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Offutt Air Force Base Air Show 2010

The annual Offutt Airshow this year was on August 28th and 29th.  I went on the 29th with @Rossnelson and had a great time.  Security was really tight, we had to go through metal detectors and then most people were wanded after, they did not give second chances of removing more metal to go through again.  They were also  not allowing bags in so I had to carry my camera around my neck the entire day and only bring one lens.  I brought the 70-200 and was glad I did.  One last thing about the security was that Ross was wearing a t-shirt from the band Bad Religion and he got a talking to going through security about it.  The guard thought he might be trying to make a political statement and said he may have to turn it inside out if asked to do so. Luckily other service men knew of the band and let us through.  Security was nearly as tight as an airport.  I guess this was because we were on an active air force base.

The day was long and hot, people took cover as the day went on under the wings of aircraft.  I loved seeing people sitting in lawn chairs under the huge wings of a B-52 or under the fuselage of a B1.  We walked around and saw all the static planes which were too many to list.  We then watched the aerial show which was good.  My favorite by far was the F-22 Raptor. It was such an impressive fighter plane. The thrust vectoring really made it very maneuverability and agile.  It also was so stable at any speed it seemed.

This was the first time shooting anything similar to sports on with my Canon 7D.  I used Al Servo and a combination of Auto focus Expansion when on the center point. It put emphasis on the center point (or where ever you wanted it) but also included one above, below, left and right.  It worked well. for slower moving planes.  For the really fast ones I used the new zonal function AF selection and choose the center group. This grabbed the center 11 points and used them. As long as you kept the points on the object and the AF drive engaged (I did this manually with the AF button) it worked well.  I was amazed at how well it would track planes coming at you quickly or going away from you.  The hardest part was panning quick enough to keep it in frame.  For sports this camera is a huge step up from my old Canon 20D.

Here are a few photos from the day more can be seen at Flickr in this set here.

More can be seen at Flickr in this set here.

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Security the Family PC

This story was Originally Posted at HijinksInc.com by me, the author.

The SANS center also known as the Internet Storm Center is a volunteer organization dedicated to computer and Internet security. They rely on volunteers to detect problems, analyze threats and provide technical and procedures to the general public and IT professionals to address these threats. I visit their website at https://isc.sans.edu/ daily to see the new threats that I need to be aware of as a general PC user and an IT professional at work. It is very well known in the security community of posting quality information in a very timely manner.

They have designated October as Cyber Security Awareness Month and have dedicated that efforts this year will be focused on “Securing the Person”, in other words they are talking about the human element of security. These things go beyond the everyday security practices of “Run a Firewall” but should be helpful for anyone who does any technology trouble shooting. I plan on highlighting some of each days topics that I think will be most helpful for readers adding comments and other thoughts along the way.

Today’s topic is “Securing the Physical Family PC”. Anyone who has a computer at home should consider implementing at least some of these tips. They are designed for families but most can apply to anyone. I will talk more about general computer security such as software updates, network security, etc in my next post.

  • Backup your computer.
    • In my opinion this is the most overlooked area in home computing today. We live in a digital world today, with most people owning a digital camera, purchasing digital content (music, movies, software, games, etc) but they fail to prepare for problems. Computers have problems from time to time, hard drives and other hardware fail, computers become infected with viruses and malware, acts of God (Flood, Fire, Tornado), and theft all happen. What would you do if your house burned down? Would all of your digital photos, turbotax records, music from the past 5 years burn with it? The answer should be no. Backing up for protection from a hardware failure is easy with a local copy on another hard drive but it is not perfect because it does not protect against theft and acts of God, a more perfect solution involves an offsite backup. Many online cloud solutions are good for this, each service is a bit different and has pro’s and con’s. My favorite of the moment is Backblaze but other good options are Mozy and Carbonite. Take a look at them and consider implementing something on your computer today. All of these services offer encryption and trial periods. With any cloud based backup solution the initial backup may take days but in the end it is worth it. On my list of To Blog about topics includes a couple of backup articles. More will follow.
  • Use an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) for PCs, laptops have their own built-in UPS – the battery.
    • Many people understand that a computer should be plugged into a surge protector, but a UPS is an even greater source of protection. UPS’s allow a PC to run on battery power should the power dip, or spike or go out and most initiate a safe shutdown procedure to protect your hardware from damage that would result. In the midwest they are very handy to help with extreme weather.
  • Document computer details in writing (serial number, software, receipts, BIOS password, etc.) and keep the documentation in a fireproof box or safe
    • This is very helpful information if you ever have computer problems or need to call your manufacture for support. It is also helpful for an insurance inventory. Consider storing a copy online in the cloud as well. Dropbox, Lastpass, and a Google Document (for non sensitive information) are both good ways to do this. Also keep the information up to date
  • Keep all of the hardware and software manuals, plus any software CDs/DVDs in one place that is easy to find
    • Common sens here, it makes it easy to find when you need it in a panic situation.
  • Use a cable lock to keep intruders from stealing the computer should there be a break-in
    • No device makes it impossible for a thief to steal if they really want it. A cable lock does slow someone down. This may seem overkill but works especially well in some environments (Think college dorms).
  • Throw a towel over the web cam (better: unplug the web cam)
    • The recent news story of school district that was found to be spying on students while at home by accident with the school issued laptops, integrated web cams (News stories here: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3) have brought this to the attention of the public. It is possible for a virus of malware program to do the same thing. As a result the easy solution is just to cover it up. On laptops with integrated web cams a piece of blue painters tape or sticky note works well too. Most people don’t use their web cams all the time so this is an easy way to improve general security.
  • Unless it needs to always be on, consider turning it off when not in use
    • Computers use a lot of energy and create a lot of heat. Consider shutting it off or enabling sleep or suspend mode on your operating system to control this.
  • Keep plenty of room around the PC so that air can flow through to cool it
    • Computers are hot and need lots of air moving through them for cooling. Under the desk in the corner on the dirty floor is not the best place for a PC. Out of sight, out of mind is not a good policy to follow here. At least once a year (preferably once a quarter) unplug the computer, take it outside, open up the side of the computer case, and then blow the dust out with a can of compressed air. This is easy to do and will keep the computer running much cooler. A cool computer is less likely to have stability problems and hardware failure.
  • Keep all computers in full view (no hidden machines, no illusion of privacy)
    • This one is really designed for families with children. A PC in the living room that the kids use really do allow for parents to keep an eye on what the kids are doing online. Also for younger kids who are using the computer for homework it can help to keep down the many distractions they face (IM’s Facebook, etc)

Here is a link to the original SANS article https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=9649

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HijinksInc – Secunia PSI The security tool every Windows user should be running.

Originially published at Hijinks Inc on September 1, 2010
____________________________________________________________
Lets be honest, Windows security is not the easiest thing to manage. On top of the Microsoft products, there exist the 3rd party programs that tend to be forgotten about. Microsoft has made great progress with the security of Windows in its most recent releases of Windows 7 and Office 2010, but that’s only part of the solution. The Microsoft update website and built in Microsoft update utility in Windows Vista and Windows 7 have helped a great deal with keeping Microsoft products up to date, but these are far from all of the programs that most people run. Persons crafting malicious code such as viruses, malware, etc know this and are targeting other programs too. These 3rd party programs do not have a common updater and each must be updated on its own, for example, programs like Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Acrobat, Java, and Firefox, just to name a few. It is a lot for the average user to do, especially considering there is no general update policy (IE, Patch Tuesday) with most vendors, and announcements about updates are quiet.

Enter Secunia PSI. This is a free (for personal use) program put out by the Secunia company. They specialize in finding exploits and providing monitoring software. PSI (Personal Security Inspector) is a tool that scans the programs on your hard drive and then does version checks against its vast list of known exploits. It then notifies you of older versions and tells you where you need to go to fix them. The program is great for finding those programs you rarely use and forget about when updating.

The program is smart. For Microsoft websites it knows to open them in Internet Explorer so the download tools will work. It also allows you to rescan specific programs after you update them instead of spending time to rescan your entire drive. It also offers the ability to ignore a specific program if for instance you need the older version for a custom tool to work. It will run in the background and notify you when new updates are available or new known exploits exist. It also offers an advanced mode which offers more features and details. In advanced mode PSI will tell you about products you have installed that are no longer supported by their vendors and any known exploits that exist in them.

Secunia also offers a product called OSI (Online Security Inspector) which is a great tool as well. It is similar to PSI but does not require you to install anything. However, it does require Java to run in the browser. While not as thorough as PSI, it’s similar in operation and usage.

In conclusion, this is a great tool that is very thorough and easy enough to use that every user should have this in their tool box and run it as part of a biweekly security audit. It really helps to inform users of out of date software that could leave their computer vulnerable. While PSI is targeted for personal use, they offer a corporate version that is a paid version. Its functionality is similar but it also offers many more features.

____________________________________________

Update #1

Since this article was originally posted Secunia has come out with a new version of its PSI security tool that is currently in beta. It is called Secunia PSI 2.0. You can grab a copy for free here. The big feature that this adds is the ability to install updates silently and automatically if you choose. I think this could be a great feature especially for people who don’t want to deal with always having to update their computers.

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Hijinksinc – Nothing to See Here: Starcraft 2 is NOT killing graphics cards

I recently started to blog for Hijinks Inc a local technology & gadget blog. I am excited to start doing this and have several ideas of stuff to write on focusing on photograph & computer security. I hope this gives me a good reason to produce new content as well. I will be reposting articles with the permission of Hijinks Inc. Be sure to follow them on Twitter at @HijinksInc

Originially published on August 4, 2010 at Hijinks Inc

With the launch of Starcraft 2 on July 27th, 2010 people were excited to get their hands on this long awaited game. Development of the game started in 2003 and had been delayed or postponed several times due to other games Blizzard was producing at the time.
Since the launch minor issues have been growing, and today Blizzard Confirms an overheating issue. However, this story has been spun by the technology community even to the point where Slashdot picked up on it. It has been given menacing sounding titles such as “Is Starcraft II bad for your graphics card?” by ZDnet and “Is Starcraft II Killing Graphics Cards” by Slashdot. A much more appropriate title to the actual problem is one given by OverClockersClub “Starcraft 2 causing some GPU’s to Overheat”

The problem is that during some of the in-between mission screens, cut screens and menu screens are not frame capped like the actual game play is. This causes the GPU to render these screens as fast as possible. Since these screens are simple and, for the most part, static, the computer has an easy time and is able to render these very quickly causing the GPU to heat up. This increased heat and power consumption exposes flaws in Starcraft II players’ computers, causing crashes, reboots, and even some claimed GPU failures.

Now, is this Blizzard’s fault? No, it’s really not. Gamers should expect games to tax their computers; this means heat. Blizzard and other game/program publishers should expect their customers’ computers are free of dust and have adequate cooling. This supposed bug in Starcraft II only exposes existing issues with the hardware of gamers computers. The same overheating issues would be exposed with any other game or program that stresses the system, and especially the GPU. A GPU with proper cooling should be able to handle 100% load for extended periods of time with no problems. Blizzard’s fix (below) is a setting users add to a configuration file to limit the frame rate in the areas of the game where there currently isn’t one. Since Starcraft II development period was so long and the public beta was so large, I would have expected this issue to have been found and fixed in the beta. This setting should have been enabled as a global setting in the game by default. For this I hold Blizzard accountable. There is no good reason that a gamer would disable vsync unless they are running benchmarks.

Blizzard support team has issued instructions for a temporary fix and says a more permanent fix is in the works.

A temporary workaround is to go to your Documents\StarCraft II Beta\variables.txt file and add these lines:
frameratecapglue=30
frameratecap=60
You may replace these numbers if you want to.

Other good practices to fix this problem and to avoid this issue in the future are the following:

Update your graphics drivers. Graphics manufactures are constantly improving their drivers, fixing issues with new games and improving performance. ATI for example has issued a beta version of drivers 10.7 that fixes a few specific issues with StarCraft II.
Make sure your computer’s insides are clean and have adequate airflow. For a desktop PC I recommend opening up the side of the case and using compressed air to blow out all the dust. Do this at least twice a year, if not more often. Take the computer outside to do this because it creates a mess and it gets rid of the dust so the computer does not suck it up again. Doing this can easily make your computer run several degrees cooler.
If you are overclocking or are running a very high end graphics card make sure you have more than adequate cooling. During these hot summer months the ambient temperature of many homes is at its highest, causing more stress to be placed on your computer hardware. Run temperature monitoring software if you continue to have problems or want to monitor your hardware before damage occurs.
I have seen no mention of a fix on the mac platform so right now we can assume this is a PC related problem.

SC2

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Todays Dilbert Cartoon

I am not a frequent reader of Dilbert but for some reason I read todays. One I thought it was funny, 2 it has felt like I have been in this situation before. I like helping people fix there tech stuff that is broken or not working right. Don’t get me wrong I like helping people it just feels like sometimes your being used to fix their stuff and once it works you never or rarely hear from them again. Oh well. See the comic strip below.

Click on the comic to make it larger



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Newegg Customer Service Experience

Thursday night I got an
email from Newegg
advertising an upcoming
promotion. I looked
through it and found
that they were advertising a portable hard drive for $23.99. As I looked further it
appeared it was a
price error so I got onto their live customer service chat and the
following
occurred. All names have been changed to protect identieis.
 

 

The Problem

Chat Information 
Please wait while we connect you to a Newegg
representative. You are number 24 in the queue.

Chat Information 
Thank you for contacting Newegg. My name is —–. How
may
I assist you today?

LiquidRetro: Hi, I noticed
in the email promotion you just sent out that you have a product that
is miss
linked.  I
would
like the typed product
for the advertised price on this website
http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/promo013007in/Networking/index.html?CMP=EMC-PR-MKT-I-013007&ATT=Networking.

NeweggCSRep: Well can I
have the item number of the one you desire?

LiquidRetro: the item
number is on that promotions page it is WDXMS1600TN

NeweggCSRep: Let me
check into the promo code you provided. One moment please…

LiquidRetro: ok

NeweggCSRep: Yes the
item is indeed $23.99. But the advertised one is for item #
N82E16833130111.
Please add this item to cart and you will see the price of $23.99.

LiquidRetro:No you
misunderstood me.  I
want the item that
is described the Western Digital Hard drive for 23.99

NeweggCSRep: I see. But
the hard drive you mentioned is currently sold as $140.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136060

LiquidRetro: The email I
just received states that item Western Digital Passport 2.5″ External
Hard
Drive Model #: WDXMS1600TN · 160GB, 5400 RPM ·
USB 2.0 Price: $23.99. I would
like this advertisement honored.

NeweggCSRep: There might
be a description error on the webpage you provided. I have already
forwarded
your email to our Product Support department for review. Once we
investigate
this issue we will make any changes necessary to the item description
and/or
photos in order to rectify this situation. Sorry for the inconvenience.

LiquidRetro: You are not
understanding me. I WANT THE HARD DRIVE AS ADVERTISED FOR $23.99

NeweggCSRep: I do
understand you. The advertised item is for item # N82E16833130111.
Please click
http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/promo013007in/Networking/index.html?CMP=EMC-PR-MKT-I-013007&ATT=Networking
and add it to cart, the item will then shows item # N82E16833130111.

 

Well, at this point I decided that since I am not
getting the hard drive
for 23.99. 

I
decided to be cocky and see
how far I could go before I got kicked off the chat helpline. 
During this part I was
talking with a friend
and we both came up with what I said

 

The Hit

LiquidRetro: Hey your name
is cute? Are you from Paris?

NeweggCSRep: I am so
sorry \LiquidRetro. I will contact our related dept to correct the
error. Please
always
refers to the price on the item description webpage.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136060

NeweggCSRep: By the way
I am not from Paris.
🙂

LiquidRetro: Oh too bad its
a great city.  The
women their are so Hot.  Especially
the butt.

NeweggCSRep: Haha…

 

The
Score

NeweggCSRep: Well in
this case I would like to offer you $15.00 credit upon your next order
on item
# N82E16822136060 as an exception for this inconvenience.

NeweggCSRep: Thanks for
your kind reminding.

LiquidRetro: Ok. That will
be sufficient.  Will
the credit only


be
on the hard drive or can i use it on other newegg purchases?

NeweggCSRep: The credit
will be offer upon your next order on the mentioned hard drive.

NeweggCSRep: You may
simply contact us back with the new order number and I will then remove
$15.00
from your new order.

LiquidRetro: Oh I am not
really interested in purchasing that hard drive at that price.  Could it possibly
become a general credit?

NeweggCSRep: Ok. Since
you are really a kind guy I would like to offer you $15.00 upon your
next order
on either of the item you desire.

NeweggCSRep: Can I have
your login email address?

LiquidRetro: Myemail@email.Com  Thanks

LiquidRetro: Could you just
credit this product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820134215&CMP=EMC-PR-MKT-I-013007&ATT=N82E16820134215

LiquidRetro: I am looking
at purchasing it

NeweggCSRep: Well this
item is $13.99 and is offered free 3Day shipping. If you order right
now I can
remove the item price for you directly from your new order.

LiquidRetro: So it would
them cost me nothing correct?

NeweggCSRep: Yes. I can
wait here for your order number if you do it right now…

LiquidRetro: Your order#
is: xxxxxxxx

NeweggCSRep: Let me take
a look into that. One moment please…

LiquidRetro: no problem
take your time

NeweggCSRep: I have
already removed the item price from this order. It is a free order at
the
moment. You may verify this information online.

LiquidRetro: Ok 
It looks like it is $0.00 Thanks very much

 

Now I decide to be even more cocky because I
already got a free microSD
card out of it.  I
reverted back to the
discussion on the French

LiquidRetro: I appreciate
it very much. I told you The French were good looking. Here is a french
news anchor
that is so HOT! http://www.fresh99.com/news-anchor-melissa-theuriau.htm

NeweggCSRep: You are so
welcome LiquidRetro. 🙂 It is really interesting talking with you.  I agree with you. The
French is good looking.

LiquidRetro: Thanks you
have been an excellent CS rep. How do you compare to her?

NeweggCSRep: Of course
she is prettier than me…

LiquidRetro: How would I
know. You sound very nice and your very helpful and accommodating

NeweggCSRep: :-))))))))
You know, I am not a confident girl. Anyway thanks for your kind words.

LiquidRetro: Well again
Thanks and you have my email if you ever want to chat 
😉

NeweggCSRep: Sure. Is
the email your MSN account?

LiquidRetro: no My MSN is MyMSNAccount@Hotmail.Com

NeweggCSRep: :-D. I see.
Will chat with you after work if I have time.

NeweggCSRep: HerMSNAddress@MSN.Com

NeweggCSRep: Yeah..
There are still 16 customers waiting to be served. Have a good night.

LiquidRetro: You too 🙂

NeweggCSRep: Bye LiquidRetro.

 

It all ends well, I get a free 1gb micrSD card, and
she wants to talk
to me afterwork… very strange.  This
goes to show you that being cocky can get you free stuff,  sometimes. 
My advice to anyone who is going to deal with a CS rep is
to act cocky
and if your lucky, and get a chick you might score free stuff!

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Note: For those having a Super Bowl Party no T.V. over 55” Allowed

Just a quick word of caution for people planning to have a Super Bowl party Sunday. The way the current United States copywrite laws are written it is illegal to have a TV over 55 inches and show the game.
According to Title 17 Chapter 1 § 110 Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays

(II) if the performance or display is by audiovisual means, any visual portion of the performance or display is communicated by means of a total of not more than 4 audiovisual devices, of which not more than one audiovisual device is located in any 1 room, and no such audiovisual device has a diagonal screen size greater than 55 inches, and any audio portion of the performance or display is communicated by means of a total of not more than 6 loudspeakers, of which not more than 4 loudspeakers are located in any 1 room or adjoining outdoor space;

This law is such a joke especially today with people having new giant TV’s I guess the friend who I helped install a new 71″ Samsung DLP tv is probably going to be breaking this joke of a law.
71

Sources
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sec_17_00000110—-000-.html
http://techdirt.com/articles/20070201/140812.shtml

On a side note the blog has been updated to WordPress 2.1

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Lexus LS 460/460L Local Launch Party

Tonight I went to the Lexus Event for the Launch of the Lexus LS 460 and LS 460L. They had valet parking and they were a bit surprised when a friend and I pulled up in a first generation Mazda RX-7. I was also one of they youngest at the event by at least 15 years. They had lots of food like shrimp, crackers, cheese, a chocolate fountain and an open bar. They had an LS 460L in Obsidian and Alabaster Leather with Medium Brown Trim. The picture of the car below is of the 460L. Outside they had a Smokey Granite Mica with Black Leather and Medium Brown Walnut. It as demonstrating the new amazing self parking feature. It was truly amazing. The salesman pulled up parallel to the front vehicle put the LS in reverse clicked a button on the screen. Approved of where the car will place its self and hit ok. The car then turned the wheel and backed into position. The salesman then put it in drive and pulled up a little and that was it. Amazing.Here is a video from youtube that is demonstrating the parking of the car. (I did not take the video)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lc6U7JTkMXw

The pictures below are not great because there were lots of people around. The LS 460L was stickered at around $79,850.

LS460L
LS460L
I also got a goodie bag that had a Swiss chocolate, a Lexus pad of paper and calculator, Lexus Pen, and a very nice brochure with some very nice shots of the car.
Goodie Bag
Goodie Bag
The car was very nice. On the short drive around the parking lot it was extremely smooth and quite. I think the head room in the back seat has been reduced. The 19 speaker stereo system was crazy. There were at a minimum 3 speakers on each door. I did not like how the engine bay was covered up completely in plastic. I think the rear of the car looks a lot like a BMW 7 series that has been toned down a lot. I was amazed how small the windows seemed and how tall the body under the windows was. I also thought that the B pillar needed to be chromed and a set of 19’s would look a little better. Over all it’s a good looking car but not incredibly unique.