If you’re like me you may have preferred the old open-source Silence app, over the default Android’s text messages for many years… It had an optional encrypt option that sometimes worked, it had its own backup/restore to restore to a new phone, but unfortunately that is incompatible with others and now has an incompatibility warning with Android 15…
Continue reading “Importing old Silence Texts/SMS to QKSMS/Android”Verizon Outage Highlights need for Amateur Radio, Backup Radios
As you may have heard in the news today, many thousands of cell phone users did not have service today, on Verizon or phones trying to connect to a Verizon number.
Continue reading “Verizon Outage Highlights need for Amateur Radio, Backup Radios”A Mathematical look at Recent Alleged Fraud
There were recent headlines about Somali fraud in the charitable systems in Minnesota… While all fraud in the millions of dollars is something we should investigate, track down, and denounce, the recent collective punishment might be out of proportion…
Continue reading “A Mathematical look at Recent Alleged Fraud”Four ways Twitter/X is a mess right now…
Remember the previous social media channel Twitter that was redefined by a well known billionaire? I had heard that it is not in use as much anymore, but after hearing from multiple channels about entrepreneurs promoting their stuff quite successfully, I decided to try it out…
Continue reading “Four ways Twitter/X is a mess right now…”Daylight Savings Time Alert… time to set your… cron jobs?
For those with a non-“smart” alarm or watch, this Sunday (November 2nd, 2025) may be the time to fall back an hour. It’s also a time developers watch for odd errors…
Continue reading “Daylight Savings Time Alert… time to set your… cron jobs?”App-tive-climbing game is now free!
App-tive-climbing – the game that lets you be active – be climbing – be learning, even without a rock wall, is now free! Check the website for details and a link to in-browser game or the Google Play link (for newer Android devices).
Continue reading “App-tive-climbing game is now free!”End of Windows 10? Consider your options…
As you may have heard, today is the last day of Windows 10 security updates. What does that mean for future potential security of your systems? Well, there are several options:
Continue reading “End of Windows 10? Consider your options…”OpenStreetMap Tiles widespread Blockage/Outage
If you have been browsing websites with a map recently you may have noticed some maps giving an error message, even those that seem to be correctly attributing and using the OSM service:
Continue reading “OpenStreetMap Tiles widespread Blockage/Outage”Interesting Math from the Congressional Record
What if there were an easy way to get some numbers and information from recent bills, and cut through the hype to make some interesting mathematical observations? This might be useful for those who are studying law or mathematics – or anyone wanting to dig through the numbers in recent law. With some basic PHP we can build something that easily processes and shows which might be the most interesting for mathematicians.
Continue reading “Interesting Math from the Congressional Record”Do cell phone bans include GMRS/Amateur radio?
There has been much reporting on the upcoming bans for in class cell phone use – it makes sense that these may be much more distracting than the cell phones of years past, with constant social interactions or distractions. But for those who want to communicate, what are the rules for simply using a GMRS or ham radio for necessary communication throughout the day?
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