Grumpy Editor

Missouri mystery: Neighborhood garage door openers fail

Radio-controlled garage door openers at five homes on the same St. Louis area street are not working, causing frustrated residents --- after checking a number of possible frequency conflicts --- to call on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the phenomenon, notes Grumpy Editor. 

But seeking an FCC investigation may take some time.  The government agency these days is more concerned with broadband spectrums that keep smart phones operating. 

Such an unusual matter in earlier days would see the FCC on scene on the day a complaint comes in. 

The problem, surfacing in late December, obviously stems from interference from a stronger source on or close to the same frequency that the garage doors operate. 

With the case of the “clash of radio frequencies,” the affected automatic door openers utilize low power at 315 megahertz.  Now that is close to some Defense Department transmissions that use the 380 to 399.9 MHz spectrum, usually with high power. 

Adding to the mix are a number of wireless gadgets.

Growing in use are so-called “smart meters” being installed by utilities around the country.  But the data they transmit wirelessly flow through the higher 450 to 470 MHz and 902 to 928 MHz frequencies. 

Thus, solving the mysterious “radio frequency collision” affecting homes in the St. Louis area provides an excellent opportunity for a publication or a broadcasting company to dispatch electronic experts to the scene to perform a public service and reap national publicity.

And to cue in the FCC.

 

Obama pushes ‘green’ UPS trucks, then relies on gasoline

While national print/broadcast media traveling with the president somehow fail to observe such things, alert Kyle Gillis, an investigative reporter for Nevada Policy Research Institute counted “22 fossil-fuel powered vehicles” --- with video to back him up --- in a presidential motorcade headed for McCarran International Airport following Barack Obama’s 20-minute speech in Las Vegas on Jan. 26, observes Grumpy Editor. 

Obama, standing in front of a United Parcel Service truck (not the usual brown, by the way) at the company’s Las Vegas hub, spoke on use of liquefied natural gas to power such vehicles. 

In his brief visit to Las Vegas, Obama praised UPS for "leading by example" in converting long-haul trucks to use liquefied natural gas rather than diesel fuel.

Obama said 14 U.S. companies have converted one million vehicles to alternative fuel during his administration, resulting in less U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

"Let's get more of these natural gas vehicles on the road," declared Obama, before heading for the presidential limousine (a gas guzzler at eight miles per gallon) to transport him to the waiting Boeing 747 Air Force One.

Think tank NPRI’s Gillis, who observed the “fossil-fuel powered” parade --- which included national media in vehicles --- earlier worked at the Media Research Center's Business & Media Institute in Washington, D.C., where he covered financial reform, auto bailouts, housing reform, taxes and the stimulus. 

See the parade of 22 fossil-fuel powered vehicles here.

 

It’s here --- ‘high quality’ news writing by computers

Well, in this high-tech age there now is a news writer requiring no days off, no vacation, no health plan, no retirement plan, no desk, no pay raises, no coffee breaks and no lunch period turning what its producer claims are “facts and figures into compelling stories in real time,” finds Grumpy Editor.

And the writing tasks are not performed in India, where some publishers have gone for editorial assistance in recent months.

Gathering computer-generated writing steam is Chicago-based Narrative Science Inc. which describes itself as transforming data into high-quality editorial content with a technology application that “generates news stories, industry reports, headlines and more --- at scale and without human authoring or editing.”

Sounds spooky.

But it’s growing.

The company, launched early last year with technology developed by Northwestern University electrical engineering and computer science professors, adds, “Our technology cost-effectively turns facts and figures into compelling stories in real time.”

The company reportedly lists 20 clients going the robot-writing route.

The New York Times yesterday reveals trade publisher Hanley Wood and sports site The Big Ten Network utilize Narrative Science to compose computer-generated stories.

Among material that can be robot written:  long and short-form articles, headlines, sports stories, business reports, summaries and real estate analyses.

 

$1.1 million Canadian-made Obama bus draws attention

After three days on the road, it’s back to the bus barn today for the $1.1 million, huge 10-wheel black monster that transported President Barack Obama on a tour of the upper Midwest in which the president highlighted jobs, but did not mention the VIP H3-45 (the model that transported him and staff) was made in Canada, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The mammoth vehicle this week grabbed attention and brought comments from waving kids along the route to jobs-and-cost-conscious radio talk show hosts. 

The luxury bus was custom built in Quebec by Prevost, a leading manufacturer of premium touring coaches and bus shells for high-end motor homes and specialty conversions since 1924. 

Major rock bands and singers have been among Prevost’s prime customers. 

The Secret Service also ordered another similar $1.1 million bus. 

The president's vehicle had state-of-the art security features ranging from armored doors to impenetrable windows, enhanced communications, large flat-screen television sets, a living room-like area and a police cruiser look with flashing blue and red lights. 

Although a bathroom was on board, there was no sleeping section.

Special interior upgrades were installed by Hemphill Brothers Coach Co., Nashville, Tenn.

 

So who’s paying attention to those TV commercials?

Even with the television set on, there’s more to do besides looking at what’s on the screen, finds an Adweek/Harris poll, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Such multitasking is something programmers and advertisers don’t relish. 

Only 14 percent of 2,309 U.S. adults surveyed between May 24 and May 26 say they aren’t involved with another activity while watching TV. 

These days, a hefty 56 percent of those polled surf the Internet while watching TV. 

Younger adults, the poll discovers, are more likely to surf on a computer or a mobile phone, go to a social networking site, text on a mobile phone or shop online. 

About three in 10 (30 percent) say they do something else while watching TV.

Other findings with those watching TV:

• About three in 10 (29 percent) say they shop online.

• About two in five (44 percent) admit to reading a traditional book, magazine or newspaper. 

View how spam pages are overwhelming the Internet

Imagine, every hour one million spam pages are created.

That’s the finding on the Security Alert page in this month’s PCWorld magazine, notes Grumpy Editor.

Writer John P. Mello Jr. says analysts estimate 90 percent of email traffic is spam.

A clock at www.spamclock.com counts the number of spam pages created on the Internet every second.

Since Jan. I this year, the figure this morning passed the 2 billion mark.

Behind that site is search engine newcomer Blekko, points out Mello.

Based in Redwood City, Calif., Rich Skrenta, its founder, tells Mello that, “As the online economy continues to grow at double digits compared to stalled growth for the offline economy, the incentives for spammers get even more lucrative.”

 

Airport body-scans, pat-downs give TV news new angle

Boarding for air travel should be very different this year on Thanksgiving Eve when television news directors traditionally send crews to local airports to go “live” in capturing activity at terminals, figures Grumpy Editor.

Over the past few years airport action has been relatively quiet.

But this month brings a major focus on boarding passengers’ full-body scans and intrusive pat-downs.

So look for the emphasis on that aspect with on-scene coverage tomorrow night as an estimated 24 million people are expected to fly during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Biggest threat to holiday travel this year is not the weather but rather new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) procedures, including full-body scans and aggressive pat-downs.

Body scanners, now at 68 U.S. airports, are raising privacy and radiation-exposure concerns.

Pat-downs, which have screeners feeling inside waistbands and touching all the way up legs and on breasts, are drawing concern from lawmakers, civil-rights advocates, travel groups and flight crews.

This year’s TSA procedures will slow the boarding aircraft routine and likely will see some tempers erupting in the extended lines at terminals --- to the delight of the TV crews.

Adding to the slowdowns will be disruptions from those protesting full-body scans and pat-downs.

"With people getting partially molested at checkpoints, all that is going to be a real shock for them," Greg Wells, senior vice president of operations at Southwest Airlines, tells The Wall Street Journal. "TSA will create an issue for us. It's going to slow things down."

An organization called “We Won’t Fly” is telling fliers to “jam TSA checkpoints by opting out until they remove the porno-scanners.”

Organizer James Babb, in recommending pat-downs, says that routine would create more disruption and send a stronger message.

The TSA folks “won't have the manpower to reach into everyone's crotch," he declares.

Nevada voting machines already show mark for Harry Reid

Receiving scant national coverage is a new wrinkle in possible voting fraud unveiled when some early voters in Nevada found Sen. Harry Reid’s name already checked on a ballot page of electronic units, finds Grumpy Editor.

The Senate majority leader is in a close battle with Republican Sharron Angle.

Las Vegas TV station KVVU yesterday notes some voters in Boulder City said they were concerned about fraud at the electronic machines that capture voting data.

The Fox affiliate says Joyce Ferrara was among those who went to vote for Angle but Reid's name was already checked off.  Ferrara says her husband and several others voting at the same time all encountered the same thing.

Ferrara declares:  "Something's not right.  One person that's a fluke. Two, that's strange. But several within a five minute period of time -- that's wrong."

An interesting response comes from Larry Lomax, Clark County registrar of voters.  (Boulder City and Las Vegas are in Clark County.)

There is no voter fraud, he tells KVVU, adding the issues do come up because the screens are sensitive.

Rather than calling for an immediate investigation, Lomax pins the faulty action on seniors, noting, “Especially in a community with elderly citizens (they have) difficulty in (casting their) ballot."

Among 32 states that permit pre-Election Day in-person casting of ballots, the Silver State allows early voting Oct. 16 to Oct. 29 via electronic units temporarily set up at neighborhood sites such as community centers, malls, city halls, libraries, supermarkets and even athletic clubs. 

Sometimes voting equipment is in trailers on adjacent parking lots.  Some voting sites are operational for as little as two days before moving on to other locations.

No verification of identity is required for people who vote.

All this, before Nov. 2, is raising eyebrows of those concerned about validations, tampering and security.

Former House Speaker Dick Armey, now FreedomWorks chief executive officer, in a national TV interview this week says with early voting there “is less security” that creates a “great opportunity” for voter fraud, especially in major urban areas.

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Meanwhile, Washington Examiner writer Mark Hemingway notes, “Since early voting started, there have been credible reports that voting machines in Clark County, Nevada are automatically checking Harry Reid’s name on the ballot.”

“It is worth noting,” he adds, “the voting machine technicians in Clark County are members of the Service Employees International Union.  The SEIU spent $63 million in elections in 2008 and is planning on spending $44 million more this election cycle --- nearly all of that on Democrats.”

CNBC covers Apple iPhone 4 news session from outside

Imagine a much-hyped news conference with about 100 attendees where no live cameras or broadcasts were allowed.

Only Apple Inc. could get away with that.

And that was the situation on Friday when Apple CEO Steve Jobs declared, “we’re not perfect” and “phones aren’t perfect” along with remedies to the iPhone 4 antenna problem, notes Grumpy Editor.

Seeking to bring viewers latest details on the news conference, CNBC handled the situation neatly via 40-minutes of commercial-free coverage utilizing eight people on a split screen.

Those tuning in were among the more than 3 million people who recently purchased an iPhone 4.

Only other coverage spotted by Grumpy Editor during the news conference was a brief segment on Fox News.

CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, standing outside Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, relayed messages from a producer attending the news conference inside.

Co-anchor Sue Herera contributed from in-studio, fielding input from six investment/tech experts.

Video tapes of Jobs’ commentary at the news conference ran on a delayed basis, labeled “moments ago.” 

During the coverage, CNBC screened a graph showing Apple’s stock trades --- in a narrow range around $250 per share --- during that period.

A half hour into the session, Jobs revealed the free protective case offer to iPhone 4 buyers to alleviate the so-called “death grip” problem that affects transmissions.

Mystery still surrounds May 6 stock market gyrations

Grumpy Editor finds it interesting that in connection with the May 1 Times Square bombing attempt, U.S. officials originally proclaimed Faisal Shahzad likely acted alone and laughed off an early Taliban claim it was behind the incident, then --- eight days later --- reversed their declarations as developments pointed to Pakistani Taliban.

With that in mind and as investigations continued into the stock market’s wild gyrations five days ago, one wonders if there was a loner involved with that mysterious activity that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average down almost 1,000 points within minutes.

Some in the financial field have speculated a typographical error, perhaps from a “fat finger” trader, might have triggered a computerized sell-off.

After the tailspin, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said they were working with other regulators to review "unusual trading activity."

Major U.S. stock exchanges said they were looking for trading glitches and examining potentially erroneous trades in multiple stocks.

Such multiple stocks, including Accenture PLC to Boston Beer Co., momentarily lost nearly 100 percent of their value, changing hands for just one penny.

Today’s Wall Street Journal  reported a Santa Monica-based hedge fund may have played a major role in Thursday’s stock market gyrations.

On “Fox News Sunday,” John Brennan, homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, said officials have uncovered no links suggesting cyber attacks that caused last Thursday’s Dow tumble.

Yet, stock exchange officials and regulators, including the SEC, yesterday were still trying to figure out the cause of the turbulence that shook up Wall Street and millions of investors.

Heads of leading U.S. stock exchanges were summoned to Washington yesterday by the SEC to discuss the unusual Thursday decline as SEC staffers analyzed reams of trading data from the exchanges and market participants in efforts to determine cause of the sharp drop.

The market rebound yesterday, with the DJIA closing at 10785.14, up a hefty 404.71 points, was attributed to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund agreeing to create a nearly $1 trillion rescue fund to support European nations burdened by heavy debt.

That left the DJIA 82.98 points below last Wednesday’s (pre-Thursday gyrations) close of 10868.12.

Stay tuned.