Happy FRACking New Year!

Campbell 3H

API #113-30190



Drill October 7, 2010 

FRAC January 15, 2011

3900 Robinson Road
Grand Prairie, TX 75052

See the news of the next known

POISONOUS, LIFE-THREATENING FRAC JOB 

in Grand Prairie, TX  

Click here

Page 2, Line 4 

Grand Prairie, TX Gas Drilling Spreadsheet

(Last Updated 12/15/2010)

my final rant of 2010

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20101222_All_city_cyclist_wants_for_Christmas__A_ticket.html

Both my son and I have had spectacular years in biking. Frey biked 10,600 miles and I biked 4500 miles. While Frey is 26 years old, I am 60 years old. Not bad biking for an old lady.

I was out today getting my last 40 miles in to hit the 4500 mark. Saw only one cyclist. Temperature was 40 degrees and the roads still had some water and ice from our snow storm last Sunday. I am sure you heard about the snowstorm in the Northeast especially if you were flying.

Sorry about that. Anyhoo, as I was biking along the roads, many of the shoulders were covered in snow and had a good melt going. I had to bike in the center of the road to avoid some hazards. And it got me thinking.

On December 22 the Philadelphia Inquirer had an opinion piece about policemen and why they don't tickets cyclists for traffic violations. Most readers all agreed. Yeah, give those bums tickets if they run a light or stop sign.

Well if you motorists want us cyclists to ride like cars, then by golly, that is what I am going to do. Today I got right in the middle of the lane when the shoulder hazards demanded it. I rode down the middle of the road where cars where parked on the right to avoid the "door opening hazard". On one road I had to climb a small hill and there was NO shoulder. I got right in the middle of road. Would you believe a car squeezed past me to rush to the red light only to have me pass him as I turned right at the light?

So for 2011, I will ride my bike like a car since this is what the motorists claim they want. I will take the whole lane when it is necessary and at stop lights and stop signs, I plan on sitting in the middle of the lane...just like a car!!!!

"Happy Holidays, Westchester!"

"Don't Drink and Drill During the Holidays.

Don't Drink and Drive. 

And Please Don't Let Me Drink 

Chesapeake's (FRAC) Water!"

Love,

Snoopy!

Administrative Assistant - White Plains NY

14 Year Old, Multi-office hedge fund seeks a temporary energetic Administrative Assistant for their Westchester Office.

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE DETAILS

AT&T Interactive seeking local sales people

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Turn Your Phone into a Tricorder

I admit I'm a trekkie at heart and I just had to share this very cool Android app with you, my co-workers. As of now it's only available on the Android platform but if you are a blackberry user keep the faith. Maybe one will be available soon for you as well.

FCC Adopts new Internet Rules

Divided FCC adopts rules to protect Web traffic - USATODAY.com

New Facebook Profiles Invite New Threat

Facebook is great fun, and can even be a great way to keep in touch with not only your friends and family but your work mates as well. Facebook because of its very nature needs to be used with caution and a good dose of common sense, as the following article clearly proves.

Security officials from Trend Micro caution that malware creators are taking misusing the buzz made by the latest Facebook profiles to push harmful program on to user's systems with the help of Facebook toolbar.

The toolbar is forged, but is well crafted. The mails appear to have come from Facebook and use the site's template also. The subject of the mail is "Hello dear friend!" and the message is signed by "The Facebook Team".

It reads: "Hi dear Friend. Now you can download the Facebook toolbar. Now it will be easier than ever to share and connect with your friends. Thanks". The message comes with a big green button which says "Download Here", which on clicking, takes to a site serving a file calledfb.exe for download.

As per Trend Micro, this file is actually a variant of the Zapchast IRC backdoor.

Security expert state that Backdoor.IRC.Zapchast installs IRC scripts and configuration files that enable the infected system to be used as a zombie. The infected machine connects to some IRC channels mentioned in the configuration files and is controlled by the hacker. Also, some Zapchast variants come infected a computer virus called Parite.B.

Cristina Buenviaje, Anti-Spam Research Engineer at Trend Micro said that, lately, Facebook brought in some changes to the profile pages of its users which make it easier for users to display their latest activities and to know about their friends. Also, it is not a matter of concurrence that soon after this change, they started getting fake mails from Facebook, as per the news by blog.trendmicro.com on December 9, 2010.

The security experts claim that it has become an expected pattern. Everytime Facebook initiates some changes; the attackers launch mail campaigns that misuse the change and lure users into installing malware.

Facebook has attempted in the past to increase the security level, but as per from BitDefender, an Internet Security Firm, is filled with Trojan horses, keyloggers and other kinds of malware. The viruses could be found in harmful links and other third-part applications.

You can read the full article here.

Tom's Top 5 Holiday Gifts

Now I was just talking about the best gadgets to pick up this holiday season and this morning I found Tom's Top Five on Revision3 listing his, which ironically are very simular to mine and finding the Roku Player on his list of tech goodies. If are you still searching for that special someone (me perhaps) you can find lots of tech goodness here. You will also notice that although Tom has the IPAD listed at #1 he does throw some love at my new Samsung Galaxy Tablet.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Roku Box - Cnet's Gadget for the Holidays

I was so happy to see CNET give the Roku box some love this holiday season. I have had one of these little amazing boxes for about 16 months and I truly love it. With this little box you can access not only your Netflix account, but Hulu Plus, amazon on demand, Sirius radio, Pandora Radio, Revision3 TV and much much more. Check out the quick review here and perhaps I will write up a full review after the holidays. At about 100 bucks just about anybody can afford one of these tech beauties.

Holiday Tech Scams to Avoid

The holidays can be a dangerous time out there on the internet. Protect yourself by educating yourself and beware of what seems to good to be true, because it probably is. Especially if you heard about it on the internet!

The holiday shopping season is a great time to get tech products at discounted prices, but it also creates a golden opportunity for the Web's scam artists. The FBI, McAfee, the Better Business Bureau and F-Secure are all warning about cybercriminals who will try to take you for a ride this holiday season. Here are their most pertinent warnings and tips for staying safe:

The Infamous Free iPad

Bogus free iPad offers started popping up immediately after Apple's tablet went on sale, and they've since been banned from Facebook. Still, you might see similar offers around the Web, McAfee says, prompting you to buy other products as a condition of getting the free iPad. By now, you should realize it's too good to be true.

Gift Card Scams

That free $1,000 gift card offer you saw on Facebook? Bogus, of course. McAfee says that cybercrooks lure people into giving away their personal information or taking quizzes in exchange for these cards, which never arrive. The information is then sold to marketers or used for identity theft.

The FBI also says to use caution when purchasing gift cards through auction sites or classified ads. These can be fraudulent, and you won't get your money back. Buy directly from retailers instead.

Bogus Auctions and Classifieds

Here's a particularly tricky scheme pointed out by the FBI: On auction and classified sites, fraudsters use their own order forms to get payment details from holiday gift buyers. Then, they charge the victim's credit card and use a stolen credit card to buy the actual item, which is sent directly to the victim. In other words, you'll still get the product, but you might be liable for receiving stolen goods. To avoid this scam, be sure to use legitimate payment services like Paypal instead of providing money directly to the seller.

The feds also warn of a related scam for free or reduced-price shipping offered on auction and classified sites. The fraudsters provide fake shipping labels to the victim, and the product ends up being intercepted in transit, never delivered to its destination.

Malicious websites

For cybercriminals, spamming Google with bogus holiday gift pages is a yearly tradition. These pages could be loaded with malware or payment forms intended to steal your identity. F-Secure has created a list of what it thinks will be the highly targeted search terms this year, including Kinect for Xbox, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Amazon Kindle and Apple iPad. Visit retailers' websites directly when possible, use Internet security software if you must and always check for "https" in the URL bar before ordering online to ensure that the page is secure.

Wi-Fi Hackers

Public Wi-Fi networks will get a workout this holiday season as people travel, McAfee notes. This is especially true with Google offering free Wi-Fi on domestic flights from three major airlines. Check out our security tips from Google's free Wi-Fi offer at airports last year, most of which are still relevant in the skies. Number one tip: Avoid shopping and paying bills over a public network.

The read the full article from PC World click here.

Fake DHL / FedEx Delivery Email Messages

The fictitious DLH and FedEx delivery email messages continue to plague computer inboxes everywhere. Although our filtering system (Postini) does a good job blocking most of these messages a few do make it to inboxes here and there. Below is some information you should be aware of regarding these messages.

Recently, security researchers at AppRiver (security firm) have warned of a fake malware infected DHL delivery status e-mails that are targeting innocent internet users.

The "From" column of the e-mails is spoofed as if it had come from "DHL Services" and the complete content of the message is written in Spanish. These emails are quite different from all other DHL spoofs as they exploit a real DHL email template, which comprise the company's logo, color schemes, images, and contact information.

These fake e-mails states that a package could not be delivered on time due to unclear or badly written shipping address. The e-mail further informs recipients that the parcel can be collected from the local post office. To collect the parcel, the e-mail asks the users to carry along a print of the shipping label enclosed in the attachment.

The shipping label attachment is named Etiqueta_ID#####.zip (# being a random digit) and encloses a folder with a malicious .exe file. The file contains a fake Excel document icon, which installs an Oficla variant. The Oficla family of malware is called droppers. As the name suggests, their main aim is to penetrate into systems and drop malware that can further damage the system.

Commenting on the issue, Fred Touchette, Security Researcher at AppRiver stated on his blog post that, he was not sure that who would like to get into all of these troubles by clicking on several links and attachments, but one thing he was sure of is that, this trick works. He further said that, he could only presume that those files were foldered and zipped to avoid detection by anti-virus software, which doesn't check that thoroughly, as reported by AppRiver on October 25, 2010.

Finally, users can apply their common sense approach and keep in mind the following suggestions to avoid falling prey to such malware attacks. First and foremost, if the user doesn't speak Spanish, he should immediately delete from their inbox. In case, if the user speaks the language, but not expecting some DHL shipment, then also he should immediately delete the e-mail.

But in case, if the user is expecting a shipment from DHL and speaks Spanish, then he should think for a while regarding the poorly written message and understand that a reputable company would not sent such a badly written thing or file attachment like this (via e-mail).

You can read the original article here.

It's a Hard Habit to Break

Grand Prairie, TX City Council Agenda

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

City Hall Plaza, 317 College Street

Grand Prairie, TX

6:30 PM

Presentation of Prairie Lights Sponsor Check

from  

Chesapeake Energy

Email Message Hoaxes - Don't Be Afraid

Many of you, my co-workers have forwarded me email message “alerts” these past few weeks which always refer to a reliable person “in the know” who has information about a major virus on the horizon. These messages can almost always be ignored. The email message you received from the “reliable source” asking you to forward it on is the “virus” itself. We will talk about these messages in more detail during next week’s IT classes.
Here is some more detail about the history of these types of email “hoaxes”.
Email hoaxes are nothing new, dating back at least as far as 1994 with what is widely believed to have been the first email hoax—referred to as the "Goodtimes virus" or the "Goodtimes virus hoax" after the subject of the email. The message in the early version was short and to the point, advising recipients not to open email messages with the subject "Good Times" because doing so would ruin their files. This, of course, was not true, but in cases where the recipient complied with the warning, it obviously had the effect of ruining their chances of actually reading any legitimate email messages with that very subject.
Before email, normal postal mail (known fondly by many as "snail-mail") chain-letter hoaxes regularly did the rounds, and sometimes still do even today. The difference between a simple hoax and a chain-letter hoax is that the latter encourages the recipient to forward the letter or email on to others, usually family and friends. Sometimes the hoax email claims that something good will happen to the sender if they send the letter on to at least 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 people, whereas others take the darker path of sternly informing the recipient that failing to forward the message to others will result in something bad happening. This could be illness, loss of income, the sky falling, or whatever the case may be (insert evil consequence here). Of course, both the "carrot" and the "stick" versions prey on people's natural desires for good things to happen in their lives, and their equally natural desire to prevent or avoid "bad luck." I'm sure most people don't truly believe that something bad will result if they fail to forward the message, but many people are superstitious and probably take the view, "Well, it can't hurt, so just in case…"
A minor variation of one particular hoax that dates back to at least 2006 (and possibly before) has recently resurfaced and is scaring people once again. The email looks like this:
FYI  TO ALL.
            Dave's brother is a very advanced  programmer who does 
computer work for a living and  has a high up status with Microsoft.  He 
  doesn't send these if they aren't real.   If  he  says this is for 
real, it for sure is.   Be  aware.
           VIRUS  COMING !

          Hi  All,
          I  checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are  gearing up 
for this  virus!

          I  checked Snopes, and it is for real. Get this  E-mail 
message sent around to your contacts  ASAP.
          PLEASE  FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND  
CONTACTS!

          You  should be alert during the next few days. Do not  open 
any message with an attachment entitled  'POSTCARD FROM 
HALLMARK,'regardless of who sent it  to you. It is a virus which opens A 
POSTCARD  IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your  computer.

          This  virus will be received from someone who has your  e-mail 
address in his/her contact list. This is  the reason why you need to 
send this e-mail to all  your contacts. It is better to receive this  
message 25 times than to receive the virus and  open it.
          If  you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though  sent to 
you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down  your computer immediately. 
This is the worst virus  announced by  CNN.

          It  has been classified by Microsoft as the most  destructive 
virus ever. This virus was discovered  by McAfee yesterday, and there is 
no repair yet  for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys  the 
Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital  information is  kept.
          COPY  THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR  FRIENDS.

          REMEMBER:  IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF  US 

Chesapeake's Bad Neighbor Policy

Question

Why would a corporation that has been described as one of the BEST places to work in the Dallas/Fort Worth area attempt to manipulate the citizens of Grand Prairie by using them to overturn a city's thoughtful MORATORIUM on all new gas drilling permits for a period of 6 months??

A MORATORIUM that is intended to protect the citizens of Grand Prairie and surrounding communities from any future development until the deficiencies in the present Gas Drilling Ordinance can be addressed?

Ponder that dear friends. And have a peaceful Sunday.

Another Day Which Will Live in Infamy

"Hydraulic Fracturing Follows

God's Laws of Physics"

~ A Chesapeake (self-identified) Hydraulic Engineer's Statement

Following the Grand Prairie, TX Chesapeake Town Hall Meeting

December 7, 2010

News Video Showing Parker County Water Catching Fire

EPA Issues an Imminent and Substantial Endangerment Order to Protect Drinking Water in Southern Parker County

(December 7, 2010)

Tuesday Night, right after the abysmal Chesapeake Town Hall Meeting in Grand Prairie, TX, this same Chesapeake "Hydraulic Engineer" (quoted above) stated that there was "no case of water contamination caused by gas drilling in the Barnett Shale."  He stated a lot of other stuff, too.  But this is what stood out for me. He told us this even "after" this report of water contamination was being reported in the media. When this latest incident of water contamination (caused by hydraulic fracturing) was pointed out to him, this Hydraulic Engineer seemed to register very little reaction to the report. 

Of course we are disappointed with the seeming lack of concern for our community's safety and quality of life. As we have stated numerous times on the Westchester Gasette ~ God Help Us. Please. 



Chesapeake already has a documented history of causing accidental deaths from hydraulic fracturing.

stupid editorial in the Daily Local News

Here is the title to an editorial that appeared in the Daily Local News of Chester County, PA - "Bad cyclists aside, bike initiative is an excellent idea." Ellen Zadoff, chairperson of the Chester County Bicycle Coalition is trying to make West Chester, PA a more bike friendly town. Yet our esteemed local newspaper editor takes that opportunity to use something good about biking and turn it into something bad. Ellen wants to make our community safe for cyclists. She wants some bike racks and some safety initiatives in our boro. Good for you Ellen.

The Daily Local editor posts an editorial that spends half of its content on bad cyclists. Gimme a break. Here is my letter I immediately sent to the editor. Feel free to send him more. His name and email is Editor, Andrew M. Hachadorian, 610-430-1116, (e-mail)

Editor

Just loved the editorial, really, just kidding.

Please show me all the cars that stop at stop signs in the boro of West Chester. I live near 3 boro stop signs; corner of E Virginia and N Matlack, intersection of E Marshall and N Matlack and three way stop at E Vriginia and N Franklin. I cannot count how many cars run the stop signs on E Virginia Ave and I often see cars bombing through the stop sign on E Marshall. Before you start bashing cyclists let's all take a hard look at all the automobile abuses in the boro. When was the last time you were able to drive down E Gay street and not have to dodge all the illegally double parked trucks? When was the last time you saw a car actually come to complete stop at a stop sign in the boro? When was the last time you were able to park and unload in an loading/unloading only space?

I seriously doubt anyone is going to be killed if a bike does not come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Cars weigh tons and can kill. Bikes weigh less than 50 pounds and cannot kill. Good friends of mine, both over the age of 65, were biking on a tandem bike. They were hit by a car and left unconscious on the road. Where is the outrage in your editorial for this kind of behavior?

Bashing cyclists is the easiest thing for uninformed editors to do. It creates a big huge surge in angry comments from all the drivers in the boro. How easy to bash a cyclist on the road? I bike all over the county. I do my utmost to avoid awful motorists. Yet cars will go out of their way to buzz me close. I even had a car go over the white line at the edge of the road to buzz me even closer.

My son was just in Amsterdam. He said the cyclist is king in that country. Cyclists have their own roads and never have to interact with cars. Until this happens in America, the cars have to share the road with cyclists. The day that a car goes out if its way to be nice to me on my bike, is a day I am still waiting for.

--
Libby Maxim

Create & Mail PDF files from Excel 2007

When sending Excel files to co-workers or associates you should be aware that the recipient will able to change the document. Even if you take the time to save the document with a password, the recipient can save the document with a new name, and then modify the document. Now, if you are aware of this that's no problem. However if you want to protect the document, save the spreadsheet as a PDF. By doing this you will be protection our work from unauthorized changes.

A new feature of Microsoft Excel 2007 (with Microsoft Office Service Pack 2 installed) is the
ability to create and mail Acrobat Reader PDF files. If you do not wish to install Microsoft
Office SP2, you can install just the add-in. You can download it here :
2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF

After the add-in is installed you can use the code below or do a manual Save As PDF.
Office Button >Save As ….PDF
Office Button >Send ….PDF

Note: In Excel 2010 the big round Office Button is replaced by File

Tips / warnings :

1) If you have also installed Acrobat Reader you can change OpenAfterPublish in the code to
    True to open the PDF file after you create it.
2) The mail code example is not working with Outlook Express or Windows Mail.
3) If you set OpenAfterPublish in the code to True then you can do a manual send in
    Acrobat Reader (also with Outlook Express or Windows Mail).
4) If there is no printer installed the add-in will not work. You only have to install a printer driver
    of one of the printers in the default printer list, you not need a real printer to use the add-in.
5) When you use a hyperlink to another place in the workbook or if you use the Hyperlink
    worksheet function the hyperlinks are not working in the PDF.


If your workstation still have Microsoft Office 2003 and you would like the upgrade to 2007 please create a Track-It work order requesting an upgrade.

Are the feds about to take over the internet?

Check out this week's "The Communicators" to see what's a foot with the future of the free internet.

More News Coming on New Life Form

--http://twitter.com/cdmann/status/12189669785608192'>William Mann (@cdmann) has shared a Tweet with you:

"cdmann: More on “new” bacterium from Cali's Mono Lake! “Arsenic and Meaning of Life,” 1 – 3 pm ET (18:00 GMT) on NASA TV http://go.nasa.gov/ax5PCk"
--http://twitter.com/cdmann/status/12189669785608192

Call Center Rep - New Rochelle

In a high call volume environment, employees will communicate with our medical practice clients and their patients by telephone, taking detailed messages and relaying those messages to our on call providers.

Employees will record all the information into a computerized system. Employees will perform other duties required to handle inquires from callers.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE & APPLY

Fear and Intimidation

Read the amazing story on Bluedaze

Chesapeake disregards the City of Grand Prairie's 6-Month Moratorium. 

We know for certain that our neighbors in northern Westchester have been "targeted." We're not certain how many others received this mailing in Grand Prairie, TX. The meeting is scheduled during a very busy time for most of us. Tomorrow ~ Tuesday evening (December 7th) beginning at 6 PM. 

It is an attempt to divide neighbors and neighborhoods. Don't be fooled. Get informed. E-mail us if you have questions. westchesterneighbor (at) gmail.com. (The "at" is the "@" sign.) Or ask your question in the comments for this post.

United We Stand. Divided We Fall. 

Westchester-Grand Prairie Community Alliance

Here's the lovely invitation. We wonder if they'll offer dinner since it's so early in the evening. Don't see a menu on the invitation.  Not even snacks or drinks??!!!

A Windows XP Tip: The Startup Folder

From time to time you may notice that your computer is booting slowly or that the performance of your PC seems sluggish. Checking your startup folder for any unnecessary applications may help.
A quick way to boost your computer's performance is to reduce the number of applications it runs when starting up. Some programs, such as anti-virus and hardware utilities, need to be run automatically, but an overabundance of startup applications can overwork a computer and use up too much memory.

The easiest way to keep programs from running automatically is to remove them from the computer's Startup folder:
1. First double click My Computer from the desktop, or select it from the Start Menu.
2. Double click the hard drive (default C:\).
3. Open the Documents and Settings folder.
4. Open a specific user account folder, or select All Users.
5. Double click the Start Menu folder.
6. Select Programs.
7. In the Programs folder, find the Startup folder and double click.

Any shortcut within this folder will launch a program automatically on startup. To take it off the list of startup applications, simply delete the shortcut. No worries because you are not actually deleting the program but simply stopping the program from starting automatically (on boot).

How many astronauts is too many for NASA?

Goodbye Space program

I know this is not exactly "tech news" but I just has to get this off my chest. As our nation's economy continues to limp along and wars rage on just about every continent, one of our nation's premier organizations has been getting stripped of it once great shine by politicians who refuse to see beyond their own term in office.

Just think, back in 1968 and 1969 even as the Vietnam war was engaged, college campuses exploding with protests and leading politicians being gunned down our nation remained committed and capable in directing it's limited scientific resources & energy to going to the moon. Today with technology exploding all around us, our nation has had to resort to canceling the space shuttle program while at the same time canceling future man space exploration. That is unless the Russians are willing to let one of our astronauts hitch a ride on one of their spacecraft (for a price of course).


I was 5 years old when our nation first landed on the moon and 9 years old when our last astronaut, Gene Cernan left the moon (Apollo 17). Unless something drastically changes, I will probably never get to see another human being in deep space and I fear for our children as well. What has happened our nation's vision of being the leader in exploration? Exploration and personal growth provides people with something to be proud of. Being a truly unified nation is much more then war and taxes.

To learn more about the fate of many of our astronauts check out the following article.
NASA: How many astronauts is too many for NASA? - OrlandoSentinel.com

Let's Talk Tech

Let's Talk Tech

Websense got you down? Is is your computer slowing your down? Looking for a tech idea and you can't find cdmann? 

Join the West Chester Tech discussion at http://wctech.46.forumer.com. Only here can you easily discuss all things tech with your co-workers in an open and fun way. Have fun, be honest but be respectful as well. I am not sure about everyone else, but I am quite sensitive so be nice.

You will always be able to find a link to the WC Tech Forum on the right side of our tech blog.

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New Life Form Announced : Through the Wormhole : Science Channel

New Life Form Announced : Through the Wormhole : Science Channel

The Science Channel is one of the few channels I actually watch regularly anymore. The channel and their corresponding webpage are both great places to keep up on the latest science news. As I mentioned earlier NASA has discovered a new "life form" and of course the Science Channel has jumped on this news by announcing a special episode of "Through the Wormhole" on December 4, 2010 at 8pm, Be sure to check it out dedicated readers. 

(From the Science Channel)

In the "How Did We Get Here" episode of Through the Wormhole, Morgan Freeman explored the leading theories on the origin of life. Humans are searching for clues in countless different ways, from chemistry to archaeology. Today it seems we have more questions than answers. But discoveries like this incredible announcement from NASA take us one step closer to understanding the truth behind life as we know it.
NASA has discovered a strange bacteria living deep in a California lake that can survive on arsenic and can even grow by incorporating the element into its DNA and cell membranes.

The finding not only presents the possibility that alternative life forms can exist, or once existed, on Earth. It also has deep implications for the search for life beyond Earth. It also muddies the waters for scientists refining techniques to identify alien life, if it exists.

Get the whole story.
Don't miss a special presentation of the "How Did We Get Here?" episode of Through the Wormhole with new footage about NASA's discovery. Tune in on Saturday, December 4 at 8PM E/P.

Expand Your Viewing Options

One of my favorite web based networks is Revision3. Revision3 has some great programming which air exclusively through "online" shows. You can watch Revision3 in many ways besides on your PC. Devices such as Roku's Digital Video Player, Google TV, Apple TV and WD TV Live also provide Revision3 content.

With the quality of the content on conventional TV decreasing with each passing year, do yourself a favor and check out some of the great offerings on the internet for educational and fun content. I will cover many more of these options in a detailed article soon.

One of my favorite weekly offerings on Revision3 is "Tekzilla". Check it out friends.

man oh man oh man

(I did not take this pic, but this is what I saw)

I was out biking today, high 30s and blustery. But the sun was shining and it was a glorious day for biking. I am well suited for cold weather biking, probably the large layer of blubber I carry around helps!!

Anyhooo, while biking I spot a huge grey heron sitting on a log on the Brandywine River. A sight to see. I continue on and come to a spot where I often spot herons and other marvels of nature. I was biking slowly and quietly along the distant pond and I see a large bird sitting atop a huge dead tree. The tree is barren and sitting on top was this large brown bird. I knew it was special. I moved farther up the road and lo and behold, the bird's head is WHITE. I knew it had to be a bald eagle. It finally took off and I could see how large the bird was.

If you bike slow enough and look hard enough, you can indeed spot many a marvelous thing. Today I saw 2 herons and 1 bald eagle.

What did you see today? Did you take the time to notice something new? I hope so.

Weekly Tip: Locking your Computer

Keeping your data secure is critical. Allowing others access to your computer is unwise to say the least. Think of walking away with your computer “open” in the same way as walking away with your open purse or wallet unattended in a public place. Now I am fairly certain most people would never intend to leave their open purse or wallet unattended and your computer should be treated in the same manner.

It is very easy to “lock” your computer when you get up from your desk to walk away.  For example, lets say you want to walk away from your desk, and deliver a hot cup of coffee to your IT Manager. Here are some easy directions to lock your PC while you deliver that much needed cup of coffee:

1. via the keyboard
The easiest way to lock Windows XP is by simply pressing the Windows logo key and the letter L (for Lock) on a Microsoft Natural Keyboard or any other compatible keyboard that includes the Window key. Doing so will pop up the Unlock Computer Password box.

2. via a Shortcut.
If you don't have a keyboard with a Window key or simply don't like the keyboard method, then here's how you can make a desktop shortcut to lock your computer.

Right click an empty area of your desktop, choose New/Shortcut and enter this line as the command line:
rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation Click. Next. Name the shortcut whatever you prefer and click Finish. That's it. Pretty simple wouldn't you say.

There are other ways to lock your workstation such as simply pressing the [ctrl] [alt] and [delete] keys and selecting "lock computer" so please do yourself a favor and lock your computer when you step away from your work area. The data you save may be your own!

New Life Form Discovered

And to think I grew up with all of my "friends" calling me a "geek" or "nerd" because of my love for Star Trek. Now many years later, NASA announces that they have discovered a new form of life based on Arsenic. Basically what this proves is that life forms are capable of developing in strange places, including other planets. Just think about it, if life can evolve from arsenic the possibilities are endless.

You can learn more about NASA's latest discovery here.

Epic Mickey Review & Rating | PCMag.com

This could be the one video game you need to pick up this holiday season if you ask me. Mickey meets Mario is what comes to mind. I have not been a gamer for quite a while but I do I have Nintendo Wii and this new game would look sweet on my 55" Samsung LED HDTV.

To learn more check out PC Magazine's article at Epic Mickey Review & Rating PCMag.com.

Windows 7 for Sandi

Ok Sandi's reward for crashing 2 pc's is that she gets to be the first employee to use Windows 7 and Office 2010. If you are curious to what these look like be sure to stop by and see Sandi.

Watch Out For E-Card Trouble

Staying safe online is always a challenge and with the holidays the virtual Grinch's surround us along with the cheer. Lets face it, everyone likes receiving greetings cards and the hackers know this. That is why it is critical for all of us to protect not not only ourselves, but our network as well. The problem is that it can be difficult to spot these potential assaults because they come in so many forms and it seems as though new ones are being created daily. E-cards received in your email, like the popular “postcard from Hallmark virus” is one such scam that is circulating the internet these days, and here is what you need to know about it.

 

Postcard From Hallmark virus - What Is It?

This particular hoax is merely an email that is being sent that warns the recipient of the worst email virus ever. It tells you that if you receive an email telling you that you have a postcard from Hallmark that this email is carrying the worst virus ever and that this was confirmed by Snopes.com. The virus is supposed to burn your entire hard drive. While it is important to remember that emails can carry viruses and that you should always be careful, this particular email is a hoax. This email itself is a problem in the sense that it causes human hysteria, although your computer is actually safe!

How About Other E-Cards I May Receive In My Email?

Quite simply never open e-cards, no matter the time of the year.  E-cards have a terrible history of exploiting users who open them, resulting in viruses, trojan horses and worms. 

Our in-house computer security training on December 21, 2010 will address this issue in more detail.

Monthly Gadget Review

 

This holiday season the hot gadget is the Samsung Galaxy Tablet. At 7” x 4” as compared to the Apple I-Pad’s larger frame of 9” x 7” the Galaxy is a much more mobile device then the I-Pad, weighing in at about half of the I-Pad. This article is not meant to actually compare the two devices so that is all you are going to hear about the Apple I-Pad. (I actually can’t help myself a little later in the article.)

Samsung’s Galaxy tablet runs on Android 2.2 software which is becoming one of the most popular mobile device OS’s (operating system) today.  The big four carriers (ATT, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile) all have different plans for the Galaxy so you need to be aware of this if you are thinking about it. Personally I believe the most fair plan is Verizon Wireless for 20 bucks a month. With this plan you get 1GB of traffic over their network, but the best part is that you are not locked into a contract and you can cancel the plan at any time. After the plan is cancelled with Verizon Wireless, you simply treat the tablet like a laptop, using it’s wireless connectivity to access any wi-fi network.

The device is sturdy and because it is about the size of a trade paperback it is as mobile as a book making it very easy to travel with. If I carried a purse (which I don’t) you could easily store it there as well!

Now on to the fun stuff. What can you do with it once you have one? Android software was initially developed by Android Inc. and eventually purchased by Google in 2005. Android has been slowly developing and becoming more popular with mobile devices and has truly become a big player in the market. The operating system is dependable and easy to learn, although there are those who claim that it is a too “techy”. Android software is “community-based firmware” which means that it is open source allowing for programmers to easily develop software for any device running Android. What this means is there are always plenty of useful and fun apps (or applications) for the device.

In addition to surfing the web with various browsers of choice (Android Browser, Firefox and Dolphin, with Chrome on the way) you can get your social networking on with Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Goodreads and more. Watching video from services such as Youtube is flawless as well.

If you are a book reader (like me) and you have been thinking about e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook, look no further that this device. The Galaxy has great apps for both which work great. I actually have had a Nook for about a year, and after a day or two with the Galaxy Tablet I was able to retire it (giving it to one of my sons of course) and use the galaxy for this purpose as well. The display is easy on your eyes when you are reading and at night you won’t even need a night light because of the screen!

With the Galaxy Tablet you can remain in touch with work (if you want to) because it is easy to access your corporate email, calendar and tasks on your device. At the same time you can enjoy social networking sites, plenty of games, internet sites, HD video, music and more all on the same small 7” tablet.

Unlike the I-Pad, Android supports Flash which is important when browsing many websites as well as video formats such as XviD and DivX.

With an additional 1.3MP camera in on the front of the device, you will be able to engage in video chats, something you cannot do with an iPad. Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity will  take care of your browsing needs. Battery life of Galaxy tablet is impressive to, with the device able to deliver up to seven hours of movie playback without charging.

As I noted above there are several price points, with Verizon Wireless probably being the best choice because you can actually cancel the service contract resulting in no monthly cost.

You can learn more about the Samsung Galaxy Tablet here.

To lean more about Android click here.

A Big "Track-It" Thank You

I wanted to say thank you to all of my co-workers who have started using Track-It to request IT related services. This is a big help to me regarding scheduling and prioritizing the services I provide. As you can see by this graph, the work orders are being entered on a regular basis and it is helping me.

Viruses, Worms and Trojan Horses Oh My!

Don't forget that on December 21, 2010 we are having our first in-house IT training for employees. The topic will cover the following important security issues which every computer user should be familiar with.

• Passwords
• Viruses
• Trojan Horses
• Worms
• Spam

Please make sure to sign up today for either the morning session starting at 10:00am or the afternoon session at 1:00pm. If anyone has any questions please contact me at cdmann@west-chester.com. 

Droid Test

Testing ability to post from my Droid. If this worked you will see it. If not then you won't.

Our Own Tech Blog Opens!

Posing for State Tech Magazine

Today was a big day and you did not even know it. You see, today we have our own West Chester Tech Blog. This blog is geared to all West Chester employees and associates.

I will work hard to keep everyone up to date with the latestet technology trends as well as gadget news. Also, and more importantly I will strive with this blog to keep everyone up to date with virus, spam and other security news in order to keep all of us safe, at least virtually.

In today's virtual world we all need to stay alert to security concerns, technology trends and software options that seem to expand each and every day. My goal is to provide some useful information as we journey through this new tech world together and just may have a little fun along the way.