Thanks to Neil deGrasse Tyson:
Do whatever it takes to avoid fooling yourself into thinking something is true that is not, or that something is not true that is.
Today's Thoughts
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Desktop Control
I battled Google and Windows for control of my desktop. I won but my desktop is now wood.
I did many of things right. I did not accept Google services until I got a copy of their Terms of Reference “printed out” in Microsoft OneNote.
That copy of OneNote notebooks is no longer processable on my computer.
How do I monetize this Blog?
Friday, March 16, 2018
Bridge Collapse
The eye witness said he saw something fell on the corner of the bridge and that is what brought the bridge down.
From other sources, I have heard that the bridge was undergoing stress testing at the time it went down.
If I recall other relevant details, I will post them here.
From other sources, I have heard that the bridge was undergoing stress testing at the time it went down.
If I recall other relevant details, I will post them here.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Politicization of Intelligence
POTUS43 misused intelligence to get us into Iraq. At least his director of the CIA looked like
a crook.
POTUS43 switched from counter-insurgency to
counter-terrorism. W went after terrorists (and countries that host them) almost
everywhere.
“In the days after Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked and crashed
four commercial jetliners on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush
ordered the National Security Agency to eavesdrop, without warrants, on
American citizens and foreign nationals within the United States. His action
represented the biggest shift in U.S. intelligence gathering in American
history. But the true architect of that secret program, code-named Stellarwind,
was a former Air Force intelligence officer who’d been picked to run the NSA
two years earlier: General Michael Vincent Hayden. What a long way from
Pittsburgh, where Hayden was born in 1945. His youth was western Pennsylvania
through and through: Dad was a welder, and the family lived for Sundays, when
they would attend mass and Steelers games. In college at Duquesne University,
Hayden even worked at the Steelers’ summer training camp to help pay his
tuition. He studied history, joined ROTC and started active duty in the Air
Force in 1969.
“A registered Independent with no political background,
Hayden came up through the ranks of Air Force intelligence, and in 1999
President Bill Clinton selected him to run that secretive organization
nicknamed No Such Agency. When Hayden arrived, he found the NSA struggling to keep
up with the technological tide. Two years later, 9/11 jolted him into
unprecedented action, and he implemented rapid, transformational measures.
Hayden’s Stellarwind program circumvented the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Court and even went beyond the authority of the Patriot Act passed by Congress.
“After The New York Times exposed the operation in 2005,
Hayden still moved forward—but another, more damaging exposure lay ahead. Bush
made him principal deputy director of National Intelligence and then promoted
him to director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 2006. Hayden’s new
position as top spy coincided with another CIA hire: Edward Snowden. The then
23-year-old computer tech later went to work for two NSA contractors, and in
2013 Snowden released confidential information on the spy program established
by Hayden. The resulting firestorm implicated both the Bush and Obama
administrations.”
Would POTUS44 spy on candidates to be POTUS45?
Labels:
Government,
Guiding Principles,
Human Nature,
Justice,
WMD
Saturday, February 18, 2017
How I found HQ8 Norelco Shaving Heads
My electric shaver says to change heads each year. I replaced the heads in 2014.
I have been looking for HQ8 replacement heads for over a
year.
Tonight, I looked at Wal-Mart for new Norelco shavers
thinking that I may have to buy a new shaver to get new heads.
I selected a reasonable looking shaver. It said use HQ8 replacement heads.
I went back to the selection of replacement heads. The second shelf contained SH50 heads. I noticed that on the box it said, “Replaces HQ8
heads”.
I’m sure there’s a lesson in here somewhere.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Why Trump should select Ash Carter as SECDEF
Ashton B. Carter is a Democrat. Most Administrations have considered bi-partisanship a positive attribute.
George W. Bush finally found a decent Secretary of Defense in Robert Gates. The Obama Administration continued Bob Gates through Obama's first term. Obama had no military experience other than as a Social Worker in south side Chicago. Continuing Bob Gates assured the World (including NATO) that at least of of the NCAs was competent.
The Trump Administration can accomplish all of this with Ash Carter and get somebody smart that understands "the Iran Deal."
Senator Jeff Sessions has been mentioned as a candidate for AG and SECDEF. The Republicans do not have too many senators in the Senate. Consideration will be given to which party will gain by a Senator being elevated to the Cabinet.
I am not a fan of Big Government Newt Gingrich. He's smart and should be utilized by Trump as appropriate. Secretary of State might be a good fit. I do not believe SECDEF would be.
The following is extracted from Wikipedia:
George W. Bush finally found a decent Secretary of Defense in Robert Gates. The Obama Administration continued Bob Gates through Obama's first term. Obama had no military experience other than as a Social Worker in south side Chicago. Continuing Bob Gates assured the World (including NATO) that at least of of the NCAs was competent.
The Trump Administration can accomplish all of this with Ash Carter and get somebody smart that understands "the Iran Deal."
Senator Jeff Sessions has been mentioned as a candidate for AG and SECDEF. The Republicans do not have too many senators in the Senate. Consideration will be given to which party will gain by a Senator being elevated to the Cabinet.
I am not a fan of Big Government Newt Gingrich. He's smart and should be utilized by Trump as appropriate. Secretary of State might be a good fit. I do not believe SECDEF would be.
The following is extracted from Wikipedia:
"Carter was nominated by President Obama to be the 25th
United States Secretary of Defense on December 5, 2014.
"In his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services
Committee, he said he was “very much inclined” to increase U.S. military aid to
Ukraine Speaking on the Middle East, he
said the U.S. must militarily ensure a “lasting defeat” of Islamic State (ISIL)
forces in Iraq and Syria. He said he is not in favor of increasing the rate of
prisoner releases from Guantanamo Bay.
He also opined that the threats posed by Iran were as serious as those
posed by the ISIL forces.
"He was approved unanimously on February 1, 2015, by the
Senate Armed Services Committee. He was confirmed by the Senate on February 12
by a vote of 93–5 and sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on February 17.
"The United States is coordinating closely with Saudi Arabia,
Sudan, Egypt, Qatar, and the other Sunni Arab allies in the Saudi Arabian-led
intervention in Yemen against the Shia Houthis and forces loyal to former
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was deposed in the 2011 uprising.
"In May 2015, Carter warned China to halt its rapid
island-building in the South China Sea.
In October 2015, Carter has condemned Russian air strikes
against ISIL and other rebel groups in Syria.
"On October 8, 2015, Carter,
speaking at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, said he believed
Russia would soon start paying the price for its military intervention in Syria
in the form of reprisal attacks and casualties.
"A controversy arose in December 2015 when it was revealed
that Carter had used personal email account when conducting official business
as Secretary of Defense.
"In January 2016, at Carter's direction, the Department of
Defense opened all military roles to women, overriding a request by the Marine
Corps to continue to exempt women from certain positions. In June 2016, Carter
announced that transgender individuals would be allowed to join and openly
serve in the military."
A Trump Administration would gain worldwide credibility by selecting Ashton B. Carter as its first SECDEF. I would expect a Trump Administration to continually select the best person available. General Flynn might be qualified in a second Trump Administration.
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Technology's Impact on everything Hurricane
When Richard Widmark starred in Slattery’s Hurricane,
released January 1, 1949, the only way to tell the strength of a hurricane was
to have some nut fly through it.
Hurricanes have been and still are
“This is a hurricane. Hurricanes are windstorms of great
violence several hundred miles in diameter, with a dead calm at the center
called the eye. Like whirlpools, they spin rapidly, hurling great destruction
in their paths. They're spawned in the doldrums, their father the heat of the
sun, their mother the moisture of the sea. From July to December every year,
the Caribbean crawls with these evil offspring of the elements. “
The movie made a lasting impression on me.
"Slattery's Hurricane thus begins with this narrative by Gary
Merrill. Will Slattery (Richard Widmark), a former World War II Navy pilot
still on inactive reserve, forcibly takes his employer's Grumman Mallard from
the estate in Miami and heads for an incoming hurricane. He obtains his
bearings from a Navy control tower by pretending to be a weather patrol flight.
Despite a threat of court martial when the Navy discovers the ruse, Slattery
flies into the storm, reviewing his life in flashback for the next hour...
"Disgruntled with the service, in part because he was
disciplined instead of decorated for a hazardous mission, Slattery left the
Navy and became a private pilot for candy manufacturer R.J. Milne (Walter
Kingsford) on the recommendation of his girlfriend, Dolores Grieves (Veronica
Lake), Milne's secretary. He lives an easy life, until the day he literally
bumps into "Hobby" Hobson (John Russell), an old Navy buddy. Amused
that Hobson stayed in the Navy, he nonetheless accepts an invitation to fly
along on a weather flight into the heart of a hurricane. Slattery is disturbed
to find that Hobby is married to Slattery's former lover, Aggie (Linda
Darnell), who ended their unhappy relationship years before. At dinner for the
two couples, he pretends to have just met her, but Dolores immediately suspects
their past attachment. Slattery invites Hobby to fly with him the next day,
maneuvering Aggie into coming along, to show off his lifestyle, and introduces
them to Milne and his shady partner, Gregory (Joe De Santis).
"Slattery tricks Aggie into meeting him alone while Hobby is
away, and although she initially rejects his "fast one", he seduces
her. Dolores confronts Slattery and they argue over his betrayal of Hobby and
the effect his job is having on him. He soon discovers Dolores not only moved
out, but quit her job as well, alarming Milne and Gregory, who fear she knows
too much about their dealings. In the meantime, Slattery's affair with Aggie
continues. Milne has Slattery fly him to a remote Caribbean island, where Milne
has a heart attack. Slattery tries to save his life on the flight back, and
discovers that Milne is smuggling drugs, taped to his chest. Milne dies and
Slattery keeps the "parcel". Dolores telephones him and warns him
again to get out, but he gets drunk instead. Gregory beats him up to get back
the "parcel", but Slattery counters with a warning that he has hidden
information about the smuggling ring in a safe deposit box, should anything
happen to him.
"The Navy unexpectedly awards Slattery the Navy Cross from
his wartime heroics. Dolores attends the ceremony, but when she sees Slattery
embrace Aggie afterwards, collapses and is hospitalized in a psychiatric ward
for "pharmacopsychosis," or drug addiction. Slattery is called in by
her doctor and castigated for his role in her illness. He leaves his Navy Cross
with Dolores and goes to Aggie's to end the relationship. A drunken Hobby is
there, however, having discovered the affair. He beats an unresisting Will, but
is ordered to report for a hurricane mission. Slattery sees that Hobby is in no
condition to fly the mission and knocks him out to prevent it. He then steals
his employer's plane and flies into the storm...
"Slattery flies into the eye of the hurricane and reports its
position. His warning is instrumental in saving Miami from serious loss of life
and property loss, but in returning to Miami, he loses an engine. Believing he
will crash, he also radios the tower about the location of the drug-smuggling
information. When the plane does crash, he unexpectedly survives. Slattery is
accepted back on active duty, and by Dolores."
I liked Richard Widmark movies and encourage everyone to consider it for entertainment.
Today, Hurricane Matthew is threatening Florida and President Barack Obama has been on TV telling I-95 corridor residents to listen to their local folks.
Labels:
Florida,
Government,
Guiding Principles,
Hurricanes,
Richard Widmark
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