A continuation of Woody's 'Nuff Said column from the CBGAZETTE website, covering CB past and present along with Amateur (ham) radio interests.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Ham Nation is an exciting podcast/broadcast about anything-to-do-with-Amateur-Radio, and, for those of you who used to enjoy ZDTV, and Leo Laporte, you'll be happy to find out that Leo is now one of the Ham radio ranks, as well as a part of "Ham Nation"
Monday, October 24, 2011
HARD DRIVES, ADOBE, SUNSPOTS
If you've been thinking about buying a new hard drive you'd better act fast. Due to flooding in Thailand (which accounts for 70% of the internal motors in all hard disks sold) several drive manufacturers have been closed and prices from distributors have already jumped about 30% (wholesale). This shortage is expected to continue through the first quarter of 2012.
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I read several articles about a gigantic hole in Adobe Flash software which (to my knowledge) has not been patched, where malware on a website could activate the webcam on your PC/Laptop and monitor you without your knowledge. Because there are several fake update pop-ups out in the world, I would suggest going to the Adobe website and downloading the latest Adobe Reader and Flash updates directly, vs. clicking on an annoying update pop-up which may or may not be genuine.
-Sunspots are all over the place with healthy numbers near, and occasionally above the 200 mark. I listen to it almost every day and find Texas in the middle of it all. I can hear the West coast and East coast very well, but not the stations across the ocean they are talking to (disappointing). Nonetheless, it beats no traffic at all and it's great to hear the East coast reaching into Europe and the Middle East.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
New virus out there (ZeroAccess). Usually if you see 31840211:354334.exe you've got it. Another tell-tale symptom: if your task bar turns white/gray, you've probably got it. Hard to remove. Combo-Fix, run 3-4 times in safe mode will usually do it, but because it infects/corrupts the TCP/IP stack, it may require a clean install of the OS.
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Another new one I've seen is the "Open Cloud Anti-virus". Puts a nice fluffy blue cloud-looking icon on your desktop, but it's bad news.
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DX really picking up. While listening (in-between calls) on 11m, I hear New England yakking with Africa, Germany, etc. I could barely hear the guy in Germany.
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Keep yer Flash updates up to par, as well as your anti-virus software, and run Malwarebytes if the hairs on the back of yer neck stand up...
Saturday, August 27, 2011
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Where do you go to get your daily news, updates, etc.? TV? Radio? Well for as long as I can remember, I rely on YAHOO. My homepage is YAHOO, I've customized it so when I get up in the morning I can open my browser and see: My Inbox, Travel Photography Pool, ARRL Web, MONSTER JOBS Recent Results, Various Yahoo Radio related Groups, U.S. News, World News, Boing-Boing, Techdirt, NPR, Red Sox News, Cnet, Local News and Weather, etc.
But for several months now when I bring up my Yahoo! page, at the very bottom lies a sinister yellow bar blathering something about Facebook. Until I click the X I can't scroll through my page and read my news, and this is occurring with more frequency on other sites too. So...
Dear FACEBOOK, keep yourself to your own stinking page and let me enjoy websites the way I used to, if I want to use facebook, I will - 'NUFF SAID.
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P.S. - Facebook's Timeline Will Help Hackers
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ON TO OTHER THINGS
- [COOL PICTURE]
Hulking computing engines of Toronto’s yesteryear
[DEFINITELY HIGH QUALITY METH LAB PHOTOS OR - MOVIE STILLS]
Inside a clandestine Mexican meth lab
FROM TEAM COCO
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-Not too long ago I went to the 50th birthday party of my former co-worker, CB/HAM buddy, Doug (for those with long memories, or early issues of the CB Gazette, he wrote a couple articles and is often referred as "101"). His wife Kelli did a great job of setting things up and the theme "World of Beers" was a great choice too. It wasn't until the following day that I started counting (on my toes, fingers, etc.) and realized that out of his 50 years, I'd known him for at least 26 of them. There aren't many people that I've known for much longer (not counting family), except CW-Dave that I've managed to keep in touch with - while some people in small towns have known just about everyone since the birth of dirt.
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CW-Dave, Doug, and I have a unique connection as well. Not only were we all working for the same company in the mid-80's, but Dave was our "Elmer" (or as new age protocol dictates: "Mentor"). He spent a lot of his time teaching us of the Jedi ways of Morse-code, and thanks to him, we both became HAMs during the same test session (CEJ and CEM). Times were different back then, all under 30, with Doug being the "baby" of the under 30 age-group.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
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Sunday, August 14, 2011
I'M CONFUSED....
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And perhaps you are too?
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"WITH THE TOUGH TIMES WE FACE; RIOTS, UNEMPLOYMENT, CUTS IN BENEFITS, ETC. WHY IS EVERYONE LAUGHING So MUCH?"
Well, that how is it seems to me. I read the very grim headlines, many new, that seem to engulf the news each day, then look on various blogs and social networking sites to find everyone LOLing (LOL= Laughing Out Loud), and LMAOing (LMAO= Laughing My Ass Off = Laughing Their Ass Off??). Many conversations appear to end with either (or worse) both. Typical conversations seem to go like this:
X - Say "Y", how is work going today LOL?
Y - It's the usual grind LOL, but ya got to make some money, ya know? LMAO
X- LMAO, yeah, lol, I hear ya bro lol.
Z- LOL, you two have me LMAO!!!!
X- Ha-Ha, LOL
Y- He-He LOL
Z-LOL, I can't hardly breath, I'm LMAO, LOL.
Granted, these conversations could just be from young children, senile adults, or people with limited working keys on their keyboard (answer: not likely), but I've noticed this trend growing year after year and wonder: "Is this the beginning of the Zombie Apocalypse?"
Naturally, I'd like to hedge my bets and not upset any potential Zombies out in the cyberworld, but to borrow some of their lingo, a casual observer would have to say these people have LONH (Lights On, Nobody Home) syndrome (a possible first step to becoming a Zombie).
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"LMAO",
Woody
[Brian Woodbury is former editor/publisher of "WoodyWorlds CB Gazette" and "The CB Gazette", guest commentator/writer for several publications, sole writer for the CBDAZE Blog and the CBGAZETTE.COM website, author of "The History of CB Radio", Computer Virus Ninja, Cat Sitter, and now...a bit confused]