Data, Data & More Data

Lately, I've been reading about the increasing volume of data generated in the world.

Twenty-five years ago in the early nineties, we were talking about Bytes (8 single binary digits) and Kilobytes (1,024 Bytes) of data and dial-up modems with speeds measured in a few KB per second. Over the intervening years we've moved through Megabytes (1,024 KB) and now, Gigabytes (1,024 MB), with Terabytes (1,024 GB) sometimes used in home computing. The next measurements are Petabytes (1,024 TB) and Exabytes (1,024 PB).

Not used every day, but already named are the four next steps, Zettabyte, Yottabyte, Brontobyte and Geopbyte. It's hard for me to imagine volumes of data that large. One Yottabyte is 10 followed by twenty-four zeros and a Geopbyte has 10 followed by 30 zeros worth of bytes.

For comparison, the entire digital collection of the Library of Congress (LOC) (not counting multiple backup copies (continuously updated) stored at other locations) probably contains on the order of 11 or 12 Petabytes and right now is growing at over 15 TB a day. Even at that speed the LOC would add only a little over 5 PB of data a year. At the current rate it would take over 200 years but, of course, the pace is always increasing so it won’t be long before the LOC reaches the size of one Exabyte.  

Incidentally, I didn't mention why Bytes are the basic value when it comes to computing. As mentioned above, a byte contains 8 bits. A bit can only be off or on and we see it most often shown as 0 or 1. Since there are eight of these little guys in a Byte, the total number of the various combinations of values (01111111, 01111110, 01111101, etc.) is 256, which are enough to represent standard letters, numbers and symbols.

I first became interested in data when studying teletype (TTY) transmission in the Army Security Agency in 1959. In those primitive days (even though much advanced over smoke signals and such) teletype messages were punched onto narrow paper tape using what might be called a 5-bit system. The tape was wide enough to allow up to five holes to be punched in a line across the tape.

There are only 32 combinations using 5 holes/no holes (mark or space, digital 1 or 0) so our keyboards had a shift device. In the lower case were letters (all capitals) and some functions such as space, carriage return and new line. Upper case used those same keys to represent numbers and symbols and other functions such as bell. Of course, the SHIFT function, denoting lower (letters) or upper (numbers) had to be part of the code too so the receiving TTY would know when to shift appropriately. Interestingly, Japanese TTY keyboards had three levels of shift because of the greater number of simple characters required to spell out the complicated kanji (pictograph) characters.

After working with the system for a few months some people got good at reading the character codes and could read the message straight from the tape instead of waiting for it to go through the TTY machine and print out on paper. 

About all I remember after all these years is the code 2,4 for "R" and 1,3,5 for "Y" which were incorporated into test tape loops that would be transmitted continuously as a place holder on a radio frequency. A sample tape might read: "CQ CQ CQ DE KRGN KRGN KRGN QSA IMI RYRYRYRY" CQ means "Calling unspecified stations," DE "This is," KRGN transmitting station's call sign, QSA IMI "What is my signal strength" and RYRYRY is a test since it tests all five mark/space conditions (2,4 for R and 1,3,5 for Y) on the TTY machines, transmitter and receiver.

During the middle of the last century the quantity of data began to grow quickly as handwritten letters and books were supplemented by phonograph recordings, movies, and wire and tape recordings.

Even where I worked, the paper tapes, magnetic tapes and paper copies of radio transmissions were saved and shipped back to the United States in ever increasing volumes. 

Sometimes I read about the ever-increasing volumes of data being generated and saved but I also wonder if any thought has been given to the number and sophistication of the measuring devices and the frequency of measurements as they affect data accumulation?

For instance, only one hundred years ago, a ship's log might contain notes for speed and heading, rudimentary weather observations, disciplinary actions, the daily plot of location, berthing and sailing times and other important information, all written by hand in a paper logbook.

Ships today have logs a little more complex and usually more than one.

The official Deck Log might contain all information required by the owner or the US Navy if a government ship. Navy ships might have all or some of the following information in their Deck Logs (from the Naval History and Heritage Command website):  

·        Absentees

·        Accidents [material]

·        Accidents/Injuries [personnel]

·        Actions [combat]

·        Appearances of Sea/Atmosphere/Unusual Objects

·        Arrests/Suspensions

·        Arrival/Departure of Commanding Officer

·        Bearings [navigational]

·        Cable/Anchor Chain Strain

·        Collisions/Groundings

·        Courts-Martial/Captain's Masts

·        Deaths

·        Honors/Ceremonies/Visits

·        Incidents at Sea

·        Inspections

·        Meteorological Phenomena

·        Movement Orders

·        Movements [getting underway; course, speed changes; mooring, anchoring]

·        Passengers

·        Prisoners [crew members captured by hostile forces]

·        Propulsion Plant Status changes

·        Receipts and Transfers [of Crew Members]

·        Ship's Behavior [under different weather/sea conditions]

·        Sightings [other ships; landfall; dangers to navigation]

·        Soundings [depth of water]

·        Speed Changes

·        Tactical Formation

·        Time of Evolutions/Exercises/Other Services Performed

Depending on the ship's purpose there might be cargo logs showing loading, unloading and stowage data on cargo with notes about the periodic mate's inspections, especially of the refrigerated cargo. There might be an engineer's log concerning the operation, maintenance and fuel consumption of the engines and their might be a medical officer's log showing data concerning that area of operations.

Much more data is recorded, and more frequently than ever before. Sometimes I wonder if we didn't have the capability of automatically recording all that information whether it would still be required.

Considering the area of weather, Grandpa used to look up once an hour or so from his work in the fields, feel the wind blowing and say, "There's a brisk SW wind today and it looks like it might rain," generating only a few data points per hour and he seldom recorded his readings.

Now we have forecasters parsing that SW wind into data flows that would be almost unrecognizable to Grandpa. Velocities and directions broken down by increasing numbers of locations into hourly (or more frequent) data spreads; wind shadows, convergence zones, mini-versions of same for many localities; precipitation at surface, upper level and in between zones, and quantities and qualities of each; and eddies and swirls both natural and manmade, measured as frequently as desired, AND recorded and preserved for how long?

I can envision a future of weather data generation (around a major airport, say) where directions, velocities and dew points might be sampled every few seconds for the many variables that might forecast wind shear, icing potential or other desired (or gov't required) information. There might be sensors for everything from micro bursts to hourly trends, reported from sensors spaced every few feet around the perimeter of the runways and even sampling a few thousand feet up the glide paths. All this division of general observations into discreet data bits will result in accretion at ever increasing volumes.

And, of course, the same principles apply to everything from data streams emitted by astronomy, oceanography and microbiology to those of national economic sampling and forecasting, inter (and intra) national espionage and all sorts of realms in between.

Can you imagine how many Megabytes of data are generated by one CT scan? There might be twelve to thirteen MB of data generated for each scan and there are about 80 million scans done per year just in the US, all resulting in more collections of data held for years or even decades to keep insurers and lawyers happy.

And how about the streams of data collected or generated by space satellites as they increasingly use high-definition photography and all-frequency radio intercepts.

All this expanded data generation begs the question, "what good is it?" Will we eventually be able to (and should we) accumulate, and meaningfully process, enough data to forecast the weather without fail in the Magnolia area of Seattle? Will anyone ever be able to state (to paraphrase the old example) that a butterfly flapping its wings a little off kilter in downtown Yokohama today will forecast the path of a twister through tornado alley on April 19th? And will the decreased weather-related deaths allowed by better forecasting be more than offset by the increasing deaths from distracted drivers checking and texting the latest weather on their phones?

Maybe we should relegate large blocks of this newly expanded data mass to some sort of "Snapchat" for data? Two minutes after its purpose in life has passed it will go "poof" and disappear forever, thus saving a Yottabyte or Geopbyte of storage for more important things?

Looking back over the past seventy-some years, it amazes me how the volume of data has grown. Of course, the speed of communication has increased at a pace unforeseen even twenty or thirty years ago. I read recently that at the end of 2016 global internet traffic exceeded 1.1 Zettabyte and that will double by 2019. And that’s just the internet.

Where are we headed? I don’t know. With quantum computing (and other quantum-related advances), artificial intelligence and other computing developments, maybe we can postpone blowing ourselves up until the sciences governing behavior and negotiation catch up and let us solve some of our inter (and intra) national problems.

I’ll leave the solution of those problems to you younger folks. Meanwhile Kuro and I will enjoy our walks and smell the roses and other flowers along the way.

Flower Power

I am fortunate to live in a residential neighborhood where there are flowers in every yard. Flowers bloom at their appointed time but this time of year brings a bonanza of colors and shapes as the warming weather brings March showers and March flowers. The old nursery rhyme doesn't work anymore.

This year the flowers started, then slowed, then picked up speed and now are bursting forth everywhere.

Have a look at these flowers and feel their power to brighten your spirit and put a spring in your step.

I know flower time has sprung when the crocus says "Hi."

English Daisies don't discriminate. They grow here in Seattle too.

Don't know for sure but think this is a sweet smelling Daphne. I can smell them from 10 meters in the right breeze.

Madrona flowers just getting a good start.

Oregon Grape flowers the same.

Daffodils holding court. The judge is off to the right.

Camelias don't last long in our rainy weather.

Even wild dandelions are friendly this time of year.

I don't know the names of some but admire them just the same.

Ditto.

A rather spindly Azalea bringing color to its yard.

These looked sad after the last freeze but they've recuperated and are now in flower.

In a wide median not far away grow several wild plums. I need to point my camera more carefully to capture close ups.

Red-flowering currant just getting up a head of steam.

Even though Seattle is a little warm in the winter, hyacinths seem to do fine in certain micro-climates around the city.

Our area has an abundance of moss. Some people fight it but I like its laid back attitude.

A flowering weeping white cherry yesterday. The traditional flowering
cherries will soon be blooming and sending their petals on the wind.

Pansies and daffodils with tulips not far behind.

For some reason the forsythia was a little later than other flowers this year.

Even the tiny flowers are worth a look. With many sisters they form an attraction.

Exercising This Old Body

When I was young, sleep was unbroken, food was fuel and exercise was easy. Time was light on my hands, I expected to live forever and my body almost maintained itself.

Now I’m older and I find myself making nighttime trips once or twice or even thrice to the bathroom. Food serves not only as fuel, it easily turns to ballast. Life seems shorter than I expected and the end just around the corner.

For the subject of this post, I can only speak for myself, with the occasional observation about others. If you can identify with some of these thoughts, fine. If not, I don’t blame you, no one likes to dwell on a difficult side of life.

Maintaining fitness is an endless job, especially as I’ve aged. The older I get the harder it is to exercise and the harder it is to be fit, even if I exercise.

When I was young I enjoyed all kinds of exercise. I walked, I ran, I stomped on tin cans to crimp them around my shoes so I could clomp along feeling cool or run making a grand noise. I hammered together stilts from wood scraps and used sticks to roll barrel hoops. When I got tired of running I climbed trees to observe the world from a higher vantage point and when I ate supper I cleaned my plate and asked for more.

Incidentally, for those of you interested in taking up the art, it took a can with two good ends to make a decent shoe clomper. If one end had been cut out, as was usual, the can would flatten on that end so it wouldn’t do the job. Evaporated milk cans worked because they had small holes punched in one end. Also, in those days before aluminum cans, beer cans worked because the tops had only the openings made by the church key so the can would clamp nicely around a shoe.

Now I try to find ways to exercise that are fun but not too difficult or painful.

About nine years ago a new hybrid electronic game called Wii was introduced. At first I thought it was like the many other gimmicks advertised to magically take off weight, tone muscles and make its buyers handsome or beautiful, depending.

 The set consisted of a balance board, a small DVD player/game console and some hand-held wands with inertial sensors and pointer/clicker controls. The console was wired into the buyer’s own TV set and with that you were off and running, if you’ll pardon the expression.

I made a wooden support for my balance board so the feet wouldn't sink into our carpet.

 Compared to later gaming devices such as the X-Box and others with body-sensing capabilities, the Wii was pretty primitive. However, it was better than exercising alone so I tried out the various games and worked through many of the exercises and yoga poses. Finally I gave up playing the games but did manage to select a combination of eighteen yoga poses and exercises that I added to “my workout” and tried to do that workout every other day or so.

Almost ready to start the day's training session.

Like most things, the Wii had pros and cons. I liked the feedback from the balance board that helped me keep my body balanced and the positive reinforcement when I managed to do an exercise or yoga pose without falling over. "Nice balance," or "You've got great posture," made me try to repeat whatever it was that prompted that comment. On the other hand, I thought the wait between exercises was a too long and start-up time dragged out.

About four years ago I got another exercise motivator. A new little schnauzer came into our lives and he quickly learned how to get me away from the computer and out on the sidewalk every evening after dinner.

Being a cuddly little dog, Kuro fits inside my sweater on cold winter days keeping us both warm.

Walking with a dog is a pleasant way to exercise. I can walk as I like when we use the long retractable leash because Kuro keeps busy sniffing the bushes, ground and fire hydrants for evidence of other dogs passing his way. No matter my walking speed, he runs ahead, does his sniffing then runs to catch up and range out in front again.

When we use the short leash, Kuro knows he has to curtail his sniffing and keep close to me. He prefers the long leash but he’ll go with the short one if it means a walk.

At the beginning of last year I began using the Fitbit my son gave me for Christmas in 2015. It was a good little motivator also. If I was lacking some steps to hit the day's target I would walk a few extra blocks to make sure I hit the mark. It lasted about one year before the strap broke. Now I've gone to a Garmin fitness tracker. It's more sophisticated and accurate although so far it shows me descending more stairs than I ascend. The motivation level is about the same so I enjoy using the Garmin too. The sleep tracker, which shows times of light and deep sleep and time awake is a useful addition. 

The motion  detector/tracker which is worn on the wrist is synced with software which displays several different pages of stats on my phone. This is the display for last night's sleep.

The yellow circle shows total sleep, although it doesn't subtract waking
time. The sleep intensity bars near the bottom I find most useful.

Our treadmill is a last resort for me although Ikuko uses it almost every day; see the notes she uses to practice her shigin while walking up and down the treadmill hills. She has been attending shigin classes for many years and is skilled in the art but, as with any skill, she needs practice to maintain proficiency, so she combines pleasure with pleasure and sings while she walks. 

I use it when the weather discourages outside exercise. I’ve tried to teach Kuro how to walk with me but he can’t quite figure out the concept of a moving sidewalk and a stationary environment.

Lately, we’ve started a yoga class every Wednesday at our VFW post. I’ve never attended a formal yoga class so, in addition to the exercise and stretching, I’m looking forward to learning breathing and grounding techniques from a professional. After we've held a number of sessions, I'll try to post some impressions of a formal yoga workout.

One exercise lesson sticks with me in my older years. Persistence and dedication are essential to staying fit. It's so easy to find other, more interesting things to do. Instead of exercising, I see a book waiting to be read, email to be answered, the VFW office to be staffed or many other things to do, all so much more interesting than exercising. 

Scientists say exercise is even better for the bodies of older people. It fights bone loss and increases stability and balance. It warms the body and strengthens the cardiovascular system. All these are needed by people of any age but especially those of us who are a little older can reap the benefits of regular exercise.

The key for me is to remember that the time I spend exercising is a gift to my body and a way to brighten my day. Exercise is so important I now try to place it number one on my daily "to do" list, thus paying myself up front before I move on down the list. 

My motto has become: "Exercise to gain strength, agility, youthful vitality and happiness, not just to get the daily drill out of the way."    

Time Travel - Alderwood During WWII

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know I like to travel.

Last night during my usual two A.M. wakeful period I got to thinking about life as it was when I was young and thought I would write about things as I saw them seventy-some years ago. Travel through time can be fun too.

Last night as I revisited my youth many things passed through my mind. The way things were in Alderwood during the war; the grandparents' farms and how the old family farm differed from what we see today; communication, from the old wall-mounted phone and tube radio to the ubiquitous electronics of today; transportation; schooling; child labor and many more differences came to mind.

It is impossible to deal with those memories all together so I'll think (and write) about the old days one journey at a time. Today we visit Alderwood, a suburb north of Seattle, where we lived during the time of my earliest memories. The old house was still there last I went by and it's not but about 19 miles from where we live today although on this trip through time it is a long way away---to the early 1940's.

People who live in that area today probably would be surprised to learn that our bathroom facilities consisted of a two-hole outhouse and hot water heated by the old kitchen wood stove drawn occasionally for a bath in the kitchen using an old round galvanized washtub. We did have a regular bathtub but since my father was remodeling that part of the house (in his spare time) the bathtub, and the rest of the bathroom, was not hooked up.

I started school there, walking about one mile each way from our house to the Alderwood elementary school. Until about 15-20 years ago that school, a nice little brick building, was still there on the plot of land in the SW part of the intersection formed by 196th Street and I-5. It finally bit the dust when the I-5 interchange was expanded. It might surprise today's parents but, as a first grader, I walked down 38th and then along the relatively busy old two-lane 196th Street all by myself. Sidewalks were nowhere to be found in that part of town and the shoulder was narrow but I made it to school and back without mishap. Well, except for the time I pooped my pants on the way home. Just couldn't make it home in time and didn't think of going into the woods as Mom advised when I finally arrived home in tears.

At that time there weren't a lot of houses in that neighborhood. Across 38th to the southwest lived the Greifs on a nice little farm and on our side of the road to the south, a couple hundred feet away, lived Franny C.(I'll abbreviate his last name for privacy, even after all these years his family might care.) Franny had come back from the Pacific Theater severely affected by what today would be called PTSD. He had collected enemy ears during the fighting and brought the collection back with him. I never saw them but my father said they were pretty grisly. We seldom saw Franny outside since he apparently slept in the daytime and roamed around at night.

To our north lived a family of immigrants from Europe. The two children, Almond and Thierry (sp?) were about our ages so my brother and I sometimes played with them. I have memories of building roads with tunnels under the roots of an old fir tree and using small pieces of wood or cones as vehicles and actually using our own mouths to simulate the sounds of the cars, trucks and earthmoving equipment we imagined moving around our world. Pretty primitive toys but we may have learned more, or at least stimulated our brains more, than do modern kids with high-tech toys and electronic devices to keep themselves entertained.

As I recall, my paternal grandparents never visited us but I remember my mother's parents making the trek from their farm on Orcas Island all the way to what today is known as a northern suburb of Seattle, a few times during our stay in Alderwood. Sometimes Grandma would bring us a banana each, or sometimes it was an orange. Wonderful treats in those days before fast modern transportation, and especially during the War when many things were rationed and others just not available.

Childhood memories are long lasting. We had a child's metal rocking chair. One day I was climbing on it, probably doing some kind of goofy thing when I slipped, the chair tipped and as I fell I hit my chin on the back of the chair, biting my tongue almost off. I don't remember the trip to the doctor or the pain that followed but I do remember the descriptions often given by my parents that it was dangling only by the blood vessels and nerves at the bottom. The scar was quite visible when I was younger. I just went and looked in the mirror. Even now, these many years later that scar is still visible about an inch and a quarter back from the tip of my tongue.

Another lasting memory is when my brother drank the fuel oil from the can that was positioned under the carburetor on the back of the oil-fired space heater in our living room. It was put there to catch the drip in the fitting that never got tightened properly. I'm not sure how much oil he drank but we were loaded into the old '38 Chevy and Dad drove down the road blowing the horn and skidding around corners. After his stomach was pumped, I don't remember my brother drinking fuel oil again. but the leaky fitting was tightened and the drip quickly cured.

Paine Field is not far from Alderwood and we often saw small planes practicing stalls with the following spin-outs looking like a sure crash until the last moment when the pilots would recover, climb to altitude and do it all over again.

The regular bombers and sometimes fighter aircraft of the day flew over that area with B-24, B-17 and even B-29 flights not unusual. I'll always remember a B-36 flying low over our place one day as my brother and I happened to be outside. It was a six-engine bomber using pusher propellers and it made a distinct noise. Later models added four jet engines but the one I remember had just those huge pusher propellers.

We moved back to Orcas Island in August of 1947 so this trip back through time on the magic wings of memory draws to a close.

Strange Spring Weather

Last week Kuro and I went walking not long after the sun had gone down. The light was in transition between daylight and streetlight.

Daffodil posed quietly but Kuro moved in the low light so the slow shutter speed blurred his head.

 These first few photos were taken on February 22, 2017, long before the plants are feeling the juices of spring, normally. This year apparently isn't normal.

This rhododendron is really confused.

The owner of this lawn planted crocuses a few years ago. Now they have naturalized and pop up
in large groups of sisters. Normally there is plenty of time for the crocuses to bloom before first
lawn mowing but this year the grass is growing already. The owner is going to have long grass
before the crocuses are done blooming.

The pure colors of the primroses come through better in the dim light. Why do red primroses
have yellow centers when yellow primroses have no red in their hearts?

These daffodils and emerging tulips are located on the north side of the rockery but they are ahead of the game.

Not far from our house there is a nice house occupied by two women who have been working long hours on their yard. They recently had these beautiful rock walls built. The rocks were laid up dry without mortar or concrete backing. The mason had a good eye for shapes and lines.

The stairs in the next photo are in the middle distance.

The rock walls mirror the curve of the stairs. Every time we pass I admire the angles of the corner rocks. Note the acute angles on the left and obtuse on the right side. 

Kuro checks out the flower beds and rock walls only to detect the scent or sight of another dog. When on the leash he is very protective and noisy, barking and straining at the leash to get at that intruder who is daring to walk near out route. When he is off the leash he acts more friendly, running up and performing the sniff routine with the other dog.

I'd let him walk off the leash (and sometimes do on deserted streets) but the attraction of a strange dog makes him forget about the danger posed by drivers who probably couldn't see a dark dog on a dark street. Like a texting driver who knows the danger but can't delay immediate gratification, he would ignore the danger to satisfy the immediate urge.

Last Sunday morning, almost as an afterthought, I went out to look at the shivering early birds braving the remnants of Saturday night's snow. Those few days of cold weather slowed down the growth spurt. Our weather forecaster is calling for warmer weather this week so they will resume their race to flower early. 

Our neighbor used to have a large forsythia bush so I could note the coming of spring. The current owner dug it out and put in a rock patio so I'll have to search the neighborhood for those blazing yellow branches. 

Kuro says he's in favor of searching the neighborhood, no matter the reason.