Category: Howto

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Caution: below 0º temps can cause frostbite, burst pipes, more – protect yourself & others

below 0 on thermometer
Source: Northport Patch
Warning in from Fair Lawn Office of Emergency Management for the entire North Jersey area: Wind chill watch in effect from Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning 13-14 February.

The Facts About Wind Chill
A Wind Chill Watch means the there is the potential for a combination of very cold air and strong winds to create dangerously low wind chill values. Look for services similar to these in your town and follow the precautions outlined below.

  • Timing … Coldest wind chills late Saturday night through Sunday morning 13-14 February.
  • Wind chill – as low as around 25 below zero due to temperatures 0 to 5 below zero. Winds northwest 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.
  • The frigid conditions will be extremely dangerous to those venturing outside. Prolonged exposure will cause frostbite. The combination of very low wind chills and frigid air temperatures have the potential to result in frozen pipes, frostbite and hypothermia.

Precautionary/preparedness Actions

  • Stay indoors as much as possible and limit your exposure to the cold
  • Never venture outdoors without wearing gloves, a hat and several layers of clothing. Wind chill values late saturday night into sunday morning could lead to frostbite in less than 30 minutes if proper precautions are not taken.
  • Dress in layers and keep dry
  • Know the symptoms of cold-related health issues such as frostbite and hypothermia and seek medical attention if health conditions are severe.
  • Never use a stove or oven to heat your home or use an open flame to melt frozen pipes. Many house fires result from these practices.
  • Never run a gasoline or propane heater inside your home or an unventilated garage. Any heating system that burns fuel will produce carbon monoxide. Make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector.
  • Check tire pressure and your car battery, and keep the fuel tank above half full. Be sure your car has a winter safety emergency kit that includes an ice scraper, blanket, flashlight, warm clothes and gloves in case your car breaks down or becomes stranded.
  • Run water at a trickle and keep cabinet doors open to prevent pipes from freezing.
  • Check on elderly and vulnerable family, friends, and neighbors who are at risk and may need additional assistance

Find more information and tips on staying safe in winter weather and extreme cold temperatures at http://www.ready.gov/winter-weather. read more

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No way to distinguish which hoverboards are fire prone … yet

red hoverboard
Source: Wikipedia
Wired tells us: the strangest thing about hoverboards is that, “this year’s most popular holiday gift keeps catching on fire.”

Jay Whitacre, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, says that the problem doesn’t have to do with these self-balancing scooters themselves, but with the quality of the batteries being used (in some)…

“There are a lot of factories in China that now make Li-ion batteries, and the reality is that the quality and consistency of these batteries is typically not as good as what is found in top tier producers such as LG or Samsung,” Whitacre says. “These are known as ‘low cost li-ion batteries’ by most in the industry—they are not knockoffs or copies, but are instead just mass-manufactured cells.” read more

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In 84 seconds learn why Cable & Telcos are trying to gut Net Neutrality funding and take it away from you

Squeezing internet users
FFTF warns that Big Cable & Telcos want to squeeze more money out of users

Fight for the Future cautions:

Net Neutrality is Under Attack. Don't let Congress break the Internet by dismantling Net Neutrality — share this video to raise the alarm.

Why not also call your elected federal officials and ask them to protect net neutrality on your behalf? Calling is a powerful action to make sure net neutrality doesn’t go away. Call using this convenient tool.

white house net neutrality letter
President Obama endorses net neutrality
The White House defines net neutrality:

More than any other invention of our time, the Internet has unlocked possibilities we could just barely imagine a generation ago. And here’s a big reason we’ve seen such incredible growth and innovation: Most Internet providers have treated Internet traffic equally. That’s a principle known as “net neutrality” — and it says that an entrepreneur’s fledgling company should have the same chance to succeed as established corporations, and that access to a high school student’s blog shouldn’t be unfairly slowed down to make way for advertisers with more money. read more

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Ayuda grátis y de bajo costo con solicitudes de DACA

DACA 3 anos

Recursos para aplicar ó renovar su solicitud de la Acción Diferida – DACA

El programa DACA se ha expandido y algunos de las reglamentaciones se han cambiado. Aprenda más.

El primer paso para todo solicitante sería registrarse con la red nacional DACA Renewal Network. Esto es un proyecto de United We Dream, una organización fundado por jovenes indocumentados para ayudar a la comunidad de los DREAMers. El grupo brinda ayuda a nivel nacional con identificar abogados y programas que ofrecen asistencia con las solicitudes DACA grátis ó a bajo costo. También informa sobre cambios en el programa DACA y el progreso de la propuesta DREAM Act legislación. read more

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Google tracks everything you do, but you can stop them

stop spying on usGoogle tracks every place you go and records every search you make. They also store voice recordings of every interaction you have with ‘Google Now’. If you feel this is kinda creepy or just like privacy, checks out these posts and learn how to turn off Google’s tracking and delete your stored history items:

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Best leadership video: how to build a movement in 3 minutes aka Dancing Guy

dancing guy & first followerYou need followers to make a movement. The Dancing Guy leadership video lesson shows that people actually follow other followers, thereby saving the original leader from being a “lone nut”. At the same time, this makes the first few followers leaders in their own right. Especially, the first follower.

So remember to enjoy the heck out of everyone that jumps on your bandwagon 🙂 – they’re making you the leader you want to be.

Derek Sivers shared the first follower lesson at a Ted Talk in 2010. read more

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Want to make sure you’re still registered to vote?

Craig Newmark wants you to voteCraig Newmark (Craigslist) wants to make sure you can vote and reminds us, “In 2008, 6 million Americans didn’t vote because they missed a registration deadline or didn’t know how to register!

Do you know that if you did not vote in two consecutive federal elections, your name is removed from the voter registration roll? Thousands of voters are not registered and don’t even know it. But learning your voter registration status is this simple: Visit CanIVote.org and select ‘Am I Registered?’ read more

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Democratic citizens have obligations, not just rights

dismantle corporate powerI don’t know why this important US Department of State document is housed on a Taiwanese website. but I like how it lays out the Citizen Responsibilities in a Democracy. Some of the juicier exerpts are:

Citizenship in a democracy requires participation, civility, and even patience.

Democratic citizens recognize that they not only have rights, they have responsibilities. They recognize that democracy requires an investment of time and hard work — a government of the people demands constant vigilance and support by the people. read more

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Random winter survival hacks

Winter bench

To get your car unstuck

Get an old carpet remnant – 6 foot long is best but 4 foot is OK too – by 18″ to 24″ wide. Roll it up and place inside a big garbage bag in your car. If your car gets stuck, forget about shoveling! Put the carpet upside down wedged under your tires. The tufts instantly freeze into the ice and stay there till the ice thaws or you rip the carpet off. Store the wet carpet piece in the garbage bag until you can take it out and dry it well. If it gets too dirty or smelly, get a new one. read more

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Being caring is not noble, it’s essential.

Please, let’s never forget how important it is to care for people more vulnerable than ourselves. Recently I told about Narayanan Krishnan who walked away from a good job to devote his life to caring for India’s homeless (I love this story). And here’s another one, right here in the US!

Dr. Withers

Dr. Jim Withers started off dressing like a homeless man to gain the trust of homeless people living on the streets of Pittsburgh in order to give them free medical treatment. His guide was a formerly homeless man who told him, “Don’t dress like a doctor and don’t act like a jerk.” The pair once told clients the medicines in their backpacks were samples from pharmaceutical companies, but since he became a hero to the street community, Dr. Withers doesn’t need to pretend any more. read more

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Beware! ransomware locks up your computer or phone until you pay

Screen Shot 2015-01-22 at 6.26.30 PMWAKV Radio Station in Plainwell, MI had its show archives and music wiped out by ransomware thieves. Fortunately, they had their music library backed up on another computer.

CNet writer Seth Rosenblatt explains in his report “Your computer and smartphone, held hostage: Cybercriminals are making their attacks personal, remotely locking your computers and smartphones until you pay a hefty ransom.”

The mother of a New York Times writer got ransomeware hacked and paid $200 to get access to her data back. As Alina Simone’s family learned, the criminals don’t want your data, they just want your money. And they’re getting plenty of it: read more

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Where to get legally free-to-use photos

free-stuffYou’ve become aware that copying photos and graphic images you find on the internet might be considered stealing them. This may or may not be morally wrong but breaking the law is at least a bit problematic. If you need pictures and don’t want to pay for them, here are sources for getting them legally free:

creative commons logoImages licensed under Creative Commons terms are free to use although they do have some strings attached to them (creators want to be named, for one thing). Photopin is a repository where you can find plenty of “free” Creative Commons pictures. read more

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Writing tip: add visualization with just a few extra words

I came across a beautiful snippet of writing this morning. By adding several words about the woman who walks into the village carrying a tote, Shirley Rousseau Murphy transformed an abstract sentence into a visual treat replete with a subject who lays claim to habits, personality and wow – even a history. I’ve never so clearly experienced the power of the power of visualization, until now. From Cat Breaking Free (2005, p 66):

Maybe he’d wait until tomorrow, take the sensible route, lay low until Chichi walked into the village early, as she often did, carrying her big canvas tote. read more