Question for the engineers

Stumbled across this while searching for recommendations for a CECB:

Don Bouldrey: Since I’m still dumb as a stick about this dtv, I've assumed [component over-] heating has been causing signal dropouts but now it appears as though it’s the wind causing that on the weaker stations. I use folded dipoles of different wavelengths hung in a cedar tree to pull from transmitters that are in three different directions and spread by 50°. Hey, it works fine for analog, even in a hurricane, but I’m learning digital is a different animal.

bdfox18doe (Charlotte, NC): You’re encountering dynamic multipath that the receiver isn’t fast enough to correct for. Nearby trees, especially when wet, will really affect ATSC reception, especially at UHF frequencies. And some receivers handle it much better than others.

Don Bouldrey: I can see that I’ll be rethinking my old antenna system. Even though my dipoles are tuned to frequency and aimed at the towers, this wind issue will be a pain. Otherwise, everything is about as good as it can get. Funny thing with the ATSC is the propaganda is really exploiting the safety and reliability of DTV and discussing the value of it for keeping people safe in emergency.... while showing footage of a hurricane in action. Like you, I'm thinking ATSC will be useless in a hurricane whereas the analog TV works just fine no matter what the conditions. When ’cane Ivan hit us @ 135, every time I saw the red doppler bands heading for our house, all hell broke loose. Our reception remained perfect all night long. I should say it was perfect for the one station that managed to stay on the air throughout the night.

I wonder if there's any contingency plan for reverting to analog when hurricanes are heading in. An inoperative television system just won’t fly in hurricane country.

Scooper (Youngsville, NC): I'd like to hear from some members in hurricane country right after a ’cane goes through to get the straight scoop on this. I've noticed that my reception is rather spotty with blowing, wet trees, but that is exactly what I attributed it to - blowing, wet trees. It doesn't do DBS any good either.

satpro (central FL): ATSC works fine in a hurricane, tested during trifecta hurricane season a few years ago during Charley, Francis and Jeanne in Orlando. What doesn’t work is when the stations don’t bother to have a generator with gas in it hooked up to the DTV transmitter or the cheap %^&&*(# choose to shut the DTV off to conserve fuel, shutting down distant cable companies who take the DTV feed.

What about it, engineers?  What can we expect re: digital television reliability under adverse conditions?

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 17:30:31 GMT | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Government by toddlers

Chris Soghoian:

The United Kingdom has the most surveillance cameras per capita in the world. With the recent news that CCTV cameras do not actually deter crime, how can the local town councils justify the massive surveillance program? By going after pooping dogs.

And...

• ...littering,
• ...misuse of a disabled parking badge.
• ...to identify a false claim for damages.
• ...to spy on a person who was working while off sick.

But how many real criminals?

“It's been an utter fiasco: only 3 percent of crimes were solved by CCTV.” - Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville^[1], head of the Metropolitan Police’s Visual Images Office, as quoted by The Guardian

Any parent will immediately recognize the Toddler Syndrome. Tell your 5-year-old to clean up his room. Wait two hours. Then:
With governments, it’s only slightly different:
Wait six months. Then:


(Not to mention that catching Criminals, Pedophiles, and Terrorists might be dangerous. It’s far easier (and safer!) for the petty and vindictive (i.e., most bureaucrats) to sit in front of their screens and use what they see to hassle people who won’t fight back, i.e., the average citizen.)




Via: Daily Pundit
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Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 19:49:17 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Voter ID: Working as intended

The AP covers the Indiana election, and finds the state’s voter ID law worked pretty well:

About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.

Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members of Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.

Which they could have obtained for free. If you don’t want to follow the rules, yadda yadda... (And by the way, props to Sister Julie!)

Despite trying to write the story that wasn’t there...

...voting appeared to run smoothly, despite the fears of some elections experts that the Supreme Court's recent refusal to strike down Indiana's controversial photo identification law could cause confusion at the polls.

...and blame any problems on the usual (unreasonable, mean-spirited, paranoid) suspects...

The Republican-led effort was designed to combat ballot fraud, said supporters, who also have acknowledged that no case involving someone impersonating a voter at the polls has ever been prosecuted^[1] in Indiana.

even the AP didn’t find much to report.

...a group of voting rights advocates that established a separate hot line reported receiving several calls from would-be voters who were turned away at precincts because they lacked state or federal identification bearing a photograph.

(Note: “several”==“not very many.”)

One newly married woman said she was told she couldn't vote because her driver's license name didn't match the one on her voter registration record...

So let’s see, which one didn’t you update:  your license or your voter’s registration? Sounds like a case of poor planning to me.

Another woman said she was turned away from casting her first-ever ballot because she had only a college-issued ID card and an out-of-state driver's license...

And just which state is your official residence, dearie?  Clue: Being a college student doesn’t mean you get to vote twice.

...about a dozen college students at Notre Dame, Butler University and Indiana University said they were told at the polls they didn't have the right form of identification

And “college students” should have been smart enough to obtain the documents required. I call shenanigans.

There were a few ID problems (one woman says she wasn’t told that she could vote provisionally), but most glitches involved shortages of ballots.

In southern Jackson County, at least one precinct ran short of ballots and an electronic backup system failed. Poll workers made copies of ballots and planned to hand-count them, which was expected to delay results there.

Several precincts in northwestern Porter County, where Barack Obama was expected to do well, also ran out of Democratic ballots, and a judge ordered polls to stay open an additional hour.

With some precincts’ turnout close to that of general elections, ballot shortages should have been anticipated. But the fact they occurred isn’t surprising.  A friend of mine who is a poll worker told me that- because of the different layout of congressional districts, state legislative districts, and municipalities- his precinct had four different ballots, depending on the voter’s address.

Still it seems that the fears about voter ID were unfounded.  Is anybody really surprised?


Previously: Good news for election integrity
Via:  Daily Pundit
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Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 19:14:07 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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His name is “Jeremy,” which is all you need to know

Somebody mooned a speedcam in Northumberland, and upset Jeremy goes for the Twit Of the Year^[1] Award:

Jeremy Forsberg, of the Northumbria Safer Roads Initiative, said: “This behaviour is simply ridiculous - it’s clear what he was thinking with what he had on show.

“Not only is it disrespectful, but distasteful and offensive, particularly to children who may have been exposed to this nonsense...” - the BBC, who have a picture

More: Geoff compiles a collection of Jeremy quotes, terms him “...a serial abuser of hyperbole, and the penultimate sanctimonious nag.”


Via: C.G. Hill, who advises:

Get a grip, Jer. The camera could have gotten shot at.

...or vandalised.^[2]

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There are some things

...that man was not meant to wot of.

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 20:02:45 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Jay Leno joins the adults

Democrats say drilling in ANWR wouldn’t produce any oil for 10 years — the same point they’ve been making for more than 10 years now.  - Jay Leno, May 1, 2008

...and they’ll be making it for another 10 years, if we let them.  (The Heritage Foundation’s Foundry weblog has the links.)

Also: Heard on the radio this morning: “The very people who have done the most to block energy independence are the ones screaming the loudest over high gasoline prices.”  [or something like that - o.g.]

Could it be we’re finally achiving critical mass on this issue?


Via:  IP
Previously:

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 20:08:43 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Chertoff shouldn’t get a chance to resign

... he should be fired.

The Department of Homeland Security is refusing to identify the “influential Muslim Americans” and “leading U.S.-based scholars and commentators on Islam” who met with Secretary Michael Chertoff in helping shape a softer approach to government lexicon about terrorists and their ideological motivations.

“Our policy is we don't comment on the Secretary's private schedule,” spokeswoman Amy Kudwa told the IPT.  Nor would she identify any of the participants’ organizational affiliation.

DHS and the State Department’s Counterterrorism Communications Center each issued reports urging government employees to avoid words like “jihad,” “mujahedeen” or any reference to Islam or Muslims, especially in relation to Al Qaeda...

The memos say a change in language from the U.S. government is needed to win the hearts and minds of moderate Muslims and avoid glamorizing terrorists motivated by religious ideology...

Among the recommendations not reported previously:

• "The experts we consulted debated the word “liberty,” but rejected it because many around the world would discount the term as “a buzzword for American hegemony.”
• “The fact is that Islam and secular democracy are fully compatible [What?!? - o.g.] – in fact, they can make each other stronger. Senior officials should emphasize that fact.” ...

... The memo doesn’t offer examples to show where Islam and secular democracy have reinforced each other, or explain how Shariah law, the imposition of religion into state affairs, is “fully compatible” with secular democracy.

Stick a fork in him. He’s done.


IPT Links:

Jihad Watch:

Previously: Transportation “security:” fire them all

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“Nemo Paradise” is running a financial prediction contest...

...over at Daily Pundit

Pick which price the five items below will touch first – the high or the low. Some data (rounded) is provided just as a reference. “Closest” is defined as number of dollars, not in percentage terms.

Ending point is July 1^st. Go over and stick your neck out!

Here are my predictions (with reasons, FWIW):

1. Dow: A. 14,000 (high)… reflecting inflation (thank you, Fed)
2. Gold: B. $750 (low)… When you start hearing “It’s time to buy gold” spots on the radio, it’s time to sell
3. Euro: B. $1.45 (low)… European central banks don’t like the weak dollar.
4. Oil: A. $130 (high)… Oil will probably drop close to $100 (the low), but not get there due to OPEC intervention.
5. Wheat B. $6.50 (low)… Too many speculators are long.

Given my usual accuracy on stuff like this, someone should vote 100% against me.

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 19:20:27 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Grading gets in the way of education

So say the 34 members of the U.K.’s Weston Manor Group.  Interestingly, they see it primarily as the educators’ problem...

“In expanded higher education, marking [grading] loads can be gigantic ... Teachers spend too little time on good feedback sessions, fostering good trust relationships with students, and enhancing their learning and teaching.”

although students share the blame...

“The need to get a ‘good degree’ makes assessment the main driver for students - there is too much focus on the narrow purpose of attaining a grade, the magical 2:1. The key purpose of assessment - learning - gets lost.”

But what do you do when 90% of the students are there for the credential, not the knowledge?


Elsewhere:

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 18:09:09 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Glenn Reynolds quotes Pournelle again...

...Cheap energy will cause a boom.  The only cheap energy I know of is nuclear.  Three Hundred Billion bucks in nuclear power will do wonders for the economy.  We build 100 1000 MegaWatt nuclear power plants -- they will cost no more than 2 billion each and my guess is that the average cost will be closer to 1 billion each (that is the first one costs about 20 billion and the 100th costs about 800 million).  The rest of the money goes to prizes and X projects to convert electricity into mobility.

Of course we won't do that.   (Jerry Pournelle, in Chaos Manor mailbag)

and remarks

I detect a lack of confidence in our political class.

Of course there’s a lack of confidence.  Because the drive of the political class is not to solve problems, but to create problems which are then “solved” by increasing the power of the political class.


Previously:

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