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Pastimes : The New Qualcomm - write what you like thread. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neeka who wrote (6445)	9/20/2003 9:59:10 AM
From: John Carragher	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12231

Smart and Secure Tradelanes Ships First 100 `Smart Containers` Across Pacific Ocean With Real-Time Tracking and Detection BizWire January 9, 2003 (12:00 p.m. EST) Business Editors/High-Tech Writers SEATTLE & HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2003-- World's Largest Public-Private Logistics Security Initiative Ships `Smart' Ocean Containers Loaded with Tons of Consumer Goods That are Electronically Sealed and Tracked by Global Security Network Software for Real-Time, End-to-End Visibility Through Ports of Hong Kong and Seattle; Hutchison Port Holdings Deploys Software and Radio Frequency Identification Infrastructure From Savi Technology to Provide Major Retail Customer with End-to-End Visibility and Security The first wave of "smart and secure" ocean containers filled with merchandise to replenish store shelves for the New Year have been transported over the Pacific Ocean between major ports in Asia and the U.S. West Coast. These milestone shipments mark the successful operational deployment of Smart and Secure Tradelanes, the world's largest public-private initiative to improve the end-to-end security and efficiency of container transportation. This unique partnership is sponsored by the Strategic Council on Security Technology, a global advisory resource and catalyst for cargo and includes a rapidly growing list of partners, including major shippers, port and terminal operators, transportation service providers and technology solution providers. The groundbreaking SST initiative repurposes infrastructure, processes, and technology used by the U.S. Department of Defense to deliver both productivity and security benefits to ports, terminal operators, service providers, carriers, and shippers. By leveraging existing proven methods within the context of an open system which allows for innovation and expansion, SST has created a solid baseline infrastructure that vastly improves security and productivity now and can be enhanced over time as new technologies and enhanced processes are deployed. Over the past month, SST partners have shipped more than 100 40-foot long ocean containers, which have carried automotive parts, electronic equipment, toys and other consumer product goods, have been equipped with electronic seals that detect security breaches and instantly communicate their status and location over radio frequencies to a web-based software security network. The first 100 of these "smart and secure" containers have been shipped between the ports of Hong Kong, Singapore, Seattle and Los Angeles and Long Beach over the past six weeks. The most recent shipment just days before the New Year included ten container loads of store merchandise that was managed successfully by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) - the world's largest port operator -- on behalf of a major U.S.-based retailer and that involved a number of HPH partners, including Savi Technology, Maersk Logistics and Mitsui OSK. The real-time solutions provided for the initial SST roll-outs managed by HPH came from Savi Technology, which is providing Radio Frequency Identification hardware (SmartSeals, Readers and Signposts), as well as inter-linked software, including the Savi SmartChain(TM) Platform and Transportation Security System software application. "As the largest port operator in the world, we have a vested interest in making sure that ocean-going cargo operations worldwide are conducted in the safest and most efficient manner," said John Meredith, Group Managing Director of HPH, a founding member of Smart and Secure Tradelanes, which was announced last summer by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WASH) on Capitol Hill. "We're excited about working closely with some of the world's major companies in this initiative, and we're encouraged by the progress and initial results of the first container shipments between Asia and the U.S. West Coast," Meredith added. "SST is a model we expect to continue to roll out in critical trade lanes worldwide." HPH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hutchison-Whampoa Ltd. (SEHK: 0013), the world's largest port operating company, managing 30 ports in Asia, Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Americas, which are the leading ports of origin for the total import container traffic to U.S. ports. "The Port of Seattle is excited to be a part of this program to safeguard our cargo, our citizens and our economy," said Port of Seattle Chief Executive Officer Mic Dinsmore. "As one of the nation's primary gateways for international trade, we think this technology represents a major step in securing the supply chain from factory door to the showroom floor." "In just a few months, Smart and Secure Tradelanes has gone from a concept to a concrete reality using sophisticated wireless and Internet technologies in one of the world's most complex environments - the global supply chain," said Gen. John Coburn, U.S. Army (Ret.), and chairman of the Strategic Council on Security Technology. "I'm very proud that so much progress has occurred so quickly to implement this international security initiative, which is closely coordinated with U.S. government programs such as CSI (Container Security Initiative) and C-TPAT (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism). It's gratifying to see that battle-tested technologies developed for the U.S. Department of Defense now are being leveraged to protect lives and livelihoods in the commercial world." Coburn, formerly the commanding general of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, was instrumental in building DoD's Total Asset Visibility network, the world's largest active RFID supply tracking system that manages 270,000 conveyances moving through over 40 countries. SST is leveraging and extending the physical infrastructure, technology and experience of the TAV network that was primarily built and is operated Savi Technology. This 6th-generation technology is now being applied to SST, making SST-sponsored containers the most highly secured and efficiently managed in the world. These unique containers have been locked at their point of origin with electronic seals (E-Seals) that function like mini-computers because of integrated circuit boards in them that automatically store, process, receive and transmit information via radio antenna to a powerful software platform and robust applications. As a result, event-driven information is automatically transmitted on the location, status and security of containers, which also provides a documented audit trail of the shipments. The initiative now involves implementation at 11 major ocean tradelanes worldwide, and has grown to about 35 partners, including the world's three largest port operators handling 70 percent of world trade - Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), P&O Ports and PSA Corporation; major shippers such as Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT); transportation service providers; and best-of-breed technology solution providers such as QUALCOMM (Nasdaq: QCOMM), SAIC, Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Savi Technology, which serves as the primary solution provider of the hardware and software. SST is a phased, industry-driven initiative using an open technology platform working in coordination with U.S. Customs, Transportation Security Administration, Operation Safe Commerce, C-TPAT and the Container Security Administration to improve the security and productivity of cargo shipments. In the most recent shipment managed by HPH, about a dozen "smart and secure" containers started their journey at a consolidation center near the Port of Hong Kong, where more than 2 million containers account for over 20 per cent of imports into the United States. After authorized personnel loaded and bolt-locked these 40-foot long containers, they became "smart and secure" when electronically sealed with Savi Technology's EchoPoint 645 SmartSeals. The sealing "event" was automatically recorded by a handheld device, which enabled authorized personnel to capture and verify key information, such as the time, date, location, container identification, booking and contents (manifest), with shipment information already keyed into the Transportation Security System developed by Savi and operated by HPH. Key data points were then electronically verified and available for Customs authorities to determine pre-loading inspections. The "smart and secure" containers were then moved to a container yard where they waited to be loaded onto the right vessels. Throughout this pre-loading process, strategically placed RFID readers continuously monitored their location and security status (and verify information) up until the time they were scheduled for departure. With no irregularities recorded, these containers were loaded onto a vessel with some 5,000 other conventional containers that looked the same but weren't electronically secured. After the typical 10-day journey across the Pacific Ocean, the vessel transporting these containers berthed at the Port of Seattle, where another series of strategically placed RFID readers recorded their location and security status, enabling the shipments to be verified and certified in near real-time by all relevant U.S. authorities. Once cleared to exit the Port of Seattle, the smart containers were loaded onto the chassis of a regional carrier and transported to a third-party distribution facility outside the Port of Seattle. The distribution center, which is also equipped with the same SST technology, continued to capture key events and transmit them to the Savi Transportation Security System software, where real-time information is accessed by pre-authorized parties in a secured Internet environment. Authorized personnel then unlocked the SmartSeal using an encrypted code, the event was recorded and transmitted to the Transportation Security System software, enabling complete information verification and the instant creation of a documented audit trail of the entire process. From there, the merchandise was shipped to retail stores throughout the Northwest - safely, securely and efficiently - just in time to replenish store shelves for 2003. About the Strategic Council on Security Technology The Strategic Council on Security Technology is an international assembly of top executives from the world's largest port operators, major logistics technology providers, four-star generals, former public officials and prominent transportation consultancies. Acting as an international resource, the Strategic Council on Security Technology is committed to helping ensure greater supply chain security through best-of-breed practices and technologies while working with a variety of other industry associations. About HPH Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) is the world's leading port investor, developer and operator with interests in 15 countries throughout Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Today, HPH operates a total of 169 berths in 30 ports together with a number of transportation related service companies. With industry recognized core competence in the effective and efficient management and operation of container ports, the HPH Group handled 27 million TEU in 2001.

To: Neeka who wrote (6445)	10/1/2003 9:31:12 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 12231

WSJ article on "Extreme Ironing" (I am not making this up !) October 1, 2003 Extreme Ironing : Adding New Wrinkles To an Age-Old Chore Enthusiasts Press Duds While Climbing, Diving; Photo Op in a Frozen Lake By CASSELL BRYAN-LOW Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Philip Shaw is giving new meaning to the term Ironman. The 29-year-old British technology consultant is the founder of a small, thriving underground of "extreme ironing" enthusiasts. They iron their laundry while rock-climbing, sailing, skydiving, or pursuing other risky sports. In the last six years, extreme-ironing clubs have sprung up from Chile to South Africa. There's been a world championship in Germany, an expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and an ironing session under the frozen ice of a Wisconsin quarry. Extreme ironing is the subject of a forthcoming British book of photographs and a television documentary that first ran in December on Britain's Channel 4. Mr. Shaw dreamed it up in 1997 when he was living in the English town of Leicester and working in a knitwear factory. He came home from work one evening to face a pile of ironing. He thought he'd rather be out climbing rocks. So he started doing both at the same time. Then, while visiting New Zealand for New Year's Eve 1999, he met some German backpackers. They took quickly to his idea and set up a sister organization and launched a Web site. German enthusiasts have since ironed on tree branches, in the snow and in the street. A group of Austrians then followed suit with their own Web site, as have others in Australia, Croatia and Iceland. In September last year, the German Extreme Ironing Section held the first world championships in Valley, a small village near Munich. A German contestant, Inga "Hot Pants" Kosak, beat 80 contestants from 10 countries to win first prize in the individual event. Before crowds of cheering locals, contestants had to run a course, stopping for a bit of ironing at several stations along the way -- in trees and in streams, for instance. Points were awarded for speed and ironing style. Each station had a different garment to be pressed -- a shirt, boxer shorts, a tea towel. For the forest and water-based stations, contestants used cordless irons, "with mixed success," says Mr. Shaw, because "they weren't as hot as real irons." For other stations, electric irons were plugged into outlets for several minutes and then unplugged for use in the activity. "A decent iron has plenty of retained heat to iron a shirt," Mr. Shaw says. Most extreme ironers care more about getting a good picture than getting the wrinkles out. Troye Wallett, a physician, was part of a South African team that took first place in an extreme-ironing photo competition Mr. Shaw organized earlier this year. Their winning entry was a snapshot of Mr. Wallett suspended from a rope tied across a 100-foot-wide gorge. Securing the board and iron to his body, he clipped himself in a sling to the rope and pulled himself out over the gully. The judges "liked the idea of me hanging out like a piece of washing." Last year, the sport caught the attention of David Jeanson, a marketing manager for irons at Rowenta, a subsidiary of French appliance-maker Seb Group SA. He contacted Mr. Shaw and ended up sponsoring the British squad in the world championships -- paying for travel, team T-shirts, irons and the recent photo competition. "Basically, people hate ironing," says Mr. Jeanson. "It was new to find something humorous about ironing." Despite permanent-press fabrics, 42% of American consumers iron at least once a week, and the majority of them spend from 30 minutes to 90 minutes at it, according to Applica Consumer Products Inc., a Miami Lakes, Fla., company that manufacturers irons under the Black & Decker brand. This year, Anton Van De Venter, a 27-year old South African, claimed the record for extreme ironing at high altitude by doing it at the 20,000-foot summit of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro. He posed naked for photographs while ironing his national flag at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. A member of his group had died of altitude sickness halfway through the six-day climb. But the team carried on, reaching the summit on Aug. 14, and raising $2,000 for Yokhuselo, a charity offering shelter to abused women and children. This year, Ian Mitchell, a Briton with a penchant for dangerous sports, brought the trend to the U.S. At a flooded quarry in Wisconsin in March, the 35-year-old sawed a hole in the ice and descended into the freezing waters in a vulcanized rubber dry suit, with air tank and fins. A Black & Decker Quick 'n' Easy 410 in hand, he ironed a shirt against the underside of the ice while a photographer friend accompanying him on the dive recorded the event. A computer programmer by trade, he says: "I do this kind of offbeat thing because I stare at a screen all day." In April, Louise Trewavas and another diver braved a roughly 1,100-foot-deep dive near Dahab, Egypt, an internationally renowned dive destination. Ms. Trewavas, a 38-year-old Web-site editor for the British magazine Diver, set up her ironing board in the sand and posed for the camera with T-shirt and a locally purchased iron, covered in Arabic writing and gold. The reaction from diving traditionalists was mixed. To those who take themselves too seriously, she says, the combination of ironing and diving "is a terrible affront." Write to Cassell Bryan-Low at cassell.bryan-low@wsj.com Updated October 1, 2003 Copyright © 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: Neeka who wrote (6445)	11/3/2003 12:11:22 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12231

WSJ article on urinals in peoples' houses (!) November 3, 2003 For Stand-Up Guys, No Home Is Complete Without One of These Urinals Slowly Migrate From Bar to Master Bath; 'Rose' by Any Other Name By DAN MORSE Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL A year ago, Ben Jones asked his wife if he could have a urinal. "No way. Absolutely not," Gina Jones told her husband. The 40-year-old San Antonio-area magazine publisher kept after her. The fixture would be perfect in the first-floor bathroom of their new house, he said, near the door to the deck. Mr. Jones then went with his wife to a plumbing-supply store where they were shown an American Standard catalog. The showroom manager pointed out the $91 Maybrook model and noted that it would help keep the bathroom floor dry, particularly when the Joneses entertain. "OK," Ms. Jones, an attorney, finally told her husband, after all the cajoling, "but you're going to clean it." The device was unveiled at a party over the Memorial Day weekend. Mr. Jones recalls the reaction from his high-fiving buddies: "You got a urinal. Awesome! How'd you talk your wife into that?" After their long confinement to public restrooms, urinals are creeping into American homes. A big reason: big houses, with spacious new bathrooms. Roughly 325,000 urinals are manufactured every year in the U.S., and almost all of them still go into offices, stadiums and other commercial spaces. Nobody tracks residential installations, but officials at two big makers of toilets, American Standard Cos. and Kohler Co., say they're hearing about more of them. Atlanta plumber Tom Ward says that in his first 19 years in the business he didn't install a single home urinal. In the past seven years, he has installed 10. Designers say they are incorporating more urinals into bathroom plans. They are particularly appreciated in homes with young boys. Home urinals are popping up on TV. Ozzy Osborne has one in his California home. New York Jets running back Curtis Martin showed his off on MTV's "Cribs." He recommends urinals to all men, so their wives won't bug them about putting down the seat. Also, they are a point of pride. "She is a 1983 Eljer with a chrome-on-brass 1968 Haws freeze-resistant flush valve ... which has been in service since 1991 when I recycled her," wrote Mike Shepherd, who submitted that caption along with a urinal photo to www.urinal.net, a site launched by two Silicon Valley software developers. Mr. Shepherd lives in Aguila, Ariz., a tiny desert community with three home urinals he knows of. U.S. urinal makers have long recognized that their models lacked a certain domesticity. In 1888, J.L. Mott Iron Works in New York addressed the issue by offering a porcelain-lined device that could be folded up into the wall like a Murphy bed. "It has been our desire for many years," the company wrote in its catalog, "to get a urinal ... that would be adapted for private use in all rooms set aside for gentlemen's use, such as billiard and smoking rooms, private offices, etc." But it was the commercial walk-ups that continued to dominate the industry. And they were rarely welcomed in mixed company. In 1917, the New York Society of Independent Artists famously rejected Marcel Duchamp's piece called "Fountain." Mr. Duchamp had taken a standard urinal basin, rotated it onto its back and in so doing posed the question: What is art? The piece was lost, but four years ago a reproduction sold for $1.76 million at a Sotheby's auction. Women's Room American Standard keeps an eye on attitudes about urinals. Gary Uhl, the company's head of bath and kitchen design in its Americas division, says many women consider the bathroom a sanctuary. "A urinal is just so overtly male they don't want to invite it in," he says. Mr. Uhl himself quit asking his wife for one six years ago, he says: "We have a good relationship in my house, and I work to keep it that way." Such disagreements can sometimes be overcome by distance -- building separate male and female wings within the master bath, for example. More broadly, homeowners increasingly want fixtures and features that can become conversation pieces, says Janice Costa, editor of Kitchen & Bath Design News, a monthly magazine. "The urinal, in some ways, follows the bidet. You're starting to see more come into the home." Refinancings also play a role. Families often spend the money to finish out their basements, outfitting them with pool tables, huge TVs, bars, and, increasingly, urinals, says Glen Andrews, head of the Atlanta office of Ferguson Enterprises, a nationwide building-products company based in Newport News, Va. B.A. Farrell, owner of the Total Concept, a home-design business in Raleigh, N.C., says that women often can't get past the first two syllables of the word. So Mr. Farrell has begun telling clients to call the device "a rose." From there, he's free to explain how the fixtures save water and allow plush carpeting to come into bathrooms. "If they'd just change the name and market them better," he says, "they couldn't make them fast enough." Flush With Options Urinals are a great project for the serious handyman. Outside Elk Rapids, Mich., John Shepherd (no relation to Mike Shepherd) wanted something unique for his basement -- near the 10-seat home theater he built last year. The 52-year-old Web designer and pizza-parlor cook ordered a urinal from a plumbing supply house for $210. Behind a wall, he rigged up a 15-gallon water-pressure tank. (Water pressure can sometimes be an issue at existing-home installations.) He installed an electric solenoid valve, wiring that into a used Bendix switchbox he had long ago purchased for $6.95 at a military surplus store. He then bolted the box above and to the right of the urinal. Users who want a quick flush push a button. Those who want a continuous flush flick up on a toggle. Two weeks ago, Mr. Shepherd installed another urinal upstairs. "They're really handy," he says. In Columbia, Md., John Maitland says his urinal is popular with the members of "A.M. Wednesday," a weekly gathering of 25 to 30 guys who come to his basement, sip coffee brewed in a 100-cup urn, and talk for two hours. Most are World War II veterans. And the gatherings serve as something of a support group. Artificial hips, cancer and quadruple bypasses are among the subjects touched on. Mr. Maitland, 75, always shows new members the urinal, which he bought at a plumbing supply house and installed himself. Some men go all out. Flip Chalfant, a professional photographer in Atlanta, had a home urinal installed when he and his wife built an addition to their house three years ago. The floor-length fixture has its own alcove, with an arched, tiled ceiling that nicely picks up other architectural accents of the home. "It's a little over the top," Mr. Chalfant admits. Write to Dan Morse at dan.morse@wsj.com Updated November 3, 2003 Copyright © 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.