21 Nov 2011 - DarryD.com

21 November 2011 (Monday)
VIEW FROM TAMPA BAY
© Darry D Eggleston, Ph.D., SBFU1
Names inside single quotes (‘ ’) are aliases.
Today, I Learned From:
( Android Phones Targeted
( Back in the Saddle
( Beneath Still Waters
( “Cotton Candy” Android
( Eagle-eyed Owl
( Fire Ants’ Unsinkable Raft
( ‘Harley Day’
( Impossible Dreams
( Innovative Inventions!
( Leadership Analogy
( ‘Lima Golf’
( ‘Linda Sunshine’
( Malware Targets Android
( Man of La Mancha
( MP3 Gain: Level MP3
( Name Tags & Fat
( ‘Polish Pie Lady’
( Pollination Beauty
( Ranger Joel
( ‘Sue Greensleeves’
( The KHORT
( Tweet of the Day
02:40 — BENEATH STILL WATERS
“Beneath Still Waters” sung by
Emmylou Harris hums in my head as I
get an early beginning to what will, not
doubt be, a very long day.
Some of the PowerPoint slideshows on my Photos website have —
without explanation or notice — lost
their music. For one who strives for
excellence, that is unacceptable. So I’ll
work until my eyes tell me I’m tired and
go to bed, awaking as soon as possible
after that to continue until all the files have been fixed.
1
These are reflections designed to be re-read when I am too old to journey from the comfort of my stead and,
so that in my bed, I can relive the days gone by. Permission for reproduction in whole or in part is granted to groups
and organizations for internal, non-profit use provided credit is given to the author along with the copyright notice:
Article reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2011 Darry D Eggleston, http://DarryD.com. This Journal can be
read online at http://DarryD.com/CCA. Graphic art used in these Journals is available at no cost. Ask & it is yours.
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DARRY D’S JOURNAL
21 NOVEMBER 2011 (MONDAY)
The lyrics are simple, the message is profound:
“Beneath still waters
There's a strong undertow
The surface won't tell you
What the deep water knows....”
It looks like I could re-learn the lessons from my Butterflies slideshow
and relax. Nothing is ever changes for the better when one rushes headlong
into it.
07:50 — BACK IN THE SADDLE
“Back in the Saddle” by Gene
Autry plays as if by fate as I begin the
second part of today.
I worked until 06:30, and took a
nap so I could continue refreshed and
re-focused.
When I’m tired, I don’t do my
best. And I must do my best to be satisfied with the journey down life’s river.
08:54 — NAME TAGS & FAT
‘Sue Greensleeves’: I have to agree with Toe Tapper — not everyone comes up to me but I see a lot of people looking! I have to
admit that I do get some ridicule from people who know me well
& wonder what the name tag thing is all about. My co-worker at
the golf course yesterday said, “I thought you were just experimenting for a
week?” I replied, “Yes, & I had such nice encounters during that week that I
decided to extend the time period”.
As for dieting, I always remind myself that God keeps me fat so that the
clothes I see in the stores don’t look good on me. If they did, I would buy them
all, thus risking divorce from my husband, whom I adore & could never find a
better one! The only thing that takes away my appetite is EXTREME depression, so all this is fat is happy fat!!!
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DARRY D’S JOURNAL
21 NOVEMBER 2011 (MONDAY)
09:06 — MALWARE
TARGETS ANDROID PHONES
‘Lima Golf ’
TechCrunch says: “Intel-owned McAfee has released its 3rd quarter security report showing malware targeted towards phones
running on the Android operating system continues to be on the
rise. Nearly all new mobile malware in Q3 was targeted at Android.
At the end of 2010, McAfee predicted that malware would reach the
75 million unique malware samples by year’s end, which is the busiest in
malware history.”
Even if I wanted an Android phone, I would more than likely skip the
apps until they are proven to be safe.
That is a huge plus that Apple has going for it. All those apps are vetted
completely before going into the App Store.
10:58 — INNOVATIVE INVENTIONS!
‘Harley Day’ :
o The KHORT. Ever struggled to open those tough
little foil enclosed condiment packages in restaurants?
Well, no longer, thanks to KHORT, the packet opener. Oops!
Only available in Brazil. Watch the video demo.
o “COTTON CANDY” — Android to PC & TV
At just 3.12" x 0.98", this amazing little
Google Android 2.3 OS device may
revolutionize the path to HD video &
Internet content from your existing PCs
& HD TVs. It’s a screen-less computer
with 1.2 GHz CPU (central processing
Actual Size
unit) clock speed with a quad-core GPU
(graphics processing unit) that handles 1080p video.
Insert “Cotton Candy,” into your computer’s USB port & Android appears
in a virtualized window. The device also comes with an HDMI connector which
you can use to connect to your HD TV.
But Android’s Market is not available to this device. However, sufficient
side loading is available for an available supply of apps.
Speculation on price is under $200 for availability Q3 or 4 in 2012.
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DARRY D’S JOURNAL
21 NOVEMBER 2011 (MONDAY)
11:38 — FIRE ANTS’ UNSINKABLE RAFT
Imported Fire Ants form an unsinkable raft to
escape floods!
“This species was accidentally brought over
from Brazil to the U.S. in the 1930s. They have
thrived because they have great survival skills &
are more aggressive than other ants. They are
more painful to humans & cause a lot of damage to
plants. For this reason they’re considered pests.
“However, one of their most impressive abilities shows when there is
an increase in water level. If this happens, the colony comes together in the
shape of a raft or ball that is able to float. The workers stay on the outside
& the queen stays safe inside.
“Once they come to a stationary object, they swarm it & wait for water
levels to go down.”
Check out this video to see this impressive behavior.
12:03 — EAGLE-EYED OWL
‘Linda Sunshine’: Amazing video of an “Eagle-eyed owl” flying right toward the lens of a camera. This entire flight at normal speeds would
have taken 2 seconds. You hear exactly what its prey would hear!
It’s truly worth watching to see the movement of the feathers as the owl prepares to grab the bait.
12:55 — WATER
PUMP HACKED?
‘Lima Golf ’
“The FBI & Department of
Homeland Security are investigating damage to a
public water system in Springfield,
Illinois, which may have been the target of a foreign cyber attack. There’s
no threat to public safety & criminal
interference has not been officially
confirmed, but a security researcher
reported evidence that hackers based
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DARRY D’S JOURNAL
21 NOVEMBER 2011 (MONDAY)
in Russia are to blame. He claims they
accessed the water plant’s SCADA
online control system & used it to repeatedly switch a pump on & off, eventually causing it to burn out. Coincidentally, a water treatment facility was
publicly hacked at the Black Hat conference back in August, precisely to
highlight this type of vulnerability. If
there are any SCADA administrators
out there who haven’t already replaced
their ‘1234' & ‘admin’ passwords, then
they might consider this a reminder.”
I think there is no way to protect ourselves from any kind of attack by a
determined terrorist. But, we must not just focus on preventing an attack in
one area while ignoring others that may allow an even greater access & threat
to our security.
Another part of the problem is that in seeking to prevent attacks in other
areas, we lose more autonomy & freedom.
13:40 — Tweet of the Day
19:20 — MP3 GAIN
http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/
“Tired of reaching for your volume knob every time your mp3 player
changes to a new song? MP3Gain analyzes & adjusts mp3 files so that they
have the same volume.
“MP3Gain does not just do peak normalization, as many normalizers
do. Instead, it does some statistical analysis to determine how loud the file
actually sounds to the human ear.
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DARRY D’S JOURNAL
21 NOVEMBER 2011 (MONDAY)
“Also, the changes MP3Gain makes are completely lossless. There is no
quality lost in the change because the program adjusts the mp3 file directly,
without decoding & re-encoding.”
Recommended by Kim Komando. I’ll be testing this & I’ll keep you informed. If you want to test it, download it at MP3 Gain.
19:56 — LEADERSHIP ANALOGY
Back when I wore a younger man’s clothes, I was
blessed by being selected
to head the Enhanced ARTBASS (Army
Training Battle Simulation System) at
the Fort Dix, New Jersey, High Technology Training Center (HTTC).
The Enhanced ARTBASS was a
computer-assisted, battle simulator with
the ability to train battle staffs up to and
including division level. It allowed freefire battles pitting humans as both Allies & Opposing Force with modern aircraft, vehicles, weapons, & technology where decisions were made by humans and the computer simply responded based upon the decisions of the
humans & their use of the technology involved in the battle. And, by the by,
the battles were fought on real terrain from Europe, the Middle East, & Northern Asia.
53 men & women, divided into 3
teams, ran the operation while I walked
around trying to act like I had a clue
what they were doing. One of those
men was the one I called “Ranger Joel”.
Full of energy, with a we-can-do-anything attitude, he was the go-to guy for
unleashing the unexpected upon any
opposing force.
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DARRY D’S JOURNAL
21 NOVEMBER 2011 (MONDAY)
Today, he shared this in an email
to me. (The 4 men listed were some of
the innovators behind what the system
did — most of which the Army & the
system’s creators had no clue it would
do.)
“I don’t know if you knew the
analogy we used to describe following
you, but here it is: Darry D is barreling
down the highway — I-295 South —
going 80 miles an hour. We (Tony, Bill,
Chris, & me) are following as fast as we
can (everyone in a different car). But when our cars get up over 70 mph, the
steering wheel disconnects, wheels start swerving left & right, parts start falling off the car, but we are hanging in there as best we can. We might not get
there at the same time as you, but we will get there — out of breath & scared
crazy. But we are still heading in the right direction & following our leader.”
The secret to leadership is staying in front of the parade.
As you might expect, I am humbled by his praise.
I suspect you’ll be hearing more from Ranger Joel.
21:33 — POLLINATION
BEAUTY
Polish Pie Lady
“The Beauty of Pollination” is a slow motion look at how that act of
nature takes place and is given aid by varied animals — large &
small. It proves “we are all dependent upon each other.”
23:42 — IMPOSSIBLE DREAMS
“The Impossible Dream” [From “Man of La Mancha”] by Jim Nabors
(Gomer Pyle) is 4.5 minutes of memories.
Sung by so many great singers, this song had particular appeal because
PFC Gomer Pyle was a ne’re-do-well who had a heart of gold, and tried so
very hard to help others — even the sergeant who was “on his case” most of
the time.
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DARRY D’S JOURNAL
21 NOVEMBER 2011 (MONDAY)
Maybe one of the problems with the American Dream is that it’s too
short sighted.
Too many of my friends are so
caught up in surviving — paying bills
with too little money, living in houses
worth less than they owe, and carrying
for kids who can’t make it on their own
— that they spend all their time on the
highway of life looking at the here-andthen instead of the horizons ahead.
Whereas, in American history,
parents were always caring for their
kids, now too many are carrying for
their kids.
They pay the kid’s way through college carrying additional debt at an
age where they, themselves, are limited in finances.
They pay for the kid’s car and the insurance carrying still more debt.
And — in way too many cases — carry the kids back home.
That wasn’t the American dream my Daddy introduced me to.
He left home to create a future during The Great Depression — and
made it. “Failure was not an option.”
He overcame the challenges life presented to him, kept his faith in God
Almighty, and worked with his hands & his head to keep moving toward a
future he could describe with tears and that faraway-beyond-here look in his
eyes.
It wasn’t mansions of marble and pockets lined with gold, it was earning
his own way, helping others along the way, and — someday — sitting in a soft
chair and revisiting — not reliving — it all with a smile.
As this year draws ever closer to its end, my friend, I’ve got a great year
planned for 2012. And wait until you hear about where we’re going in 2013.
So where are your dreams taking you and yours?
Where will you be in the years yet to be?
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