The staff at Yellowstone National Park is handling a public relations problem concerning a bison calf and doing it rather well. You can see the evidence for yourself on their Facebook page. To recap, two tourists spotted a starving and weak bison calf in the park and loaded it into the back of their SUV… Continue reading How Yellowstone National Park’s social media staff is handling a crisis
Category: Uncategorized
Celebrating fifty years of Star Trek music
For my belated birthday gift, my wife bought tickets to the Star Trek Ultimate Voyage Tour. We attended the concert at the Old National Center in Indianapolis on Friday, March 18. The event featured music from fifty years of the Star Trek, spanning both the TV series and movies. The scores were performed by a… Continue reading Celebrating fifty years of Star Trek music
Automatic for the people
Vehicles manufactured after 1996 have an OBD-II (on-board diagnostic) port. Wikipedia has a great explanation about the connector. The port, usually found near the steering wheel, is used by mechanics to diagnose car trouble. In addition to troubleshooting, many consumers use the OBD-II port to tune their vehicle’s performance and keep track of teenage drivers. I’ve… Continue reading Automatic for the people
Binge watch: Survivors
If you are looking for something to binge watch on Netflix, I recommend Survivors, a 2008 BBC TV series. Both Seasons 1 and 2 are available and short enough to conquer on a wintry weekend. Also available on DVD. The series is about survivors of a flu pandemic which kills most of the world’s population.… Continue reading Binge watch: Survivors
Blogging versus Social Media
I realize posts on this blog are few and far between, but I make no apologies. For one, I reach a larger audience with my social media efforts. You can follow me on Twitter (@indygadgetguy), Instagram (indygadgetguy) and Flickr. Blogs serve their purpose, and for years I led blogging efforts for local media. Even back… Continue reading Blogging versus Social Media
Spring ahead, fall back. How about neither?
National Geographic has published an article with experts questioning the validity of DST. I’ve ordered the book mentioned in the article. There seems to be a bit of a backlash building against the concept. The Atlantic resorts to over-the top-hyperbole, but points are valid. I’ve lived in several states that observed DST. Indiana started in… Continue reading Spring ahead, fall back. How about neither?
Belated thoughts on the Federal government shutdown
The government shutdown cost America $24 billion dollars. Let’s put that in perspective. NASA’s annual budget is about $18 billion. Besides the political grandstanding over the issue, I was deeply bothered by the disrespect shown towards Federal government workers. One member of the House of Representatives berated a National Park ranger for following orders to… Continue reading Belated thoughts on the Federal government shutdown
Meeting Major Mancheck
In two weeks, I’ll be attending a NASA Social at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The event is a two-day affair featuring the launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission What is Landsat? It is “the longest running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth,” states Wikipedia, and a joint effort between NASA and USGS. It was… Continue reading Meeting Major Mancheck
Fun on craigslist
Whenever I post something for sale on Craigslist, I always get the usual scammer. A person — that can barely write — wants to send me a certified check and then have someone pick the item up. Sometimes, they even ask me to ship it. Of course, they are always out of the country. Riiiiiiiight.… Continue reading Fun on craigslist
Ooma VOIP goes down and people get stupid
I woke up to an Ooma outage today. Ooma is a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) service which I have had for years. It’s mostly been reliable, except a few glitches. However, today’s outrage was major — across the country. Ooma suffered a similar outage in 2009, but apparently didn’t learn any lessons. The company’s… Continue reading Ooma VOIP goes down and people get stupid