President Obama has ordered that the government use credit and debit cards that use an embedded chip instead of the magnetic strip. By using a chip that uses Near Field technology and a PIN number it makes it very hard to duplicate the information on the card and thus it is a very safe way to prevent a high tech theft. This will force Visa/Mastercard/American Express to have terminals at stores that can be used with this technology.
By having government workers use cards with Near Field technology the worries about card duplication are next to nil and it is a tested and secure technology. In fact both Apple and Google use this technology to enable smartphone users to buy items at some stores. Hopefully with the government mandate to use this technology it will be available in most stores in the near future. The credit card companies have been reluctant to install terminals with Near Field capability because of the cost of replacing the card swipe terminals. Now they have an incentive to do what they should have done in the first place. Otherwise they could lose a lot of government business and that would be bad for them to lose a very lucrative source of income. Continue reading Is Near Field Technology coming to a store near you?→
[symple_spacing size=”80″]I am going to talk about the Gas Tax again as the hearing(s) are actively in progress. Once again I must categorically state that the Highway Trust Fund, the fund where the Gas Tax money goes, must be a truly dedicated fund! If they do nothing else they must do this or the money will go into the General Fund and can be siphoned off for other purposes.
The idea of raising the Gas Tax a penny or two might have some merit, but I think that there are better ways than a higher tax. There are a number of problems that are not being addressed on our roadways. One of the worst is how truck drivers drive their rigs; they speed, run red lights and are constantly in the left (passing) lane. They clog up our highways with their poor and illegal driving. Please note that it might not be the majority of the drivers doing this, but there are enough to cause problems on the roadways.
[symple_spacing size=”80″]The present situation with the Ebola outbreak within the United States (US) has taken a turn for the worse. A nurse in Texas that treated a man who died of the disease has herself contracted it. It is not known at this time how she did so, but the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the local authorities are looking into how it was transmitted to her.
At this time there have been a number of scares throughout the US and at this time there are five airports where people entering the country from Western Africa are being screened for signs of this horrible disease. Basically incoming passengers will have their temperature taken by a non-contact heat reading instrument to see if they are running a fever and will be required to fill out a questionnaire by CDC personnel. In the near future Coast Guard personnel will also help out at our airports. These five airports are where the majority of people who enter the US from Western Africa usually go through. Continue reading Ebola what you should know.→
[symple_spacing size=”80″]Sayreville High School senior football players have done the unthinkable and it is now asserted that some of them have sexually assaulted fellow freshmen players. How disgusting can they get and for this to have happened in the locker room without the coaches sensing that anything was wrong is very strange. Were the coaches in a state of denial?
My first question is why were there no coaches in the locker room itself or at least they should have been able to see into it via a window from an office. And why was it not noticed that the freshman players were always in a rush to get to the locker room and get out before the seniors. That should have been seen as odd behavior. Also the coaches, their parents and teachers should have noted the how the behavior of those players who were assaulted had changed. I am sure that those assaulted did everything to avoid their tormentors, didn’t that seem strange to anyone? Continue reading Sayreville Football Players Season Suspended for possible sex assaults.→
