To See Ourselves as Others See Us (Part 6)

This posting is based on a talk I gave to The Villages Philosophy Club on 19 July 2019, plus supporting stuff from my Blogs and other sources.

PART 6 -  ACTIVE RETIREMENT IN THE VILLAGES, FLORIDA

RETIREMENT IN THE VILLAGES, FLORIDA

Vi and I have made many momentous decisions while raising our children and in our professional lives. Nearly all of them turned out very good, as if someone was watching over us and nudging us in the "right" direction.

In 2003, a couple years after retirement, we sold our home in Apalachin, NY and moved to The Villages, Florida. This turned out to be exactly the right thing to do at that time.

The Villages is known as "America's Favorite Retirement Home Town". There must be something in the water or the air, because, like almost all of our neighbors, we can't help saying "It's a beautiful day in The Villages" every chance we get. The photo montage below depicts our active retirement.

To See Ourselves as Others See Us (Part 5)

This posting is based on a talk I gave to The Villages Philosophy Club on 19 July 2019. plus supporting stuff from my Blogs and other sources.

PART 5 -  OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES IN NEW YORK AND  FLORIDA

CYCLING
As a kid in Brooklyn, I did lots of bicycling, most if it in traffic. Our motto was "In Brooklyn, cars gotta' look out for themselves!" 

As a child, my Dad taught me to ride on a bike we rented. He, my Mom, and I would occasionally go out riding on rental bikes. We lived in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, NY and sometimes rode along the Boardwalk between Brighton Beach and Coney Island (allowed early on Sunday mornings when there were few people). Other times, we rode to Sheepshead Bay and along a bike trail to Canarsie. 

The First Bike I Owned (1956)

In 1956, when I was in high school, my Uncle Harry, who worked at Macy's, arranged the purchase of a Raleigh "English Racer". We took it home on the subway because my Dad didn't have a car. 

To See Ourselves as Others See Us (Part 4)

This posting is based on a talk I gave to The Villages Philosophy Club on 19 July 2019. plus supporting stuff from my Blogs and other sources.

PART 4 - APPLE II AND IBM PC ROCK OUR WORLD

OUR APPLE II HOME COMPUTER

In 1978, I had been working for IBM Federal Systems for 13 years when an advertisement from a startup computer company appeared. It literally changed our world!

My wife and I paid almost $5,000 for this Apple II and two disk drives (the equivalent of around $20,000 in today's dollars). That purchase has paid off many times over!

To See Ourselves As Others See Us (Part 3)

This posting is based on a talk I gave to The Villages Philosophy Club on 19 July 2019. plus supporting stuff from my Blogs and other sources.

PART 3 - TOASTMASTERS AND MY EARLY CAREER AT IBM

MY IBM CAREER STARTS

IBM Federal Systems in Owego specialized in making digital computers that could stand the rigors of  use in military aircraft. At the time, virtually all airborne computers were of the analog type, so we were pioneers the new digital world. 

We were also responsible for integrating these digital computers into the Avionics ("aircraft electronics") Systems, connecting them and making them work seamlessly with the (mostly analog) sensors and controls and displays. 

After we won the Avionics integration contract for the Air Force/Navy A-7 D/E, I was the "cognizant engineer" responsible for the Head-Up Display (HUD) and the Moving Map. 

Our customer was Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), the airframe manufacturer, located in the Irving/Arlington area of Texas, between Dallas and Ft. Worth. How did I, a brash Brooklyn engineer get along with those Texans? Well, as I'll explain, it was rocky at first, but ended well. 

A UFO or a Speck of Schmutz in a Sensor?

You've recently seen video of supposed UFOs reportedly flying at incredible speeds near military aircraft. A story this evening on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Fox News, 12 March 2018), one of my favorite cable news shows, triggered me to write this Blog posting.

Although I've been retired since 2001, I have decades of experience working on advanced avionics systems. IMHO, I am quite certain each of those supposed UFOs is merely a speck of schmutz (to use the "technical" term for dirt :^) stuck inside the optics of the aircraft video sensor, or on the lens itself.

If you click and watch either of the videos I have linked (USA Today and CNN), or look at the screen grabs below, you'll see that the horizon line is not level, which means the aircraft is turning.

You'll also notice that the supposed UFO is sometimes a DARK spot or smudge, and sometimes a LIGHT spot or smudge. The reason the spot or smudge changes from DARK to LIGHT, and back again, has to do with the direction of the aircraft towards or away from the Sun. Of course, as the aircraft turns, the Sun is sometimes shining towards the video sensor, and sometimes away.

Please read the captions on the following screen grabs to understand what is going on. (The first two are from the USA Today video. The last two from CNN.)

(1) In this image, the horizon line is almost level, but tipped slightly to the left. That means the aircraft is turning slowly to the right.

The central symbol is called the "Flight Path Marker". The circle represents our aircraft body, the horizontal lines on either side are our wings, and our aircraft tail is represented by the vertical line.

The supposed UFO is the LIGHT spot below the Flight Path Marker. That spot is inside bracket symbols indicating that it is being tracked by the sensor system. In actuality, it is a speck of schmutz in (or on) the video sensor optical system.

(2) In this image, the horizon line is tipped to the right. That means the aircraft is turning to the left.

The supposed UFO is now a DARK spot below the Flight Path Marker. It has changed from LIGHT to DARK because our aircraft is turning and our angle to the Sun has changed.

Watch the USA Today video and notice that the supposed UFO remains absolutely stationary in the video image as the aircraft turns. If the supposed UFO was an actual aircraft, it would have to be flying rapidly along a path circling our aircraft, in absolute synchronism with our turn rate, and remaining the same distance away. An impossible task!

Therefore, the spot MUST be due to a speck of schmutz that is attached to our aircraft, and, indeed, attached to (or inside) the video sensor optics.

(3) In this image, the horizon line is tipped sharply right, so the aircraft is turning left quite rapidly.

Notice that the supposed UFO is now, quite clearly, an irregular piece of schmutz in the optical system. It is dark due to the Sun angle.

(4) The supposed UFO is now light due to the Sun angle. If  you view the linked CNN video you will see that the schmutz, in addition to changing from dark to light, has changed shape a bit. That leads me to believe it may be stuck to a part of the optical system that is subject to external forces, such as the airstream or the centrifugal forces associated with the rapid turn rate.

BOTTOM LINE: Neat videos, but definitely not evidence of any type of UFO (unless the "aliens" are very small and traveling in aircraft made of tiny balls of schmutz that have the ability to penetrate inside our avionics systems).

Ira Glickstein

Steve Jobs RIP - Our first and most recent Apples

My wife and I invested $5,000 in one of the first 3000 Apple II computers back in 1978 (about $20,000 in 2011 dollars).

<< Magazine ad shows Apple II using a TV set as a display, as we did. The inset photo shows Steve Wozniak, the self-taught computer engineer, and Steve Jobs, the visionary, with one of the first Apple II computers.

This year, I paid a fraction of that for my Apple iPad2.

<< Me with my Apple iPad2 (photo taken with the very same iPad2). Steve Jobs in one of his last appearances announcing future developments for the iPad tablet computers.

Our 1978 investment brought fantastic rewards. As a result of our Apple II, Vi became interested in computers, earned a Masters Degree in Computer Science, taught at Binghamton University for a year, and then had a very successful professional career as a team leader for Special Forces helicopter software at IBM and Lockheed Martin.

I brought my Apple II (in a good-size suitcase) to IBM and used it while teaching a course there.

As a result, when the original IBM PC1 was introduced, I got the first one delivered to the IBM facility in Owego and introduced it to the other engineers. I have written thousands of lines of computer code for the Apple II and the IBM PC, and, although IBM never paid me for writing code, I believe that my Apple II and IBM PC computer expertise was largely responsible for my success in conceptualizing advanced automation for avionics systems.

As the life and contributions of Steve Jobs were being celebrated on all the TV news programs and newspapers today, I could not help but add my thanks to this American Original. Every time I use my iPad2, I marvel at the concept and the execution of a wonderful product no one knew we needed a couple years ago. It has become my constant companion. I use it as a camera, web surfer, email communicator, video viewer, book reader, game player, and so, so much more.

So, Steve Jobs - rest in peace. And THANKS! Your contributions changed the world - and my life - and will be remembered forever.

Ira Glickstein

PS: Had we invested that $5,000 in Apple stock in 1978, what would it have been worth today? OY!