Category: LifeStyle

Am Radio kit from China

Cheap Chinese Radio Kit

As a radio enthusiast from way, back I thought that it might be fun to build a radio from a kit.

A quick search of eBay turned up a simple six transistor kit for less than $10.

I was interested in a kit that was as close to the radio’s we had in the 1960’s which would leave out anything with integrated circuits.

Ordering the kit it was about 3 weeks before it arrived and another 2 months before I opened it.

Not wild about the color of the case nor the front plate, but this is a kit, not a work of art; right?

notice the 2 transistor places marked v4

The board looks pretty straight forward.

Problem 1… the instruction are all in Mandarin.

T2, T3 and T4 Are not interchangeable.

Those character by the purple blotch are the designations of which are which.

On another part of the document is a chart for the resisitor color code. Since I know what it is I can work it backwards and figure out what the colors should be.

There you go…the primer as it were. BBROYGBVGW

Now working this backward…The IF cans were identified.

T5 is the audio output transformer and it too has a key. Notice the white dot on the board and the slightly raised up bump on the housing of the transformer.

The rest of this was simply to populate the board correctly and see if you guessed right.

I noticed on the circuit board that there were traces that were not completed for some reason. If I could read Mandarin I am guessing that possibly those are stages at which you could do tests before completing the entire circuit.

Notice the C and the D… There is also an A and a B which are not completed either.

Over to the left of the board you can see two of the incomplete circuit paths.

If you look carefully at the parts layout you will notice that V4 and V5 should really be V5 and V 6 as there are two V4’s wich in our nomenclature would be Q4,5 and 6.

So not only are the instructions worthless to those who cannot interpret Mandarine the printing is flawed.

My review and guess of this “kit” is that someone bought a bunch of them because they were dirt cheap as the printing was flawed.

The kit does not use a detector diode which causes it to lack sensitivity. My guess is that they are using the driver Transistor as part of the detector as well.

Since these are silicon transistors and not germanium that too hinders the performance as a detector.

Once built you must insert a 455Khz signal with the variable capacitor open and tune the black If can for maximum sound output.

Using a non-metallic tuning tool you can then tune for your radio stations. The two adjustments on the back of the variable cap work in conjunction with the oscillator and the last IF can to set the stations on the dial accordingly.

Even though this kit was cheap, unless you have some pretty good radio savvy, I would take a pass.

As an FYI the speaker is very tinny sounding.

I took a short video of it working but, the video type is not compliant with WordPress. Sorry about that.

-Best

#Trump and things that go bump in the night. @RealDonaldTrump @medvedshow @hughhewitt @DennisPrager @glennbeck @theblaze

One of the simplest occupations in the world must be “radio talk show host.”

I often have the radio on when I am working at things that require less intellect and more mechanical aptitude. The Trump phenomenon is nothing more than ratings for every talking head to pontificate about.

Not shocking are the talking heads on liberal leaning sites who extol the virtues of Hillary Clinton, and how wonderful she is. I wish I were making that up…. I swear Rachel Maddow is more in love with Hillary than Bill.

Trump on the other hand is no media darling. There is not one outlet that has anything good to say about him. Today I heard one talking head repeating things that some supposed butler that Trump had once said. This talking head was rather vitriolic with his callers regarding Trump. As if, his opinion trumps theirs (pun intended). Oh wait he has a radio show so his must be more germane, more salient more accurate than his stupid listeners do.

How smug they must feel spewing out their “intelligence,” casting perls to the swine.

How is the view from your ivory tower boys? Are you going to toss down some cake to the peons, the little people whose only voice is their vote!

If you people do not think you are doing this, I challenge you to listen to yourselves.

Let me ask the talking heads this, have you read Trumps books? Does it mean nothing to you that this man took $1 million and turned it into $10 Billion while our president has spent more money in 7 years, than all of the presidents that came before him combined have?

I firmly believe that Trump is the ultimate tactician. I think what he does and what he says is more deliberate than one might think. His 2 billion in free airtime is either genius, or a rather stupid media hoping that it will bring ratings.

Do you think we can really afford four more years of Obama via Hillary? That is what it will be if she is elected and, you people are giving them ample ammunition.

Cruz is a politician and a Lawyer and comes off as Smarmy. Sorry Ted, that is how you come off. If nobody has the guts to tell you the truth, I do.

Rubio did as well… I do think that his exit speech was praiseworthy, and I really appreciated the HairforceOne line. Rubio has a sense of humor. I look for him to reappear one day, much wiser and more experienced.

Kasich is a politician and says what he thinks will resonate.

Bernie is a lovable old white person, ex hippy who has limited math skills, and not much of a grasp on reality. If I were not so well informed; I might vote for the man… He talks a good story and he makes you feel good.

Hillary is an oxymoron, an enigma…she is in fact the supreme example of “establishment.” Hillary is self-serving and at her advanced age, one has to wonder “why?” Never mind the fact that she should be wearing an orange jumpsuit, and sitting behind bars; why Hillary? Why spend your last years here on this earth in a job that sucks the life out of you? I am reminded of the Dark Crystal, with the big scary bird like things that sucked the life out of the Gelflings. The office of President is the granddaddy of life sucking entities. Is power that much of an aphrodisiac?

Trump perhaps is the biggest enigma of them all. Here is a person who by his own words turned $one million into $ten billion. Here is a person who has by his own words “ an easy life.”

I do think that he might have an issue with prevarication. It would appear that exaggerating the story for entertainment sake, is part of the fabric of Donald Trump.

As politicians go however; he should fit right in as I have yet to see one that does not have an issue with the truth. They will tell you what you want to hear for your vote, and then forget about you.

All of the stump speeches will have some story with an emotional hook, they will be about as sincere as you are when you tell the police officer that just gave you a ticket to, have a nice day.

There will be much more social engineering between now and November. As it always seems to be, at the end of the day, Americans will have to hold their noses and vote for the lesser of two evils.

The “conservative” talk show hosts will have much more fodder to stir up the folks over, and we will go on. MSNBC and to a lesser extent CNN will be bringing you stories nightly on one of two things. They will be either How great Hillary is, or how lame and incompetent the “republican” person is. That is what they do. Fox on the other hand is the Ying to their Yang. I am beginning to see that Fox too has an agenda that appears self-serving.

The issues however, will probably not be addressed, by any administration.

Nobody is going to round up 12 million illegal aliens.

Someone might build a wall but Mexico will not likely pay for it.

More companies will leave the United States, leaving fewer and fewer jobs for the people here.

All of the candidates are painting the issues with broad-brush strokes hoping that the American people do not care enough to examine the facts of what they are saying. If Jessie Waters is correct, many are clueless and simply going with the wind.

Ted says he will abolish the IRS… Then what Ted? Who is going to collect the Taxes? Do you know how many people you will be putting out of work?

He is going to tear to shreds the Iran deal… Really…maybe you should read it first.. Maybe you can tear it up all you want but in the end, their copy will be just as binding as the pile of scraps on the oval office floor.

Ted is going to repeal Obama Care… Do you think you can just stop a speeding train that is heading downhill with sheer will?

They are great sound bites Ted… Some of us have a brain.

Kasich has said nothing that I can remember that he will do. He does lead one to believe that when god was creating the earth, he was there telling him how to do it.

Trump has tangible assets that he has built.

Does he have skeletons in his closet, probably?

Is he a worse candidate than anyone on the democratic side? No…

Immigration

I do think that they all have it wrong. If someone were to think outside the box, they would build a bridge to Mexico. My take on this is simple… Help them fix whatever is wrong in their country so they can compete effectively in “free trade.” We don’t have Canadians rushing our borders by the tens of thousands; why? Canada embraces laws and capitalism, and even though they are more socialistic than we are, they still have an economy that works for them.

There must be a way to help Mexico get to a state that Americans want to go there or at the very least the Mexicans want to stay there. We have 12 million illegal aliens because their country needs help. Building a big beautiful wall with a big beautiful door is not really the answer now, is it?

Do you realize how far 10 Billion dollars would go to assist the Mexican people to gain control of their country, making it a nice place to live, work and visit!

Mr. Trump, How…how are you going to Make America Great Again? How are you going to “bring the jobs back? Some details rather than platitudes would really be nice. That is what I think are some of your largest detractors and critics. The devil is in the details and I for one would like some.

Not my Monkeys, not my Circus but maybe it is time to speak up.

-Best

Customer Service and #Life #work #job

Recently I picked up my car from the dealer after having some unscheduled work performed.

Key word, “Unscheduled.”

Translated, I had an issue with my rather new vehicle and even though the warranty covered most of the repair, I was still inconvenienced in that I went for 5 solid days without my car. I still had to travel to and from the dealership; twice, and … I had to pay a deductible.

The process of getting the car into the shop was relatively easy.

The service writer was not readily available but after waiting for some time, he finally appeared.

I am an easygoing person. I understand that people are busy and cut them slack when necessary.

Today however, when I picked up my vehicle I was told to go to the cashier’s office.

An elderly woman behind her desk did not acknowledge me.

“Maybe she is hard of hearing…” I thought…. “Hello…”

“Last Name?”

Not hello, not kiss my foot not anything simply “last name.”

Giving her that, she finds my invoice and tells me what my deductible is.

She then said “sign here.”

Trying to make some sort of small talk with her was to no avail.

I am a customer service animal. I give great customer service so when I do not get it, it is bothersome.

She is the last person that one deals with at the dealership and her attitude and demeanor was curt if not downright truculent, to say the least.

She then points to the machine to use my card in.

“Chip or Swipe?” I ask.

She looks up at me as if I have just insulted her, and points back to the machine.

Looking down once again, I see a small-post it note, with scribbled writing on it “no chip…swipe.”

At this, I stop talking and swipe my card… Either this woman is having a bad day, or she is the wrong person to be in this position.

She waits for me to put my card back into my wallet before asking me for the last 4 digits on the card.

Truthfully, it felt as if she was screwing with me.

Twenty minutes later, I see my car making its way through the parking lot.

Here is the deal….

I do not care what vocation you have.

If you are taking a paycheck for what you do, you had best be smiling.

If you cannot smile at your job, go find something else. Life is simply too short to settle for something that you cannot do with a smile on your face.

“I am not suggesting that every moment of every day will be laughs.”

The majority of your time at work you should be able to do cheerfully.

If you are dealing with their customers, that mandate is magnified; as you must be able to project that cheerfulness in your social intercourse.

I realize that many are in jobs that are of necessity and only that, rather than what they truly would like to do.

What is it that you would truly like to do?
What steps have you made towards that end?
Are you a settler, whatever comes along?

Money is unavoidable. Money is a tool that allows you compensation for your efforts. Money permits you to trade that tool for food, clothes, rent etc.

Everyone has some sort of skill or talent, what are yours?

Have you taken an inventory of them?

Much like a leaf traversing a stream of water, many choose to go where the wind blows them. Folks that is a mistake!

Develop a Rudder

We have all seen leaves in that stream of water. Some are in the middle and some coalesce along the banks, snared in the weeds.

If you want to avoid having some crummy job that you cannot smile at doing, take some control of your life.

Many sit back and wait for the government to take care of them. Others come out of school having spent tens of thousands of dollars while learning nothing, and expect a corner office.

Another percentage has taken inventory of their life. They have developed their skills and have taken a course of action that places them in the category of “properly employed.”

The bottom line is that you can do what you want, just know what it is that you want to do.

Take your interests and skills and match them up to some sort of vocation.

Match that vocation with the style of life that you want to live.

If you want to live high on the hog, you had best choose some white collar vocation and be the best at it that you can be.

It is not going to happen by accident. You have to know where you want to end up so you know how to steer your boat with your rudder to get there.

A word about H1-B Visas

Businesses have been for a long time bringing in foreign nationals to work high skilled jobs for cheap.

These folks lobby congress telling them that our country does not have the talent they need to compete. The amounts of visas granted each year is astounding. These foreign nationals are indentured servants.

They are beholding to their sponsoring company. Because a company sponsors them, they cannot leave that company without going back to their country of origin.

Tens of thousands of highly skilled Americans are sitting at home or underemployed because of H1-B Visas. If we stopped that program, more than likely those companies would simply move offshore as many are doing every year.

My point to this is pick your vocation carefully. You might also pick your politicians carefully as well. Too many are bought and paid for by special interests. They do not really give two hoots in hell about their constituents. Once elected you are no longer important until it is time for your vote again.

Recap:

Customer Service is more than lip service; it is in fact a mindset.
If you cannot smile at work, you have screwed up; re-visit your choice of work.
Take an inventory of your skills and talents.
Plan your life style you want and work towards it.
Choose your education carefully; some trades will pay better in the end than white-collar jobs.
Some trades cannot be outsourced.
Vote for those that will secure the border as too many people make for lower wages for everyone.

Whatever you are doing for a paycheck, give it your best. You are after all taking someone’s money and for that, you are selling him or her part of you. They are expecting the person that they interviewed, that is what you owe.

-Best

#GOPDebate or #barroom #brawl? @RealDonaldTrump @oreillyfactor #gop

Mr. Trump has a temper that Rubio manages to ignite rather easily.

In the “heat of the moment”, the contentiousness of the rhetoric was akin to a schoolyard disagreement about whose father was tougher.

Let me back up a little bit however, this was an interesting day for Trump, which I feel was partially set up by “his own party.”

For Romney to go after their frontrunner in such a fashion was suicidal for the Republicans, and really bad form.

The tone for the day was set for him and I feel certain going into a debate knowing what Cruz and Rubio had in store, was also disconcerting for him.

On top of this, Trump humbled himself to take part in a debate with Megyn Kelly who he has a less than congenial rapport.

As a businessperson, taking the facts on face value as they are, if he indeed took a million dollars and made 10 Billion out of it, you do not do that without making some enemies and or mistakes along the way.

Rubio has no path for success in this race; and should not be there. He also has no employees and a questionable record. He did a rather contemptuous thing with Jeb, his mentor, so his character is dubious.

Cruz has a limited path and Kasich is a dreamer if he thinks he has a chance.

While Trump’s temperament is disconcerting, I feel like with most of us, if our patients was tested to the limits that his was on camera, we would not look presidential either.

The thing to keep in mind about attorneys, which Cruz is one, part of the job is to act.

I remember not terribly long ago I was sent to deal with a customer who another employee had pissed off greatly. The customer was a small law firm.

The gentlemen “using the term loosely” approached me with fire and brimstone. He had never met me before but, since I represented the company, he unloaded on me. I was sent because I had a history of diffusion situations such as this.

He yelled, screamed and cussed me, spitting in my face as he unloaded his frustration.

Standing there with a small pad of paper and pen, I made notes of his “pain points” while he “acted.”

You see, there is no possible way that anyone should be this upset about what he was claiming to be upset about.

After I did not respond, other than look at him while allowing the last of the steam to escape his body, he looked at me quizzically, stopped and ask, “Don’t you have anything to say?”

Looking him straight in the face I simply ask, “Are you finished?”

His demeanor changed like a light switch had been flipped; he actually smiled as the conversation changed as he was now interested in a solution. I did not buy his act.

This was not my first time to deal with attorneys; I was used to working with them from all over the country. Some of them were really well known and some were ambulance chasers. My point is, part of their stick is they have to act. They have to convince a jury that their client is innocent; even if they know, they are guilty as hell! That should tell you something about their character. “Not all of them are like this…no nasty e-mails telling me what a great lawyer you are, and that you have never yelled etc.”

Percy Forman once told me face to face, “It is easier for me to get you off, if I know that you are guilty!”

“Lawyers…the jokes are well disserved…”

Cruz acts for the camera. He acts at the debates and unlike Trump, I have no idea if he is serious or not.

Watch his face as he gets the question, he receives the question, nods, goes into character, as he formulates his response and then “action.” Every time….

Trump’s demeanor is honest. I do not doubt that he would prevaricate if it served his purpose but unlike Cruz, if he is pissed or happy you can tell it.

I am not saying Cruz is a bad person or anything negative about him other than Washington is full of lawyers. All of those people are always looking for the loophole. That is why we have 80 thousand pages of tax code!

Candidates talk in sound bites. Lawyers, in double speak.

35 million people are in the Trump camp thus far. 35 million voters want that kind of a change in Washington.

“That speaks volumes!”

Politics as usual is what 35 million of the voting population is sick and tired of. When the first mid-term election took place in 2010 the democrats were sent a message. They lost seats in the house and senate. Obama said, “I heard you, you are dissatisfied and want me to double down and do more.”

“No Mr. President, we want you to stop!”

2012 came along and while losing the house and senate, 26 million evangelicals stayed home as they could not deal with a Mormon in the white house. Sandra Flukes birth control pills were the issue of the day and the derived war on women and Occupy were top on the diversion list.

This was Social Engineering at its best. “Never mind that man behind the curtain…pay attention to me the great and powerful…..” Yeah, we get it…lie to us some more because a large percentage of us do not really want the facts, we just want you to tell us nice things.

Obama gets another 4 years to perfect his golf game and apologize for Americans to anyone who will listen.

The stage is now set for Trump and Sanders!

A high percentage of the population has no idea what socialism is and even joke about it on social media as if they are proud of their ignorance. Bernie tells a great story and he is honest. Bernie is an X hippy or old hippy who has little concept of math, much less economics, and the millennials love him. His message resonates with millennials who think that when they come out of college that the corner office and the 6 figure salary should be waiting on them.

If they had learned anything of history in college, they would know that Socialism never ever works!

On the other side of the isle is Trump.

His message resonates with at least 35 million who, have truly been disenfranchised by the political elite; and business people who do bring in outside people to take American jobs.

A young Sanders supporter tonight tweeted that Trump was an “EF-ing Idiot and, anyone who supports him is an “Ef-ing Idiot.

This young women used her real name “I think,” which I found refreshing but, she is calling at least, 35million Americans “Efing idiots” while supporting a socialist! She used the complete word in all of its glory; I am sure her parents would be proud.

I was going to respond to her tweet but, why? I don’t argue with idiots! I will leave that to Glenn Beck. Wait, he might agree with her… Wait, isn’t he a Mormon…? Maybe this whole Romney, Beck thing is a Mormon conspiracy…! No, I kid….

The middle class has no voice in Washington. They are the people who work 50 ~ 60 hours a week trying to just get by to see their taxes go for nonsense! Obama spends millions on a single 2-week vacation and thinks nothing of it while those that worked for that tax money struggle to make their rent!

The millennials who are on the other side want small companies to pay entry-level employees $15 an hour when some professional people are not making that! They too did not learn economics.

Kasich, while having a grasp on policies is about as interesting as soggy toast.

For the RNC to try to figure out underhanded tricks to keep Trump from getting the nomination is detrimental to the party. Their antics will further demoralize the taxpayers who see this as a rigged system. Much like the Democrats super delegates, they are waking up to just how rigged it is.

The “republicans” should rally behind the front-runner, and help make him as formidable as possible against the Democrats.

If Trump takes Florida, and even Ohio, it would be foolish beyond contemptible to not get behind him and unify the party before their petty bullshit does further damage.

You ran a good race, now bow out gracefully, and start talking nice….

-Best

Politicians are tone death! @RealDonaldTrump

Politicians are tone death!

Whether you agree with Trump or not, he is where he is because of the established politicians.

Trump and for that matter, Sanders, are here, now, because of “politics as usual.”

From the onset, Trump was an anomaly that would never last.

His cavalier approach to politics brought scorn from all of the media as well as the “establishment.”

He was basically left alone until lots of donors lost millions on the “preferred candidate” who could not pull it off, not even with his mother telling us what a good boy he was…

Now that we have passed Super Tuesday, what are we seeing…?

Trump is ahead by a lot and…. The established candidates and establishment are spending millions of dollars on super-PACs, and, other under the table tactics, to take Trump down.

He signed this RNC, are you going to live up to your end of the bargain?

Attention Republicans!

This is why Trump is where he is…. We do not like your dirty underhanded ways.

If you had any doubts if Cruz or Rubio were part of the establishment, you now have your answers!

On top of this, we have the Social Engineers like Eric Ericson (self-avowed conservative) saying if Trump is the candidate he will not vote. Folks, that is just stupid on so many levels.

26 Million Evangelicals stayed home in 2012 as they could not deal with a Mormon in the White House!

“How did that work out for you?”

Either Eric Erickson is stupid or, he is a closet Democrat!

This is the time for the Republicans to unite behind the front-runner, and make sure that he has what he needs to beat Hillary. The Republicans are doing the Democrats job for them.

I would imagine that Hillary and her party are jubilant as they witness the self-destruction of the Republican “brand.”

Cronyism in politics is what it is, and Donald don’t play those games, so he must be stopped.

Everyone except Donald has his or her price; it is how business inside the Beltway works! Sad huh!?

The republicans say they are worried about control of the house and senate, as a Trump candidacy might jeopardize their chances.

“What difference does it make?”

You have had control of for several months and done exactly what with it?

Obama has gotten everything that he wanted, handed to him on a silver platter!

Either play ball with the new team, or ship out!

To quote the famous newscaster Howard Beale, we are mad as hell!

You folks have done this to yourself… Now let us shake up the team and see if we cannot turn the government back into an entity that is “of the people, by the people and for the people” and not for the elite political class looking out of their ivory towers shouting, “Let them eat cake!”

-Best

The Sheep have come home to roost! @RealDonaldTrump

Convicting Trump of malfeasance before he even gets the nomination is the cause of many who promote social engineering in order to sway the would-be voter’s to their person or at the very least, to not vote.

They did this in 2012 and it kept 26 million at home. Obama won…

While the country clearly needs a change of direction, many in the good old boy club are investing millions to sabotage the outcome in the favor of the Democrats.

One candidate who is non-trustworthy and should be in jail is the current front-runner on that side.

The people who vote for her only know that she is a woman and will stand up for their right to kill their unborn child. Too harsh? Listen to her speeches…divide and conquer are the democrats strategy.

Race
Ethnicity
Economics
Education
Sex
Color of eyes

You name it, if they can drive, a wedge in they will do it! Control the narrative away from the facts. Maybe they can drag Sandra Fluke out again and we can all talk about her $6 birth control pills instead of jobs, Terrorism, Economy, immigration and so forth.

“Why are we talking about those things instead of her birth Control pills???? Because of Trump!

He is the reason millions are tuning into the debates.
He is the reason we are talking about the issues and not manufactured things.

Say what you will, his entrance has been good for the process.

The other, a Socialist / hippy who has no concept of economics is affable and tells a good story. If you have no clue how economics work, his speech is nice. If you don’t know history you are apt to vote for this guy. A lovable Nut!

History is a great teacher and we fail to teach it much less learn it.

The rise and fall of the Roman Empire is a good start. If that is not enough for you try looking at Germany and the Weimar republic. Hyperinflation is what is next…. Look at Greece in very recent history….

pb-111005-greek-protests-03.photoblog900.jpg — This is where we are headed when the money runs out…

Socialism has never worked, ever! We are moving in that direction and have been since Woodrow Wilson. Another Democratic win will take more of your money away from you and give it to those who do not want to work.

This is on your head if your fail to stop it!

26 million Evangelicals stayed home instead of voting, as they were damned if they were going to have a “MORMON” in the white house… We have Obama today for that reason… How is that working out for you?

Well, we are 20 Trillion in debt, we will be $21T by the time Obama leaves on a golfing retirement now that he has perfected his game for the last 8 years… How did that decision work out for you?

For those of you who have no concept of how much that is…. $21,000,000,000,000.00 …. All of that money is borrowed! The interests is incredible!

We still have not learned.

Those that practice social engineering acquired a new database that tells them all about each and every person in their target area.

Software for the political campaign that knows more about you than your do.

What kinds of cars you drive.
Do you go to a gym
Do you hunt?
Do you go to a church?

The information at their disposal is mind blowing!

Why is this important?

Using that data they can tailor and ad campaign or a speech for your particular demographic.

They can tell you what you want to hear! (not the truth, just what you want to hear.)

To sit this election out is about is a head in the sand, rectal cranium inversion ish as you can get!

Cannot vote for them unless they are perfect and tell me exactly what I want to hear….

So what, you will feel better that you did not vote for Trump. When Hillary or Bernie take the wheel, appoint up to three supreme court justices and welcome all of those Syrian refugees to live in houses in your neighborhood that you will pay for …you can feel good because you did not vote!

When the rest of the major companies leave this country because Bernie taxed them to death, you can feel good because you did not vote for trump.

When you are forced to live under a bridge because there is no work other than part time retail, you can feel good because you did not vote for trump!

I am not an apologist for Trump!

Folks, Jesus is not running this time around for president of the United States. Sorry!

ben-carson-and-evolution-with-tardis-and-jesus-riding-dinosaur.jpg — Well, there is that….. 🙂

Whoever is the GOP nominee, I will be in his or her corner…

When the liberal media highlight anything in Trumps past that flies in the face of what Evangelicals hold dear, you are being manipulated.

If they cannot persuade you to vote for one of their two losers, they will persuade you to stay home and not vote.

Look up social engineering in regards to politics. Interesting stuff!
Look up the I360 App for politics… That is the app that knows you better than you know yourself.

This man is not my first choice but….I don’t think that he is a bad choice.

Six months ago, he was clueless how to be a politician. Now, spending his own money, he is beating the “established” politicians who are owned by god knows who.

Every twenty-four hours his savvy regarding politics increases exponentially.

His outgo is a tenth of what the others are spending…that says something.

His promise to the GOP was predicated on them treating him fairly. It is clear to anyone that watches the news that they are not, and still he is running as a republican. The threat of running as an independent I feel is a shot across the bow… Trump is the ultimate tactician and a hell of a smart person.

“Is he a bully?” I think that he can be but, I also know from his books and listening to those that know him, he has a benevolent side as well.

I think Mexico will pay for the wall…
I think that he will rebuild our Military
I think he will take care of our vets
I think that he will make sure that our police are taken care of, and respected
I do not think that he will be pushed around, by politically correct people.
I think that those who don’t respect us, will again…
Business as usual inside the beltway will not be the same!

During the last debate when North Korea was mentioned, he was the only one of them that had the right answer.

The established on both sides of the isle are responsible for this as they have been the good old boys too damned long! They fight to get there often spending millions for a job that pays $175K a year to live by different rules and laws than what they impose on the taxpayers.

I for one think that his rhetoric is a breath of fresh air.

I will be watching all of the debates, all of the rhetoric before I cast that final vote but to date, if nothing changes drastically, I will be voting for him.

I wish that his “New York” persona were not as hostile as it comes across, but having been there many times, many of them talk that way… Does not make him any less of a person or any better of one; it is simply a mannerism that comes off to some as caustic.

The country is in trouble and we need someone to kick ass and take names… Rubio is too young, too rehearsed and lacks the swagger.

I like Cruz but he is to me, too much of a politician…. (That may be just me.) I do think that either of those two would make a decent VP.

Read Trump’s books if you want to get a glimpse of who he really is. The pundits and established are spending millions in smear campaigns against him. There is, at least, one super pack funded with its whole purpose to discredit him. With that many people against him, there is a reason. I feel like the reason is that business inside the beltway depends upon people who can be bought. Trump cannot!

There is not a perfect candidate, if there were you would not vote for him because he would not have the spiz, fire, and swagger that we need. Ben Carson would be good for that, as he is basically and honorable man. Nobody would hear him.

Folks, we need a big personality in the White House for a few years. We need a take no nonsense kind of person for a few years to right the ship.

If we keep the house and the Senate they will not allow him to pass by executive fiat that which would be incongruent with our constitution.

I for one would like to see the GOP become that which they have not been in years…the voice of the people!

If you write your own blog you can take artistic license too!

Feel free to disagree…keep it civil and we can talk about it.

-Best

Snopes The Ultimate “what?”

Snopes The Ultimate “what?”

While quoting Snopes as the ultimate truth seekers, I question everything that I read. This goes for them as well.

The fact that the site was created and is run by two liberal leaning folks in California makes it suspect as to its amount of bias…

Take the following story as an example.

Marine Assaulted at McDonald’s by Black Lives Matter Activists?

Marine veteran Christopher Marquez was involved in an altercation at a McDonald’s, but police said the teens were likely not Black Lives Matter activists. “From Snopes”

If you read the actual report, the three black teens were asking him if “black lives matter?”

The taunting continued until he had enough and got up to leave. Once outside, he was attacked by the three, knocked out and robbed.

Define activist?

While these three also meet the definition of criminal, thug, low life and few other adjectives I could come up with, they also meet the definition of activist. Since they are black and espoused the line several times…”do black lives matter.” I am at a loss why the police would think otherwise.

“Maybe this is workplace violence too.”

Does BLM issue membership cards?

My point to this is simply that you must not believe everything that you read on the internet, even if it comes from Snopes!

-Best

The sophisticated waltz of the #query letter. #LiteraryAgent

Having read countless blogs on the subject of the “perfect query letter,” I have concluded that something is very wrong or broken in this process.

The process is this:

Research the agents.
Who considers your type of manuscript?
Research their track record.
Are they large or small?

Small agencies have less time to read every query. They then cherry pick, out of the 10’s of thousands of wannabees. There is no shortage of writers.

Large agents do the same, however; because there are more of them, they may see more letters.

Keep notes of all of the agents that you queried, you do not want to bother them with duplication and, if they sent you a form letter or even worse ignored you, that is good to know too.

Remember that some of the best authors out there are facing the same task, the same rejections, etc. because agents are so swamped with queries that they do not have time to do this properly.

When I do a direct marketing campaign for my business…my real livelihood…I have about a 2% return. Every hundred postcards usually net two customers.

Query letters are probably even more subjective. It is more important that you know who the agent is and how they deal with letters. Whom have they helped in the past? What is there rate of taking on new authors?

My no bullshit approach would be, “Would you like to make a lot of money, look at my damned manuscript!”

They do not play that game, like a princess they want to be, wooed. Money does not seem to be a factor in the selection process. Think foreplay on steroids, complete with all of the best manners when you are on a date for the first time.

“My novel will make you misty with anticipation of the next paragraph!”

When Mr. Covington came into the room with his shirt half torn, Sheila knew it was only a matter of time before she would feel the brunt of his hunger. The passion, which raged inside, tipped the boiling point, and was about to spill over!

Depending upon your agent, they will either reject it or become hot, thirsting for more… Is this what people read? Can I market it? What did Sheila do to get Mr. Covington so stirred up? What does he look like? What is his hunger? I must know more….Or not….

My dream is this….

When the novel sells over a million copies, I want to take the time to send a copy to all of the agents that have ignored me or…sent me a form letter… Is that petty? Maybe…. If I do have to self-publish the first novel, I will make “E.L. James a verb, much like google it!”

Keep at it my friends; the spoils go to the one who never gives up. As always, feel free to write. I love hearing from fellow writers.

-Best

#Ransomware

Just this morning I wrote about this topic; this afternoon we learn that a California hospital was hacked.

Firstly, someone executed that ransom-ware in an e-mail or some other way. The payload most probably came in as an attachment through a phishing scheme, like the one that I wrote about.

Secondly, this tells me that they do not have a good disaster recovery plan.
Thirdly, this tells me that their firewalls were inadequate to block “zip” files.
Firewalls should be set to strip any attachments from messages.

“You say, oh that is just great, my business uses attachments all the time!”

Most probably, attachments could be directed to a virtual machine, much like a bomb disposal box, where it could be executed in such a way that if it were a virus or worse its damage would be mitigated.

Fourth, what kind of anti-virus were they using? Were they using group policies stopping the execution of executable s?

Someone on his or her IT team messed up, and it starts with the “CIO!”

The bottom line is you never want to be a position where you have to pay money to terrorist. Folks, make no mistake, people who extort money like that are terrorist.

I would be doing a serious root cause analyses to see how it happened, and why they paid the ransom.

The news tonight said it happened on the 5^th. Are you telling me that a hospital being down for 13 days cost less than a good disaster recovery plan and of course an audit of your system?

Do not open attachments that you are not expecting and if you are, make damned certain it is what you are looking for.

It might be a real good idea to keep a standalone pc that employees take their files to on a thumb drive and open it there.

Once infected you options are, pay the ransom or start from scratch.

With a tested DR plan, you could be back up a lot sooner than being at the hands of the terrorist.

Lastly and I cannot stress this enough, don’t get cheap on your anti-virus software. MailWareBytes has been working on software to mitigate this threat.

You would be surprised at the companies that I run into who use the cheapest damned software that they can find. Often Free! Whoever does this should be dismissed as they clearly dont value your data or your company. This is a hill to die on folks.

You can take the cheapest CFO and argue or “negotiate” the need for the expense, or you should not be there.

Excuse me but that is like living in a high crime area using using a bathroom lock set for your protected, you know the kind, the one you stick a small pin in to unlock it…

To recap…

Education
prevention
disaster recovery plan

-Best

#fedex #phishing #Scam

FedEx Scam

Every now and then a phishing scheme catches my attention. Usually we know that there are no Nigerians that want to give you millions of dollars. Some fall prey to this each and every day hence the e-mails.

We know that the IRS does not E-mail you with important notices.
We should know that Inga from Russia is really not hot for you when you click on the file that contains her personal contact information. Unless of course you personally know an Inga who is hot for you, best not click.
“Overdue Invoices” click here for details probably should be suspect as well.

This one came today which interested me in that we do so much with Amazon and Woot and of course eBay that we have no idea if there is really a package or not.

The picture here is a copy of a phishing scheme that unleash who only knows what on my computer if I were foolish enough to click on the attached Zip file.

Some clues to look for are the senders address… Eurafrik.org If it were truly from FedEx most probably if would be from a fedex.com or something similar.

They provide a tracking number, which you might actually go to the FedEx site and see what it does, I suspect nothing.

Bottom line, do not click if you are not 100% sure that it is indeed legitimate. The damage you unleash could be anything from a key logger to ransomware.

Always Always Always have really good anti-Virus software running and updated. Currently I like ESET Node 32… That is my choice for now, but your mileage may vary.. Free anti-Virus software is not worth what you pay for it.

I have no affiliation with Eset or any other software company…

-Best