Smart Cities Recap

Why do we want to be looking at “smart city” capabilities?

Because the opportunity of utilizing smart technologies and data analysis is that it allows us to optimize our town functions while also driving economic growth. And all of this is with the goal of improving the quality of life for our citizens.

Last year, Cary took on this idea full steam, creating a simulated Smart City Campus, partnering with vendors, local universities, our Town volunteer boards and smart city organizations to help us as we moved forward.  Throughout all of these efforts, Cary garnered a few awards:

• • Smart Cities Dive: Rising Star Award (2017)
  • Smart Cities Connect, Smart 50 Award: for Cary’s Simulated Smart City (2017)
  • and the Smart Cities Council 2018 Readiness Grant.
  • This last award allowed us to have a workshop in Cary, where we recently held a meeting at SAS of more than 80 folks to plan additional ways to make data-informed decisions, and ensure greater citizen engagement and transparency.  Our all day workshop session focused on 3 main topics:
    • Smart, safe mobility and transportation
    • Healthy communities
    • Integrated data infrastructure
  • 

    Cary Wins Smart 50 Award

What’s New and What’s Next? 

Recently,  I had the pleasure of presenting how Cary envisions utilizing technology for Public Good at Interop with our amazing CIO, Nicole Raimundo, have I mentioned she was NC Public Sector CIO of the Year?  Just sayin.

We had the opportunity to brag a bit about Cary, as well as share our vision and journey – from our two different perspectives – of an elected and a CIO.  It was great to hear from other CIOs and  public servants about their own process, and allowed us all to learn from each other.

We had a little video – to kick things off, and get people thinking.  What are some of the technologies that are in use, or could be in use, to help us in our daily lives?  What would that “Day in the Life” look like?  

• COOL TECHNOLOGY IN USE

• I’ve talked about some of the great innovations in use at the Town, or being piloted.   WAZE is already being used by many folks, and our Alexa app is in its 2nd Beta.  (I hope it will be launched soon!)
• But one of the most exciting capabilities and one that gained a ton of interest from our Interop audience is a simple texting application.
• It’s called TXT311.  And if you watched the above video, you might have seen a bit about it.
• So, here’s the scenario:
• It’s Saturday, and you pack up the dog and the kids and head out to one of our great dog parks with a plan to wear out the dog, and the kids. Beautiful day – perfect weather, ready for fun.
  

  Sad dog eyes…

• And, you get to the gate at the Dog Park – and it’s stuck.  Your card won’t work. The gate won’t open.  No one is around, and it’s a Saturday.
• I mean, c’mon. Look at these eyes —- how do you say “no” to that?
• Who do you call?  (No, not Ghost Busters.)

Well, you don’t have to CALL anyone.

Hanging near the gate is this sign – directing you to use  TXT311, to let Town of Cary staff know about an issue.

TXT311 at Jack Smith Dog Park

Texting with the Town

So, you send out the text, and voila!  You get a response, and Luke is on the other end, responding to your request.

(This is the text from a live feed, but I removed the phone number of the caller.)

On the town side, we’re able to do something quick, and responsive, using a device that most people have with them.  In fact, studies have shown that texting is the #1 preferred method for support calls, it’s also the most used data service in the world. (Nielsen) and 89% of consumers want to use messaging to communicate with businesses. (Twilio)

This is what Smart Cities is all about.  To leverage innovative ideas, technology and people – all coming together to make Cary the remarkable place it is to live, work, own a business, raise a family —- and to play.  At a dog park, if you want.

• _________________________________
• I’ll be talking about other technologies in upcoming blog posts – I hope you’ll stay tuned.And yes, that’s my dog, Luna.  (She’s an Irish Doodle and loves a good Dog Park.)

Oh, and if you want to watch Councilmember Jennifer Robinson and I talk about this a bit more, check out our Cary Matters video, below.

And, being a techie, I sometimes assume that folks “get it” when I start espousing the virtues of some new technology.   Thankfully, I have great friends and neighbors that remind me that these high tech concepts and ideas aren’t self-evident, and that often, concepts like Open Data or the Internet of Things, are harder to understand. So, let me try.

As an example, let’s talk about the Internet of Things, or the Internet of Everything. What does it mean, and why should we care?

Well, let me try to explain.

What is the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a concept that says that any electronic device can be connected to the Internet, and (potentially) to each other. With the increasing reach of the Internet, and with more and more devices having wifi and radio frequency ID (RFID) connectivity capability, as well as the decreasing costs of these devices – more and more of what we use everyday connects to the Internet, and shares information with it. In fact, according to a variety of sources (Gartner, Cisco and others), more than 5 Billion devices are connected to the internet today – some say it will be 25 billion by this year, with 75 billion by 2020.

Internet of Things Infographic – Cisco

Number of IoT – Cisco

Yes, this is happening now.  You know it is, because you probably have a smartphone that is connected right now.  But what you might not realize is that there are a slew of other devices connected, as well.  From a toothbrush that can watch to make sure your children are really brushing their teeth well, to a voice-activated smart outdoor grill that will notify the user when their food is ready, to even a sensor loaded and connected tennis racquet (promoted by Rafael Nadal) that is said to improve your game by providing information on power, strokes, and more.  This is just the beginning.

From Toothbrushes to Racquets

What you may NOT know, is that companies of all types are using it to improve their services – from UPS who is using sensor data from their 80,000 vehicles to provide information on the speed, miles per gallon, number of stops, etc – to save money and improve delivery routes.  By using this data effectively, they have saved more than 39 million gallons of fuel through route optimization and reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of miles and idling time.

From UPS Press Room

Just think about Disney, the mecca of great customer service (and Mickey Mouse.) Disney World  is now using the MagicBand, which I would say is the new height of IoT. The MagicBand is a wristband that is not only a key into your hotel room, but also provides you access into the park(s), as well as allowing you to buy food and merchandise. On the back end of this system, Disney is using this data to track visitors throughout the park, knowing proactively where visitors are, and thereby able to support more visitors, and to better staff rides and restaurants.  Not only that, but kids and adults can personalize their wristbands to make them their own.

Photo by Erik

Photo by Kevin Baird

Why do we care?

So, this is all great information – but really, why should we care?  Well, for lots of reasons.

FIRST – it can mean big life changes are in store.

My FitBit

How? Well, just take my little FitBit, for example. A few years ago, in order to improve my commitment to my health I made a decision to wear this little guy everyday.  The FitBit counts my steps, my activity, and even the number of stairs I climb. The information is automatically sent to an app on my phone, as well as the “cloud” (just a word that means the Internet repository for this data) and it tracks my trending data. I can even set it up to track my sleep patterns. More importantly for me though, is that I’ve set it up to send this information to my company’s health and wellness program.

Why would I do that? Because for every 30 min of exercise I track per day, my healthcare incentive plan PAYS ME $5/day to my Healthcare Savings Account (up to $800/year.) The device costs less than $100. So, that’s a win of $700/year, just for me! It’s also a win for my company, because studies have shown that even 30 min of activity a day reduces healthcare costs. That’s a personal decision, for sure, and the connection to my device isn’t a requirement – but it saves me the time from going into the tool and self-reporting my exercise everyday.

Healthcare is just one industry looking at this phenomenon– from wearable fitness devices like mine, to special GlowCaps that fit prescription bottles – reminding people to take their medication; to wearable alarms for aging family members, this is just one industry poised to take the IoT to a new level.

SECOND, it can improve productivity, while also reducing costs. For real.

Here’s another example. You may have read about our new Solar Trash Cans made by Big Belly. This trash compactor, powered by solar energy, uses the internet to let our Public Works department know when it’s full, reducing the need for our trucks to drive around and waste time, gas and people to empty partially filled trash cans. The power of the Internet is saving us money, reducing our carbon footprint. And, keeping analytics on these activities will continue to allow public works to improve their services, over time.

At home, you can use all types of IoT tools to help defray costs and improve your own productivity. You might have heard of NEST – the smart thermostat that monitors the actual activity in your home during the day, while also watching real-time weather forecasts – to reduce your energy usage (saving you money), and to moderate the temperature in your home.

And have you ever wanted to better manage your irrigation water usage?  I have a friend who uses the Rachio smart sprinkler, to be able to control his water irrigation system, from anywhere. The system knows about the changes in weather, adjusts the watering to the seasons, and manages his irrigation dependent on his own lawn’s needs, rather than being on a “set schedule.”

From Home Depot

Don’t forget, Town of Cary water customers also have a tool at their disposal today. Aquastar will allow you to use data to manage your own water usage. (Read my blog post here.)  By reviewing your water usage data, as well as setting up alerts in Aquastar, you can tell if you have a leak, a toilet running, or see your trending water usage, even when you aren’t there.

And THIRD, this is just the beginning.

More and more of our world and devices are being connected. Sure, there are refrigerators that will send you an email when you are low on milk, (yeah, that’s an old example), but there are also scenarios that can really change your life, such as the air quality sensors that are located all around Boston.  Just think of the opportunities for folks that have asthma – with the Internet of Things sensors, folks with severe asthma and other respiratory issues can connect their smartphones to this network, and then proactively receive messages when the air quality is bad, and be able to track how often they use their inhaler. These kinds of IoT advances can absolutely improve their quality of life.

In fact, just doing a search online at Thingful.net ( a search database of Internet of Things, across the globe)  I found that there are a number of sensors by my house, from weather stations, to air quality stations.

Air quality station in Cary

In Cary – a Connected Bench?

Recently, the Information Services Advisory Board (ISAB) took a look at a new bench-type IoT product recently installed in Boston. It’s called the Soofa – is a place to sit, but so much more. It’s a public space styled bench, solar powered that charges smartphones, while also collecting real-time data about its surrounding environment. The data collected can be air quality related, or noise, and that data can be provided back to the cloud for analytics. There are already 6 of this installed in various locations around the Boston area.  At this point, it’s very new technology but is making waves, and something to consider over time.

What else do I need to know?

The key word is knowledge. Now that we know that more and more of our devices will be on the internet, and communicating information about us, we need to be aware and make a conscious decision whether this is data you want to share, or not.

I share this with the kids in my Internet Safety classes – YOU choose what data you make publically available. If you don’t want people to know where you are, don’t turn on “location services” on your smart phone applications, or disable geotagging on your iphone, to remove location information from your pictures.  Always be aware of your data and who has access to it.

Yes, it’s true that this is an extra step you have to take, but it’s up to us to ensure that the privacy settings that are on our devices reflect our respective privacy priorities. Just like you should be putting anti-virus software on your computer – the best defense is a good offense. Know what data the device collects, and what it shares is key. This is still an emerging technology, and as such, be aware, and always  proceed with your eyes wide open.

For me, my first set of experiences using these technologies has been life changing. Using the FitBit has provided me with a tool that reminds me of my commitment to my health. The capability to “compete” against friends and family online in FitBit challenges and steps keeps it fun and engaging for me, while the extra monetary incentive provided by my employer keeps it relevant. Sometimes, money does talk.

I’d love to know what Internet of Things experiences and tools you have and use, and what you see on the horizon!

_________________________________

Feature photo from IBM, and www.comsoc.org/blog 

Sunshine Week (March 10-16, 2013) is a national initiative with the goal to both celebrate and focus on government transparency, open government and improving your access to government information. The term “sunshine” comes from a quote from Justice Louis Brandeis (of Brandeis University fame) who, in 1913 wrote,

…sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.

At that time, we only had print media as a reliable way to reach large masses of people on a regular basis, and Justice Brandeis saw the press as potentially “the greatest agency of good government”–but only “if the people are sufficiently interested to desire it.”

By Mark Goodson Streeter in support of Sunshine Week

FOIA

When it comes to requests for Public Informaiton, many of us are aware of FOIA – the Freedom of Information Act, the “law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.”

These types of Public Records requests are a cornerstone of transparency and democracy – ensuring and empowering people to play an active role in their government, whether at the local, state or federal level. It helps keep us, your representatives honest, accountable, and responsive to you.  We, at the Town of Cary, are committed to Open Government, and you can learn more about that and how to request Public Records, here.

TAKE THE QUIZ

So, instead of talking about the value of Sunshine, I thought I would point out a few public records tidbits that I have learned in my first year as a public official. I also found this great quiz – that you should take, just for fun. Let me know what you think about it.

1. All emails to Town Officials are Public Record and can be requested to be reviewed by a citizen.  Yes, that means that email you sent me about your neighbor’s fence, dog, cat… all public record.
2. You don’t need a reason for requesting a public record. And you don’t have to show ID to get it.
3. Property tax records are public. So yes, you can look up and see what your neighbor paid for his house.
4. Meeting minutes are taken for all public meetings – work sessions, board meetings, as well as Open and Closed meetings in the Town of Cary.
5. You can take pictures and tape record any public meeting.
6. If more than council 3 members attend a meeting, it is a quorum, and we must abide by the Open Meetings laws.

Now, go ahead and take the QUIZ created by the Gaston Gazette.  (I’ve given you a few of the answers, above, so you should get at least a few of them right.)

There’s an APP for THAT

Download the new “Sunshine” iPhone app or Android app created by the Sunshine Center of NC – where you can learn more about the kind of information available, who holds it, how to get it, as well as the Laws behind this important function of government. You can download it by typing in “NC Sunshine” in the search field, as well.  And yes, it’s FREE.

As always, if you have comments, questions or just want to reach out, you can always reach me for town business at Lori.Bush@Townof Cary.org.

Ok, I’m not gonna break into a the Spice Girls’ song (although I now have that song in my head.)  But, it is the theme of this post.

I’ve said it before. Democracy is not a spectator sport. In order for me, your At-Large representative, to know what you want, you have to tell me. And I’m not talking about winning the lottery – but rather what you want the Town of Cary to do.

Sure, we ask for you opninion all the time – using tools like our biannual Survey, Public Speaks Out options at our Town Council Meetings, individual meetings and of course, we certainly ask you during election time. But we also look for your feedback on our Town Twitter feeds, ask for it through CaryTV and the YouTube channel, BUD, Facebook pages, and in our email. But sometimes, we are looking for your direct feedback about a particular issue or strategic plan – and that’s true now.

It’s budget season

From Town of Cary

Unlike the Federal Government – our Town budget MUST be balanced. This is a lengthy process – and generally starts many many months before it’s actually accepted by Council.

Our 2014 (yes, 2014) budget year identifies services and infrastructure projects to be undertaken by the Town from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. And we are currently at the end of the MONTH LONG comment period, which ends on February 28th.

It’s important we hear from you

This is absolutely the time for you to make yourself heard.  

• You want more Parks and Greenways? Or want a SPECIFIC park moved up in priority? Tell us.

• Wish we had more plantings in specific medians? Share that.

• Want more Senior programs? Or programs for Disabled and developmentally challenged individuals? We want to know.

• How about speeding up the Downtown development? More parking? More events? All input is valuable.

• Wish you had an App that allowed you to more easily see where the greenway maps are… or the status of Bond Park Fields (open or close?), or a way to more easily report potholes? Let us know. (Ok, that’s my little plug.)

• Want to see what other people are saying? Check out the online listing.

It’s your turn

Just like you do at home, our budget guides our plans for the next year. So please let us know what you want in next year’s budget priorities.

There are lots of ways for you to connect and voice your opinion. But do it QUICKLY!

• Via email: budgetinput@townofcary.org

• Voicemail: (919) 469-4307

• Public comment at special budget public hearings (Last chance on Wednesday, February 27)

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/TownofCaryNC

• Twitter: www.twitter.com/townofcary (#TOCbudget)

This is your town, your government, and your turn to let us know.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

(As always, thanks for listening.)

Featured picture by 401(K)2013

(This is the moment when I know my mom is rolling her eyes – I can feel it.)  But, there is a “method to my madness,” because, as Nicholas Negroponte says:

Collage by Will Lion

So, with this post I hope to give you an idea, even if it’s a glimpse, into what Open Data IS, and why it is so important for Cary.  First, what is it?

What is Open Data?

Open Data is the act of making information that is collected during the course of normal Town operations (that doesn’t identify individuals or breach commercial sensitivity) available in a standardized way.  The data that we are talking about here includes geographic information (greenways, roads, parks), public event schedules, and basic crime statistics.  This is already public information, the act of making it OPEN and easily accessible in a standardized format allows users, developers, the Town itself, and the technology community to leverage and use this data in new and innovative ways. That can mean applications that increase citizen engagement, provide vital information to our citizens, and improve their quality of life. It can also mean ways to leverage the data to help us become a “smarter town”, by looking at ways to improve our processes and become more efficient.  Without consistent streams of this data, few people will invest the time it takes to unlock the immense value hidden in the information that is collected every day by the Town.

What does that really mean to me?

It means that by making this information more easily accessible, cool people (and companies) can create awesome apps.

Let me give you an example.   Check out RGreenway. (You can download the app for free from iTunes.

RGreenway is an iPhone app that came out of the CityCamp Raleigh event last year. (I was honored to participate in CityCamp with all of the fantastic citizen hackers out there.)  

From their website:

The RGreenway application, designed for smartphones, functions as a guide to the Raleigh Greenway systems. Long-term, the application is designed to make the 3800 acre 115 mile Raleigh Greenway system an integrated park. No other City or community of cities has invested as much as Raleigh and the Triangle in a system like ours. Few have committed themselves to the principle of open data like Raleigh has. Together this presents an opportunity to create America’s Smartest Park.

So, right now – it is only accessing Raleigh data – how about expanding it to include Cary, and the rest of the Triangle? Wouldn’t that be cool?

More Examples and Ideas

Let’s see how Open Data can be used to help citizens better connect with Town Hall, find information about Parks, Bus schedules, and more.

SeeClickFix is municipal app that creates stronger citizen engagement – by having citizens report issues directly from their phones to Town Hall.  (This app is being used in Raleigh, now.)

What if we had a Parks and Rec app that would list ALL of the parks, playgrounds, dog parks, community center, public restrooms and other interesting locations (like the Cary Arts Center and Historic landmarks) around Town.  We could enable location-based technology so that the app could tell you about interesting sites, greenways, paths or activities near you.

Photo by bobistraveling

QR code for Video of Fire Sculpture

In fact, just the other day I was speaking with Town Staff about the Fire Sculpture that is currently across from the Cary Arts Center.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could walk up to our Fire Sculpture today, and see a placard that explained the process that was used in its creation? (If you were there that day, it was truly magical.    It can be hard to imagine what it was like that week, by just looking at the ceramic piece now. ) But, it would really hel put some additional context around the experience by having a placard near the sculpture that described the creation steps, along with this QR code, that would launch the video actually showing you the process.

And finally – how about an app that taps into our C-Tran bus schedules. TransLoc has a few apps available for the Triangle Transit Authority today  – but they don’t yet include C-Tran. (I hear it’s coming soon!)   It will be great when a  C-Tran app will show you where the C-Tran buses are, the bus stops, schedules, and real-time commuting information. That’s data that is open, and could be made available to the public.

Open Data is a step in the right direction

As you may remember, the Cary Technology Task Force was created last year by Town Council, and was tasked with taking a look at how to leverage and improve technology services to citizens.  They looked at everything from our Town website, to social media, mobile applications, Open Data, how to engage citizens, as well as how to leverage technology to enhance economic development (and more).

These nine thought leaders on the Technology Task Force did an amazing job last year. After 4 months, with 2 sub committees and more than 300 collective hours in meetings they presented a 254 page report with a long list of prioritized recommendations.   (You can check out their abridged presentation below.)

Pardon me while I gush about these folks.  I am truly honored that these people gave of their time, talents and energy.  They brought more than their technology expertise, they brought a fresh perspective, a child-like inquisitiveness and curiosity, and a passion for excellence that so many of our Town boards and commissions have.  We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude.  

If you see the following folks, please thank them!

• Eric Brown

• Ian Cillay

• James Dixon

• Hal Goodtree

• Laura Hamlyn, Vice-Chair

• Ian Henshaw, Chair

• Brandon Smith

• Eleanor Thorne

• Raymond Zeisz

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank all of the Town Staff who kept up with this group – they worked long, long hours, and made this effort a true team success.

Getting back to Open Data.  Open Data is just one of their many recommendations and the impetus for submitting an Open Data Day Resolution.  This is just the FIRST step in a set of recommendations that came from the Technology Task Force – but it’s also a VITAL step in taking Cary to the next phase of our technology innovation.

This resolution also demonstrates that the Town of Cary is serious and absolutely committed to enhancing our openness and transparency, improving our technology prowess and driving economic opportunities and innovation, as well as participation by anyone that wants to help Cary along the way.  (You can look at Cary’s Open Data that is available on the Town’s website once it is posted at: http://data.caryNC.gov.)

This resolution also supports several upcoming events, as well.

•  – Cary’s Open Data Day – Feb 23^rd,  and Sunshine Week – starting on March 10th

Cary’s Open Data Day

The folks from the TTF were so energized that they set up Cary’s Open Data Day – scheduled for this Saturday, February 23^rd.

Feb. 23 is International Open Data Day – when people from around the world will gather together “to write applications, liberate data, create visualizations and publish analyses using open public data,” according to opendataday.org.

The event is sold out – but it’s just the first step in our journey. So if you are interested and didn’t get a seat, trust me, we will have more ways for you to engage.

In fact, check out the TriangleWiki – and share your knowledge of the Triangle , it’s a great way to get involved with the community.

Thanks for letting me “technology ramble” for awhile – hope to see you on Saturday!

In fact, now that many of my fellow Councilmembers have tablets, I hear this question more and more.  During our drive to the Cary Town Council retreat, Councilmember Jennifer Robinson and Mayor Pro Tem Gale Adcock and I started talking about this very subject.  I offered to send them a “tip” or “App of the Week” as they get used to their new devices – and then realized I could do better than that,  I have a blog!

As a “gadget girl” I tend to get the “What’s your favorite app?” question all the time. But more importantly, I ask it. Think about it. It’s probably why the “most popular” buttons (TOP APPS) on the iTunes store or Amazon (Customers who viewed THIS item also viewed…) are so prevalent. But I think it’s not that we want to know what other people HAVE, it’s that we want to find what might work for US. Make our lives a bit easier (if that’s possible), or help save us time, money or be more productive.

So, having said all that I thought I would highlight a few apps that I have, and use frequently. I will try to do this every month. (Gulp!) But, more importantly, I’d love to know what you use and love and can’t do without. (So please comment, or contact me!) I’ll start with my phone apps.

CardStar

From iTunes

I can remember the day I found this application. It was like a day of freedom.

Oh, wait, I have to tell you about it.

CardStar is a FREE application (for the iPhone and Android) that literally FREES YOU  from those little key chain and wallet membership cards. You know the ones, they are hanging from your key chain and making your wallet bulge. You can put all of your loyalty cards (Harris Teeter, A.C. Moore, CVS, Panera Bread, etc.) into the application, and voila, they are gone from your keychain.

AAA Card in CardStar

Travel a lot and hate having to manage all those Frequent Flyer and Hotel Cards? Add them to CardStar! I added my Wake County Library card information for the family – demonstrating how you can even add programs that CardStar doesn’t know about.

CardStar will allow you to scan the card using your phone’s camera to add to your virtual wallet. Then, when checking out, just bring up the application and click on your loyalty card. Some checkouts can scan the barcode with their handheld device (Harris Teeter, Sephora), others will have to type it in.

The application saves and backs up the data, and will sometimes post “deals” associated with your loyalty program.

You can find the app on the iTunes store, or learn more at their webpage.

Scramble with Friends

From iTunes

I’ll admit it. I love Boggle. I was introduced to Boggle by my mom, who plays a MEAN GAME.  Scramble with Friends is a FREE app (they have a paid version, as well) that is very similar to Boggle.  Find words on the board against a timer, and you play against other people.

It’s a bit addicting, and I’ve gotten better over time.  (My daughter still beats me at almost EVERY game.)  It can help me kill the time while I’m waiting for an appointment.  If you like Boggle, you’ll like this game.

Evernote

From iTunes

This free application is a bit different than the others, mentioned above.   It’s a productivity application that runs on all types of platforms – iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, Android and more.

It’s my life saver.  It’s what I use to capture notes, ideas, pictures, to do lists, and so much more.  It saves my notes in the cloud, allowing me to access them from any device, at any time. Because it runs on all the platforms, I can take notes on my Mac, and then pull them up on my iPad when I’m at a meeting, or look them up on my iPhone later.

You can tag notes – say, tag things that are crafty, or DIY projects that you want to be able to search for later.  That powerful search capability will search ALL of your notes for a phrase or text.  It is truly a lifesaver.

I like the fact that I can use the “Web clipper” capability to capture things I find online. (It’s a plug in to the browser.) I have friends that the app to store receipts and other paper documents.  It’s easy to organize information using the “Notebooks” and “Stacks” – and then using the search capability; you can search across one, or all of the Notebooks.  There are also a number of “plug-ins” that make it even easier. Check out Evernote Food if you want to use it to manage your  recipes.

Please Share

So, I’ve shown you some of mine, I hope you will show and share yours. 

I love hearing what other people are using, how, and why.  I’ll make sure to share some new apps and technology in an upcoming blog post.

Thanks for reading!

Aquastar is the name we use in Cary to refer to the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system for our water. The Aquastar program replaces what WAS the monthly manual reads of your water meter, with a wireless system that collects multiple remote meter reads every day. The technology used is often referred to as part of a Smart Grid infrastructure. The vendor of the system, Sensus (in Raleigh), worked closely with the town to find the right solution, while Johnson Controls developed and managed the project.  (In what the Town Staff refers to as “The Cary Way.”  I like that!)

(Here is the video that the Town used to share the process with all of us.)

Aquastar History

The project started with a proposal in November of 2009, when Cary was manually reading over 57,000 meters per month in Cary and Morrisville. (Yes, Cary is the water utility provider to Morrisville.) That meant that trucks were rolling – and a number field personnel working for the Town were driving to your neighborhood and walking to read your water meter.

With this new system of 63,000 wireless water meters, the system can monitor water usage and report the usage back to Town Hall. That means that the Town will realize the cost savings associated with:

– significantly reduced fuel consumption (over 7,000 gallons a year),
– a lower carbon footprint (71,000 miles of truck usage off the road),
– along with reduced headcount (10 people), and reduced worker’s compensation by reducing job-related injuries.

The total budget of the project is $17.9 million, which was funded through the Town’s utility fund. Originally, Aquastar was projected to save the Town (and taxpayers) $2.4 million dollars. (Which is great!)

However, the finance department has found that THAT number was conservative. A recent cost analysis shows that we will save close to $10.2 million dollars, which is great news for our utility ratepayers!

Saving Water

There are also other huge benefits besides the cost savings. With this system, we can find a leak when it’s much smaller – so that it can be repaired more proactively, and sometimes, finding leaks earlier means a cheaper repair. And, of course, conservation is another key benefit. By giving our citizens actionable information about their water usage, the hope is that it gives us EACH the power to see what we are using, and potentially make changes to reduce our water usage.

Here’s how it works

Annotated picture from Town of Cary

1. All of our commercial and residential water meters have been replaced with Aquastar meters – meters with a wireless capability
2. Each meter will send water usage information to a regional collector 4 times a day.
3. The collector will forward that information to Town Hall.
4. And, starting in March, customers will have access to a Website with detailed information that will provide a graphical view of their water usage.  (This will be available off of your Online Billing page.)

With this capability, the Utility services will have more than 500 million data points per year. This will help narrow down any problems in the system, and also for them to notice any trends that may help improve efficiencies.

The members of the Information Services Advisory Board and members of the Technology Task Force got a sneak peak into the tool recently.  They all gave valuable feedback, and a number of changes have been made based on that feedback.   New enhancements to the tool are also coming, so make sure to give you comments, as well.

What can you learn from all this data?

Well, quite a lot. The Aquastar Webportal will show you a rolling 13 months of data – giving you the ability to compare your most recent month with the same month of the last year. You can drill down into a month, to see the weeks, days, and finally, hourly usage. You can also look at a particular data range, as well. (All of this data can be downloaded for the real geeks to use in a spreadsheet, if you are so inclined. )

For instance, look at this data below.

What can you see? Something very interesting. Look at the “Hourly Water Usage” section line chart. Notice that on December 29th, from 3am to 7am, the water usage does not ever go to ZERO. It just hovers at a few gallons an hour. That’s because there was a leaking toilet in the house.

This homeowner was able to use the data to realize this, (and to realize that the toilet had been leaking for a while before), and to fix it.  (Notice how her graph goes to ZERO after the fix later that day!)

This is a small example – but just think of it. That’s not only wasted water, but you are not only paying for the water, you are paying for the sewer associated with that.

I also heard several stories from staff and homeowners, where Town Staff were able to proactively contact a citizen to let them know that they had a leak. In one case, letting them know helped them identify that their water heater was leaking (sometimes that’s the first step before you water heater dies), and in another case, actually SEEING the system was leaking, and proactively turning off the water before significant damage was done to their house.

How much water are we talking about?

The typical Cary resident uses about 50 gallons of water – per day, per person. That’s for indoor usage, not for irrigation systems. (That number goes up to about 60 gallons per day, per person if you include outdoor uses.)

It’s possible to use less – and many folks do. I have friends, who will remain nameless, who tend NOT to flush their toilet during the day.

Their mantra is – “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.”

(I’m not saying you should do that, but be aware that old toilets use about 3 to 5 gallons/flush, newer ones, about 1.3 gallons.)

Want to be proactive?

From Town of Cary

You can even set up alerts in the system for it to proactively alert you on water usage. There’s a good reason for doing that. In Cary, we used a tiered rate structure for our water usage. So, at a particular threshold, any water used over that “line” becomes more expensive. Using just 1,000 gallons? You are charged $3.60. Using 6,000 gallons? You are charged $3.6 for the first 5,000 gallons, and $4.08 for the last 1,000 gallons…. And so on. You might want to be alerted when you jump over a threshold.

Or, maybe you want an alert when you exceed a particular number of gallons in a single day? That’s possible too. All of this gives you more power – more power to know your usage, on a daily basis rather than waiting for your monthly bill, when it’s really to late to make any changes to affect your bottom line.

Coming Soon

Hopefully you will find that this new system is a step in the right direction for Cary. Yes, there are still opportunities to enhance our system. (For instance, I can’t WAIT to NOT get a paper bill. ) And the usability and graphics will improve over time. But the power to see WHAT you use, close to WHEN you use it, is great. I’m looking forward to the new capability as a way to help in my own water conservation efforts.

Thanks for listening! And always feel free to contact me if you have questions, comments or concerns.

Featured photo by Stephen A Gregory

I’ve had the opportunity to visit WakeMed before, as both a patient and visitor when my kids needed to check out the Emergency Room. I’ve always been impressed with their quality of service and the care that each and every employee shows the patients and visitors. And I’ve seen the hospital grow from a relatively small facility 20 years ago to one that is now expanded out and UP, and serving so much of our Cary community.  

The Tour

eICU

Our tour began with one of my favorite topics – technology! This time, the technology is being used in Healthcare. We visited the new eICU area in the hospital. We have all seen Intensive Care Units (ICUs) before, on TV or in the movies, or maybe up close and personal. But this ICU was different, in a good way. It looked like a normal ICU, with all of the vital signs of the patient able to be seen and managed by a critical care nurse or doctor, but that information was ALSO being sent to a “second pair of eyes” offsite.  This is where ANOTHER set of critical care providers were watching and assisting the hospital staff. Inside of the patient room they installed high-resolution cameras – able to zoom-in to even read the text off of a wrist cuff; and microphones and speakers – to be able to converse with staff or the patient. This technology assists the doctors and patients, where the offsite personnel can watch for trends in the patient’s condition and to catch issues proactively and before they become too serious.

I was told it’s been used in the U.S. for 12 years, and has been shown to reduce the length of time a patient is in the hospital by 25-35%, and also improves a critically ill patient’s chance of survival by an average of 28%.

Robotic Surgery

Ready for Surgery

Yes, that’s right. We went to suit up in our “bunny suits” for a visit to the Surgical suite. Here’s where we got a chance to see and touch something that I have ONLY seen on TV. A robotic surgical machine, called da vinci, that does minimally invasive surgery on a state-of-the-art robotic platform. The idea behind this system is that the less invasive the surgery, the less post surgical pain, less blood loss, and shorter recovery time a patient will have.

But besides that, it was just cool. The surgeon (ok, me in this case) sat down to a console that gave me a 3-D image in 10 times resolution, of the field. (You thought I was going to say something else, didn’t you?) I reached into the console, and using 2 fingers on each hand, was able to have a full range of movement that was replicated exactly by the robotic arms. The movements were so precise, I could pick up a rubber band (the size of a orthodontic rubber band, think the size of the top of a push pin) and move it to another location. The dexterity was amazing. It was like a video game, but in real life.

Now, I can see a whole new career path for our kids that play XBox and other video games. In fact, when I mentioned that, one of the nurses said that they have found that when kids (read “gamers”) use this robot, they are extremely agile at it. In fact, a study from the University of Texas

found that the surgical skills of high school students (who play video games approx. 2 hours a day) “were found to be equal to the UMTB physicians, and in some cases, even exceeded the skills of the residents.”

Where the Babies Are

After that fun, we headed down to the Women’s Pavilion and Birthplace. Another beautiful area of the hospital, with private suites that let the families be together. We were surprised to learn so many new factoids there, as well.

•  – Midwife supported births occur at the hospital, so that women can choose their delivery support team
•  – Approximately 2400 babies are born at WakeMed Cary every year – with a new baby born every 4-5 hours
•  – At WakeMed Raleigh, a NEW KINDERGARTEN CLASS is born EVERY DAY. Wow!
•  – Skin-to-Skin is a program implemented that helps with newborn bonding and the baby’s brain development, steadies the mom and baby breathing and heart rate. The babies are placed right away on their moms so that they can bond right away.
•  – Moms choosing breast milk for their children at WakeMed is on the rise, with almost 85% of mom’s choosing to breastfeed

Our Community Hospital

I was truly impressed with my tour, and even though we saw just a small part of the Hospital, it was good to see a place like this that does so much for our community.   Did you know that 85% of the WakeMed Cary patients are served from within a 5 mile (or so) radius – so this hospital is  truly serving our Cary community, and beyond.

DID YOU KNOW

iPhone App

There’s an app for that. Yep, there is an app for WakeMed Health and Hospitals. It’s FREE! You can download it and see their locations, wait times at the various Emergency departments and more. (You can also get that information online.)

As always, feel free to contact me with comments, questions and concerns.

Pictures from WakeMed Cary, Google, my iPhone

As you get ready to put on your (or help your child put on their) costume – remember, you aren’t the only one out there pretending to be someone else.  There are many hackers, pretenders and “bad actors” pretending to be someone or something else.  The act of pretending to be someone or something you are not is a tactic many cyber criminals have used since the Internet began.  This can be called “spoofing” or sometimes called a “phishing attack” – with the with real and scary intention to get access to your personal information, or to do harm to a computer network.

What is it, and Why do I care?

Phishing and Spoofing are very similar, in that they are trying to get you to do something based on fake or forged documents or information.  “Spoofing is the dissemination of the email from a “spoofed” (or FAKE) email address, and phishing is often used in conjunction with a spoofed email. Phishing is the act of sending an email falsely claiming to be from an established legitimate business to trick the recipient into divulging personal, sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account numbers.” (This description from the Department of Homeland Security, and you can learn more from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3))

These types of attacks can be hard to detect – and in many cases, a “spoofed” email can look very real  So, how do you tell?

Watch for these warning signs

1. First, a bank will NEVER tell you to log in to a website to fix something. DO NOT click on that link in the email.
2. Do not reveal personal or financial information in email, (don’t send  and do not respond to email solicitations for this information. This includes following links sent in email.
3. Do not send sensitive information over the Internet without checking a website’s security (look for that “S” after the HTTP)
4. Pay close attention to the URL of a website (that’s the title at the TOP of your browser, starting with a HTTP). Malicious and fake websites may look identical to the real site, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different domain (e.g., .com vs. .net).

Help your Kids Be Safe

When I teach Internet Safety classes to teens, the kids are often surprised when I show up and start rattling off information I know about them that I have found by just trolling the Internet.  I point to each one, say their name, where they live, where they have gone on vacation or maybe mention their brothers or sisters or talk about their favorite sports.  There’s always a girl in the class that starts looking around from friend to friend with a look of sheer paranoia on her face.

I do my best to talk about the big items – like Cyber Bullying, Cyber Security, and the longevity of information on the Internet.  We talk about how a whisper on the internet is like a scream in a crowded mall – with an echo that lasts forever.

We also talk about the ramifications of “poor choices” on the Internet.  Some of those “poor choices” could even land them in jail!  More than 82% of parents say their children have been exposed to cyber-bullying. And North Carolina recently became the first state to make student cyberbullying of teachers a crime. Starting December 1st,  the School Violence Prevention Act of 2012 will take effect that will make it a Class Two Misdemeanor for any student posting online that cyberbully, intimidate, or torment a school employee or teacher. This new legislation will impose jail time or a $1,000 fine on anyone attempting to bully a teacher online.

Tips to Help With Your Technology Aware Kids

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• Be involved – and talk about the Web. What they see, what they search for, and how they use it for their homework. Show them how to be a “smart cyber citizen” – to not pass on Urban Legends and hoaxes that continue on the Internet.  Have them look up strange offers or hoaxes at www.snopes.com.
• Keep your computer in an open area – Keeping your computer in an area where you can see them, and what they are doing, is a great way to help them as they start out on the web.  If you see a behavior that’s inappropriate, you can correct and remediate it, immediately.
• Be clear with rules, and dangers out there – Kids need to know your expectations. What they can do, what they can’t, how long they can be on the computer, and what they need to be aware of.
• Talk about the ethical issues with downloading pirated music and videos (a common teen activity) and how it can increase their risk of downloading viruses and other malware. Make sure that teens are familiar with legitimate ways to stream or download music and videos online. (Check out Pandora, 8Tracks, iHeart, Spotify)  And finally, make sure they have security software on their devices.
• Watch them– Be aware of what your child is doing on the computer, by monitoring their computer activity – such as which websites she is visiting. If she is using email, instant messaging, or chat rooms, and make sure she knows who is on the other endBe open to questions  – Make sure they know they can come to you with ANY question, concern or problem.Think about parental controls and separate partitions– Most operating systems will allow you to create a different user account for each user. That makes it easy to give different access to different users on the same PC.  Parental controls are also available within your browser. In fact, Internet Explorer allows you to restrict or allow certain websites to be viewed on the computerCheck out this cool INFOGRAPHIC – on the “Spooky Side of Cyber Security” Perfect for Halloween!

Hope this information helps – and stay safe out there. 

Our very own Cary “Geek Squad” aka the “Technology Task Force” met Wednesday for the first time at Town Hall. I was impressed with the breadth and depth of their experience, their passion for making Cary a better place, and their willingness to take valuable time out of their lives to help in this important endeavor.

First things First

The Technology Task Force is a “special committee” sanctioned by the Town Council to determine how the Town’s use of technology services can better serve its citizens.  As volunteers for the town, these folks were treated to an overview of the Town’s ethics policy, North Carolina Open Meetings Law and Public Records Law by the Deputy Town Clerk and Town Attorney’s office.

So, why is this important and why do our Town volunteers need to know?
Well, as a volunteer for the town, you are conducting business on behalf of the citizens.  (Just like we do, as Town Council members.) So all of that business is open to the scrutiny of the public.  That certainly includes our meetings, emails, agendas, minutes, and more.  Also, volunteers are responsible for keeping track of any public records associated with their work for the town, including paper and electronic documents (including email messages), photos and videos.  Part of our discussion involved how the town is assisting the volunteers, by keeping those documents for them, as much as possible.

We also discussed the North Carolina Open Meetings law. The goal of this law is to promote transparency in government, and to ensure that citizens will see that the business of the town is being done “openly” with information, knowledge and access available to all.  That involves everything from posting the meeting times, agenda, minutes. (You can see the calendar of all Town meetings online.)  But, that also poses some interesting challenges for this group that is used to working in the private sector.  For instance, at work in the private sector, it’s pretty common to have discussions online, collaborating via email or via other tools such as wikis or forums in order to discuss a particular topic.  However, that’s a “no no” in the public sector.  The task force members must do their deliberations, brainstorming, decision making and most comments in an open forum – and at stated times (according to the Open Meetings law.)  They have a tight timeline to get their recommendations to council (targeted for December) so collaborating online would have been a great option.  But, that’s not in keeping with NC law, so all official work will be done at the Technology Task Force meetings.

We also talked about how to share documents and information in keeping with these laws. Let’s face it, this is NOT a group that wants paper documents.  The technology department came up with a solution, an online location for the team to store documents and post links.  Again, a first for one of these Town volunteer organizations.

With only 2 of the 9 task force members having experience in this type of public engagement, this review and discussion was valuable time spent.

Onto the work

After this fun overview of State law, we finally got down to business. Specifically, the goal of the Technology Task Force is that they “shall review, evaluate, and prioritize new and emerging technologies that will facilitate better engagement, citizen outreach, and service delivery by increasing involvement and lowering costs, with the overall goal of making it easier for citizens to communicate with the Town and consume available information.” Whew! A big job – and big jobs start with brainstorming.

So, that’s what they did.  Taking the “low tech” method of brainstorming with index cards – the group came up with all kinds of ideas to research.  Then categorizing those ideas, and creating groups of folks to go and research and come back to report to the group on those ideas.  There are so many items for them to consider, research into best practices, and ways to address our current situation and our future strategy.  I appreciate all of the ideas they generated and path they are taking to address them.

Here’s a quick listing of the groupings, with lots of detail behind each of them:

1. Social Media
2. Open Data / OpenAPI
3. Website related
4. Citizen engagement
5. Mobile Apps
6. Video programming
7. Public Records
8. Two way communication

Great start