Journal Assignment Unit 7.

The Beltway Sniper Case. Methods and Resources.

            The Beltway Sniper case in 2002 used a lot of resources:

• Manpower: According with Michael Schaffer in his article for the US News and World Report there were 75 FBI staff members manning the phones, plus the support of the Maryland Police.
• Call Tip Lines: A smorgasbord of calls. In one day 12000 calls were logged. This means a lot of information. The trick is in deciding what is bogus and what is a real tip.
• Media Exposure: The media in this type of cases can be your ally or enemy depending in the information being published.
   

These three items were, in my opinion, the ones that were the most important to the successful conclusion of this case. Consider: if the manpower is not adequate, the follow-up of investigative leads is a very slow and cumbersome process with no end in sight; the call lines provided the prime materials for the investigators to conduct searches and interviews with people of interest. The one downside is the sheer amount of tips and the real difficulty of discerning the gold from the dross, and finally, the media, when doing their jobs the media can be used by the police or FBI investigators to, in some ways, shape the narrative,(for good or bad) by passing selected tidbits of information that can, when disseminated,  provoke a response from the perpetrators or nudge them into establishing lines of communication that can lead in some cases, to committing errors that will make their apprehension easier.  

 

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT.

 

            For this exercise we are required to envision practical solutions to a seemingly never ending problem in my community of origin. I refer to the lack of electrical power that plagues our neighborhoods, our towns and the nation as a whole.

            There cannot be any progress in any society in which its energy needs are not met. The lack of electric power affects the industrial capacity of the country, increase drastically the costs of goods and services with the subsequent impact in the wellbeing of the people.

            In order to correct this grave issue, avenues such as alternative sources of energy (Solar energy, Wind, Tides related energy, Geothermal, etc.) should be investigated to decide in a plan of action that will make this energy scarcity a thing of the past.

            My preferred solution is to devote resources to Solar Energy. The Dominican Republic has one of the highest irradiance levels in the Caribbean (Irradiance is a measure of the amount of solar energy received by a given location) and thus, if a viable method of capturing, storing and distributing is agreed upon, it will nicely complement the actual level of production.

            In order to further this idea, we should form three teams with a different emphasis in one aspect of the problem; one team will investigate the current level of research in making photovoltaic processes more efficient, in order to lower the price per Kw of the energy captured, another team will devote itself to ensure that the energy captured is efficiently stored prior to distribution, this means that the current materials science in batteries and/or fuel cells need to be investigated and decided upon; the last team will make determinations about the best way to minimize transmission lines losses to ensure that the recipients have access to a clean and stable delivery of electrical power.

 

COMMUNITY GATHERINGS BEHAVIORAL RULES.

 

RULE 1:

In order to ask a question, raise your hand and please wait to be recognized by the moderator.

RULE 2:

Please refrain from profanity. Use of profanity will be grounds for removal from premises.

RULE 3:

Please be brief. Remember that we have limited time and others want to ask questions too.

RULE 4:

Please DO NOT interrupt either the candidate or the person asking a question to the candidate, it is rude.

RULE 5:

Please no heckling the candidates or the moderator. Our community has adult problems that need to be addressed in an adult manner.

JOHN AND ZORAB DILEMMA. part II

As part of the continuing saga of John and Zorab, it is necessary to select a specific business model that will help them to bring into focus what is that they desire to achieve with their idea.

For that purpose, the SBDC counselor after careful consideration of their stated purposes and ideas, has recommended the Business model Canvas, because it provides with a very simple and direct interface for them to define their ideas and purposes.

"The Business model Canvas is a strategic management and lean startup template for developing new or documenting existing business model" the counselor explained, " it is a simple visual chart with elements describing a enterprise's value proposition, infrastructure, customers and finances"

"To help clarify things, a value proposition is the most important activities that your business will execute, in your case, this seems to be the cooking classes that are at the heart of your business" continued the counselor.

" Then there are the key resources, that as the name indicates is the resources that are necessary to create value for the customer. In this case, as an example, it will be your cooking classes"

 

"Take a look to the template of the Business Canvas model, and if you have any other questions please do not hesitate to call me so that we can set up an appointment, to go thru anything that is not crystal clear to you"

REFLECTION ON MASS CHALLENGE FINALIST D-ORBIT.

If you are Science-fiction oriented like me, you can't help but cheer for one of the 2014 Mass Challenge finalist, the Italian company D-Orbit.

They purport to assist with the solution of one of the problems that plague our satellites these days: the enormous amount of satellites in existence. According with US Space Surveillance Network there are approximately 3000 satellites in orbit out of some 8000 man-made objects in total. It is a fact that all satellites are sent up there with an expiration date. Until now, once the useful life of satellite is reached, they will remain up there until its orbit decays and then, we hope that they will burn in reentry and that the pieces are not going to fall in somebody's head or house.

Enter D-Orbit. This company proposed to sell and install "devices"  (I love this term) and it will do one of three things, depending on the desires of the satellite owner:

-it will send them back to Earth and burn them in reentry due to friction with the atmosphere.

-it will guide them to a safe location on Earth for destruction, such as the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean,

-or it will simply send the inoperative satellite to a higher orbit to a so-called "satellite graveyard".

This is an idea whose time has come. Due to the sheer numbers of satellites in orbit, it is feared that the launching of space vehicles, such as the Shuttle as well as private venture vehicles like the Space-X rockets will experience damage that can be catastrophic to them if a solution, such as the one espoused by D-Orbit,is not put in action.

SIX CANDIDATE QUESTIONS.

A list of six questions are going to be developed by the political action committed in order to address the issues plaguing the community after the storm.

We are going to divide them into the following categories:

-Curiosity

-Problem Solving

-Critical Thinking.

In the category of Curiosity:

1) What are your qualifications for the post?

2) What are your ties to this community?

In the category of Problem Solving?

3) What specific steps are you going to take to address the current situation if elected?

4) Why are you taking this specific steps?

In the category of Critical Thinking

5) Please tell us what do you believe to be the most pressing issues affecting the community.

6) What sets you apart from the other candidates?

It is my contention that upon hearing the answers given to this six questions, no matter in what order they are presented, a clear picture of the candidate should emerge, thus helping the public to make  a more informed decision,

JOHN AND ZORAB'S DILEMMA. 

During the development of this class, we have seen our heroes John and Zorab, go form starry eyed dreamers to people with a better idea of what they want and how to go about it.

But not everything is sweetness and light in the road of entrepreneurship, We are going to help them now to figure what are the roles that best fit their respective personalities in order to make their dream a reality.

John and Zorab need to clarify the roles that they are going to play in their fledgling enterprise, what are the roles more suited to their personalities and aspirations? we will attempt to answer this question.

John is more outgoing, energetic and apparently, more of a people's person than Zorab. He is also, impulsive and his attention goes wandering. Zorab in the other hand is more down to earth and have a more focused personality. So, let's assign roles:

John should do marketing and sales primarily since his personality seems more suited for it. Business projections and product development should be the domain of Zorab, since she is less prone to flights of fancy. Basically, she should brainstorm with John and then make the final decision and presentation based on the inputs received.

Then here it gets tricky, While it is true that John is more of a people's person than Zorab, is no less true that he tends to downplay important things, so while it is a good idea for John to talk to people, it is best that Zorab pays attention to the who, when and where so that she can keep John on track. 

The assumption is that both are good, if not great cooks, so the classes should be a joint effort since both enjoy the cooking and the teaching.

Zorab is more practical and focused than John, so the items that require care and attention would naturally fall into her sphere of responsibility. 

INVENTION

During the class period, we were tasked with the brainstorming of an idea. Interesting process that mix and matches 4 different points of view and life experiences and distills it into the idea for a product.

We invented and "refined" and exo-skeleton. This product has innumerable applications for the military, industry and my personal favorite, rescue and assistance operations. In essence, an exo-skeleton is an armored suit that an operator will wear that will amplify quantitative and qualitative the movements and physical strength of the wearer. 

I can see in my mind's eye, armies of exo-skeleton soldiers that will outperform any army in place right now. By the same token, i can see armies of rescue and assistance people using exo-skeletons to look through the rubble left from an earthquake or a hurricane and saving lives that otherwise would be lost.

And let's not forget another use that is near and dear to my heart, paraplegics will be able to move using an exo-skeleton, helping them to overcome the anxiety created by their condition and providng them with the independence denied to them by their condition.