Secure Digital Chips (SD Chips)

SD chips are commonly used in our technological devices. They are smaller, more versatile, and sometimes even can hold more memory than flash drives.

It was brought to my attention the other day that SD actually stands for secure digital. Which led me to question, does secure digital mean it is secure and encrypted?
As I search for the answer to this question I can upon several useful and informative links.

How SD chips came about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card

Additionally, I came upon an EBay link in which informs consumers how to avoid counterfeit SD chips.

http://reviews.ebay.com/FAKE-SanDisk-Ultra-Secure-Digital-Cards-Exposed_W0QQugidZ10000000001254879

I hope this information is useful. If anyone can answer my question about how secure SD chips are, let me know.

Passport Chips and Security

Having chips in our passports is news to me.

Which searching on google, I came upon this article which perturbed me.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-page_3_story_pmdec23,0,1266044.story

It talks about how they are locking down on security for passport chips, which means theft of passport information was a prominent issue.
That disturbs me.

You all can read it and see what you all think.

Take care and be well.

Preparation

"It is better to be safe than sorry"

Preparation is key.
The government promotes even promotes it.
We know they typically don't promote anything unless they are really serious about it.

Here are some sites that may interest you:

Homeland security preparation site:
http://www.ready.gov/

Preparation for Texans site:
http://www.texasprepares.org/ReadyOrNot/Client/Home.aspx

Homeland security site for Texas. ( I could not believe this exists.)
http://www.texashomelandsecurity.com/

I feel even though this is a Texas site, it is useful (obviously apply to where appropriate.)
http://www.readysouthtexas.gov/kit.asp

It is important to know who has the authority to call for emergency procedures in your area. One big problem with Rita and Texas was the confusion of who could call evacuation plans.

Preparation is not for just one geographic area. It is for everyone. Even if it seems like nothing will happen, look at history. It is a matter of time. Do not take lack of events as a reason to prepare.

Best wishes and stay well.

The Compass

I wanted to write about how to use compasses and how to buy them, however, since I lack the knowledge I found this:

http://www.learn-orienteering.org/old/

A compass is important. It is a basic tool like a knife.

Just as with knifes and other tools, it is perinet to pick a compass that works well, otherwise is like using a dull knife, which is more dangerous than a good knife.

Take care and be well.

No compass? No problem.

As I have metioned before, as well progress with GPS and other forms of technology, we forget basic skills our societies have struggled to learn.

Navigation is one such skill.
There was a time where there were no compasses and such; however,the world knew how not to get lost.
They also knew the world was round, but I am not getting into that today. (If you care, comment.)

I personally think this information is good for either the survivalist, or anyone seeking common knowledge.

1. The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west.
(Duh, right?) Well there is more to it.
The sun will rise North of East and set North of West between the Spring Equinox (About March 20th) and the Autumnal Equinox. (about September 21st)

The equinoxes are the two days in the year when the hours of daylight equals hours of night.
During the equinoxes the sun rises and sets due East and due West, respectively.

Between the Autumnal and Spring Equinoxes, the sun will rise and set South of East and South of West.

On the Summer Solstice (about June 20th) the sun will rise and set at the most north.
On the Winter Solstice (about December 20th), the sun will set the most South.

2. To find north (this only works in the Northern Hemisphere) find the North Star. (The north star does not set or rise, therefore it does not go into the Southern Hemisphere. )

Look for a Big Dipper in the sky. Connect the stars on the right hand side of the dipper, going up and you will run into the North Star, which is also known as Polaris.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dipper

Polaris will match about what latitude you are on the Northern Hemisphere, because of the tilt of the earth. You can measure degrees by standing up, holding out your fist and matching it to the horizon (basically the ground) and count how many fists till the top your fist matches Polaris. Each fist equals about 5 degrees.

There is really no Star like Polaris for the Southern Hemisphere, therefore it is harder to explain using stars for direction.

Also, for a side note, the constellation Orion, the Moon, and the Sun can be used to tell time, but I am not going into that right now.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

Some intersting trivia about mothers and Mother's Day.

There is some debate on the orgins of Mother's Dday, but the idea is all the same. One honors their mother or mother figure. Below is an article on the orgins andsome trivia about Mother's Day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_day

For anyone who has ever wanted to know,the most children born to one mother (not all at once) is 69.
In second place, is 55.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080221183915AALsSUw

I also saw a article on Yahoo about a women who is prenant with her 18th child.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080509/ap_on_re_us/18_kids;_ylt=AofTJs1JhLn6avWxa1vqKdVH2ocA

If that article link does not work, they have a TV show on discovery channel
http://health.discovery.com/convergence/duggars/duggarfamily.html

For all things extraordinary about births and babies:
http://www.geocities.com/issa_06/strange4.html