Telephone Number Search
Google has implemented a feature which enables you to type a
telephone number into the search bar and hit enter and you
will be given the person's name and address. If you then hit
Map, you will get a map to the person's house. Everyone
should be aware of this! It's a nationwide reverse telephone
book.
If a child gives out his/her phone number, someone can now
look it up to find out where he/she lives. The safety issues
are obvious, and alarming.
Note that you can have your phone number removed or blocked.
I tried my number and it came up along with the map and
directions straight to our house. I did fill out the removal
form for myself, and encourage all of you to do the same.
Quite scary.
Please look up your own number.
In order to test whether your phone number is mapped, go to
http://www.google.com
Type your phone number in the search bar (i.e.
555-555-1212) and hit enter. If you want to block Google
from divulging your private information, simply click on
your telephone number and then click on the Removal Form.
Removal takes 48-hours.
Check your own number and although this may not apply to you
if you have an unlisted number or cell phone as primary
contact, but you may know someone who needs to know this.
Lightning flashes and strokes
The term lightning flash is used to
describe the entire discharge, which takes on the order of
0.2 seconds. But a flash is usually made up of several
shorter discharges which last less than a millisecond and
which repeat rapidly enough that the eye cannot resolve the
multiple events. These individual discharges are called
strokes. Sometimes the strokes are separated enough in time
for the eye to resolve them, and the lightning appears to
flicker.
A typical lightning bolt may transfer 1020
electrons in a fraction of a second, developing a peak
current of up to 10,000 Amps.
Most measurements have been in the range
5,000 to 20,000 amps but a famous strike just before the
Apollo 15 launch in 1971 was measured at 100,000 amperes by
magnetic links attached to the umbilical tower. Currents
over 200,000 amps have also been reported
Most commonly, the lightning current
ceases in about a millisecond for a given stroke, but
sometimes there is a continuing current on the order of 100
amps following one or more of the strokes. This is called
"hot lightning" and it is the cause of lightning fires.
The temperatures of lightning are 15,000 - 60,000°F for both
"cold" and "hot" lightning - it is the continuing current
that starts some 10,000 fires per year in the U.S.
Picture of a lightning strike
Personal Lightning Safety Tips
According to the National Lightning
Safety Institute:
1. PLAN in advance
your evacuation and safety measures.
When you first see lightning or hear thunder,
activate your emergency plan. Now is the time to go to a
building or a vehicle. Lightning often precedes rain, so
don't wait for the rain to begin before suspending
activities.
2. IF OUTDOORS...Avoid
water. Avoid the high ground. Avoid open spaces.
Avoid all metal objects including electric
wires, fences, machinery, motors, power tools, etc.
Unsafe places include underneath canopies, small picnic
or rain shelters, or near trees. Where possible, find
shelter in a substantial building or in a fully enclosed
metal vehicle such as a car, truck or a van with the windows
completely shut. If lightning is striking nearby when you
are outside, you should:
A. Crouch down.
Put feet together. Place hands
over ears to minimize hearing damage from thunder.
B. Avoid proximity
(minimum of 15 ft.) to other
people.
3. IF INDOORS... Avoid
water. Stay away from doors and windows. Do not use the
telephone. Take off head sets.
Turn off, unplug, and stay away from appliances, computers,
power tools, & TV sets. Lightning may strike exterior
electric and phone lines, inducing shocks to inside
equipment.
4. SUSPEND ACTIVITIES
for 30 minutes after the last observed lightning or thunder.
5. INJURED PERSONS do
not carry an electrical charge and can be handled safely.
Apply First Aid procedures to a
lightning victim if you are qualified to do so. Call 911 or
send for help immediately.
6. KNOW
YOUR EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS.
Teach this safety slogan:
"If you can see
it, flee it; if you can hear it, clear it."
Please reprint &
distribute.
Prepared by the
National Lightning Safety Institute,
Louisville, CO. |
ICE
Spread the word!
ICE, the acronym for
In Case of Emergency is becoming popular throughout
the world. It is a way for anyone carrying a cell
phone to put an entry in their cell phone telephone
directory of who should be contacted in the case of
emergency.
A recent survey suggests
that up to 75% of the people who own a cell phone do not
carry any information on who to call in the event of
emergency. Most people who do enter their spouse
in their directory use their real name, which makes them
indistinguishable to other contacts they may have.
Additionally, entries such as "Mom" or "Dad" might refer
to someone who is elderly, or someone who should
otherwise not be the recipient of an emergency phone
call.
The idea is that you
store the word "ICE" in your mobile phone address book,
and enter the number of the person you would want to be
contacted "In Case of Emergency". In an emergency
situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able
to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able
to contact them. It's so simple that everyone can do it.
Entries for those who
have multiple people who could be contacted would be
something like "ICE1", "ICE2", etc or "ICE Susan".
In a strange twist,
hoaxers have apparently attempted to sabotage the ICE
campaign by
circulating nonsensical email rumors
that ICE is actually a type of mobile phone virus.
These rumors are
completely false and should be ignored. An example
of one of these hoax emails is included below:
Latest Mobile Phone Scam
I have just received information from [Name
of company removed] that there is a new
mobile phone scam concerning Pay as You Go (PAYG)
Mobiles.
The scam is that you are asked to set up an
"In Case of Emergency (ICE) Account" on your
PAYG mobile.
Apparently this is a modular system that
searches for the word ICE text and then
changes your phones setting and takes any
PAYG credit left on your phone.
Please ensure that this information is
circulated to all staff and please pass on
to family and friends |
Please copy this and
email it to all you friends who have cell phones.
It's simple, free, and may turn out to be the best
decision you ever made.
|
