Netflix's Speedtest

Fast.com

Battery Drop Test

Very cool way to see if your batteries are good...


Via Lifehacker

2014 No-Nonsense Technician Class License Study Guide

Dan (KB6NU) has updated his No-Nonsense Technician Class License Study Guide for 2014. If you are looking to get your ticket this is a great resource.

Certifiable

Many suspected, but now it is official... I am certifiable.

I passed my ITIL Foundation exam today.

ITIL

What is ITIL? My take... a long, long list of very similar vocabulary terms with a lot of overlap. I'm not saying that it isn't useful. I do think a common vocabulary can be very helpful, but there is a reason everyone I talk to says that they only do ITIL-Lite.

Amateur Extra

Well, I had a somewhat arbitrary goal of getting my Extra license before the current exam expired. Since I've not cracked a book in months, I'll miss that target. Too much three year old and too much running to have time for studying... maybe this winter.

Boafeng UV-5R: Tests for Common Problems

From Jaap via the UV-5R Yahoo Group:

Off frequency receiver test:
-Tune in to a station with a known transmit frequency
-Note original receiving frequency
-Set the step size to 2.5 khz
-Increase receiving frequency until squelch blocks signal
-Note (upper) frequency
-Decrease receiving frequency until squelch block signal
-Note (lower) frequency
-Add upper and lower frequency and divide by 2
-Compare outcome and original  receiving frequency
-If they are not the same, your radio has the bug

Overheating and blurred display test:
-Set the radio to HIGH power
-Start regular communication 
-The radio might get hot; first noticeable at the top screws at the back of the radio
-The display might get blurred when the radio gets hot

No CTCSS low frequency scanning test:
-Program a channel with a CTCSS decode of a tome below 100hz for a known receiving frequency with this tone encoded
-Start scanning
-When the radio stops at the receiving frequency during reception of an encoded signal, the bug is not there

The Wonderlic Exam

I've frequently heard the Wonderlic Exam mentioned on the radio when talking about potential NFL players. I finally spent a few seconds looking up the test to see what it was about. Here is a sample test, so you can see if you are quarterback material.

The some of the sample questions are not that hard - at least for a geek like me who really likes word problems/logic questions/etc. (Geek alert! My family used to buy puzzle books and quiz each other when I was little.) The trick is there are 50 questions that must be answered in 12 minutes. That means you have to do some guesses based on estimates instead of doing all the math. Here is an example where basic algebra will help you solve the problem, but time could be an issue:

Three individuals form a partnership and agree to divide the profits equally. X invests $9,000, Y invests $7,000, Z invests $4,000. If the profits are $4,800, how much less does X receive than if the profits were divided in proportion to the amount invested?

Given the time constraint, you can try to do the math quickly, estimate (since the answers are multiple choice and you could get close), or skip the question and try to find a faster/easier one.