New Florence. New Renaissance.

The Mirchandani eclipse

Margaret picked up some glasses at her hospital and came back early and sat at the deck to see the 81% partial eclipse in Tampa 

I watched it on the Smithsonian app on the iPad and NASA TV on my laptop with images from its filtered ground cameras, balloons and the ISS and watched the eclipse move across the US. Here are some of the photos from different angles and cloud cover from the couple of hours

Truly amazing!

 

Here's a composite of the ISS transitioning across a partially eclipsed sun

 

 and this from the NOAA GOES-16 satellite of the cloud cover which added filters to the various photos 

and a simulation of the track across N. America from the NOAA satellite

 

 

 

Disrupting the freight industry

Schreiber is the CEO of Freightos, a 160-people strong global company that's raised about $50 million and is working on disrupting the freight industry.

Freightos has more data on global shipping than anyone else, and can offer some insights on this industry and the interplay between retail, data, and events such as Amazon Prime Day (APD).

By all measures, freight is big business. It's total worth is estimated at $30 billion per year. It employs countless people and affects practically everyone. The fact that getting a quote for a shipment would typically take over three days in this day and age is mind boggling.

If you want to fly for example, you just go online and you can compare prices and alternatives and book within minutes. It's been there for 20 years and it's a commodity by now. So, while it's clear that the opportunity for first mover to become the Expedia of freight is there, why nobody else did this before is not.

Schreiber points out that there were a couple of early attempts during the dot-com era, but like many at that time, they went bust when the bubble burst. Still, it's been a while -- how come there were no Freightos since? Schreiber believes it has to do with technological capacity, since the advent of cloud infrastructure makes collecting and processing data and running complex algorithms feasible.

ZDNet

At the recent user conference Infor shared metrics of their GT Nexus network - 18 years old, 100m shipments, $500b of trade transacted on the platform.

 

 

The Great American Eclipse

Nice prep for the solar eclipse tomorrow. Don't forget your safety glasses - ideally goggles worn by welders. I plan to keep up on the Smithsonian app. We will get a partial eclipse - 81% - at 2:49 pm eastern.

A Tesla on two wheels

Like the Model 3, the DS 6.5 has a clutchless drive, which produces 19 percent more torque than previous Zero DS models, plus an 11 percent increase in power. This means it can accelerate incredibly quickly and smoothly—no gears—and hang on through turns with a startling alacrity. The fat, knobby Pirelli tires help. Top speed is just under 100 mph.

As far as convenience, the bike comes with a fair amount of storage space; credit the newly compact 34-horsepower motor that helped shave 96 pounds from the previous year’s model to get the bike down to a trim 317 pounds. Now there are two locking and water-resistant compartments at the center of the bike. They’re big enough to carry a phone, wallet, and water bottle but not, unfortunately, a laptop.

Bloomberg

 

 

Neuroscience as art

For most neuroscientists, long days in the lab pipetting or recording from cells doesn’t inspire one to pick up a paintbrush or sketchpad. But for others, the still-mysterious—and often breathtakingly beautiful—workings of the brain are a source of awe. One such individual is neuroscientist-turned-artist Greg Dunn. As a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, his own research merged with experimental forays into painting, adapting neural forms to the principles of Asian art. Greg joins us to discuss his personal journey to becoming a science artist, his visions for the burgeoning field of science-inspired art, and his advice for aspiring brain-loving artists.

PLOS

My iPad Pro experiment

I admired John Dean when he was CIO of Steelcase for the comfort with which he used his HP tablet. In the decade since,I have tried to move parts of my reading/writing load to iPads and Amazon Kindles. It’s always been in fits and starts.

Six months ago, I stated using a 9.7” iPad Pro. Here’s my experience.

Cataloging events for Deal Architect blog

The Apple Pencil and Notes Plus/Notepad + apps have digitized my note taking during keynotes and breakout sessions. I simultaneously take photos of slides on my iPhone, then AirDrop them to the iPad, then store the notes and photos by event on Google Drive. This has organized my Deal Architect blog writing considerably.

I use the Shure USB mic and related Motiv app to record interviews/sessions. I am thinking of recording directly to the Rev.com app since they transcribe most of my recordings.

New Florence Curating

The New Florence blog is always hungry for innovation material as I average 500 posts a year. The Texture app on the iPad allows me to read issues of 50+ publications. I have separate apps for BusinessWeek, Time and a few others. The Kindle app keeps my book reading organized.  I take screen shots of articles worthy of blogging and 2-3 times a month future-post them to New Florence. As I start researching my next book, this process should also help in that effort.

Weekend trip report writing

For 25 years, we have made a habit of writing up family trip reports. They go into sheet protectors and we are up to 8 fat folders in the office and a digital twin of 4 gb on Google Drive. With both kids now in their own careers, my wife and I are taking more advantage of my Southwest Companion Pass for short trips. The iPad/iPhone note taking/photograph process I use above for events has similarly streamlined the trip report writing process.

Flight entertainment

I am watching more live TV and movies on Delta and Southwest than I can ever remember in my lifetime of flying. The iPad must take the credit – or the blame.

Much lighter load

I feel spoiled that I can travel with a much lighter travel bag. The iPad with the wraparound Logitech keyboard and cover, and the accessories are so much lighter than a laptop, charging cord and mouse. And I can also leave the much bulkier Zoom digital recorder at home. All the translates to lots of digital content on the iPad. I have used up nearly all the 32 gb of storage in 6 months.

Not there yet

On several on my trips, especially on consulting projects I need to create or edit large Word, Powerpoint and other docs. The laptop is still miles better for that use case. I will also be as I start working on my next book. So, in some ways things are worse because I find myself carrying both my laptop and the iPad and related accoutrements.

I also find when I have to present at events, few organizers have the right cabling for the iPad and even fewer have invested in tools like the Mersive wireless display from Solstice.

On a related matter, it is disappointing to see Consumer Reports pan the Microsoft Surface. I would like to see more professionals start to use tablets on a regular basis, so the apps and accessories keep improving. The iPad Pro is starting to grow on me.

Digital Assistants proliferate

The race to the bottom in voice control smart speakers has officially begun. Alibaba, the Chinese version of Amazon, has unveiled its $73 Tianmao JinglingX1, or Alibaba Tmall Genie X1 for short. The device is only available in China for now and only speaks in Mandarin. According to CNBC, two other giant Asian firms have also unveiled voice control smart speakers: search company Baidu with its Xiaoyu Zaijia and e-commerce company JD.com with its LingLong DingDong.

These new players come on the heels of Apple’s recent HomePod unveiling, which carries a much heftier $349 price tag. Apple’s approach is a higher-end play, coming in at a much higher price tag than rivals Amazon Echo and Google Home while targeting Sonos on the audio quality side. Meanwhile, news reports from Techcrunch indicate that Samsung will migrate its Galaxy phone voice control system, dubbed Bixby, into its own voice control smart speaker.

Electronic House

 

Vending Machines for literally everything

Vending machines are not for soda cans anymore. Redbox has over 40,000 DVD rental kiosks. That’s more locations than McDonalds and Starbucks have combined. Best Buy has over 200 express kiosks where you can buy a selection of gadgets and accessories – and they come with a price match guarantee and a return policy to reassure customers. Uniqlo, the Japanese retailer, has announced it will sell thermal T-shirts and down jackets via vending machines in malls and airports in the US.

But all this pales in comparison to vending machines in Japan where you can buy a hot cup of noodles, ice cream, t-shirts, burgers, bananas, fresh lettuce and lots more. In Holland you can rent bikes, in the UAE you can buy gold coins, borrow and lend books in Canada, bowling socks in S. Korea, baguettes in France, french fries in Australia, LEGO in Germany. The video below has more examples. This article has even more examples.

What is the most interesting product or service you have bought from a vending machine?

Disney’s Magic Bench

You sit on the bench, as one does. Across from you hangs what appears to be a mirror. Before you can fix your cowlick, a pygmy elephant saunters over, plops down next to you, and hands you a glowing, golden orb.

You’re not dreaming, hallucinating, or having a bad (good?) trip. You happened to take a seat on Magic Bench, a Disney Research project that overcomes one of the biggest limitations of mixed reality. Forget the clunky headset. All this brain-bending experience requires is that you take a seat.

Wired

The 1947 Partition Archive

70 years ago this month, the British left colonized India and divided the country. NPR describes the tumultuous migration of nearly 15 million people across its borders.

My blog is all about Renaissance, rebirth and innovation. Allow me to share the story of rebirth my parents had to go through as a result of that event. They were part of the migration, had lost everything and resettled in a refugee camp where I was born.  If my parents were bitter, they hid that from us growing up and they did an amazing job helping build a new life for all of us. This article chronicles the trauma they and others went through. My dad is in the middle of the back row with an open collar in the photo, a few months before the event.

Dr. Guneeta Singh Bhalla in Berkeley, CA has started the Partition Archive to capture memories of many others who survived the event. She describes her effort below