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Every July 4th, when fireworks explode in the night sky, millions of dogs run for cover or bark and howl in confusion at the sounds that attack their delicate dog ears. Fireworks are terrifying and confusing for dogs who don’t know that the cacophony outside is celebrating “freedom” and is not threatening their hearth or home.

Since your dog is just a helpless bystander here, do him a great service by preparing him for the trauma of the fireworks season. There are many methods you can consider to manage your stress levels – from equip them with a weighted “thunder shirt” to put them on anti-anxiety medication– but the simplest one could be some form of exposure therapy.

In the days (and weeks if you have the time) before Fourth, make it a point to make a loud, explosive movie when it gets dark. As your dog gets used to hearing cinematic explosions (or some other similarly bombastic soundtrack, such as YouTube video of a fireworks show) before chaos ensues, hopefully they will get through the vacation without mistaking the noise for the collapse of civilization.

Why are dogs so afraid of fireworks?

Your dog is not a hypochondriac. Just as their sense of smell is not like yours, their hearing is far superior – and more sensitive. Dogs can hear decibels so high that humans cannot hear them, and sounds that are so quiet that humans cannot hear them. It makes sense that super loud noises with no visible source would scare them as a result – but that doesn’t fully explain why dogs are so triggered by a fireworks explosion.

A variety of them are more likely to help make your dog shiver when the festivities begin. “It can be the smell; it can be the noise and the flashes of light, ”veterinarian Judy Morgan said the American Kenel Club. Some dogs may have traumatic associations with loud noises in general. Smithsonian magazine details How a dog might learn to associate the loud noises of a construction crew with abandonment:

For example, if a construction worker hammered on the wall in a neighboring apartment while a puppy was home alone, that puppy might associate beating with abandonment – without its owner knowing about it.

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Still, dogs are generally afraid of the tumult of fireworks, regardless of their particular life experience. One Study from 2019 found 52% of the surveyed dog owners stated that their pet was affected by fireworks noise, with “almost a third of the dogs being given the highest possible severity”.

The range of behaviors for dogs that panic during fireworks is wide, but they are all bad. Jennifer Green, Veterinary Director, Camden University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Australia, said Phys.Org What behaviors a dog owner might expect from a frightened puppy on July 4th or even during a severe thunderstorm:

These include panting, up and down, moaning, drooling, hiding and destroying things around the house. They are often so scared that they try to escape. Many dogs go missing in storms or fireworks.

Taking steps to prepare your pup for the trauma to come can go a long way in calming his or her nerves.

So play a loud movie or white noise before the show

You can get your dog used to the racquet outside by making a smaller racquet in your house. Indeed, one option is to find a noisy movie – perhaps one with lots of special effects and explosions – that plays regularly before the celebratory explosives detonate. The aim is to desensitize your dog to the noise outside and reassure him that he has nothing to fear – or to confuse him so that he cannot distinguish between the outside noise and what is coming from your television. You can also combine the loud soundtrack with one of your dog’s favorite treats to create a pleasant association.

Jenn Stanley, a canine behavioral consultant, explained how to do this with the American Kennel Club:

The volume should be low enough for your dog to hear it, but not showing any signs of stress such as wheezing, walking back and forth, leaving the area, or trying to hide. We call this keeping the dog “under the threshold” and it enables learning. If the dog is overwhelmed, it will try to escape the situation and will not be nearly as capable of learning that it is not a threat.

Remember, the goal is to normalize the sound of fireworks to the point where your dog will find the pops and bangs harmless. Which will pay off as the fireworks season usually goes well beyond July 4th.

Photo: Diego Cervo (Shutterstock)

Microsoft warns of a potentially serious zero-day vulnerability in Windows print spooler code. Although Microsoft hasn’t identified the severity of the vulnerability – known as “PrintNightmare” – it sounds pretty bad.

The company says external users could take advantage of PrintNightmare to gain elevated administrative privileges and run code remotely. In other words, it is an open invitation for hackers to take control of a PC and install malware, ransomware, steal or destroy important data, and more without the need for physical access to the computer. You know, real black hat stuff.

PrintNightmare affects the Windows print spooler in all versions of Windows, including versions installed on personal computers, corporate networks, Windows servers, and domain controllers. Even worse, PrintSpooler is already being actively exploited by hackers due to a faked proof-of-concept attack (PoC).

Sangfor security researchers discovered the PrintNightmare exploit along with several other zero-day bugs in Windows print spooler services. The group created PoC exploits as part of an upcoming presentation on the bugs. The researchers believed the vulnerabilities were already patched and posted them on Github.

While Microsoft has patched some of the zero-day print spooler vulnerabilities in a recent security update, PrintNightmare remains unpatched. Although Sangfar’s original PringNightmare PoC is no longer on Github, the project was replicated before it could be removed.

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Microsoft says it is working on a patch to fix the PrintNightmare bug, but there is evidence that the PoC exploit was used. Businesses and corporate users are the most vulnerable to the exploit, but general users could also be at risk. Microsoft is asking users to disable the Windows print spooler service on their PCs.

Network administrators can disable (and restore) the Windows print spooler and remote printing with a group policy, but general users must disable it with Powershell commands to protect their PC from PrintNightmare threats:

1. Use the system tray or the Windows Start menu to search for “Power Shell.”
2. Right click Powershell and select “Execute as administrator.”
3. At the Powershell command prompt, run the following command to disable the Windows print spooler: Stop-Service -Name Spooler -Force
4. Then run this command to prevent Windows from re-enabling Print Spooler services at startup: Set-Service -Name Spooler -StartupType Disabled

Keep your Windows print spooler services disabled until the patch from Microsoft is available and installed on your PC in the near future. As soon as it is securely patched, you can reactivate the print spool services in Powershell with the commands Set-Service -Name Spooler -StartupType Automatic and Start-Service -Name Spooler.

[The Verge]

Photo: New Africa (Shutterstock)

The ideal morning routine will help you start the day You feel successful, able, and ready to tackle anything in front of you. It’s a great feeling, but you may not have the energy to go through a complex routine every day. A relaxed, minimalist morning routine also has its advantages. Instead of trying to find the perfect balance, you may need more than a routine.

Redditor u / marlene-leonora suggests The solution to this problem is to have three routines, and I think it’s awesome. A routine when you are low on energy, one when you can’t wait, and one when you feel like you’re somewhere in between. If you only have the energy to accomplish what is necessary, you’ve still done something and you won’t feel like a failure. You just choose the routine that suits your energy level for the day.

As a natural night owl, my first thought of my own morning routines was that if I sleep late or wake up tired, my minimum is brushing my teeth, getting dressed, making toast, and spending a little time being silly on social media. When I have more time, I go for a walk and listen to a podcast. And my ideal is to take a run before breakfast and then come home with enough time to relax on the porch before I have to sign up for work.

However, this works for all types of routines. Are you struggling to find the time or energy to exercise? Break down your exercise routine into essentials and extras; On these time-sensitive days, only do the important things. Do you have a million things to do at work every morning? Make a checklist of the things that will get you off to a good start to your work day, even if you don’t have time for the rest.

Bedtime too: when you’re exhausted, stick to a minimalist evening routine that relaxes you and makes the next morning better in at least one way (like doing a few dishes so the sink isn’t full and you’ve got all the utensils you need to Need breakfast). When you’re able to do more than the minimum, unleash a more ambitious version of your routine that allows you time to take a bath and read a book – or whatever the ideal night for you.

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Routines build momentum, so after you’ve done your low-energy routine for a few days, you’ll likely be a little more interested in planning ahead to have time for the medium version, and maybe even the days that you can do it all

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LEGOs are all about the possible: what can you build when you get a full box? I spent a good part of my childhood browsing our LEGO collection at home and building all kinds of gadgets and gadgets. My older brother, when he didn’t beat me up, would join in sometimes, and we would spend hours building all kinds of structures we could think of – that’s probably why he’s an architect now and I’m an amateur boxer. He learned to build; I learned how to throw a good punch. Both are useful life skills.

However, the hard thing about LEGOs – especially if you’ve been collecting them for a while – is keeping track of what you have. After a while everything just fits together and some parts are lost. Not having a keen sense of what you have and in what amounts is especially irritating when you’re trying to build something in particular only to lose the right pieces before you’re done.

How to use Brickit, the new LEGO scanning app

A new app called Brick, available for download from the App Store, scans your LEGOs to create an inventory of your collection. This includes counting the total number of stones as well as sorting them by size. All you have to do is spread out your LEGOs on a flat surface and take a picture, and the app will suggest different characters to build with the bricks in your collection, including step-by-step instructions .

Some of the suggested figurines you can make include a platypus, typewriter, racing car, train, and peacock, while more are undoubtedly more to come in the coming weeks. Brickit even shows you where the LEGOs are in the stack you just scanned. If you’re not quite the size or color of the blocks, the spirit of LEGO building encourages you to be creative.

This app is still in beta, which means it still has quirks and limitations. For starters, it’s only available for Apple products, although an Android version is slated to come out in the fall. It also doesn’t scan the Duplo series or any part of Techno yet.

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However, apart from the limitations, it helps to open up a world of possibilities. So get out your LEGOs, take a picture and start building.