Space Station Astronauts Connect Live With Ohio Students
WASHINGTON -- International Space Station residents Scott Kelly, Catherine Coleman and Paolo Nespoli will speak to elementary, middle and high school
students from the greater Cleveland metropolitan area on Tuesday, Dec. 28. The event will be held at the Great Lakes Science Center, located at
601Erieside Ave. in Cleveland.

Station astronauts will make the long-distance phone call from 11:30-11:50 a.m. EST and answer questions prepared in advance. Media representatives
interested in covering this event should contact Jeff Hirz of the Great Lakes Science Center by 5 p.m. on Dec. 27.
James Free, deputy director of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, will moderate the question-and-answer session. Visitors will be able to view the
program in the science center's Reinberger auditorium and at additional center locations. The event is open to the public and also will air live on NASA
Television and the agency's website.

Kelly, Coleman and Nespoli are living and conducting science experiments aboard the space station for about six months. Kelly serves as the Expedition 26
commander through March, when he returns home. Coleman and Nespoli then will become part of Expedition 27 and complete their stay aboard the station in
May.
NASA News by National Repair Center, Dunnellon, FL, News Link
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NASA Completes Space Station, Fosters Commercial Spaceflight And Makes Amazing
Discoveries During Ambitious Year Of Exploration
By: Katherine Trinidad 12/20/2010
WASHINGTON -- NASA in 2010 set a new course for human spaceflight, helped rewrite science textbooks, redefined our understanding of Earth's nearest
celestial neighbor, put the finishing touches on one of the world's greatest engineering marvels, made major contributions to life on Earth, and turned its
sights toward the next era of exploration.

"This year, NASA's work made headlines around the world," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "More importantly, it enlarged our understanding of the
universe and our home planet, inspired people, and opened new frontiers for our dreams and aspirations."

"NASA achievements this year across the spectrum -- from science, to aeronautics, education and human spaceflight - provided incredible value to our
nation," NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said. "We continue to build upon our rich history, taking on new challenges and doing the things that no one
else can do -- all for the benefit of humanity."

The following are some of NASA's top stories for the past calendar year:
NASA News by National Repair Center, Dunnellon, FL, News Link
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NASA Seeks Space Technology Graduate Fellowship Applicants
WASHINGTON -- NASA is seeking applications from graduate students for the agency's new Space Technology Research Fellowships. Applications are
being accepted from accredited U.S. Universities on behalf of graduate students interested in performing space technology research beginning in the fall of
2011.

The fellowships will sponsor U.S. Graduate student researchers who show significant potential to contribute to NASA's strategic space technology objectives
through their studies. Sponsored by NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist, the fellowships' goal is to provide the nation with a pipeline of highly skilled
engineers and technologists to improve America's technological competitiveness. NASA Space Technology Fellows will perform innovative space technology
research today while building the skills necessary to become future technological leaders.

"Our Space Technology Graduate Fellowships will help create the pool of highly skilled workers needed for NASA's and our nation's technological future,
motivating many of the country's best young minds into educational programs and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," said
NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun at the agency's Headquarters in Washington. "This fellowship program is coupled to a larger, national research and
development effort in science and technology that will lead to new products and services, new business and industries, and high-quality, sustainable jobs.
Fellowships will be awarded to outstanding young researchers and technologists positioned to take on NASA's grand challenges and turn these goals and
missions into reality."

The deadline for submitting fellowship proposals is Feb. 23. Information on the fellowships, including how to submit applications, is available at:
NASA News by National Repair Center, Dunnellon, FL, News Link
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PC Cleaning Techniques
National Repair Center 1/10/2011
Over time, PCs gather dust and dirt, which can affect hardware performance. You must clean your PC's
components and remove dust from inside the case at least twice a year. Before cleaning any of the following
items, always turn off your PC and remove the power cord from the wall outlet. Your cleaning plan should
include attention to each of these:

Monitor: Purchase special computer-cleaning kits or use a dampened lint-free cloth. Avoid using standard
ammonia-based glass cleaners, and never use a liquid cleaner on a flat-panel monitor.

Keyboard: Clean your computer keyboard by turning it upside-down and gently tapping the bottom to
dislodge any particles between the keys. Spray crevices with compressed air or use a specialized
mini-vacuum to remove dirt and dust.

Mouse: Optical mice without a rollerball don't require regular cleaning. To clean one with a rollerball, first
unplug the mouse. Remove the ball from the bottom and use alcohol and a cotton swab to clean the ball and
the internal rollers.

Cooling fan: The fan inside your PC accumulates dust as it cools the system. Remove dust on a regular
basis by spraying compressed air inside the fan.

PC internals: Compressed air can be used to blow dust from boards, power supply, fans and vents. If you
prefer, a specialized PC vacuum can be used to clean the PC internals.

PC externals: Use a dampened cloth (wring well before use) and gently wipe the outside of the PC case, all
attached cords and around connections. Printers, faxes and scanners: Because the makes and models of
peripheral components vary, search the manufacturer's website for specific cleaning suggestions.
Basic Understanding of your Computer
By Craig Ardolino 1/11/2011
It seems silly to even write such a basic article, but there are thousands of people that own computers and have no clue as to operate them other than play
Solitaire. My 83-year-old grandmother is a prime example of this. I just give her credit for being able to turn the unit on and access the program list. I say
this because she literally has no clue how the bulky desktop works.

I will only talk about the three basics here, and that is: Hardware, software and firmware. An easy breakdown for you is this. Hardware is all that bulky mass,
the desktop, monitor, mouse, printer and other physical stuff that you can touch, see and even smell if you wish to. So any part you can touch can be
classified as hardware. In and of itself, it is just a bunch of metal, plastic and cords. It doesn’t do anything and doesn’t know how to behave. That is where
software comes in.

Software is programming codes that are stored on a disk, like a hard drive, flash drive, compact disk or DVD. Until the software is loaded, your hardware
won’t know what to do with itself. When needed the software is loaded into memory and executed so the hardware can perform its function.

Now Firmware plays its part. Firmware is software that is stored on a hardware chip. Firmware is not hardware and not exactly software, but is in a realm
between the two. When Grandma presses the power button, a relay clicks over and electrical current flows through the unit. The firmware chip called the
basic input/output system (BIOS) is accessed. These startup instructions are activated, scanned into memory and processed. This is what enables your
system to load to the main Windows screen.

There are also two types of software running. One is called the Operating System or (OS), and the other is the Applications. All computers have an
operating system, Windows 7, Mac OS, Linux, etc. The operating system is what accepts and processes your commands and it speaks to the hardware so it
knows what you want to do. It acts like the middleman, or translator.  The Applications run one level above the Operating System, it is the application that
allows you to perform tasks like writing emails, calculations, and interacting with Solitaire!

That is essentially it. So simple and yet those three devices control so much of our lives. I would like to add a side note for Grandma here about warranties.
Anyone who has a warranty on their computer will need to know the difference of Hardware, Software and Firmware.

Most warranties cover only hardware: Hard Drive, Mother Board, Memory Chips, DVD drives, and other INTERNAL hardware. A warranty seldom covers
keyboards, mice, etc.

Software is rarely covered, even if a board is changed that requires software. Say your hard drive is replaced. They will not install the software.  You have
to do that on your own. Be sure to read the small print because software is mostly your responsibility.

Firmware may be covered in some cases but not all. Firmware really depends on the type of warranty to have.

Please make sure you read your warranty before processing a claim so you know what you are covered for and what you aren’t covered for. There are a lot
of misconceptions and the sales people often say everything is covered. That may be the case until you call for your coverage. Read the details or you may
end up like Grandma with a new hard drive and no operating system to run it.
2010 Tied For Warmest Year On Record
1/13/2011
WASHINGTON -- Global surface temperatures in 2010 tied 2005 as the warmest on record, according to an analysis released Wednesday by researchers
at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.
The two years differed by less than 0.018 degrees Fahrenheit. The difference is smaller than the uncertainty in comparing the temperatures of recent
years, putting them into a statistical tie. In the new analysis, the next warmest years are 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007, which are statistically tied for
third warmest year. The GISS records begin in 1880.
The analysis found 2010 approximately 1.34 F warmer than the average global surface temperature from 1951 to 1980. To measure climate change,
scientists look at long-term trends. The temperature trend, including data from 2010, shows the climate has warmed by approximately 0.36 F per decade
since the late 1970s.
"If the warming trend continues, as is expected, if greenhouse gases continue to increase, the 2010 record will not stand for long," said James Hansen, the
director of GISS.
The analysis produced at GISS is compiled from weather data from more than 1000 meteorological stations around the world, satellite observations of sea
surface temperature and Antarctic research station measurements. A computer program uses the data to calculate temperature anomalies -- the difference
between surface temperature in a given month and the average temperature for the same period during 1951 to 1980. This three-decade period acts as a
baseline for the analysis.
The resulting temperature record closely matches others independently produced by the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center.
The record temperature in 2010 is particularly noteworthy, because the last half of the year was marked by a transition to strong La Nina conditions, which
bring cool sea surface temperatures to the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
"Global temperature is rising as fast in the past decade as in the prior two decades, despite year-to-year fluctuations associated with the El Nino-La Nina
cycle of tropical ocean temperature," Hansen and colleagues reported in the Dec. 14, 2010, issue of Reviews of Geophysics.
A chilly spell also struck this winter across northern Europe. The event may have been influenced by the decline of Arctic sea ice and could be linked to
warming temperatures at more northern latitudes.
Arctic sea ice acts like a blanket, insulating the atmosphere from the ocean's heat. Take away that blanket, and the heat can escape into the atmosphere,
increasing local surface temperatures. Regions in northeast Canada were more than 18 degrees warmer than normal in December.
The loss of sea ice may also be driving Arctic air into the middle latitudes. Winter weather patterns are notoriously chaotic, and the GISS analysis finds
seven of the last 10 European winters warmer than the average from 1951 to 1980. The unusual cold in the past two winters has caused scientists to begin
to speculate about a potential connection to sea ice changes.
"One possibility is that the heat source due to open water in Hudson Bay affected Arctic wind patterns, with a seesaw pattern that has Arctic air downstream
pouring into Europe," Hansen said.
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Check Disk, Windows 7
By Craig Ardolino 1/13/2011
Windows Check Disk utility works on any drive that is formatted with a Windows Operating System. The size of the drive does not matter, it does not matter if
the drive is partitioned. Nor does the utility care who manufactured the drive. As long as the drive is Windows based, the utility will work.

To keep your computer system healthy, it is advisable to run Windows 7 Check Disk program at least once a month. Check Disk deals with two types of
errors, correcting these problems early can save you a lot of time and energy later. Check Disk can find and repair logical errors in the disk’s table of
contents. If these errors are not corrected, a computer system may have difficulty reading and writing files. The result, Windows 7 will crash. This is why it is
important to run the application once a month, or immediately after a system crash.

Sometimes a system may have a physical bad sector on the disk’s surface. Check Disk can sometimes fix these problems as it will attempt to relocate the
files to a clean sector and then mark the bad sector as unusable so the system will not attempt to write new files to that sector. This process of locating and
repairing bad sectors can be a time-consuming process. You must check the dialog box for this feature or Check Disk will only scan for logical errors. This
feature should be used if you are experiencing problems reading or writing to the disk.

Keep in mind that when you do a “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors” it could take several hours for your computer to complete this task. It is
advisable to perform this overnight so you do not feel the urge to play with other programs while it is running. All programs and Internet browsers should be
closed for this process.

In order to start the Check Disk process, please do the following:

1) click Start
2) click Computer
3) Right-click on the C Drive
4) Select Properties
5) Select the Tools tab
6) Click Check Now
7) Adjust settings depending on the type of scan you want
8) Select Start

A Windows message may appear stating that the action can be performed only after a reboot. To continue with Check Disk, click Schedule disk check. The
process resumes when you restart your computer.

If for some reason you encounter a Check Disk error, try running the program in Windows Safe Mode..

Scan Disk is one of the lessons our on-site techs teach you when on-site.
Removing Applications From Windows
By Craig F. Ardolino - National Repair Center Article - 1/14/2011
There is no reason to think of how many programs are stored in our computer until the system starts performing poorly. Slow speed and a system crash
does not mean a new computer is needed. It does mean you may need to do some system cleaning.

When a PC starts running poorly, it can be an indication that “junk programs” are running in the background. These applications are often third-party
applications that you did not intend to install, but had to if you wanted the “free” download. You may have forgotten about these applications, or you may
have downloaded without fully reading what was about to be installed in your system. These programs work quietly in the background, sucking speed away
from your active applications.

Do not blame all speed problems on software leeches. Sometimes you installed a program yourself and no longer use it. In the repair business, we usually
see junk clutter from online downloads both intentionally downloaded and mistakenly downloaded.

Remove programs safely or you may damage your system. Never, never, never uninstall anything unless you're absolutely certain what the effects will be.
When an application is removed, it often removes entries from the registry. The registry is a configuration file and it is accessed every time you start your
computer. Properly removing applications will also remove the item from running in the background so it will free up the running speed of your active
applications.

It is important to remove applications and then perform a complete cleanup and registry scan in order to make sure no damage has been done to the
system. National Repair Center can perform this service in our shop or in your home or business.
What Is Spyware
By Craig F. Ardolino - National Repair Center Article - 1/20/2011
A survey taken in 2005 concluded that 90 percent of all computers contain at least one type of spyware! Many computer users do not know what spyware is
or how it can affect them personally. Once the threat is understood steps can be taken to prevent further infestation. Spyware is a software package that
installs itself into a computer and hides itself neatly away so it is hard to detect. It may also use a another program as a shield so the common computer
user does not know of its existence.

It may be easier for you if you image that Spyware looks like an everyday spider that tucks itself into your software. Once lodged its legs penetrate the wires
in your computer that carry data from your computer to the internet. Once the connection is established, it begins to siphon out information.

There is a lot of information Spyware can accumulate and send back to its creator. The extent of data that is being retrieved depends solely on what the
creator wants from you. There are a lot of Spyware programs that extract information on your shopping habits, or your Internet browsing choices. This is a
mild Spyware that wasn’t created for malicious purposes, but these buggers can also obtain more personal information about you. There are people out
there that sell names, addresses and phone numbers to telemarketing firms. A Hacker may develop a Spyware program to copy your contact lists and email
addresses of family and friends. Or if that isn’t enough they can be made to obtain your credit card information, banking information, passwords, and
identity information.

So the less information that you store and access, the less information Spyware can obtain. However, if your computer is being used like everyone else,
then all of the information listed in the paragraph above and more is stored in your computer and is potentially open to Spyware.

We hope you find this scary and invasive, because it is. Your privacy can be taken away without you being aware of it. This is worse than house robbery!

If you have these little electronic bugs in your system there are a few telltale signs to help: There is a sudden drop in performance speed. You are suddenly
low on memory and resources. Pop-up ads appear when you are off-line. Your hard drive is constantly working even if you are not working on the computer.
It takes much longer to start up the computer. Components of Windows aren’t working normally. Common applications you use every day suddenly aren’t
working properly. Your internet browser setting has changed like your home page and search pages. Odd favorites appear in your bookmarks or favorite’s
folder.

Any or all of the items listed may indicate Spyware. There are Spyware programs on the market that can detect new Spyware, however there are time-
consuming steps to be taken in order to extract existing Spyware Programs. National Repair Center in Dunnellon, Florida can assist and advise what the
best preventative is for your system.
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