Wednesday, December 29, 2010


Facebook Malware
Originally uploaded by edhiker
Facebook Malware

View Large at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/5304498164/sizes/o

Go to Facebook and be one click away from having your browser locked-up. Windows close page (X in upper right) made to not work. Red arrows show the malware link, says "See your public record"
I will never click on an unexpected pop-up box, they often install viruses. Had to use Ctl-Alt_Del > windows task manager.
.
For more study, go to: www.google.com/webhp#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=webhp...

Facebook Malware

View Large ... the picture at:

Go to Facebook and be one click away from having your browser locked-up. Windows close page (X in upper right) made to not work. Red arrows show the malware link, says "See your public record"
I will never click on an unexpected pop-up box, they often install viruses. Had to use Ctl-Alt_Del > windows task manager.
.
For more study, go to: www.google.com/webhp#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=webhp...

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

For quick seaching with iPod - find this home page using Ed Johnson Astronomer or Tujunga

My best links for iPod Touch - links shown because iPod dosn't show embedded hyperlinks (URLs).

Tujunga Weather Graph http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Tujunga&state=CA&site=LOX&lat=34.2935&lon=-118.257&FcstType=graphical

IR-Vis-Water Vapor - LOOPS http://www.weather.gov/sat_loop.php?image=ir&hours=24

Tujunga Clear Sky http://cleardarksky.com/c/TjngObCAkey.html?1

Edhiker Flickr photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/

World's Best Photos by edhiker - Flickr Hive Mind http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/edhiker/Interesting

File Site on Google edhiker2 https://sites.google.com/site/edhiker2/file-site Has Griffith Park maps

Edhiker's Activities (blog) http://edhiker.blogspot.com/

SSCT details and variations: http://edhiker.50webs.com/SSCT_flyer/SSCT_flyer_of_100918.htm

Flickr SSCT set (photo blog) : http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/sets/72157624186145557/

Contemporary Telescope Patterned After Galileo's http://www.suite101.com/view_image.cfm/1090478

Edhiker pictures on webshots http://community.webshots.com/user/edhiker

Comet Hale-Bopp from Cloudburst Summit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/johnson7.html

Twitter is a rich source, from edhiker http://twitter.com/Edhiker

Mercury on Sun - Rare Transit.jpg - wikimedia - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mercury_on_Sun_-_Rare_Transit.jpg

Lunar Eclipse Dec 21, 2010 http://www.flickr.com/photos/33071217@N08/5280512917/ - movie at:
Later - 1/2 hr later, this is as good as I could find: www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/last-nights-lunar-eclipse-video

Time Warner - a downgrade for Los Angeles http://edhiker.50webs.com/Time_Warner.html

Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/aprilfool2.html

Combined Visor and Hair Piece http://colitz.com/site/d302484/d302484.htm

My Quote Collection, gathered from the net over the years http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/Quotes/list.html

Computer-generated writing, dominated by humans, until about now http://www.evolutionzone.com/kulturezone/index.html

Edgar A Johnson - Resume https://sites.google.com/site/edhiker3/

EdHiker Hiker Ed Tujunga Astronomer Ed Johnson AstronomerEd EdJohnson EDatLA EdAstro AstroEdJ WA6ECP LocatingEd EdAJ BestWebSites

Friday, October 22, 2010

Photoshop stack of 7 images taken at various times on the night of 10/9/10 - 10/10/10 with Canon T1i.

A movie was made from 105 frames taken during night of 10/10/10, is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/5073133251/
The bright yellow star, Miram (Eta Persei) shines at mag 3.76
The last part, with the dawn, is missing, as it runs > 1 1/2 minutes, Flickr limit - (slow frame rate)
I would like it to run for about 40 seconds, but see no way in MS Movie Maker to set this speed - anybody know how?

The best movie of the comet (B-W) is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/43846774@N02/5100652923

Two weeks after Comet Hartley has its close encounter with Earth, NASA will have a close encounter with the comet. The EPOXI spacecraft (formerly known as Deep Impact) is hurtling toward Comet Hartley now, and on Nov. 4th it will fly 435 miles from the comet's active icy nucleus. The encounter will mark only the fifth time in history that a spacecraft has been close enough to image a comet's core.
Been raining for a week, full moon today - maybe more comet about mid-week - Ed
...................................................
Will try stacking on comet and stars, as DSS says:
"Comet and stars stacking : "star freeze effect"
The comet position is used.
A first stack is created to extract the comet from the background.
Then a second stack is created to freeze the star (the comet is subtracted from each calibrated and registered light frame before stacking it).
Last, the final image is obtained by inserting the comet back in the image."

Monday, June 21, 2010


Springfield SCT (SSCT)
Originally uploaded by edhiker

Springfield SCT (SSCT), a compact fixed eyepiece telescope


This project is to modernize the Springfield telescope design for portability, with light pollution being a motivating factor. The modern SCT makes this possible. Quick, tool-free setup is a design goal. Removing the commonly used overhead counterweight is important for safety reasons.
The joys of being seated, holding comfortably onto the eyepiece can't be overstated. The ultimate user friendly telescope, fixed eyepiece and capable of having the observer in a warmed room. A real godsend to those in wheelchair or with muscle deficiencies.

Springfield SCT (SSCT) achieved first light on power pole insulator 6/18/10, on sky 6/21/10.

Much tidy-up to do, like exchanging Amici prism for 99% diagonal.

The main thing is IT WORKS.
------------
Russell Porter invented the Springfield telescope design about 1920, using the term "fixed eyepiece". The development of the SCT happened after Porter's writings.
-------------
More background in private email to Rob Johnson, 11/18/08 "Schmidt-Cassegrain Springfield Telescope" ... ultimate user friendly telescope, fixed eyepiece and capable of having the observer in a warmed room
---------------
key words: SSCTelescope, Johnson SSCT , Springfield Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, SSCT , edhiker, "Russell Porter" , "fixed eyepiece", "Springfield SCT"

Web page with SSCT details and variations:
http://edhiker.50webs.com/SSCT_flyer/SSCT_flyer_of_100918.htm

Link to Flickr set (photo blog) : http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/sets/72157624186145557/

Monday, May 17, 2010

NGC-MAX Cables


IMG_4694 NGC-MAX Cables
Originally uploaded by edhiker
No documentation found after a long search, so here are the cables. Eight leads break apart into two four leads (black cable, white cable is for computer connection)
Four wire dual cable, each is: Black = GND, Green = +5v , think source R = 10k
.
Reference: www.usdigital.com/products/cables-connectors/cables/adapt...
.. and "(serial port) by which external 9- 15 volts DC may be supplied.
This does not require the internal battery to be removed; the two supplies are in parallel with diodes to prevent back-circuits. It does not recharge the internal battery" 18-55mA
.
After the fact, noted what seems to be 8 pin RJ45 pin-out for the box: US Digital Encoder pinout (pg4) www.nova-astro.com/pdfs/mg5manual.pdf (from Micro-Guider)

MG5 RJ45 connector pin number
Function Name (and US Digital encoder pin number)
1 Declination GND (pin 1)
2 Declination ChA (pin 3)
3 Declination +5V (pin 4)
4 Declination ChB (pin 5)
5 Right Ascension GND (pin 1)
6 Right Ascension ChA (pin 3)
7 Right Ascension +5V (pin 4)
8 Right Ascension ChB (pin 5)

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

HP Printer Problems and double talk.
Model C3100 will not print from computer or internal scanner.

Ordered #92 and #93 print cartridges, but also refiled the black one. Still no printing.

Now to the manual
(it's at http://static.tigerdirect.com/pdf/HP_Photosmart_c3180_UsersGuide.pdf )

Manual says: Print cartridge troubleshooting > If you are experiencing problems with printing,
... To print a self-test report
1. Press and hold Cancel on the control panel.
2. While holding Cancel, press Start Copy Color.
The self-test report prints, containing the serial number and service ID.

Before you call HP customer support ... Reset the HP All-in-One:
a. Turn off the HP All-in-One by pressing the On button.
b. Unplug the power cord from the back of the HP All-in-One.
c. Plug the power cord back into the HP All-in-One.
d. Turn on the HP All-in-One by pressing the On button

Is there some "micro-switch" that the power cord activates? If not, this is exactly what happens when I power down my office every day.

------

Now let me do this... printer not printing, so have it print out a self test report.
-----
I discovered that to park heads, need to press ON button to turn printer off, then power down office - or you will wind up with dry ink cartridges.
------------------
Might this be the problem?
" Sometimes after you refill the print cartridge for your HP 92 printer, the printer refuses to detect the refill and keeps sending "ink low" messages. When that happens, you have to reset the fill level of the cartridge so the printer can recognize the new ink level and be able to print again. You can easily reset the fill level gauge and get your printer working again."

Follow the steps below to reset the Fill Level for a HP 92 Ink Cartridge :
  1. Take the cartridge out of the printer.
  2. Place a small piece of tape over the top left contact on the HP 92 cartridge.
  3. Insert the cartridge back into the printer.
  4. Print an alignment page and remove the cartridge as the page comes out.
  5. Place a small piece of tape over the top right contact on the cartridge.
  6. Print another alignment page and remove the cartridge again. Now remove both pieces of tape.
  7. Put the cartridge back into the printer. The HP 92 cartridge ink level will be reset.
  8. Last resort... " If you are still unable to reset the cartridges, using multiple cartridges is likely the only way to do it. ... the printer only retains the memory of two print cartridges.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Gigabyte Computer Motherboard works great, see set and links

My advice about getting a new computer.
.
Two monitors
.
Backup method in mind - removable drives
.
Logbook of installed programs
.
Do a benchmark, enables one to verify performance later.
.
As soon as you get it working, make an image of system.
.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I believe in standards. For computers, they're at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX .

Why do I make my own? You can buy a computer that works as well for not much more.
All the name brands are proprietary (non-standard) design. Just wait till a repair or upgrade needs to be done!
Read: www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=339053
More at www.engadget.com/2005/02/22/the-hp-bios-that-locks-non-wh...

Above picture documents its looks after mounting in case, before it was populated.
Added next , an Intel i5 650 CPU, might be an overclocking beast.... www.fudzilla.com/content/view/16093/35/ ... easily managed to reach 4.6GHz phonestechnology.blogspot.com/2009/10/processor-core-i5-6...
.
Easily will take seven hard drives (SATA and PATA (ATA-1, 2, 3, IDE 133)), and 12
USB

intel i7 960 quad @3.2GHz currently costs $589.99.
intel i5 650 dual @3.2GHz currently costs $189.99. (hyper-threaded, Intel claims up to a 30% performance improvement) Has four logical processors.

Review: www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2010/01/28/gigabyt...
Turbo: www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=656&pgno=1
www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=656&pgno=0

Blog at: edhiker.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html has important note about Hard Drives.

Troubled by the size of Win 7, 16GB for 32bit, and 20GB for 64 bit. What ever happened to "MinWin" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MinWin

Need more power? Intel's Core i7-980X Extreme Edition has six cores, base speed of 3.33GHz, processor has 12 threads
www.pcworld.com/article/191244/when_four_cores_arent_enou...

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Apple iPod and iTunes things -

Do not ever connect the iPod to iTunes if it is set to auto sync and your iTunes library is empty or some of the songs are not in your iTunes library but are only stored on the iPod because it will erase the iPod's contents. http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?t=146135

Never delete music from the PC that is not burned to a disk unless you keep your iPod on manually manage songs and playlists. When you download iTMS songs burn them to a disk the same day. 2005
---------------
Windows XP, then it is in My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music
found > 3GB in Elaine's old HD

Monday, April 26, 2010

JUST TO CHARGE A BATTERY

This is absurd! - I had an iPod with a dead battery. A nightmare.

Tried to charge it using USB port on my girlfriend's computer and my music was deleted.... with error an message.
Search - charge ipod on another computer - 18M hits - READ THEM !

Your computer must be turned on to charge your iPod - not sleep or hibernation.
If your computer is shut down, the lid is closed or it goes into sleep or hibernation mode, the iPod will not charge.
The car must be running in order for the iPod to be charging,
"yes, this is the way to do it, but it's also far to easy to do it the other way. i've erased the music off my iPod enough times to know that iTunes loves to erase. it might even be a badly worded dialogue box, i don't recall. i do know that it should be a lot harder to erase an iPod. "

The first step in transferring music (from iPod to computer) is to purchase a software program that will allow you to do so. .. or under $20.

use the "EJECT" button in iTunes to eject the device, but leave it plugged into the computer.

... just want to make sure I understood correctly, the adapter has not changed going from 4G to 5G and as long as it says that it can accept 110-220 V its fine?

Prevent your iPod from syncing by choosing not to sync if prompted by iTunes.

... my ipod will say that it is charging but when it asks for my password ..... This morning I tried it on another computer, same problem,

...
you are just borrowing a few electrons to charge the battery, that's it. So far no problem, at least for what you want to do: charge it. But no. Clicking NO just "disconnects" the iPod (basically make it off-line), and it no longer charges. Is it that difficult to let it charge?
http://www.figuiere.net/hub/blog/?2005/08/18/275-no-sir-you-can-not-charge-your-ipod-shuffle

iTunes program says that to share my music on another computer needs a CREDIT CARD (Home Share ... an iTunes store account is needed)

... and on and on.

For future reading -
http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/rip-offs/10-things-your-ipod-wont-tell-you-19460/

Bottom line - all I want to do is put selected tracks from my CD collection (mostly classical) on my iPod. From the above event, I now see that I need to back these up on another computer. Looks like a BIG project, it should be easy.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Ultra Slow HP Laptop Computer

Mystery as to why it runs at 72 MHz instead of advertised 2000 MHz.

If anybody has an answer, please post it!
.
HP model HSTNN-C31C
AKA Notebook 6910p www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3960
.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Web page hosting nightmare by edhiker

History
1998 AOLPRESS HTML editor and Prodigy. All went away.
2002 Comcast - made 1000's of items on various pages, most with absolute URLs (stupid)
2007 Time Warner took over from Comcast, told me "Your existing web pages will be transferred in their entirety." = LIE. Time Warner's web space allotment and management so bad that it's not worth using.
2006 Try Google pages. Gone in 2010 - no FTP, single layer structure - got 500MB, was converted to GoogleSites in 2009.
2010 Try Google Sites , replacement for "pages", still no FTP and all pages are converted to JAVA. Local backup/edit options are TBD, see below.


----------------------------------------

To answer my own questions, I just tested "copy this site" and it does not update the copy when I make changes to the original site. And if I "copy this site" again, using the same URL as my previous copy, a message says "The site URL you have chosen is not allowed"

Why would Google want a hundred million copies of websites on their servers? Let us copy our sites to our own computers and we'd be happy.
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/sites/thread?tid=6381dcf34c61570d&hl=en

Friday, March 26, 2010


Credit Card Skimming Device
Originally uploaded by edhiker
It happened to me, most likely with one about like this installed inside a gas pump.
Familiar scenario: Soon after filling up at the gas pump, a motorist learns that his bank account has been emptied. goo.gl/FLfG
Some Links:
goo.gl/UZIx goo.gl/gDJX
goo.gl/qciu goo.gl/Admx
goo.gl/gDJX www.bloggernews.net/124112

Visa: “Merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID"

The Great See ID Credit Card Hoax (Comments) goo.gl/swZ5 - That says it!

Spike in reported cases of identity theft involving gas pumps, with 68 reported in January and February alone, compared with 100 in all of 2009. goo.gl/fLP2 "each theft averaging from $1,500 to $2,000 (one county)" = me

goo.gl/qrKu 10,000 stolen credit card numbers.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I had > $1000 of gas charged to my card in a month , ~$75/day.

Published Mon, Mar 08, 2010 04:08 PM3 charged with SoCal gas pump ID theft

Three men are accused of stealing $2 million by installing devices on gas station pumps that harvested credit card access codes.

The men pleaded not guilty Monday in Los Angeles to two dozen charges of conspiracy, identity theft, grand theft and computer access fraud. They face up to 20 years each in prison if convicted and remain jailed on $2 million bail each.

Prosecutors contend the men installed skimmers on computerized gas pumps that recorded credit card, debit card and PIN numbers that later were used to withdraw cash from ATMs.

Los Angeles County prosecutors say the men had 10,000 stolen numbers when they were arrested on Feb. 25. Authorities also seized $40,000 and fancy cars, including a Ferrari.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/08/v-print/377722/3-charged-with-socal-gas-pump.html

------------



Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Moon with Venus on 3/16/10, view large... is at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/4439981334/


Hand held, Exposure: 1/60 Aperture: f/4.0 Focal Length: 50 mm . IMG_1606CrGC_Moon-Venus


( this is a test of Google Toolbar in Firefox) Moon with Venus on 3/16/10, view large
Pic= drag and drop from Flickr

Firefox will run slowly at times with all the "check this and that" options, just have links and bookmark things active.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Computer Stuff - a test of Sidewiki

A new highly flexible custom computer was built in Feb 2010. On bootup any one of four operating systems can be chosen. A few documentary photos and comments are shown here.
The CD drive I had around the house was useless, new DVD optical drive added a day later. All late Microsoft operating systems require DVD to do install. http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/4352537018/in/set-72157623576482270/
Very handy. USB from SATA or PATA hard or DVD drive.
Can be used as a spare drive, portable external or internal USB...
Extra small power supply can be used for my telescope.
. New quad channel 3.2GHz computer is using 58 Watts with dual display running.
....................
Four drives, twelve partitions.
Two internal and two plug-in drives shown here for one's choice on system start-up.
Just after post beep, tap F12 key for this choice screen.
On 3/9/10, added small toggle switches on back panel, eliminates need for (accurately timed) F12 key press. Just turn on power switch, come back a minute later with the desired desktop showing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/4415452557/in/set-72157623576482270/
....................
If the memory device is turned off, it can't get a virus.
.....................
Camera: Canon PowerShot A590 IS
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/3.2
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/4425846559/meta/in/set-72157623576482270
.
Only the bottom four needed to get the system restored, adding the top three does a more perfect job.
.... The boot process once understood will help you visualize why putting certain files... www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Building-Usi...

Related - A bootable USB flash drive can come in handy... articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6160062.html?...
.
Related to the related .. What is BartPE and PE Builder? www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
.

in reference to: Google Help (view on Google Sidewiki)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Gigabyte Computer Motherboard is great, see links

I believe in standards. For computers, they're at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX .

Why do I make my own? You can buy a computer that works as well for not much more.
All the name brands are proprietary (non-standard) design. Just wait till a repair or upgrade needs to be done!
Read: www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=339053
More at www.engadget.com/2005/02/22/the-hp-bios-that-locks-non-wh...

Above picture Documents its looks after mounting in case, before it was populated.
Added next , an Intel i5 650 CPU, might be an overclocking beast.... www.fudzilla.com/content/view/16093/35/ ... easily managed to reach 4.6GHz phonestechnology.blogspot.com/2009/10/processor-core-i5-6...
.
Easily will take seven hard drives (SATA and PATA (ATA-1, 2, 3, IDE 133)), and 12
USB

intel i7 960 quad @3.2GHz currently costs $589.99.
intel i5 650 dual @3.2GHz currently costs $189.99. (hyper-threaded, Intel claims up to a 30% performance improvement) Four logical processors.

Review: www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2010/01/28/gigabyt...
Turbo: www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=656&pgno=1
www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=656&pgno=0

More overclock at: www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,702446/Intel-Core-i3-and-Core...

Troubled by the size of Win 7, 16GB for 32bit, and 20GB for 64 bit. What ever happened to "MinWin" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MinWin
-----------
New find, List of Lists: http://lists.thedatalist.com/
---------
All the Details of many versions of both MBR and OS Boot Records
http://mirror.href.com/thestarman/asm/mbr/index.html
------------
"IMPORTANT: One of the first things that any PC user should do after setting up a new hard disk (or creating a new partition with a utility such as Partition Magic) is to make a copy of its MBR" ... from http://mirror.href.com/thestarman/asm/mbr/VistaMBR.htm

ps - just found an instructional site about changing a motherboard, so BAD that it has only 5% chance of working!


I find that Flickr makes a good place to keep notes, so the latest stuff is there ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/ ) ...and the links are automatically hot.