Frog Up or Down

One of the points I raised in my professorial speech was the way the algorithms we use now, and we will use in the future, are generated and written. Whether we like it or not, data is going to become a huge part of the Technologists day to day work. For many of us it's going to be the generation of the core base that will eventually generate so much more data, plus the use of external data, that together with the data we helped to generate, will form the backdrop to much of the oldschool work we have traditionally done like detailing, spec writing etc. We as technologists might under stand the construction but few of us understand the way the algorithms are written and to be truthful, the answers they give yet alone the deeper use of the data we genrerate. Ok the low level use at the contract stage is our first stab in the way some of this data can be used, but take it just a little further, and, we hand over to computer programmers who, are not so well versed in construc...

I am at last moving into the home security market, I get clients asking what to do, so I thought its time to experiment and look for products that I can fit to my own home. First it's the usual alarm, We had one fitted some 20 years ago, and its still as good as the day it was fitted, ok we have it services regularly, and the battery has been changed a couple of times. Its a same guard, I like to set the thing when we go out, most of my neighbours have the same unit, and we all check when it goes off. I have thought of getting a better, internet connected unit, but I thought about it and decided to invest in something a little up market. Enter stage right, out new web-cam we purchased from Y-Cam, its a simple little device that is wifi connected, has sensors to detect movement and works in the light and dark of the evening. The output is good, and its viewable on their web site vis their iPhone App, and on my Mac. I can down load the video feed, and best of all, once you purc...

For some while I have been thinking about setting up a site to host not only my own Tech papers but any one who has or wants to publish a tech paper to promote Architectural Technology. I have named it Techcitejournal , I think it adequately describes what the site is all about. Currently its hosted on a Wordpress.com site, but if there is enough interest I'll move it to its own site. At present I an setting up the papers I have written, but if you have a paper old or new, sent it to the upload address and I will review and post If your interested in becoming a reviewer, again drop me anEmail to the same address and we can talk. I still have no logo, so thats next, also I need to add some html to allow citations to be easily done for any article. I also want  Scholar.Google.com or at least Google.com to list and scan my new site, this I have requested. There is no cost to all of this, I want to provide a free and uncluttered publishing web site free of firewa...

What does it mean when a manufacturer say's  "We have a 25 Year Track Record" unless they can provide accurate records of all projects over the 25 years, then the statement is meaningless. Most will have no idea or have accurate records of projects they have sold onto, simply because they sell vis distributors and they are so often reluctant to divulge their client list. They might refer you to their agrement certificate and thats a start, but they will only have selected projects collected for the purpose. Ask manufacturers for failed projects and you will get a stone wall, yet its what we need to know. I recently gave my professorial presentation to my University , and it, I stated that its not unreasonable to ask these questions, I wanted it to be presented via an electronic search, I add their products to my drawing and the CAD package or perhaps a specialist service, that searches online for information good and bad. There is the obvious litigate routes we c...

Its the tradition at Birmingham City University, that all new professors give an inaugrial  speech to the University, so this week, I managed to book one of the large lecture theatres, and I gave a lecture on Data, Below are my lecture notes, there is a video taken by one of my student, and as always, I might have made notes, but a strayed a little. I intend to add to these notes and make it into a more formal article, perhaps even a paper I also attach at the very bottom of this article my slides, which I use a an aid memoir  The lecture lasts just over an hour so for you all, Enjoy: Professorial Speech Notes 18/11/2016 ========================== Slide Opening Slide “where will the Data Take us” Slide change to where will the data take us - Time they are a changing Opening with quote : Slide  Mies va de Rohe God is in the detail ( Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ) Or should that be data For me as a technologist th...