Origin of Strange Sounds in the Night

All around the world, reports of eerie sounds in the distance have many people concerned. Although these strange haunting noises may appear supernatural, science has another answer. Often heard in the winter months, these sounds are produced usually by machines on the ground and distorted by unusual weather phenomena. When a temperature inversion occurs, sound will rebound from the atmosphere above and come back to Earth. Since only the higher range of sound dissipates under these conditions, a distortion of the original sound occurs so that instead of hearing something like road construction or highway noise, witnesses will report "other worldly noises". Rest assured, there is nothing paranormal about these sounds. The longer the signal, the more it distorts. After traveling sometimes hundreds of miles, the tones received often bear little resemblance to the original sound source.

Large Box Turtle Visitor

Found this turtle in my backyard by the lake. I haven't seen it lately. Hopefully it's all right. It doesn't appear to like noise. I think it was just the sound of me working in my yard that scared it off. Nevertheless, what a spectacular animal!

How bad is Ebola Compared to Other Viruses?

Although Ebola is no picnic, the prognosis with early detection is remarkably good. Here in the US, those chances increase significantly. In countries affected by civil war and a near complete destruction of their infrastructures, of course patients will be less likely to recover. Limited medical supplies, lack of funding and in extreme cases, no real hospital to speak of has plagued these nations with a sad outlook. To combat a lack of permanent medical facilities, the US and other countries have setup makeshift hospitals and deployed army personnel to assist in the construction. Despite current efforts and pledged support, only about $100,000 of funding has cleared. Red tape remains perhaps a bigger enemy though comparably, Ebola is certainly not even close to a worst case scenario.

Unlike the H1N1 Flu, Ebola is not an airborne virus. This is significant because it reduces the chance of viral spreading without direct or indirect contact. Transmission occurs only when a person comes into contact with bodily fluids and is not likely transferred through the respiratory system. The Bubonic Plague of the Middle Ages and influenza epidemic of the early 20th century show how much worse and pandemic a virus can be. Unlike the past, today we know what causes viruses and understand the importance of hygiene and following proper medical procedures. While we still get it wrong from time to time, Ebola is yet another chapter of our learning experience. It may not be easy but it is most certainly controllable. Education and political will though remain key to containment as disinformation is a green eyed monster. People associating Ebola with coincidental vaccinations mistaken as a source of the virus need to understand how Ebola is spread and why a future vaccine may be the best chance of preventing its spread. Until then, the antibodies of those who have survived the virus may be our best weapon to stave off a true pandemic.

Recommended Reading:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/31104/title/Vaccines-are-Safe/

How to Charge a Cell Phone without Power

In a bind, this YouTube video shows how to charge a cell phone without power. Using a phone charger, key and 9-volt battery, it is possible to draw current from the battery to induce a charge. The video does not discuss whether a full charge is possible but it does show an easy method that will hopefully produce enough of a charge to make an emergency phone call. Note that I did not actually run the test myself so proceed with caution if your phone costs more than your car.

Is Windows 10 a Threat to Other Operating Systems?

Windows 10 combines the best of the old and new. Unlike its predecessor, the new O/S does not appear to force you into a completely different experience than users are accustomed to. If features previewed in the latest beta remain consistent, the product will likely boost PC sales and possibly set a new precedent.

The biggest advantage of Windows 10 is consistency. While other operating systems often vary in functionality from device to device, the new Windows provides a consistent platform for both users and developers. This allows for an easier learning curve and standardization for programmers. Being able to write code once that adapts well for each device is a significant advantage that Microsoft on the surface at least appears to be embracing well.

Companies like Haskell New York Inc. that provide their own in-house staff to develop and maintain an online presence and internal system can leverage the consistent model to produce systems without having to adapt for each platform. Having learned from its mistakes of the past, it is unlikely Microsoft will try to force a radical redesign so quickly in the future. This is great news for IT professionals as well as it means easier support and less procedures to remember.

How to Determine if Your Vehicle is on a Recall List

Every year, car manufacturers attempt to notify thousands of vehicle owners of important recalls. Often these recalls fall on deaf ears as people relocate, vehicles are sold and notices are ignored or unread. There are several ways to determine if your car or other vehicle has been recalled.

• You can call the dealership where you purchased the vehicle. 
• Check the specific recall list such as the recent airbags recall (subject to periodic expansion).
• Enter your VIN number on the government site. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is a government agency that tracks recalls, provides recall lists and reports other information regarding vehicle safety. To check if your vehicle is on a recall list:

1. Go to: http://www.nhtsa.gov/
2. Click on Recalls and defects.
3. Either check the latest recall lists or choose "Search for recall by VIN" (Vehicle Identification Number).

Disabling Multi-window on Samsung Galaxy Tablets

Although the Samsung Galaxy is a great tablet, one issue I take with the latest version is the Multi-window feature which has a tendency of interfering with Flipboard and other apps. Fortunately, disabling this feature is not hard. While multi-tasking can be helpful, constantly having to close a side menu you never intended to open can be quite annoying.

To Disable the Multi-window:

1. In Settings app, scroll down until you see the Display menu option.
2. Click Display.
3. Click Multi-window and confirm the checkmark is no longer in the box. If it is, click again to remove the checkmark.

iPhone 6 Catches Fire

Although I could commend Apple for its brilliant foldable iPhone 6 design, the iPhone 6 is now a sizzling red hot commodity. Okay maybe they didn't really intend it to be foldable but look how much easier it fits in your pocket! Unfortunately, the same flaw that makes the phone bend easily also comes with a safety precaution.

At least one user claims the phone has caused a fire as the phone bent so badly that eventually the battery became damaged. Whether the claim is true or not one cannot say, but being the best at something means more than just being innovative. Product safety should always come first and any product that bends in your pocket should make consumers think twice before they purchase.

How to Fix Shockwave

For those who have not experienced it yet, Shockwave is causing many websites to freeze up. This can be extremely annoying regardless of what platform you use. For Windows users, there is an easy fix (see Shockwave Fix for Windows below).

If you find the Shockwave plug-in is causing your browser to crash, a temporary solution is to disable the plug-in in your browser:

Google Chrome:

1. In the address bar, type: chrome:plugins
2. Click Disable by the Adobe Flash Player plug-in.

Internet Explorer:

1. Click on Tools menu if available or the gear icon (top right),
2. Click Internet options and then the Programs tab.
3. Choose Show All add-ons from the drop-down if Shockwave does not appear in the list.
4. Click on Manage add-ons and select Shockwave Flash Object.
5. Click Disable button below.

Firefox:

Firefox will automatically prompt you if a plug-in is failing and give you the option to disable it for a particular page. Note that the same issue may re-occur if the site has multiple pages that use Shockwave.

Shockwave Fix for Windows:

Since many sites like Yahoo over-depend on Shockwave, disabling the plugin may not be a viable option. Other solutions include re-installing the plug-in or reporting the site. Note that reporting the site in Internet Explorer via the Tools menu (or gear icon - top right) will sometimes trigger an automatic Windows update within 24 hours that addresses the issue. This worked twice for me in the past but keep in mind that the update will occur in the background but not be applied until it is both fully downloaded/installed and your PC has been restarted after the install is completely finished. Windows will automatically prompt you when the restart is necessary provided you do not change the default update settings.

For more tips on how to correct Shockwave, visit:

www.shockwave.com/help/faq_flashplayer.jsp

Every Mailman's Worst Nightmare

Snowball After a Long Day

It was a day like any other when I came home from work to find the front window missing. Snowball had apparently broken through the glass. His mortal enemy just dropped the mail and ran. Not long afterwards, I had him chained to a bench on the front porch as I was working outside. Upon seeing the mailman, the family pet dragged the bench across the driveway nearly hitting my car while closing in on the mailman. Alarmed, the mailman dropped the package which Snowball subsequently peed on. Unfortunately for the postal guy, the package was not for me so he had to pick it up and still deliver it. Lightning struck a third time when I was walking Snowball and his cheap made in China auto-retractable leash broke and again, guess who was in sight? In his 17 years of living, Snowball never managed to get that mailman before his passing but he showed that mailman who was boss and no one in a postal uniform ever dared step foot in our house.

Canine Companion on Couch

Will the U.S. Require Permanent Peacekeeping Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan?

If the situation in Korea is any indication of what may happen in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. may be forced to bear the burden of permanent peacekeeping forces in both countries. With an estimated 29,300 U.S. troops still in South Korea several decades after an armistice was never fully ratified, the possibility of needing permanent peacekeeping forces may be required to deter aggression. Hopefully this scenario will not play out but after recent events, it is going to be difficult removing all troops from Afghanistan and ultimately more ground troops will likely be redeployed in Iraq. If the Korean model proves accurate, combat missions may not be necessary in the long run but the burden of a rotating/permanent occupation cannot be ruled out.

GSA Announces Deals for Car Sharing

In an effort to reduce costs, GSA or General Services Administration has announced deals with Enterprise, Hertz, CarShare, ZipCar and Carpingo to provide car sharing services for GSA employees. In theory, this will save the government agency money by reducing the need for taxi-fair, vehicle leasing and automobile purchases. The pilot program will run for a year with an option to renew if successful.

Having come under fire several times for wasteful spending recently, GSA seeks to repair its image and become more efficient. Despite this, they still require antiquated techniques for maintaining GSA schedules often at the frustration of private contract holders. The need to run SIP (Schedules Input Program) and upload all product images just to remove a single item from a schedule is just one example of a totally inefficient system. The legacy software program SIP also is unwieldy slow and problematic. Their inability to reduce GSA schedule maintenance time not only adds to unnecessary costs for the government but also hurts private dealers that GSA ironically is supposed to help.

Even seemingly good causes like the AbilityOne program also suffer from unnecessary red tape. AbilityOne sells products to support the blind and other individuals living with major health issues. Filtering out ETS (Essentially the Same) items from schedules in favor of AbilityOne equivalents continues to be an enormous challenge for dealers that cannot even get an unambiguous list of items to filter out. When the system fails, dealers take the fall for non-compliant items on their schedules even when the wholesaler is really to blame for not providing exact skus.

Despite the best efforts of General Services Administration to cut costs, such efforts are in vein until it reforms the system as a whole. Emods or Electronic Modification requests are overly cumbersome and SIP is even worse. The whole approval system of emods and schedules needs to be rethought and greatly simplified if they expect to truly reduce their costs and help the AbilityOne program and schedule holders.

How Microsoft Saved Apple

Gates and Jobs

We often hear about Steve Jobs being a brilliant marketing executive that brought Apple to the forefront of technical innovations. Less remembered is the time when Apple was close to bankruptcy speculating it had only 60 days to turn the company around. Coincidentally, Microsoft was in court defending itself and offered 100 million dollars to Apple to show it had a viable competitor. This made the argument that Microsoft had no real competition less plausible though in truth, the company was still a monopoly. Nevertheless, it gave Apple the funding it needed to stave off bankruptcy and inadvertently created a far bigger competitor than Microsoft could have anticipated. True Microsoft's dominance may have hastened Apple's earlier hardship but without fierce competition, Apple might not have been so driven to innovate as much and gain the position it has now.