Holidays Science Aficionados Celebrate

Everyone can grasp what National Donut Day is all about. But for STEM nerds, there are some special days that are all their own. Check out these holidays science aficionados celebrate, fire up your calculators (or, for you purists, your slide rules), and glory in geekhood for a while.

March 14

You already know, right? National Pi Day. This one was so obvious, but did you know that this day even has its own website? March 14 is also Einstein’s birthday.

April 25

The Human Genome Research Institute touts National DNA Day on April 25. This is a day to study and celebrate the pursuit of genetic research. Scientists encourage non-scientists to learn more about what makes each person unique at the genetic level.

May 20

National Metrology Day celebrates the science of measurement, which, as any STEM nerd worth their lab scale knows, includes the study of uncertainty. Two, four, six, eight—everybody calibrate! Seriously, metrologists and calibration professionals keep the scales honest and know the answer to “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” Well, maybe not the “Kenneth” part, but still.

October 9

Get small with National Nanotechnology Day. Selected in celebration of the nanometer scale (10-9 meters), this day celebrates advances in the science of tiny things. Celebrate with a 100 billion nanometer dash! Check Nano.gov for more fun activities at the nano level.

October 23

Speaking of measurement, let’s hear it for Avogadro’s number (6.02x1023)! Without this measure, chemistry simply wouldn’t happen. This is a day of celebration for anyone who can recite the periodic table from memory. Give yourself bonus points for knowing the atomic weight of each element. The magic happens when elements combine into compounds with a calculable molecular mass. Wow, we could do this all day!

May 5, 2025

Math fiends, this is a day for you, and you will already have deduced that this is National Square Root Day. You’ll probably get a few of these in your lifetime, but to celebrate them all, you have to live for at least a century.

Black Hole Friday

NASA wants to take your mind off shopping on the day after Thanksgiving for long enough to contemplate the mysteries of the universe. Take a break from spending this Friday, November 27, and instead look for interesting discoveries about the most confounding astronomical phenomena on NASA’s website.

Computer Science Education Week

Anyone can organize an Hour of Code any day of the year, and computer science education is so important it gets a whole week. This year, the event takes place December 7-13. If the pandemic teaches us anything good, it is that the world working from home (and working anywhere else) runs on code. Celebrate computer science and engineering in December, and help the world have a better year in 2021.

There are several online calendars where you can find holidays for science aficionados and events devoted to multiple STEM pursuits. Check your birthday, or just tomorrow, to see if you were born on a science-related day.

Best Upgrades to Improve PC Performance

When you’re using a computer for regular tasks, you don’t need it to boast a lot of power. Activities like gaming are another story, though, so you may want to bolster your PC to not only accommodate such purposes, but also reach maximal functioning. What are the best upgrades to improve PC performance, though? Focus on the following aspects of your computer to see the greatest results.

RAM

RAM, which is short for random access memory, is the short-term memory your computer uses to retain information on programs that you’re currently running. It helps when you are actively using programs and when you switch to different ones while keeping multiple ones open at the same time. By adding more RAM, your computer’s capacity for running applications increases so that you have the responsiveness you want.

There are different amounts you can add on depending on what you’re using your PC for and how much RAM it can handle. For example, 8 GB is considered a moderate upgrade for basic gaming, video streaming, and other similar tasks, while 16 GB is optimal for more complex, large-scale videogames and video editing. You can even go above this to 32 GB if you so choose.

Storage Drive

In addition to RAM, your PC may also benefit from a peripheral storage drive, particularly a solid-state drive (SSD). This type of memory retains data even after the computer is shut down, unlike RAM. It’s useful when you find yourself running out of storage space on your PC or when you’re after greater speed.

You’ll notice the difference in things such as boot-ups and application launches where the computer is retrieving stored information. This means less time spent on loading screens while you wait for your computer to catch up to the commands you’ve input.

Graphics Card

A graphics card is one of the best upgrades to improve PC performance when you’re heavily into gaming or video editing. It’s responsible for forming the images you see on the monitor, so the better your graphics card is, the higher the quality of visuals your computer can display. When you’re dealing with low frames per second in gaming, a better graphics card can take a lot of the burden off the CPU in the associated calculations, allowing it to perform its operations and create the images faster.

Many computers come with an integrated graphics card built into the motherboard, but this is often not enough for demanding tasks. You’ll want to augment your PC’s performance using discrete graphics cards that are separate from the motherboard but which can be connected to it as an enhancement.

Smart Parking Solutions: The Future of Parking Lots

The Internet of Things (IoT) is creeping into every facet of life. More things are connected to the internet today than ever before. IoT is the idea that everything should be or is connected to the internet in some fashion. Smart technology that connects home appliances to a central hub is a prime example of this. Things that one wouldn’t associate with “smart” technology are popping up all the time, including parking lots. Why would a parking lot need connectivity and what on earth are smart parking solutions? Smart parking lots are more prevalent than you know—learn more about them here.

What’s a Smart Parking Lot?

A parking lot is still a parking lot; it’s a place for you to leave your car when you go shopping or see a movie. Smart parking solutions are vehicle parking systems that help drivers find an empty spot. Each space in the lot is equipped with a sensor that tracks movement within the lot and reports back to an attendant or parking app. Using sensors in each parking space that detect the presence or absence of a vehicle, signs direct incoming drivers to available locations. Parking apps that help drivers find a vacant spot use this information as they drive and help ease the congestion on the streets. Smart counter systems keep track of cars coming and going through a lot and any specific area. A connected counting system can detect when a vehicle enters and leaves the parking facility. This way, IoT-based platforms can offer drivers a real-time counter of available spots. Facility managers can use counter systems to increase the parking facility’s efficiency, determine trends and patterns regarding customer flow, and predict future vehicle surges.

The Future of Parking Systems

In the past, when a lot was made, the only concern was how many parked cars could fit there. As time went on, new regulations and laws were passed that carved out space for disabled drivers and kept a minimum distance between vehicles. The Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for parking lots provided a certain number of handicapped spaces in lots. Now, with the IoT of parking lots, construction teams and design engineers have to consider where to place sensors in the pavement, how many to place, and their signal strength and functionality. Automated parking structures are coming into the fold now, too. They go up, rather than out. A driver pulls their car in and a series of elevators move it to an available spot and deliver it when the owner comes back. It’s like a building-sized car vending machine.

How Computer Modeling Benefits the World

Computer modeling greatly improves how engineers, meteorologists, and scientists plan for the future or respond in a crisis. Specifically, computer modeling utilizes a variables plugged into a computer algorithm that can functionally simulate what will happen with certain conditions. Through computer modeling, technology saves all kinds of professionals the time and effort of going through with an action until they know more clearly how it may play out. If you’d like to learn more about how computer modeling benefits the world, continue reading.

Infrastructure Design

First, modeling affects how infrastructure takes shape. Architects must consider the overall integrity of the structures they design—bridges, office buildings, schools, and more—and do so by accounting for many complex, interacting forces on the structure. It’s difficult to know how gravity will act in certain areas and whether your foundation will sustain the weight of your materials. To simulate all of this without laying a brick, architects use computer modeling that’s equipped to include these forces. You can even use it to test how your structure will react to adverse conditions, such as a storm, which illustrates its flexibility. To give an example of one type of modeling, finite element analysis (FEA) helps those in the oil and gas industry determine how fluids will act on a system, as well as other applications in other fields.

Weather Prediction

Computer modeling depends on a significant data set to give reliable feedback. That’s a particular strength of weather-predictive modeling, which has years of data to feed into its predictive algorithm to track future weather patterns. The global forecast model (GFS) and others are important for day-to-day forecasting, but become integral when predicting the path of a hurricane or determining the extent of other extreme storms. If the computer model used correctly anticipates the storm’s path and danger, it saves lives.

Tracking and Projecting Infectious Diseases

Finally, most important now during this COVID-19 pandemic, computer modeling benefits the world by predictively determining where and how infectious diseases will spread. The challenge with computer modeling for these purposes is that, because computer modeling must mimic real life closely, it needs many variables inputted correctly to adequately guide action. Because much about the coronavirus is either recently known or still unknown, it’s difficult to incorporate these variables together. It’s likely more appropriate to model the virus’s transmission via more limited models when information is lacking.

3 Interesting Facts About Electromagnetic Interference

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) affects technology significantly, yet it’s practically invisible. To give a broad definition, electromagnetic interference takes the form of emitted waves at a certain frequency that disrupt separate waves of the same frequency. In layman’s terms, a signal that’s too similar to another nearby signal stops working. This is very important for companies making and attempting to protect devices. Here’s a list of three of the most interesting facts about electromagnetic interference.

EMI Is in the Air and Everywhere—Sort Of

Many devices emit electromagnetic waves, but it can be difficult for us to imagine these frequency streams because they’re invisible to our eyes. In reality, these electromagnetic waves crisscross everywhere. However, they don’t travel through the air as you might imagine. For instance, sound waves(which are mechanical waves) can travel through mediums such as air, water, or solids, but electromagnetic waves do not.

There Are Three Kinds of EMI

Another interesting fact about electromagnetic interference is that there are actually three EMI varieties. First, inherent EMI emits from the device itself, meaning the device’s emitted frequency can affect its own functioning. Second, the world and its natural events (such as storms) also emit EMI. This type of EMI—known as natural EMI—can extend beyond the Earth—large celestial bodies in space also disrupt certain waves. Finally, man-made EMI comes from other devices and structures, ranging from large power lines to small pieces of tech.

Militaries Can Weaponize EMI

Finally, some militaries weaponize the disruptive potential of EMI to cause enemy technology to fail. Some militaries employ high-altitude electromagnetic pulses (HEMP) to impair enemy communication systems and gain the upper hand. Some parties use it for terrorist activities as well. This is why military technology must come with certain shielding protections that essentially render weaponized EMI harmless.

How to Improve Network Efficiency

The most dreaded words in the business world just might be. “the network is down.” When productivity and profitability rely on a fast and reliable network, IT professionals spend their time figuring out how to improve network efficiency.

It’s a Business Network, Not a Streaming Service

When everyone was still at the office, network slowdowns often happened because many people were using high-bandwidth applications, downloading big files, or streaming music all at once. Now that so many employees are working from home, it would seem those problems should disappear. But home-based workers may not realize that their problems with speed are coming from their own wireless home network. Everyone is home streaming movies, gaming, shopping, going to school, and trying to work online all at once. Provide home-based workers with suggestions about how to manage internet use at home to stay productive. Start by making sure everyone knows how to clear their cache regularly, and be helpful with suggestions about how to place routers and create faster wired connections with Ethernet cables for the device the WFH employee uses to complete their work.

Use Network Mapping and Monitoring Software

Dynamic network mapping allows IT professionals to see all the devices connected to the network, and monitoring helps identify hardware that may be the source of bottlenecks. With employees working from far-flung locations and using multiple devices to connect, keeping an eye on devices accessing your network is important not just for speed, but also for security. On the flipside, provide helpful information to home-based workers about how to encrypt their home networks and install your VPN or an app that provides VPN service.

The company’s website is its external face and lifeline to the outside world. Every minute of downtime might mean lost sales and customers. Monitor the company website daily and perform audits to ensure each page and link is working properly.

Sweep for Malware Regularly

Remind users to beware of phishing scams in their company email and advise them on how to spot a suspicious email. With data flowing in and out over home-based networks to the company network, there are more opportunities for malware to hitch a ride. Ensure network security software is up to date and that it routinely searches for malware. Plus, it must remove or quarantine any malware it may find.

Troubleshooting business networks is less onerous when improving network efficiency is a priority for all.

4 Ways to Adjust Your Marketing Strategy During COVID-19

There are several things that have changed in our current economic climate, one of these being the behavior of consumers. Online shopping habits have greatly increased, as we all seek to have whatever we need delivered to our new home. E-commerce has taken a sharp turn, but it’s far from disappeared, and businesses are working to determine ways to navigate the situation. Today we explore how you can adjust your marketing strategy during COVID-19.

What to Do When Your Internet Is Slow

Slowed Internet speeds can pop up at the most inconvenient of times. Maybe you’ve just settled into the couch with a bowl of popcorn, only to find the movie you were planning to watch is stuck on a seemingly eternal loading circle. Perhaps you need to complete some tasks as you work from home, but you’re unable to get to the next webpage. If you’re having these kinds of experiences more and more frequently, you may be at a loss for what to do when your Internet is slow. You may be able to identify and resolve the problem with the following responses.

Innovations in the Electric Car Industry

You can’t deny that technology permeates your everyday life—so much so that technology has seeped into how you travel. For example, some trains and electric cars run off solar power. Companies such as Tesla, Toyota, BMW, Ford, and Chevrolet are feeding off of one another’s innovations to produce the best electric car model. Continue reading to learn some of the innovations in the electric car industry.

Battery improvements

Since the first electric vehicle, electric batteries have seen steady improvement—both in the mile-range and startup time. For instance, many of the original electric vehicle batteries were lucky to last 150 to 200 miles on a full charge. Nowadays, consumers expect at least 200 miles on a full charge; luckily, most modern electric vehicles get well above 200 miles. For instance, the Tesla Model S boasts a range of 391 miles on a full charge.

Better charging solutions

The lack of charging stations was one of the main reasons people were skeptical about purchasing electric vehicles when they first launched. Luckily, car companies as well as the government have recognized the tremendous value of electric vehicles and are adding thousands of charging stations throughout the country. Additionally, some companies are working on including solar panels on their vehicles—that way, you’ll never have to stop to charge up.

Electric vehicles are getting bigger––much bigger

When you think of an electric vehicle, you probably think of a Toyota Prius, a BMW i3, or one of the Tesla models. These are all smaller sedans, maybe with the exception of the Tesla Model X or Y. However, in 2017, Tesla announced that they were working on an electric-powered semitruck. Of course, you can’t forget about the Cybertruck announced in 2019. In other words, electric vehicles are getting larger and larger.

Even with all these innovations in the electric car industry, you can’t neglect some basic maintenance. You won’t have any oil to change, but you’ll still need to top off fluids and maintain your brakes and tires. Luckily, you can find affordable, high-quality tires for your electric vehicle across the country.

Negative Impacts of Network Outages

Network outages can result from several circumstances, including hardware failure, device configuration changes, or operational human error, among numerous other possibilities. Because a network involves so many vital interconnected elements, a single fault or mishap can cause the whole system to go down. When such outages occur, their effects can have disastrous repercussions on a company. As such, implementing resiliency and enhancing security throughout a network is essential. To further understand the importance of such preventative measures, read about some of the negative impacts of network outages.

Hurt productivity

High productivity is at the core of any successful company. When network outages occur, such productivity becomes nearly impossible. Employees often require certain network services to carry out their work, so outages may completely halt their workflow. If the responsibilities of employees are interlinked with those of others in your company, a harmful domino effect of lost productivity could occur in various sectors. The effects of lost productivity are especially detrimental in competitive industries in which time to market is central to the success of their products or services.

Financial loss

One of the most significant negative impacts of network outages is the financial loss they often incur. When your network goes down, a series of ripple effects often occur, each of which takes a toll on the bottom line of your company. For example, network outages can lead to lost productivity, which prevents employees from creating product—which in turn can lead to lost sales revenue. To make up for the loss of productivity, you may need to pay employees overtime to meet deadlines. In addition, you’ll likely have to pay hefty IT costs to get your system back up and running and to recover any lost data.

There’s no limit to the financial implications of network outages. As such, it’s imperative to take measures to effectively prevent an outage.

Hurt reputation

When network outages occur, your production will likely halt until the network gets back up and running. Depending on how long the outage lasts, you may not be able to provide products or services to customers as promised. By inconveniencing customers or business partners, your reputation could take a hit—especially if the people you upset voice their unhappiness on online review sites or social media. As a result of your damaged reputation, customers may flock to your competition instead, which could significantly hurt your business.