Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[wdisney9000]

Ever heard of a company called IQT? Me neither. At least not until I did some research on NGE (hey, @Jason Garcia maybe you might want to do likewise instead of appearing on fanboi podcasts!) after receiving the information I posted a few days ago here.



In 1998, CIA identified technology as a top strategic priority, and set out a radical plan to create a new venture that would help increase the Agency's access to private sector innovation. In-Q-Tel was chartered in February 1999 by a group of private citizens at the request of the Director of Central Intelligence and with the support of the U.S. Congress. IQT was tasked with building a bridge between the Agency and a new set of technology innovators.>>


If that has you curious, look at the BoD:



Michael M. Crow
Chairman of the Board of In-Q-Tel; President of Arizona State University



James Barksdale
President and CEO of Barksdale Management Corporation



Peter Barris
Managing General Partner, New Enterprise Associates (NEA)



Howard
Partner, Greylock Venture Capital



Christopher Darby
President and CEO of In-Q-Tel



Anita K. Jones
Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the University of Virginia



A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard
Former Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency



Jami Miscik
Vice Chairman and President of Kissinger Associates



Michael Mullen
Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff



Elisabeth Paté-Cornell
Chair of the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University



Ted Schlein
Managing Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers



Charles M. Vest
President Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology


What the (blank) do these folks have to do with you getting a FP for Space Mountain, your daughter getting greeted by Princess Aurora and you snagging that dinner at Le Cellier (complete with food you ordered five months, or three prices increases ago, in advance)?

Whoa, what has the TWDC gotten themselves into? If that list of names and credentials wasnt a sobering slap in the face to everyone defending this initiative, then you are too far gone to help. I will be curled up on the floor in the corner of the shower weeping for the next few hours trying to wash away my emotions. I dont think the water will get hot enough to do the trick.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Jesus H Christ, what has the TWDC gotten themselves into? If that list of names and credentials of those involved in this wasnt a sobering slap to the face of everyone defending this initiative then you are too far gone too help. I will be curled up on the floor in the corner of the shower weeping for the next few hours trying to wash away my emotions. I dont think the water will get hot enough to do the trick.

Yeah. Now it's getting scary.

 

[Tom Morrow]

@WDW1974, have you considered, or do you have a blog? Posts such as these deserve more exposure than to be lost in a 200 page thread on a fan forum.

 

[WDW1974]

Jump to 2:30

you know how to push my buttons ...nothing shows our decline as a nation so much as killing manned space flight ...well, except for shredding the Constitution and having a nation ruled by big Business, Wall street and the military industrial complex!

 

[WDW1974]

@WDW1974, have you considered, or do you have a blog? Posts such as these deserve more exposure than to be lost in a 200 page thread on a fan forum.

I do not have a blog, but I am considering some options for the future.

As for what's here, I have faith that my fellow posters can help spread the word ...I do KNOW that Disney reads me religiously as do others in the business and within media in general.

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Kuhio]

Jump to 2:30

Love Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Seriously, we got a badass over here.

 

[WDW1974]

One anecdote that I shared with @Lee earlier and I sorta feel like it belongs here.

In Nov. 2001, I paid my first post 9/11 visit to DLR. One afternoon I was having lunch with George Kalogridis and a friend in media and talk went from plans for DCA's first holiday season and the new Luminaria show to the state of constant fear our nation had been under.

George didn't hesitate in telling me that I was safer at DL than anywhere else, despite the fact that it has likely been a target for wackos as long as I have been alive. In hindsight, there seemed to be more to the statement than wishful thinking. Over the years since , I can't help but notice all the military helicopters that fly over and around DL. Is DL getting daily flyovers from our military? Or are they just part of the military presence on the left coast and I am noticing them now when I never did pre-2001?

I do wish I had pushed George for an answer back then, but I was trying to escape the reality.

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

The data mining and privacy concerns have always been my my reason for not liking MM+. I have been ridiculed on other message boards regarding my concerns. I try my best to use facts and other resources to support my opinions but am often met with the usual "magical" and "enhanced" arguments. Thanks to this board for accepting my concerns.

So...count me as one of the "tin foil hat" people wondering if my reserved trip in 2014 will result in numerous opportunities for identity theft, big brother like data mining and (probably) my last trip to WDW.

 

[WDW1974]

The data mining and privacy concerns have always been my my reason for not liking MM+. I have been ridiculed on other message boards regarding my concerns. I try my best to use facts and other resources to support my opinions but am often met with the usual "magical" and "enhanced" arguments. Thanks to this board for accepting my concerns.

So...count me as one of the "tin foil hat" people wondering if my reserved trip in 2014 will result in numerous opportunities for identity theft, big brother like data mining and (probably) my last trip to WDW.

There are far more ignorant people out there, sadly. And the Disney fan community attracts a large group of folks ....with issues. People don't want to face the truth when it is ugly, and I believe it is here.

 

[HMF]

People don't want to face the truth when it is ugly, and I believe it is here.

That is exactly what scares me, most. People would rather get emotionally invested in things that really have very little significance (everything from Sports to Honey Boo Boo ) in order to deny the fact that things are as bad as they are. I really get irritated when people tell me to not worry about things and accept everything even with it's problems.

 

[PhotoDave219]

One anecdote that I shared with @Lee earlier and I sorta feel like it belongs here.

In Nov. 2001, I paid my first post 9/11 visit to DLR. One afternoon I was having lunch with George Kalogridis and a friend in media and talk went from plans for DCA's first holiday season and the new Luminaria show to the state of constant fear our nation had been under.

George didn't hesitate in telling me that I was safer at DL than anywhere else, despite the fact that it has likely been a target for wackos as long as I have been alive. In hindsight, there seemed to be more to the statement than wishful thinking. Over the years since , I can't help but notice all the military helicopters that fly over and around DL. Is DL getting daily flyovers from our military? Or are they just part of the military presence on the left coast and I am noticing them now when I never did pre-2001?

I do wish I had pushed George for an answer back then, but I was trying to escape the reality.

Conversely, I never see a military presence anywhere near WDW. Except one day in 2004 when 2 F-18s buzzed the Kingdom enroute to the bombing range in Northern Lake County.

I agree that WDW is very safe, based on weird things I see here and there. Security is heavier than what is most people see - its there to a trained eye. I have not taken a hard look to look for things Ive seen along the National Mall in DC but I'm relatively sure they are there. (Sensors and air samplers that you just dont to close to) Toss in all the interesting things on data mining and research that are coming to light and I seriously doubt anyone will ever have anything to worry about beyond making their FP+/ADR on time, speaking from a physical safety POV.

Disney may seem like a soft target, but its really not.

 

[PhotoDave219]

What is discovery? A relative who was trying to get out of a timeshare contract was told to just stop paying it and to give them the lawyer's number at work. "They will probably drop it there, but if they don't, I'll bury them so deep in discovery that...well, there is no end to discovery. Just don't pay them another cent."

So, again, what is it and how does it apply to google?

Different type of Discovery.

 

[SJFPKT]

Conversely, I never see a military presence anywhere near WDW. Except one day in 2004 when 2 F-18s buzzed the Kingdom enroute to the bombing range in Northern Lake County.

I agree that WDW is very safe, based on weird things I see here and there. Security is heavier than what is most people see - its there to a trained eye. I have not taken a hard look to look for things Ive seen along the National Mall in DC but I'm relatively sure they are there. (Sensors and air samplers that you just dont to close to) Toss in all the interesting things on data mining and research that are coming to light and I seriously doubt anyone will ever have anything to worry about beyond making their FP+/ADR on time, speaking from a physical safety POV.

Disney may seem like a soft target, but its really not.

Drones man, the drones. I do have a serious question for you since you are one of the more level headed people here, where do you think the money is being spent on this project? I know at my place of employment, we pay about 500 for a RFID sensor. This includes cabling back to the switch and server config. So you figure you add pretty Disney dressing to RFID sensor you are looking at the most 2,000. Now I am sure for hotel rooms you are probably going to get the cheap 500 sensor, but even at 2k a sensor half a billion would provide more than enough sensors to cover the whole property, switches, cabling, and all.

 

[SirLink]

They are. It is under development as we speak. A done deal. There will not be any SW presence in that park at opening.

Did they go with the cheap under themed version of Space Mountain with Tron elements or the Bike coaster

 

[RunnerEd]

Conversely, I never see a military presence anywhere near WDW. Except one day in 2004 when 2 F-18s buzzed the Kingdom enroute to the bombing range in Northern Lake County.

I agree that WDW is very safe, based on weird things I see here and there. Security is heavier than what is most people see - its there to a trained eye. I have not taken a hard look to look for things Ive seen along the National Mall in DC but I'm relatively sure they are there. (Sensors and air samplers that you just dont to close to) Toss in all the interesting things on data mining and research that are coming to light and I seriously doubt anyone will ever have anything to worry about beyond making their FP+/ADR on time, speaking from a physical safety POV.

Disney may seem like a soft target, but its really not.

Dave beat me to it. I have looked for the things that are along the National Mall and they are there.

 

[SirLink]

If that's the case, then democracy is right behind it. You don't have one without the other.

Democracy has never existed outside of Ancient Greece - everything is an oligarchy. People like to pretend that democracy is a real thing - it isn't.

 

[SJFPKT]

Ever heard of a company called IQT? Me neither. At least not until I did some research on NGE (hey, @Jason Garcia maybe you might want to do likewise instead of appearing on fanboi podcasts!) after receiving the information I posted a few days ago here.

What does Disney have to do with this company? And what exactly is this company (and is mentioning it in a post going to get me waterboarded?)

Go to this page of that companies website... http://www.iqt.org/portfolio/ict.html

It looks like a one stop shopping center for the entire project. Go through the companies they have partnered with and see if they look familiar with anything you have read.

 

[flynnibus]

What the (blank) do these folks have to do with you getting a FP for Space Mountain, your daughter getting greeted by Princess Aurora and you snagging that dinner at Le Cellier (complete with food you ordered five months, or three prices increases ago, in advance)?

The CIA getting into the venture game was an interesting twist.. but is more a note on the bureaucracy of our government where silos duplicate each others efforts, etc. It's not that much different from the classic federal grants, DARPA, etc.. where the DoD has funded research, product development, etc. What the twist (and new risk) was by doing it via an 'independent' company, there are new levels of obfuscation and the funding path for congress is even more obscured. The CIA wanting to use their budget to fund 'interesting' things and trying to grow their pot through investment is a political topic that really starts to challenge the classic roles of government backed research.

The technologies of large group tracking, modeling, and extreme scale tagging I'm sure are all technologies that spying agencies would be interested in. So its not shocking to see contractors that work with, or have funding from those agencies involved in a project like this for Disney. But like many innovation projects... I see the overlap of opportunity.. and not so much about collaboration or collusion.

 

[SJFPKT]

The CIA getting into the venture game was an interesting twist.. but is more a note on the bureaucracy of our government where silos duplicate each others efforts, etc. It's not that much different from the classic federal grants, DARPA, etc.. where the DoD has funded research, product development, etc. What the twist (and new risk) was by doing it via an 'independent' company, there are new levels of obfuscation and the funding path for congress is even more obscured. The CIA wanting to use their budget to fund 'interesting' things and trying to grow their pot through investment is a political topic that really starts to challenge the classic roles of government backed research.

The technologies of large group tracking, modeling, and extreme scale tagging I'm sure are all technologies that spying agencies would be interested in. So its not shocking to see contractors that work with, or have funding from those agencies involved in a project like this for Disney. But like many innovation projects... I see the overlap of opportunity.. and not so much about collaboration or collusion.

With all going on in the media with the NSA and CIA, I am sure most major companies will do anything possible to keep their names from being associated with them. Like I posted above, going through the profiles of the portfolio, it looks like a one stop shop for the entire NGE project. And like I said earlier, if Disney can get a live tracking program that works across the property, the sales of that technology will alone make up what it cost, not to mention selling the data they obtain. Don't doubt for a second they won't sell it in some form, whether it be through raw data or speaking engagements/seminars about what companies should do.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Wow....I can't believe how quickly this thread has been growing - I'm having trouble keeping up.

I have to agree with @WDWDad13. There is a lot we don't know about the system (specifics on what/how it functions) but I can't imagine TWDC building a system which is made to punish "low value guests" who don't spend enough or whose entire goal is to solely increase revenue at the expense of the guest experience.

WDW needs happy guests on property to stay happy and leave happy so they are willing to tell their friends and family how much fun their vacations was so first-timers go and others return. Is it not possible that this system is two-pronged: 1.) to increase Disney's revenue stream and 2.) to genuinely improve guest experience as they have said?

But WDW is unsinkable. No matter what Disney does WDW will always be #1. With that kind of confidence, you can see why they haven't added an E Ticket to the MK in my daughter's lifetime and she goes to college next year. There is no reason to improve the guest experience when you're 11 feet tall and bullet-proof.