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Category: Technology

New Year, new engagement, new efforts

1 January, 2013 (12:31) | 2nd Amendment, Blogging, Politics, Religion, Science, Technology, The Media, Transportation, Virginia Politics | By: ricjames

Welcome to the new year. So this is what life after the end of the world looks like. Who knew? 2012 was certainly a year of ups and downs, and plenty of the latter. It’s no secret that the elections didn’t turn out the way I wanted to see them go and I do believe [...]

WiFi networks and channel selection

9 September, 2012 (14:41) | Internet, Technology | By: ricjames

OK, it’s been a while since I’ve waxxed all techie here at HoodaThunk? so I figure I’m due. Today’s topic: WiFi networks and the importance of channel selection. Most home users of WiFi tend to not worry about the radio channel their wireless routed is using. The router is usually smart enough to seek an [...]

FAA to investigate the use of personal electronic devices

27 August, 2012 (20:55) | Aviation, Technology, Transportation | By: ricjames

Now into the 2nd decade of the 21st century, the FAA is finally going to look into the idea of letting passenger use their electronic devices a bit more. The story specifically mentions the iPad and how the FAA official dismisses the idea that you’ll be using them any time soon. Considering how an increasing [...]

Bias in reporting. It’s not just in what you choose to report but in how you word your thoughts

23 August, 2012 (14:00) | 2012 Elections, Politics, Technology, The Media, Virginia Politics | By: ricjames

This story was from a while ago, during the Chick-fil-A dustup, but I saw a prime example of something I feel isn’t handled with enough care by our colleagues in the news media. The story was reporting on how social media can tend to skew your perception of the world. Author Gregory Ferenstein had been [...]

Obama displays his honest contempt for individual success and entrepreneurship

19 July, 2012 (11:03) | 2012 Elections, Economy, Internet, Politics, Technology, Virginia Politics | By: ricjames

( #didntbuildthat ) Once again, Obama has shown why he uses a teleprompter for virtually every exchange he has in public. When he starts to speak off the cuff, he just can’t hide his true feelings. At a speech in Roanoke, VA Obama had this to say about business owners – all business owners: …if [...]

Enter the Dragon: SpaceX Dragon completes a near-flawless mission

3 June, 2012 (08:05) | Economy, Human Interest, Science, Technology, Transportation | By: ricjames

I’m playing some catch-up this morning and I wanted to lead off with a round of applause to SpaceX and the silky-smooth first mission of the Dragon. The unmanned Dragon spacecraft was designed to answer NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Its mission is to haul stuff into orbit and return stuff back home. [...]

LEAP brings full motion interaction to your computer

28 May, 2012 (07:59) | Human Interest, Science, Technology | By: ricjames

THIS is cool! The LEAP system is a small peripheral device that sits in front of your keyboard, creating a 3-dimensional space above it where any motion of your hands and arms will be monitored. Those motions will be translated into control movements for various applications. For those of you with Xbox Kinect, this is [...]

LEAP brings full motion interaction to your computer

28 May, 2012 (07:59) | Human Interest, Science, Technology | By: ricjames

THIS is cool! The LEAP system is a small peripheral device that sits in front of your keyboard, creating a 3-dimensional space above it where any motion of your hands and arms will be monitored. Those motions will be translated into control movements for various applications. For those of you with Xbox Kinect, this is [...]

NJ Judge finds that “electronic presence” doesn’t attach liability for a crash.

26 May, 2012 (07:43) | Crime & Punishment, Human Interest, Law, Technology, Transportation | By: ricjames

A case involving texting behind the wheel and an injured motorcycling couple was decided by a New Jersey judge on Friday. Judge David Rand dismissed the claim made by the couple that a woman’s sending text messages to her boyfriend did not make made the woman liable for the crash that injure them. A woman [...]

Drone over Chicago? My take: it’s a fake.

19 May, 2012 (08:01) | GWOT, Military, Politics, Technology | By: ricjames

This week saw a very sudden uptick in concern by several American citizens and groups over the notion that the US Government is using drone aircraft over US soil. This was most notably seen in a YouTube video where a military-grade, apparently Predator-class drone was spotted and taped over Elgin, IL just outside of Chicago [...]