Month: July 2015

Dash Cam

Not terribly long ago I was headed to lunch. Pulling into the parking lot I was met by a lady screaming out of the parking lot in “hot pursuit!” She was flying out of the middle of the entrance to the parking lot!

The driver was a Dallas Cop who had setup her “speed trap” in the parking lot of a busy restaurant in Addison Texas. Evidently someone went a couple miles over the limit and she was going to stop them and protect us all from someone going 40 in a 35!

Tracy Jones, K. Beth Burnside, Mia Shagena, Sarah Ramsey, Melissa Person

Had I not stabbed on the brakes, we would have had a head on.

You see, when you leave a parking lot headed for a main road there is this “stop sign” either painted on the road or standing there or assumed. Even if they don’t have one, you should stop and look both ways before screaming out of the parking lot! The drivers license manual even tells you to stop, use your turn signal and then proceed when clear. No where does it say if “you are a cop it is OK to go blasting out of a parking lot without looking, stopping, using a turn signal etc! Stop hiding in parking lots! Had she not been blasting out of the parking lot she would have most likely been to the right of the entrance and we could have avoided one another. She was in HOT PURSUIT!

The wreck was narrowly avoided but, had we collided who would have been at fault? Let me re-phrase that, who would have been blamed?! Do I trust the police??? I would rather not have to. We have seen too many times where if there is a possible way to cover your ass, these guys are good at it!

She would have hit me left front. I was traveling between 5 and 10 mph, no telling what she was doing, as she was flying!

Without dash cam footage, we would have to depend upon forensics and “he said she said” and she is a cop. Had there been a wreck we would have had to call the “cops.” Do you think for a minute that they would have sided with me? Even with the overwhelming preponderance of forensic evidence that would have been there, I can hardly think that it would have ended well for me. Maybe I am jaded but I have been around a long time, you don’t screw with cops! They are innocent until proven guilty, and you are guilty until proven innocent; which with cops, your evidence may never see the light of day. Just saying….

Would she have said, “Oh, I screwed up” and accepted the blame, or would she have somehow blamed me.

She has more to lose than I do. Her job could be in jeopardy where, I would have simply had a wreck on my record.

Dash Cameras take the mist out of mystery.

Dash cameras in theory are supposed to record in 3 minute increments, a loop of events.

When the car is running the camera is running and not only does it get video but, it also serves as a “cockpit recorder.” That is right, your voice or radio are recorded for posterity. If there is no event within that three minute window, that section of “tape” goes into the queue to be recorded over.

If there is an event, there is a “g” sensor in the camera that acts as a mechanism to flag that section of tape(1) as nonvolatile or protected thus, ignored in the subsequent record process. You can also activate that process by pushing a button telling the machine to save the last 3 minutes of tape.

Problems

The button to control that function needs to be easily pushed as we don’t want to cause an accident by saving the tape sequence that is important. “Someone does something incredibly stupid and you want to upload it to YouTube!”
Two cameras that I have tested thus far put out copious amounts of RF that “swamp” the GPS as well as the Satellite radio.
The camera plugs into the cigarette lighter socket or 12v power source and starts shortly after voltage is applied. Problem, those outlets are “hot: when the key is off so there needs to be another form of activation. Not all cars are like this but mine is.

If I were designing the perfect dash camera, I would tie it to GPS and have it actually encode the coordinates into the data stream. Along with the coordinates, I would encode speed. I would make the camera function dependent upon movement either of the vehicle and I would look for movement within the cabin. If someone gets into the car, the camera starts recording.

I would include a rear facing camera as not all accidents happen from the front of the car.

I would tie the camera into the Automobiles security system so if the shock sensor or other sensor is activated, it starts recording.

If it were a commercial vehicle I would tie it onto the on board computer to let me know if the lights were on, were the brakes hit, was the turn signal activated, What was the RPM of the engine, was it going up or down, what was the speed of the vehicle?

I would also offer a version of the camera that incorporated cellular technology that actually sent a data stream up to the cloud for later retrieval. I would do this on all commercial vehicles so at any point in time the person responsible for them could go to a web site and see were their vehicle is, what it is doing and possible retrieve other information like the status of the vehicle.

The creator of such a camera could offer “cloud storage” as part of a complete package, thus not simply selling a device, but a service with a constant revenue stream that goes into perpetuity.

The RFI issues need to be resolved as we have come to rely on GPS as an everyday thing, much like road signs.

Shielding the camera to contain the RFI needs to be looked at, in the factory.

What is generating RFI in the GHZ range? Is it the on-board processor? Can it be shielded?

This is not rocket science, it is simply best practice engineering.

-Best

(1) Tape is simply used here as vernacular that the public would easily understand. There is in fact no more tape, as everything is recorded digitally. The storage in most cameras are some form of memory card.

Cecil

There are several issues with this story that trouble me.

Bow and Arrow hunting is cruel, painful and unnecessary.
Criminals used illegal methods to lure this lion from its “sanctuary” for money.
Once killed by a rifle after it had been shot and tortured by being lanced with an arrow they discovered that it had a GPS collar on it which meant, they screwed up. At this point the Dentist knew he screwed up and is negligent. They tried to remove and destroy the collar further implicating this guy. This guy has a previous history of bad behavior.
The male cubs will now be destroyed by the next male lion which moves into the area and takes over the pride.
The meat “supposedly” was not utilized in any fashion thus the animal is nothing more than a trophy for this rich guy’s wall!
Tens of thousands of babies were killed last year and Cecil gets more attention with the liberal media and social media!

I love animals and I am saddened by this story but guess what, I love people one hell of a lot more than animals. If abortions don’t bother you and this does you really need to look in the mirror and assess your moral compass.

-Best

Who are You?

Who are You?

I updated my smart phone once again, and yet another $900 out of my wallet to keep up with the pimple faced urchins roaming the mall. You know the ones, the 4 foot nothing loud talking kind, with the powerful Swiss-knife of computer devices hanging out of their ass pocket, in shorts so tight that the phone can only go in part of the way.

When they are talking to their friends, there is the distinct smell of some god awful flavored gum; with what they think smells good perfume or body lotion, or what have you…anyway you get the picture.

My address book has managed to grow in parallel my with my disdain for managing said address book.

Today a friend “new friend” added her name to my list of contacts, as I promised I would send her some information on a particular subject that we had been discussing.

I allowed her to add it, as we were in an environment that was ill equipped for parsing data of a personal nature amongst other ears, which might find that information handy.

While we shook hands as she introduced herself, I discovered my penchant for remembering names is, well less than adequate for the task at hand.

Hours later I sat at my desk and found the information that I promised to transmit to her via these wonderful $900 dollar rolodex devices, when the issue of not managing my phone book for the last twenty five (25) years, came home to roost!

Who was she, what was her name?

Frantically I scanned my contacts trying to figure out who was not there earlier that day. There are well over a thousand contacts in that book, including some Democratic voters, you know the kind, they live six feet under the ground… “Yes Cemeterians!” I have many Cemeterians still in my phone book! Why, it is not like they are going to call me, or I them! If they do, the long distance charges will be incredible; talk about roaming charges!

The older you get, or putting it nicely, the longer that you trod the sod, your rolodex ends up with many who call the cemetery their home. Removing them from the rolls of your friend list, to me seems “final!” If I don’t remove them, than they are not forgotten.

While there may be some logic in that, the real dilemma came to light as the perfect juxtaposition of figuring out who was still alive and who was not; hit home.

Then there is this quandary of, who are all these other people?

I have to sit down and figure out how to create groups of personal, family, clients and vendors to start off with, and then categorize all of these folks and of course create a column for cemeterians..

Yes, I could simply delete them but that is just it, isn’t it, “delete.” How do you delete your parents, or close friends, or even relatives that you only spoke to once or twice a year?

Then there is this group of social media friends.

I have often thought that with all of this poking that goes on FaceBook, that someone should really be buying drinks, but that is another story.

FaceBook, and other forms of social media brings a whole new aspect to “friends” into the mix. Some of you reading this now, know of me, and how I think through these words. If you have followed me, chances are good that I have looked at your blog “if you have one,” and followed you so, we may actually know one another better than those who mention your name on FaceBook every now and then.

I solved the missing name by calling someone who was in the conversation and untangled the problem but, that sparked my desire to manage my contacts better. As an IT guy for 35 plus years who has sold and installed more CRM packages than I can count, one would think that I would have done something a little more OCD, prior to this!

Outlook is actually a pretty good CRM package if used correctly, and in that data base, I actually put all sorts of notes in there so if my memory needs a little assist; I have it there.

Speaking of smartphones, I just upgraded and now, today I learn that they are coming out with yet another new on in September! Are you kidding me!

These things start out at most probably $30 a unit to produce, and by the time you get to buy them they are $900 financed through your phone carrier at $40 a month for the life of the phone.

Now, if I had to make another guess, I would guess that the carrier actually buys them from Apple, or Samsung, or whoever, at a discounted price (or you are paying an inflated price) to make up for the “no finance charges.” There is no way in hell that these things are worth $900 plus tax! Oh, and if you trade your two year old phone in, you know, the one that was $900 18 months ago; it is now worth about $100 or less….

Since they no longer discount the phone, why the hell should I purchase a phone that is locked into that carrier!? If I am having to pay full freight, should I not be able to purchase a phone that can work on any other GSM network?

So, if you can live with older technology, buy last year’s model on eBay for a couple of hundred dollars and either go month to month, or find the cheapest carrier you can manage.

The problem I see with the older technology is, each and every update they do to the IOS, the phone slows down! What was perfectly acceptable when new is now slower than dirt, locks up or behaves erratically. Is this designed obsolescence?

Schick invented the disposable razor, which was one of the first, if not the first throw away razors and now we have, throw-away phones.

Unlike the phone or the razor, my friends as evidenced in this little diatribe, are not throw away, even the Cemeterians are near and dear to me.

-Best

The Trump Effect

You know that you are entering into a political season when Robin Hood, disguised as a politician forces business’s to pay wages that are reserved for those who actually “know how to work!”

Here is the thing, minimum wage jobs are for kids that are just entering into the work force, and don’t have any idea what a work ethic is. These kids are used to sleeping late during the summer months, staying up late with friends or the computer or what have you; and basically bitching about the inequality of life as they don’t have a car and or unlimited resources at their disposal, and complain incessantly with the ubiquitous infamous words of youth, ”it’s not fair!”

As highly skilled computer professionals, saw their jobs replaced by H1-B people, we wonder how this happens. The argument is, or was, that there are not enough professionals in this country, so we need to import them. Our scholastic acumen, or lack thereof was used as the catalyst for the conversation but, most American’s slept through that as well. That soccer is important… You know we don’t keep score right, we don’t want to damage their self-esteem.

If you watch Jesse Watters on Fox, he interviews these stoned college kids and makes me believe that we need to import talent.

That narrative was (which is false,) but those with big budgets to contribute through lobbyist to make their case to whatever law-maker that needed funding for re-election (all or any of them) do so with impunity and little regard for Americans! It is all about the bottom line, and nothing else.

(How do I produce and sell the most widgets in the least expensive way?)

Companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google and Boing to name a scant few, testified that they cannot get the talent that they need in America, so the limits to H1-B visas must be increased. With over 500,000 people at any given time from different countries taking high-tech American jobs, they continue to lobby for more. They pay them less, and they are not contractually obligated to them, as they might be with a US citizen.

The real problem is, that they cannot get the talent that they need with Americans for “really cheap prices!” As if the half million H1_b folks is not enough, they also recruit from people here in the US, on other types of Visas like student Visa’s. Some of these convert through the “green card” process thus they leave openings for more H1_b opportunities.

Donald Trump said something yesterday at the Mexican border that caught my attention.

“I have thousands of Mexicans working for me, and had tens of Thousands over the years, they love me!” He went on to say that he will bring the jobs back from Japan and China and “the Mexicans will get them!””

Now let that settle in for just a minute. … What about Americans DON!?

Immigration has, and will always be about cheap labor! These folks that supposedly have more skills than Americans is absolute BS! I have run into many skilled people who were replaced by someone from another country for half their salary and, they could not find a comparable job to replace it so they are either un-employed or under-employed.

The reason had nothing to do with their qualifications, it is because they had reached middle-age and by that time you are used to making reasonable good money. Companies don’t want to pay “reasonable good money,” so they hire from other countries.

Donald Trump is not a politician, he is a business man. Had he been a seasoned politician he would not have disclosed that fact simply to get the Hispanics to “warm up to him.” Anyone with a brain that might also happen to be un-employed or under-employed, will remember where his loyalties are when they vote.

Rick Perry called Trump a cancer to the Republican Party. Trump is a cancer to the entire political class but not really a cancer in my eyes. Trump is shining a light on, and exposing the flaws in all politicians in the “good ol boy club” that Americans are oblivious to.

You are too busy with the kids, the soccer, baseball, the news is depressing, and so you tune out! You are missing out, and if you take the time out of your busy schedule to vote, you will either be voting by pulling the all R or all D lever, or you will be influenced by what the last smear campaign that you saw, said about the other guy, you know the one that steps on baby chickens for fun, or throws grandma off the cliff! You are what Rush Limbaugh called the “low information voter!” Not an insult, you simply don’t care and you “reason” or come up with the excuse that you are too busy!

Did I get your attention?

Until Trump either drops out, or becomes politically savvy, you have an opportunity to peek behind the curtain and see the wizard at work! If allowed to continue un-fettered; Americans might get their first real look at how badly our government is truly infected with cancer, and how these folks are working for themselves and selling you out to the highest bidder. Trump is not the cancer, Trump is a diagnostic instrument much like a CAT scan, exposing the cancer.

If Trump is allowed to continue, our government may actually have to work for us, the American People again, and not to fatten their own wallets! Make no mistake, DC is the good ol boy club and those lobbyist payed by big business are working contrary to the American middle class folks who, are constantly a talking point; but never really helped as they prop up the entire country!

If you are the middle class of which I speak, take a bow! When you are doing so, make certain a politician is not behind you ready to…well you know…stick it in you!

The poor take from the middle class and somehow feel justified by taking from the “haves.” The rich are smart enough to avoid paying into the system, so they hide money off-shore and basically have people who are smarter than they are, manage their money, to pay the very least in taxes. The middle class are left to pay for everything and left just enough, “maybe” to survive and maybe afford a vacation to places to see where the rich and famous live. Folks, the rich and famous “not all but most” get there by exploiting you! Now pay attention and we might can change some of this, or go back to your sitcoms!

How much of what someone else worked for is your fair share?

Trump for instance made his money in real estate. Why in real estate? The thousands of pages of tax code (that code that screws the middle class) is geared towards more favorable tax status, if you invest in real estate.

The H1-B is about exploiting people from other countries, for cheap labor.
Immigration is about exploiting people from other countries, for cheap labor and votes!
Outsourcing is about exploiting people from other countries for, cheap labor; while giving the false appearance of being an American company loving Americans!

Some of these high-tech companies hire well-spoken Americans to interface between their company and their clients. Their job is to sell that company to the client and interface with, or be the liaison between them, and the folks that actually manage the projects back in India, or some other 3^rd world country. The client thinks that Americans are doing the job but in fact it is auctioned off to the lowest bidder.

Marco Rubio appears to have some idea of what is going on in this arena, and is for stopping all forms of immigration until we get a handle on it. If that is real and not just political rhetoric, he gets my attention.

The simple facts are that Americans are hurting, and it is big business doing it to us, through our own government, you know the ones created by us, which are supposed to be,… for us!!!

If any of these bozo politicians had ever gone to a job fair for “technical people” they would see thousands of applicants line up for two or three possible jobs of which those companies will have thousands of candidates to choose from. The applicant hired will most likely be some kid fresh from college. Not because this kid is the most qualified, simply because he is a kid, and they can start him out at $15 and hour vs the $50 to $125 and hour that the qualified person should command.

There is the rub, isn’t it… $15 and hour….

Our government is pushing for a minimum wage increase and in some states it is $15 an hour. You can tell that those politicians slept through economics, or they need a diversion!

If I double the salary of a burger flipper, what has to happen to the price of my goods?
How do I stay competitive with the other burger company who manage not to comply with that law, maybe it is family owned burger flipper company and he can treat his family different than normal employees?
Cut my expenses.
Cheaper meat, cheaper rent, turn the air up or off?
Less employees?
Do more of the work myself?
What corners can I cut without endangering the health of my customers?
Close the business and go to work for the competition?

Now let’s flip the coin, I have city workers making $15 an hour doing menial, but necessary task like garbage collector or ditch digger. How are they going to feel about their kid making the same amount of money that they are making and they have been there ten years!? Do you know that some firefighters make a whopping $22K a year!? In case your math is bad or you slept through school that is $10.57 an hour! Are you beginning to see the problem?

Government has no business injecting itself into this.
Governments’ primary business is to keep Americans Safe!
The Government should do all they can to make certain that Americans excel, period, end of sentence!
Immigration should be limited and severely scrutinized.

We could take our que from Mexico, try to immigrate there! You had best have lots of money and bring lots to the table or, good luck!

Australia, New Zealand … Better have a job lined up that only you can do! Why in the world do we have to let anybody and everybody in, and pay for them to boot!? Cheap labor and votes.

You thought slavery was dead…! You thought that you could not buy an election. Silly person!

I hope that Trump stays in this long enough to “infect” our political class. They need to be forced to deal with reality that Americans are damned tired of being screwed over by the political elites in their Ivory towers!

I watched a “trump” liaison on the news last night talking with Frank Luntz. I have to tell you the guy was so damned truculent, he pissed me off. And that was the exact point that Frank was trying to make and this guy…clueless, went right over his head. Go back and watch the interview. Trump needs to be likable or people won’t vote for him. Humility is a word that I expect Trump and his team are not familiar with. If you don’t have one, hire someone that will tell you the truth and not what you want to hear. I have fired more “yes-men” for simply being that. As a businessman, I need the truth, not smoke up my ass!

Trump is actually waking up the sleeping tiger, or the elephant in the room; and I for one appreciate that!

-Best

The Trump Enigma

I received an e-mail asking me why I keep referring to Trump as an enigma.

Enigma=a person of puzzling or contradictory character.

Trump who I have a great deal of respect for, is an Enigma. The definition fits!

Why? Why would someone with his wealth, waste his precious time on this earth to get into politics; much less run an entire country?

It has been said that the presidency of this nation is equal to the most powerful man on the planet. Is that it? Is it power? Is Trump a narcissist ?

Putin might argue this, as might other world leaders including the infamous Kim Jung Un; who I am certain thinks the he is the most powerful man in the world.

Why do you think that these rogue countries want Nukes?

I personally don’t get involved in pissing contest and maybe this argument bodes well for a female president, as there is obviously a lack of adults in the world leadership role!

If anyone, let me say this clearly, if anyone lobs a nuke anywhere; the stability of the world will be in jeopardy not only from a physical standpoint, but more importantly; and economic point of view. Macroeconomics dictates, that if you destabilize a world player; you will topple down the entire “house of cards.”

I am convinced that is why the uber rich, aka George Soros meddles in the politics of different countries, he has this god complex. Bloomberg also does, in his own way by doing silly ass things like, trying to make sugary drinks illegal.

Please boys, put them back in your pants, we have had enough of your juvenile behavior, and I for one am not impressed!

There is no winner with nukes, and truthfully there should be zero of them. Like Guns, it would have been much better if the Ottoman Empire had never invented them.

Star Trek was ahead of its time in that they took on world issues and used them as story lines.

There was an episode (Taste of Armageddon) where different worlds were fighting a war electronically. If a city was hit, their people willingly walked into a disintegration chamber where they neatly and methodically were terminated. Of course Capt. Kirk’s ship was hit and his people were expected to report for disintegration.

The Answer was to obviously bring reality back to these people who had made a “neat” business out of war.

A war without the mess.

Well war is messy, people die. Buildings are destroyed. Why?

Do you know that the human existence as far as time is concerned can be measured as during a war, post war or pre-war? We folks, are a pitiful lot. We behave like animals and Baltimore is only the most recent example. Chattanooga breaks my heart and there is no reason for it.

I am convinced that if an alien civilization was looking us over for “first contact” they would steer clear and leave some sort of beacon around this solar system warning others to stay the hell away from these animals. Bradbury was ahead of his time.

Whoever gets into office can only do so much. I place the blame for the racial unrest in this country square on the shoulders of our current president. Dividing the country on racial lines as well as economic and sex for god’s sake served his purpose to get his agenda passed. Congratulations…Hope you are really happy with what you have done!

I am so proud... — There are a lot of first with this president.. Waving with one finger for the world to see is most probably the a first for any “president.”

We cannot afford to have any more progressive people in power, and those are on both sides of the isle. They must be voted out and replaced with john q public. This was supposed to be a citizen government of the people, by the people and for the people. It is not! It is made up of privileged (mostly lawyers) who have no regard, or little regard for the constitution.

What is in it for me? That is the first thing that they ask and what they seek. Pitiful!

Which brings me around to the Enigma… Why?

Why would someone who has it all, spend so much of their time and resources to become the leader of this messed up country?

People died for this country and they are spat upon. Hollywood elites make tons of money dissing these fine people. Our country is upside down and we need someone to right things.

Bernie and Hillary are not it! Career politicians are not it! You, you maybe it. Your children may be it. Someone who gives a damn and maybe “mad as hell” maybe it!

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina speaks during the Women's Conference of Florida luncheon held in Tampa, Thursday, March 19, 2015. Fiorina is founder of the Unlocking Potential Project a conservative based political action committee. (AP Photo/The Tampa Bay Times, Octavio Jones) TAMPA OUT; CITRUS COUNTY OUT; PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BROOKSVILLE HERNANDO TODAY OUT — Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina speaks during the Women’s Conference of Florida luncheon held in Tampa, Thursday, March 19, 2015. Fiorina is founder of the Unlocking Potential Project a conservative based political action committee. (AP Photo/The Tampa Bay Times, Octavio Jones) TAMPA OUT; CITRUS COUNTY OUT; PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BROOKSVILLE HERNANDO TODAY OUT

If I could put together a list of people that I would like to see run this country; someone like Trump may very well be on top. I like Scott Walker, not a lawyer. I would like to see someone like Gordon Ramsey in the mix on the staff as it were. I don’t know about Chris Christie. I like his outspoken manner but, I don’t know where he is politically. I think Carly Fiorina as a VP would be a good pick. More thought on this as the days progress.

Hope this answers the question.

-Best

Poll Numbers the #Trump enigma

Poll Numbers

Poll numbers of the presidential hopefuls are all over the map. The media has been wrong since the inception of the Trump enigma. They have been wrong because and not unlike most politicians they have not figured into the equation how pissed off most Americans are at this administration and politicians as a whole.

The Democrats have been whacked in two successive campaigns and Obama looks at that and I quote “I hear you, you want me to keep going.” Instead of the truth of the matter; No, we want you to stop and turn around, you are taking us over the cliff!

Nobody could be this stupid, so I can only guess that with his pen and the phone, by-passing the House the Senate and the “people” is his way of doing those things which are so far out of his purview to do, that even the far left would dis-approve if they were not chained to the liberal agenda.

Politics interest me, as I have said in the past, this is all about manipulating the voters.

Democrats are pretty good at it and here is why I say this.

California is bankrupt, has some of the highest taxes in the country, hugely in debt with absolutely no rainy day fund, tons of crime and run solely by liberals. Chicago has some of the highest crime rates in the country with some of the toughest gun laws and is run by democrats. Detroit is just about a ghost town because of one failed progressive set of leaders, one after another and yes, liberals.

The voters are the people who suffer as the progressive leaders still live the life of luxury, and blame the conservatives, even though cities where conservatives run the city are thriving. The voters who voted liberal philosophies, in their cities and watched them go down the tube. If they have the ability move out where do they go; to red states where conservatives are and then do what, try to change it by voting their same old stupid way of progressive thinking! Don’t you ever learn!? Is liberalism a mental disorder?!

I would point out that Hitler was elected.

We as a people can no longer be afforded the luxury to sleep through this process. While most of the people are charmed with social media, and all of the gadgets that we have, the progressive agenda is alive and well. Bernie Sanders is a Socialist, and is gaining in popularity over Hillary. Young folks today have no idea what Socialism is and equate it with “free stuff!” Hillary Clinton the other day proposed making it legal for 16 year olds to vote. Is she that damned desperate that she needs the pimple faced easily persuaded children to vote!? YES, she needs those votes as well as the illegals as well as the convicts in prison, and even the dead!

Socialism only works until you are out of free stuff, and then someone like Stalin appears and the masses starve to death while the Stalin’s of the world sit back and watch from the tops of their ivory towers, sipping Champaign; and thinking with fewer people there will be less demand.

Trump is literally sucking the air out of the room. The people are paying attention to him. He is flamboyant and is saying what folks want to hear.

Does he believe what he says?

One of the things that interest me about him is, that there is no benefit for him to run for president. It takes a toll on your health, he already has ivory towers to perch upon. He can have the best of the best and most probably does, so why run for a job that pays $174K a year?

All of the other candidates have that “want the ivory tower experience” as part of their motivation. All of the other candidates would owe their allegiance to whoever their contributors were. Trump needs nobody’s money.

I think that the only thing that could screw Donald Trump up now would be if some other flamboyant billionaire decided to run on the other ticket. Those guys however typically get others to do their dirty work, so I don’t see that happening.

We still have a long way to go, and Trump could get bored of the media attention so it is still anyone’s game.

If I were the other candidates I think I would leave sparring with the Don off the table.

Mr. Trump did not get where he is today by putting up with crap from anyone so, I don’t think you stand a chance playing on his field.

My advice to the other candidates is to not engage him in any way. He thrives off of stuff like that and you won’t win. State your case, why you think you are they best for the job and stay in your weight class. Your only hope of winning is if Donald gets bored, and figures out that there is no financial gain for him.

To Mr. Trump, I hope you are serious and that you can find humility in your demeanor, as this is job for a serious contender. A person like Reagan or even Washington. A person who really does not want the job; but loves the country and the people enough to sacrifice 4 plus years of their life to put us back on track.

It really is about character, not charisma, or color, or ethnic makeup.

-Best

Political Correctness, All lives matter and Trump

Political Correctness

Americans are being duped by a complicit media and a very progressive bunch of politicians that PC is the new accepted way to speak.

In other blogs, I have spoken about how politicians “manage” the voters, PC speak is yet one more way of manipulating you.

Progressives hate the 1st amendment which says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Political correctness abridges your freedom of speech and the technicality in that is, that congress is not enacting it, you are by allowing yourself to be shamed for thinking anything other than the progressive agenda.

So, to those out there that are afraid to say that “all lives matter,” shame on you!

“ALL LIVES MATTER!”

If you think about it, white folks are not “white” in the truest sense of the word, they are pink or as I like to say, as an artist; a mixture of titanium white, yellow ochre and a little alizarin crimson.. You will notice that those are all colors, or as my European friends type it “colours!” Beneath that very thin veneer of pigmentation, we are all red…

This is my main problem with the NAACP. How has this group been allowed to exists? To me, that is a very racist group and needs to be abolished as does any group that promotes one breed or race of human over another.

If I were to go out and create the NAAWF, Al Sharpton and every other race baiter out there would be calling for my head on a stick! Mob mentality would surely rule. Indeed, it would be every bit as racest as the NAACP

“White is a color!”

The next president of this great nation needs to recognize that white is a color too, and find ways to mend the fences between the people of this nation. Diversity is one of the things that make America a great nation, and looking at the evidence, this president has gone out of his way to tear this country apart; picking at race, much like picking at a scab, is an easy way to do it. A lot of white folks voted for Obama so he has no ground on which to stand, regarding his assertions.

I would call for the disbanding of the NAACP! I would also call for the disbanding of any remnant of the KKK. The Confederate Flag is much more than a symbol of race and to target it as the cause for the hate from one young person who is mentally ill, is a huge miss-direction of the problem, and I would guess some politician somewhere thought, directing the anger of the people to something that is inanimate would be much easier than allowing the growing divide between the races to be the “focal point” as this young person wanted!

We have more that unit us, than divide us but yet, we focus on that which is most destructive rather than those things that bond us a people. It is past time for change; and we the people need to lead by example.

The Trump Enigma

THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE -- Episode 912 -- Pictured: Donald Trump -- Photo by: Ali Goldstein/NBC — THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE — Episode 912 — Pictured: Donald Trump — Photo by: Ali Goldstein/NBC

I have followed Donald Trump for years.

Why? Simple, anyone that is that successful is worth studying.

How did he get there, what did he do to get there, how does he continue to do it?

Unlike most of the Billionaires’, Trump is more transparent thus, I believe that most of his business dealings are more transparent than say those of the Koch Brothers, or Mr. Soros.

Trump is a shaker and a mover and not afraid to make decisions.

His recent flip remarks about John McCain were just that, flip remarks and if you listen, he was entertaining an audience. The audience loved him. His remarks were not PC but I seriously doubt that he meant any dis-respect to the veterans. As the matter of fact, he is fighting for them by all accounts.

Much like any comedian is not PC, Trump had them laughing; and I think took on the role of entertainer, as much as dealing with Frank Luntz. Trump is no stranger to the lime light, so this is very likely the case.

So why is the media, and most of the GOP; and even the White House weighing in on this?

I am including this on this particular blog because this goes to the heart of the topic at hand… PC…

Can you imagine if you had to carefully weigh each and every thought that came out of your mouth? Each and every utterance is subjected to some sort of litmus test, of how it will poll! How will the masses respond to it? What will the media do with it? What will your opponents do with it? How will they spin it to make you look undesirable?

Take no prisoners!

One of the things that attracted me to Chris Christie is his outspoken demeanor. As the matter of fact, that happens to be one of the reasons I like Joe Biden. Obama talks from carefully written speeches prepared for him by someone from the bowels of the white house and it is only when he goes off script, can you get a sense of who he is.

I believe that whoever is pulling his strings, could make Barney Fife look presidential, as long as he can read and emote….

Donald Trump however; has no “string pullers.” Donald has “no handlers.” Donald is the “real deal” who is far from perfect but, he is who he is, and is not some puppet propped up in front a teleprompter to sell you on the idea that feces is actually edible, and you can trust it if the government puts a stamp of approval on it!

The rest of the hopefuls get their funding from people who would normally bet on the horses, which horse will come in first. They are always in campaign mode to get more money, as becoming president is a high stakes game!

Donald owes nobody anything! If Donald says that if you vote for him that he will take care of the veterans, he has nobody but the voters to answer to! No political favors to repay!

In my humble opinion, that is why the media, and the other politicians are running scared! Donald is a loose cannon in their eyes. He cannot be controlled by those who support him financially, because he does not need their money!

We know that he is smart, and a hell of a business man. How will he deal with Putin? Will he take his shirt off and ride some horse in the middle of the forest with a rifle in one hand and some dead animal in the other to show the Russians that he too has “balls!”

I think it is time we elect someone with balls, and not necessarily anatomical balls; just someone who can stand up to the world leaders and, flip them off if need be. I am not suggesting a truculent attitude towards the other leaders in other countries, but i am suggesting that it is time for another Reagan. We really need another “tear down this wall” moment.

-Best

“3” or “PPP”

“3” or “PPP”

As a seasoned parent, I must say that I want so much to “talk” to young parents who I see in the store, or other public places.

“1…..2…..two and a half….” Does this sound familiar?

This generation raising kids today are a generation who consequences were lost on.

There is a reason that our jails are full to the brim with people, and piss poor parenting (PPP) is part of the problem.

A home without a daddy, and or both parents having to work long hours to make ends meet, with the television and now video games raising kids also plays into the mix.

How could Sandy Hook happen?
How could Charleston Happen?
Why did Ferguson happen?
Why did Baltimore happen and why is it such a mess now?
Our values have gone wonky. Some of the reasons for this are as stated and some are simply garbage in garbage out from …you guessed it… Hollywood!

Liberals are decrying, “gun control, we need gun control!”

This country does not have gun control because of the NRA “the voice of the people.” So the government is purchasing huge quantities of every kind of ammo on the market (with your tax dollars or borrowed money from China,) driving the prices out of sight, and making availability scarce.

And still, all of the issues that have happened; including Aurora CO and the Columbine shooting still happened, even though ammo is not as readily available.

“3”

Three is the answer. As a parent, you should never get to “THREE!”

“But if I swat my child, they will learn to hit!”

Are you f@#$%ng kidding me!?

Have you watched TV at all! Even the cartoons are violent!

If you don’t swat them, or find some sort of “consequence” for their actions or behavior, you will be raising monsters. You will learn to hate yourself, for not swatting them or finding some way to deal with errant behavior.

Do you think that a swat on the padded diaper is going to hurt them? The noise and the tone of your voice not cooing them, will be the trigger for the response you want. They need to feel that you are not pleased with their actions, not physical pain…. There are consequences for their actions.

As they are grow, emotions are your pivotal mechanisms with which you can steer them.

As they mature, you can reason with logic and maybe pain, but before logic comes into play, use emotions.

Driving around yesterday, at least a half dozen drivers disobeyed openly and fragrantly the traffic laws, including red lights, no U turns and speeding to the extent that we are on side streets in populated areas, and they were doing at least 10 over!

Red lights and traffic signs are not suggestions! They are the law, and there are consequences that will cost you, close to where your parents should have paddled your ass; in the wallet!

So, 1,2 swat! Or 1,2 ok no ice cream, or toy, or whatever gets their attention and be consistent and do not give in. Let them throw a fit and ignore them. Put them in the corner for a timeout!

When you are taking your child to the store “if you are good on the way home I will stop for ice cream.” If by some miracle they are good, a trip through the McDonald’s Drive thru is a godsend! Odds are good that you will not be making that trip so, you may want to get them used to making that trip; without conditions first, then add the conditions.

Bad behavior must have consequences. If you don’t do it, the judicial system will!

There is a video on Facebook of a baby playing with an iPhone. When the mother takes it away, the baby throws a tantrum and they laugh about it. They give the phone back to the baby, and it stops the tantrum immediately, and goes back to playing with the phone. They take it away again, and a tantrum ensues. Who is controlling who, and if this continues, how do you think that child will grow up?

We see kids today graduating college and expecting the corner office with a 6 figure salary! When they can’t get it, or don’t get it, they don’t understand why? PPP!

Dr. Spock was wrong. Instincts are nice but your instincts must come from witnessing parenthood from someone that knew something, or your instincts are flawed. Do not be afraid to seek wise counsel.

“Spare the rod, spoil the child.”

-Best

The Future

There are many salient words of wisdom that I could pass on to people that some might actually remember.

In many of my writings, I do just that.

I think that one of the most germane “tips” that I could offer today is for folks to learn history.

History is cyclical.

The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire… Why? What happened?
The rise of the Third Reich. How did it happen? What were the mechanism that took place during it, what happened during it and who took the fall? What changed as a result of it?
The Weimar republic, what happened and how did it happen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic

I was in an office today talking with some folks and one person mentioned that she had just lost her job and found one where I was. She was now part time but “thank god she got Obama Care!”

She went on to say that it was an HMO through Blue Cross. She could not keep her doctor and had to use their doctors but her prescriptions were free, and her out of pocket was only $30.

My thoughts wondered to Greece as she was lamenting about not being able to keep her doctor, and how she felt that this doctor was not as good as hers. But since it was basically free to her, she guessed that it was ok.

So what will the future look like?

When this monstrosity of a bill was passed that nobody in congress even read, business reacted by changing their employment practices. Whatever the delimiter is between full time and part time, that is the max hours that they hire someone for. If that means hiring twice as many folks keeping them all part time vs full time; thus dumping them all onto the health care exchange (taxpayer funded) so be it.

This is why many companies have agreed to raise minimum wage. They don’t have to pay for health care or other benefits so they can afford to pay a little higher salary and they look like the good guys!

The employment numbers now “artificially” look good but, these are part time positions. Some companies hire through agencies allowing them to bear the burden of insurance and regulations. They become contract positions much like “Kelly Girl.”

Other companies hire folks for just enough hours that the part time minimum wage employee, can stay on government assistance, get a stipend from the company while still qualifying for government assistance. (TAX Dollars)

Now we have a huge percentage of the population at or under the poverty level, and each political party simply has to blame the other to create a voting base for themselves. The narrative is that it is the other sides fault. (It is both sides fault BTW.)

Those millions of dollars that each candidate raises is for the express purpose of manipulating you. Each and every one of them is lilly white and all of the others are bad. You know, throw grandma off the cliff bad! Its all Bullshit smoke and mirrors.

With the massive amounts of data collected, on you, they know where to scientifically play smear campaigns, and on which air time slots, during which programs to place them. for maximum effectiveness.

Swing states will be the target and Ohio will be one of the largest along with Florida!

The more that the government intervenes with its “social justice,” the more the people who bust their ass to work to get ahead, get screwed.

Families are simply too busy being the middle class to “learn history.” I don’t know what college teaches today, but obviously not history!

Just what is your fair share of what someone else worked for?

There should be one price for goods and services and that is simply not the case. If you are working, making good money, you pay much more than the person who is on welfare. As the matter of fact, the person who stays home all day may not pay anything for the same goods and services that you pay through the nose for.

That is socialism.

The progressive agenda that Greece is now the poster child for and why it does not work. Progressives buy votes with the middle class’s money.

The Greeks are so selfish or so misinformed that they want to continue to get free stuff, and allow, nay demand that the EU keep funding them. They don’t know how to fish. They have been on the government tit so long, that they are lost and somehow feel entitled to be provided for, much like your errant teenager who still lives at home after college because playing video games and sleeping half the day is much easier than getting out of bed and securing employment. Some parents enable them which is crippling them even worse!

This president is not the first to bring this country towards socialism, but he has pushed it much farther along than anyone before him by printing money and pushing social justice.

Greece is in trouble and China is now suffering from their economic policies. What we are seeing in the news today could be the beginning of the “crash” that I have been talking about since 2012.

I hope that I am wrong. This house of cards could topple and I am not sure what will happen if and when it does.

I suspect that some sort of financial reset may occur. What will your retirement portfolio look like?

I would keep my eyes on what the richest people in the world are doing with their resources.

With Millions of folks crossing our southern border; most if not all adding to the already “entitled” section of our population, disaster is not too far away.

Will it be a repeat of the 20’s.

http://www.history.com/topics/1929-stock-market-crash

The path that we are currently on is fraught with dangers. Those who manipulate the masses, are playing Jinga with the economies of most of the world’s super-powers, knowing full well that printing money is not the answer, but yet they are all doing it.

Where do the current billionaire’s invest their money, what is in their safe?

Know history…

Most of history is not worth repeating.

By the way, entitled is a misnomer in the way it is used today. To get entitlements, that means to get something that you are entitled to! That means that you did something to earn it! So, I ask again….Just what is your fair share of what someone else worked for?

-Best

Trump

As a science fiction writer it should be no small surprise that my focus is usually physics or other science things instead of politics.

Yes, I write about things that I notice that I think might be helpful but, I would much rather be talking about “Space, the final frontier…”

If we as a world did not have to spend so much money and time on all of the BS in this world, that we currently do, life would be so much better.

Instead of spending billions on wars, entitlements and bailing out other countries; we could be doing meaningful things like they are doing at CERN.

Russia and the US and other countries have a space station for Pete Sake!

Tonight I broke routine and watched the news. I usually do not watch too much if any TV, because I am a firm believer in Garbage in Garbage out. Too much Garbage in the form of “entertainment” that comes from Hollywood and we as a country nay a people, are consumed with it and controlled by it.

We have people who know everything about who is sleeping with whom in Hollywood, but have no idea who the VP is.

Watching trends in Twitter, you can see where people are focused, usually stupid shit!

Trending top on the list currently is USMNT (soccer). At least it is not about someone sleeping with someone.

Politics fascinates me only in that it is full of lies, half-truths and manipulation usually aided by Hollywood and the media. Hillary for example has a list as long as your arm of untruthful tales that she has told. She and her husband are the King and Queen of prevarication and yet 47% of the country will vote for her because 47% are Democrats and that is what people do. People vote the party rather than character. It takes little thought process to pull the D lever…

What is interesting to me however is not Hillary. She is part of a dynasty that we know all too well, and yet because of name recognition she stands a good chance of winning the Democratic nomination. The person who currently interest me is Trump.

The Donald

Donald interest me in that he is taking a huge financial hit for basically speaking his mind. Now think about this for one second. Obama has handlers which basically tell him every word or utterance that comes out of his mouth. Without his teleprompter and his ability to read with feeling, he would be lost.

I find it fascinating that both the democrats and the republicans, are attacking Trump!

The media, both sides are attacking Trump.

How refreshing would it be to have someone in the White House that is not owned by special interest, lobbyist on Ave K, and of course handlers!

The more that he is trashed by the republicans, the more that I like him. I was surprised to see Governor Perry trash talk him. I know it is a political move but Perry has been dealing with these issues a long time. He knows firsthand what we as a country face.

The simple facts are that we have some serious problems to deal with, and it is going to take serious people to solve them. The debates should prove interesting as the republicans tear one another apart, doing the job for the democrats.

We are already hearing about stuff that Bernie Sanders (the other democrat) wrote 40 years ago or so regarding cervical cancer and why women get so much of it. I am certain that was leaked by the Hillary campaign; Bernie is actually getting traction. He is a Socialist, left of Obama and is gaining traction!

The game is afoot and the next 16 months ought to be interesting if you follow such things.

If not, keep in mind that we are close to getting our probe to Pluto, so there will be more “science” to talk about instead of politics.

Sleep tight, another day is around the corner and more “stuff” will happen; giving us much to talk about.

-Best