront of global leadership in the aerospace sector. The aerospace industry is one of the most innovative industries in Canada, and it provides over 211,000 quality jobs for Canadians and $28 billion annually in GDP to Canada's economy.

That is why, today, the Government of Canada announced that it will provide $372.5 million in repayable contributions to Bombardier Inc. This funding will be provided over four years and will support thousands of good middle-class jobs, strengthen the long-term competitiveness of Bombardier and help to build the aircraft of the future.

Through its collaboration with Bombardier, the Government of Canada is investing in thousands of Canadians and hundreds of suppliers across the country. As the nation's largest aerospace company, Bombardier supports thousands of jobs in design, engineering and manufacturing through its nation-wide supply chain of companies. This initiative by the Government of Canada will fund research and development for the new Global 7000 business jet and ongoing activities related to the development of the company's C Series aircraft.

The Government of Canada has a long-standing relationship with Bombardier, Canada's biggest private sector investor in research and development activities. These activities strengthen the skills and knowledge of Canadians working in the aerospace sector, and they lead to new manufacturing platforms that position Canadians working in the sector for the jobs of tomorrow. The resulting benefits enable Canada to maintain a competitive position in the global supply chain that forms the aerospace sector.

Quotes

"This contribution from the Government of Canada will secure the highly skilled, well-paying jobs for middle-class Canadians who work in the aerospace sector. It will also ensure that Canada has a strong, stable and competitive aerospace industry, which is a major driver of economic activity and innovation across the country. Bombardier plays a vital role, both as an anchor employer and an innovation leader. The Government of Canada is proud to invest in research and development activities that secure Canadian jobs, while enabling Bombardier to grow as a globally competitive company for years to come."

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

"We welcome the continuing partnership with the Canadian government. The repayable contributions announced today will help to ensure that Canada remains at the centre of Bombardier's research and development activities, which are focused on developing the most efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly aircraft in the world. While we compete globally, we are proud of our Canadian home, our heritage and our position as one of Canada's leading high-technology manufacturers and employers."

Alain Bellemare, CEO, Bombardier Inc.

Quick facts

Aerospace leads all manufacturing industries in research and development. It accounts for nearly one-third of all research and development activity in Canada's manufacturing sector, which translates to $28 billion of economic activity every year. Canada's aerospace sector employs, directly and indirectly, 211,000 people across the country.

Aerospace companies are Canada's leading exporters in terms of trade intensity at twice that of the manufacturing average. Close to 80 percent of aerospace manufacturing was exported in 2015.

The repayable contribution to the Global 7000 jet will be made through the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI). This program supports specific research and development activities that help aerospace and defence companies develop new technologies.

Another portion of this investment will be made through the government's existing contribution agreements with Bombardier. This contribution will support ongoing activities related to the development of the company's C Series aircraft. The C Series is an example of Canadian innovation and clean technology that is the future of the aerospace industry.

In May 2005, Canada first announced that it would support the C Series with a $350-million repayable contribution.

On October 11, 2016, the government announced an investment of up to $54 million to support a Bombardier-led consortium under the Technology Demonstration Program. The consortium will develop state-of-the-art electric systems and advanced aerodynamic systems that will make the aircraft of the future more energy efficient, reliable and quiet.

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Keeping Canada at forefront of global leadership in aerospace sector - eTurboNews

How Axiom Research Labs has emerged as India’s first private … – Economic Times

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Bengaluru, Circa 1972

A young Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist Parameshwaran Sivasankaran Nair signed off a letter addressed to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He sought a software product called NASTRAN that helped design more efficient space vehicles. NASA had released it to the public a year before. Nair was one of many scientists working on Indias first satellite Aryabhata at ISROs satellite division, then in Peenya in Bengaluru.

Three weeks passed, and a reply arrived in the ISRO mailbox in the negative. The letter said something along the lines of: If you have a software, we can try and exchange. But we dont give such software. Nair turned to the treasure trove that was the Indian Institute of Science library, which housed the countrys finest aerospace journals. What did NASA know? ISRO scientists had to write their own code. With no computer in Bengaluru, they travelled to Ahmedabad or the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, to access one.

Noida, December 2011

Nirmal Suraj Gadde, 21, was a few months from graduating from IIT-Kharagpur. Schooled in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, the lean lad wasnt bothered about the Delhi winter. The aerospace engineer from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, wanted to work at TeamIndus, but his only contact with boss Rahul Narayan for weeks was on the mobile phone. Worse, Narayan wanted him as an intern.

His first assignment at the company that was working out of Noida: We are going to the moon. What I need you to do is study previous moon missions. Tell me how trajectories are done. Gadde did that, but hit a block after studying several research papers from NASAs Space Science Data Coordinated Archive online. Going to the moon is not that tough. Its about getting the timing correct, he told Narayan, adding that he could calculate the trajectory. Maybe there is some software solution for it? asked the voice in Gaddes phone. Gadde found two options: an AGI software priced in the region of Rs1 crore. Or, a free open source tool: General Mission Analysis Tool. The satellite STK (software tool kit) is very costly, Gadde said, so I will go with the open source toolkit.

Can you walk to my cabin? Narayan asked. Open the drawer. The STK CD is there. Use it. You have this software here? Have you done anything with it? Gadde didnt know that Narayan had no aerospace background. No, I havent installed it yet. I will give you a contact to figure out the licence, the boss replied. Can I install it on my machine? Gadde asked. Narayan thought for a moment. No problem. You are the only employee right now.

But how did a bootstrapped entrepreneur like Narayan get his hands on the Rs1 crore software?

The Google Lunar XPrize (GLXP).

This global contest has a $30 million prize purse for teams that can land a spacecraft on the moon, get a robot to move 500 m on the surface, and send back high-definition video footage to earth. XPrize, a non-profit organisation that designs and manages public competitions like GLXP, had sent a tool kit comprising the AGI software to more than 30 GLXP applicants. One of them was TeamIndus, founded by Narayan with Indranil Chakraborty (the only cofounder with an aerospace background at inception), Sameer Joshi, Julius Amrit and Dilip Chabria. TeamIndus is among the final five that will set off for the moon later this year. And ISROs Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle XL will inject them into lower earth orbit.

What makes these audacious space missions possible? Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and aerospace company Blue Origin, told this writer when he was in Bengaluru in 2014. All the computation required now is extremely low cost, he said. What Blue Origin can do with 350 people couldnt have been done by 1,000 people 20 or even 10 years ago. Now you can do computational fluid dynamics, say, to simulate whats happening inside a rocket thrust chamber. Blue Origin does such experiments on a computer, and then builds the hardware.

At its very essence, TeamIndus and Axiom Research Labs, the company that houses it is on track to becoming a citizen of that space industry. It is the first private sector company from India that is readying a space mission.

Shooting for the Moon

After Gadde joined in 2012, he used all the gravitational parameters and physics built into the AGI software to design moon missions. Back then, it took him more than five hours to do one trip to the moon. He would get the trajectory close to it, not quite on the moon. By now, hes done more than 5,000 moon landing. It now takes him five minutes to calculate the most suitable route. We have laid down the path. Then, navigation is about whether we are following that path or not. And then, how do we control?

In the same period, Axiom Research Labs has evolved into a 110-employee organisation, including Nair, that young ISRO scientist from the 1970s. He is employee No. 25, and has embraced the new era, where young engineers can email the University of Colorado Boulder for a mission operations software that tracks a spacecraft when in flight and buy other software off the shelf. His only grouse: the software influence is growing at the cost of aerospace engineers losing touch with hand-calculations for basic design the physical understanding of engineering.

There is plenty of information available on the net now, says Nagapathi Chidambar Bhat, 69, another ex-ISRO scientist and TeamIndus employee. India didnt even have a Xerox machine in our days. Bhat and Nair are among eight former ISRO scientists at Axiom Research Labs. These and 20 other experienced consultants from the space fraternity (professors, scientists) form a core group, with a bulk of the work managed and done by engineers in their 20s.

A TeamIndus may not have been possible in the US because there are many established aerospace companies and it requires a lot of capital to create an aerospace startup, says Vivek Raghavan, who heads the technology function at TeamIndus as a volunteer, in addition to being an investor and director on the board of Axiom. Here, the unique thing is that a bunch of talented engineers graduated and TeamIndus became an employer of choice. It has allowed us to build a large team despite not having large funding in the early years, compared with other teams competing for the GLXP.

The unique aspect of the journey to date has been a systems-engineering culture that marries the experience of ISRO veterans with the work of young engineers, many of whom are here because they love aerospace engineering and see this as a gateway for a career in it. Take the ones in their early 20s: systems engineer ES Paul Edward, in the structures and mechanisms team, who finished his masters from Cranfield University, UK; Karan Vaish, an aerospace engineer who has already worked on the moon rover. Nakul Kukar, another systems engineer who trained at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Department of Space, in Thiruvananthapuram, even worked with ISRO for some time before joining Axiom.

Each one of the kids who joined four or five years ago is now ready and primed to go to the next level, says Narayan, fleet commander (aerospace parlance for CEO) of Axiom. They will be able to lead a much bigger team, to lead a program. In any industry someone starts it. Maybe, Axiom is that entity for private aerospace. I am fairly certain that a lot of what we do here is creating a template for what more can be done from India. But the ISRO confluence has been crucial, especially for an organisation that cannot afford to look back on what is a $65 million moon mission. And the costs are eye-popping, considering that Axiom has placed 95% of the orders for equipment and material in the US (10+ vendors), Europe (10+ vendors), Japan (one), apart from home (7).

The TeamIndus spacecraft (or lander) has tanks that will cost $2.5 million, a $3 million engine and an IMU (inertial measurement unit) to manoeuvre the spacecraft that costs $1.5 million. The vibration test of the spacecraft at ISRO (over Rs50 lakh) costs more than that version of the spacecraft. The XPrize has already awarded a $1 million milestone prize to TeamIndus, and ISROs Antrix sign-off for the PSLV deal has been another huge validation. Says Narayan: There are rough edges. But as an organisation, we are able to punch way above our weight.

The real challenge is now, says Nair. Overcoming technological and time constraints, testing, showing the functionality and, of course, the mission itself. Compared with what we have been through, the biggest challenge is in the next 12 months. The ISRO veterans have already instilled something invaluable: a review structure.

The spacecraft: The all-aluminium quadrapod has been designed and developed by TeamIndus to survive temperatures between -230C and 150C.

Do, Review, Repeat

To do any space mission, there are 11 or 12 standard steps to follow. Narayan didnt know about this until 2012. That year he met Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, who had retired as ISRO chairman and was member of the now disbanded Planning Commission in Delhi. The 15-minute appointment went on for more than an hour. Kasturirangan said TeamIndus is on the right track, a validation that would in time prove crucial in many of the ISRO veterans making time for Axiom.

The Moon Mission is divided into around 10 subsystems (See Inside TeamIndus Technology Subsystems), each of which has four 4 to 12 people. There is an expert or manager in each subsystem. Since 2013, Axiom has separately built a group of 20-odd independent reviewers who know about the mission. Early on, it was OK to start from scratch and tell somebody in half hour how we got here and what the design is. Now we need people who have reviewed us before, so they dont have to start from scratch, Narayan explains.

From December 13 last year, TeamIndus had a weeklong review of all systems. Forty reviewers sat together for the systems-engineering overview, and then broke into groups of six or eight that reviewed each subsystem. Reviews can take half a day to two days. I can choose to do a review every two months, says Narayan. Or when I have made a dramatic change, like a supplier backing out. In that case, a change in component has an impact on power, mechanism and structures. Therefore I want to do a review. Every subsystem knows it has to get an independent review before proceeding to the next level. The next all-systems review is in April. Nair says ISRO has always had such an open environment. If you attend an ISRO review, you see the real nature of analysis and criticism, he says. Even for Chandrayaan I, a lot of changes were made after every review for improvement. I see the effort to emulate our processes here at TeamIndus. The young engineers couldnt have asked for a more testing environment, while working on subsystems. Such a project approach also lends itself to a flat organisation. At ISRO too, everyones work was open to very critical reviews. Everyone could question, criticise. There would be arguments. Once the decision was made, it would be executed as a team, Nair says.

Epilogue

Will Axiom evolve into a Blue Origin? Perhaps not, with the capital at its disposal. It looks improbable for Indias private sector today. Aerospace engineering is learned by experience, says Rishikesha Krishnan, director and professor of strategy at Indian Institute of Management, Indore. Organisations like Boeing or ISRO have cumulative expertise who can build from the experience of trying and failing, Krishnan explains. That is hard to replicate and cant be bought. The other issue is material aerospace is all about having very strong but lightweight material, which India currently imports or are not available because of import restrictions.

Axiom has started on the path by blending ISRO wisdom with an organisational model. The market they target needs to be deep, if not a mile wide. Bhat, the ex-ISRO scientist, says Indias private sector can have an infrastructure to build satellites rather than focus on launching rockets. Building and testing is one of the key areas which we have to turn into a world-class capability, so that satellites can be built and tested from India, he explains, while the others compete over preparations and launch. Even this slice of an opportunity calls for huge investments. And the moonshot will prove critical to draw attention to India and Axiom.

The team has made a small dent in the global supply chain by making it to the top five at the GLXP contest. Dhruv Batra, Jedi master (program), has been instrumental in stitching together the vendor base with global players, notably in the US. But when the team started meeting vendors, he heard the following from one of the companies there: We have the financial muscle to pull off what TeamIndus wants to do. But do you have the technical capabilities to do what you want to do?

TeamIndus was in the US to collect the milestone prize for its spacecraft. But the vendors had grown used to several other GLXP contenders approaching them for sweet deals or freebies. We are not here to donate our products for charity, a vendor said. Axiom had done its legal paperwork and emphasised, This is going to be a commercial venture.

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How Axiom Research Labs has emerged as India's first private ... - Economic Times

Steve Wood set to retire in March after being with Middlesex Aerospace for 50 years – Basingstoke Gazette

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IN FIVE decades a lot can change, especially in the world of aerospace engineering.

However, for Basingstokebased Middlesex Aerospace one constant in the last 50 years has been the presence of customer accounts manager Steve Wood.

Mr Wood joined the company at the age of 16 as an apprentice and has been right at the heart of the firm ever since his first day on February 6, 1967.

Praised for his encyclopaedialike knowledge, the 66-year-old quickly made an impression on the people he worked with at theTelford Road workshop and became an integral part of the Middlesex Aerospace team.

He said: I always got on really well with everyone I worked with and the quality of engineers who work here is exemplary.

Even though I was traditionally a pen-and-quill man I learnt how to adapt my role with the advancing technology.

But people would still come to me because I remembered all the part numbers of different components.

In his 50 years at the company, Mr Wood has experienced some highs and lows in his personal life, but said the joy of the job was always what kept him going.

I have always really enjoyed the work that I do, added Mr Wood.

I have always got up in the morning and looked forward to going to work, and even when I had personal problems the firm really helped me through it.

Now, almost 50 years to the day from when he started, Mr Wood has decided that at the end of March he will be retiring fromhe company.

Addressing his employees at a recent presentation, chief executive of Middlesex Aerospace, Paul Foulds, praised popular Mr Wood.

He said: Steve you have many friends and colleagues in the company and we will all miss you as a person and we shall also miss your skills and vast knowledge.

You have made an important contribution to maintaining excellent customer relations and service which is a hallmark of Middlesex Aerospace.

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Steve Wood set to retire in March after being with Middlesex Aerospace for 50 years - Basingstoke Gazette

Will a Radical Plan to Save New Zealand’s Birds With Genetic Engineering Work? – Gizmodo

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Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark with a Spotted Kiwi. Image: Getty Images

That the kiwi bird still exists at all is something of a marvel. Its native New Zealand has no endemic land predators, and so the bird evolved to be flightless. Today, its nests on the forest floor are under constant attack by invasive speciesopossums, rats, feral cats and the occasional misbehaving dog.

Despite conservation efforts, there are less than 70,000 kiwi left in all of New Zealand. The country loses about 20 kiwibirds a week.

But a radical new plan imagines modern technology as the key to saving New Zealanders namesake kiwi, and other native birds threatened by invaders: scientists want to use a genetic engineering technique known as a gene drive to stamp out invasive rodents for good.

Gene drives allow scientists to override natural selection during reproduction, in theory allowing for the alteration of the genetic makeup of large populations of animals in a relatively short amount of time. A story today in theMIT Technology Review reports that scientific teams in Australia and Texas have successfully engineered mice to only birth male offspring, a bias meant to drive down mouse populations on an island. Its the first time a gene drive has ever been used in a mammal. The scientists are working with a US conservation group, but the New Zealand government has suggested its open to using genetic engineering to deal with its own invasive problem.

This is not the first time that gene drive has been proposed as a means of conservation. In Hawaii, gene drive have been floated as a solution to the disease-carrying mosquitoes that threaten native bird populations. But there, the idea has been met with fierce resistance from environmentalists and native Hawaiians, and gained little traction.

In New Zealand, the idea may find more support. Last summer, the government announced a bold plan to eradicate all wild predators by 2050. It invested $28 million in a new joint venture company, Predator Free New Zealand Ltd, with the stated goal of achieving a scientific breakthrough capable of removing at least one small mammalian predator from New Zealand entirely by 2025. The countrys Department of Conservation has suggested genetic engineering just might be that breakthrough.

To think we are going to become predator free without poisons distributed from aircraft and/or genetic engineering could be viewed as overly optimistic, New Zealand Department of Conservation scientist Josh Kemp told a New Zealand news site after the announcement.

But while gene drives are highly controversial, inspiring panic about scientists accidentally unleashing a poorly-engineered creature that wreaks ecological havoc, its still unclear whether the technology will actually work in the wild.

Gene drives thwart natural selection by creating a so-called selfish gene that gets passed down to its offspring with more consistency than the rules of inheritance would allow, eventually spreading through an entire populationin theory. But recent research has suggested that wild populations will almost certainly develop resistance to lab-engineered modifications. In late 2015, researchers reported that while a CRISPR gene drive had indeed allowed an infertility mutation in female mosquitoes to be passed on to all offspring, as the mutation increased in frequency over several generations, resistance to the gene drive also emerged.

These things are not going to get too far in terms of eradicating a population, Michael Wade, an evolutionary geneticist at Indiana University Bloomington, recently told Nature.

Of course, should scientists find a way around that hurdle, there are still plenty of obstacles. In the wild, the engineered mice might not be as successful in competing for mates. And while they may succeed in eradicating mice populations on small islands, as the scientists are initially proposing in New Zealand, tackling the rodent population of New Zealands main islands is another thing entirely. Then there is the issue of public opinion. Resistance to the idea of messing with nature has made gene drives an incredibly fraught issue. At a recent meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity in Mexico, activists asked the UN to consider a global moratorium on gene drive. In response, the UN asked that scientists take heed of social, environmental, legal, and ethical considerations to develop the technology responsibly.

The gene drive is a technology that is rapidly advancing. In the past two years, it has gone from being just a theory to a technique successfully tested in yeast, fruit flies, mosquitoes and now mice.

The modified mice engineered by scientists at Texas A&M University were only born in the past two months, according to the Technology Review. It will take several generations of breeding to determine whether the male-only trait is successfully passed on to future generations, as hoped. As of January, the second team at University of Adelaide was still working on breeding its first generation of engineered mice.

If they are successful, those mice may eventually be released on sea islands where mice have been known to prey on albatross chicks. And if it all goes well, one day, those engineered pests may save the kiwi bird, too.

[MIT Technology Review]

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Applied Behavioral Science | CLG, Continuous Learning Group

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It is a fact of life that nothing changes until behaviors change. Applied Behavioral Science can help you to understand why people say and do certain things. The study of behavioral science has matured through the 20th century, and today is a combination of the traditional elements of science and the more innovative application in organizations.

The science of behavior relies on proven methods to help companies understand what influences behavior, and how managing those influences will impact the entire organization. ABS tools cut through many of the soft factors, such as personality and motivation, and focus on what can be directly observed and objectified, utilizing a scientific, data-based process that analyzes changes and manages behaviors.

ABS is very much a teaching and coaching approach, in which the leaders goal becomes the success of every employee. In this scientific process, early indicators are identified to objectively analyze the impact of changing behavior. Utilizing ABS, leaders may discern the correct behaviors to measure, and make early predictions as to whether the desired results will be achieved.

Harnessing the power of ABS and achieving the behaviors that are linked to end results clearly correlates to improvements in:

Through the implementation of ABS, you have the power to influence every behavior within your organization. ABS helps leaders to understand the impact of antecedents and consequences of behavior. With CLGs support, you can then utilize this science to implement behavior changes across large groups of employees across your organization.

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Applied Behavioral Science | CLG, Continuous Learning Group

Sri Lanka: Tamil Insurgents Marxism Versus Nationalism – Sri Lanka Guardian

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( February 11, 2017, Boston Hong Kong SAR, Sri Lanka Guardian) Ethnic nationalism, in our view, remains the driving force of the insurgency. Deep-seated anti-Sinhalese sentiment is common to all Tamil insurgent groups, easily transferable to new recruits and more useful to insurgent leaders as a motivating force than Marxist ideology, a declassified CIA Intelligence memorandum observed.

The insurgents argue the establishment of an independent Tamil state is the only way to remove the political, economic and cultural dominance of the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. During two rounds of Indian-brokered talks with the government last summer, insurgent leaders of the ENLF and PLOTE were able to agree only on extreme Tamil nationalist demands including Tamil self-determination and recognition of traditional Tamil homelands. Insurgent pamphlets and books repeat slogans of Tamil nationalism and anti-Sinhalese rhetoric and insurgent radio broadcasts in Sri Lanka usually highlight alleged atrocities by Sinhalese soldiers against Tamil civilians. They frequently accuse the Sinhalese government of oppression against the Tamil Nation.

However, Sri Lanka hopes to win US military and diplomatic support by claiming the Tamil insurgency has become increasingly dominated by Marxism. Although all major insurgent organizations claim allegiance to Marxism, the most active groups are motivated principally by ethnic rivalry with the majority Sinhalese, a declassified CIA Intelligence memorandum further observed.

According to the Intelligence memorandum. These groups have little in the way of a political agenda other than gaining Colombos recognition of a traditional Tamil homeland and a Tamil right to self-determination. Moreover, they are divided by leadership rivalries and caste distinctions

Over the longer term, however, the Marxist threat to Sri Lanka is likely to grow. The Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE)the largest and best financed of the insurgent groups but currently not one of the most activewants to provoke an island-wide revolution in Sri Lanka as well as establish a Marxist Tamil state. Unlike the predominantly nationalist groups which pose the most immediate threat to the government, PLOTE has refrained from anti-government attacks.Instead, it is conserving its resources for a prolonged struggle and is working to establish ideological and military links to radical Sinhalese Marxists, CIA monitored.

PLOTE is likely to pursue its goals whether or not there is a negotiated settlement offering Tamils limited autonomy in the near term. It will further strengthen ties with Sinhalese Marxists in southern Sri Lanka and will continue to husband its resources to gain dominance over the other insurgent groups, CIA further added.

A copy of the Intelligence memorandum is reproduced below;

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Trump on Drug War: ‘We’re Going to be Ruthless … We Have No Choice’ – CNSNews.com

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Trump on Drug War: 'We're Going to be Ruthless ... We Have No Choice'
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(CNSNews.com) -- Speaking before a prominent group of police chiefs and sheriffs from across the nation, President Donald Trump said his administration will fight a "ruthless" war against illegal drugs and assist state and local officials in stopping ...

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Mexico Should Ask Trump to Pay For The Drug War – AlterNet

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Mexican Marines raid the Zetas Photo Credit: Creative Commons/By Borderland Beat Reporter Buggs

Attention deficit disorder isnt usually a welcome presidential attribute, but Mexicans can be thankful that Donald Trump has temporarily shifted his focus away from their country to pick fights instead with Iran, the EU, China, California, and the U.S. news media.

The last time Trump addressed Mexico, right after the election, the peso fell 17 percent. Within days of his inauguration, Trump demanded that Mexico pay for a border wall, prompting cancellation of his planned summit meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pea Nieto.

As former Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhanlamented, it took only one week of bilateral engagement between the new U.S. administration and Mexico to throw the relationship into a tailspin. That relationship would be better if Trump had stuck to theview he expressedin November 2015: I dont care about Mexico, honestly. I really dont care about Mexico.

Someday soon, however, Trump will rediscover his interest in Mexico, and relations will likely suffer again. But Mexico need not take his abuse lying down. As the buyer of more than aquartertrilliondollars in U.S. exportsthe second largest market in the world for U.S. goodsMexico has some leverage if Trump tries to play rough with tariffs and trade.

And if Trump persists in sending a bill to Mexico City for his wall, Pea should seriously consider sending a bill in return to Washington to pay for the U.S. drug war.

The high cost to Mexico of the U.S. drug war

For years now, Mexico has paid an extraordinarily high price in lives and social disruption for Washingtons insistence that North Americas drug problem be tackled south of the border, where the drugs are grown and transported, rather than primarily in clinics and halfway houses at home to treat the medical and psychological issues of users.

Successive administrations, starting with President Nixon, have demanded ever tougher border controls, aerial spraying programs, and DEA-backed anti-cartel operations in Mexico. All their efforts and sacrifices have been for naught. U.S. residentscurrentlyexport up to $29 billion in cash to Mexican traffickers each year to buy marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines, and heroin.

Forcing that trade underground has taken a terrible toll on Mexico in terms of violence, corruption, and social upheaval. Since 2006, when President Felipe Caldern ordered his military to join the war on drug traffickers, Mexico has lost about200,000 livesand 30,000 more have disappeared,dwarfingthe civilian death toll in Afghanistan and Iraq over that period.

The majority of them were victims of criminal organizations, but human rights organizations also reportsoaring rates of human rights violations, including torture and killing, committed by security forces.

The2016 Global Peace Index, prepared by the Institute for Economics and Peace, estimates the total cost of violence in Mexico at $273 billion, or 14 percent of GDP, with no end in sight.Direct fiscal costsof fighting the war on crime were about $32 billion in 2015 alone. Yet the United States has contributed only about $2.5 billion since fiscal 2008 to Mexicos drug war, under the so-called Merida Initiative.

Mexicos pain shows no signs of easing. New York Timesreportedin December that Mexico suffered more than 17,000 homicides in the first 10 months of last year, the highest total since 2012. The relapse in security has unnerved Mexico and led many to wonder whether the country is on the brink of a bloody, all-out war between criminal groups, it said.

Time for an alternative

In his last phone call with Mexican President Pea,Trump reportedly complained, You have some pretty tough hombres in Mexico that you may need help with. We are willing to help with that big-league, but they have to be knocked out and you have not done a good job knocking them out. According to one disputed account,Trump threatenedto send U.S. troops south of the border if Mexico doesnt do more to stop the drug problem.

Pea can continue to do Washingtons bidding,ensuring his political demise, or he can challenge Trump by asking why Mexico should fight North Americas drug war on its own soil and at its own expense. If he goes the latter route, hell have plenty of good company.

Former heads of state from Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, along with other distinguished members of theGlobal Commission on Drug Policy, have called for normalization of drugseliminating black markets and incentives for violence by legalizing individual possession and cultivation of drugs while instituting public health regulations. They note that such programs have succeeded admirably in Portugal and the Netherlands at reducing both the criminal and public health costs of drug abuse.

The harms created through implementing punitive drug laws cannot be overstated when it comes to both their severity and scope, they assert in their 2016 report, Advancing Drug Policy Reform. Thus, we need new approaches that uphold the principles of human dignity, the right to privacy and the rule of law, and recognize that people will always use drugs. In order to uphold these principles all penalties both criminal and civilmust be abolished for the possession of drugs for personal use.

Support for decriminalization is growing in Mexico, where the supreme court in 2015approvedgrowing and smoking marijuana for personal use. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox nowadvocateslegalizing all drugs over a transition period of up to a decade.

Jorge Castaeda, a former Mexican foreign minister, recentlyopined, Mexico should take advantage of Californias decision to legalize recreational marijuana. Regardless of Mr. Trumps victory, the approval of the proposition in the United States most populous state makes Mexicos war on drugs ridiculous. What is the purpose of sending Mexican soldiers to burn fields, search trucks and look for narco-tunnels if, once our marijuana makes it into California, it can be sold at the local 7-Eleven?

Criticsrightly point out that what works in the Netherlands wont necessarily solve Mexicos problems. Its powerful drug gangs have diversified into a host of other violent criminal enterprises. They control territory, intimidate or corrupt law enforcement, and kill with impunity. Legalizing drug sales wont end their criminal ways, but it could erode their profits and let police focus on universally despised crimes with direct victimsmurder, kidnapping, extortion and the like.

As Mexican journalist Jos Luis Pardo Veirasremarkedlast year, Decriminalizing drug use will not fix a deeply rooted problem in this country, but it will allow Mexicans to differentiate between drugs and the war on drugs, between drug users and drug traffickers. This is the first step in acknowledging that a different approach is possible.

As for Trump, let him build his wall and see if that keeps out all the drugs. If not, maybe by then Mexico will be able to offer some useful advice on how to fight the drug problem not with guns, but with more enlightened policies.

Jonathan Marshall is an independent scholar and journalist.

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Mexico Should Ask Trump to Pay For The Drug War - AlterNet