Martin Cid's Blog: Martin Cid Magazine, page 1049

Bluesky aerial laser maps reveal WWI Battle of the Somme secrets for TV show

Bluesky LiDAR image – Mametz Wood

Leicestershire, 04 August 2016 – An aerial survey using aircraft mounted lasers has revealed previously undiscovered evidence that might potentially help to dispute accusations of a lack of determination by Welsh soldiers during the first Battle of the Somme in the Great War of 1914-1918. Aerial mapping company Bluesky flew an area of northern France called Mametz Wood, capturing accurate 3D measurements of the terrain and ground cover. Specially commissioned by Bearhug TV, the Bluesky LiDAR survey revealed two distinct and previously unrecorded topographies for further investigation and analysis.

“The Bluesky data allowed the experts to read the landscape from the air, seeing through the trees and vegetation,” commented the programme’s producer, Louise Bray of Bearhug TV. “This revealed a number of clues in a never before seen landscape. It was hoped that these discoveries might give a better understanding of the difficulties faced by the soldiers on the ground.”

In the years since 1916, there has been uncertainty as to why Mametz Wood proved so hard for the Welsh Soldiers to clear; there were even accusations of a ‘distinct lack of push’. As part of a BBC TV documentary which explored the history of Welsh soldiers on the Somme through the eyes of rugby player Gareth Thomas, the evidence revealed by Bluesky LiDAR data was used to evaluate the topography of landscape and help the archaeological team focus their efforts on the ground.

Using specialist software, the Bluesky LiDAR data was stripped of tree cover and other features to reveal the bare earth surface. The resulting ‘moonlike’ image clearly showed two crater-like features with rectangular sides, so, not shell holes, which were not on any other map. To the east of these anomalies was another, more subtle feature, also not depicted on war time maps or in reconnaissance information.

“The first feature identified from the Bluesky LiDAR survey turned out to be a pre-war quarry. Not depicted on maps at the time, this could very well have stopped the troops in their tracks,” continued Bray. “However, the second anomaly turned out to be far more significant.

“A series of deep interconnected German trenches was discovered, which the experts say was incomparable on the entire Somme battlefront. This was a major new discovery that would never have been made without the Bluesky LiDAR data, and might finally allow accusations of lack of determination on the part of the Welsh troops to be put to bed!”

The programme ‘Wales at the Somme: Gareth Thomas and the Battle of Mametz Wood’ is available to view for a limited time only at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07jj41w/wales-at-the-s…

HBO News. VICE News Tonight to launch Sept. 26 on HBO

BROOKLYN, Aug. 2, 2016 – VICE NEWS TONIGHT, the upcoming half-hour nightly newscast from VICE Media and HBO, debuts MONDAY, SEPT. 26 at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT), and will air weeknights on HBO. The show will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO Go, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

Under the leadership of Josh Tyrangiel, Executive Vice President Content, News, VICE NEWS TONIGHT aims to provide an indispensable nightly news show for viewers who have grown increasingly skeptical of daily broadcast news.

“The nightly news hasn’t changed its format in 60 years, whereas the way most viewers – particularly younger viewers – consume information has changed dramatically,” Tyrangiel says. “We understand that people aren’t going to watch VICE NEWS TONIGHT out of obligation. We’re going to have to earn people’s time and attention with great reporting and original forms of storytelling, something VICE has excelled at for several years now. We can’t wait to get started and show people what we’ve been up to.”

In preparation for the upcoming launch, VICE News has built a team that reflects this reimagined and modern approach. VICE News’ staff has more than doubled this summer, bringing on heavy hitters such as Madeleine Haeringer as the Executive Producer of VICE NEWS TONIGHTand Ryan McCarthy as the Editor-in-Chief of vicenews.com. In addition to the nearly 40 other hires who will work across all three VICE News products, Evan McMorris-Santoro from BuzzFeed, Nellie Bowles from the Guardian, Ravi Somaiya from the New York Times and Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani from the Huffington Post have joined the ranks as well.

VICE NEWS TONIGHT joins VICE News’ current offerings, including the Emmy®-winning weekly news magazine show “VICE” on HBO and the award-winning news site vicenews.com.

VICE NEWS TONIGHT will make additional announcements about format, content and staff in the coming weeks.

Training Provider seeking a number of IT Apprentices for NHS Contract

IT Apprentices at Estio Training Centre

School leavers are being urged to apply for specialist IT apprenticeships at various NHS organisations across the North West.

Training provider, Estio Training is currently recruiting a number of sixteen and seventeen year olds to start a Health Informatics Apprenticeship in the Manchester, Liverpool and Blackburn areas in August.

The purpose of Health Informatics is enable, promote and support the effective use of data, information, knowledge and technology to assist and improve health and health care delivery.

As technology develops at an increasingly fast pace, the NHS is producing massive amounts of data and information which needs to be understood and used. Estio is looking for a new group of talented, ambitious young people to fill the skills gap and provide the future workforce.

The entry criteria for this Apprenticeship is minimum 4 GCSEs (A* to C grade) and a passion for Information Technology. The programme includes comprehensive training & qualifications from City & Guilds and Microsoft as well as a job role within the NHS. It is a government funded training programme delivered by Estio Training alongside The Skills Development Network.

This is the second cohort of Apprentices to start this programme. Last year over 30 school leavers joined the programme and after a successful year, Estio Training is now looking to recruit more apprentices for an October 2016 start.

Existing apprentice, Bethany Edgerton currently works for the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust on the Health Informatics Apprenticeship Programme. She commented ‘this apprenticeship really appealed to me as it combines IT with working for the NHS, a professional and well established organisation. I am currently working alongside the Technical IT Team replacing old equipment and I get involved in lots of community projects. I’m really enjoying the course and look forward to developing my IT career further.’

Initially new candidates will be offered a place on a Work Preparation Programme comprising a week’s employability skills training followed by a short work experience placement at one of the NHS organisations signed up to the programme, as close as possible to where they live.

Successful candidates will then be offered a 2 year Health Informatics Apprenticeship where they will spend a proportion of time working in Information Management with data analysts or IT service desks, support and IT network engineers. The roles will enable young people to start earning a wage whilst learning and developing valuable skills over the 24 months.

BroadGroup names João Marques Lima editor of datacentres.com

New Editor João Marques Lima

Lima becomes one of the youngest editors across the industry.

London, 02 August 2016 – Information media technology and professional services company BroadGroup has appointed João Marques Lima editor of its news service, datacentres.com.

Lima, who joins from Computer Business Review, will be in charge of transforming the publication and expanding the global reach of the platform which attracts thousands of readers daily. He will spearhead this evolution by reaching out to the global data centre industry 24/7.

Prior to joining BroadGroup, he was a news reporter for Computer Business Review covering data centres, IoT and the EU’s Digital Single Market. Previous experience includes the Daily Mail, Channel 4 News, The Guardian and CNT International.

He has recently ranked 28 in the ‘Top 100 IoT Influencers of 2016’, and features in the list of ‘IoT thought leaders to watch in the next four years’.

“This is an exciting time in the data centre industry. A new era has just started and I am extremely overwhelmed to be taking over BroadGroup’s flagship publication datacentres.com,” commented Lima.

“We will be focusing on today’s major markets and industry trends, tracking tomorrow’s global critical infrastructure. We will be making significant announcements around the platform in due course as well.”

“We are delighted to welcome João to datacentres.com,” commented Philip Low, chairman of BroadGroup. “He will bring a new perspective to the data centre and cloud industry across both EMEA and Asia and catapult the brand to new heights. He will also be an exceptionally effective contributor to understanding the key stories and trends in the sector.”

‘BANANAGRAMS Party’ launched to celebrate a decade of BANANAGRAMS!

BANANAGRAMS Party

The Re-Gifter, The Thief, Switcheroo, Pouch Head… these are just some of the 14 chaos-inducing Party Power tiles in the new BANANAGRAMS Party edition.

Each tile gives the receiving player the power to unleash a special action on the opponent of their choice! Whether it’s making them play without using their thumbs, or forcing them to do a lap around the table, each action is sure to cause mayhem while players race to use all their letter tiles and complete their own word grids.

A sociable spin on the classic anagram game that drives you bananas, BANANAGRAMS Party helps mark BANANAGRAMS’ 10th Bananaversary. The original game has sold more than 7 million copies in 30+ countries globally since launching in 2006, and is loved by an army of fans including the cast of ITV’s Downton Abbey, Dame Judi Dench, Scarlett Johansson and many more.

Party Power tiles bring bedlam in the sneakiest, cheekiest BANANAGRAMS ever! BANANAGRAMS Party (RRP £14.99, ages 10+) is available from late August at stores including Waterstones, WH Smith John Lewis and Ocado as well independent shops throughout the UK.

Swyx introduces updated app that extends the ‘single telephone number’ concept to mobile workers

Swyx introduces updated app

– Full integration with iOS or Android devices means more effective communications regardless of location

London – 2nd August 2016 – Unified communications vendorSwyx has launched its latest SwyxMobile app that extends corporate communications beyond the office with its full integration with iOS or Android devices.

With the SwyxMobile app, users on the move have full access to all company contacts as well as presence and availability of colleagues, making it easier to maintain communications and reduce the frustrations of telephone tag.

A key advantage of SwyxMobile is the ability for employees to offer a single telephone number they can be reached on, whether in or out of the office. Users can select the same number to be presented when making outgoing calls as well as flexibly define rules and preferences for call forwarding and their availability for incoming calls.

Key benefits of SwyxMobile include:

– Excellent audio quality with voice calls in HD (high definition)

– Notification of incoming calls on the Apple Watch (in conjunction with a compatible iPhone)

– Modern and easy to use interface

– Can provide office rather than mobile number to colleagues/customers

– Full presence/availability of colleagues on smartphone

About Swyx

Swyx your business.

Swyx operates as a pan-European market leader via two-tier distribution and over 1,000 authorised resellers: the Dortmund based company with dedicated offices in the UK and France sells not only software solutions in six languages, but also has a range of suitable phones and other hardware devices in its product portfolio. Swyx’s award-winning unified communications provides not only in-house (CPE) solutions, but also cloud-based variants with well-known partners: Europe already has 500,000 users that rely on Swyx, of which around 10 percent have chosen to use a cloud-based solution. The company currently employs more than 150 staff who are responsible for continually improving the SwyxWare solution for the communication requirements of today and in the future. For further information, see www.swyx.com.

HBO renews Ballers for third season

LOS ANGELES, July 28, 2016 – Following the return of the hit show for its second season on July 17, HBO has renewed the comedy series BALLERS for a third season, it was announced today by Casey Bloys, president, HBO Programming.

“Dwayne Johnson, Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg and the rest of the BALLERS team have once again delivered a winner for our viewers,” said Bloys. “We look forward to another great season of BALLERS next year.”

Looking at the whirlwind lifestyles and real-life problems of former and current football players, BALLERS stars Dwayne Johnson as ex-superstar Spencer Strasmore, who has reinvented himself as a financial manager for today’s players in sun-soaked Miami.

Created by Stephen Levinson (HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”), the hit comedy series kicked off its ten-episode second season July 17. The premiere episode of the new season is already at 5.7 million viewers, with only preliminary data available. BALLERS’ first season went on to average 9.1 million viewers in gross audience – HBO’s biggest half-hour in six years.

In addition to Dwayne Johnson, the cast on season two of BALLERS includes Rob Corddry,John David Washington, Omar Benson Miller, Donovan Carter, Troy Garity, Jazmyn Simon, London Brown, Arielle Kebbel, Dulé Hill, Richard Schiff and Andy Garcia.

Season two credits: BALLERS was created by Stephen Levinson; executive produced by Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Peter Berg, Evan Reilly, Rob Weiss, Julian Farino, Denis Biggs.

Croydon Mum brings hip hop preacher Eric Thomas to UK

Dr Ava Eagle Brown

An ambitious 40-year-old mother of two from Croydon, London, who turned her life round following a harrowing childhood in Jamaica, has invited the tough-talking, critically acclaimed US-based ‘hip hop preacher’ Dr Eric Thomas to the UK to speak at a one-off event in London on Saturday September 24.

Dr Ava Eagle Brown, an accomplished author, speaker and coach said, “Perhaps because like Eric, there was no biological father figure in my life, and because I too have turned my life around, I identify with him strongly. He’s phenomenally motivating and helped me change my outlook for the better. I defy anyone to hear him talk and not be immediately uplifted by his amazing vision and ultra-high energy.”

Born to a teenage mum in Chicago, Illinois, Eric dropped out of school at 16 and found himself homeless, living in deserted buildings and eating from dustbins. Thanks to a chance meeting with a pastor, he reversed his fortune. He now coaches America’s top sporting teams, for leagues including the NBA and the NFL and is a world-renowned speaker, author, educator and minister.

Crucially, he pulls no punches in his highly energised speeches. He accepts no excuses and believes that success is down to taking responsibility for oneself and not blaming others. He says, “Winners win and losers lose. It’s as simple as that.”

Speaking in advance of the event from his office in Detroit, Michigan, Eric Thomas said, “I promise you, if you come to this event, you will re-write your history and make the rest of your life the best of your life.”

Eric Thomas focuses on the importance of mind-set and says, “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, you’ll be successful.”

Dr Ava Eagle Brown said, “Together with my business partner, Sonia Polean, we are hosting a one-day event in London that appeals to hardworking parents and their teenage children alike. It took Eric 12 years to gain a PHD, so he is well qualified to teach young people the importance of a good education. The Multi-Millionaire Masterclass will also appeal to entrepreneurs wanting to improve on their achievements.

“Dr Thomas will reveal his secrets to financial and psychological success, including how to avoid a dead-end job, how to create a “winning” mindset and how to make six figures. He is astonishing and attendees’ horizons will be expanded as soon as they listen to his hard-hitting truths.”

Eric Thomas has become a YouTube sensation, appealing to a broad range of people with his broadcasts achieving in excess of 50 million views.

Multi-Millionaire Masterclass with Dr Eric Thomas at Urban Life 2016

September 24 2016

Ruach City Church, 197-199 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7HY

From 9.30 AM. Tickets start at £35 and go up to £497 for VIP tickets.

Tour information and tickets: http://ericthomaslondon.uk/

Dr Ava Eagle Brown website: http://avaeaglebrown.com/

Sonia Poleon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/soniapoleon

BSO Delivers Fastest Connectivity between CME and Moscow, Dubai and Mumbai

BSO

BSO Delivers Fastest Connectivity between CME and Moscow, Dubai and Mumbai

Launches three new premium ultra low-latency trading routes between Chicago and major global financial hubs

LONDON – July 27, 2016 – BSO, the global Ethernet network, cloud and hosting provider, announces it has engineered the fastest available trading routes between CME and key financial hubs in Moscow, Dubai and Mumbai. As a well-established market leader in connectivity between established and emerging markets across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, BSO is extending its premium ultra-low latency services across the Atlantic.

The new Chicago routes feature the following market-leading ultra low latencies and are bidirectional:

• CME Aurora MOEX M1, Moscow – 105.40 ms RTD

• CME Aurora DGCX, Dubai – 180.95 ms RTD

• CME Aurora BKC, Mumbai – 176.95 ms RTD

The centre of the derivatives market, the optimisation of CME market access from Moscow, Dubai and Mumbai will immediately benefit the company’s finance customers. This is the first of a series of upcoming announcements about BSO’s ongoing effort to invest in its US backbone with an emphasis on lowering latencies and establishing new points of presence (PoPs) on the world’s busiest financial trading routes.

“Our mission is to lead through innovation, and by engineering the fastest connections from Chicago to the East demonstrates our capability to deliver the very best to our clients. Investment in these key financial trading routes into the Chicago market shows how BSO is extending its market-leading expertise in ultra low-latency connectivity across Europe, the Middle East and Asia over to the American markets,” says Michael Ourabah, CEO at BSO. “BSO is a global leader in long-haul network services and Chicago is the first of many upcoming announcements as we aspire to become a major player in the US market.”

Fieger Louvre Windows Update Winter Garden Concept for Luxury Living at New Nine Elms Apartments in London

Fieger louvre windows extend seasonal use of balco

Nine Elms, soon to be the home of the new American Embassy and adjoining a revitalised Battersea, is leading the regeneration of the south bank. Riverlight, a development of six apartment blocks by developer St James and designed by architects Rogers Stirk Harbour, offers spectacular riverside views. Pavilions one and two feature enclosed balconies, with full height Fieger louvre windows to extend seasonal enjoyment of the balcony space, updating the winter garden concept to meet 21st Century expectations.

Riverlight comprises six blocks that combine residential accommodation with a mix of shops, restaurants and leisure facilities at ground level to create a vibrant community. The rising blocks are angled to the Thames so that each residence has a river view that is enhanced by a combination of hard and soft landscaping between the blocks. To further enhance enjoyment of these views, each apartment has a balcony. In buildings one and two, these are enclosed to insulate against city noise. This intermediate space, protected from the extremes of weather, can be enjoyed for longer throughout the year and provides spectacular views down the Thames.

Glazed louvre windows fitted to the balconies form an integral element of the glazed facade. Fabricated by Fieger, the German glass window louvre specialist, the single glazed laminated glass louvres give an open view. They can be opened for cooling airflow in the summer or fully closed to exclude urban noise and extreme weather. Thermal efficiency of the apartments is enhanced by the additional insulation provided by the sealed balcony airspace. Installation of the external louvres was undertaken by ventilation contractor Adexsi UK into a facade supplied by Alumet Systems.

Each of the 400 Fieger FLM louvre panels installed has 1276mm laminated safety glass blades built into a matt black finished aluminium frame to match other elements of the facade. Approved Document K of the Building Regulations required the bottom louvres to be fixed and limited for those above up to a height of 1100 mm to be restricted to an aperture of 100mm opening. Louvres above 1100mm are able to be rotated up to 85 degrees for increased ventilation. Individual manual control of each louvre bank gives occupants maximum flexibility.

Fieger, who specialise in glazed window louvres offer a wide choice of glazing, finish and control options to suit the needs of any project. Single glazed units are typically used for winter gardens or to partition internal spaces. Where the louvre window forms an external glazing element in the building perimeter, double glazed units are employed to meet Building Regulations requirements.

For eco-buildings, that are designed to minimise the need for heating, triple glazed units can be installed to keep heat loss to an absolute minimum. All Fieger products are tested to simulate high wind pressure common in high rise buildings and certified to achieve negligible air infiltration.

Fieger also provide an elegant answer to the needs for smoke ventilation in stairwells and circulation spaces in multi-storey apartments and workplaces. These systems provide natural daylight and can be integrated with smoke detection or the building management system to open automatically in the event of an incident. The company work closely with architects, engineers, contractors and building owners to provide bespoke products to meet ventilation and natural lighting challenges.