Proud Geek

When I got onto my computer, I opened Facebook — and saw a friend’s status message that said:

woke up at 5:35 am… thanks to earthquake, that shake in Indiana

Whoa, an earthquake? In Indiana?! I sent that friend a wall-to-wall message asking if it was a meteorite strike rather than an earthquake, like what happened in another part of the USA the day before. No, it was indeed an earthquake, she said, and a 5.4 magnitude earthquake at that.

CNN soon confirmed it. A 5.4 magnitude earthquake took place in Illinois, and was felt as far away as where my friend is in Indiana. There are photos of damage. CNN has (at this moment) even stripped its home page to the bare basics to make it load quicker because so many people have been “hitting” CNN’s home page for news.

I’ve heard of people using the social features of the Internet to share news.  This is similar to when people use Twitter to get out of jail in Egypt.  But this is my first time I’ve heard of a major news story from a friend via Facebook before I heard of it elsewhere on the news.

Getting word out about something newsworthy on a national scope, and having friends hear about it first before the news even report it? That’s something new, and that’s certainly something powerful.

Folks who are in the earthquake zone, keep us updated via your Facebook status messages, willya? And hope all is well at your homes and elsewhere.

Wanna make sure your laptop has enough juice to last all through the DC-to-LA flight? Bring extra batteries, but just make sure you aren’t running afoul of new FAA restrictions on bringing batteries onto planes.

Thanks to a helpful Yahoo tech blog post, I’m able to make sense of the restrictions. I’m surprised I haven’t seen this news elsewhere in the blog-a-verse.

In a nutshell:

• Alkaline and nickel batteries (nearly all of our non-rechargeable AA / AAA / C / D / etc batteries) aren’t covered by these new rules.  So, it’s ok to bring many of these batteries in your checked luggage (the luggage that you check through and which is stored in the plane’s ‘belly’) as well as in your carry-on bag (the bag you carry onto the plane with you and stow under a seat or in an overhead compartment).
• Lithium-based batteries (especially the popular li-on batteries) are what are covered under the new rules.
• You can’t bring batteries with more than 8 grams of lithium content. But nearly all li-on laptop batteries — even the long rectangular ones — have much less than 8 grams of lithium content. Only the really large, lap-sized, all-day batteries have more than 8 grams of lithium content.
• The Yahoo tech blog post has a very helpful explanation on how to calculate whether your laptop batteries have less than 8 grams:

How do you know how much lithium is in a battery? An 8-gram battery equals about 100 watt-hours of power. Now, your battery won’t say how many watt-hours it provides, but it’s easy to do the math. Look on the bottom and you’ll find a voltage rating and a mAh (milliamp-hours) rating. Multiply these two together and divide by 1,000. That’s your watt-hours. In the (big) battery I’m looking at as an example, it offers 11.1 volts and 7,800 mAh. Multiply and divide by 1,000 and you get 86.58 watt-hours, acceptable under the new rules.

• Any batteries with lithium content cannot be stored in your checked luggage unless it’s installed in an equipment (like inside a camera or laptop). Loose / spare batteries have to be carried onto the plane in your carry-on plane.
• However, you can bring a maximum of two batteries that break the 8 gram rule — but, combined, these two monster batteries cannot have more than 25 grams of lithium.

Also see FAA’s safety tips for when you’re carrying several lithium-ion batteries. These tips were actually very helpful for me — I hadn’t realized that just letting these batteries rattle around in your bag could be dangerous. Whoops.

Happy trails!

If you’ve been a Facebook member long enough (or if you’re popular enough), chances are you’ve already gotten a request to approve a “Secret Crush” from a friend.

In a word: DON’T!

(Well, I know “DON’T” is actually two words. Just listen, ok?)

When you approve this request, you’re then asked to download and install an application onto your computer. This application actually installs an adware program, potentially causing numerous pop-up ads to appear on your screen. In addition, this program could expose your computer to other scams and malware programs.

So, if you’re a Facebook friend of mine, don’t send me a “secret crush.” Tell me directly via Facebook email. Better yet, send me a Facebook video email. But remember, I’ve got a boyfriend who I’m in love with and who I’ll celebrate my 11-year anniversary later this month. So, stay away.

Thanks, MarketWatch.

At around 3:30am this morning, I got two emails from Facebook asking me to confirm the registration of one of my email addresses which I rarely use. The two emails were identical (probably the result of multiple attempts), and says (with certain information omitted):

Hey [name - similar to mine but with the last several letters missing],

You recently registered for Facebook using this email address. To complete your registration, follow the link below:

[Link deleted]

(If clicking on the link doesn’t work, try copying and pasting it into your browser.)

If you did not register for Facebook, please disregard this message.
Check out http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=49 if you have any questions.

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

But the thing is … I never tried to register that email address with Facebook. Obviously someone else tried to use my email address to add an account to Facebook. Thank goodness Facebook sends an email to that email address requiring the new member to confirm the registration via a link or else the new account will be deleted. Otherwise, I would have been the victim of fraud (or perhaps the victim of an honest mistake?).

Be careful when you get emails like this. And read them carefully — and don’t just blindly click on a link without understanding what may happen. If I had clicked on the link above (which I deleted), I would have allowed someone else to create an account using my email address.

In fact, there’s something you can do now to prevent others from trying to register with Facebook using your less-used email addresses. In Facebook, click on the “Edit Profile” link, then click on the “Contact” tab. You’ll see a list of your current email addresses registered with Facebook, with a link to “Add / Remove Emails.” Go ahead and add all of your email addresses, and check your inboxes for these email addresses to confirm the registration. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to adjust your privacy settings so that only your friends, or no one, can see these addresses.

Dozens of items have just been recalled due to lead paint that was applied while these toys and items were in China.

Let’s see …

• Alpine Design Aluminum Water Bottles sold at Sports Authority
• Various bookmarks and journals (some kiddie-themed, some adult-themed) by Antioch Publishing sold at bookstores, gift shops, and card shops nationwide
• Metal keychains (including “Hope” “Dream” “Love”) sold at Dollar General stores
• Baby Einstein’s blue baby blocks sold nationwide
• Children’s toy decoration sets sold at Toys R Us
• Green Frankenstein tumbler cups sold at Dollar General
• Pirates of the Carribean toy squeeze flashlights sold nationwide by Eveready Battery Co.
• Wooden painted alphabet block toys (including building blocks, flip-flop blocks) sold at KB Toys

Reason why we’re starting to see more and more recalls? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a Federal agency responsible for the safety of various toys, products, and other items sold in the USA, seems to finally be getting its act together and has begun testing various toys and products for lead paint.

Last June, RC2 recalled a good number of Thomas the Tank Engine toys because of lead paint. And now RC2 is recalling even more Thomas the Tank Engine toys due to lead paint.

The recalled toys are:

• All Black Cargo Car
• “Toad” vehicle with brake lever
• Olive Green Sodor Cargo Box
• All Green Maple Tree Top
• Green Signal Base

If you suspect that you have any of these toys, please visit the RC2’s recall page for these toys and carefully follow the instructions there to find out if your toy is indeed recalled or not. If it turns out you do have one of the recalled toys, then follow the recall instructions to get a replacement or credit.

Some pictures from the RC2 website showing the recalled toys:

A few days ago, the Pixar Sarge jeep by Mattel was recalled due to lead paint applied in China. I had bought one for my daughter from Target. I went shopping there tonight, and the rack where I usually found Pixar Cars for sale was empty. All the hooks, neatly labeled with Cars this and Cars this, totally empty.

I seriously doubt they were all sold out. I think Target pulled them all, due to fears that even more of these Cars toys had lead paint on them.

I’m really, really bummed. I bought quite a few of these Cars toys from Target for my daughter, who absolutely LOVES them. I think I’d better take them and hide them for a while, in an abundance of caution …

Mattel just issued its second (actually, second, third, and fourth) recall in two weeks: Pixar’s Sarge jeep (lead paint), the Barbie with Tanner set (magnetic hazard), and numerous magnetic playsets (magnetic hazard). My daughter has the Sarge jeep, and my younger daughter loves to nibble on it. Sigh. This new recall(s) covers hundreds of thousands nine MILLION cars, dolls, and magnetic toys, including those with the following themes: Doggie Daycare, Polly Pocket, and Batman / Magna. Only last week, Mattel recalled over a million Dora, Spongebob, and Elmo toys.

All these toys were assembled and/or painted in China. And remember other recent recalls having to do with food and toys also from China? Pet food infused with toxin, Thomas the Tank Engine’s wooden railway toys, and now these two sets of massive Mattel toy recalls. What’s next? (The recent recall of Easy-Bake ovens, although made in China, is probably more because of a design flaw.)

According to the Wall Street Journal, executives of the Chinese manufacturer that had caused the first Mattel recall “were required to sign a new safety contract” after the first recall even though they had apparently earlier agreed to these (or similar) safety standards. These executives knew of our safety standards, and yet apparently disregarded them. This shows a lack of accountability — and yes, perhaps even a lack of regard for our laws and customs. And this lack of regard is causing our children and pets to sicken and die.

It’s high time we start buying things made only in the United States. At least until we know that executives in China are paying more than just lip service to the safety of our children, our pets, and us.

(Edit: this just became the lead article of CNN.com and is prominently displayed on WashingtonPost.com.)

(Edit as of August 14, 2007: There has been a new toy recall by Mattel, this time of the Pixar Sarge jeep, the Barbie and Tanner set, and several magnetic playsets including Polly Pocket, Doggie Daycare, and Batman / Magna)

On top of the recent Thomas the Tank Engine recall that included several of my daughters’ toys, Fisher Price just announced a huge recall of 83 types of toys. Over a million figurines and toys are affected — mostly with Elmo, Dora, and SpongeBob themes. These toys are being recalled because of paint with excessive amounts of lead (applied by a company in China), and only cover those toys sold in retail stores on and after May 1, 2007.

I checked the list of toys affected by the recall, and it turns out I have two of those toys. One (the Silly Parts Talking Elmo toy pictured on the right) was purchased well before May 1, 2007 — so no problem there. But another toy that’s popular with both of my daughters (and nibbled upon by the younger daughter, sigh), the Dora Talking Vanamos Van (pictured left) is definitely covered by the recall. It’s gonna break my girls’ hearts when I remove the van — but it’s for their health. Hmm, maybe I’ll hide it before they wake up.

The recall comes with an useful step-by-step guide on determining whether you have any toys covered by the recall and how to send them back.

(UPDATE 9/28/07: five more Thomas the Tank Engine train sets were recalled. See related blog post about these recalls of the All Black Cargo Car, “Toad” vehicle with brake lever, Olive Green Sodor Cargo Box, All Green Maple Tree Top, and Green Signal Base.)

My 3-year-old daughter is absolutely crazy over her Thomas the Tank Engine wooden railway train set — all the wooden trains that magnetically link together (and which, if you have too many coupled together, becomes prone to derailing!), the wooden tracks that can easily be joined together or torn asunder into many configurations, the different accessories that come with these train sets, the zillions of books and videos out there, etc etc …

So it was quite a shock to find out that some of the wooden trains and accessories were recalled last month due to lead in the paint. Apparently, on some of these units, the paint has lead in it and can be toxic for young children. The paint (mostly bright red) were applied while still at the manufacturer in China, and then the units were shipped into the USA and Canada as well as elsewhere.

I checked the trains my daughter had, and it turns out two or three of these trains (including the two pictured above) were on the recall list. Not good news, particularly since my younger 1-year-old daughter had been gnawing on these trains for the past several months. And especially since most of the recall has to do with the train character named James, which is actually my favorite because of its bright red color and plucky personality.

The recall comes with instructions on how to get replacements, as well as a return form. Here’s a picture of all of the recalled trains and accessories. Click on it to see a larger version.

If your kid (or you!) have one of these Thomas the Tank Engine trains or accessories, be sure to return it for a replacement. Sigh.