Its the holiday season! And thus our annual installment of Holidays and Scams! Holiday SCAMS! Charity watchdog sites https://www.charitywatch.org/home https://www.charitynavigator.org/ http://www.give.org/ https://www.guidestar.org/ Charity scams Charity Scams – How to Tell If a Charity Is a Fraud (aarp.org) How To Recognize Veteran Charity Scams (aarp.org) https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/how-donate-wisely-and-avoid-charity-scams https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search http://www.nasconet.org/resources/state-government/
Rain Rain, Go Away! Space X was launching today! (11/14/20 Part 1)
Darn Tropical Storm Eta! Space X Second Manned Launch! We WERE going to be talking about the Space X launch today. We were HOPING to be geeking out about it on air. But nope! Eta had other ideas. But we are not deterred! https://www.space.com/spacex-nasa-delay-crew-1-astronaut-launch http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/ https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/10/08/keck-astronomer-nobel-prize/ https://astrobites.org/2020/10/15/the-nobel-prize-in-physics-2020-roger-penrose/ https://www.space.com/34791-first-time-telescope-buyer-guide.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobsonian_telescope
Hospitals and scumbag hackers. There, we said it. (10/31/20 Part 2)
Scumbag jerky hackers and ransom-ware. We hates them. Hostageware on the rise And yet, they don’t go away! So, what happened this time? https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/10/us-government-warns-of-imminent-ransomware-attacks-against-hospitals/ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hospitals-being-hit-in-coordinated-targeted-ransomware-attack-from-russian-speaking-criminals/ar-BB1auEpi?ocid=uxbndlbing https://www.zdnet.com/article/first-death-reported-following-a-ransomware-attack-on-a-german-hospital/ Also, if you saw the lights in the Maui sky the other night but don’t know what they were? https://mauinow.com/2020/10/25/cluster-of-mysterious-lights-observed-across-maui/
James Randi Memorial Episode (10/24/20 Part 1)
James Randi has passed away. Who is he? Well, you can read up on that. But what was he about? A healthy skepticism and curiosity about things! Sagan’s Detection Kit, and a fond farewell to Randi So, to honor his memory we talking about the Carl Sagan Balogney Detection Kit. For further amusement in critical thinking, check out Your Logical Fallacy Is and Your Cognitive Bias Is. We should also mention our contest! Our friends at Officemax have given us a Lenovo C32q monitor, and it can be yours for the price of an email! Listen in to the show to find out more!
Voting is different this year. Let’s help with that! (10/24/20 Part 2)
Voting this year is different in years past for Hawai’i. Its mail-in! Vote Hawaii! What else is going on? We talk about that, and of course, we have links! https://elections.hawaii.gov/ https://elections.hawaii.gov/hawaii-votes-by-mail/ https://www.vote411.org/hawaii https://portal.ehawaii.gov/government/voting-and-elections/ https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/Archives/measure_indiv_Archives.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=1248&year=2019 Plus, Alert Internet Surfer Danno found this demographic information from 2016. What does it cover? Ethnic groups on Maui via percentage then percentage as registered to vote! https://www.winningjustice.org/districts/hi-maui-4719
Zoom Zoom Zoom! It can hiccup! (10/17/20 Part 1)
Zoom is currently one of the most popular video conferencing services out there. When Zoom Won’t Zoom… And, like anything you can use, it can have some troubles now and then. Jonathan goes over some of those gotchas and snafus that with LD and Sam
Section 230: no, its not a Star Wars reference (10/17/20 Part 2)
Jonathan takes on the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Its in the news again, and its a BIG topic. Section 230 – Why Should I Care? Particularly because there is an Executive Order regarding it and Social Media. https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230 https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/10/ajit-pai-says-hell-help-trump-impose-crackdown-on-twitter-and-facebook/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/09/trump-admin-sends-congress-its-blueprint-for-weakening-section-230/
Roll them dice, and I get the dog. Monopoly time! (10/10/20 Part 1)
Its Monopoly time! Google, Amazon, and Apple have been said to have abused their monopolies in their various spheres of influence. Tech Monopolies! Now who says it? The House! So, lets talk about that… https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/10/house-amazon-facebook-apple-google-have-monopoly-power-should-be-split/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/10/microsoft-thumbs-its-nose-at-apple-with-new-app-fairness-policy/ https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2020/10/08/app-store-fairness-caf-interoperability-principles/ https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/06/microsoft-store-revenue-share/
Scram, Scammers! We ain’t talking! (10/10/20 Part 2)
Scammer season is year around. The tricks they use can vary on time of year, though. SCAMS targeting our Seniors! Pocket featured an article from Kiplinger, and Alert Internet Surfer Hiro thought it was worth sharing with us. We agree! https://getpocket.com/explore/item/6-scams-that-prey-on-the-elderly https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/ https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/scam-alerts/
Love it! Hate it! Stupid Facebook! (10/3/20 Part 1)
Don’t you love it when things change? Facebook changes and Interface Discussion Windows, Gmail, Office, and untold others have changed how they look and work over the years. And now? Well, its Facebook’s turn! Jonathan has a few things to say about that. Make Facebook look like it used to! https://revertsite.com/ Customize Windows to look how you want it to! https://www.stardock.com/products/ Facebook Messenger the website (no app required!): https://www.messenger.com/