Mysterious Bird Call Finally Identified!

Have you been hearing strange bird calls at odd times even in the middle of the night? Does it sound almost like a human being imitating an exotic bird? If so, you may have an annoying notification sound on your tablet. If you own a Samsung Galaxy 3, this bird has been waking people up! Why Samsung would make a notification that sounds like a bird and allow it to sound even when the tablet appears to be off makes no sense to me. To disable this sound, try setting your default notification to Silent. Although I'm still testing this on my tablet, I hope to soon say bye, bye birdie!

Shameful Headline Attracts Readers but Fails to Deliver

No you are not missing something in this story. Although the headline from a theepochtimes.com article was "Missing Plane Found? Update: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Flight 17 Cause Shakeup", the actual article had nothing to do with finding the aircraft. Why do news sites create fraudulent headlines? Assuming it was not an honest mistake (doubtful), the likelihood is they were trying to drive a large amount of traffic to their site under fraudulent pretexts. Congratulations guys! If making us trust you less as a news source was the objective, you have accomplished your goal!

Are Airplane Maintenance Guidelines Insufficient?

In 1990, British Airways Flight 5390 lost a newly installed windscreen causing the pilot to be sucked halfway out the window. Two crew members secured the captain while the copilot was forced to take a risky maneuver landing the aircraft. In the aftermath, it was determined that the shift maintenance manager had failed to follow protocol to correctly identify which bolts were needed. At just 0.026 of an inch in diameter too narrow, the bolts were insufficient to support the forces exerted upon the windshield. Although the manager clearly violated protocol and several recommendations were made to avoid a similar mishap in the future, a critical safeguard appears to have been overlooked. Given the nearly identical appearance of these bolts and possibility that the correct bolts could still be put in the wrong bin, why take a chance on bolt size or labeling errors? Sometimes product codes are hard to read particularly if the font is not the best choice or printing is too light. If the ends of the bolts each had a distinct color or even better, pattern, this would reduce the chance of misidentification. Grant it, it would be problematic if the person were color blind. However, the pattern would still be discernible and color blindness could be screened. Why anyone would manufacture nearly identical parts without utilizing every possible method of distinction makes no sense to me. Moreover, how could something this crucial be entrusted on a single person? A second quality control officer should always be required to sign off on materials used and how work is done.

Finally Better Looking Fonts in Chrome

Although the Chrome Web browser has some key advantages over the competition, one caveat that sticks to the craw of some IT professionals is poor rendering of fonts in Windows. To rectify the problem would require a compete re-engineering of the font rendering system. In the past, this gave some Web developers hesitation making the switch from Internet Explorer to Chrome. The later may be faster and more secure but if your site does not look as good, the presentation is less effective to clients. Some might have incorrectly assumed appearance is not important to Google as the company made its reputation on a very simple, fast loading home page. However, clearly they were aware of the issue and have now addressed it.

Besides appearance, the newest Chrome browser also disables annoying pop-ups that freeze all other browser functions. No more having to kill the process trying to avoid suspicious activity. The featured originally introduced in Internet Explorer 4 via showModalDialog, is widely considered both a security problem and an annoyance. Together with other security upgrades, the latest Chrome browser is undoubtedly worth the upgrade.

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Network Neutrality

Ever notice that lag on your network that comes when your server shows no high connection activity? Often networks are bogged down by area congestion. Cable Internet in particular is notorious for bottlenecks created during peak usage hours. What are some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) doing to combat this? Offering to "fix" the problem by charging you more! Comcast is the biggest ISP throughout the country. Despite bad publicity associated with the move, they recently decided to offer faster service for a premium fee. Needless to say, businesses already feeling the squeeze are not happy.

Network neutrality is a principle that all ISPs and government agencies should treat data equally and not charge more based on content, area, device, platform or wallet size. If your neighbor runs a business with several employees out of his home, is it fair that you should be given a slower connection? Grant it there are some people that abuse bandwidth and ruin it for everyone. Monthly bandwidth caps could be put in place for the worst abusers to ensure people could still enjoy even streaming video within a reasonable amount. For such a cap to be justified, that bandwidth usage would have to be truly far in excess of the average user. This would also protect critical response systems particularly in health care. What is your opinion? How could we counterbalance the rights of consumers and still safeguard key technologies that protect us in emergencies without contradicting ourselves and the principal of network neutrality?

Science Proving Moon Landing

After years of misinformation of those who perpetuate the myth that we never went to the moon, solving these criticisms is actually not hard to grasp. Let us look at the most common criticisms:

Question: Why are there no stars appearing on the moon surface?
Answer: The same illusion occurs on Earth whenever there are a lot of lights on the ground. These lights make it hard to see the stars at night. That is why camp sites are favorites for viewing celestial formations. The number of stars is roughly the same but the view becomes unencumbered.

Question: Why does the flag appear to fly in the wind if the moon has no atmosphere?
Answer: Before setting the flag on the lunar surface, it was rolled up. When unrolled, that energy was released creating motion. Since objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless another force acts upon it, movement will often continue.

Question: Why does the flag stand up if there is no wind?
Answer: To avoid the American flag dangling in the absence of wind, poles were added to prop up each flag. These poles are clearly visible in much of the archival footage.

Furthermore, we know astronauts landed on the moon because we can actually bounce lasers off of a mirror placed there! This was done to accurately measure the distance between the Earth and moon but also proves without a shadow of a doubt, we were there! For more information explaining the science behind the lunar landings, visit any science discussion forum, search Google or check out NASA's official site.

Elizabeth Taylor and Pawn Stars Claim

On the History channel reality show Pawn Stars about a family that owns a pawn shop, the son Corey in episode 83 makes the claim that Elizabeth Taylor was born covered in hair head to toe. Although such a condition does exist known as hypertrichosis, the condition is permanent. Seriously doubting it took her 6 hours to shave her "legs" each morning, I did a fact check. At birth, the doctor informed her mother of a "genetic mutation" called distichiasis where the person has an extra set of eyelashes. Un-phased, her mother coolly responded "That doesn't sound too horrible at all.". However, distichiasis is a serious condition that can lead to painful hair ingrowth, cornea damage and swollen limbs. During the filming of Lassie Come Home, Elizabeth Taylor was scorned for wearing too much makeup. After rushing the kid offset and rubbing her eyes profusely, they discovered she had no mascara on! As she became older, what started off as a disadvantage actually helped her career giving her a one of a kind unique look.

Is Microsoft too Damaged a Brand to Make a Comeback?

Although there have been many times in the past I can say decisions at Microsoft have irked me in terms of counterproductive features and using their power to intimidate people, the company still has potential. Apple fans often argue their products are superior. At times this has been true but at other times, no improvement would be sufficient when a brand itself has a bad stigma attached. No one likes their PC crashing let alone a bully! Companies/brands like Lotus, Wordperfect and Netscape are just some of the casualties. Yes, it is unfair but it is also business. Without a foothold on the Internet, Microsoft knew it would sink fast unless it acted decisively.

Despite taking the initiative, poor decision making and bad publicity opened the door for other competitors. Windows 8 is just one of many bad decisions Microsoft has made throughout the years. Even Bill Gates himself has often been known for commenting "that is so stupid"! Charging premium fees for software while less expensive alternatives were available certainly did not help their case. Likewise, their pay-per-click advertising is no more a bargain than the competition leaving OfficeSalesUSA.com, a service of Haskell New York Inc., less than enthused. They have the power to significantly boost small businesses if they want. Instead, their focus on profit only fails to attract some prospects. Nevertheless, it takes a lot of mistakes for a behemoth this large to go down. With the release of Windows 9 rapidly now approaching, it will be interesting to see how they dig themselves out of this hole.

The "Mars Bone": Optical Illusion or Scientific Breakthrough?

The "Mars Thigh Bone"

Hailed by UFO enthusiast as proof that extraterrestrial life once existed on the red planet, a new image taken by the Curiosity rover appears to show what resembles a "thigh bone". NASA though remains unimpressed and maintains that wind erosion can make ordinary objects appear like objects we recognize. When the "face on Mars" first made headlines years ago, NASA was quick to point out that a trick of light led to the illusion. When seen from other angles and lighting, the face illusion disappears. Although some objects will retain their shape as they are clearly not just manifestations produced by light infraction, it does not follow that they are in fact what they appear to resemble. Despite this, it would be nice for scientific purposes if an analysis were done to rule out the possibility of a bone fragment. Whether Curiosity has this capability is questionable but it could at least identify a partial chemical composition. Does it contain a higher than expected amount of carbon or calcium? If so, this would be quite interesting.

In its early period, the red planet was likely covered by primordial seas. Not having a magnetosphere to protect it, solar wind stripped off most of the atmosphere and the planet dried up. During this time, it is possible some microbial life appeared but it is doubtful anything this advanced could have evolved. On Earth, multicellular creature only appeared after the Snowball Earth period. It wasn't until then that the first collagen molecules appeared. Collagen is the scaffolding that holds multicellular creatures together. Collagen requires oxygen and there simply was not enough before this time for multicellular creatures to develop. Since Mars lost its atmosphere before collagen or a similar molecule could appear, it is unlikely the bone structure is indigenous to the planet itself. However, this does not rule out the possibility that the bone came from another world. For all we know, a prior civilization brought it there and this is the remains of their lunch.

The Windows 9 Balancing Act

Microsoft is finally getting smart. The company has a bad habit of procrastinating important changes. However, with the announcement of Windows 9 coming sooner than expected, they finally took the initiative needed to dig themselves out of a hole. Will the new release be just a rollback to a Windows 7 interface? This is doubtful. Although Windows 7 was a great improvement over Vista, a complete rollback would not make much sense. Windows 8 loads faster than Windows 7 and now defaults to the desktop view. I personally don't want to wait for a slow load again though the tile view and lack of a more intuitive interface is a real turn off in Windows 8.

They All Come to America

Apparently anyone flying over the US is automatically granted citizenship if they are born in the process. Plenty of people trying to get here but many are turned back. Guess it wouldn't hurt to rent out a helicopter provided it has enough gas to make the trip. OK, you may be shot or taken into custody but at least you can enjoy an aerial view of Lady Liberty and the "friendly skies" until then!

How could we protect Against an Electromagnetic Pulse Attack?

Concerns over the possibility of North Korea using a satellite to attack the US via EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse Attack) has recently made headlines. In theory, such an attack could put down the grid just like a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection). Having already run an EMP test over the South Pole last year, North Korea seems determined to counteract US military superiority in any way it can. Caught in the act trying to transport nuclear missiles a couple months later on-board the freighter Chong Chon Gang, North Korea is perhaps our biggest threat to national security. The country is also trying to develop long range missiles capable of hitting Hawaii and possibly the west coast. While the US could easily raise North Korea to the ground in an all-out military offensive, the element of surprise still remains a key threat. So what exactly can we do to avoid or mitigate the effects of an EMP? According to Executive Director Peter Vincent Pry of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security:

"We are blind from the south. We don't have the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System or interceptor to protect us from the south".

Despite this, Arizona, Maine and Virginia have all passed legislation to ward off the effects of an Electromagnetic Pulse Attack. Power companies throughout the country are also trying to retrofit their systems to safeguard against EMP and CME threats. Powering off the grid completely will greatly reduce damage but congress needs to act quickly to enhance our Early Warning System. Until the matter is taken more seriously, we remain highly vulnerable.

How Long Will Lab Grown Meats Take?

A year since the tasting of the first cultured hamburger meat, we may now be within seven years of an actual product according to Dr Mark Post (project manager of "in vitro meat"). Although it is unlikely that the laboratory grown meat will be available initially, the possibility of product being a reality is one step closer now that Google co-founder Sergey Brin has invested in the project. So why is it taking so long to produce a man-made meat that looks and tastes like real meat? The problem comes down to both price and fat content. Fat is actually what makes meat juicy. It also gives meat its distinctive coloring. Past attempts to create an edible product have relied on food coloring. The fat required to replicate both the taste and coloring is a more complex molecule that will require further research. With many expressing a willingness to pay a little more for meat produced humanely, the laws of supply and demand will likely reduce costs as increasing supply to meet demand will ultimately lead to excess driving costs down.

This is exciting news for those who care about animal rights. The backing of the project by billionaire Sergey Brin and other notables marks a turning point in the research. Prior to recent events, only a handful of scientists were working on similar projects but today over 30 laboratories around the world are trying to develop cultured meats. Though progress cannot come soon enough for many, inside surveillance of what goes on in slaughterhouses keeps us ever hopeful that these days are now numbered.

Comcast Equipment, Simply the Worst!

You are watching a show, really getting into it but the volume is a little low. You accidentally hit 2 keys and wham, the remote control responds to almost nothing! This feature likely designed to make their service less susceptible to toddlers hitting all the buttons simultaneously more often than not seems to make their service "adult-proof". Even turning off the power won't reset the device as the "child-proof" mechanism appears to be timed. Unplugging the device completely would likely rectify the problem but that could take several minutes to reboot. By the time the device finally becomes responsive again, you have missed the ending of the show!

If this were an isolated event, I could understand. No service is perfect. But how many times have you surfed channels only to see that annoying message "Your Explorer is not authorized"? Again, several minutes pass and the equipment functions normally. Judging from the fact that you always pay your bill on time, one can only assume by the message that Comcast is deliberately doing something for their security that more often than not backfires on the wrong people! If these quirks were not annoying enough, some people experience frequent equipment reboots. Even more annoying is the need to hold the remote still several seconds or it won't power on or off correctly!

I guess I should not be surprised by this considering this is the same company that put a big "On Demand" button in the way of the little power on/off button making it more likely to accidentally end up in "On Demand" than intentionally. Like it is not aggravating enough that they make the number "1" key automatically go into "On Demand". If you are not fast enough typing another number, Comcast will lock you into "On Demand" with no way to stop the slow loading service! Also extremely annoying is their interactive guide. They took a good feature, added banner advertisements and produced a hard to navigate, extremely unreliable and prone to freezing guide. Then when you finally do want to actually see an "On Demand" movie, they don't even show which movie service you are in. Often I browse first to see what is available for later viewing but with Comcast's service, you can't even tell if you are in HBO or Showtime without clicking the Last button several times to backtrack. Maybe they have a hidden feature that provides an easier way to do this but what's wrong with just showing it on the screen? With all the wasted space and room they reserve for the Comcast XFinity logo, they could fit this in but I guess I would not know what service I had if the XFinity logo was not constantly in my face!

Contradictions of Global Warming Theory

Why is it when the weather is hot, activists always claim it is because of global warming yet when the opposite occurs, people are content to write it off as an unusual weather anomaly? With 13 states in July, 2014 reporting the coldest weather on record since weather recording began in 1895, you have to wonder, is it possible that the climate is not really warming due to greenhouse gases? John Coleman, founder of the Weather Channel, does not subscribe to the global warming theory and there is plenty of dissent in the scientific community as well. Nevertheless, the bias in the media continues. Is this because people will believe what they want to believe? Just because a theory sounds credible, does not mean it holds up to rigorous scientific testing. Bias has no place in science and until more conclusive evidence presents itself, one would be cautious taking the word of people who cherry pick data to fit their climate predictions.

How to Change Your Employment Status in Google Profile from Past Tense to Present Tense

Although there is no shortage of help available editing Google profiles, some people have been thrown off by a mystery item that appears below their profile picture with no apparent way to edit. Instead of saying "works at...", Google+ shows "worked at..." (past tense). Even more mind boggling is that you never even used these words actually in any part of your profile. To fix this:

1. Log in to your Google account using any Google service.
2. Click on your profile picture or icon of a person that appears if you have not uploaded your picture yet.
3. Click "Account".
4. Click "Edit Profile".
5. Find the Work section of your profile and click "Edit" in that section.
6. Click the "Current" check-box.
7. Click Save.

This will update your profile so that you do not appear to be unemployed! Although I love Google's products and services, this is definitely a feature that could be improved. If anything appears automatically in your profile, that should always have a live link to edit when logged in. At the time of this post, this was not the case.

Knock Knock, Another Pain in the...

Two surprises today; a small gardener snake on my property and someone trying to convert me to another religion again. I'll take the snake any day over that pain at the door! Why do these nut jobs keep coming around? On a good day, I could be polite about it. This was NOT one of those days! Found a nail in my tire once after losing my cool. Coincidence? At least the snake eats rodents. Still haven't found anything good about that pain at the door!

Review of PBS Documentary Australia: First 4 Billion Years

Too much caffeine yesterday! Woke up last night and had trouble getting back to sleep. With nothing else on TV grabbing my interest, I put on a Nova PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) documentary called "Australia: First 4 Billion Years". Reminiscent of the film "Walking with Dinosaurs", the Nova special has stunning CGI and visual effects. Suddenly I had the opposite problem. Instead of just exercising my brain a little until I found a safe point to put it back into low power (a.k.a., sleep mode), now I couldn't tear myself away from it. PBS did it again! Ultimately, I had to turn it off because I had to work the next day. Nonetheless, I highly recommend both the documentary and show Nova.