Category Archives: Interesting Items

Things the staff found interesting, or fun.

Albuquerque – Best Spot to View May 20 Eclipse Spectacle

Posted on May 12, 2012 by jnelson

Like many things, astronomical events rarely live up to the advance hype excited enthusiasts promise, but this one should. Late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 20, there will be an annular eclipse of the Sun – and Albuquerque is dead-center along the path of maximum coverage. And the view should be truly awesome as the Sun sets as a burning ring of fire. Solar eclipses are, of course, caused by the Moon passing in front of the Sun. But the Moon’s distance varies, and so those eclipses where the entire Moon is between us and the Sun vary also. Since the Moon was at its closest to Earth recently with the “supermoon” when it was last Full (and therefore opposite the Sun), now on the other side of its orbit it will be at its farthest point from us when it passes in front of the Sun, and will appear smaller. While during a total solar eclipse, the Moon exactly covers the entire solar disk, in an annular eclipse like this, a thin brightly-glowing strip around the edges will still be visible. This means that when the Moon passes before the Sun that afternoon, it will not cover it completely but leave a red burning circle in the sky. Though the sky should not blacken and the stars come out as the flaming atmosphere of our parent star suddenly becomes visible, the view from right here should be pretty … Continue reading →

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Don’t bother backing-up your computers
(unless you’ve actually tested recovery)

Posted on February 23, 2012 by cheeks

This post is from guest blogger Peter H. Mantos of Albuquerque business consultancy Mantos Consulting, Inc.  (Also a long-time SWCP customer) The business community is well aware of the need to backup critical computer systems. However, very few small businesses have actually tested their backup system by performing a recovery. Business managers operate under a false assumption that they are protected from the worst. This article explains some common reasons that “successful” backups fail to meet business continuity needs. It encourages business owners to ensure that information technology (I.T.) systems can be recovered through actual testing. 1. INTRODUCTION You’re smart. You know that while wise use of computers (information technology, or “I.T.”) offers competitive advantages, they have now become a requirement, a “necessary evil” to stay in business. You also know that I.T. sometimes fails and without it, you are dead in the water. So, being smart, you do your backups; perhaps even regularly and even automatically. Perhaps you don’t back up every computer in the office every day or every week, but at least you back-up your important data; maybe even using an offsite service or by taking copies offsite. Good for you! But have you ever tried to recover using those backups? If not, don’t be smug about being backed-up! Many people have been unpleasantly surprised when the fickle finger of computer fate strikes. Some find that the backups don’t really restore the data or the functionality they … Continue reading →

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ACTA: The Internet Fight Goes International

Posted on January 28, 2012 by jnelson

Internet activists who are celebrating the apparent defeat of the SOPA and PIPA bills have found their party already interrupted by the appearance, or rather, re-appearance of a piece of legislation that could have an even more significant effect: ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Whereas SOPA and PIPA were merely proposed US laws, ACTA is an international treaty, so its scope is much wider. It will become law for all signatory states and override any contrary provisions in US codes. On January 26, the European Union and 22 member states formally signed ACTA, and apparently it now goes before the European Parliament. Last, October, ACTA was signed by 10 nations, including the US which helped sponsor it. However, though the President signed it as an executive agreement, constitutionally the treaty must still be ratified by the US Senate. Mexico, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Cyprus, and Slovakia are some of the most important nations that have still not signed on. There is a huge amount of suspicion across the Internet surrounding the treaty because it was negotiated in secrecy by industry and government trade representatives of some of the richest countries without any input from anyone else. In fact, time after time, parliaments and interest groups around the world were told they could not see it while it was being worked on. For a long time the only information about the provisions of the proposed treaty came through diplomatic cables … Continue reading →

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