Flying, children’s blood vessels, pepper sprays & the office

Daily dose, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
“Southwest Airplane In Flight” by Benjamin Thompson is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
How Safe Is Flying in the Age of Coronavirus? link

Just like with SARS back in 2003, air travel has helped spread novel diseases the world over. Today’s COVID-19 pandemic is no different that’s why a lot of us are worried about the risks of getting sick in an airplane. Charlotte Ryan and Naomi Kresge have answers to key questions about the safety of air travel as some countries are now reopening for business and relaxing travel restrictions. If you think about it, the same questions apply to other modes of mass transportation such as buses and trains where a lot of people spend a lot of time in an enclosed environment.

“Running kids” by iwannt is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Why children avoid the worst coronavirus complications might lie in their arteries link

Children have less severe forms of COVID-19 compared to adults, especially those with diabetes and hypertension. The main difference, according to Frank Ruschitzka a cardiologist at the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland, may lie in the endothelium that lines the blood vessels which are in better condition in children compared to in adults. Healthier endothelium is able to withstand infection from SARS-CoV-2 which avoids the devastating blood clotting often seen in adult patients.

Paul Monagle, a pediatric hematologist at the Melbourne Children’s Campus has a similar theory. He thinks that when SARS-CoV-2 invades endothelial cells, it disrupts communication between such cells, platelets, and plasma components that results in excess clot formation which could result in death.

“File:Gardasil (same as Silgard).jpg” by melvil is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Can existing live vaccines prevent COVID-19? link | link

A group of experts has made the argument that the polio vaccine should be tested against COVID-19 because it strengthens the immune system against a wide range of diseases aside from polio. It’s fairly recent and existing polio vaccine are not included in current trials by WHO and other health experts in their race to find a safe and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.

“Crash UC Davis” by tpfliss is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
How to handle a pepper spray attack – link

The ingredients that go into pepper sprays are not regulated by the US government. Manufacturers have their own blend and the ingredients are not printed on labels. This means there’s little that scientists know about its composition so they can’t really say how harmful it can be. I’ve had a whiff of tear gas before way back when my sister and I were still kids when we found a small canister in my aunt’s purse. It was a nightmare and they say pepper sprays are far worse. Yikes!

“Office” by Super Rabbit One is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Death of the Office – link

Before Google and other tech start-ups started the fad of open office spaces with slides, bean bags, and free snacks, the ancient Romans as it turns out were on a league of their own. As they dedicated more time to leisure ‘work’ was wherever and whenever they were not having fun. It’s an interesting overview of the origins and evolution of the office. Something we all miss somehow as we work from home due to the pandemic.

A blog reboot

Daily dose

“Punch the keys, for God’s sake!” – I could still remember the way Sean Connery screamed that while pacing around with a glass of scotch in his hands in one of my favorite movies about inspiration and writing, Finding Forrester.

That in addition to the various writing courses I have taken online in the last couple of weeks and my constantly growing list of notes and bookmarks are the inspiration to my latest blogging reboot. As you may have noticed, this blog is once again carrying the Four-eyed Journal as its name. I’ve come full circle, so to speak, in a grand plan to meet the following goals:

  • Write consistently
  • Update this blog regularly
  • Grow my writing portfolio
  • Serve you, my dear readers, with useful finds from the internet

In concrete terms, from this day I would post a regular serving of links to interesting finds from the internet and social media laced with my commentary. It would also include pseudo personal notes about daily life. It would be posted on this blog every other day or at least five days a week.

Then from time to time, I would post an essay or a long-form and highly polished piece at least twice a month. If you are a subscriber to my weekly newsletter, Monday Mash-up, then you’d know how it will look like. Worry not though, as the juiciest bits of content would still be reserved for it.

So in the coming days, expect more fresh content although as a fair warning, the first few posts would be a bit rough around the edges as I try to get more comfortable into this new blogging routine. Hopefully, the updates would be of good use for you, my dear readers. If you have any questions or even objections to this, do let me know in the comments section below or get in touch via email. I would also love to see anything that you found online that you think is interesting, cool, funny, controversial – anything that caught your fancy.

Lastly, a sort of medium-term goal, I would publish a podcast that summarizes the week’s ‘daily dose’ that dives deeper into one or two of the links that would be mentioned. It could feature a guest as an expert or someone that I could pick brains with just to spice things up and present a different take.

Exciting times ahead and hoping you’ll stick around for the ride.

A guide on buying or upgrading your PC

Daily dose,

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing all of us to either work or study from home, the need to have a capable computer has been greater.

Asking around for what CPU, how much memory, or what type of hard drive from someone who knows about computers could be confusing if you’re unfamiliar about these. It also doesn’t help that IT-guys or the tech-savvy like myself would just throw a list of specs and use nerd-speak as this topic easily lights us up like a Christmas tree. Often times, the confused look from friends, family, and colleagues would mean I just spoke in an alien language. And yes, biases and personal loyalty to brands can even make things more confusing.

I have always been a missionary for HP, Intel and nVidia whenever someone asks what computer they should get mainly because I once worked for HP. As the years went by I have learned from personal and professional experience that the best way to handle this kind of question is to have an understanding of what the computer is for so that I could offer better advice instead of imposing my personal biases. So I took a different approach and applied what I learned from working for HP: good customer service which for me is helping others help themselves.

So I ask them what do they need to a computer for? Is it for work or personal use? By personal use, it means casual word processing, internet browsing, or more intense work like gaming or graphics/video editing, etc? Because computers can be customized to meet each scenario.

Once it’s clear what the computer is for, my next question would be: “How much are you willing to spend?” A specs list or a brand may just turn into a wish-list if it’s too expensive for the person you’re trying to help. Only after getting the answers to these two questions do I actually give my own recommendations.

What would you use the computer for?

The rule of thumb is quite simple: the more complex a task the more powerful a computer needs to be.

Internet browsing, word processing or creating slideshows – school work mainly:
  • CPU
    • latest generation Pentium, Core i3 from Intel
    • Athlon and Ryzen 3 from AMD
  • System memory or RAM
    • At least 4GB
  • Hard disk space
    • at least 500GB HDD (disk drives that have spinning platters)
    • at least 256 SSD (solid-state drives, basically large capacity flash drives)
  • Video/Graphics
    • Integrated Intel, nVidia or AMD GPU with at least 1GB of memory
  • Operating system
    • Windows 10 64-bit
    • Ubuntu Linux

Remember: with the specs above, do not expect to be able to play PC games, edit videos or graphics.

Mid-level gaming, video/graphics editing:
  • CPU
    • Core i5 or i7 from Intel
    • Ryzen 5 or 7
  • System memory or RAM
    • At least 16 GB
  • Hard disk space
    • at least 1TB HDD (disk drives that have spinning platters)
    • at least 512 SSD (solid-state drives, basically large capacity flash drives)
  • Video/Graphics
    • Dedicated GPU or graphics card with at least 2GB of its own memory
  • Operating system
    • Windows 10 64-bit
    • Ubuntu Linux
Heavy or HD graphics/video editing and high-end gaming:
  • CPU
    • Top-tier Core i7 or i9 from Intel
    • Top-tier Ryzen 5, 7, 9 and Threadripper from AMD
  • System memory or RAM
    • At least 32 GB
  • Hard disk space
    • at least 1TB HDD (disk drives that have spinning platters)
    • at least 512 SSD (solid-state drives, basically large capacity flash drives)
  • Video/Graphics
    • top-tier dedicated GPU or graphics card with at least 16GB of its own memory from either Intel or AMD
  • Operating system
    • Windows 10 64-bit (for gamers)
    • Ubuntu Linux (for developers)

An alternative would be a MacBook Pro.

Basically, at this point, it will all depend on how deep your pocket is because you will definitely spend a lot.

The third way: upgrade your current PC

If you already have a notebook or desktop PC, upgrading some of its components would save you some money and give it a new lease on life. While some can afford to buy a brand new PC or device, most would find it challenging given that some have been laid off or had taken pay cuts. There are also the more practical ones, who prefer to upgrade a few components to give their current devices additional computing power.

The key to everything is compatibility with your motherboard. This is where all of the components are physically connected and come together to work as one. Knowing the model of your motherboard will answer all of the compatibility issues:

  • socket for the CPU
  • slots for the system memory and graphics card/GPU
  • the type of hard drive (platter HDD or solid-state SSD)

If it’s a laptop your upgrade options are usually limited to the following:

  • RAM
  • hard disk capacity

The CPU and graphics card/GPU are essentially part of the motherboard. You’re better off buying a new notebook if you need a more powerful chip and graphics card.

Hopefully, this simple guide would help in your choosing a new computer or upgrading your existing one. If you have questions feel free to ask in the comments below or send me a note.

Back on focus with Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

Asides, ,

After more than seven years I’m finally back to using Ubuntu Linux as my main OS. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed using Mac OS and Windows however nothing beats the feeling of using Linux. Free and open-source software has a special appeal for me. Hardcore Linux users would probably scoff at my choice of distro, I fully understand that and would not argue that Ubuntu is the best. It’s just that for my needs and level of proficiency, it’s perfect.

Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa
Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa running on my new Lenovo Ideapad S145 notebook

So the moment I got my new notebook yesterday, I set it up to dual-boot Windows 10 and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa. It’s been a great and smooth experience so far. You can check out OMG Ubuntu’s round-up of what’s new with this latest release of Ubuntu or you can go ahead and get it from the official website. A review of both Focal Fossa and my new notebook would be posted next week.

How to boost your WiFi signal

Daily dose, ,

You may have a fast internet connection at home, yet sometimes you’d experience your browsing slowing to a crawl, a movie you’re watching would buffer or worse a video call gets dropped because you’re in a corner of the house farthest from the WiFi router. Checking on your device it’s barely getting a signal. A minor issue that could be really frustrating.

Here are a few practical tips to improve your WiFi network. Practical in the sense that you’d be able to avoid spending on additional gear.

Location, location, location

WiFi routers are essentially radio transmitters so it works best in open spaces where there are fewer objects that block its signals. Concrete walls or even drywalls with electrical wires within could cause interference. The fewer objects between your device and the WiFi router the better.

Ideally if you can mount your WiFi router high on the wall or from the ceiling, the better. This is why in offices or public places you’d see WiFi routers hanging from the ceiling or high on the walls. Avoid placing it inside cabinets, behind books, or in the corner of a room.

Placing it near or at the top of the stairwell would help ensure its signals reach all floors of the house. Keep it away from other wireless devices like the base of your cordless phones to avoid interference.

Optimize your WiFi Router

Update the firmware of your WiFi router as device makers routinely provide updates that improve performance. If you’re unsure how to do this, either check its user manual or get in touch with your ISP if the device came with your internet service.

Make sure that the antennas are vertical to ensure good coverage. It also helps if the air ducts are free of dust and dirt so as to keep it from running too hot.

Almost all routers nowadays are dual-band, operating on both 5GHz and 2.4GHz. You can configure your router to use the same SSID or network name on both bands so that you’re devices would have alternative bands to connect to. Again, consult with your ISP for help in setting this up.

Get a WiFi repeater or extender

This tip requires spending a little extra as your house may be too big for just one WiFi router to provide sufficient coverage. There are plenty of choices available and as always, it’s best to check with your ISP first to know which ones would work best with your router.

Lastly, you can also check with your ISP if they offer newer routers that are have better coverage or performance at no additional charge to your existing service. Routers are so ubiquitous nowadays, it’s easy to forget that you’re still using an older model.

I hope you find these tips helpful and if you have a few of your own, please share them on the comments below or send it my way. I would love to hear from you.