Rediscovering Timber Construction, and a Rambling Lemming

"Rethinking construction: introducing timber into our commercial buildings [video]"
Geraldine Chua, Architecture & Design (August 21, 2014)

"Following on from our series of articles looking at the possibilities and benefits of building with timber, we spoke to Rod Pindar, a principal at Fitzpatrick + Partners (F+P), about some of the work the practice is doing, with a focus on their Macquarie Park project.

" In this interview, Pindar shares why Australia's building and design industry will move towards mass timber construction (MTC) in coming years even though it has a long way to go.

" 'We think it's important that the knowledge of timber is out there and freely available,' he says.

" 'We'd like to see buildings get built in timber, we'd like to see multi-storey commercial buildings built in particular. We know CLT has been proven in the residential market and that will continue to grow, but the commercial market really is the tough nut to crack.'..."

"CLT?" That could mean Charlotte Douglas International Airport; Chile Standard Time; or the Oprah Winfrey Network, a Canadian TV channel that's now called Canadian Learning Television.

None of those make sense in this context, so the Lemming figures that Geraldine Chua means cross laminated timber, or glulam. It's plywood, only different: apparently.

Most readers of Architecture & Design might see "CLT" and immediately think Cross Laminated Timber. Then again, they might not. Surely the Lemming isn't the only reader whose interests span more than one specialty.

Acronyms, Pronoun Trouble, and a Latvian Bridge

Acronyms are useful when all readers realize what, say, ACK, BLS, CALABARZON, DTs, or ead. mean — and gibberish when they don't.

It's the acronyms that are gibberish for autochthons marginalized from the requisite cognoscente. And that's another topic. Topics.

The Lemming applauds Pindar on realizing that timber, in fact, actually does grow on trees: and was used by humans in the construction of large structures long before other traditional products like steel, fiberglass, or prestressed concrete.

There's a reason why timber isn't used in skyscrapers or long suspension bridges. Short ones — that's yet another topic.


(From Igors Jefimovs, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(A suspension bridge in Ozolnieki, Latvia: photo by Igors Jefimovs.)

Very-nearly-related posts:

• "London: Holborn Overhaul and De-Fencing the Street"
  (April 4, 2014)
• "Sochi, Winter Olympics, Lint, and a Rambling Lemming"
  (February 7, 2014)
• "Chicago, City of Lights: Maybe"
  (January 24, 2014)
• "Chengdu's Huge New Mall, and a Musing Lemming"
  (August 30, 2013)
• "Javits Center: Green, Then Gone"
  (January 25, 2012)

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370: Missing For Two Weeks

I gave the Lemming some time off. He should be back in time for next week's post, provided he doesn't go wandering off to haunts of coot and hern, or wherever he's been going lately.

This week, I've got a very serious topic: Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared from radar between Kuala Lumpur and the Andaman Sea.

That was two weeks ago.

Here's what we know:

• Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared on shortly after takeoff.
• The 239 folks on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are still missing.
• The flight left Kuala Lumpur at 16:41 GMT, March 7; and was expected in Beijing at 22:30 GMT.
• No trace of the airliner, or the people on board, has been confirmed.
• Folks on MH370 included artists, children, and at least one engineer.
• Their homes were in China, Malaysia, and other countries.
• Their family, friends, and associates are understandably concerned.

Yesterday I read that satellites spotted two objects in the Indian Ocean, between Australia and Antarctica. More about that:

• "Search resumes for possible debris from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370"
  Chelsea J. Carter, Kyung Lah and Mike Pearson, CNN (March 20, 2014)

One of the objects is vaguely rectangular and roughly 24 meters long. It might be part of the Malisian Airlines Boeing 777-200ER.

Or it might be a nearly-submerged cargo container lost from some freighter; debris washed downriver and into the ocean from a construction project; or something else unrelated to the airliner.

Here's what the BBC had to say about Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370:

1,460 Miles, 2,350 Kilometers, West by Southwest of Perth

(From Australian government, US National Transportation Savety Board, Malaysian government, via BBC News; used w/o permission.)

"Missing MH370: World's most difficult recovery"
Rebecca Morelle, BBC News (March 20, 2014)

"The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane is now focussed on the south Indian Ocean.

"Ships and planes are hunting for two large objects spotted in satellite images that could be floating debris.

"But if these are located and confirmed as wreckage from flight MH370 - and that is still a big if - one of the most complex recovery operations ever undertaken could lie ahead...."

I wasn't surprised to see that it's now a recovery, not a rescue, operation. It is still, I think, very remotely possible that the 239 people who disappeared may still be alive. But that seems increasingly unlikely.

Some folks deal with uncertainty by distracting themselves with unrelated activities: a job; household chores; exercise; whatever. Others apparently drag a trawl net into their mind's abyssal zone in search of explanations.

I've seen some colorful conspiracy theories hatching: including the usual 'it was space aliens.' Someone even spent time debunking a rumor that MH370 had reappeared in — what else? — the Bermuda Triangle.

Sometimes that sort of nonsense can be amusing. In a situation where more than 200 people are either dead or stranded without supplies: not so much.

"Possible Object"

(From BBC News, used w/o permission.)
"If the objects in the satellite images do belong to the plane, they could help scientists to find the crash site"

---

"...The first stage would be to carefully examine any fragments of the craft found. Their condition, for example whether they show any signs of an explosion, could begin to shed light on what happened to the plane.

"Importantly, they could also help to narrow down the location of the crash, and the possible site of the plane's 'black box' flight recorders.

"But David Mearns, director of Blue Water Recoveries Ltd, says because of the amount of time that has passed since the flight vanished on 8 March, this would not be easy.

" 'If the debris is confirmed, the positions and times that any pieces are found will be clues that will have to be used to determine where the plane actually impacted,' he explains.

" 'But in this instance, we are talking many days after the plane would have crashed - that debris will have floated for a very large distance - and potentially an uncertain distance. If we don't know what the winds and currents were doing at that time, it makes the search box enormous.'..."
(Rebecca Morelle, BBC News)

Searchers may find one or more of MH370's flight recorders by tracking the acoustic pingers: if they're still working, and searchers get close enough before the devices run out of their 30-day lifespan.

The good news is that, MH370 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, and if searchers find the wreckage - - - that's a lot of "ifs."

That part of the Indian ocean has some of the roughest seas in the world: but the ocean floor, some 4,000 meters down, it's smoother than the submerged mountains and ravines that held Air France 447's wreckage.

I think it's prudent to remember that it took searchers about two years to locate the Air France 447 wreckage and start piecing together what went wrong.

Friday Morning, March 21

(From Lai Seng Sin/AP, via Bloomberg, used w/o permission.)
"A woman leaves a message for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia."

"Missing Plane Maintained Steady Speed Over Indian Ocean"
Alan Levin, Bloomberg (March 21, 2014)

"The missing Malaysian airliner may have cruised steadily across the Indian Ocean after diverting from its route, according to an analysis of satellite pings, the clearest idea yet on how investigators pinpointed a search zone.

"Engineers at Inmarsat Plc (ISAT), whose satellite picked up the pings, plotted seven positions for the Boeing Co. (BA) 777-200ER on March 8, Chris McLaughlin, a company spokesman, said in an interview. The plane flew steadily away from the satellite over the equator while pinging, McLaughlin said....

"...When officials estimated the plane was flying at or near its cruising speed of more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) an hour, it produced a probable path the engineers were 'very confident' about, McLaughlin said. The engineers don't know the plane's track for certain because the satellite pings can only be used to estimate an arc along the earth's surface where it would have been, he said....

I decided to add this Bloomberg article to today's post, since it's among the most detailed I've seen. The bottom line is still the same, though: there's been no verified sighting of wreckage from Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, and all 239 people are still missing.

There's also some analysis here, and a detail that I don't remember seeing elsewhere.

Flight MH370 Landed? Unlikely

"...If the Inmarsat estimates are accurate, it would have been impossible for the plane to have landed before its satellite transmitter sent the final ping at 8:11 a.m., almost seven hours after its last known position as it left Malaysian airspace, according to McLaughlin's account. Because the 777 burns more fuel at lower altitude, it also suggests the plane remained at cruising altitude.

"The plane was flying at 542 miles an hour at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters) at 1:21 a.m. when its transponder stopped functioning and it disappeared from Malaysian's civilian radar system, according to FlightRadar24, a flight-tracking company.

"The engineers at Inmarsat were able to validate their estimates of the plane's position by matching its position at 1:07 a.m., when it sent a burst of data through its Aircraft Communications and Reporting System, McLaughlin said. That final transmission on Acars included a GPS position that was used to calibrate the other estimates, he said...."

Much as I would like to believe that the Boeing 777 landed safely, and that everyone on board survived: it seems very, very unlikely:

"Andrew Herdman, director-general of the Kuala Lumpur-based Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, talks about Malaysian Airline System Bhd.'s missing Flight 370. He speaks Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television's 'On the Move.' "
(Description of Bloomberg video: "Landing, Hiding MH370 'Extremely Unlikely': Herdman" (March 17, 2014))

Although the evil mastermind and his henchmen might successfully hide an airliner in a spy story (remember "Thunderball"?), real life doesn't necessarily work that way.

A Boeing 777 is more than 200 feet long, with a wingspan to match. That's a lot of metal to hide: particularly in these days, with robot satellites keeping digital eyes peeled.

Flight MH370: A Long Wait

If you get the impression that this is an unusually long wait for some trace of the missing flight to turn up: you're right.

"...The longest period in modern passenger-airline history between a disappearance and initial findings of debris was seven years ago, when Adam Air Flight 574 went missing off the coast of Indonesia's South Sulawesi. The Boeing 737-400, operated by PT Adam Skyconnection Airlines, lost contact with air traffic control Jan. 1, 2007. Wreckage wasn't found until 10 days later....

"...In the search for Air France 447 wreckage, authorities were able to narrow down a 5,000 nautical-mile area after finding floating objects five days following the crash. They also had a last known position plus four minutes of signals from the plane's so-called Acars system, which was turned off on Flight 370.

"Even with those clues, the pings from Flight 447's recorders weren't picked up. It took two voyages over almost a two-year period to find the debris field with unmanned underwater vehicles that searched the ocean floor with sonar equipment...."
(David Fickling, Alan Levin, Thomas Black, Bloomberg (March 17, 2014))

Patience isn't easy, particularly when so many folks desperately want to know what happened to their family, friends, and fellow-workers. But I think cultivating patience is better than the alternatives.

Finally, and no pressure at all: this is just a suggestion. Prayer couldn't hurt: for the folks on Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, and everyone connected with them.

Related posts:

• "Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Questions; Speculation; and a Few Facts"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (March 16, 2014)
• "Air France 447: How Not to Handle a Stall"
  (May 27, 2011)
• "Black Boxes are Fine: Glass Boxes Might be Better"
  (August 23, 2010)
• "Air France 447: Weather, Technology, and Questions"
  (June 13, 2009)
• "Air France Flight 447: What's Known, What's Not Known"
  (June 12, 2009)

Revenge of the Turkey

(Memorial Hermann, via LiveScience, used w/o permission.)
"Thanksgiving Trauma: The 7 Strangest Holiday ER Visits"
Tanya Lewis, LiveScience (November 27, 2013)

"The holidays are a time of joy and giving thanks. But like any occasion that involves families gathering to enjoy good food and each other's company, accidents can happen.

"LiveScience asked emergency room doctors about the weirdest, funniest or most unfortunate reasons for a visit to the ER over Thanksgiving and other holidays. From deep-fryer burns to in-law anxiety, here are some of the most notable:

"1. Turkey troubles

" Nothing says Thanksgiving like cooking an obscenely large farm bird. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that emergency rooms see a lot of fowl-related injuries on Turkey Day.

"Deep-frying turkeys poses a major hazard. If the turkey is wet or partially frozen when it hits the oil, the bird can catch fire, or even explode. 'We've had fires that singed hair and eyebrows, and splash burns to the face,'" said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician...."

"...People also drop their turkeys, causing second-degree burns to the tops of their feet, contusions and the occasional toe fracture...

"...3. Overindulging

"One of the most common problems around Thanksgiving, as one might guess, involves eating and drinking too much, Glatter said. The combination, he explained, can cause a surge in epinephrine or norepinephrine, which triggers atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat) in a structurally normal heart. Doctors call it 'holiday heart.'...

"...And when people eat too quickly, food can get lodged in their throats — especially turkey, because it's so dry...."

There's more: carving under the influence; the potato salad that time forgot; energetic in-laws; and  — the Lemming's favorite — a raw turkey used as a football helmet.

There's a wonderfully redolent tale of revenge from beyond the grave here, or maybe "from beyond the gravy:" a turkey, vowing with its last breath to wreak terrible vengeance, lodging in the throat of a holiday guest.

On that cheerful note, the Lemming bids you bon appétit, which is the name of a magazine, and another topic.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Taiyaki and Wagashi: Genuine Imitation Food Substitutes"
  (October 25, 2013)
• "Killer Tomatoes and a Ranting Lemming"
  (August 6, 2013)
• "Filberts, Fardels, and a Rambling Lemming"
  (July 19, 2013)
• "EU E. Coli Mutant Killer Bacteria New!! Unknown!!! Or, Not"
  (June 2, 2011)
• "Hard Science Fiction, Cultural Blinders and Laban's Sheep"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (October 29, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Artificial Life Forms - Like Macaroni Wheat

Lemming Tracks: Global Warming Solution: Air Conditioned Parking Lots

Now that global warming has replaced the coming ice age as a looming disaster, humanity awaits the doom and gloom of flooded cities, submerged yacht harbors, and offshore ocean front property.

But fear not! After intense study the Lemming found a solution!

Enclosed, air conditioned parking lots and airports!!

The cost will be enormous, and humans will have to give up air travel - airplanes couldn't land at the roofed-over airports - but perhaps it would be worthwhile. Or maybe not.

Here's what goaded the Lemming into this rant:

"Distorted data? Feds close 600 weather stations amid criticism they're situated to report warming"
Maxim Lott, FoxNews.com (August 13, 2013)

"Data from hundreds of weather stations located around the U.S. appear to show the planet is getting warmer, but some critics say it's the government's books that are getting cooked -- thanks to temperature readings from sweltering parking lots, airports and other locations that distort the true state of the climate.

"Indeed, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has closed some 600 out of nearly 9,000 weather stations over the past two years that it has deemed problematic or unnecessary, after a long campaign by one critic highlighting the problem of using unreliable data. The agency says the closures will help improve gathering of weather data, but critics like meterologist [!] and blogger Anthony Watts say it is too little, too late.

" 'The question remains as to why they continue to use a polluted mix of well-sited and poorly-sited stations,' Watts told FoxNews.com...."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) probably set up weather recording stations on or near parking lots and airports for practical reasons. It'd be easier to get at a weather station that's near a parking lot, than one that's not conveniently close to paved roads. Besides, it's a good idea for pilots to know what the weather's like at airports.

Making assumptions about world climate based on data from notoriously sun-baked spots? That might not be the best idea.

'Trust Us'

"...Watts has for years searched for weather stations that have flaws. And he points to a still-open station at Yosemite park as an example of one with 'heat sinks' - objects that store heat, and then release it at night. Heat sinks can cause stations located in or near them to give off useless data -- generally in the form of inflated temperatures not representative of the broader area.

" 'The heat sinks are a road, a building, and stacked metal pipe and beams surrounding the station,' he said.
"After the heat sinks were added at Yosemite, temperature readings show a curious trend: minimum nighttime temperatures increased more than daytime temperatures. Watts says that's because the concrete structures store heat that is released at night, and that such a trend backs up the idea that the 'heat sinks' are having an effect.

"But the government agency that compiles the temperature data says that such concerns are unfounded because of statistical methods used to adjust the data...."

Maybe those "statistical methods used to adjust the data" really are valid. On the other hand, the Lemming has joked about the expert who knows he's right: because it says so in the book he wrote.

Getting a Grip About Climate Change

Some humans know this, but the Lemming will rant anyway: CHANGE HAPPENS!

Water flows. Plants grow: and climate changes. Humans started finding out just how much stuff changes a few hundred years back, and some still don't want to believe it. The Lemming prefers living in the real world, and that's another topic. Topics:

• "Taking Life a Thousand Years at a Time"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (June 10, 2012)
• " 'In a State of Journeying' "
  A Catholic Citizen in America (January 18, 2012)
• "Climate Changes: So What Else is New?"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (May 16, 2011)

Some changes are progressive, some run in cycles: like the sun's 22-year sunspot cycle. The sun's magnetic field is decreasing just now, and will go out completely in a few months. Interestingly, the Lemming hasn't read about anybody blaming Big Beach or the other political party.

"Big Beach" is the Lemming's invention, by the way: it's an imaginary cabal or resort owners who force folks into taking vacations.

Back to climate change, the Lemming would be concerned if scientists discovered that for several years the world's weather hadn't been changing at all. That would be weird.

Earth's climate has been changing for billions of years. The Lemming thinks it will continue to do so, no matter where humans put weather stations.

Related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: 'My Mind's Made Up, Don't Confuse Me With the Facts;' and Climate Change"
  (April 5, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: Blasphemy! Or, 'We're All Gonna Die' Predictions That Fizzled "
  (December 30, 2010)
• "Lemming Tracks: Climate Change is the New Global Warming?"
  (December 6, 2010)
• "Lemming Tracks: Ice Age, Global Warming, Climate Change, and Living Scared"
  (November 19, 2010)
• "Global Warming and Lost Documentation: 'Please Pay No Attention' "
  (December 8, 2009)

Killer Tomatoes and a Ranting Lemming

As anyone who viewed "The Satan Bug" or "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" knows, humanity is ever in peril from the deadly dangers of science and new ideas.

There are days when the Lemming feels like cheering on the tomatoes' side of the stadium.

This, however, is not one of those days.

Instead, the Lemming offers some helpful advice to the more timorous specimens of Homo sapiens sapiens.

Beware! Beware!

Humans have been developing 'genetically modified' plants and animals for a long time. What's different now is that some call the old ones "domesticated," and the new ones "GMO." And, inevitably, are afraid of the new ones.

For the benefit of those who wish to avoid all genetically modified plants, here's a short list of plants that humans have modified:

• Alfalfa
• Almond
• Apple
• Apricot
• Asian Pear
• Azuki Bean
• Banana
• Barley
• Beet
• Blackberry
• Blueberry
• Breadfruit
• Carrot
• Cashew
• Cassava
  • (aka manioc, yuca)
  • (requires special processing to be edible)
• Cherry
• Chestnut
• Chickpea
• Citron
• Clover
• Coconut
• Common Bean
  • (including pinto bean, kidney bean and others)
• Common Medlar
• Cranberry
• Currant
• Durian
• Eggplant (aubergine)
• Ensete
• Fig
• Finger Millet
• Fonio
• Foxtail Millet
• Gourds
• Grape
• Grapefruit
• Hazelnut
• Huckleberry
• Jackfruit
• Lemon
• Lentil
• Lima Bean
• Lime
• Little barley
  • (Hordeum pusillum, central US pre-Columbian)
• Loquat (Japanese medlar)
• Macadamia
• Maize
  • (called corn in the U.S.)
  • Old domesticated plant
    • Found in countless variations throughout the Americas
• Mango
• Maygrass
  • (Phalaris caroliniana, central US pre-Columbian)
• Melon (several species)
• Mung Bean
• Oats
• Olive
• Orange
• Papaya
• Parsnip
• Passionfruit
• Pea
• Peanut
• Pear
• Pearl Millet
  • (predominantly in African cultures, also for beer brewing)
• Pecan
• Peppers
• Pistachio
• Plum
• Pomelo
• Potato
• Proso Millet
• Pumpkin
• Quince
• Radish
• Raspberry
• Rice
• Runner Bean
• Rye
  • (used in Eastern Europe Countries, and for alcoholic beverages)
• Sorghum
• Spelt
• Squash
  • (e.g., Cucurbita pepo, multiple varieties)
• Strawberry
• Summer Squash
• Sweet Potato
• Tangerine
• Taro
  • (requires special processing to be edible)
• Teff -- Ethiopia (also tef)
• Tomato
• Triticale
  • (Secalotriticum spp.)
  • Hybrids between wheat and rye.
• Turnip
• Velvet Bean
• Walnut
• Wheat
• Winter Squash
• Yam
• Zucchini

(Source: "Domesticated Plants," Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• "Mutant Bananas: A Pretty Good Idea, Actually"
  (August 24, 2010)
• "Attack of the Mutant Eucalyptus Trees!"
  (June 13, 2010)
• " 'Artificial' Bacteria, Genetics, the Vatican, and 'Courage With Caution' "
  A Catholic Citizen in America (May 22, 2010)
• "Tofu Turkeys, Genetically Altered Foods, and the Evil Eye"
  (November 14, 2009)
• "Hard Science Fiction, Cultural Blinders and Laban's Sheep"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (October 29, 2009)

Lemming Tracks: Boston Marathon, Bombs, Death

"Source: Bombs were likely in pressure cookers in backpacks"
Josh Levs, CNN (April 16, 2013)

"The deadly bombs that turned the Boston Marathon into gruesome devastation were apparently placed inside pressure cookers hidden in backpacks, a federal law enforcement source told CNN.

"The blasts were likely detonated by timers -- not by cell phones, a law enforcement official said.

"The U.S. government has warned federal agencies in the past that pressure cookers -- air-tight pots used to quickly cook or preserve foods -- have been turned into bombs in parts of the world. A Department of Homeland Security memo called it 'a technique commonly taught in Afghan terrorist training camps.'..."

The Lemming is not at all happy about what happened at about 2:50 p.m. Monday in Boston. Three people were killed when bombs exploded. That was a tragedy. Other folks survived, but are now missing limbs. That's far from good news.

Tuesday's news includes a few new details. It looks like pressure cookers and timers were used to make the bombs.

We still don't know who was responsible. Whoever decided to cause death, suffering, and destruction, was probably motivated at by hate: at least in part. That, in the Lemming's considered opinion, is a bad thing.

The Lemming suspects that someone will seriously propose that pressure cookers, timers, and maybe backpacks, be outlawed: or that pressure cooker owners be required to register their kitchen appliances. Maybe we do need pressure cooker controls. Maybe not. And that's another topic.

Related posts:

• Common sense
  • "Boston Marathon Bombing: Tragedy and Uncertainty"
    A Catholic Citizen in America (April 15, 2013)
  • "Boston Marathon Bombs"
    Another War-on-Terror Blog (April 15, 2013)
  • "Wisconsin: Dead Sikhs; Disrupted Lives"
    A Catholic Citizen in America (August 5, 2012)
  • "How to Not Sound Crazy - or - THE PARANOIDS ARE AFTER ME!!!"
    (June 12, 2011)
  • "Nuclear Weapons, Space Aliens, Conspiracy Theories, and Getting a Grip"
    (September 24, 2010)
• Dangerous technology
  • "Technology, Freedom, and 'Love Your Neighbor' "
    A Catholic Citizen in America (January 18, 2013)br /> Particularly
    • Dealing with Dangerous Technology
  • "Lemming Tracks: Fire; 1,000,000 Years of Sizzling Steaks and Burned Fingers"
    (April 9, 2012)
  • "Next-Generation Prosthetic Hand - and Intel Says Direct Neural Interface Brain Chips by 2020"
    (December 2, 2009)
  • "DC Gun Ban, Online Censorship, Individual Rights, and Power to the People"
    Another War-on-Terror Blog (June 27, 2008)
    Particularly
    • Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but the Printing Press is Deadly
  • "'Search Neutrality:' Deciding What We're Allowed to Find?"
    (January 22, 2011)

Asteroid Apophis: No "Earth Shattering Kaboom"

Asteroid 99942 Apophis was something of an anticlimax this week, instead of Marvin the Martian's "earth shattering kaboom," all we got was some fascinating data and a few fuzzy pictures.

That's just as well, since 99942 Apophis is almost a quarter-mile wide. Compared to Earth's (roughly) 8,000 mile diameter that's not much: but it's still big enough to stir up a spot of unpleasantness.

Asteroid Impact: 'What If?'

Let's see what would happen if New York City's Greenwich Village got in the way of an asteroid about the same size as 99942 Apophis. That part of New York City's built on nice, solid, Manhattan schist. ("J. Hood Wright Park," City of New York Partks and Recreation)

The Lemming's assuming that the rock in question is porous, 1066 feet across, traveling 17 kilometers a second (38,028 miles an hour), and hits at a 45 degree angle. That's a fairly typical speed and angle for asteroids falling on Earth.

Hello Asteroid, Goodby Greenwich Village

Our first point of view is Hoboken, about two miles west of Greenwich Village. That should be close enough for a good view, provided our observer is in a tallish building.

Quite a lot of energy is going to get released when that asteroid hits. Maybe our observer is a little too close.

The asteroid started breaking up at about 238,000 feet. Earth's atmosphere is noticeable, even 45 miles up: particularly for a rock zipping along at 38,028 miles an hour.

By the time it hits Greenwich Village, pieces of our space rock are spread out over an oval about three quarters of a mile long and a little over a half-mile wide. The pieces are still going pretty fast, and they're concentrated in a fairly small area. When they hit, all that kinetic energy will be released. It amounts to what you get by setting off about 697 megatons of TNT.

At this point, any wealth invested in Greenwich Village real estate disappears: along with Greenwich Village.

For a moment, there's a hole in Manhattan Island almost two miles across and a bit over 3,600 feet deep. Never mind those numbers, though. There's an explosion in progress, and that crater is changing: fast. By the time rock stops flowing, our crater will be 2.31 miles across, but only 1,440 feet deep.

Meanwhile, in Hoboken - - -

Our observer in Hoboken is okay, for the moment. The impact didn't release much heat, and the earthquake-like shaking shouldn't damage well-built structures.

That's the good news. The bad news is that our observer, along with the building and quite a lot of Hoboken, is sliding into the crater.

Let's say that our observer got into a helicopter as the building collapsed. Just under 10 seconds after Greenwich Village disappeared, the air blast hits, along with a 4,670 mile per hour wind.

Newark: 'Ideal for Remodeling'

Hoboken was definitely too close. Let's try another observer, on the west site of Newark, about 10 miles from the center of Greenwich Crater. At that distance, the ground won't start shaking for about three and a quarter seconds.

The air blast takes almost 49 seconds to arrive, and has lost quite a bit of speed: the wind is only about 629 miles an hour. That's enough to blow over a highway truss bridge, knock down most buildings, and generally wreak havoc.

Atlantic City: Pretty Good Odds

In Atlantic City, about 100 miles away, nobody's likely to notice what happened. At first.

About 32 seconds after impact, dishes will start rattling, and folks inside will probably hear walls and doors make odd sounds: sort of like a truck hitting the building.

Just over three minutes after Greenwich Village land value dropped to zero, bits and pieces of the asteroid and Manhattan start start falling. They're about one quarter of an inch across, on average.

About eight minutes and eight seconds after impact, the air blast will arrive. By now it's about as loud as heavy traffic: annoying, maybe, but not a threat.

Why Worry?

Scientists are fairly sure that rocks the side of the Lemming's hypothetical example hit Earth every 65,000 years or so: with emphasis on "or so." We could see two in a matter of weeks, and then wait 130,000 years for the next one. It's an average, not a schedule.

The odds are that none have hit during recorded history. Or maybe one did, and left no surviving witnesses. We just don't know.

From a 'big picture' point of view, there's very little to be concerned about. That hypothetical rock wouldn't have a noticeable effect on Earth's climate, and wouldn't do more than rearrange part of an island near the mouth of one river. 'No big deal.'

The Lemming's pretty sure that folks living on North America's east coast wouldn't agree, though. Aside from humanitarian considerations, New York City's important to the regional economy: and, arguably, much farther away.

New York City might be rebuilt, but that would take time: a lot of time.

'Asteroid Patrol'

Happily, some folks have been tracking asteroids. Humanity has the start of a sort of 'Asteroid Patrol,' that might at least spot an incoming rock months before it hit.

Humanity even has some ideas for how to push dangerous rocks into less-dangerous orbits. In the Lemming's opinion, technology isn't the issue: it's convincing national leaders that there's a problem, and that something can and should be done.

And that, as the Lemming often says in another blog, is another topic.

• Earth Impact Effects Program
  Robert Marcus, H. Jay Melosh, and Gareth Collins; Imperial College (London), Purdue University

Related posts:

• "News, Good and Otherwise: and Billions of Worlds"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (January 11, 2013)
  Particularly
  • Asteroid 99942 Apophis Missed Us
• "Asteroid Misses Earth, Good News; It's Not Unique, Not-So-Good News"
  (June 29, 2011)
• "Asteroid Apophis: Probably Won't Hit Earth in 2036 or 2068"
  (March 10, 2011)
• "Dinosaurs, Three Major Asteroid Impacts, and Massive Volcanic Eruptions"
  (August 29, 2010)
• "Asteroids and Earth: Time for the Space Patrol?"
  (May 2, 2010)

WR 104: Gamma Ray Bursts and a Musing Lemming

"WR 104 Won't Kill Us After All"
Ian O'Neill, Universe Today (January 7, 2009)

"Early last year, concern was growing for a Wolf-Rayet star named WR 104 that appeared to be aiming right at Earth (see Looking Down the Barrel of A Gamma Ray Burst). A Wolf-Rayet star is a highly unstable star coming to the end of its life, possibly culminating in a powerful, planet-killing gamma-ray burst (GRB). GRBs are collimated beams of high energy gamma-rays, projected from the poles of a collapsing Wolf-Rayet star. It was little wonder that we were concerned when a dying Wolf-Rayet star was found to be pointing right at us! Today, at the AAS in Long Beach, one scientist working at the Keck Telescope has taken a keen interest in WR 104 and shared new findings that show our Solar System may not be bathed in deadly gamma-rays after all...."

As Marvin the Martian said, "Where's the kaboom? There was supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom!"

Or, in this case, sizzle.

Technical Questions, Technical Answers, and the Lemming

"WR 104: Technical Questions"
Peter Tuthill, School of Physics, Sydney University, NSW 2006, Australia

" This page is for a more in-depth technical discussion of the risk posed by WR 104. There is jargon and techincal [!] stuff ahead, and I won't try to explain all the terms. Ask your local friendly Astronomer if in doubt.

"This discussion focusses [!] on the risk to earth from a potential future gamma ray burst (GRB) in WR 104. Note that this was not a big part of my scientific article published in Astrophysical Journal. The article only had a paragraph or two about this scenario. But for understandable reasons, the press and public have picked up on this aspect of the work. It is maybe a little more widely relevant than, say, 'radiative braking in colliding-wind systems' (which is discussed at length in the paper)...."


In another blog, the Lemming put information about WR 104 into a (fairly) short list:

• WR 104 is
  
  • About 8,000 light years away
    • 'Close' on a cosmic scale
  • A double star
  • 'Pointed' in our direction
    • Maybe
    • Or maybe not
• The stars will explode
  • Probably
  • Within the next 100,000 years
    • Or so
  • Twice
    • It's a double star
• The explosions will produce either
  • Two gamma ray bursts
  • One gamma ray burst
  • No gamma ray bursts
• The gamma ray burst(s), if any, will
  • Get deflected by magnetic fields
  • Be diffused by interstellar gas
  • Cause mass extinctions
    • Like the Ordovician mass extinction
    • Or not

Bottom line: in a hundred thousand years or so, one or both of the stars that humanity calls WR 104 will explode, probably.

One or both may or may not shoot a really intense clump of gamma rays in the general direction of Earth.

These gamma rays may get deflected by the Milky Way galaxy's magnetic fields; or they may get mushed up by the stuff between stars; or they may cause something like the Ordovician extinction event.

That Ordovician thing happened 440,000,000 or so years ago: 'Scientist Declares Doom' headlines notwithstanding, global disasters aren't all that common.

One Thing at a Time

The Lemming is, as this blog's name suggests, "apathetic." Maybe humanity will, a few hundred thousand years from now, face a cataclysmic catastrophe of cosmic scope. Then again, maybe not.

Come to think of it, by then humanity may have spread out a bit by then: which would raise the odds of at least one planetary system that's called "home" being in trouble.

The Lemming is content to let generations yet unborn decide whether to set up shielding, evacuate a few planetary systems, or maybe turn WR 104 so in shoots in another direction.

That last option might have unintended consequences. Someone else might be peeved, if humanity pointed WR 104 toward their home just before it exploded.

Related posts:

• "Oh, Wow! Betelgeuse Has a Couple of Really Hot Spots"
  (January 13, 2010)
• "Betelgeuse is Shrinking: Earth at Grandstand Distance from Supernova?"
  (June 10, 2009)
• "Betelgeuse Blows in 2012? 'Don't Bet on It' "
  (January 22, 2011)
• "Orion: Stars Under Construction and Otherwise"
  (January 9, 2011)
• "Move the Planet - or - Safety First"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (December 9, 2009)

Lemming Tracks: Instagram; Intellectual Property; and Underage Models

"Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos"
Declan McCullagh, (December 17, 2012)

"In its first big policy shift since Facebook bought the photo-sharing site, Instagram claims the right to sell users' photos without payment or notification. Oh, and there's no way to opt out...."

"Privacy and Terms of Service Changes on Instagram"
blog.instagram.com (December 16, 2012)

"Our community has grown a lot since we wrote our original terms of service. To get things up to date for the millions of people now using Instagram, we’re bringing you new versions of our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

"Here are a few key updates:

• "Nothing has changed about your photos’ ownership or who can see them.
• Our updated privacy policy helps Instagram function more easily as part of Facebook by being able to share info between the two groups. This means we can do things like fight spam more effectively, detect system and reliability problems more quickly, and build better features for everyone by understanding how Instagram is used.
• "Our updated terms of service help protect you, and prevent spam and abuse as we grow.

"This is just a small preview. Our new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service will be effective on January 16, 2013.

"We know these documents are a little dry, but they’re very important. Please take a moment to read through them so you keep feeling comfortable sharing your beautiful photos on Instagram."

So far, the Lemming couldn't see anything alarming. But Instagram included two links, and the Lemming thought Terms of Service might have something interesting.

The Lemming was right.

Ownership, Rights, and 'Under 18'

"Terms of Use"
instagram.com (effective on January 16, 2013)

"By accessing or using the Instagram website, the Instagram service, or any applications...

"...Rights

1. "Instagram does not claim ownership of any Content that you post on or through the Service. Instead, you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that you post on or through the Service, except that you can control who can view certain of your Content and activities on the Service as described in the Service's Privacy Policy, available here: http://instagram.com/legal/privacy/.
2. "Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you. If you are under the age of eighteen (18), or under any other applicable age of majority, you represent that at least one of your parents or legal guardians has also agreed to this provision (and the use of your name, likeness, username, and/or photos (along with any associated metadata)) on your behalf...."

The Lemming has run into, and occasionally used, free services which pay their bills by using their users' content for marketing and advertising. That condition is no problem for the Lemming, since much of what the Lemming produces helps the Lemming - no matter where it's displayed.

Not everybody is like the Lemming, thankfully. Who needs a world full of flannel-clad lemmings? CNET's Declan McCullagh has a point: folks who don't want their photos used to sell some product probably don't want to use Instagram.

For the Lemming, it's an academic point. The Lemming doesn't use Instagram. Folks who do - probably want to re-think using that particular service.

The really interesting part, from the Lemming's point of view, is "...If you are under the age of eighteen (18)...." Using underage models for advertising, even with the safeguards Instagram has in that agreement, seems to be asking for trouble. In the Lemming's opinion.

Daft Contracts, the Government, and the Lemming

Springing surprises like Instagram's new Terms of Service on customers and clients is one thing. Folks can often find another business that isn't quite so clueless about what folks do - and don't - expect.

When a government starts, ah, 'protecting' folks - that's another topic.

(A tip of the hat to CNET, on Google+, for the heads-up on Instagram's new policy.)

Related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: SOPA, Tech-Savvy Folks, Hollywood, and Congress"
  (January 9, 2012)
• "SOPA, Censorship, the Twits in Washington, and a Ranting Lemming"
  (December 28, 2011)
• "Copyright Infringement Case: Over a Tattoo?!"
  (June 11, 2011)
• "FCC, the Internet, Regulations, Freedom of Speech, and a Ranting Lemming"
  (December 23, 2010)
• "COICA: A Federal Official Deciding Who Gets to Stay Online"
  (November 19, 2010)

Papa John's Spam Blast: Oops

"Papa John's faces $250 million spam lawsuit"
Olivia Smith, CNN Money (November 13, 2012)

"Popular U.S. pizza chain Papa John's faces a $250 million class-action lawsuit for blasting customers with illegal text messages.

"The plaintiffs allege that Papa John's (PZZA) franchises sent customers a total of 500,000 unwanted messages in early 2010. The spam texts offered deals for pizza, and some customers complained they were getting 15 or 16 texts in a row, even during the middle of the night, according Donald Heyrich, an attorney representing the class.

" 'After I ordered from Papa John's, my telephone started beeping with text messages advertising pizza specials,' Erin Chutich, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement. 'Papa John's never asked permission to send me text message advertisements.'

"The pizza franchises sent the text blasts through a mass text messaging service called OnTime4U, which is also a defendant in the case. When Papa John's was first sued in April 2010, the franchises allegedly ended their involvement with OnTime4U's text program...."

Somehow, somewhere, someone got the idea that pestering customers - in the middle of the night - was a good idea.

Or maybe it was a programming glitch.

The CNN Money article says that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 requires wannabe spammers to wait until folks opt in to a text messaging spamfest.

Papa John's, OnTime4U, and probably a lot of other outfits, will be contributing to the welfare of lawyers for quite a while, in the Lemming's opinion.

Nearly-related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: States Provide Voter Information (and email addresses - EEEEK!)"
  (February 6, 2012)
• "Lemming Tracks: Epsilon Breach, Spam, and Getting a Grip"
  (April 6, 2011)
• "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People With Email: 10 Easy Points"
  (February 24, 2011)
• "Advertising Humor: In Dubious Taste"
  (August 23, 2010)
• "Blog Comments Categorized: Encouragers to Aliens"
  (May 28, 2010)

Internet Access Ends Monday: For DNSChanger-Infected Computers

"Malware may knock thousands off Internet on Monday"
Associated Press, via FoxNews.com (July 5, 2012)

"The warnings about the Internet problem have been splashed across Facebook and Google. Internet service providers have sent notices, and the FBI set up a special website.

"But tens of thousands of Americans may still lose their Internet service Monday unless they do a quick check of their computers for malware that could have taken over their machines more than a year ago...."

Not everyone is online as much as the Lemming: or wants to be. Since it's possible that you didn't hear about DNSChanger, and why it's a serious problem, the Lemming assembled this link list:

• "DCWG"
  (www.dcwg.org)
  DNS Changer Working Group
  • Created to help deal with Rove Digital's malicious DNS servers
  • Helps monitor DNS servers run by ISC
    • Under court order
• "Notifying DNSChanger Victims"
  Facebook Security (June 4, 2012)
• "Notifying users affected by the DNSChanger malware"
  Google Online Security Blog (May 22, 2012)
• "FBI - Check to See if Your Computer is Using Rogue DNS"
  (forms.fbi.gov/check-to-see-if-your-computer-is-using-rogue-DNS)
  • "The FBI is seeking information from individuals, corporate entities, and Internet Services Providers who believe that they have been victimized by malicious software (“malware”) related to the defendants"
  (June 8, 2012)

The Lemming also offered free advice, which may be worth every cent:

• No foreign ruler wants you to transfer his wealth through your bank account
• The inheritance from a rich relative you don't know about
  • Doesn't exist
    • Neither does the rich relative
• "Free" usually isn't
• You won't make millions by stuffing envelopes
• If you wouldn't do it in your neighborhood, don't do it online
  • Cyberspace is real, too
  (June 8, 2012)

Bear in mind that the Lemming's not an online security 'expert.' Do your own research: and use your brain.

Alerts, Infections, and Maybe 64,000 Computers in America

"...Despite repeated alerts, the number of computers that probably are infected is more than 277,000 worldwide, down from about 360,000 in April. Of those still infected, the FBI believes that about 64,000 are in the United States.

"Users whose computers are still infected Monday will lose their ability to go online, and they will have to call their service providers for help deleting the malware and reconnecting to the Internet...."
(Associated Press)

Going from 360,000 to 277,000 infected computers, globally, meant getting the attention of computer users - for almost one of every four DNSChanger-infested units. That's not doing too badly, in the Lemming's opinion. Folks who use computers and go online aren't necessarily tech-savvy enough to know why good security is a good idea.

As it is, it looks like 64,000 folks in the Lemming's home country will be in for a surprise. You probably don't want to be one of them, which is why the Lemming re-posted that link list.

The resources set up in America are fairly easy to read, simple to use: and yes, the Lemming checked. The household computers here are clean. As far as the Lemming can tell.

DNSChanger: What Happened

"...The problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of more than 570,000 infected computers around the world. When the FBI went in to take down the hackers late last year, agents realized that if they turned off the malicious servers being used to control the computers, all the victims would lose their Internet service...."
(Associated Press)

There's more in yesterday's article: and even more in last month's Apathetic Lemming of the North post on the DNSChanger malware situation.

Related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Google, Facebook Affected by DNSChanger Malware! WHEN WILL IT END?!!!!"
  (June 8, 2012)
  Particularly
  • Malware, Facebook, and Counting Down to July 9
  • DNSChanger: Background and Help
  • Malware, the Internet, Lizard Men, and a Ranting Lemming
  • DNS Changer: Yes, It's Important
• "International Cyber Crime Ring Busted: 'By Jove, I Think They've GOT It!' "
  (October 3, 2010)
• "'Here You Have' - Nitwits on the Net"
  (September 12, 2010)
• "Microsoft, Domains, Zombie Computers, and Spam"
  (February 26, 2010)
• "'Work at Home,' Transferring Money Overseas: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"
  (November 3, 2009)

Lemming Tracks: Google, Facebook Affected by DNSChanger Malware! WHEN WILL IT END?!!!!

First, relax: Google and Facebook were "affected" by DNSChanger malware, only in the sense that both outfits took action to help their users deal with the nasty code.

Second, this is another post where the Lemming may get a little testy.

Third, don't relax too much: DNSChanger isn't the only security issue around:

• "LinkedIn passwords leaked by hackers"
  BBC News (June 7, 2012)

Here's what set the Lemming off:

Malware, Facebook, and Counting Down to July 9

"Facebook Alerts Users About DNSChanger Malware"
Fahmida Y. Rashid, PC Magazine (June 6, 2012)

"Facebook will notify users who have DNSChanger malware on their computers of the infection and remind them that if left infected, they will lose Internet access come July 9.

"When a user browses to Facebook from a DNSChanger-infected computer, the social networking giant will display an alert with a link to the DNSChanger Working Group's website, the Facebook security team wrote on the Facebook Security blog on June 4. The DCWG website contains information about the malware and instructions on cleaning up the infection....

The odds are pretty good that you already know about the situation, even if the name "DNSChanger" isn't familiar. This blog tends to get geeky: with the implications about visitors that implies.

Note, by the way, a geek is not necessarily a nerd:

• "Lemming Tracks: A Geek is Not a Nerd"
  (April 15, 2011)

DNSChanger: Background and Help

The Lemming has more: including a rant. On the other hand, here's something useful:

• "DCWG"
  (www.dcwg.org)
  DNS Changer Working Group
  • Created to help deal with Rove Digital's malicious DNS servers
  • Helps monitor DNS servers run by ISC
    • Under court order
• "Notifying DNSChanger Victims"
  Facebook Security (June 4, 2012)
• "Notifying users affected by the DNSChanger malware"
  Google Online Security Blog (May 22, 2012)
• "FBI - Check to See if Your Computer is Using Rogue DNS"
  (forms.fbi.gov/check-to-see-if-your-computer-is-using-rogue-DNS)
  • "The FBI is seeking information from individuals, corporate entities, and Internet Services Providers who believe that they have been victimized by malicious software (“malware”) related to the defendants"

Look, Up In the Sky! It's a Cloud! It's an App! No, It's CloudFlare!!

"...Google announced a similar plan back on May 22. The search giant displays alerts to victims through its search pages. CloudFlare,a company that provides hosted security and content accelerations services for websites, also offers customers a DNSChanger notification tool. Once a CloudFlare customer turned on the tool within its administrative panel, all visitors to its Website would be immediately notified if they are infected with DNSChanger.

"What is DNSChanger?

"DNSChanger targets the computer's Domain Name System settings to hijack Web search queries, redirect users to fake websites, and display malicious advertisements. The malware changes the DNS server settings on the computer to use rogue servers instead of legitimate servers operated by the Internet Service Provider or other public servers from companies such as Google and OpenDNS.

"DNS is analogous to a phone directory for the Internet. Computers...."
(Fahmida Y. Rashid)

There's a pretty good explanation of the DNS system and how it works in the PC World article. Also how many computers are still infected with DNSChanger. It's a pretty small fraction of all Internet-connected compuers: but it's still a big number.

July 10 Will be Too Late

"Facebook warns hundreds of thousands may lose Internet in July"
FoxNews.com (June 6, 2012)

"Facebook announced Tuesday that it had joined a consortium of other companies and security experts to help alert hundreds of thousands of websurfers of a computer infection called DNSChanger that may knock their computers off the Internet this summer.

"Unknown to most of them, their problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers around the world. In a highly unusual response, the FBI set up a safety net months ago using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions for those infected users. But that system will be shut down July 9 -- killing connections for those people.

"The FBI has run an impressive campaign for months, encouraging people to visit a website that will inform them whether they're infected and explain how to fix the problem. After July 9, infected users won't be able to connect to the Internet...."

If you're a science fiction/speculative fiction buff, you may have noticed the Lemming's rephrase of "October First is Too Late," One of Fred Hoyle's contributions to English literature.

The good news, from the Lemming's point of view, is that America's government has done something sensible about a serious malware issue.

Malware, the Internet, Lizard Men, and a Ranting Lemming

The bad news, again from the Lemming's point of view, is that we may be in for a few new conspiracy theories. After July 9, when the 'safety net' goes down, someone with an infected computer won't be able to use the Internet, learn that 'the government won't let me online,' and conclude that it's some kinda plot.

Which, in a way, it is. Sort of. Except that folks who pay attention know about malware, DNSChanger, and probably aren't infected.

Or is the Lemming in league with the space-alien, shape-shifting, lizard men who took over the world? Think about it: "Lemming" and "lizard" start with the same letter; the lizard men control Blogger, and the Lemming uses Blogger. You see?! It all fits together!!!

The lizard men are so complacent about their control of Earth, that they've started getting careless about their disguises:


(from Oddly Enough, Reuters, used w/o permission)

DNS Changer: Yes, It's Important

Back to that FoxNews.com article:

"...The challenge, and the reason for the awareness campaigns: Most victims don't even know their computers have been infected, although the malicious software probably has slowed their web surfing and disabled their antivirus software, making their machines more vulnerable to other problems.

"Last November, when the FBI and other authorities were preparing to take down a hacker ring that had been running an Internet ad scam on a massive network of infected computers, the agency realized this may become an issue.

" 'We started to realize that we might have a little bit of a problem on our hands because ... if we just pulled the plug on their criminal infrastructure and threw everybody in jail, the victims of this were going to be without Internet service,' said Tom Grasso, an FBI supervisory special agent. 'The average user would open up Internet Explorer and get "page not found" and think the Internet is broken.'..."
(FoxNews.com)

There's more than a little oversimplification and generalization going on in that statement: but the Lemming thinks the FBI had the right idea in this case. Quite a few folks using computers and the Internet aren't tech-savvy.

DNS Changer: The Clock's Ticking

"..On the night of the arrests, the agency brought in Paul Vixie, chairman and founder of Internet Systems Consortium, to install two Internet servers to take the place of the truckload of impounded rogue servers that infected computers were using. Federal officials planned to keep their servers online until March, giving everyone opportunity to clean their computers.

"But it wasn't enough time.

"A federal judge in New York extended the deadline until July.

"Now, said Grasso, 'the full court press is on to get people to address this problem.' And it's up to computer users to check their PCs...."
(FoxNews.com)

That phrase, "it's up to computer users to check their PCs," is - in the Lemming's opinion - very important. Stopgap measures like tracking down criminals and swapping out rogue servers are important. But individual users need to take care of what's under their control.

The Internet isn't all that different from the 'real' world: having an effective police department in your area is important. But so is remembering to lock the front door.

DNS Changer: What Happened

"...Hackers infected a network of probably more than 570,000 computers worldwide. They took advantage of vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system to install malicious software on the victim computers. This turned off antivirus updates and changed the way the computers reconcile website addresses behind the scenes on the Internet's domain name system.

"The DNS system is a network of servers that translates a web address -- such as http://www.foxnews.com -- into the numerical addresses that computers use. Victim computers were reprogrammed to use rogue DNS servers owned by the attackers. This allowed the attackers to redirect computers to fraudulent versions of any website.

"The hackers earned profits from advertisements that appeared on websites that victims were tricked into visiting. The scam netted the hackers at least $14 million, according to the FBI. It also made thousands of computers reliant on the rogue servers for their Internet browsing...."
(FoxNews.com)

The Lemming has nothing against online advertising: just look at the sidebar for proof. The ethical problem here is that some folks decided to set up a fraudulent advertising network. Hey - that's an acronym: Fraudulent Advertising Network: 'We FAN your profits.' And, no: advertising is not, by definition, fraudulent. In the Lemming's opinion. And that's yet another topic.

Beware Estonians Bearing Servers?

"...When the FBI and others arrested six Estonians last November, the agency replaced the rogue servers with Vixie's clean ones. Installing and running the two substitute servers for eight months is costing the federal government about $87,000.

"The number of victims is hard to pinpoint, but the FBI believes that on the day of the arrests, at least 568,000 unique Internet addresses were using the rogue servers. Five months later, FBI estimates that the number is down to at least 360,000. The U.S. has the most, about 85,000, federal authorities said. Other countries with more than 20,000 each include Italy, India, England and Germany. Smaller numbers are online in Spain, France, Canada, China and Mexico.

"Vixie said most of the victims are probably individual home users, rather than corporations that have technology staffs who routinely check the computers...."
(FoxNews.com)

There's bad news here: the cost in dollars, time, and attention involved; loss of trust and other emotional fallout that's hard to measure.

But there's good news too: American and international law enforcement seem to be taking 'cybercrime' seriously, and are developing practical ways for dealing with the criminals and their actions; quite a few folks may learn more about how to use the Internet safely.

Free Advice From the Lemming: Worth Every Cent

The Lemming's household network and computers aren't infected by DNSChanger: or, as far as the Lemming knows, anything else.

That's partly because the Lemming spent 10 years being 'the computer guy' for a small company, and many more decades accumulating 'life experience.' It's like the sign said:

Making mistakes comes from a lack of wisdom.
Experience comes from making mistakes.
Wisdom comes from experience.

If you don't mind taking advice from an oversize virtual Lemming, here are some helpful(?) tips:

• No foreign ruler wants you to transfer his wealth through your bank account
• The inheritance from a rich relative you don't know about
  • Doesn't exist
    • Neither does the rich relative
• "Free" usually isn't
• You won't make millions by stuffing envelopes
• If you wouldn't do it in your neighborhood, don't do it online
  • Cyberspace is real, too

By the way: the Lemming's not an online security 'expert,' so do your own research: and use your brain.

More:

• "How to avoid July 9 'Internet Doomsday': fix the DNSChanger malware"
  FoxNews.com (April 23, 2012)
• "8 Suggestions for Mitigating and Preventing DNSChanger Malware in your Enterprise"
  Brian Rexroad, Network Exchange Blog (March 28, 2012)

Not-entirely-unrelated posts:

• "Hackers Hooked: Some of Them, Anyway"
  (March 9, 2012)
• "Oops: pcAnywhere, Symantec's 2006 Norton Antivirus Hacked"
  (January 26, 2012)
• "Lemming Tracks: 'password' As a Password?!"
  (November 21, 2011
• "Lemming Tracks: Epsilon Breach, Spam, and Getting a Grip"
  (April 6, 2011)
• "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People With Email: 10 Easy Points"
  (February 24, 2011)

Microsoft, Windows, Internet Explorer, "Mere Anarchy is Loosed Upon the World," and All That

"Microsoft returning Windows to 'the digital dark ages'?"
FoxNews.com (May 10, 2012)

"The biggest lawsuit in Microsoft's history dominated the 90s, when the company battled accusations that it was stifling browser competition. Rival Netscape couldn't survive, but the Windows giant was ultimately forced to strip Internet Explorer from its operating system in a landmark ruling.

"That conflict may be brewing up again.

"Mozilla, the developer group behind the popular Firefox browser, argued Wednesday night that Firefox is being banned from certain versions of Windows 8, the forthcoming tablet-centric OS from Microsoft -- returning Windows users to the dark ages before competition.

" 'The upcoming release of Windows … and Microsoft's browser practices regarding Windows 8 Metro signal an unwelcome return to the digital dark ages where users and developers didn't have browser choices,” wrote Harvey Anderson, Mozilla general counsel, in a Wednesday night blog post...."

Hyperbole about "digital dark ages" aside, it looks like Microsoft's upcoming version of Windows will allow Microsoft's Internet Explorer to work on computers using Windows, along with most other browsers. Or, Microsoft's new version of Windows will let only Internet Explorer to work.

Either way, it'll be the fault of Big Bad Microsoft: for some folks.

Concerned, Yes: Worried, No

The Lemming is concerned about the latest claim that Microsoft is doing something stupid and self-destructive. The Lemming's computer uses Windows, and the Lemming uses Firefox for most Web browsing: and Chrome, mostly to let the Lemming's webcam talk to a free-with-ads display service.

If the next version of Windows, and subsequent versions, won't let anything but Internet Explorer function as a browser, the Lemming may decide that the next computer on the Lemming's desk will have another operating system.

It's the Lemming's considered opinion that quite a few folks may make that decision: which is why the Lemming is concerned, but not worried. Even if Microsoft decides to be daft: there are other options.

The Town of Hypothetical, West Dakota

Competition doesn't always feel good. Consider this hypothetical situation: Let's say you live somewhere that isn't like Los Angeles or New York City. A remarkable number of folks do, and that's another topic.

You run the only grocery in town: if folks want to buy at another grocer's, they'll have to drive 50 miles. You have to put fresh produce out occasionally, and be careful enough to keep the health inspector from closing you down: but apart from that, you don't have to worry about whether folks will buy your fuzzy fruit and glow-in-the-dark cold cuts.

Then: SOMEONE ELSE OPENS A GROCERY at the other end of town. With (really) fresh fruit, and meat that's not quite so thoroughly aged.

You've got a choice: improve your grocery, or go out of business.

Harsh as this may sound: everybody else in town might benefit from grocers competing with each other. And maybe the hypothetical 'you' with the fuzzy fruit might find indirect benefits in competition-induced improvements.

Who knows: your neighbors might even stop throwing rocks through your windows.

"Things Fall Apart:" A More Sophisticated, Literary, Approach to Unpleasantness

Maybe the Lemming is being unfair about this: but after a while these perennial complaints about big, bad, whatever gets tiresome.

It's like that fellow whose sole talent seems to be finding a dark lining in every sliver cloud; and whose greatest satisfaction is pulling defeat from the jaws of victory. For some reason, a sort of loquacious pessimism has been highly thought of in at least part of the literary world:

"...Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
"Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
"The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
"Are full of passionate intensity...." (Yeats (1920))

That's not bad, actually. Gloomy, And not the sort of thing to take in large doses on an overcast day: but not bad.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Google, Bing, Microsoft, 'Original' Work, and Getting a Grip" (February 2, 2011)
• "Microsoft; XP; Support; Marketing, Smart and Otherwise" (August 5, 2010)
• "Microsoft, Domains, Zombie Computers, and Spam" (February 26, 2010)
• "First Google Gmail Hack, now Windows Hole Announced" (January 21, 2010)
• "Lemming Tracks: The Zlob Worm and Related Malware Issues" (April 19, 2009)

NASA: Good News, Bad News, and a Stolen Laptop

"NASA to Beef Up Cybersecurity After Laptop Computer Theft"
Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com (March 8, 2012)

"NASA is taking steps to prevent another security lapse like the one that caused unencrypted space station codes to leak when a NASA laptop computer was stolen, the space agency's chief Charles Bolden told Congress Wednesday (March 7).

"The stolen NASA laptop was among 48 mobile devices taken from the space agency between April 2009 and April 2011, the agency's Inspector General office announced on Feb. 29. The laptop contained command and control codes for the International Space Station (ISS).

" 'I can take action there and I intend to do so,' Bolden told the U.S. Senate's Commerce, Science and Transportation committee Wednesday (March 7). 'I can make it a policy or reemphasize the policy that when critical information is put on a laptop, it's encrypted.'..."

The good news is that folks on the ISS weren't in danger as a result of the laptop - and its data - getting stolen.

The not-so-good news is that NASA, and just about everybody else, is still getting used to the Information Age - and learning what is a good idea, and what isn't.

Encrypting data on gadgets that are easy to steal sounds like a really good idea.

It's not just NASA - SEGA, Sony, credit card companies, and a whole lot more outfits have been climbing a learning curve over the last few years.

Slightly-related posts:

• "Hackers Hooked: Some of Them, Anyway"
  (March 9, 2012)
• "Oops: pcAnywhere, Symantec's 2006 Norton Antivirus Hacked"
  (January 26, 2012)
• "Move Over, Sony: Sega Joins 'We Were Hacked' Club"
  (June 19, 2011)
• "3,300,000 People's Student Loan Data Stolen: That's a Lot of Zeroes"
  (March 27, 2010)
• "Flight 188, Distracted Pilots, and Dangerously Impractical Software?"
  (November 27, 2009)

Lemming Tracks: Online Dating Advice

How good is the Lemming's judgment, when it comes to romance? Let's put it this way: On Valentine's day, the Lemming posted a picture of two dragons not-quite holding hands.

Happily, the following advice doesn't come from the Lemming

This Article's Online Dating Tip #1: Don't be Creepy

"Three boneheaded online dating moves to avoid"
Andrea Bartz and Brenna Ehrlich, Netiquette, CNN (February 15, 2012)

"Ahh, yes, February 15, the joyful day when singletons can finally collapse in exhaustion after weeks of maintaining a nonchalant front. Finally, you think, finally, the incessant stream of hearts and cupids and reminders that romantic partnership is the apogee of human achievement will come to a merciful end.

"And then you voluntarily read to the second paragraph of our weekly netiquette column, silly! That's right, we're here to take you waist-deep into that cesspool of romantic endeavors and bad decisions: online dating....

"...We've told you what not to do with your first message to a prospective date. We've told you what not to do with your photo. Yet real, live online daters continue to find bizarre and almost impressively original ways to turn us off...."

The Lemming has a few words to say about online dating, common sense, and using "password" as a password. First, though, a 'don't do' list for online dating, according to Bartz and Ehrlich:

AVOID

• Being
  • Creepy
  • Scary
  • A stalker
  • All of the above
• Revealing little-to-nothing about yourself
  • No photo
  • Terse text
• Using a stupid user name, like
  • MoldyBill
  • JustBrowzin228

Online Dating, Losers, Grownups, and a Ranting Lemming

Dating sites seem to have gotten the reputation that singles bars had (and maybe still have): vaguely sleazy places where losers go to get scammed, or catch loathsome diseases. Or, sometimes, get in the papers when their bodies are recovered.

Are the reputations deserved? In their extreme form, probably not. On the other hand, the Lemming runs across this sort of thing now and then:

• "Online dating conman 'left me hurt and violated' "
  BBC News, Hereford & Worcester (February 14, 2012)
• "Second Person Charged In Online Dating Murder Plot"
  WESH.com, Orlando (January 12, 2012)
• "In wake of Southfield motel murder, seven notable cases of online dating gone wrong"
  MLive.com (June 22, 2010)
• "Julissa Brisman ID'd as Boston Marriott Murder Victim: 5 Safety Precautions Craigslist Users Should Take"
  BindLaw Blotter (April 16, 2009)

In fairness, that last item was a matter of an "aspiring model and actress" who seems to have been using Craigslist to advertise a masseuse service: not online dating.

What the Lemming sees as a common thread here is folks who apparently didn't ask themselves 'what's the worst that could happen?' Or gave themselves the wrong answer. Human nature being what it is, even the sharpest, most people-savvy, person can make mistakes.

Are online dating sites populated entirely by immature losers and the predators who stalk them? Unlikely in the extreme: if that were so, some news service would have a daily body count as part of it's social-media programming.

Another point: 'Online dating sites' aren't always about online dating. Some serve folks who are looking for something more than a one-night stand; or even a summer fling. Some even come right out and acknowledge that their members want to get married.

Either way, the Lemming figures that at least some of the folks we meet online really are who they say they are: and have logged enough life experience to make rational decisions.

"Password" isn't a Good Password

Back to amazing blunders, like using "password" as a password.

Long before Nigerian scam entered the language, folks occasionally:

• Learned that a long-lost uncle
  • They'd never heard about
• Died in Australia
  • Leaving them an improbably large fortune

You guessed it: there was no uncle, no fortune, and the 'legal fees' they paid were gone - along with the ersatz law firm.

Between financial scams, credit card fraud, and counterfeit postage stamps, a sufficiently fretful person might decide to disconnect Internet, cable, and telephone service.

That, in the Lemming's opinion, would be over-reacting.

Being cautious about the online acquaintance whose creepiness makes Norman Bates seem wholesome? That could save a person's life.

Then there's the matter of not acting like the motel proprietor in "Psycho:" and that's another topic.

Slightly-related posts in this blog:

• "How to Not Sound Crazy - or - THE PARANOIDS ARE AFTER ME!!!"
  (June 12, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: A Geek is Not a Nerd"
  (April 15, 2011)
• "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People With Email: 10 Easy Points"
  (February 24, 2011)
• "Growing Your Online Presence and Balancing Your Life"
  (August 13, 2010)
• "Marks of a Really Good Nerd Party"
  (December 6, 2007)