Sports

Thursday, April 30, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

We will discuss sports, what is means to you personally and what it means to society. Bill will be leading the discussion. Instead of a video to provide background, he will have a live person.

I hate to miss the meeting, but I will be in Ann Arbor for my niece's graduation.

From Bill:

Herb Hartnett retired a few years ago from the University of Maryland after a career in public relations for the athletic department and university.  He came to Maryland from the University of Pennsylvania at the time of the Len Bias matter.  He seems to have been everywhere and to have know everyone in college athletics and has some opinions on the subject. I propose this format:  

1.  Herb will have 20 minutes to talk and discuss sports and society.  

2.  Since everyone seems to have some experience in sports, I propose letting each person in turn discuss his or her experiences and thoughts on the meaning of sports uninterrupted for say 3 minutes.  

3.  General discussion of the ideas brought up. 

Earth Day

Thursday, April 23, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

The day before our next meeting is the 45th celebration of Earth Day, which has special meaning this year due to the upcoming Climate Summit in Paris in December. We have talked about environmental issues in previous meetings, but we have not yet talked about the oceans. For the Zoom In, we will review this classic TED Talk by Sylvia Earle which summarizes all the environmental problems facing the oceans. We will then focus on the ocean plastics problem and a solution proposed by a teenager which has gotten serious attention.

In two weeks, I will be away and Bill will lead the group in a discussion about sports. I found this interesting TED Talk about why athletes are continuously improving, which would serve well as an appetizer for Bill's meeting. It will be shown for the Pan portion of the next meeting.

Helping Us to See

Thursday, April 16, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Another topic that came out of the "reboot" meeting, was new imaging technologies like the one in this TED Talk about detecting micro movements. While the technology had a lot of potential for good, it could also be used for surveillance, which had privacy implications. This problem is hardly unique.

For the Zoom-In, we will look at three other new imaging technologies, which also have potential in surveillance. The first video shows how an array of satellites can keep the entire earth under constant watch. The second video, shows how a tether can be used to circumvent laws which limit the use of aerial drone photography in public places. The third video shows how a camera that was designed to study the motion of light, could be used to look around corners. Another possible title for this meeting might be, "Nowhere to Hide".

There may not be enough time to show all three videos. So if you only have time to watch one video before the meeting, watch the third one.

For the Pan, we will watch this video about some iconic photos which changed the world. Oddly, all three of the new technologies, presented above, were inspired by iconic photos. Do you think that any of the new technologies will create their own iconic images?

Zoom-in on Privacy, Pan to Cuban Doctors

Thursday, April 9, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

In the last meeting, we discussed privacy concerns due to government surveillance. But private companies gather much more of our personal data to do targeted marketing. As the saying goes, if the product is free, than you are the product. But since private companies cannot arrest us, should we be concern?

In the first hour of our meeting, the Zoom-In, we will explode the myth that our personal data is safe with private companies. This talk by Gary Kovacs demonstrates the how companies track your web browsing even if you don't provide any information. This talk by Christopher Soghoian, explains how companies, if asked, must turn over your personal data to the government. If these talks don't scare you, maybe this second talk by Christopher Soghoian will. Please note that there will not be enough time to show both Soghoian"s talks at the meeting. I will show the last video, so please watch at least the first Soghoian video before coming.

In the meeting's last half hour, the Pan, we will review a talk about Cuban doctors, which is the last of the five suggested five videos to be explored. There are actually two topics in this video that we could use for future discussion. The first is about our own healthcare system when compares to Cuba; the other is about the normalization of US-Cuban relations.

Here is a challenge. While the Zoom-In and Pan portions of our meeting are not suppose the be related, it is interesting to think of a way they might be. So can you think of a way that privacy can be related to Cuban doctors?  I'll let you know what I think at the meeting; see you there.