Extending Your iPhone's Battery Life

Some great tips to overcome the iPhone's number one weakness: It's rotten battery life.

Personal anti-missle lasers

Okay, everyday we get a little closer to Star Wars and 1984 and Brave New World, don't we? Here's the next step: An anti-missle laser of your very own for your Cessna. Yup, the Russians will sell it to you, but you'll have to get it installed. Watch the video and get the whole story here.

How Christ would treat a mugger

Give the mugger your wallet, and your coat. That's what Julio Diaz did when he stepped out of a subway car one night only to find a teen brandishing a knife and demanding his wallet. Julio wisely gave it to him and, as the young mugger walked away, Julio said, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

It gets much more interesting from there. You really should read the rest of the story, so click here.

Digital Kaleidoscope

Zefrank has provided yet another mental toy - "Drawtoy vs. Boykal". It's an interactive, constantly changing, user-modulated Etch-a-Sketch. Try it here.

Play with these controls ...

... and get something that looks like this, and five million variations.

Bus? No giant LED sign.

Large-scale flexible LED screens can be stretched to fit the contours of a bus, yet are transparent so riders can see out windows. As if signs on busses weren't enough, now they'll be lit so that you can't miss them. We're getting closer and closer to Blade Runner all the time. PC Magazine article link below.

LED Display Technology Gets a Twist

Big-eyed baby

collette
Originally uploaded by Laser Bread

Aww, who doesn't love a big-eyed baby?

Emoti-Khans

From Brock Davis' Flickr page, "Make Something Cool Everyday."

Mathematical Epidemiology of Zombiism

"Mathematicians at the University of Ottawa, Philip Munz, Ioan Hudea, Joe Imad and Robert J. Smith, have published 'When Zombies Attack! Mathematical Modelling of a Zombie Outbreak!'" Sounds funny but it also explains what ... oh, not really. It's about math modeling. I doubt the CDC is going to get all giddy about this, but who knows? Dr. Coulliette at Asbury College will no doubt like this, being the math guy that he is. Still, if you want to know how we can avoid a zombie doomsday, maybe you should read it.
Mathematical Epidemiology of Zombiism

U.K. Basketball Fan Music Video

Okay, I admit it: I love college basketball and University of Kentucky b-ball. Despite the ups and downs (that every team has), the scandals and the sometimes over-the-top, fans, it's still a great program. This 4:50 video will only be enjoyable to a real Wildcat fan. The rest of you, well, YouTube has lots of other videos ranging from quilt making to scuba diving. Cat fans, check it out. (My only dislike is the logo over the video at top.)


And this one isn't too bad either. UK Basketball video

Lifestream - washing over us

Steve Rubel is an interesting guy who lives in the digital river and thinks about the "lifestream." The whole concept of the lifestream is where we "... are (no longer) a nation that eats media meals. Rather, we're all-day content snackers ... ." Think about it: We get an ever increasing amount of content (meaning video, news, etc.) from the web. Newspapers are dwindling because eyes are moving to screens.* Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, etc., command a lot attention from Gens X, Y, Z etc. Blame it on MTV if you wish, but you can't deny it.

Check out this blog post entitled "The Age of the Stream." While not profound, it does make a lot of sense.

*That newspapers are dying troubles me because, whether or not you like the newspapers, they are the best town criers that we have and, despite whatever leanings you may believe they have, they offer the most in-depth coverage of issues; TV news covers few local issues in depth. We will lose much if they disappear.

Yes, teens Tweet

Anyone who tells you that teenagers don't use Twitter has shown that they might not know what they're talking about. Check out this BoingBoing postthat includes many links to supporting articles.
Teens Tweet

Olympic-sized water slide

Okay, there was a LOT of work in this one, either to fool us or to actually do it. Either way, one question remains: What if you miss?

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Music maker

This is the Andre Michelle Tone Matrix. To use it, you click a square on the grid and it corresponds to a note. The program "runs" across the grid continuously and wherever there's a white box, it "plays" that note. It's intensely amusing and surprisingly pleasant. It can also be somewhat hard to stop playing with, too. Click here: Tone Matrix

Okay, just one more song ... for now

Boston - Don't Look Back video. This is such a great song and Tom Scholz, who started the band, is an amazing person. Holds patents, has given millions to charities, won the Ghandi Award - amazing. He even played basketball in high school. (Use the scroll bar in the player window to find "Play" or click the URL to go to Bilp.fm.)

Click here and listen ... again.

This is a great song from Thievery Corporation. Very smooooooth.
(Use the scroll bar in the player and look for "play". If that doesn't work, click the embedded URL and it'll take you to the Blip site.)

Click'n'Listen - One of Bowie's best

"Loving the Alien" is one of Bowie's best dance tunes. Great for shoulder dancing in the car or at your desk (grin). Not at all like the 70's and 80's stuff - very smooth, rich, layered with a nice slice of strings later on.

Ugliest blog ever?

I really don't like picking on folks and I've put enough ugly design things up myself but, man, this site makes my eyes hurt. See if you agree: Trucks World News I'd put up a picture, but that would spoil it for you. Just sroll down - you'll see.

Okay, let's move around a bit

I thought that, since I've not done anything with this blog in awhile, let's just move my activity to another blog of mine entitled "I was thinking ... ." Where this one is (when I actually do anything with it) about random stuff that is mostly amusing, the other is more serious. Well, as serious as I can be. I'll post more pictures there, or put links to my Picasa stuff in case my photography should interest you (and, yes, I'm seriously behind in updating that account). So, while there isn't much there now, it will grow. Who knows, maybe I'll say something intelligent.

Who needs a plane? Fly yourself - Wingsuit!

This is ab-so-lutely amazing! These guys jump off huge mountains with a wingsuit and scream along the cliffs at 100 MPH. This in an amazing video of people with a barely controlled death wish. Heck, what am I saying? I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Wingsuit Base Jumping video

Rich and Poor Kids Use Brains Differently

In a study sure to rile many groups, researchers at University of California Berkley have completed a study concerning cognitive differences between rich and poor kids. There were twenty-six nine- and ten-year-old kids in the study, which will call into question the statistical significance. The authors think that "stressful environments" and "cognitive impoverishment" are root causes. In other words, the poor kids have less intellectually stimulating lives, fewer role models for learning and need extra attention. Though this might seem like common sense, it provides a good building block to make sure that no child is left behind.

Researchers compared physiology and cerebral activity in their research. MRIs showed no significant physical differences between the children yet, in EEGs, the prefrontal cortex activity was noticeably different. The good news is that the difference is reversible. Extra work by educators and (most importantly in my opinion) more attention by parents and/or caregivers should help eliminate the differences.

UCB article here.

Whiteboard Animation

This is such a cool little animation video. It's a stop action piece done entirely on a whiteboard. It's worth a few minutes to watch – it's like one long, intricate, moving doodle. The next boring meeting that you're in, I bet you think about this video as you scribble. Click for Whiteboard Music

GIAAOS - Generalist In Search of ... light bulbs?

Blogging is fun if you like to write, and I do; writing has helped support me at various times in my life. I'm told I'm pretty good but have no pretensions of being the next Hemingway, Wolfe or even Seuss. Heck, I'm just happy to see my work published here and there.

Still, I'm betting we share what I call "light times." That's when your personal light bulb shines brightly over (or in) your head when you have an idea, inspiration or, better yet (and more rarely), an epiphany. Sometimes the light reveals the inner secrets of something you've long held as a mystery. I'm betting you know the feeling (and if you don't, perhaps having the TV off more is in order) and how that light can drive the urge to write or scrapbook or build or whatever.

The problem for a writer is, what to write when the light's been off? Any writing instructor will tell you to always write – especially when you're not inspired – to enhance the creative process. On the other hand, I see folks tossing out pieces over and over like their bulb is infinitely powered. Often these are folks who've devoted much of their life to a single industry or area. It's like their light is powered by a brain battery that's constantly recharged by new info about health care or I.T. or whatever fascinates them – their electrical well never runs dry (sorry for the mixed metaphor, but it's an oblique homage to They Might Be Giants and, yes, that's a horribly obscure reference ... further proof of what's in the next paragraph).

I've decided my problem is that just about everything interests me. Call me a dilettante or polyglot or will-o'-the-wisp, but I have a different idea (and of course this realization came in a light time). It's that I am a GIAAOS (pronounced "jayos"), and that is a Generalist In an Age of Specialists. Yep, that's me, Mr. Takeitallin, Señor Random, Monsieur Mishmash or whatever.

I saw a t-shirt slogan that explained it pretty well: "They say I have ADD, but they don't understand. Oh, look! A chicken!" For instance, I might sit down to research an article on computer security and, oh my, what's that link say? "Man dyes skin permanently to look like Oompa Loompa," and of course I click it. Actually, it's more likely an article about marketing psychology or visual communication or something geeky like that, but I'll be drawn off on some personally fascinating tangent. You probably have first-hand experience like this, too.

I used to think it was a curse, but now I see what a blessing it is. It comes down to wanting to know something about everything; mastery isn't the goal, but being informed is. It lets you see the world through a many faceted glass – you get a variety of views and see more differences and curiosities. The more things you learn, the more facets you see through.

It also means that I'll likely have something in common with many of the folks I meet. I believe that the core of any relationship is shared experience, so having something to share with new folks means I'll learn something from them, too. In the end, being a GIAAOS means I have more fun. It also means that Twitter is dangerous for me, too. Then again, it works for Guy Kawasaki.

High security, low sense-of-humor

Oh, this is too sad. I just hope no children were watching as Konk the Clown was taken into custody and strip searched. He was there for a charity event for disadvantaged children who were to be taken on a one-hour-flight (vs. Gilligan's four-hour ... no, nevermind). This was in Birmingham, England, so for those who say the TSA is strict, it would appear clowning around is real trouble there. Going to England? Leave the floppy shoes and red nose at home, much less a bubble-blowing sax and plastic handcuffs. (Click the title to go to the Guardian article.)

Dolphins Save Fisherman

A Philippine tuna fisherman whose boat was swamped in the early morning was, after paddling on a piece of styrofoam all day, worn out and nearly done for. As if being stranded miles from shore and totally exhausted wasn't enough, a swarm of tiny crustaceans began nibbling on the poor man. Their feasting was bad enough that he was afraid his blood would attract sharks. Can you imagine a more hopeless feeling?

Just when he thought it was over, a pod of dolphins came to his rescue; a couple of whales (presumed to be Pilot whales) accompanied the pod. He lay still aboard his tiny raft while the dolphins nudged it toward shore with their fins. Read this story and other accounts of dolphins rescuing humans here.

Art by Royce McClure - a very talented New Zealander. Go here to meet the man. He does have work for sale, too. Thanks to Guy Kawasaki for pointing out this article in his Twitter post.

I wish I were as smart as my dog.

Yeah, I know, "Gee, Frank, we wish you were, too." Y'see our dog is crazy smart. She does stuff that makes the neighbor's jaws drop (and, yes, I know my neighbors ... all of them). She's not like Skidboot, and if you haven't seen him, by all means, go here.

No, she does things, not tricks (or "behaviors," as they're called now). By that I mean she listens to what you say to do, and then does it. Not things like "sit," or "stay" (she does those and many more), but random, never-before-issued commands.

For instance, last winter my wife lost her keys in the snow early in their walk at the park. That means she lost them on lap one of three around a two-thirds-mile walking track. To add to the problem, they'd also made a side trip to the woods that adjoin the park.

It was snowing fairly heavy (unusual for this area) and she didn't discover that the keys were missing until they'd gotten to the front door. She had no phone, no neighbors were around and I was at work – major problem. She figured that the key ring's bright green curly cord would show up pretty easily so she and Ruby went back to the park and started their search. Two more laps and a trip to the woods yielded nothing.

By now my wife's feet are so cold they're hurting and the dog's getting a bit tired of all this, too. In a move of near desperation, my wife pulls a handkerchief from her pocket and says, "Ruby, I've dropped the keys and I can't find them. You have to help me find them. They're going to smell like this," and holds the handkerchief out for her to sniff. Ruby sticks her nose in the cloth and starts trotting around the track.

They get about one-third of the way and Ruby takes off. She goes about fifty yards, sticks her nose in the snow and then, facing my wife, gets down in her play stance (the illustration at the top of this link page shows play stance perfectly).

My wife walks over and there, where Ruby had "nosed" the snow, lay her keys. The snow had covered them and, without the dog's help, they'd have been there until it melted.

What's so great about this? The dog just did it. She'd never been taught to do a search and rescue ... well, that we know of since she came from the Lexington Humane Society. Time and again, though, we've given her some random instructions, and she does what we ask. She's just that smart and, for a dog, that's genius.

So if, as a human, I were as smart as my dog, I'd be a genius, too. Hey, I'd have never found those keys.

So, how was YOUR Christmas

Ohh, there, I've said it – the C word!! Yes, I'll say it: CHRISTMAS!!! None of that sappy, spineless "Happy Holidays!" stuff for me. Yes, I know it encompasses New Year's, too, but how dang hard it is to say "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year"? If you're doing an ad, well, okay, but what are you advertising? If you can afford the ad, you can afford to say what you mean.

Yeah, I know, "We have to be inclusive." Well, it's Christmas and everyone's invited. How much more inclusive can you be? If you're an atheist (and if you are, please don't be one of those angry ones because, even if you have good points, people immediately tune out the shrillness) or Buddhist or Muslim or Scientologist or whatever, and don't like Christmas, that's fine. Just remember that you don't have to participate. Sure, it's America and you can't escape it, but try not to dwell on it. You have a choice to let it bother you or not, so choose to let it go. It's not like you can stop it, right?

If you don't like Christmas and you're afraid it's going to taint your children, move to a place where it isn't celebrated. There are millions and millions of us worldwide who DO celebrate it and, well, majority rules – sorry 'bout your luck but life isn't always exactly as we wish (ooh, news flash there, eh?).

As Christians most of us try to be respectful of differing views (every group has their cranky ones and Christians are no different) so, if you don't like it, we understand. That doesn't mean you get to be nasty about it – we can agree to disagree agreeably (and, yes, I know that sounds sappy, too, but it's valid). Please remember, just because there are a number of you, that doesn't equal a majority.

On the other hand, seeing Christmas displays before Halloween dismayed me greatly. It should bother any Christian because it's nowhere near any liturgical season that would be congruous with celebrating Christ's birth. (Oh, and please don't write me about when the birth really was or any technicalities or research or whatever. It's not that I don't want to know about that, but for everything you'll tell me I can quote some other scholar who's said something else. I refuse to split hairs here.) My lament is the commercialism and cheapening of the celebration. That's a whole other rant that's been repeated thousands of times over the years.

Now that Christmas is past, don't let the spirit of it pass for you – keep this joy in your heart. It's part of the promise of Christianity that there's hope, love, grace and joy for all who seek it. Keep that joy in your heart all year and you will have a better year; do it every year and you'll have a better life. No, I'm not preaching, just telling you what works for me.

I'm baaaack!

Oh, so very long since I've posted. Why? Been focused elsewhere. Where? Asbury. Doing what? Managing ... no, not managing alone ... ah, I'll get to that in a moment, but we'll say managing (for now) a group of students in the Learning Resources department (part of Information Services). My title is Learning Resources Manager and "my" students provide support to the College's staff, faculty. We also support visitors (like conferences and meetings) to the beautiful and historic Asbury College campus in the almost Mayberry-like town of Wilmore, Kentucky.

So, the whole managing thing -- why not managing? The students have perhaps taught me as much or more than I've managed to teach them. They're all enthusiastic, very positive and truly concerned about others. They work together and make sure that things get done and done well. They're not afraid to ask questions, hence not afraid to appear dumb for a moment. Most of all, they're good people who have genuinely great hearts and minds. So the words guiding, teaching and collaborating are as appropriate as managing.

Take Kelly for instance, my inventory guru. We have a lot of equipment that we loan to faculty and provide for classroom and event use. It's scattered about campus and moves in and out of our office daily. Kelly took it upon herself this semester to track it all down, organize and catalog it -- that's a huge job. She has been perpetually relentless in this quest and has done work on a par with anyone I've worked with anywhere. She has been an inspiration to me and all the others. This has required that she get cooperation from the other students and has always done so in a way that elicited smiles and willing participation.

In time I'll write about other students because there are many stories to tell and Kelly is just the first. For now, though, just know that I'm very, very blessed to be at Asbury and able to work in a place that is overall more positive than any I've seen before.

Merry Christmas and may it be a joyful one for you and yours.
Frank

Deflating the Party Balloon and More

Whoodathunk? We're running out of helium, and that's no joke, folks. We don't think much about it until it's party time and we need balloons for little Johnny's or Mary's birthday party, or until some car lot needs about five hundred to tie on their inventory to advertise a sale. It's more serious than that, though, because:
A. It's very important to science, especially as a coolant (think reactors ... or don't because they scare me since I saw "China Syndrome").
B. There is no cost-effective way to make more and, when it's gone, it's gone.
C. What will football games and parades be like without the Goodyear blimp? (Okay, that's not so serious, but it is something to think about.)

Oddly enough a large portion of Earth's supply is in the Texas panhandle. The US government ran helium production for around 70 years until the mid-90s (it started after WWI for dirigible production, being non-flamable), but then turned it over to the oil and gas industries. Why? Well, two reasons are that it has to have "the big straw" plunged into the ground to get it (like gas and oil), and its production is a side industry to oil and gas. (As a note, the US embargoed helium forcing Germany to use hydrogen which led to the Hindenburg explosion.)

On the heels of this comes a small surge in interest in reviving dirigibles as a form of transportation because they're quite fuel efficient. Some say, "Good idea," while other say, "They're too dependent on the weather to be reliable." Whatever, with little or no helium, neither is going to happen.

It would be ironic (and I'm musing here) to find out that there's a method involving helium to create a gasoline substitute. Nah, never happen ... right?

Articles here:
Science Daily: "Helium Supplies Endangered, Threatening Science And Technology"

New York Times: "Why Fly When You Can Float?"

Well, it's about time!

Greetings, folks. Wow, not since March 11, huh? Well, there have been many, many changes since then including a brief encounter with self-employment. Now, though, I'm gainfully employed at Asbury College as the Learning Resources Manager, and it's marvelous. This is an amazingly good fit for me and I'm incredibly blessed to be here.

Given that this position has a lot of activities and running around the campus attached to it, I won't be as prolific as I was at my peak. Still, I intend to post more than I have (which won't be hard considering it was zero, or zed for you Canadians out there).

Still writing for Business Lexington (current edition has an article entitled "Technical Topography and it's about GIS, check it out) and will be featuring some of the folks here in IS at Asbury. Given how sharp these folks are, the article could likely write itself.

Okay, that's it for now. I hope all who read this are doing well.

My apologies ...

Greetings, dear readers. I want to apologize for the horrible lack of content of late. No, nothing drastic has happened, but I have been running at high speed just to stay in place. So, tune in later this week for a fresh batch of new items. In the meantime, check out this month's article for Business Lexington on data security (the link is at left, "When Zombies Attack ... ).

I gave a talk this week to the Independent/Small Business Owners group in Lexington, Ky. (ISBO site) I've been called a "security evangelist" and, like any good evangelist, did by best to deliver a hellfire and brimstone accounting of what happens when you fall short of the mark. By all accounts, I did indeed scare some folks, which is good – you should be scared if you're not doing the right things about data security. Want more info? Go through this blog because there are plenty of articles about data security and some common sense steps to take.

Thanks,
Frank

This Is My Fortune?

Presenting the worst fortune cookie fortune ever.

Videos of Hacks

The kinds of hacks I'm talking about aren't cab drivers or lousy golfers. They're the work of hackers. Exploit Labs (now a division of AVG, publishers of some good anti-virus products) has a page with links to videos that explain how some rather high profile sites were hacked. There's the famous Alicia Keys hack, the MLB (yes, Major League Baseball) site hack and a bunch of others. Watching these can give you an idea of how innocuous-looking sites carry malware straight to your computer. If nothing else, they're pretty entertaining, too. Check out the page here.

Aqua U2 or The Real Moby

This is too good – a sponge shaped like a microphone. Singing in the shower just took on a whole new dimension (and my condolences to the families with a vocally challenged shower singer). This is available from a variety of sites, but I chose PerpetualKid.com simply because I identify with the name. Even better, click here and your rock water dreams can come true for only $5.99 (plus shipping and handling, of course).

I'm pretty fond of this Pinocchio toilet brush, too. The site has many weird and wonderful toys and, yes, there are a few gross ones, too. What would you expect from a site named "Perpetual Kid"? It requires a few gross jokes and some potty humor, too. Oh, right, I've already been there with the Pinocchio thing.

CERT Ready to Help (No, not the breath mint)

The US government has a helpful site if you'd like to know the basics of securing your home computer. As you'd expect with a government document (meaning their site, too), it's wordy. Still, there's lots of good advice. One item that I thought is good for a laugh is a thirteen page PDF security checklist. In the age of computers, they're having you fill out a form. How very government of them.

There are different levels of advice and information based on your technical abilities or category. If you poke around the site, you'll find info ranging from computer forensics to copyright infringements. It's a well-stocked place to start looking for information and, hey, you paid for it, right? Might as well get a return on your taxes. United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team -- with a name like that, it sounds like there ought be super hero costumes, too.

Who's Looking at Your Data

The Associated Press has an article about workers in utilties, telecommunications firms and others looking up private data for their own purposes. The article previously posted about the permanence of your data talks about how long our data hangs around "out there." You fill out an application for a credit card, a sweepstakes, an online purchase or anything else and that info stays on someone's hard drive somewhere.

Some experts say it's too late and we all can forget about privacy and maybe they're right. Large companies routinely sell and swap our information despite our checking the correct boxes that expressly say not to give it out. So, what's the answer? That, my friends is a whole other post. Just read this one and see what you think about how your data is being treated. Don't like it? (I don't think you will.) Then start asking questions and writing letters to the companies, the editor, to your mom, whomever. Only you can prevent a forest fire in your own life.

Cookie Monster Interview on NPR

We all have our favorite characters and Cookie Monster has always been one of mine – we eat a lot alike. NPR has an interview with Cookie on their series called "In Character" which is based largely on viewer suggestions. (You can put in your suggestion at the link below.) I owe many thanks to the person who suggested the world's all-time favorite furry blue omnivore. See a video of the interview here. C'mon, you know you need a chuckle right now.

Canadian Hackers Caught, 1 Million Zombies Freed

Seventeen Canadians have been busted and the stakes were huge! As many as one million computers in 100 countries were zombies on their networks. At the end of the article, it notes that an American teen was recently busted for running a zombie network which included US military computers. Go here for the article.
(Picture from www.3drt.com)

Malware 101

David Perry explains the different threats in this short video. If all the names – bots, Trojan Horses, root kits and so on – have you confused, this might help.

MalwareAlarm – It's Malware, Don't Fall Prey

MalwareAlarm is all over the place. It pops us and, with warnings of sinister goings on inside your computer, it admonishes you to immediately click and download it. Should you do so, you're going to be sorry. It's computer sludge, to say the least. Worst of all, it looks like it's really doing something, but it's like watching a three-shell-and-ball game run by a street hustler. Watch this video and arm yourself.

Exploits = BIG Trouble, and Here's Some Help

First, what's an exploit? The ImpulseGamer blog says, "It’s helpful to think of an exploit as a package, the digital equivalent of a letter bomb. Inside the package is usually a smorgasbord of malicious malware, such as rootkits, keyloggers, spyware, Trojan horses, and other software that allows cybercriminals to remotely access and control your computer. ... Exploits are a form of crimeware, a relatively new type of malware distributed by cybercriminals whose primary purpose is to steal money or other digital assets of portable value from computer users. ... (E)xploits are most valuable to their purveyors during the ... time period between the announcement of a security vulnerability and ... a fix by the vendor. ... (E)xploits usually continue to be distributed after the fix has been issued because not all machines get patched in a timely fashion, if at all. Considering that risk windows average 56 days in length, it’s easy to see how some machines might remain vulnerable for many months, even years."

LinkScanner checks sites to offer real-time protection and see if there is malicious code. They put it very well on their website saying, "Simply visiting a bad, hacked Web page can expose your machine. Vulnerabilities and exploits like WMF, VML, CreateText Range and setSlice have, and continue to, permit hackers to spread rootkits and open backdoors on computers around the world." Even if you don't know what the exploits mentioned are, you still have to be on guard. Even security pros get smacked by drive-by downloads (go here for the definition of drive-by downloads). Websites can be hacked without the owner's knowing. Yesterday's safe site can suddenly bring a nightmare that you're not aware of until it's too late. LinkScanner is one more tool to keep you out of trouble.

There is a free version, LinkScanner Lite, and a pay version, LinkScanner Pro. Be aware, though, the Pro version can be rather stern and stop a number of things you hadn't expected it to. On the other hand, the user reviews and forums that I've read covering it have said that, despite the occasional annoyance, it saved them several times.

If you don't want to install any software (or can't because those mean old IT folks wont letcha), copy the suspect web address (URL) and then go here, scroll to the bottom and paste the URL into the window below the header saying "Scan that URL!" It's free and you don't have to install an thing.

Did You Get Yours? Microsoft Wants You To.

In case you didn't know, Microsoft released a slew of patches and updates on February 12. Yes, they're kind of annoying because MS products seem to know the precise moment you don't want to be bothered. Nevertheless, these are important. Seven of the twelve (twelve on the 12th -- what a coincidence -- yeah, sure) were rated "critical," which is MS's highest, most severe, oh-muh-gawrsh-Goofy-do-it-now rating.

Four of the seven are for remote code execution holes in Office, which fundamentally means that if an attacker can get their malicious code to your machine, it can exploit a weakness that Office has and do things like steal data, take control of your computer, and so on.

If you haven't checked lately, perhaps you should tool on over to Microsoft's Security Central and click on Security Updates at the top left. Yes, I know you're busy but this is important. (Picture from Microsoft's website.)

Better Than Free? New Thoughts on Marketing

Kevin Kelly is a writer who will make you look at common aspects of today's market society in ways you'd not considered. The article, "Better Than Free" at his blog is another one of those articles. Take this for instance:

"The internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it. In order to send a message from one corner of the internet to another, the protocols of communication demand that the whole message be copied along the way several times. IT companies make a lot of money selling equipment that facilitates this ceaseless copying. Every bit of data ever produced on any computer is copied somewhere. The digital economy is thus run on a river of copies. Unlike the mass-produced reproductions of the machine age, these copies are not just cheap, they are free.

"... Yet the previous round of wealth in this economy was built on selling precious copies, so the free flow of free copies tends to undermine the established order. If reproductions of our best efforts are free, how can we keep going? To put it simply, how does one make money selling free copies?"

How indeed? Go here to find out. This article might challenge a few of your notions about what value in the marketplace is and how you either create it or judge it. New thoughts for the new economy.

Addi the Balloon Man -- Spreader of Joy

How to make a lot of people happy who probably don't have that much in their life to laugh about. We should all find ways to spread a little joy now and then.

Doodle Away Online - Art Pad

ArtPad is a cool free online application that lets you create paintings, save them to a gallery and even record all your "brush strokes" so that it becomes a movie of your painting. You can save images to a gallery and share them in an email invitation straight from the site. Get in touch with your inner Van Gogh, Rockwell or just doodle. Go here: http://artpad.art.com/artpad/painter/

What IS a Worm?

Notice in the post below that eight of the ten viruses listed are worms. What is a worm?

Wikipedia defines it as: "A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computer terminals on the network) and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause harm to the network, if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer."

Wikipedia goes on to say: "Many worms have been created which are only designed to spread, and don't attempt to alter the systems they pass through. (Some have a) ... "payload" (which is programming) code designed to do more than spread the worm - it might delete files on a host system (e.g., the ExploreZip worm), encrypt files in a cryptoviral extortion attack, or send documents via e-mail. A very common payload for worms is to install a backdoor in the infected computer to allow the creation of a "zombie" under control of the worm author ... . Networks of such machines are often referred to as botnets and are very commonly used by spam senders for sending junk email or to cloak their website's address.[3] Spammers are therefore thought to be a source of funding for the creation of such worms,[4][5] and worm writers have been caught selling lists of IP addresses of infected machines.[6]

"Others try to blackmail companies with threatened DoS (Denial of Service) attacks.[7] Backdoors can be exploited by other malware, including worms. Examples include Doomjuice, which spreads using the backdoor opened by Mydoom, and at least one instance of malware taking advantage of the rootkit and backdoor installed by the Sony/BMG DRM software utilized by millions of music CDs prior to late 2005."

Repeat the mantra with me again: Protect, backup, keep current. Besides, who wants a wormy computer? If your customer data is in the infected machine, customers most definitely do not.

ZoneAlarm's Current Top 10 Viruses

As of Friday, the 15th, these are the top ten viruses that Check Point Technologies' ZoneAlarm software has blocked:

1. Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.q
2. Email-Worm.Win32.Nyxem.e
3. Email-Worm.Win32.Bagle.gt
4. Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.aa
5. Email-Worm.Win32.Scano.gen
6. Downloader.Win32.Diehard.dg
7. Dropper.Win32.Small.bdj
8. Email-Worm.Win32.NetSky.d
9. Net-Worm.Win32.Mytob.w
10. New Email-Worm.Win32.Warezov.yi

Here's the kicker: This is their top ten and other vendors have their own. So what will you do with this list? Probably nothing. What should you do? Update your definitions in your anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, anti-everything and do a backup of all your data. You never know when your system will be the next one infected. Remember that no software package can possibly catch all the malware floating around and even the best rated packages have their faults. Protect yourself and be vigilant.

Think you're safe and secure? Ask yourself this: How long would it take you to restore all the stuff on your hard drive? Do you have that kind of time? If it's a bad one, wiping out the hard drive and reinstalling Windows can take three or more hours. So, if you don't have time to backup and do the security thing, when will you have time to do that? Own a small business, or any sized business? Think about what you stand to lose if you can't use your computer networks. What is one customer worth? You can lose one if they can't get what they need when they need it. Security software is very cheap insurance. Don't be "penny wise and pound foolish." Either do the right things or pay someone to do them. It's cheap insurance.

The Ultimate Propeller Head

Forget the personal jetpack -- get a personal helicopter! This one works having two -- count'em, two -- whirling blades right above your head. That much spinning death, well, the nanny state will never let this fly. What to do? I'm betting you can get the plans for yourself. You might need a German translator, though.



A Personal Helicopter - video powered by Metacafe

More African Ingenuity

I previously linked to the AfriGadget site because of the often amazing things folks do there with practically nothing. It interests me because that sort of ingenuity made America great, and is what will carry us through the future. The link to this BBC slide show illustrates again how the human spirit rises up and perhaps is the beginning of a new era in Africa.

There are classes within this Nigerian enclave of "mechanics." Some specialize on cell phones, some on CD players, and so on; some are at the bottom with no skills and are paid only in food and transportation. Still, they cooperate to resurrect goods we would give up for dead. As Napoleon, the boss of the men in this short article says, “Give me anything dead, I will rewind it." Perhaps that applies to their society, too. BBC article, "Nigeria's Repairmen."

Oscilloscopes Like You've Never Seen Them ...

... oh, you've never seen one anyway. Well, for those of you who've never had a geeky bone in your body or are just plain too young to remember them, oscilloscopes were the mainstay of any electronics shop. They're still used, but modern ones are considerably different.

The video here shows them doing things I had no idea they could do, and I used to be around them a lot. Waxy.org has more of these videos (this one is at YouTube). Better still, if this amuses you, the site has instructions on how to make your own. Yes, dear friends, this is a slice of geek heaven.

It's NOT All About the Love -- "FBI warns about secret e-Valentines"

An unexpected Valentine's Day e-card may not be from a secret admirer. With the holiday approaching, the FBI is cautioning citizens to be on the lookout for spam e-mails spreading the Storm Worm malicious software. The e-mail directs the recipient to click on a link to retrieve the electronic greeting card (e-card).

Once the user clicks on the link, malware is downloaded to the Internet-connected device and causes it to become infected and part of the Storm Worm botnet. A botnet is a network of compromised machines under the control of a single user. Botnets are typically set up to facilitate criminal activity such as spam e-mail, identity theft, denial of service attacks, and spreading malware to other machines on the Internet -- and, yes, they can be on your computer and you might never know. Typhoid Mary had no idea she was the culprit, either.

The Storm Worm virus has capitalized on various holidays in the last year by sending millions of e-mails advertising an e-card link within the text of the spam e-mail. Valentine's Day has been identified as the next target. You should be wary of any e-mail received from an unknown sender, according to the FBI. Do not open any unsolicited e-mail and do not click on any links provided.

As always, keep your anti-virus, anti-spam, firewall and other security up-to-date.

Today's Top Ten Phishing Scams

Here are today's top ten phishing scams courtesy the good folks at McAfee. They say, "Listed below are ten of the most common Phish subject lines from the last 24 hours. If you receive a similar message in your inbox you should delete it and not follow the links in the message. If you want to check your account, you should type the bank or company website directly into your web browser, or add a bookmark, rather than following links in an email. If you are unsure if an email you receive is legitimate, visit the companies website directly, phone the company, or contact their Customer Services or fraud department (usually fraud@companyname.com) to confirm that they sent the mail." (Hmm, and not one letter from a Nigerian prince.) And the winners are:

1. Paypal
2. Citibank Deutschland
3. Account Limitation Notification
4. HSBC Bank customer service: official information!
5. HSBC Bank: official information!
6. Notification from Billing Department
7. Sparkasse Online-Banking
8. Question from eBay Member regarding Item
9. Online-Banking
10. Sparkasse: Wichtige Information

McAfee Threat Center Report
Want to know how phishing works? Go here to How Stuff Works and read all about it. (And there's today's public service announcement.)

Well, it IS Valentine's -- Educationally yours.

Jacks of Science blog has the sweetest ... no, wait, ummm ... the smartest ... no, that's not it either. Oh, heck, just go look for yourself, Valentine. Like the sample? (Very interesting blog, if you've got a scientifically curious bent.)

Rhapsody of Steel

Want to see one of the most spectacular animated industrial films ever made? (This is back when companies did these sort of things to educate the public in a long-format, rather than with thirty-second PR pieces.) At the ASIFA-Hollywood’s Animation Archive, the complete John Sutherland industrial film Rhapsody of Steel is posted on their site. (The site is very interesting, too.)

It was expensive, clever and, in its own right, majestic. If you're a fan of animation at all, you'll see designs by some of the best including Maurice Noble and Victor Haboush and animation by Irv Spence and Emery Hawkins.

Be aware, it's twenty-two minutes long and fifty-five megabytes in size. Also, you'll have to have Quicktime to watch it. I'd suggest you do as it's quite a treat. Go here to get it and then scroll down (and down and ... ) to find it. As you scroll, you'll see still from the movie that show the wide variety of styles employed. What a gem.

The Slot Machine

Given the current discussion here in Kentucky about our newly elected governor's casino aspirations, I thought that this site might be timely. It exposes their history of slot machines and covers their psychology, the design of casinos, social implications and other related subjects. While not a be-all-and-end-all discussion, it's darned interesting. For instance, this little tidbit:

"... (S)lot machines are unique in that literally every coin a player puts in has a possibility of eliciting a huge payout, albeit a statistically negligible one. This aspect of slot machines provides initial and continued stimulus to the player; studies have shown that playing a slot machine activates dopaminergic neural pathways traditionally associated with pleasure or risk-taking. ... (S)lot machines keep players engrossed through a psychological phenomenon known as operant conditioning. Once a casino patron has been roped into initiating play at a slot machine, operant conditioning is perhaps the most powerful force that keeps him or her absorbed in the game. ... Secondary mechanisms augment the excitement and incentive to continue playing. The most important of these is the inclusion of a system in the machine that yields a high frequency of 'near misses,' or situations in which the player believes they have almost won." Ten Things in 2007 by Stanford students William Choi and Antoine Sindhu. The rest of the site is a nice mental playground as well.

AfriGadget -- Amazing Ingenuity

The AfriGadget site is a continuing saga of folks using their creativity to invent and adapt things in order to make a living, or just have a life. This is not about going to the hardware store and buying some kits; it's about doing things like:
• Making a bicycle from bamboo
• Using a bicycle to power a knife sharpener and take you from place to place to make a living
• Making a generator that uses sugar and yeast for its power
• A mobile, solar, donkey cart (you'll have to go here to get the story -- check the picture)

The reason the second and third ones are important is that cell phone use is growing very quickly in Africa. Erecting phone lines is much too cost prohibitive, hence wireless' growth. Financial institutions are adopting the technology at a rapid rate because of the reach it gives them. Electricity is often limited or unavailable -- some must walk long distances to charge the batteries -- so creating your own power can be your only way connect.

While you'll find most items clever, some will amaze you, not the least of which is a homemade helicopter. It's amazing what you can do when you have to create all the breaks you'll ever have. This site is a testament to the human spirit. AfriGadget

Online Video Editing -- No, Really.

Okay, so you don't own Premier or Vegas, but that's okay. There are five sites that'll let you edit your video online. Don't expect them to be the greatest thing imaginable, but they might be all you need sometimes. Worth a look, eh? Article here.

Liquor + TV Remote = State of Emergency?

You have to love those Aussies: "CANBERRA (Reuters) - A drunken man's threat to blow up half a city with his television remote control forced Australian police to declare a state of emergency at a luxury golf resort, a local court heard Thursday."

You can't make this stuff up. "'People are genuinely scared of sudden explosions,' the judge said, sentencing Fryatt to a year's probation. ... Fryatt accepted probation, but said he was concerned it could interrupt plans to travel overseas to do humanitarian aid work, the Brisbane Times newspaper reported. 'Let's get you right before we send you off to a third world country,' the judge said." Whole story here.

Poor Edna

The Clapper! Now For Your PC!

I know you've long wondered how to integrate your favorite TV product, The Clapper, into your daily computing. Thanks to diligent citizens from earth's greatest country (yes, America), you can clap your way through your day! "You can set it up to do anything; clap once for slashdot, clap twice to open a command prompt, three times to shut down your computer from bed if you are lazy." A free program from http://www.pclapper.com lets you realize that dream. Happiness and joy!

Exxon Taxes = Bottom 50% of Taxpayers Total Payments

These kinds of stats warp my head and boggle my poor, tormented gray matter. I don't know if this is a record, but how could it not be? In 2007, Exxon paid nearly $40 Billion in taxes (hey, that's more than Meg Whitman's net worth), and around $28 Billion in '06. I'm not asking for pity for them, just a bit of fairness. Their corporate tax rate is around 41% and, despite mind-blowing profits, they pay mind-blowing taxes.

Here's the real kicker: "Conclusion: In other words, just one corporation (Exxon Mobil) pays as much in taxes ($27 billion) annually as the entire bottom 50% of individual taxpayers, which is 65,000,000 people! Further, the tax rate for the bottom 50% is only 3% of adjusted gross income ($27.4 billion / $922 billion), and the tax rate for Exxon was 41% in 2006 ($67.4 billion in taxable income, $27.9 billion in taxes)." Story here at Seeking Alpha. It's a short article and really worth a couple minutes (he said shaking his head in disbelief).

eBay says, "Play nice with your customers" ...

... and Meg Whitman rides off, saddlebags full. This seems a bit lopsided to me. According to a post at Webware, beginning in May, eBay will prohibit sellers from posting negative comments about their customers. (??) As someone who's sold a few things and had bad customers, this seems really wrong to me. I understand their motivation because I've dealt with unscrupulous sellers, too, who flamed me when I complained about the worthless goods I got (may the seller of the crappy wireless microphones forever have fleas in his undies and sand in his shoes, pariah that he is).

Maybe I'm an unrealistic idealist who wants to give the world a hug and sing in harmony, but perhaps -- and I know this is a really radical, liberal idea here -- eBay could be more proactive in customer/seller relations. Oh, what am I thinking? Nevermind. I guess the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's death has me in a bit of a spiritual tizzy.

I'll just go play the Beatle's Magical Mystery Tour and meditate on eBay CEO Meg Whitman's pending "retirement" and probable subsequent purchase of some third-world country since her net worth is estimated at (hold your breath) $1.4 Billion! (Hey the Wall Street Journal said it right here, not me ... well, the net worth part.) Think about how many knitted place mats, Osmonds records and food with the likeness of Jesus on them they had to sell for her to get that rich. Boggles the mind, no? What I find interesting is that, last year, eBay took a writedown on Skype for an equal amount. Coincidence? Hmmm. You be the judge.

Just To Prove It Works ...

The post below about the fake model shots works and here's some proof. This is a picture that I took from the arch in St. Louis about three years ago. Below it is the original picture. Cool, huh? Try it yourself, you budding Picasso you ... or should that be Stieglitz?

Old Ladies vs. The Stoplight Runner

This is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. I had tears in my eyes the first time I heard it, and several times after, too. Play it somewhere you can turn it up a bit. Aftermath play-by-play.

Who's That In the Picture? Polar Rose Knows.

Polar Rose is a new plug-in for Firefox that helps identify folks in web pictures. As of today (2/5 ... well, 2/6 because it is a few minutes after midnight), a banner at the top of their site says, " 1,977 explorers have discovered 16,534,819 photos, containing a total of 5,229,588 people, of which 98,655 have been named." 16.5 million photos -- does that sound like a lot to anyone but me?
How does it work? Their site says, "The plugin detects people in public photos and places our signature rose approximately where the pinhole of their shirt would be. A click on the rose will show the plugin overlay with relevant information, including name and other photos found of the same person." Check it out here.

Fake Model Photography

No, not skinny people -- Things! This post at Receding Hairline (a blog by a British fellow) shows how to use Photoshop to take a photo of, say, the Cincinnati skyline and make it look like a scale model. (This might work in Elements, too, but I haven't tried because I don't own Elements. If you do, try it and let me know if it works.) You, too, can create pictures like the one above which is actually a landscape shot from Cannes. Learn how here.

Finally, A Truth Tester You Can Trust

This from seanbonner at Flickr.

Maker Faire - Inventors & Tinkerers, Strut Your Stuff!

Make Magazine is all about creating things yourself. They say, "The first magazine devoted entirely to DIY (do-it-yourself) technology projects, MAKE Magazine unites, inspires and informs a growing community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and garages." To see the magazine and its good stuff you have to subscribe. If you're a tinkerer, it's well worth it. There is a print version, too. The website has some videos and podcasts. Poke around, check the blogs, etc., and you'll find all kinds of stuff , from knitting to electronics to paper craft, and larger projects like this: "How To: Make a 21-Foot GPS Wall Clock" (seen at right).

To let their readers prove their skill, the annual Maker Faire will be held in San Francisco this year and inventors, garage geniuses, mad scientists and garden-variety wackos gather to bring an amazing array of oddities. (I so want to go.) This year it's May 3-4, but to get into it, you have to apply. Find the application right here. Do better in person than on paper? Have a project that words don't do justice? Then attend the tryouts Feb. 17 in 'Frisco (pack quickly, my friend). To find out more about the Faire, go here. Check out the video; it's short and you really need to see the cupcake chopper.

Fascination -- A Car That Made Money Disappear

The Fascination was a strange looking prototype car that was supposed have a "Nobel Gas Plasma Engine" that would go 60,000-75,000 miles on a "charge." As you might imagine, the reality was far from the promise and those who invested lost their money.

There was one at the Concours at Keeneland in 2006 and this picture I took shows how much they looked like a bug from the front. Nothing so noble as the Tucker but an interesting chapter in automotive history. This link leads to the whole sordid story. Find more here and here at Jalopnik.

Pat, I'd LIke to Buy a Virus

Over at Wired's Threat Level blog, you can find out if that clever little digital photo frame or Flip camera has a virus. These aren't the first consumer goods infected with malware. They've got links to others, too. Infected goods.

Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains

While we're on x-best lists, this one is worth a bit of time. As a bonus, it also includes links to an article that outlines -- in a low-level way -- how the brain works. The advice is solid and easy to follow. Check Alvaro Fernandez' article at The Huffington Post. (Pic courtesty SmartBrains.com.)

Mike Rowe's "Seven Dirty Habits"

The February, '08, edition of Fast Company has Mike Rowe on the cover. He's the star of Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs. Mike is a guy who, in essence, was something of a slacker for most of his career. To wit, he got pitched off his job doing overnight on-air work for QVC for perpetrating, ahem, inappropriate acts on a nun doll one night. Now he's riding high and a bit perplexed by his success, but certainly not rejecting it ("Most public speakers are wildly overpaid, and I am no exception.").

So, as you can imagine, his self-admitted rip-off of Steven Covey's Seven Habits is done a bit tongue-in-cheek, and also with some sincerity. The sidebar in his article is entitled "Seven Dirty Habits of Highly Effluent People." Still, they're something to consider; whether or not to follow them is entirely up to you.

1. Never follow your passion but, by all means, bring it with you.
2. Beware of teamwork.
3. Vomit proudly and whenever necessary.
4. Be careful, but don't be fooled -- safety is never first.
5. Think about what you are doing -- never how.
6. Ignore advice such as "Work smart, not hard." It's dangerous -- and moronic.
7. Consider quitting.

Wireless Security at Home -- How To

Wireless Internet access at home is wonderful but too many folks don't secure their network. That's like never locking your door and leaving a sign on it saying, "Sure, come in and do take all my precious info." The clever folks at Extreme Tech have provided an invaluable nugget on securing your home wireless access. Yes, it's geeky but written in (gasp!) plain English! You, too, can surf with some security (repeat, some -- simply securing your router is just the beginning).

It's not all that hard, you'll only have to use the owner's manual a little and what little time it takes can save you hours and hours of grief later. It's also better than having a neighborhood kid find out you've not activated the security controls and then lock you out of your own router (it's happened many a time). Remember, too, there are folks who drive around looking for unsecured access to data equipment they find.

Don't think you've got sensitive info on your system? Let's say you've done your taxes on your computer; that data is chock full of info about you. Do you bank or pay bills online? Ever signed up for a subscription service? There are probably more files than you can imagine that will give folks more than enough to make life hard for you. Or, if they find an open access point, they can inject malware (viruses, Trojan horses, etc.) into your system and, over time, steal a lot of precious info. Do yourself a favor and take care of it by going here.

Knitted Video

The Quebec duo Tricot Machine recently created a fascinating video for their song "Lex Peaux de Lièvres." It was created by filming over 700 pieces of knitted scenes. The song is in French so don't expect to go 'round singing it unless you speak the language. Still, it's a nice, lilting little number and the video is worth a couple minutes. See it here. (Firefox users might have a little trouble with the video, but it plays fine in Windows Media Player.)

McCall's, January, 1946

To think of all the money women have wasted on seminars, self-help books and psychotherapy when all that was needed was to adjust one's laxative. The wisdom of the ages. By the way, this photo was not re-touched and appeared exactly this way in the magazine. If if makes you feel better, everyone was smiling in the last frame.

Political Trading Cards -- Not On the Hot List

I'm convinced that Americans will collect anything. I know folks that collect soft drink memorabilia (brand withheld due to a chronic fear of hyperactive lawyers), drinking ducks and many things that you, gentle readers, really don't want to hear about. One guy got Office Max to sponsor his giant rubber band ball and, man, did he do his sponsor right -- a world's record 4,000 pounds (MySpace with video here.) But I digress.

Sometimes, though, you get more than you bargained for (like a two-ton rubber band ball isn't enough). This from The Smoking Gun's website:

"When the first packs of the 2008 Topps baseball card set arrive in stores next week, kids everywhere will be confronted with the mysterious calculus of value:

How many Giulianis will get me an Obama?
Is a Huckabee worth two Pauls?
Who'll take these 12 Kuciniches off my hands?

Along with stars like Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard, the new Topps set includes a dozen cards featuring presidential candidates (six Democrats and six Republicans). Sadly, fans of Chris Dodd, Duncan Hunter, Mike Gravel, and Tom Tancredo will not find their candidate among the set."

See the entire set -- front and back -- and read what you'll have to do to get them all right here.