[162]                             home                             [164]   

Friday, November 19, 2004

The BCNGroup Beadgames

Center of Excellence Proposal à  

Challenge Problem  à

 National Project à

 White Paper on Incident Information Orb Architecture (IIOA) à

   Adi Structural Ontology Part I  à Cubicon language descriptive à

 

 

 

Richard (Ballard)

 

You communicated:

 

Paul & Friends:

 

Requests for proposals and their response are like politics -- participation in a process. People with a need are telling us something important and I and my colleagues are listening and learning to effectively communicate the value in what we have.

 

We have survived profitably for over 20 years doing this and pushed our science forward in a way we are most proud of. The government under four presidents have been a principal sponsor in the majority of our 50+ projects of national importance. I have direct knowledge that the (some) President saw the fruits of our efforts in perhaps 3 cases -- Star Wars (Reagan), Gulf War Illness (Clinton), NASA Moon-Mars (Bush I). I doubt any of these presidents or their political appointees had to sign off on any of our projects. The US Government was our customer, but Presidents are temporary employees.

 

We have done work for more than 31 different sponsoring corporations and agencies. This Bush (as it turned out) signed off on a Navy ship and $18M exclusively dedicated to my brother's research in undersea discovery and archeology (to be based soon at the University of Rhode Island, Bob got his Ph.D. in Oceanography & Undersea Geology there and recently joined their faculty).

 

The Executive Office (NSF and NOAA) had resisted his proposals, so he went directly to Congress with strong endorsements from the Navy and they voted him his ship. For Bush II it was a photo op that my brother and his family came to the Oval Office to collect his check -- and the pen used to sign it.

 

Bob had been there four times before -- Bush needed the pre-election "support for science TV time" (CSPAN & National Geographic), not Bob. Both were doing what they needed to do, and my young nephew and niece got the thrill of their lives. They will grow up to become as effective at politics as their mother and her family (Democrat) and scientist father (centrist Republican). Who cares which side?

 

It is all a process, Paul. I think that you like the politics – and are effective at it.

 

Dick