Thursday, March 6, 2014

Hedwig Kiesler

---------- Forwarded message ----------
 Lesley Sirimane



 
Very Interesting ...........
 
In 1933, a beautiful, young Austrian woman took off her clothes for a movie director. She ran through the woods, naked.  She swam in a lake, naked. Pushing well beyond the social norms of the period.
 


 
The most popular movie in 1933 was King Kong. But everyone in Hollywood was talking about that scandalous movie with the gorgeous, young Austrian woman.
 
Louis B. Mayer, of the giant studio MGM, said she was the  most beautiful woman in the world. The film was banned practically everywhere, which of course made it even more popular and valuable.  Mussolini reportedly refused to sell his copy at any price.
 
The star of the film, called Ecstasy, was Hedwig Kiesler. She said the secret of her beauty was "to stand there and look stupid." In reality, Kiesler was anything but stupid. She was a genius. She'd grown up as the only child of a prominent Jewish banker. She was a math prodigy. She excelled at science. As she grew older, she became ruthless, using all the power her body and mind gave her.
 
Between the sexual roles she played, her tremendous beauty, and the power of her intellect, Kiesler would confound the men in her life including her six husbands, two of the most ruthless dictators of the 20th century, and one of the greatest movie producers in history.
 
Her beauty made her rich for a time. She is said to have made - and spent - $30 million in her life.
 
But her greatest accomplishment resulted from her intellect, and her invention continues to shape the world we live in today.
 
You see, this young Austrian starlet would take one of the most valuable technologies ever developed right from under Hitler's nose.After fleeing to America, she not only became a major Hollywood star, her name sits on one of the most important patents ever granted by the  U.S. Patent Office.
 
Today, when you use  your cell phone or, over the next  few years, as you experience super-fast wireless  Internet access (via something called "long-term  evolution" or "LTE" technology), you'll be using an extension of the technology a 20- year-old actress first conceived while sitting at dinner with Hitler.
 
At the time she made Ecstasy, Kiesler was married to one of the richest men in Austria. Friedrich Mandl was Austria 's leading arms maker. His firm would become a key supplier to the Nazis.
 
Mandl used his beautiful young wife as a showpiece at important business dinners with representatives of the Austrian, Italian, and German fascist forces. One of Mandl's favorite topics at these gatherings - which included meals with Hitler  and Mussolini - was the technology surrounding radio-controlled missiles and torpedoes.
 
Wireless weapons offered  far greater ranges than  the wire-controlled alternatives that  prevailed  at the time.
 
Kiesler sat through these dinners "looking stupid," while absorbing everything she heard.
 
As a Jew, Kiesler hated the Nazis. She abhorred her husband's business ambitions.  Mandl responded to his willful wife by imprisoning her in his castle, Schloss Schwarzenau.
 
In 1937, she managed to escape. She drugged her maid, snuck out of the castle wearing the maid's clothes and sold her jewelry to finance a trip to London.
 
(She got  out just  in time. In 1938, Germany annexed Austria. The Nazis seized Mandl's factory. He was half Jewish. Mandl fled to Brazil. Later, he became an adviser to Argentina 's iconic populist president, Juan Peron.)
 
In London, Kiesler arranged a meeting with Louis B. Mayer. She signed a long-term contract with him, becoming one of MGM's biggest stars. She appeared in more than 20 films. She was a co-star to Clark Gable, Judy Garland, and even Bob Hope. Each of her first seven MGM  movies was a blockbuster.
 
But  Kiesler cared far more about fighting the Nazis than about making movies. At the height of her fame, in 1942, she developed a new kind of communications system, optimized for sending coded messages that couldn't be "jammed." She was building a system that would allow torpedoes and guided bombs to always reach their targets. She was building a system to kill Nazis.
 
By the 1940s, both the Nazis and the Allied forces were using the kind of single- frequency radio-controlled technology Kiesler's ex-husband had been peddling. The drawback of this technology was that the enemy could find the appropriate frequency and "jam" or intercept the signal, thereby interfering with the missile's intended path.
 
Kiesler's key innovation was to "change the channel." It was a way of encoding a message across a broad area of the wireless spectrum. If one part of the spectrum was jammed, the message would still  get  through on one of the other frequencies being used. The problem  was, she could not figure out how to synchronize the frequency changes on both the receiver and the  transmitter.  To solve the problem, she turned to  perhaps the world's first techno-musician, George Anthiel.
 
Anthiel  was an  acquaintance of Kiesler who achieved some notoriety for creating intricate musical compositions. He synchronized his melodies across twelve player pianos, producing stereophonic sounds no one had ever heard before. Kiesler incorporated Anthiel's technology for synchronizing his player pianos.  Then, she was able to synchronize the frequency changes between a weapon's receiver and its transmitter.
 
On August 11, 1942, U.S. Patent No. 2,292,387 was  granted to Antheil and "Hedy Kiesler Markey,"  which was Kiesler's married name at the time.
 
Most of  you won't  recognize the name Kiesler. And no one would remember the name Hedy Markey. But it's a fair bet than anyone reading this  newsletter of  a certain age will remember one of the great beauties of Hollywood's golden age ~Hedy  Lamarr.
 
That's the name Louis B. Mayer gave to his prize actress. That's the name his movie company made famous.
 
 
Meanwhile, almost no one knows Hedwig Kiesler  a/k/a  Hedy Lamarr - was one of the great pioneers of wireless communications. Her  technology was developed by the U.S.Navy, which  has used it ever  since.
 
You are probably using Lamarr's technology, too. Her  patent sits at the foundation of "spread  spectrum technology," which you use every day when you log on to a wi-fi network or make calls with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. It lies at the heart of the massive investments being made right now in so-called fourth-generation  "LTE" wireless technology. This next generation of cell phones and cell towers will provide tremendous increases to wireless network speed and quality, by spreading wireless signals across the entire available spectrum.  This kind of encoding is only possible using the kind of frequency switching that Hedwig Kiesler invented.
 
And now you know the rest of the story.
  
  
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

1910 Ford

email sent by Piyusha Atapattu.



Make sure you read all the statistics under the photo.
This has only been 103 years ago...Amazing!!!
Show this to your friends, children and/or grandchildren!
The year is 1910, over one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:
***********************************
The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,
And a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.
Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools,
Many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
There was no such thing as under arm deodorant or tooth paste.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
The five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2, Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas Nevada was only 30!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !
(yes, people have changed)
Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years

"Udarata Menike".

email forwarded by Piyusha Atapattu 
 
Leyrisse's email unlocked the floodgates of memory, and I wrote an article about the "Udarata Menike".
 
Bernard VanCuylenburg.
 
My Dad was on Carolina Group, Watawala for 27 years, and  before he retired, he planted in Bandarawela for four years. Carolina was a huge estate of 2230 acres. By a topographical twist of fate, the railway line from Colombo to Badulla went through one of the divisions of Carolina called Mt.Jean. In fact the Watawala railway station was located on Mt.Jean division! Our bungalow on Kadawella division was some distance away from the railway track, but each day around 1.30 pm. we could hear the sound of the horn and the throbbing hum of the diesel locomotive as the "Menike" slided on ribbons of steel on her onward journey uphill amidst spectacular landscape on the way to Badulla. The blast of the horn would echo through the green hills and in the solitude of an estate bungalow it was a reassuring sound.
 
When the "Udarata Menike" was first introduced in 1954 it was powered by two British diesel locomotives. Before this, the train to Badulla was hauled by two steam engines which meant getting flecks of coal in one's eye, when looking out of the window ! And with the puffs of smoke blowing all over, the journey was not very pleasant. The introduction of diesel changed all that. A new set of carriages were hitched onto the diesel locomotives on her maiden run, and thats how it remained as long as I remember. The icing on the cake was the gift of twelve Canadian diesel locomotives under the Colombo Plan in the late 50's  - an outright gift from the Canadian government under the premiership of Pierre Trudeau. These diesels were a joy to behold, and I still remember the names of some of them, on either side of the locomotive gleaming in silver and blue. They were "Alberta" "Montreal" "Sasketchwan" "Prince Edward Island" "Vancouver" "Manitoba" "Toronto" and "Ontario". Out went the British locomotives  - at least on the up-country run, and in came one Canadian diesel to take their place. I later picked up some trivia about the Canadian locomotives. The distances they covered in Canada were at times over a thousand miles, and apparently the distance from Colombo to Badulla was insufficient for such high powered diesels of 2500 horse power. So after the "Menike" reached Badulla around 6.20 pm each evening, the locomotive had to be kept running for some hours after that, even though the journey had ended ! Apparently, one locomotive could provide electricity for an entire town ! After Dad went to Bandarawela, I used to travel by the "Udarata Menike" several times whenever I came to Colombo, and the return journey was one which I always anticipated with joy. It was not the train per se, but the incredible journey and the terrain of the track.
 
In the the low country from Colombo to Rambukkana it was a smooth run. But once the train reached Kadugannawa the climb began, and if you sat on the right and dared to look out of the window when the train skirted the ridge called "Sensation Rock" you risked a nervous breakdown because a thousand feet below, you could see the roofs of thatched village houses and expanses of paddy fields  - all in minature. There was no protective barrier along this length of track and the train was travelling on the edge of a sheer precipice ! Once this nerve shattering climb was negotiated, the terrain evened out to a level run upto Nawalapitiya. It was past Nawalapitiya that the real torturous climb began all the way to Nanuoya and from there to a spot on the track between Ambawela and Pattipola which is the highest point on the railway. After this it was 'downhill' all the way in the plains of Uva to the terminus at Badulla. On one of these trips I happened to be in the compartment up front behind the locomotive, and a very friendly guard took me into his section of the compartment from where I could see the driver in his cabin and observe this Canadian powerhorse in action. I was introduced to the driver, Mr.Wadugodapitiya an old Trinitian, and a senior driver in the Ceylon Government Railways. It was he who gave me the trivia I quoted earlier on the Canadian diesels.
 
I have done many trips by train in other countries and can tell you that the trip from Colombo to Badulla should be classed as one of the great train journeys of the world. Apart from the spectacular scenery through which the track goes through, specially in the hill country, just consider the near impossible gradient which the train traverses.......In fact there is a place called for some unknown reason, "Soda Bottle" bend on the line between Kotagala and Great Western which is an engineering marvel. So steep is the gradient that at a certain point on looking out of the window if one is seated on the right side of the train, one can see the railway track in two tiers below -   a graphic indication of the height the traveller has just passed through. And then there is the engineering masterpiece of the Demodera loop ! Once the train leaves Demodera station (two halts before Badulla) it goes full circle and at one stage passes right under the station which it has just left, on its way to Badulla ! Imagine leaving a station and then after about five minutes looking out of the window - or rather, looking up  - to find the station you just left is right above you !! Talk about the realms of fantasy ! It is a matter of regret that the name of the engineer who devised this masterpiece has not been recorded for posterity. On the return trip past Nanuoya, one gets a clear view of Adam's Peak in the distance - weather permitting -  until one reaches Talawakelle.  At Nanuoya - and this is addressed to old Anthonians in particular  - there is a little hill near the station, with a neat little bungalow on its summit. This was the home of Freddy, Paddy, Gerry, and Merry Guneratne when their Dad Alec Guneratne  - an old Anthonian and legendary soccer star of a bygone era - was stationed in Nanuoya during his service with the Ceylon Government Railways. I once walked with Royston and Basil Hyde from their home on Scrubbs Estate, Nuwaraeliya to the Guneratne home at Nanuoya  - a distance of four miles. We were entertained with cordon bleu home made delicacies by Paddy's Mum   - it is still a warm memory that never fades and sparks nostalgia for a happy time and place...... But I digress, so I had better get back on track........ 
 
From Ohiya station upto Haputale the track seems to defy gravity ! It is cut on the side of a mountain and runs at the edge of a precipice with heart stopping views of the little villages far down below. It is a hair raising experience which I term as death defying ! You have to sit on the left of the compartment to get your hair standing on all ends ! If you wish to play it safe, just sit on the right and all you will see is the side of a cliff. But the scenery which greets the traveller will live in memory forever. A panorama of deep valleys, green hills and lush countryside where nature has run riot with her paintbrush painting the land in colours of every hue......This kaladescope of nature's bounty penetrates your very soul to inspire and nurture the spirit........It is a photographer's delight and an artists paradise........and the bracing mountair air gives one a near supernatural sense of well being. The scenery on this entire journey is a nature lover's delight. From the lush hills on the Kadugannawa climb right upto Nawalapitiya, and then the beautiful tea country all the way to Nanuoya.
 
There were no luxury compartments. There was 1st, 2nd and 3rd class, and an excellent Restaurant Car staffed by uniformed waiters. The catering was done by U.K.Edmund.  For Rs.1.50 you could enjoy a delicious rice and curry and the tea was the nectar of the Gods. There was no Observation Car.
 
I think today the "Menike" is powered by a German Henschel locomotive and has some Rumanian compartments. In my humble opinion the Henschel diesel does not in any way, shape or form look as sleek, majestic and inspiring as her Canadian counterpart. During my last visit to Sri Lanka in 2000, I was pleased to see some of the Canadian locomotives still riding the rails. On a trip from Haputale to Colombo in the "Udarata Menike" we crossed the "Podi Menike" the younger sister of the "Udarata Menike" which I observed was hauled by a Canadian diesel locomotive, "Montreal". With that I shall conclude this email. But the "Menike" - 'The Maid of the Mountains' or, as I prefer to call her 'The Maid of the Mists', will forever travel the corners of our minds in the realms of memory on a journey that has no end...
 
Bernard VanCuylenburg. 
 
Bernard turned 70 on the 25th February.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

A SONG DEDICATED TO ALL MY FRNDS IN THEIR FIFTIES ++

email from Gallege De Silva
2:21 AM (3 hours ago)
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif

Just for us! For the young, it's information.

they wrote a song about us ???
Click on the link & turn sound on


Ambalamas, Sri Lanka.

A good section on 'Ambalamas in Sri Lanka'.

email from Emil van der Poorten emil@halgollaplantationhome.com

Mar 3 (2 days ago)
to
Here it comes with the usual request (+1!):  if you like it, please feel free to disseminate it as widely as possible.  If you don't, let us know and we'll take you off this mailing list pronto.  +1? Please accept our apologies for the fact it's a bit late this month!
Regards
Arlene & Emil

Monday, March 3, 2014

A little Flight in the Eurocopter

HOW OLD IS GRANDMA?

email from  Piyusha Atapattu




This is a snap shot of what we grew up with - it wasn't too bad at all!
(Read this to the end-- quite an eye opener.)

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end... It will blow you away. 
One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother About current events.
The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought About the shootings at schools, the computer age, and
Just things in general.
 The Grandmother replied, "Well, let me think a minute, 
I was born before:
' television 
'
 penicillin 
'
 polio shots 
'
 frozen foods 
'
 Xerox 
'
 contact lenses 
'
 Frisbees and 
'
 the pill 

There were no:
' credit cards 
'
 laser beams or 
'
 ball-point pens 

Man had not
 yet invented:
' pantyhose 
'
 air conditioners 
'
 dishwashers 
'
 clothes dryers 
'
 and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and 
'
 man hadn't yet walked on the moon


Your Grandfather and I got married first, and then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother.
Until I was 25, I called every man
 older than me, "Sir."
And after I turned 25, I still called
 policemen and every man With a title, "Sir."
We were before gay-rights,
 computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
Our lives were governed by the Ten
 Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.
We were taught to know the
 difference between Right and Wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was A bigger privilege.
We thought fast food was what people
 ate during Lent.
Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with Your cousins.
Draft dodgers were those who closed front
 doors as the Evening breeze started.
Time-sharing meant time the family
 spent together in the Evenings and weekends — not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decksCD's, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.
We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny,
 and the President's speeches on our radios.
If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan '
 on it, it was junk.
The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.
Pizza Hut, McDonald's,
 and instant coffee were unheard of.
We had 5 &10-cent (5 and dime) stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.
Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar,
 and a Pepsi were all a nickel.
And if you didn't want to splurge, you could
 spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.
You could buy a new Ford Coupe for $600,
 but who could Afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon. In my day:
' "grass" was mowed, 
'
 "coke" was a cold drink, 
'
 "pot" was something your mother cooked in and 
'
 "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby. 
'
 "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,
'
 "chip" meant a piece of wood,
'
 "hardware" was found in a hardware store and.
'
 "software" wasn't even a word.


We were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.
We volunteered to protect our precious country.
No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap.How old do you think I am? 
Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time. 
Are you ready?????
cid:1126890A1D11458D8A683DDDCCE7BE9B@UserHP 
This woman would be only 61 years old.She would have been born in late 1952.
GIVES YOU SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. 
PASS THIS ON TO THE OTHER “OLD ONES.”