Category: LifeStyle

GOP Debate II

While many watched the GOP debate last night, many did not. It did in fact draw a record audience of 22.9 million which is a record, and clearly due to Trump!

Many in fact will get their news from snippets, sound bites, tweets, or comedians looking for ratings, at the expense of candidates.

This is the world that we live in.

The first debate between the lower polling candidates, it was easy to see why the four there polled so low and to be fair, Rand Paul should have been there as well. To be absolutely fair to Mr. Paul, I admire him. I don’t think he is presidential material but, I do think he is fighting for you and me and the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and for that my hats off to him.

Lindsey Graham who I have little respect for, actually schooled the bunch and tried to drive the message home that the world is a dangerous place; and under this administration, it has not gotten better.

I actually respect Lindsey a little bit more, after his performance last night.

The reason that we have so many GOP hopefuls is, that this president set the bar pretty low! There was a time that I was considering running on the slogan, “I could not do any worse!” If you like this guy as your president, my apologies and “bless your heart.”

So Un-presidential.. — I am certain that as a person he is probably someone I would enjoy knowing. These last 7 years have been an unmitigated disaster.

What we have in the white house is the JV team and of that, I have little doubt.

Most of the candidates simply took shots at the front runner, in order to make a name for themselves. They were desperate and floundering and it was to be expected. This was their chance to get back onto the board and I think they all failed. Mr. Graham focused on the president and the issues of the day which is really how as a candidate you should differentiate yourself. His comment about “more drinking in the white house,” Showed a human side of him that I liked.

At the main debate, Donald Trump was set up as the Straw Man by CNN for ratings. Simply that, nothing more. The questions and methods used were to tarnish the entire GOP; and of course make the front runners appear as feckless, as the current administration who think that ISIS is the JV Team. My opinion, your mileage may vary.

Hollywood elites also weighed in and that too, sniping from the cheap seats.

Just because you can remember a few lines and emote, does not make you a brilliant politician, or your opinion any more germane than that of john Q public. It simply means that when you speak, people know of you, and because you have name recognition, you can get printed. If you played a good guy, they might think your character is that of a good guy etc. There is a responsibility that comes with that, but few acknowledge it and abuse it regularly.

Donald Trump is resonating because Americans’ don’t like where we are going, and want America to change. Mr. Trump cannot be purchased by special interests and even though he is flawed, I like the idea that if he says he will do it, he probably will.

His largest flaw is not his truculent attitude towards “idiots,” or his sophomoric attacks on people’s looks. It is; he is very short on substance. His bravado and ego seem to overpower his respect for the office which he seeks. Donald needs to come up with some humility and reverence for the office of President, and I question if he can do it.

Think about it just for a moment, what kind of person thinks that he or she can be the most powerful person in the world?! Narcissism would certainly come into play or should be suspected.

It was obvious that Mr. Trump was not rehearsed or prepared for the onslaught of attacks from both his fellow candidates, and the moderators. He deflected and defended, but the facts are that he was on defense for 3 hours! I am certain that he felt like one of those Trump Piñatas the Hispanics are selling. Those of you who don’t like him probably enjoyed that part of it but, this is more than entertainment. We have serious issues and we need someone who is going to get serious about fixing them!

That face! Sorry...Learn to Smile and tell a joke, lighten up. — That face!

Carly appeared to be the “winner” last night but, I must tell you as much as I appreciate her moxie, she came off as a bitch last night. She came off as petty, vindictive and uninformed, in many political areas, even though she managed to memorize some facts and figures, much like Rubio, it was too rehearsed for my take. She tells of great times at HP but as someone who has been in IT since 1982, I know that it was because they merged with Compaq. I also had many friends who lost their jobs to overseas. Tough decisions to put Americans out of work are not what we need! While she gained ground with some, she lost it with me. It is my hope that she can earn that back, as we really need serious candidates.

Huckabee, Who I have never really been a fan of, gained some traction with me in that he gave a solid performance. I would like to know more about him without the bloviating. Cruz was too rehearsed, and way too in your face.

“If we can make provisions for convicted killers we can certainly make provisions for elected officials!”

Chris Christie had a good night, and I think his pitch to the American people was smart, I liked how he “became the adult” in the room and, I think that was a good moment for him. Christie will be one to watch.

“You had your turn now do not interrupt me!”

The media is having a hay-day poking at Trump, and his argument that autism and vaccines have some sort of link while standing next to a neurosurgeon “planned by CNN,” fell flat.

While science says that is debunked, they also say we are in the middle of global warming. While I am not a denier of some sort of climate change, I do think it is a little like Chicken Little. I know that Al Gore has those Carbon Credits all printed up, waiting to sell them to companies here in the US; while we ship our coal to China! In short it is completely disingenuous and all about money!

Files/The Associated Press Workers cycle past a coal-fired power plant on a tricycle cart in Changchun in northeast Chinas Jilin province. Chinas label as a developing nation in climate matters is facing a challenge. --- — Files/The Associated Press
Workers cycle past a coal-fired power plant on a tricycle cart in Changchun in northeast Chinas Jilin province. Chinas label as a developing nation in climate matters is facing a challenge.
—

This administration evidently thinks that the poisoned air over China, will stay over China!

If there is a shred of doubt in the vaccine science, it needs to be looked at carefully.

I personally feel that the rise of autism is due to drug use in the different countries and once you “do drugs” you screw with you DNA, thus effecting the DNA of any progeny. That is true for both parties, not simply the mother! True fact, we like the drug culture for some reason, so we don’t report it.

Maybe we feel that people who did drugs and gave birth to kids with special needs don’t need to bear the burden of their actions, so we downplay it. Sorry folks! We need a nation of accountability. If you speed and get caught you get a ticket. If you do something wrong and there are consequences, you should pay those consequences. If you give birth to special needs kids and you did drugs…..it’s probably on you.

Twitter was busy last night with GOP haters talking smack behind their anonymous handles, and what have you. There were even threats lobbed at some of the candidates. If you live behind the curtain, and in your mother’s basement, I guess you feel pretty bold.

Well my pretties, let me tell you something as a technology guy, they can find you! They can not only find you by the unique id of the device you are using but, with technology; they can walk right up to you in a crowd of thousands. If I can do it, so can they, and they have much more expensive toys than I.

Freedom of speech is one thing, threats are another. Calling Trump stupid is your right, not smart, but.. Threatening someone with his resources, and a presidential candidate, really not too smart.

Speaking of really not smart, Someone not on the stage but, a vocal supporter of Trump tweeted through the entire event.

Ann Coulter, who I have watched, listened to, and find her intelligent, had a major brain fart last night.

anncoultertweet — I hope your accoutnt was hacked but I think it was you… Not smart!

I do not understand this tweet of hers, and I don’t think Mr. Trump will find it any too smart either. He will have to distance himself from her, and hope that he does not get too wet from the splash. Many on the twitter-verse were linking the two as one.

Most people that I know and call friends or even associate with, welcome diversity. You and I can be polar opposite on everything. As long as there is mutual respect, we are good.

This tweet is totally disrespectful and uncalled for. The similar attacks lobbed against her, were also over the top, and simply sub-human.

Israel is our friend and so are the people of Israel. Mentioning them in their closing statement was germane as many feel that this administration has dissed them (they have) and they don’t like Netanyahu for reasons which escape me.

To alienate people with comments like hers is unacceptable, and proves once again that you should not drink and drive, and or drink and tweet!

Bush and the rest were unremarkable …to me….Sorry. We don’t need career politicians and we need term limits. Once you retire as a politician you go home. You don’t simply move over to Avenue K and become a lobbyist, you go home. And by the way, you live by the same laws that we do.

-Best

Facebook friends, Social Media and thought of the day!

I am convinced that Facebook is not the place to have political discussions or debates.

First off, most people do not get on Facebook to read a political opinion, unless of course they agree with you, and then by all means; prattle on.

Most of us have opinions in that regard, and some are well founded, others are simply based on the last thing someone read, or heard, on the radio or TV.

A quick look at the twitter feeds, especially with the total anonymity that people enjoy, they can say the most vile, disgusting things, under the cloak of being a coward in their mother’s basement, and the world sees this. These people have opinions and they don’t want yours, they simply want to lash out and call everyone who differs from them names. Of course they do this most eloquently, utilizing their limited vocabulary consisting of 4 letter words, that they would not want their mother to hear.

Whatever the case, if someone is interested, they most probably are a little more actively involved than simply reading a few post, and thinking that is “news.”

If on the other hand, someone shares their perspective on “things” and you “unfriend” them, or they unfriend you over the sharing of opinion, I would not get too torn up about it.

If you have “friends” they will respect your right to an opinion, and you will respect theirs, and you can go on with life. Agree to disagree and life goes on.

I happen to value friendships, and while I don’t agree with some, I would never equivocate when it comes to their right to post it, have it, or talk about it. I also would never block someone as I firmly believe that there is “strength in diversity.” That has its limits however; if personal name calling comes into the equation, there are things that I will not put up with.

Toxic people, and or toxic relationships; I have no use for, and will divorce them.

If your opinion is different than mine, I want to know why; as it may be possible that I don’t have all the facts. You too should want to know for the same reason. We are much stronger united by the truth, than divided by lies.

“Diverse” is what we really are as a people when you think about it.

Your race, religion, political standing, etc. are all part of who you are. If one were to only have likeminded friends, one would have a myopic view of the world, and that would distort their reality.

If someone leaves your circle, blocks your feeds, etc… they are allowed, and if they do that the friendship was truly one sided to begin with so, no loss.

A friendship is accepting me and all of my warts etc. as I accept you.

I am not perfect, but I am smart enough to have friends that are diverse enough; to obtain all sides of the equation instead of just one.

In short, your opinion matters to me. I may not agree with it, or I might adopt it.

Social Media is a great place to see who lives around you, and what they do…. in some cases it’s about what they eat for breakfast lunch and dinner….

-Best

Why is Trump still polling so high?

Most Americans do not want this Iranian nuke deal to happen and yet the Democrats are supporting Obama, thus pushing this through; against our wishes.

The majority of Americans thought that Obama Care was not a good deal and yet the Democrats pushed it through anyway, in spite of the folks.

All of the promises of the plan were indeed empty promises. You might in fact, not be able to keep your doctor. “sorry….”

Washington is a “good ol boy club” and even after a politician is booted out, they become lobbyist and still write the bills that nobody but special interests want! The same bills that nobody reads.

Running a successful campaign takes money. To be a successful candidate you must always be in campaign mode, which means you must always be looking for money.

Campaign funding laws need to change. Transparency is key so at least you know what company or special interests, owns your candidate. Truly I want to know where their loyalties are. You vote for a guy that talks the talk and as soon as they get in they no longer are responsive to the voters that put them there.

Maybe you own a railroad or you have interest in a company that owns a railroad. That railroad is currently making tons of money hauling oil from Canada to the gulf. A pipeline which would put thousands to work, would not bode well for your bottom line so….you give money to whoever will sit on the pipeline bill, stall it or stop it, from happening!

You might even fund some tree hugging activist to bring some sort of frivolous law suit claiming that some fish might become extinct if the pipeline is allowed to continue. Everyone knows that nothing moves fast in the government so a committee must be formed to look into it. The committee calls for an investigation which means specialist must be hired (at taxpayer expense) and study the possible impact that a pipeline would make on the fish in question. This process could take years just to return the study.

If progress is being made another group is hired to pursue a suit claiming that the pipeline might affect the migratory patterns of the rare and troubled species of bird.

Another committee is formed, another specialist hired and more time is bought for the controlling partners in a company that happens to have a railroad.

If it was truly about climate change someone might point out that the railroad has a much higher carbon footprint than oh say, the building a pipeline. There is also a much greater risk of the fish being effected or those birds becoming confused by a derailment with toxic spills in god knows where.

Donald Trump is using his own money.

The question I and everyone else has to ask is “what is in it for Donald?”

Mr. Trump has said he will work for a $1 a year!

I for one like the idea of someone that is not in the pocket of the others.

Now the people in the house and the senate are still in the pocket of special interest, but Donald, not so much.

Any candidate that takes millions from someone is beholding to someone. I am guessing that the Unions, big business and those hedge fund guys, which make billions if things happen a certain way are the big contributors to politicians. You know, the “fat cat bankers” that Obama warned about as he was taking their money.

Most politicians promise relief for the middle class.
The middle class pay the bills.
The middle class is squeezed from the top and bottom, and then marginalized when it comes to benefits because those are handed out as cell phones, free internet and food stamps to those who choose not to work.

If we take in 10,000 Syrians as Obama is saying, those too will be paid for from the taxes of those who work.

The people pay for these things in taxes and in fees that are levied on their bills as some sort of “universal fee,” code for socialism.

Most people look at their phone bill or cable bill and see those “universal fees” and have no idea what they are. That is what they are, both federal and state.

Emotions are one way to manipulate you, and that is not lost on Hillary as she cries for the camera in a recent interview.

Are you old enough to remember the Sally Struthers commercials for the orphans? She had her 90 second spot on prime time TV crying for the orphans. The purpose of her tears were to evoke a response from people, an emotional response which would hopefully translate to opening your wallet.

It was later reported that this group was not Christian and that is simply used the word Christian to garner support from “Christians.” It was also reported that very little money actually went to help children.

This Iranian deal is a mystery to me and to anyone that knows anything about it.

I was astonished to learn that if Israel should attack Iran, part of the contract is that the US has to defend Iran! Hello, Israel is our friend.

Depending upon where you get your news, this is either the greatest deal of all time or it is the absolute worst deal.

I have found that the main stream media is terribly biased towards the liberal ideology so I tend to treat anything that they report with more skepticism than say One America News Network.

Please Mr. President, go work on your golf game. I bet Trump would allow you access to his courses, just stop doing anything else. Deals like this we don’t need.

At this point it would be cheaper if the president took his family and simply traveled the globe on a yearlong vacation. Let Uncle Joe see if he wants to really try out for the job, at least he is entertaining.

Trump is a flawed man and probably not in touch with us mere mortals. I think he loves the country, it has been good to him and I think he is genuine when he says he will make us respected in the world again.

Dr. Carson is soft spoken, smart man but I have not heard from him any strategy for dealing with the issues we have at hand.

dr-ben-carson-we-the-people — True statement…

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Carly, waiting for the debate next week to make up my mind.

Chris Christie shoots from the hip but I don’t like the idea that he will further screw with Social Security. What I picked up from him today is that the age might be raised again and there might be some sort of means test, meaning; if you planned for retirement or are making some ambiguous amount of money decided by some committee, that you might not qualify to get “your money from social security, back!”

Make no mistake, the money that you paid into the system is yours. When I got into the work force it was 65. Reagan changed it so now the baby boomers get it much later.

The argument is that people are living much longer today but…here is the gotcha…! Once you reach middle age, companies don’t want you anymore! Why do you think that so many middle ages professionals that are working at a hardware store or other retail part time job? They don’t want to, that is all they can get. Something part time without benefits that makes their retirement income last a little longer.

They should be enjoying their golden years but they had to live off of what they saved for retirement because they were let go before they reached retirement.

The deal was 65, and it should be changed back to 65! We need the jobs to come back to the US.

We need people to be able to work until retirement instead of being subjugated to part time retail jobs meant for kids in high school. By the way Wall-Mart got rid of their door greeters, which was my retirement strategy….. I love people, what can I say….

We have some tough challenges ahead of us and the next president had best be up for the challenge and really needs to be in tune with the folks who pay for everything, the middle class.

More on this after the next debate…. I know, you can’t wait…

-Best

Vintage Radio’s

How about a post that has nothing political in it?
How about a post that is instructional and interesting?
Think I can do it?

Me personally, sometimes I feel like someone is going to have to develop a twelve step program to break the addiction of collecting and repairing these things. Truth be known some of these are highly collectable and some are well, just not.

I am guessing that if one saves them long enough the radios that are not collectable today will be at some point in the future.

To that end, I collect those that are “collectible” today as well as radio’s that are unique or sought after for some reason ie the Owl Radio from Clash of the Titans.

More often than not I will purchase a collection of radio’s from different sources. I might purchase the entire collection because one of the radio’s in that collection is collectable or I might get them because I need parts that I know they will render.

The bottom line is the case must be intact. It must look good with no cracks etc. If it is busted all to hell it turns into a parts piece and devalued substantially.

Today I worked on a radio that was marketed to the US although it is typically marketed to the Russians.

Spica — Repaired, aligned and cleaned up….

Someone had worked on it sometime in the past as the slugs were all out of place. I guess it is terribly irresistible to resist putting a screwdriver in the transformers and trimmer caps, as I get more radio’s that have been tweaked, by someone with a screwdriver, instead of the proper alignment tool.

Having said that this radio defies common logic, in that the wire colors that we come to expect over here in the states is backwards. Red which normally denotes positive, was the negative lead and of course that made the black wire positive.

When I first apply power to one of these radios I do so with a variable supply. Turning the radio on first, then slowly increasing the voltage from 0 to whatever the voltage should be whether it be 3,6 or 9 volts or somewhere in between. The trick is to have a power supply with an amp meter.

Most transistor radios draw very little current. If you start to raise the voltage and the current starts to jump and maybe hold at 10 milliamps or so, check your polarity.

Bottom line is that after I figured out that the power leads are opposite of what one might expect the next thing needed was an alignment.

In most radio’s like this you start with injecting a signal at 455khz. After tuning the proper transformer and trimmer cap for this, than I move on to tweaking the rest of them for maximum sensitivity at 1600, 55 and finally around 800khz.

The process takes less than a five minutes and when finished the radio is as good as new.

Most of these vintage electronics need new caps “electrolytic capacitors.” Caps made in the day were expensive so the manufacturers used the minimums that they could get by with. Tracing and/or injecting a signal one can usually tell which if any caps are bad, and within moments, have the audio back to where it should be.

Some of the newer capacitors on the market are NP or non-polarized! Too often I pull out and old cap to find I did not remember which direction to install the new one as I need to keep the negative and positive leg in the correct holes. With NP caps simply install them and move on.

I suggest that you take pictures before taking too much apart as without a print if a wire pops off, you can have a devil of a time figuring out where it went.

Six transistor radio’s are the most common and really all you need to pull in strong station and actually differentiate between the different stations without too much overlap.

Eight Transistor Radios have much better sensitivity and are able to differentiate strong stations from weak ones thus, you can have much better selectivity. My favorite radio to actually keep batteries in are the 8 transistor variety.

Some manufacturer’s in the day found that they could use the PN junction as a diode but yet claim that they had 10, 12 or even 16 transistors! The unknowing public equated that to the “jewels in a watch.” The more the better and so they had a gimmick until some government agency clamped down on them. If the transistor is being used as a diode it cannot be counted as a transistor.

Ross to name just one of the brands was one of the manufacturers that became famous for this tactic.

Shortly after Bell labs came out with the transistor Raytheon and a company named Idea came out with the first transistor radio. It was know as the Regency TR-1.

These are highly collectible even today. Around $100 might get you one that the case is basically in tact.

closeup_front_gray — This is a nice looking example of the TR-1

Before this portable radio’s were tube based and used two different batteries to play them. One of the I believe was a high voltage battery known as the “B” battery, and one drove the filaments and I think it was 1.5 volts.

I have a few of these but, with no availability of the B battery, I think that other than something to sit on a shelf; it is a waste of time and energy to collect. Your mileage may vary…

If I get enough interest I might post more radio stuff in the future as I work on many of these and it is a hobby.

See, no political rhetoric on this post, I can do it! 🙂

-Best and 73

Open letter to GoTopless.org

Warning: The following blog contains pictures from the go topless demonstration in New York Today. Some of these shots “that were taken by other people and posted publicly” contain (nipples.)

You were warned…. 🙂

As stated in my letter to “free the nipple,” there are real issues with public nudity.

While I agree that there is a time and a place for everything; I feel that a truculent style of forcing your “agenda,” detracts from the message.

Why do some women want to go around topless?
Is it really an equal rights thing?
Is this an attack on men?

Most men like nipples ladies and I have to tell you that if the laws were only left to men to make, they would be very generous to any lady that wanted to walk around half nude!

I give the respect that I am accorded.

When you choose to dis-respect a segment of the population; you don’t win over very many of them.

I get it, you got publicity and you made the news. Now people like me are spending their time pontificating on the merits of your cause, and how best to solve the issues.

I don't get the pink mask. — I don’t get the pink mask.

As I stated in my letter to “free the nipple,” men are visually stimulated. (I must admit that nothing in the picture above stimulated me what-so-ever-!) That is the way that we either evolved, or God made us pick your choice; those are the facts! When you expose yourself, you set hormones and other endorphins into action.

A whole host of things happens when we are sexually aroused and visual stimulation for men starts with hormones.

We call it behavior but, in reality, our actions may be partially driven by things out of our control. Things happen automatically that we are not in control of. Chemicals are released which cause us to sweat, pupils dilate, adrenaline is released along with cortisol (the stress hormone) followed by Dopamine the “desire and reward hormone” then comes into play. We have serotonin that causes us to “think about a person” or in this case those “lovely breast,” several times a day!

The list goes on and folks, we are programmed for this action. Had we not been such a puritanical society and ran around naked or “nude,” then I dare say that we would control our “urges much better.”

The argument to allow half-naked folks to run around cart-blanch anywhere should really be addressed by serious people who understand what they are asking.

If you don’t think that what I am saying holds water, then tell me this, why is pornography such a huge issue today?!

Some Men and some women are lost in pornography. Where it used to be restricted by age and content, with the internet there is nothing held back. I find it amazing that with each successive year, each and every magazine took pornography to new lows.

Much like drugs, pin-up girls no longer cut it.

There is an interesting parallel to this and drugs because, if you think about it, both are chemical addictions. With drugs, some of those same hormones are released as well as the action of the drug itself!

Some people cause themselves pain because, endorphins are released that like adrenalin; one can become addicted to them.

From the early days of Playboy, where clover leafs covered the nipples, and maybe a little flash of pubic hair to” gynecologists’ type shots” of inside the vagina or anus! Who thinks that is sexy!?

Where are we headed as a society?

It is clear to me anyway, that you simply can’t just walk around naked, anywhere that you please.

For the same reason drunks who are “recovering,” don’t go where there is booze, people who have issues with porn, or sex addicts, don’t go to strip clubs. It is not fair to everyone to allow you to parade around naked when or where you choose.

On the flip side of the coin, there should be places where such behavior is permitted with adequate signage depicting same.

The bottom line to this is really respect. Ladies from a pragmatic look at things there is little difference in our anatomical makeup and for that, your argument is germane.

Realistically, however; looking at the science involved and how we as humans are “driven;” you can certainly see that unfettered nudity would not work unless you forced the issue making everyone walk around naked! I suspect that after an hour or so, the novelty would wear off and soon; breasts of men and women would look like any other part of them, and a stare would quickly turn into a passing glance, and then into not even noticing.

nudist couples meeting sites — Ok, I included a few bums for effect…you get the point. These folks are enjoying the outing and looking at the scenery and not staring at each other’s rude bits…

That is a part of human evolution that is simply not there in this country at this time.

Most people are way too hung up on their body, whether it be good or bad, and sexuality is right under the surface of most people’s thoughts.

With the Ashley Madison hack, it should have placed a light on what is going on with people of all walks of life.

SEX SEX SEX!

It is not simply sex, as these folks have a wife or husband who they could have sex with. It is different partners or sex with someone else. WHY?

If we could put our differences aside, just let people be who and what they are and “get along” and, we were not thinking about, planning for, and working towards sex, just think about what we could accomplish as a people!

mission_to_mars___mars_ii_ortho_by_unusualsuspex-d7cj7ac — Is it just me or does this thing appear phallic in nature….?

We are terribly un-evolved for the most part. Those that want to “free the nipple,” I actually think might be more evolved than those that see this as some sort of taboo. You can’t simply feel that it is wrong, you need to know “why it is wrong.” These folks are pushing the envelope on social mores, that admittedly are out of date but…to what end?

If you go to a nudist resort, there will be people there who are probably more evolved than those that would condemn such a place just because. Some will undoubtedly be there for the same reason that I thought about becoming a photographer for Playboy as a child. The difference is, I grew up!

When we accept who and what we are, we can move past this truculent dialogue that persists in the world today. We are in fact sexual creatures that are geared for procreation, and that is why we do what we do, and think as we think. That is why sex feels good, and hormones are released to drive us to seek partners to spread our seeds and subdue the earth.

That is why a high percentage of people will read this blog, over the others that I have posted which frankly are much more intelligent and enlightening than this, and many men will peruse the picture of the attractive redhead, longer than those with the pink mask over their faces! Just know why you do what you do, and know who you are….

Life is about more than sex. As a young person, I expect this and make allowances for this. Spring break and other places where young people gather seem to be nothing more than a hormonally charged group of people oozing with testosterone and estrogen. You hope that they make it through it, and hope that someone in the group is adult enough to govern the collective body, so people don’t get injured.

When you become “self-aware,” you learn to ask yourself why?

Why

“Why” is probably one of the most important questions that we learn to ask as a human being. I do not discourage but encourage this.

Why do I like this?
Why do I hate this?
Why is this a good idea?
Why is this a bad idea?
Why did my parents tell me no?

Knowledge is powerful and, self-knowledge is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal!

I call this mirror time. Who is that person in the mirror?

Before espousing your thoughts on a particular subject, know where your thoughts came from.

We as a nation have stopped thinking critically. We act upon emotions which is just stupid. Emotions are one of the easiest ways that there is to manipulate you, and those that are in power; know this.

The Race card is played to divide people and it works because it is an emotionally charged issue.

If I can stir your emotions, I can control you! The elite call these folks, “useful idiots!” They can think for you by stirring your emotions, causing you to act without thinking!

missouri2 — A movement based on a complete lie. While there may be some issues with Police and people this movement which has been the flash-point of much violence and mayhem needs to stop.

If you spend some time in the mirror guess what, they lose that power and you gain it.

Free the Nipple and Go Topless are saying the same thing. Personally, I would not mind seeing everyone wear a shirt. Let’s take this issue off the table, just wear a damned shirt!

If you want to be naked in public, seek out nude beaches or nude resorts or clubs, or even cruises that cater to clothing optional events. There are actually parks in Germany I think that are clothing optional.

Americans are much more prudish than our European counterparts and I am certain that is a left over from the puritan start, this country had not that many years ago. Don’t be disrespectful of them; if you want to be taken seriously, and respected.

With the LGBT community, I have a thought that I would also like to espouse upon.

There are many places “spas” and such where people enter into an area and are expected to remove all of their clothes. They are provided a “uniform” to wear in the common area but not before they are expected to shower and enjoy the wet area with other people who are also nude.

friends Justin Estill age 30 (blond) and Michael Ladagana age 34 of Astoria (dark hair) . Spa castle premier, saunas and pool. 115 East 57th Street Manhattan NY — friends Justin Estill age 30 (blond) and Michael Ladagana age 34 of Astoria (dark hair) . Spa castle premier, saunas, and pool. 115 East 57th Street Manhattan NY

It is no secret that there are men who happen to be gay that go to these spas to watch other naked men shower and what have you. Folks, that is simply creepy.

I know from reading, that some women do this as well, and then you have the folks who are Trans gendered, who identify as one sex or another. What do they do?

In these “wet areas” not only are there adults but there are children, naked children who simply are playing in the water and having a good time.

I think that the laws need to be changed to protect children from let’s face it, pedophiles that might be lurking in the area. As an adult, I can choose to go into one of these places knowing full well that there may be some deviant in there that enjoys watching others shower and what have you.

I don’t believe that we have any business exposing children to possible creeps.

While I am on that subject, since gay folks knowingly go into these areas; how about a communal wet area that anyone can decide to use?

It would be interesting to see how many people of different genders would actually take advantage of it.

Once again I have pontificated to the tune of right at 1700 words on a subject that should be rife with stimulating conversation.

As always, I appreciate comments, shares, re-blogs and of course stimulating conversation. Please keep your comments civil. Thanks!

-Best

Repairable light bulbs?

As an electronics guy, when something fails I like to figure out what failed and then why.

When lights fail, well they just fail!

Not so much with the CFL or LED variety.

led bulb taken by me — LED bulb with clear dome etched by some sort of out gassing from something.

Today I want to examine this bulb, an LED bulb that did not last the advertised amount of time by any stretch of the imagination.

The first thing to notice that there was some sort of out-gassing during its use which adhered to the inside of the plastic dome and actually etched the plastic in such a way that it is no longer translucent but rather opaque even after I cleaned it with 409.

The reason I pulled it apart is that it became dim.

Failed LED — Here you can see the electronics of the LED bulb and possibly you can see the loose leg of the electrolytic capacitor.

After disassembling it, I found that the electrolytic capacitor had become un-soldered on one of its legs.

Re-soldering it and re-assembling it, the bulb became bright again for about a minute until it flickered and quit.

LED — Same bulb flickering before second failure

Removing and testing the capacitors they were both in tolerance and I suspect OK.

Checking the LED’s one by one, I found one that was dead. As I tested each with a DVM the good LEDS would slightly illuminate. 98% of these when biased correctly would illuminate properly. One of them was much dimmer than the rest, and one of them would not light at all.

Failed LED bulb — Dead LED at the end of my thumb

If I were of the mind to, I could replace the dead LED and the dim LED and I would guess I would obtain more hours of life out of the collective bunch of LED’s

LED lights being in series to me says that when one fails, the light is dead and trashed. Much like that lousy string of Christmas lights that are a real bugger to keep going.

Does it make financial sense to “repair” light bulbs?
Will dead LED bulbs fill the garbage dumps with the same frequency of regular light bulbs or CFL bulbs?
The good news about LED bulbs is that there is no lead in the solder as it is Tin.

I would be interested in knowing what actually out-gassed from the light during its use?

What actually pitted or etched the plastic?

Looking closely you will see what looks like flux, that suggest that there is heat generated with use.

I am thinking about holding on to this bulb and when another like it fails, making one out of two, just because. Is my time worth more than this, of course it is! Does this interest me enough to prove a point? Yes.

While LED bulbs will save you cost in operation, will that cost be offset by the cost and reliability of the bulb? Even though there is a warranty on these bulbs as well as CFL bulbs, do you know anyone that puts a date on them when installed and then keeps up with the sales slip in case they don’t last the warranty?
I don’t think that you can prove much, and it would really be up to the benevolence of the store where you purchased them from to replace your product..

-Best

Nose Blind or You Stink!

Not terrible long ago I was traveling through Colorado. I love Colorado! The people are great “for the most part,” The air is clean “for the most part,” and the terrain is different in that it is flat to the east and mountainous to the west!

Thirty Five miles south of Greeley the pungent odor of dog crap suddenly overwhelmed my senses. Dog crap is exactly what the odor smelled of but yet I had not been out of the car in a hundred miles or so!

Instinctively I looked at the bottoms of my shoes to find, nothing out of the way there.

I rolled down the window at this point to let the odor out and to my surprise the odor was magnified by thousands. The smell was so profound that my eyes begin to water. There was absolutely no excuse that I could find for the odor. I pressed on hoping that whatever I had passed by on the road would leave as quickly as it began. No such Luck!

The further I pressed on to the north, the more profound the odor became.

Arriving in Greeley for an early meeting was a task as I was having trouble keeping my stomach in check.

Folks, I have worked in some pretty bad places in my days, including around dead burned bodies. This was bad!

Here is the rub, when I was able to turn the conversation around to the town and why it stank the person who I was talking to said and I quote “what smell?”

The issue is that one becomes nose blind to the odor. While it may seem not as bad one day or even hardly noticeable it is not because the odor is any less, it is because the brain tunes it out as normal.

There is theory that it has to do with becoming accustom to your environment and our brains turn off certain signals that would otherwise alert us to some issue as that is a normal odor.

If for example you have animals in your home, you may find that their smells are less objectionable than when you first got them which would indicate that you are doing an OK job at managing their odors.

Surprise, you stink!

I know several people who have too many animals in their homes and when you go over to their house the smells of the animals about knock you over. The people don’t understand or appreciate that those very smells bind with the fabric in their clothes and in their hair and when they are out of that environment at work or some other social event, the odor of their home goes with them, and in some cases in advance of them.

Not terribly long ago I was in a restaurant when an elderly couple came in. As they passed by me the odors of dog overwhelmed the scent of my dinner that was in front of me. The waitress knew them and in greeting them, seating them etc. she asked about how the dogs were doing? Did she ask because of the smell or simply because she was being nice?

So not only do you stink but, your house may very well smell badly as well! Seek your most honest and best of friends to tell you if they smell something out of the way. It is the kind of friend that would tell you that your zipper was down or you had something in your teeth. You need to know!

After researching this I began to wonder, does oxygen (o2) have a smell?

I know that o3, Ozone smells so it begs the question what about o2?

I would have to say yes but because we are oxygen breathing creatures that smell has been “nulled” by our brains. So what it smells like is something we may never know unless we can come up with a “Sniff-o-meter” to tell us if we stink!

I can actually envision this as a Raspberry Pi project, with some kind of sensor that we currently use to detect gases of different types. Assign each chemical some sort of value etc…

Can you imagine some sort of device that we blow into, or rub it against our clothes, or hold it in our armpits, while pressing a button to tell us if we stink!? IT would be nice to have something that would alert you if your house had an odor that you had tuned out as normal. Shark Tank anyone?

-Best

Cancer, the final frontier…

As a young person I was fascinated by the movie Fantastic Voyage which was released in 1966 as a medical Sci-Fi. The people of the day had some great imaginations.

As I age, I know too many people with cancer of some sort.

Working in Houston Texas for some time, I spent 15 years in the Texas Medical Center working with all sorts of Doctors and other health care professionals, from many different specialties.

The Texas Medical Center photographed on Thursday, May 23, 2013, in Houston. Texas Children's Hospital is in the foreground. ( Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle ) — The Texas Medical Center photographed on Thursday, May 23, 2013, in Houston. Texas Children’s Hospital is in the foreground. ( Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle )

Some things I witnessed, still haunt me in my dreams; and that was some time ago. Occasionally something will stir a vison or a memory from some rogue smell which, will catapult me back to those days of working in the bowels of the medical center, and different hospitals.

Still yet, some things which are puzzling; stay just below the surface of my conscious while I am supposedly there at dinner with friends or watching something on TV or even reading a book, or writing this as I am now, some puzzles are “back ground tasking.”

This morning I was reading about a friend of mine going through cancer treatment when it hit me, most likely we all have cancer cells running around our body.

Cancer cells and “oncologist correct me if I am mistaken” are nothing more than cells that have mutated via an error in the genetic instructions either given to it or, it mis-understood them and erroneously created a cell that is flawed in some way.

When we hear of a cancer we hear of it like “they had cancer of the X.” Fill in the blanks with whatever was effected by the cancer whether it be the breast or prostate or brain or what have you.

The problem with cancer is that we don’t detect it until it has made millions of cells that are duplicates of screwed up cells. The millions of cells turn in to what we know as tumors which are really nothing more than globs of screwed up cells that don’t know how to assimilate into the body so they form a tumor.

What causes this mis-communication between cells can be blamed on many things from smoking to cosmic radiation.

Cancer needs to be addressed at the genetic level and for that we must necessarily understand the genome in its entirety. Once we understand what each little bit of the genome does we can look for errant cells and target them with something like a virus, yes a manmade virus that looks for specific types of cells and kills them.

That technology is in our future but I believe that is where we need to go to stop cancer and other diseases like aids and even the common cold.

My issue with this frankly is our technology always seems to outpace our humanity.

While some doctors in some lab are thinking that they are saving the world, some military minded megalomaniac wants to know how it can be used as a weapon.

This ought to make the generals feel happy... — This ought to make the generals feel happy…

Can we make a virus that only effects the blood type of a certain people or animal or pick your target.

Maybe you want to create a herbicide that only kills a certain plant so you modify this virus to attack the cells or genetics of that particular plant.

The problem is of course that these things mutate and thus are unstable, and thus on the loose can wreak havoc much like the plague or other flu related pandemics of our history. Ebola is one such virus that needs no introduction. Any virus created must contain an expiration date. It must die on its own accord and must be stable.

The cure for cancer and other such diseases I firmly believe will be created in a lab by someone who thinks outside the box.

Most probable this cure will take lives before it cures them, much like radiation took so many lives before it played a part in curing them.

Understanding the genome will open the doors for many opportunities. Stop the aging process and allow people to live really long times. Is that a good thing? I am not certain.

Arrest diseases which currently ravage our humanity in ways that we live with currently but; in decades to come some historian will write: can you believe that people died of things like the flue? How backward!

Friends, some of us are indeed backwards. Those that would seek to weaponized things like the “genome” are backwards.

Those that think that they are somehow special and better than others to the degree of wishing others harm, are backwards.

Great care needs to be applied when exploring the virus that will end up being a cure for such things as all living things on this planet share parts of the genome.

When we understand it, we will see that parts of the human genome contain things that are found in other animals and even the plants.

You can use this argument for evolution or God and creation. I could argue it either way. I tend to believe that there is intelligence in the design of everything that we see so, the scientist in me believes that there is a creator of all things; and we simply don’t understand or comprehend why….

“Cancer the final frontier” is really a misnomer but, it is the beginning of, and the driving force for what will end up either being the salvation of man on this planet, or its demise.

-Best

http://www.guard-protect.com

MÍ DÍA FROM SCRATCH Grapevine Texas

As many of you know, I am somewhat of a foodie. While I am not near the cook that I would like to be, I have traveled enough and have eaten at so many different places in my lifetime, critiquing restaurants is second nature.

Eating out to me anyway, should be a treat, and not the norm; as let’s face it, it is expensive. Dave Ramsey once said in one of his courses, the only way that you should be inside a restaurant is “you are working there!” Dave and I disagree on this point.

Life is short, so an occasional foray into an eating establishment should be acceptable. Even if you have to budget for it with disposable income. That is why I don’t want to waste my money and or time in some place that is supposed to be good, and it disappoints.

Upon entering the parking lot around 6, there were few if any places to park. It looked as though Valet Parking was going to be the way that I went until, as if on que, someone pulled out right in front of me.

If you get there at dinner time you might want to anticipate Valet parking. I will do that as I don’t want to detract from my dining experience by looping parking lots, in some sort of conga line looking for a place to park.

Once inside it was standing room only, even though we had a reservation. You must have six (6) or more to qualify for one.

Inside the building there is absolutely no place to stand without being underfoot of the servers, wait staff and other patrons. There are tables by the front door in very close proximity to where people are waiting for tables. When I say very close, imagine sitting at dinner and having someone standing within a foot of your table talking with their party complaining about the wait. To me this is unacceptable. Not only for the people who are now eating as you can hear everything that they are talking about but, for the patrons waiting to be seated.

While our table had been vacant, they had to make sure that they had someone to cover it before they sat us. This process took about 25 minutes which one might expect without reservations. If there had been a comfortable waiting area it might have been less objectionable.

The wait staff once seated was amicable. Getting our drinks took a little too long for me but the group that I was with seemed pleased with the outcome. I was the DD or designated driver, so I ordered a soft drink. The soft drink came in the original can, that was warm!

Folks! I expect that from a greasy spoon, not from a restaurant of this quality. Not only am I pouring my own drink from a can that I would buy in the store for .25 cents but, I know that I am going to at least pay $2 for the privilege and there will be no re-fills! Canned drinks have a “can taste” and I typically will not buy them that way for that reason.

I ordered the table side Guacamole which could not be made “table side” as there was no room. It was prepared somewhere else however, they had forgotten about it and we had to remind them, 30 minutes after the fact. Yes, they were busy but, so what! If they can’t handle “busy,” people will vote with their feet and find other places that can.

I ordered:

BANANA LEAF WRAPPED SCOTTISH SALMON – 20
Rubbed with achiote, citrus & grilled. Served with morita whipped potatoes, sautéed chayote & mango-lemon grass mojo.

The presentation was nice and 180 degrees different than a can of soda. The lemon grass mojo was placed on top much like a scoop of ice cream might sit atop pie. I tasted it and was non to thrilled with it, off to the side.

The Salmon itself was cooked well, soft and tender as it should have been. The whipped potatoes were light and fluffy with good taste, again as one would expect.

Part of the lemon citrus grass came with some sort of sauce that circled the potatoes in the bottom of the serving dish, much like a sauce. Dipping the salmon in this produced and un-expected treat as the flavors coalesced to make a whole new taste for salmon.

The salmon was covered in “achiote” which is a red seasoning. It is actually more than just a seasoning but a dye that is used for other reasons than for culinary work. Much like eating cucumbers, this was the seasoning that kept giving for hours after the meal was over.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give this place a 3.

While it was clean, it was way too crowded; and the overall appeal of this place just is not enough to encourage me to fight the crowd again. The price was middle of the road but the canned soft drink really was a deal breaker. To me this is like buying a good looking car and putting a small gutless engine in it. If you are going to go to the trouble of producing quality food, purchase a blooming soda dispensing machine so no soft drink cans are ever seen and, the glass can be easily re-filled. On top of that folks, soda taste much better out of a machine, than a can! By the way, does anyone else see the issue here with the name “made from scratch” and a canned drink!? Is it just me?

Not all of us consume alcohol! Some of us actually prefer to maintain our senses and be able to drive after the meal is over.

No review would be complete without a critique of the drinks however; so, I am happy to inform you that while I personally did not imbibe, those that did had more than one, and were complimentary of the drinks, flavor and presentation.

I think if they would change their policies to “reservation only” during certain busy times, they could please more people and have less people standing on top of other patrons. Managing traffic in a restaurant is critical to pleasing the guest, as well as managing your staff. This place has the ability to easily be a 4 star restaurant, with their quality of food.

-Best

http://www.midiafromscratch.com/index.htm

Debate Questions I would like to see answered

Questions to those who for some reason think that they are good enough to run for president of the most powerful country in the world.

Dr. Carson and Dr. Paul, as you both have taken an oath to do no harm; how can you as the president, give the call to obliterate people, in the event of war? Is that not “harm?”

Image #: 21630241 Dr. Benjamin Carson, director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, speaks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, March 16, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH) REUTERS /JONATHAN ERNST /LANDOV — Image #: 21630241 Dr. Benjamin Carson, director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, speaks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, March 16, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS HEALTH) REUTERS /JONATHAN ERNST /LANDOV

Could you see yourselves giving the call to drop nukes on a people if they were a threat to the homeland? If there was a call at 3AM, would you be there to answer it?

Mr. Sanders, As a self-proclaimed Socialist, how can you stand in front of the American people and ask those of us that work, to give an equal amount or more to those that “don’t want to work?” History has taught us time and time again that socialism does not work!

What part of that which you did not work for is your fair share?

Mr. Trump, how can you expect to run an entire country and have the time to run your businesses? Would we as a people not be electing a “part-time” president?

Mrs. Clinton, really! How stupid do you think that the American people are? You clearly are not “broke.” You know the “art of the deal” as well as Mr. Trump; why don’t you simply retire and enjoy what your speeches and other political arrangements have done for you both. Do you really feel that the country would benefit under 4 or 8 more years of Clinton rule and if so “why……..?”

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

Carly, how would you deal with the massive amounts of debt? I would like to see a detailed plan of how you intend to turn this train wreck around before the US goes the way of Greece!

I fail to see why politicians, and even our all-knowing media has not put the problem together for the American people. The media tends to take this as separate issues and it is really all of the same issue.

The smoke screen

Economy
Jobs
Immigration
Obama Care

Companies flood the high tech workforce with H1-B workers and even get some from student Visas thus, bringing the supply and demand down to a manageable level where companies can afford to pay lower wages for high tech employees.

Illegals or undocumented workers flood the work force. They say that they only take jobs that Americans would not take but, that is why there are 47 million on food stamps. That is why black unemployment is much higher than white unemployment. Simple economics and no one gets it.

With Obama Care, companies responded by only hiring part time thus doing away with having to pay for Obama care or some other kind of government imposed health care or government fines. That drove the unemployment numbers down because companies needed twice as many part time folks to get the job done. They are trying to mask the problem by pushing the minimum wage up to make the difference but, that will only raise the cost of goods and services as well as drive the small business owner out of business.

So candidates, how would you fix this mess without running this ship into an iceberg?

Some of you have said that we must once again raise the age group for the folks who draw Social Security and even means test it. To those of you who don’t follow political speak; that means that if you are anywhere above poverty in your old age, let’s say you planned ahead unlike our government. Well, you don’t qualify for the money that you paid into the system all of those years!

Mr. Huckabee is right on this. That is theft!

UNITED STATES - AUGUST 29: Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., addresses the Republican National Convention in the Tampa Bay Times Forum on the night Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., republican vice-presidential nominee, delivered a speech to the crowd. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) — UNITED STATES – AUGUST 29: Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., addresses the Republican National Convention in the Tampa Bay Times Forum on the night Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., republican vice-presidential nominee, delivered a speech to the crowd. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Don’t you think it terribly narcissistic that you think that you are good enough to “be the president” of this country? If not than tell me why. Why do you think that you are uniquely qualified to run this country and be a world leader?

How do you get the border secure as we have not managed to do it in at least 30 years!
How do you get the Mexican Government to work with us on securing the border and stop the flow of people from their country into the US?

Currently the US has made an industry out of Incarceration? What do you do to turn that around?

Media, why….why are you so terribly biased. Who is pulling your strings? What happened to journalistic integrity where you simply and objectively report the news, instead of creating a narrative? Is getting the first question or interview from the president worth your integrity? I understand ratings but clearly you can see that if ratings are your reason, FOX has you beat hands down!

These are just a scant few questions that I would like to see asked of the presidential want to bees, as well as the media.

Good night and Good luck!

-Best