They had the head of NSA and his top assistants up in front of a Congressional investigating committee today. The NSA guys looked and sounded professional and honest, unlike some the the witnesses in recent days. They pretty much confirmed that NSA gathers all the telephone billing information in the entire world and keeps it plenty long enough. The NSA guys explained that they just gather the info up and store it on their computers and don't actually look at it except after jumping thru a lot of administrative hoops, largely NSA hoops, no FISA court. They went on to explain that they only keep overseas calls, not inside the US calls.
It all sounds good, and these individuals looked trustworthy. I wonder if they will look so trustworthy after some Obama appointments. Once the data is in NSA computers, they will look at it if they care enough.
And this is legal. The Supremes held some years ago that looking at telephone company business records is not a search or a seizure. Fourth Amendment does not apply, thus saith the Supremes.
Bottom line, if you make a phone call, NSA knows about it. They claimed they don't tap the calls, they just record the fact that the call was made. That's probably true, for now.
This effort costs plenty. I wonder if we wouldn't score more good intel by taking terrorists alive and grilling them, rather than killing them to avoid putting more terrorists into Guantanamo? And not shooting people dead after the phone number monitoring. fingers them.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Aviation Week flies the A400M
After a long and troubled development history, reaching back to 1982, the A400M has received a European type certificate, which makes it legal to sell it and fly it. They program manager feels good enough about the aircraft to let journalists fly it. Aviation Week liked it. Easy to fly, quieter than existing transports even at takeoff power, big, fast as a jet liner, decent short field landings. It's bigger than the C-130 (which makes it a BIG airplane) but not as big as a C-17.
Thing that caught my eye was the high propeller RPM's. The old C-133 kept prop revs down to 100-200 RPM even at takeoff power. A400M has odd looking props (lots of short scimitar shaped blades) that rev up to 850 RPM. This probably eases the load on the gearboxes. The engines rev up to 10,000 RPM and the gear boxes have to stand up to 11,000 horsepower without breaking. The A400M gearboxes only need a 10:1 gear ratio. The old C-133 gearboxes, which gave a lot trouble, had to have a 100:1 gear reduction which is harder to do.
The Europeans are committed to buying A400Ms. The maker, Airbus, is naturally hoping for more export sales to cover the staggering development costs. According to Aviation Week, if you divide total program costs by the number of firm orders, it comes out to $170 million per aircraft, twice the cost of a C130.
Thing that caught my eye was the high propeller RPM's. The old C-133 kept prop revs down to 100-200 RPM even at takeoff power. A400M has odd looking props (lots of short scimitar shaped blades) that rev up to 850 RPM. This probably eases the load on the gearboxes. The engines rev up to 10,000 RPM and the gear boxes have to stand up to 11,000 horsepower without breaking. The A400M gearboxes only need a 10:1 gear ratio. The old C-133 gearboxes, which gave a lot trouble, had to have a 100:1 gear reduction which is harder to do.
The Europeans are committed to buying A400Ms. The maker, Airbus, is naturally hoping for more export sales to cover the staggering development costs. According to Aviation Week, if you divide total program costs by the number of firm orders, it comes out to $170 million per aircraft, twice the cost of a C130.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
What do we know about NSA snooping?
Well, listening to the TV we don't know much. Here is what they could do, especially after spending $1 billion on a fancy data center in Utah.
They can capture and save the billing records of every phone call on the planet. They call it "metadata", but it's the stuff of your phone bill, what numbers you called, how long you talked. This allows the feds or other snoopers to go into the system with your phone number and learn all the other phone numbers you have called, going back a long time. They claim it's just phone numbers, but that doesn't matter. Put your own phone number into Google and Google will return your name and address. You might have to pay a little money, but heh, the Feds have lots of money. If the Feds have a phone number, they can get the name without much trouble. I believe they used the system on the Boston bombers. It fingered an old associate of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The FBI interviewed the associate and shot him dead during the interview. The FBI claimed self defense, the associate pulled a knife on them, they say.
Speaking of the Boston Bombers, the FBI had a solid tip from the Russians that the older brother was a terrorist. FBI claims to have interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but they didn't bother to pass the tip on to the local police, who usually have better local connections than Washington based FBI guys. Nor did they bother to put Tamerlan on a no-fly list, and they let him fly to Russia and back, and hobnob with Chechen terrorists without tipping off the Russians.
The Feds can read all your email, see what websites you visit, how often and how long, and see all your Facebook, Myspace and where ever postings. If you post anything on suspicious websites, that makes you suspicious too.
I don't think they can tap (listen to conversations) on every phone on the planet, yet.
NSA must have direct electronic connections into the phone system computers, as well as all the internet backbone companies. I heard the back bone companies on TV deny this, but I don't believe them.
This "FISA" court which is supposed to be "overseeing" NSA, approved all but 10 of 1824 snooping requests. That isn't a court, that's a rubber stamp.
I don't know where I stand on the NSA thing. One on hand, being able to drop Osama bin Laden's phone number into the system and see every one he phoned is clearly useful. On the other hand, dropping the phone numbers of anyone the administration dislikes, or conservative bloggers like me, into the system is scary. Plus Osama Bin Ladin gave up using phones after the ever patriotic New York Times revealed that NSA was tapping his satellite phone.
They can capture and save the billing records of every phone call on the planet. They call it "metadata", but it's the stuff of your phone bill, what numbers you called, how long you talked. This allows the feds or other snoopers to go into the system with your phone number and learn all the other phone numbers you have called, going back a long time. They claim it's just phone numbers, but that doesn't matter. Put your own phone number into Google and Google will return your name and address. You might have to pay a little money, but heh, the Feds have lots of money. If the Feds have a phone number, they can get the name without much trouble. I believe they used the system on the Boston bombers. It fingered an old associate of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The FBI interviewed the associate and shot him dead during the interview. The FBI claimed self defense, the associate pulled a knife on them, they say.
Speaking of the Boston Bombers, the FBI had a solid tip from the Russians that the older brother was a terrorist. FBI claims to have interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but they didn't bother to pass the tip on to the local police, who usually have better local connections than Washington based FBI guys. Nor did they bother to put Tamerlan on a no-fly list, and they let him fly to Russia and back, and hobnob with Chechen terrorists without tipping off the Russians.
The Feds can read all your email, see what websites you visit, how often and how long, and see all your Facebook, Myspace and where ever postings. If you post anything on suspicious websites, that makes you suspicious too.
I don't think they can tap (listen to conversations) on every phone on the planet, yet.
NSA must have direct electronic connections into the phone system computers, as well as all the internet backbone companies. I heard the back bone companies on TV deny this, but I don't believe them.
This "FISA" court which is supposed to be "overseeing" NSA, approved all but 10 of 1824 snooping requests. That isn't a court, that's a rubber stamp.
I don't know where I stand on the NSA thing. One on hand, being able to drop Osama bin Laden's phone number into the system and see every one he phoned is clearly useful. On the other hand, dropping the phone numbers of anyone the administration dislikes, or conservative bloggers like me, into the system is scary. Plus Osama Bin Ladin gave up using phones after the ever patriotic New York Times revealed that NSA was tapping his satellite phone.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Sequestering the STEM
Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM). Due to the sequester, Obama wants to consolidate 226 separate federal STEM programs into a mere 110. These programs are scattered out between DoD, DHS, and NASA. Obama claims that overall funding would be hiked 6% after culling out half the programs.
Wow. All these cuts and we spend more money. And on such a worthy idea. Oh yes, the new program will increase participation by women and minorities in the STEM programs. How uplifting.
Too bad it won't do much to increase the number of US students taking STEM courses. Students decide which educational track they are going to take way down in middle school. Most of 'em decide to avoid STEM courses after being subject to a terrible one, taught by an ed major with no understanding or love for the subject. The ed major reduces the science course to memorization of fancy scientific vocabulary and the math course to tedious solving of equations. It doesn't take much of this kind of abuse to convince middle schoolers that math and science are hard and should be avoided.
No amount of federal STEM programs are going to repair the damage done to students by horrible middle school math and science teaching.
Wow. All these cuts and we spend more money. And on such a worthy idea. Oh yes, the new program will increase participation by women and minorities in the STEM programs. How uplifting.
Too bad it won't do much to increase the number of US students taking STEM courses. Students decide which educational track they are going to take way down in middle school. Most of 'em decide to avoid STEM courses after being subject to a terrible one, taught by an ed major with no understanding or love for the subject. The ed major reduces the science course to memorization of fancy scientific vocabulary and the math course to tedious solving of equations. It doesn't take much of this kind of abuse to convince middle schoolers that math and science are hard and should be avoided.
No amount of federal STEM programs are going to repair the damage done to students by horrible middle school math and science teaching.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Lease or Buy?
In a slow moment, I read thru the car ads delivered to my mailbox. The Chrysler dealer wasn't mentioning price in his ads, just monthly lease payments. Then in the fine print it said "Current Chrysler lease holders and other major makers lease holders only". Translation, no deal unless you already lease a car. Which lets out most people. But, the dealer must think people like to lease cars, otherwise why advertise lease terms that most people won't be eligible for? He could have advertised monthly payments, or even (shudder) the scary asking price.
In fact, why do dealers want to lease instead of sell? On a lease deal the dealer has to find the loan to pay the car company for the car. That's trouble and money. Why not just sell the car outright? Then the customer is on the hook for financing the deal.
One reason might be the lease terms are better for the dealer. I looked at one deal, a 39 month lease with 25 cents a mile for all miles over 25,000. Figure most people rack up 20,000 miles a year, 60,000 over three years. Between the lease payments and the extra mileage charges, that lease deal would pay off the asking price of the car (pickup truck in this case) in 39 months and the dealer still owns the truck. Nice dealer markup on that deal.
My car buyers advice. 1. Buy a late model used car. 2. Buy it outright, run it til it drops.
In fact, why do dealers want to lease instead of sell? On a lease deal the dealer has to find the loan to pay the car company for the car. That's trouble and money. Why not just sell the car outright? Then the customer is on the hook for financing the deal.
One reason might be the lease terms are better for the dealer. I looked at one deal, a 39 month lease with 25 cents a mile for all miles over 25,000. Figure most people rack up 20,000 miles a year, 60,000 over three years. Between the lease payments and the extra mileage charges, that lease deal would pay off the asking price of the car (pickup truck in this case) in 39 months and the dealer still owns the truck. Nice dealer markup on that deal.
My car buyers advice. 1. Buy a late model used car. 2. Buy it outright, run it til it drops.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Grass Attack. Adventures in Lawncare
The rain finally let up today after four solid days. The grass was on the warpath. Once it gets too tall, the mower won't cut it, and then, Katie bar the door. So I took advantage of the break in the weather to get in a quick mow. The grass wasn't really dry enough, but my nice new mostly plastic Husqvarna reel mower was up to the challenge. When wet, the grass bends over and mats down instead of standing proud and getting cut off at the neck. And it sticks the the mower, everywhere. But I made it to the end, it doesn't look too raggedy, and we can survive more rain, which is forecast, starting this afternoon.
Dandelion control is still holding up. I only found two to pluck this morning. Getting 'em early did the trick this season.
Then we gotta keep mowing back the Wild Wood. Weeds, saplings, briars, raspberries and who knows what else, keep trying to invade the lawn, grow up tall, shade out the grass, and bring the woods up to the house. Mow those infiltrators right down to the ground.
Dandelion control is still holding up. I only found two to pluck this morning. Getting 'em early did the trick this season.
Then we gotta keep mowing back the Wild Wood. Weeds, saplings, briars, raspberries and who knows what else, keep trying to invade the lawn, grow up tall, shade out the grass, and bring the woods up to the house. Mow those infiltrators right down to the ground.
If the Republicans are this stupid they deserve to die
I swiped the title from this article by Ann Coulter. Ann can get a bit hard core, but here she makes a certain amount of sense. Ann is saying that the Hispanic vote isn't all that large, and Republican efforts to pass an immigration bill to woo the Hispanic vote are counterproductive. At least she has her numbers right. The Hispanic vote is perhaps 5%. The women's vote is 50%, and the Republicans lost women voters to Obama by a margin of 10%. If Romney had carried the women's vote he would be president right now.
If Republicans are looking for an ethic group to woo, women outnumber Hispanics by 10:1. And half of the Hispanics are women. We need some intelligent polling to figure out why women went for Obama and what would bring them back to voting Republican. I've heard a lot of talk about abortion and contraception and gun control and other wedge issues, but I'm not convinced that this talk means anything. Much of it comes from advocates who will say anything to advance their pet cause.
As for immigration, there are some things that ought to be done. Right now Congresscritters are trying to sell us a pig in a poke. I have no idea what is hidden inside that immigration bill. They plan to vote it thru and then we are stuck with it.
Things that ought to be done.
1. Honorable service in the US armed forces should grant citizenship.
2. We should favor immigrants who will contribute to the economy and pay their way over elderly parents of citizens.
3. The United States has plenty of room for more citizens, and a declining birthrate. We need immigration to keep our population up. Population decline, like much of the rest of the first world is undergoing, makes everyone poorer.
4. We don't want to fingerprint foreigners on the way in and the way out. It's degrading. That is hidden inside the pig-in-a-poke immigration bill. Checking their passports is enough.
5. Illegals currently inside the country are outlaws. They don't dare call fire or police at need lest they get deported. Employers pay them like dirt, when they hire them, which a lot of them don't. This situation is dreadful and we should be ashamed of it. I have nothing against legalizing the bulk of them who are just raising their families, holding down jobs, obeying the law and staying out of trouble.
If Republicans are looking for an ethic group to woo, women outnumber Hispanics by 10:1. And half of the Hispanics are women. We need some intelligent polling to figure out why women went for Obama and what would bring them back to voting Republican. I've heard a lot of talk about abortion and contraception and gun control and other wedge issues, but I'm not convinced that this talk means anything. Much of it comes from advocates who will say anything to advance their pet cause.
As for immigration, there are some things that ought to be done. Right now Congresscritters are trying to sell us a pig in a poke. I have no idea what is hidden inside that immigration bill. They plan to vote it thru and then we are stuck with it.
Things that ought to be done.
1. Honorable service in the US armed forces should grant citizenship.
2. We should favor immigrants who will contribute to the economy and pay their way over elderly parents of citizens.
3. The United States has plenty of room for more citizens, and a declining birthrate. We need immigration to keep our population up. Population decline, like much of the rest of the first world is undergoing, makes everyone poorer.
4. We don't want to fingerprint foreigners on the way in and the way out. It's degrading. That is hidden inside the pig-in-a-poke immigration bill. Checking their passports is enough.
5. Illegals currently inside the country are outlaws. They don't dare call fire or police at need lest they get deported. Employers pay them like dirt, when they hire them, which a lot of them don't. This situation is dreadful and we should be ashamed of it. I have nothing against legalizing the bulk of them who are just raising their families, holding down jobs, obeying the law and staying out of trouble.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Somebody loves Patent Trolls
Over at the Hoover Institute we have some lawyers defending patent trolls. They make the argument that patent trolling is merely specialization of labor. Some companies specialize in making steel, others specialize in flying passengers, patent trolls specialize in maximizing patent income for patent holders. Yeah Right.
In actual fact we have scary amounts of money sucked out of productive companies and poured down the maws of lawyers.
In actual fact we have scary amounts of money sucked out of productive companies and poured down the maws of lawyers.
Nice Immigration bill they got there. Wonder what's in it
Immigration bill is on the TV news. There was one shot of a Congressman picking up a state of paper 6 inches high. If they pass it, what will it do to us? Anyone know?
I'd feel better about it if it was limited to about 20 pages, double spaced and doubled sided, so I could read it and know what we were getting into. No way am I (or anyone else) is gonna read thru a 6 inch high pile of paper.
I'd feel better about it if it was limited to about 20 pages, double spaced and doubled sided, so I could read it and know what we were getting into. No way am I (or anyone else) is gonna read thru a 6 inch high pile of paper.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Airbus ready for first flight of A350
The brand new Airbus A350 is ready to fly. Should take off on it's first flight within the week. This is the Airbus answer to the long delayed Boeing 787. Although the 787 is entering service now, they only have about a year before Airbus finishes up flight testing, gets the plane certified, and sends their salesmen out on the road.
Lets Not Go There Dept.
Out at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland the Army and DHS have a collection of airliner fuselages. For bomb testing. Where can a terrorist's bomb explode with the best chance of the aircraft surviving the event? Plans are to issue airline crews instructions, if a bomb is found, move it here, the Least Risk Bomb Location (LRBL for short) and maybe you won't crash when it goes off. So they are going to explode test bombs inside old junked airliners to see what happens.
Your guv'mint is concerned about the bad PR such testing might be for airlines. Seeing a Southwest or American fuselage go poof has got to bad for the airline image. The requests for proposals to aircraft junkyards the Army requested that "Distinctive paint schemes or logos on the fuselages must be removed before testing to eliminate any public recognition that aircraft was previously owned or operated". How very thoughtful.
The whole project is chilling to think about.
Your guv'mint is concerned about the bad PR such testing might be for airlines. Seeing a Southwest or American fuselage go poof has got to bad for the airline image. The requests for proposals to aircraft junkyards the Army requested that "Distinctive paint schemes or logos on the fuselages must be removed before testing to eliminate any public recognition that aircraft was previously owned or operated". How very thoughtful.
The whole project is chilling to think about.
Monday, June 10, 2013
"Obama goes Troll Hunting " says the Economist
Medium length article in the Economist saying that Obama is cracking down on patent trolls. But is he really? They mention the "America Invents Act" passed back in 2011. Now the Economist says new anti troll policies will allow courts to zap the filers of "frivolous" patent suits, demand that the name of the real owner of the patent be revealed in court, and to demand more documentation from plaintiffs upon filing suit.
Obama can do some of this by executive order, but he will need some acts of Congress (which he doesn't have) to impliment most of it.
Plus, this isn't going to work. The patent problem is caused by a patent office that allows incredible numbers of things that should never be eligible for a patent to obtain one. They allow patents upon "business methods" which has created a massive lawsuit over "one-click or two-click". They allowed someone to patent the idea of putting a web purchase into a web shopping cart with a single mouse click. Which is ridiculous. It is an obvious idea that will come immediately to the mind of anyone "skilled in the art". They allow patents on software, which they didn't use to do. They allow patents on arbitrary arrangements of information, such as the QWERTY keyboard layout, and the ASCII code. Yesterday's patent fight between Apple and Samsung revolved around patents upon arbitrary codes and protocols used in wireless networking. In order for devices to talk to each other, there has to be some agreement about codes, languages and protocols, Without such agreement, the devices won't understand each other . Right now we allow trolls to rip off companies for using the agreed upon codes, languages and protocols.
Right now the patent troll situation is so bad that companies assume they will be sued by a troll as soon as they make enough money to be worth suing. They estimate the legal costs in right along with research and development costs and marketing costs. This tax upon the creative by the lawyers slows the pace of innovation and only makes the lawyers rich. It doesn't help inventors. It punishes startups and favors the big companies.
We need to make it harder to get patents. Before granting a patent there should be a comment period where anyone can submit objections to granting it. There ought to be a review board that can toss out BS patents. We should no longer allow business methods patents or software patents, and we should invalidate all such patents currently standing. Patents should only be granted to individuals, never companies.
Obama can do some of this by executive order, but he will need some acts of Congress (which he doesn't have) to impliment most of it.
Plus, this isn't going to work. The patent problem is caused by a patent office that allows incredible numbers of things that should never be eligible for a patent to obtain one. They allow patents upon "business methods" which has created a massive lawsuit over "one-click or two-click". They allowed someone to patent the idea of putting a web purchase into a web shopping cart with a single mouse click. Which is ridiculous. It is an obvious idea that will come immediately to the mind of anyone "skilled in the art". They allow patents on software, which they didn't use to do. They allow patents on arbitrary arrangements of information, such as the QWERTY keyboard layout, and the ASCII code. Yesterday's patent fight between Apple and Samsung revolved around patents upon arbitrary codes and protocols used in wireless networking. In order for devices to talk to each other, there has to be some agreement about codes, languages and protocols, Without such agreement, the devices won't understand each other . Right now we allow trolls to rip off companies for using the agreed upon codes, languages and protocols.
Right now the patent troll situation is so bad that companies assume they will be sued by a troll as soon as they make enough money to be worth suing. They estimate the legal costs in right along with research and development costs and marketing costs. This tax upon the creative by the lawyers slows the pace of innovation and only makes the lawyers rich. It doesn't help inventors. It punishes startups and favors the big companies.
We need to make it harder to get patents. Before granting a patent there should be a comment period where anyone can submit objections to granting it. There ought to be a review board that can toss out BS patents. We should no longer allow business methods patents or software patents, and we should invalidate all such patents currently standing. Patents should only be granted to individuals, never companies.
The big Seven Oh
Did a bang up 70th birthday party up here. All three children flew in from all over the country. Weather was acceptable (no rain) for doing some grilling on the deck. A dozen birthday cards were received, lots of friends came, a good time was had by all. What with house guests all weekend, blogging has been a little light. Stupid Beast is still in shock from having all those strangers is the house, to say nothing of That Beagle and all Those Toddlers.
With luck I can do this again in ten years.
With luck I can do this again in ten years.
Friday, June 7, 2013
787's all fixed and flying
Boeing announced that the fireproof battery box modification has been accomplished on all 50 787's and that they are all flying.
Kathleen Sibelius, wicked witch of the west
You gotta wonder about Sibelius. We have a 10 year old child dying of cystic fibrosis. The parents appeal to Sibelius to get the 10 year old a lung transplant. She brushes the parents off with some bureaucratic baffle gab. Which convinces everyone in the country that she is a hard hearted nogoodnick who runs a death panel. She has to be dumber than a stone not to see that.
The parents don't give up, they get a court order to put the kid on the list for a transplant. Which makes Sibelius look incompetent as well as a hard hearted nogoodnick.
She is clearly spending too much time shaking down companies for Obama care money that Congress has refused to authorize.
Typical Obama appointee.
The parents don't give up, they get a court order to put the kid on the list for a transplant. Which makes Sibelius look incompetent as well as a hard hearted nogoodnick.
She is clearly spending too much time shaking down companies for Obama care money that Congress has refused to authorize.
Typical Obama appointee.
Bean counters are loading the dice (beans)
The Pentagon has a problem. Cost of the new F-35 fighter is so high that overseas customers are backing off. It's a nice airplane everyone agrees, but they just cannot afford it. One of the budget busters, after paying the list price for a new fighter, is the cost to fly it, Cost Per Flying Hour.
Despite their best efforts at cooking the books, it looks like the F-35 will cost $24,000 per flying hour. Which adds up quick. And you have to fly it if you want it to do any good. Pilots need about 10 hours a month to stay competent in such a high performance, complicated machine. Figure to have maybe two, maybe three pilots per aircraft, and you get to 360 flying hours a year, or $8.6 million dollars a year per airplane. It doesn't take many years for operating costs to exceed the purchase price. And any experienced person will figure the $24,000 per hour to be a lowball estimate.
So, to make things look a little less bad, the Pentagon is inflating the cost per flying hour of the current workhorse fighter, the F-16. This is also a good airplane, everyone, including the cost-no-objective Americans, flies it. The Aviation Week article did not give the before and after F-16 estimates, but they did quote several people expressing surprise that such a thing would be changed. The F-16 has been flying for over 20 years, we have real numbers going back a long time, and altering them comes pretty close to lying.
Despite their best efforts at cooking the books, it looks like the F-35 will cost $24,000 per flying hour. Which adds up quick. And you have to fly it if you want it to do any good. Pilots need about 10 hours a month to stay competent in such a high performance, complicated machine. Figure to have maybe two, maybe three pilots per aircraft, and you get to 360 flying hours a year, or $8.6 million dollars a year per airplane. It doesn't take many years for operating costs to exceed the purchase price. And any experienced person will figure the $24,000 per hour to be a lowball estimate.
So, to make things look a little less bad, the Pentagon is inflating the cost per flying hour of the current workhorse fighter, the F-16. This is also a good airplane, everyone, including the cost-no-objective Americans, flies it. The Aviation Week article did not give the before and after F-16 estimates, but they did quote several people expressing surprise that such a thing would be changed. The F-16 has been flying for over 20 years, we have real numbers going back a long time, and altering them comes pretty close to lying.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Why does the US media get the big stories wrong?
The Atlantic has a long sad story about it. I have a simplier explaination. The media is staffed with crusaders, zealous fanatics who see them selves as prophets come to save the world. Woodward and Burnstein "All the President's Men" is their self image. They could care less about truth, informing their readers, all they want to do is win. And they will do a lot a shady (not quite outright lying, but close) stuff to win.
These people float thru college doing journalism majors and learning nothing of substance. No American history, no European history, no math, no physics, no chemistry, no statistics, no Shakespeare, no foreign language, no philosophy, no biology. No practical skills such as carpentry, auto mechanics, hunting, fishing, farming, or even light bulb changing. They come out of college shallow and ignorant. They may be fairly good at slinging BS, but they don't know nothing. Naturally the stories they write are largely a waste of the reader's time.
These people float thru college doing journalism majors and learning nothing of substance. No American history, no European history, no math, no physics, no chemistry, no statistics, no Shakespeare, no foreign language, no philosophy, no biology. No practical skills such as carpentry, auto mechanics, hunting, fishing, farming, or even light bulb changing. They come out of college shallow and ignorant. They may be fairly good at slinging BS, but they don't know nothing. Naturally the stories they write are largely a waste of the reader's time.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Blind to lead the blind
Obama is appointing Susan Rice to be National Security Adviser at this very minute. Susan Rice is that clueless administration weenie who went on all the Sunday talk shows right after Benghazi to say Benghazi wasn't terrorism, it was just a spontaneous political demo that got a little out of hand. Yeah right. If she believed that, then I have a bridge to sell her.
National Security Adviser is a post invented in the Eisenhower administration, to sort out conflicts between the State and Defense departments (doves vs hawks) It's a powerful post. Nixon's national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, pretty much ran US foreign policy. In fact Nixon wound up appointing Kissinger to be Secretary of State. Anyhow, Obama is putting a clueless and ignorant party hack into the job.
Obama could really use a good National Security Adviser. He needs a lot of help. So far, all Obama has managed is to subject the US to a torrent of scorn and abuse. He offends our friends, and he makes nice to our enemies. He is so dumb he cannot tell a friend from an enemy. His new National Security Adviser isn't gonna make anything get better, not ever.
The clueless feel better when surrounded by the more clueless.
National Security Adviser is a post invented in the Eisenhower administration, to sort out conflicts between the State and Defense departments (doves vs hawks) It's a powerful post. Nixon's national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, pretty much ran US foreign policy. In fact Nixon wound up appointing Kissinger to be Secretary of State. Anyhow, Obama is putting a clueless and ignorant party hack into the job.
Obama could really use a good National Security Adviser. He needs a lot of help. So far, all Obama has managed is to subject the US to a torrent of scorn and abuse. He offends our friends, and he makes nice to our enemies. He is so dumb he cannot tell a friend from an enemy. His new National Security Adviser isn't gonna make anything get better, not ever.
The clueless feel better when surrounded by the more clueless.
Proper background and education
That's what Gina McCarthy has, according to a letter to the editor of the Manchester Union Leader. The letter writer was bashing our two US senators for not pushing McCarthy into the job of EPA administrator. McCarthy is a new name to me, an old news junkie who watches a lot of cable TV news.
McCarthy has a masters degree in "Environmental Engineering and Planning" from Tufts. Tufts is OK, but it was my safety school way back when. The "environmental engineering" degree is another new one on me. Real engineering is either civil, mechanical, or electrical. As holder of a real electrical engineering degree, I don't have much respect for something so trendy as "environmental engineering". Does such a major require you to know anything? Like integral calculus? Strength of materials? Laplace transforms? Boolean algebra? Or is it all touchy feely talk about how wonderful it is to live a Hiawatha livestyle?
Since graduation McCarthy has held jobs in various state environmental pollution agencies. In short a career bureaucrat. No real world experience.
Somehow I don't feel so good about Gina at the EPA.
McCarthy has a masters degree in "Environmental Engineering and Planning" from Tufts. Tufts is OK, but it was my safety school way back when. The "environmental engineering" degree is another new one on me. Real engineering is either civil, mechanical, or electrical. As holder of a real electrical engineering degree, I don't have much respect for something so trendy as "environmental engineering". Does such a major require you to know anything? Like integral calculus? Strength of materials? Laplace transforms? Boolean algebra? Or is it all touchy feely talk about how wonderful it is to live a Hiawatha livestyle?
Since graduation McCarthy has held jobs in various state environmental pollution agencies. In short a career bureaucrat. No real world experience.
Somehow I don't feel so good about Gina at the EPA.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Civil Service reform to deal with IRS
TV was playing some democrat explaining that Civil Service regulations prevented the firing of IRS bureaucrats who targeted conservative groups. Unfortunately, he may not be lying. It's just about impossible to fire a federal GS type. Back in my Air Force days, you couldn't even speak harshly to them. I remember the base supply officer, a nice guy named Fleming Cheek, tried to fire a GS worker for stealing out of the warehouse. He couldn't do it.
Civil Service was invented in the 1880's to prevent newly elected politicians from laying everyone off and giving all the jobs to their supporters. Since 1880, Civil Service has been inventing regulations to protect its people from layoff, overtime, discipline, and any every attempt by management to get them to do some work. If management cannot fire the IRS offenders due to Civil Service red tape (which is management's story this morning), Congress ought to cut the red tape and throw the bums out.
The only way to prevent IRS from targeting taxpayers is to throw a serious scare into their little bureaucratic hearts. Firing forty or so bureaucrats over the targeting of the Teaparty is a good way to start.
Civil Service was invented in the 1880's to prevent newly elected politicians from laying everyone off and giving all the jobs to their supporters. Since 1880, Civil Service has been inventing regulations to protect its people from layoff, overtime, discipline, and any every attempt by management to get them to do some work. If management cannot fire the IRS offenders due to Civil Service red tape (which is management's story this morning), Congress ought to cut the red tape and throw the bums out.
The only way to prevent IRS from targeting taxpayers is to throw a serious scare into their little bureaucratic hearts. Firing forty or so bureaucrats over the targeting of the Teaparty is a good way to start.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
A leak in the NORK
Tom Clancy lives. We have a source inside the North Korean government. Clancy's Agent Cardinal comes back to life. If true, this is fantastic, the stuff of spy stories, right up there with the Oleg Penkofski story. US senator Chuckie the Schumer (D-NY) revealed this tantalizing bit of news this morning on national TV.
This might explain the Justice Dept snooping on AP and Fox reporters. Leaking the NORK source is big enough to get usually sensible law enforcement people to do foolish things. Law enforcement probably didn't have a clue as to who the leaker was. So they decided to snoop reporters email and cell phones, to find out who the reporters had been talking to. This is strictly illegal. Fourth Amendment says "No Warrents shall issue, but upon probable cause."
So they trumped up espionage charges against the Fox News reporter in order to get a judge to issue the search warrent. And that is how Holder can say with a straight face that he had no intention of prosecuting reporters. Well, no, he didn't plan to prosecute them, he just wanted to snoop their email and cell phones.
This might explain the Justice Dept snooping on AP and Fox reporters. Leaking the NORK source is big enough to get usually sensible law enforcement people to do foolish things. Law enforcement probably didn't have a clue as to who the leaker was. So they decided to snoop reporters email and cell phones, to find out who the reporters had been talking to. This is strictly illegal. Fourth Amendment says "No Warrents shall issue, but upon probable cause."
So they trumped up espionage charges against the Fox News reporter in order to get a judge to issue the search warrent. And that is how Holder can say with a straight face that he had no intention of prosecuting reporters. Well, no, he didn't plan to prosecute them, he just wanted to snoop their email and cell phones.
Words of the Weasel Part 31
We have Senator Chuckie the Schumer on NBC saying "The IG cleared Eric Holder on the Fast and Furious matter." Not true. The guilty agency, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, works for Holder. It's part of the Justice Department, of which Holder is the head. Doesn't matter how much whitewash the Justice Department IG uses, Holder, as head of the department is responsible for the actions of all his subordinates. Holder is personally responsible for what ever his department does. His job is to insure that laws are not broken by his people. He has plenty of Assistant Attorney Generals to keep track of every office. If BATFE did it (which they did) it's Holder's fault. By definition.
It's so good the learn that a US senator doesn't understand this. And it's so good that New York voters keep electing this turkey.
It's so good the learn that a US senator doesn't understand this. And it's so good that New York voters keep electing this turkey.
Words of the Weasel Part 30
Distraction. David Gregory's word for the IRS scandal, used this morning on Meet the Press. Lefties love it, distraction sounds so much nicer than scandal.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Support your constituents.
We have a Democratic US rep from New Hampshire, a far northern and rural state. We are so far north we touch Canada. Winter up here lasts into May. We had four inches of fresh snow at my place just seven days ago. We all heat with oil. $4 a gallon oil. One oil delivery can set us back $700.
We are a rural state. We don't have mass transit, commuter rail, light rail, plain old diesel bus service or even taxis. Up here we drive to work, every day. At $3.70 a gallon.
We are not addicted to oil. We use as little as possible. But we must get to work. And we must heat our houses.
We want lower prices for essential fuel. Now we have a project to pipe vast amounts of crude oil to American refineries from a friendly neighboring country. That will be turned into gasoline and furnace oil, vastly increasing the supply. We all know the law of supply and demand, increase the supply and the price goes down. Plus building the pipeline will put a lot of unemployed people to work and increase demand for a zillion different industrial items.
And so how does our gallant Democratic US rep vote?
Annie Kuster voted to kill the pipeline. Just to support all her constituents.
We better remember in November. Or Kuster will have us all living a Hiawatha lifestyle.
We are a rural state. We don't have mass transit, commuter rail, light rail, plain old diesel bus service or even taxis. Up here we drive to work, every day. At $3.70 a gallon.
We are not addicted to oil. We use as little as possible. But we must get to work. And we must heat our houses.
We want lower prices for essential fuel. Now we have a project to pipe vast amounts of crude oil to American refineries from a friendly neighboring country. That will be turned into gasoline and furnace oil, vastly increasing the supply. We all know the law of supply and demand, increase the supply and the price goes down. Plus building the pipeline will put a lot of unemployed people to work and increase demand for a zillion different industrial items.
And so how does our gallant Democratic US rep vote?
Annie Kuster voted to kill the pipeline. Just to support all her constituents.
We better remember in November. Or Kuster will have us all living a Hiawatha lifestyle.
Friday, May 31, 2013
What the Air Force dumps, the Navy buys.
Global Hawk. A humungous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a take off weight of 16 tons. That's DC3 kind of weight. Will stay up all day (24 hours) and carries nothing but surveillance equipment. Exact nature is classified, but cameras, radars, IR, snooping receivers. The Air Force paid $222 million apiece for 43 of 'em. That money will buy a brand new 787 jetliner, which seems kinda pricey. At this point the Air Force wants to mothball its entire fleet of 'em. Probably cause the intel they gather doesn't help the Air Force mission much. They bought the things to help out the Army in Afghanistan. Now that Afghanistan is winding down, and budget cuts are looming, so they want to mothball the pricey beasties. The program has friends in Congress who are trying to keep it alive.
Now, the Navy wants in. They claim a world wide sea surveillance mission and they want to buy 70 of 'em. The Navy gets a slightly better price than USAF did, $189 million apiece. Of course the Navy couldn't re use the retiring Air Force birds, the Navy wants to buy new. Northrup Grumman loves that. Total program cost, $13 billion.
Now, the Navy wants in. They claim a world wide sea surveillance mission and they want to buy 70 of 'em. The Navy gets a slightly better price than USAF did, $189 million apiece. Of course the Navy couldn't re use the retiring Air Force birds, the Navy wants to buy new. Northrup Grumman loves that. Total program cost, $13 billion.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Dandelions, Part Deux
The grass and the dandelions had a whole week to grow while I was away. In fact, due to the rain storm that followed me home, they got an extra day before getting mowed. Few golden blossoms popped up in the lawn, less than a dozen, and this morning I was able to pluck 'em all. The previous day's rain softened the soil and most of 'em came up by the roots. Die, dandelion, die.
Microsoft, cyber espionage enabler
The TV news has been full of stories about hostile Chinese hackers stealing plans, programming, codes, and whatever for things like the F-35 jet fighter, anti-ballistic missiles, and the rest of the advanced US weapons systems.
This would not be possible EXCEPT for Microsoft Windows. Microsoft has deliberately perforated Windows with back door loop holes that make breaking into a Windows machine child's play. For instance Autorun, a "feature" that loads and runs any program off of flashdrives. Stick a flashdrive in a USB port and that machine is totally yours. Stuxnet spread via autorun and so did the Bertlesmann - Sony rootkit of 2005. No user cares much about autorun, but the Microsofties love it and have kept modifying it and making it more powerful and more difficult to turn off.
For instance "remote job entry" which by its very name tells you it is a back door. Lord help the security minded owner who turns off "remote job entry", Windows won't reboot without it. Don't ask me how I know this.
For instance, Internet Exploder, which will download and run malicious code off websites, infecting your machine for merely visiting a hostile website. Web browsers should NEVER download or run anything off the web unless the user specifically clicks on something.
For instance allowing executable programming to be hidden inside of Office documents. And furthermore allowing Internet Exploder to pass these infected documents directly to Office to be run by just clicking on them.
There are lots more. Windows is so big, so complicated, and so flaky that no one understands the whole thing.
But as long as we run Windows, we make everything available to our enemies.
This would not be possible EXCEPT for Microsoft Windows. Microsoft has deliberately perforated Windows with back door loop holes that make breaking into a Windows machine child's play. For instance Autorun, a "feature" that loads and runs any program off of flashdrives. Stick a flashdrive in a USB port and that machine is totally yours. Stuxnet spread via autorun and so did the Bertlesmann - Sony rootkit of 2005. No user cares much about autorun, but the Microsofties love it and have kept modifying it and making it more powerful and more difficult to turn off.
For instance "remote job entry" which by its very name tells you it is a back door. Lord help the security minded owner who turns off "remote job entry", Windows won't reboot without it. Don't ask me how I know this.
For instance, Internet Exploder, which will download and run malicious code off websites, infecting your machine for merely visiting a hostile website. Web browsers should NEVER download or run anything off the web unless the user specifically clicks on something.
For instance allowing executable programming to be hidden inside of Office documents. And furthermore allowing Internet Exploder to pass these infected documents directly to Office to be run by just clicking on them.
There are lots more. Windows is so big, so complicated, and so flaky that no one understands the whole thing.
But as long as we run Windows, we make everything available to our enemies.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
787 batteries in hand, now to fix APU overheating
APU, Auxiliary power unit, a little turbine powered generator located in the tail to furnish electrical power on the ground when the main engines are shut down. We had 'em on military transports, so we could have aircraft power for lights and electronics and cargo door motors while on the ground in remote dirt strips with no ground power. Also used for engine starting. I was surprised to learn that a civilian airliner like the 787 had an APU. 787 is intended to operate from real airports that have ground power equipment.
And, Boeing and / or Pratt & Whitney seems to have screwed up the design of the 787 APU. Shutting down the APU on the ground automatically closes the APU intake door, cutting off airflow and overheating the APU. Heat build up is so bad it warps the APU drive shaft out of true after about 20 minutes. It does eventually cool down and straighten out. But if the APU is restarted before cooldown (2 hours) bad things happen. United Airlines, a 787 operator, says "Bowed rotor shaft can cause turbine rub and significant damage". Like a new APU for God Only Knows how much money.
Adding insult to injury, Boeing says that leaving the APU in "run" will keep the air intake door open, but, this only works on ground power. The APU battery only has enough juice to hold the door open for 15 minutes, where as it takes a hour of open intake door to keep the APU from over heating. Which is weird, The APU battery is good for 30-40 ampere hours, which ought to be enough to keep a door solenoid powered for a whole day. If this is true, it means the APU battery barely has enough juice to start the APU, and any drain, say from keeping the intake door solenoid power for a couple of hours, means the APU battery won't have enough charge to start the APU. Which is a nice way of saying that the APU will fail. Bad scene.
Good luck Boeing, you are gonna need it.
And, Boeing and / or Pratt & Whitney seems to have screwed up the design of the 787 APU. Shutting down the APU on the ground automatically closes the APU intake door, cutting off airflow and overheating the APU. Heat build up is so bad it warps the APU drive shaft out of true after about 20 minutes. It does eventually cool down and straighten out. But if the APU is restarted before cooldown (2 hours) bad things happen. United Airlines, a 787 operator, says "Bowed rotor shaft can cause turbine rub and significant damage". Like a new APU for God Only Knows how much money.
Adding insult to injury, Boeing says that leaving the APU in "run" will keep the air intake door open, but, this only works on ground power. The APU battery only has enough juice to hold the door open for 15 minutes, where as it takes a hour of open intake door to keep the APU from over heating. Which is weird, The APU battery is good for 30-40 ampere hours, which ought to be enough to keep a door solenoid powered for a whole day. If this is true, it means the APU battery barely has enough juice to start the APU, and any drain, say from keeping the intake door solenoid power for a couple of hours, means the APU battery won't have enough charge to start the APU. Which is a nice way of saying that the APU will fail. Bad scene.
Good luck Boeing, you are gonna need it.
Journalist Shield Law
Heh, I blog, that makes me a journalist too. I want to get shielded.
Obama has been trying to dodge the flak from the snooping of a Fox News man's cell phone and email. So he comes out in favor of a "shield law" for journalists. Groovy. Last time they talked about shield laws, they allowed journalists to refuse to reveal their sources when called to testify in court. Right now, federal judges can compel anyone to answer questions under oath. Unless the witness takes the fifth, they have to answer. Last journalist who refused, some lady from the NYT a while ago, the judge threw her in jail, contempt of court. She spend quite a few months in the slammer.
That kind of shield law wouldn't help the Fox guy much. He was not being compelled to rat on his sources in court. Instead, the DOJ was reading his email and tapping his cell phone. Eric the Holder signed off on it.
I'm against laws that give special privileges to some individuals. America is a democracy, all men are created equal. Journalists should not have any privileges at law that you and I don't have.
Obama has been trying to dodge the flak from the snooping of a Fox News man's cell phone and email. So he comes out in favor of a "shield law" for journalists. Groovy. Last time they talked about shield laws, they allowed journalists to refuse to reveal their sources when called to testify in court. Right now, federal judges can compel anyone to answer questions under oath. Unless the witness takes the fifth, they have to answer. Last journalist who refused, some lady from the NYT a while ago, the judge threw her in jail, contempt of court. She spend quite a few months in the slammer.
That kind of shield law wouldn't help the Fox guy much. He was not being compelled to rat on his sources in court. Instead, the DOJ was reading his email and tapping his cell phone. Eric the Holder signed off on it.
I'm against laws that give special privileges to some individuals. America is a democracy, all men are created equal. Journalists should not have any privileges at law that you and I don't have.
Vacation is over.
Visited daughter in DC. Memorial day we went up to visit boyfriend's parents in Pennsylvania farm country. Not much farm left in that boy. He didn't remember the way, we had a scenic drive back and forth over the Mason-Dixon Line looking for the place. Daughter and boyfriend consulting smart phones to learn where we were and where we ought to be going. Smart phones not so smart out in farm country.
We got there. The place is impressive, old, so old as to be built of solid chestnut logs, about a foot thick. Goes back to the 1840's, which is old. It had been renovated, logs all chinked with nice white plaster. Huge lawn, duckpond, ducks, carp swimming in the pond.
Drove home Tuesday. After the chinese firedrill we had finding the place, I took the precaution of consulting old tech, an ancient paper road map, that had been in the glove compartments of the last two cars I owned. Worked perfectly. Got me onto I83 north at York PA no sweat. Maybe that is why I still don't have a smart phone. It was raining pretty hard and the low fog and heavy wheel spray made visibility bad. I finally drove out from under it, but that took hours.
Pulled off for gas in Jersey. In Jersey they don't have self service gas pumps. A conspiracy between unions and fire chiefs passed a law forbidding self service. Dangerous, customer might set fire to the gas station or something. So a scruffy looking older guy at the pump asks me "Gasoline?" What did he think I wanted? Diesel? In a big Ford Panther? At least gas is only $3.50 in Jersey. New York and Connecticut charge $4. Good reason not to live in NY or CN.
New York State is still in the running for worst roadsigns in the nation award. They hid the sign for Merritt Turnpike off the Cross Bronx Expressway (I287) That sent me circling around thru suburban yuppie land. Some random casting back and forth picked up the trace of the road and got me moving again.
Got back and found the grass was still under control. I moved it day before I left, fearing that given enough time it would be too tall to mow. That rain storm I drove out from under yesterday caught up with me and it's raining too hard to mow this morning. We had a heavy snow fall while I was away, and I came back to some very confused trees. One was broken off, another was all bent up like a pretzel.
We got there. The place is impressive, old, so old as to be built of solid chestnut logs, about a foot thick. Goes back to the 1840's, which is old. It had been renovated, logs all chinked with nice white plaster. Huge lawn, duckpond, ducks, carp swimming in the pond.
Drove home Tuesday. After the chinese firedrill we had finding the place, I took the precaution of consulting old tech, an ancient paper road map, that had been in the glove compartments of the last two cars I owned. Worked perfectly. Got me onto I83 north at York PA no sweat. Maybe that is why I still don't have a smart phone. It was raining pretty hard and the low fog and heavy wheel spray made visibility bad. I finally drove out from under it, but that took hours.
Pulled off for gas in Jersey. In Jersey they don't have self service gas pumps. A conspiracy between unions and fire chiefs passed a law forbidding self service. Dangerous, customer might set fire to the gas station or something. So a scruffy looking older guy at the pump asks me "Gasoline?" What did he think I wanted? Diesel? In a big Ford Panther? At least gas is only $3.50 in Jersey. New York and Connecticut charge $4. Good reason not to live in NY or CN.
New York State is still in the running for worst roadsigns in the nation award. They hid the sign for Merritt Turnpike off the Cross Bronx Expressway (I287) That sent me circling around thru suburban yuppie land. Some random casting back and forth picked up the trace of the road and got me moving again.
Got back and found the grass was still under control. I moved it day before I left, fearing that given enough time it would be too tall to mow. That rain storm I drove out from under yesterday caught up with me and it's raining too hard to mow this morning. We had a heavy snow fall while I was away, and I came back to some very confused trees. One was broken off, another was all bent up like a pretzel.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Off shore tax shelters and Apple Computer
Congress was holding an Apple Roast yesterday. Apparently (at least this is what NPR thinks) Apple has an overseas subsidiary in Bermuda, to which substantial Apple income is directed, and Bermuda has little to no corporate income tax. Which is kinda slippery, but as I understand US tax law, Apple is liable for full US corporate tax should they bring the money home from Bermuda. Apple presumably doesn't need the money at home right now, things are bad and there is nothing Apple want to spend it on. This is not unusual, many US companies are sitting on their money and not investing it.
However, we ought to straighten out US tax law just to prevent more financial jiggery pokery. We ought to restrict the sort of country that US companies can set up in. Real countries such as England or France or Germany are fine, they all have reasonable national tax laws. But Bermuda isn't a real country, it's a subtropical vacation island.
We ought to forbid US companies from setting up in places too small, and/or too flaky to be reasonable. Places with a national territory less than say 25,000 square miles, or with populations less than a couple of million are not real countries, they are diplomatic fictions, like Monaco. We ought to tell US companies that setting up in such places is plain old tax fraud and IRS will audit, every year, every place. And credit all income to such a subsidery to the US parent company and tax it at 35%.
However, we ought to straighten out US tax law just to prevent more financial jiggery pokery. We ought to restrict the sort of country that US companies can set up in. Real countries such as England or France or Germany are fine, they all have reasonable national tax laws. But Bermuda isn't a real country, it's a subtropical vacation island.
We ought to forbid US companies from setting up in places too small, and/or too flaky to be reasonable. Places with a national territory less than say 25,000 square miles, or with populations less than a couple of million are not real countries, they are diplomatic fictions, like Monaco. We ought to tell US companies that setting up in such places is plain old tax fraud and IRS will audit, every year, every place. And credit all income to such a subsidery to the US parent company and tax it at 35%.
Take the fifth, loose your job.
Lois Lerner, IRS official, exact rank unknown, was the lady in charge of the tax exempt approval department. That's the department that decided to stall any organization with "Tea Party" or "Patriot" in their name. Yesterday she refused to answer questions before a Congressional Committee, citing the fifth amendment, which protects citizens from testifying against them selves. Up until now, only Mafia figures, and one Nixon Administration official used the fifth amendment in court. Every knows you don't take the fifth unless you are actually guilty.
For taking the fifth, Lois ought to be fired from the IRS. I don't want someone that guilty having anything to do with anyone's taxes. I understand she is on "administrative leave" with full pay. She ought to be fired, for good, and her cushy civil service retirement canceled.
The way to prevent this from happening again, it to make things unpleasant for everyone we can catch. While we are at it, Lois's superiors ought to be fired, as well as her principle subordinates.
For taking the fifth, Lois ought to be fired from the IRS. I don't want someone that guilty having anything to do with anyone's taxes. I understand she is on "administrative leave" with full pay. She ought to be fired, for good, and her cushy civil service retirement canceled.
The way to prevent this from happening again, it to make things unpleasant for everyone we can catch. While we are at it, Lois's superiors ought to be fired, as well as her principle subordinates.
Closing Guantanamo
Obama still wants to close the place. But what to do with the inmates? Can't turn em loose cause it's clear to all but the dumbest, that these guys are dangerous, if released they will head right back to Afghanistan and go to work doing terrorism. Congress and the voters don't want 'em in the US for fear that some irresponsible bat brained judge will turn 'em loose. The reason for putting 'em off shore in Guantanamo in the first place was to get 'em beyond the reach of US judges who nobody trusts. To keep the Guantanamo population down, Obama has ordered terrorists to be killed rather than captured. Very humane that is.
Steamtown, the railfan's delight
Back in the 1950's F. Nelson Blount, a New England railfan with money, started a collection of steam engines. That decade the railroads were scrapping steamers and replacing them with diesels, so there were plenty of used steamers available for scrap metal prices. Nelson collected a lot of 'em and parked them in Vermont at Bellows Falls. I saw them in Vermont nearly fifty years ago. Sometime after Nelson's death the collection of rusty iron got moved to Scranton PA, and the National Park Service stepped up and is now running it. The park ranger conducting the engine shop tour explained about how 2009 Porkulus money went to fixing leaks in their roundhouse roof.
I decided to vary my flight plan down to DC and take in Scranton. As long as I had the car loaded and going, why not go a little bit round about and take in Steamtown? The road to Scranton is I84 which starts in Hartford, Conn, and goes west, crossing the Hudson north of NYC at Newburg and getting to Scranton some 73 miles later. The Connecticut portion of I84 winds thru the Berkshire mountains, and is narrower and curvier than most interstates. Once across the PA border, the road gets wider and straighter and pretty much like all the rest of the interstates. The 40 miles from the PA border need to be repaved. Getting closer to Scranton, it has been repaved and is very decent.
They say the US economy is still in recession. The amount of semi trailer truck traffic on I84 is astounding, recession or no recession. Awful lot of 57 foot trailers loaded with stuff, barreling along, going somewhere. Brand new shiny tractors, Mack, Peterbuilt, Kenworth, White, all worth probably $70K apiece or better. There may not be any jobs in this economy, but it's still producing a lot of stuff.
Steamtown is the old Lackawanna rail yard. They have a few steamers all repainted and looking ready to run, and a lot more looking terribly rusty, paint mostly gone. They have maybe ten in the shop in various phases of rebuild. They don't have any steamers still running, the excursion train was pulled by an Electro-Motive GP-7, painted for the Nickel Plate Road. I walked down to Steamtown from the motel around 9:30, and stayed on my feet til I got back to the motel at 3PM. Feet are still sore.
All in all, a fun day.
I decided to vary my flight plan down to DC and take in Scranton. As long as I had the car loaded and going, why not go a little bit round about and take in Steamtown? The road to Scranton is I84 which starts in Hartford, Conn, and goes west, crossing the Hudson north of NYC at Newburg and getting to Scranton some 73 miles later. The Connecticut portion of I84 winds thru the Berkshire mountains, and is narrower and curvier than most interstates. Once across the PA border, the road gets wider and straighter and pretty much like all the rest of the interstates. The 40 miles from the PA border need to be repaved. Getting closer to Scranton, it has been repaved and is very decent.
They say the US economy is still in recession. The amount of semi trailer truck traffic on I84 is astounding, recession or no recession. Awful lot of 57 foot trailers loaded with stuff, barreling along, going somewhere. Brand new shiny tractors, Mack, Peterbuilt, Kenworth, White, all worth probably $70K apiece or better. There may not be any jobs in this economy, but it's still producing a lot of stuff.
Steamtown is the old Lackawanna rail yard. They have a few steamers all repainted and looking ready to run, and a lot more looking terribly rusty, paint mostly gone. They have maybe ten in the shop in various phases of rebuild. They don't have any steamers still running, the excursion train was pulled by an Electro-Motive GP-7, painted for the Nickel Plate Road. I walked down to Steamtown from the motel around 9:30, and stayed on my feet til I got back to the motel at 3PM. Feet are still sore.
All in all, a fun day.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. To Be Signed 3 June
This is interesting. The defense industry, speaking in Aviation Week, wants to pass it. They say US companies already have to do all kinds of paperwork and put up with interminable delays from US bureaucrats, think the treaty will impose the same burdens on their international competitors. In short, level the playing field by tying everyone's hands in red tape. The international peace groups like Oxfam and the Arms Control Association like it 'cause they think it will make it harder for militants and militaries to get more guns.
The NRA is against it. Writing in the pages of American Rifleman, the NRA magazine, Chris Cox, director of the NRA efforts to expand concealed carry rights, says that the treaty calls upon member states to keep track of each imported firearm, which sounds a lot like gun registration to the NRA. The treaty does not support the second amendment rights, in fact it encourages banning civilian ownership of firearms.
Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of state, the cookie pusher in charge of getting the treaty thru the UN and signed, says he expects the US to sign the treaty on 3 June. He admits that the Senate probably won't ratify it but he is hoping it will take effect anyhow. He cites the old nuclear teat ban treaty that the Senate refused to ratify but three different US administrations have maintained its restrictions. There are 34 senators, including a couple of democrats who oppose the treaty.
Interesting part is the Aviation Week supporting the idea and the American Rifeman opposing it arrived in my mailbox on the same day.
The NRA is against it. Writing in the pages of American Rifleman, the NRA magazine, Chris Cox, director of the NRA efforts to expand concealed carry rights, says that the treaty calls upon member states to keep track of each imported firearm, which sounds a lot like gun registration to the NRA. The treaty does not support the second amendment rights, in fact it encourages banning civilian ownership of firearms.
Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of state, the cookie pusher in charge of getting the treaty thru the UN and signed, says he expects the US to sign the treaty on 3 June. He admits that the Senate probably won't ratify it but he is hoping it will take effect anyhow. He cites the old nuclear teat ban treaty that the Senate refused to ratify but three different US administrations have maintained its restrictions. There are 34 senators, including a couple of democrats who oppose the treaty.
Interesting part is the Aviation Week supporting the idea and the American Rifeman opposing it arrived in my mailbox on the same day.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Black Bear seen in Lincoln and Weston (Massachusetts)
Front page story in the Boston papers. They did get one photo that is better than my bear photos. Officials said the bear is probably foraging for food. No kidding. What else do bears do in the woods? Incidentally Lincoln and Weston are about the toniest of the Boston suburbs, located just outside Rt 128. Kinda place where houses go for $500,000 and up.
Why the IRS targeted the Tea Party
Perhaps this letter from eight sitting US senators had something to do with it. Dated February of last year and signed by the likes of Charlie Schumer (D-NY) Al Franken (D-MidwestSomeplace) and our very own Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and four others, it complains that organizations applying for tax exempt status under 501(c)4 are actually sinister political organizations trying to dodge taxes. It goes on to urge an IRS crackdown on them. Although addressed to the then IRS commissioner, Douglas Shulman, want to bet the content of the letter was shared around the IRS internal grapevine? And a bunch of the usual leftie greenie democratic bureaucrats decided to do something about it? I mean when you have seven US senators egging you on, it cannot be illegal can it?
Be careful what you ask for.
And we really need to get out republican votes against our senator Jeanne Shaheen. Any one who would join forces with the likes of Charlie Schumer and Al Franken cannot be good for New Hampshire. She is up for re election in 2014.
Be careful what you ask for.
And we really need to get out republican votes against our senator Jeanne Shaheen. Any one who would join forces with the likes of Charlie Schumer and Al Franken cannot be good for New Hampshire. She is up for re election in 2014.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Actually, I'm looking for scalps
Talking head on Meet the Press this morning speaking of the IRS investigation said "It depends upon whether you are looking for facts or looking for scandals." Well guy. I'm not looking for either, I'm looking for scalps. I want the people who did it fired and prosecuted. The two resignations so far, old turkeys within weeks of retirement, don't impress me. There is a chain of command, an organization chart, that shows who those clerks in Cinncinnati reported to, and show who their first level supervisor reported to, and who their second level supervisor reported to, going right on up to to top. Every one in that chain of command ought to be fired. Either they knew about it and should be fired for ordering it or ignoring it. The ones that claim they don't know anything about it should be fired for incompetence, they should have known what was going on in their own organization.
About 20 to 30 firings will throw a scare into the rest of the IRS bureaucrats that might keep 'em straight, for just a little while.
About 20 to 30 firings will throw a scare into the rest of the IRS bureaucrats that might keep 'em straight, for just a little while.
Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool
It's right up to date. It even looks for Stuxnet, that nobody-but-the-Americans-will-own-up
-to virus that did such a good job slowing down the Iranian nuclear weapons program.
-to virus that did such a good job slowing down the Iranian nuclear weapons program.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
My color is still mud
Got warm enough to wash the car. Big sponge, a bucket, some washing machine detergent, the garden hose, and there we are. Trouble is, the car looked OK after a NH winter BEFORE I washed it, and son of a gun, it looks about the same AFTER I washed it. Real cars, painted black, always looked 100 % better after a wash. A mud colored car looks about the same clean or muddy.
Give Mercury a couple of points. Wear points in the interior, like the door arm rests, are a nice slippery plastic, from which the grime comes right off with just a little Fantastick and a rag. Then do the floor and floor mats with the shop vac, and it's practically a new car. At 82K miles no less.
Give Mercury a couple of points. Wear points in the interior, like the door arm rests, are a nice slippery plastic, from which the grime comes right off with just a little Fantastick and a rag. Then do the floor and floor mats with the shop vac, and it's practically a new car. At 82K miles no less.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Creativity for students, not faculty
Bethlehem Elementary School students finished up a fun school wide creativity fair. Students wrote essays, drew pictures, made models and wrote computer programs describing the plants, animals, and landscapes of a new world, a new satellite of Earth. Students were told that the year was 2154 and ecological disaster on Earth forced evacuation of the planet to the satellite. Student projects described what the settlers from Earth might meet on their new world. Students had a great time and came up with lots of original and cute ideas.
Just one let down on the creativity front. The faculty named the new world "Pandora". Which as all of us science fiction buffs remember, was the name of the world in "Avatar". You would think the faculty could have been more creative in naming their imaginary world. Especially for a creativity fair.
There are plenty of legendary Greek gods and heroes who haven't been used to name a planet, even a fictional planet, yet. Prometheus comes immediately to mind.
Just one let down on the creativity front. The faculty named the new world "Pandora". Which as all of us science fiction buffs remember, was the name of the world in "Avatar". You would think the faculty could have been more creative in naming their imaginary world. Especially for a creativity fair.
There are plenty of legendary Greek gods and heroes who haven't been used to name a planet, even a fictional planet, yet. Prometheus comes immediately to mind.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Adaption in Dandelions
My least favorite weed. My tactic is to bend over and pluck them up by the roots. No herbicides. So much of my lawn is greenery other than grass, I fear that weedkiller will give me vast barren patches. Druther have green weeds than bare dirt.
I start early and pluck each yellow blossom as I see it. I figure the early plucking prevents the early weeds from reproducing and overwhelming the poor grass. My lawn has fewer dandelions than many of my neighbors.
Ever notice that the dandelions sprouting in the woods, back of the house, edge of the driveway grow tall and proud and you can get your hand around them and pluck 'em easy. Whereas the ones in the path of the mower grown really low down to the ground and are harder to pluck? How does a newly sprouted dandelion know how low to grow? I mean these are annuals. Even if a dandelion was smart enough to remember the mower, these are newly sprouted just this season. No over winter memory. The low growers were growing low before the first mow of the season.
I start early and pluck each yellow blossom as I see it. I figure the early plucking prevents the early weeds from reproducing and overwhelming the poor grass. My lawn has fewer dandelions than many of my neighbors.
Ever notice that the dandelions sprouting in the woods, back of the house, edge of the driveway grow tall and proud and you can get your hand around them and pluck 'em easy. Whereas the ones in the path of the mower grown really low down to the ground and are harder to pluck? How does a newly sprouted dandelion know how low to grow? I mean these are annuals. Even if a dandelion was smart enough to remember the mower, these are newly sprouted just this season. No over winter memory. The low growers were growing low before the first mow of the season.
Obama's IRS reaches out for small fry
After taking on the Tea Party and the AP, the IRS has enough manpower to threaten audits of very small fry way out in the boondocks. Tyler Drummond, nice young guy, fresh out of law school (graduated last year). Unmarried, no stock ownership, no home mortgage, has been doing odd jobs while looking for work. (He finally found a legal job down in Concord) Reported income on his 2012 1040,was well below the poverty level. He got a letter threatening him with an audit. We all figure that happened because Tyler has been active in politics up here, working hard to elect Republicans.
Same thing happened to Littleton Growth with Common Sense, a small civic group that lobbies the Littleton zoning board to allow new businesses to build in Littleton. This is a tiny group, probably less than a dozen members active enough to get to meetings, working on the most local of local issues. They don't have any money worth mentioning, Littleton is a small place and works on personal friendships, not campaign contributions. But Obama's IRS has the time and manpower to threaten them with an audit.
Big Brother is in charge here.
Same thing happened to Littleton Growth with Common Sense, a small civic group that lobbies the Littleton zoning board to allow new businesses to build in Littleton. This is a tiny group, probably less than a dozen members active enough to get to meetings, working on the most local of local issues. They don't have any money worth mentioning, Littleton is a small place and works on personal friendships, not campaign contributions. But Obama's IRS has the time and manpower to threaten them with an audit.
Big Brother is in charge here.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Things are tough all over.
The Economist declares the entire world to be in recession. GNP growth world wide has been falling since 2010. World wide purchasing manager's book to bill ratio is only a couple of percentage points above contraction level. They go on to moan about how things are particularly bad in Europe, but maybe the Americans will pull the world out of the ditch. But they don't count on the Americans too much. "It does not seem ready to resume the role of consumer of last resort". Surprisingly for a magazine so full of good advice for everyone, they have nothing to say about how to drag the world out of the ditch.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
First mowing of the grass
I did it, front and both side lawns. That gets my exercise done for the day.
Sibelius Shakedown
Obama's secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sibelius, has been calling CEO's of industries her department regulates asking for money, "voluntary donations", to fund Obamacare. Congress has refused the funding and so to bypass Congress, HHS is atempting to raise the money "privately".
Imagine your phone rings. It's Ms.Kathleen Sibelius, or perhaps its Secretary of HHS Kathleen Sibelius. You take the call. She asks you for money. What do you say? Knowing that bureaucrats under her command can make your life and your company's life, a living hell. Real voluntary that donation is.
Someone on NHPR said this was OK as long as Ms Sibelius didn't use here title over the phone. As if anyone in the health business wouldn't know who she was.
It may be legal, but it sure is tacky. Most people call it blackmail.
Imagine your phone rings. It's Ms.Kathleen Sibelius, or perhaps its Secretary of HHS Kathleen Sibelius. You take the call. She asks you for money. What do you say? Knowing that bureaucrats under her command can make your life and your company's life, a living hell. Real voluntary that donation is.
Someone on NHPR said this was OK as long as Ms Sibelius didn't use here title over the phone. As if anyone in the health business wouldn't know who she was.
It may be legal, but it sure is tacky. Most people call it blackmail.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Benghazi, where was the air support?
Benghazi has been getting plenty of air time on Fox News anyhow. All the talk is about 12 rewrites of Susan Ricet's talking points, and who failed to call it terrorism.
The real issue. Where was the air support for the Benghazi consulate. We could have had fighters overhead within two hours and heliborne infantry within four hours. Where were they? Who ordered the Tripoli rescue force to "stand down"? Was it General Carter Ham, commander of Africom?
Let's face it, bureaucrats will ignore security warnings. Pearl Harbors will occur. But to fail to send support to Americans under attack in Indian country is in excusable. I want to know who hung our men out to dry, and I want him fired.
The real issue. Where was the air support for the Benghazi consulate. We could have had fighters overhead within two hours and heliborne infantry within four hours. Where were they? Who ordered the Tripoli rescue force to "stand down"? Was it General Carter Ham, commander of Africom?
Let's face it, bureaucrats will ignore security warnings. Pearl Harbors will occur. But to fail to send support to Americans under attack in Indian country is in excusable. I want to know who hung our men out to dry, and I want him fired.
"Sorry, I probably won't hire you"
Title of a Wall St Journal opinion piece. The author, president of a New York ad-tech company, was saying that candidates who couldn't program a computer were in his opinion too poorly educated to consider for a job.
I tend to agree with him. I learned FORTRAN programming in college, and it was the reason I got a number of different jobs over my career. Over the years I became fluent in C, C++, PDP-8 assembly language, PDP-11 assembly language, Z-80 assembly language, BASIC, 8086 assembly language, Modula-2, 68300 assembly language, Pascal, and SPS-81 DSP assembly language, and probably a few others that escape me just now.
Ability to program kept me gainfully employed and my family supported for forty years.
Certainly programming is a much more worthwhile college subject than gender studies, black studies, sexual studies, sociology, political science, peace and justice, art history, education and underwater basket weaving.
Getting a computer program to work means you under stood the problem correctly, (easier said than done) and were able to express the solution clearly and correctly in an obscure artificial language. An unforgiving language that will do evil things for a single misplaced punctuation mark. A person who can do that, is able to write a proposal, or a specification, or a user's manual that worth someone's time to read. With some practical programming experience a person can estimate the degree of difficulty of a new product development project, and may have a chance of understanding what the technical people on the project are saying. When I'm hiring and I have a choice between a programmer and a non programmer I'm gonna hire the programmer 'cause programming demonstrates real thinking ability which a gender studies major does not.
A pity that few college graduates bother to learn to program while they are in college. Fortunately programming can be picked up by self study. You get a book, you download the necessary compiler, and you work the homework problems. Coding is fun, like woodworking, oil painting, or video games and only ordinary levels of motivation are required to get pretty good at it. A good reason for picking C, is the existence of a really marvelous book, "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie. Paperback, it's only 3/8 inch thick and contains everything anyone will ever need to know about C, and it's all written in real English.
I tend to agree with him. I learned FORTRAN programming in college, and it was the reason I got a number of different jobs over my career. Over the years I became fluent in C, C++, PDP-8 assembly language, PDP-11 assembly language, Z-80 assembly language, BASIC, 8086 assembly language, Modula-2, 68300 assembly language, Pascal, and SPS-81 DSP assembly language, and probably a few others that escape me just now.
Ability to program kept me gainfully employed and my family supported for forty years.
Certainly programming is a much more worthwhile college subject than gender studies, black studies, sexual studies, sociology, political science, peace and justice, art history, education and underwater basket weaving.
Getting a computer program to work means you under stood the problem correctly, (easier said than done) and were able to express the solution clearly and correctly in an obscure artificial language. An unforgiving language that will do evil things for a single misplaced punctuation mark. A person who can do that, is able to write a proposal, or a specification, or a user's manual that worth someone's time to read. With some practical programming experience a person can estimate the degree of difficulty of a new product development project, and may have a chance of understanding what the technical people on the project are saying. When I'm hiring and I have a choice between a programmer and a non programmer I'm gonna hire the programmer 'cause programming demonstrates real thinking ability which a gender studies major does not.
A pity that few college graduates bother to learn to program while they are in college. Fortunately programming can be picked up by self study. You get a book, you download the necessary compiler, and you work the homework problems. Coding is fun, like woodworking, oil painting, or video games and only ordinary levels of motivation are required to get pretty good at it. A good reason for picking C, is the existence of a really marvelous book, "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie. Paperback, it's only 3/8 inch thick and contains everything anyone will ever need to know about C, and it's all written in real English.
Adaware
This is an old favorite anti pop up ad and anti virus program. It appeared on the scene back when spybots amd popup ads were first invented. It was, and still is free. Yesterday, suffering from excessive popup ads in Firefox, I though to try it again. I'd already run Malwarebytes, Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool, and Spybot Search and Destroy with no hits. So I downloaded a free version of AdAware and turned it loose. Seems to have worked, it claimed to have found a couple of things, and the pesky popups seem to have gone away.
Downside. AdAware is deeply into real time virus scanners. It installed three add-ons into Firefox, and three more "start at boot time" programs. The drain on CPU cycles was bad. But, trusty old Startup Manager turned off the "start at boot time" CPU hogs and Firefox's Add-on manager turned of the Adaware add-ons.
I love Windows. :-)
Downside. AdAware is deeply into real time virus scanners. It installed three add-ons into Firefox, and three more "start at boot time" programs. The drain on CPU cycles was bad. But, trusty old Startup Manager turned off the "start at boot time" CPU hogs and Firefox's Add-on manager turned of the Adaware add-ons.
I love Windows. :-)
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Security Lending, Legitmate financial activity or a scam?
The Economist reports on the existence of a "securities lending" market worth $1.5 trillion a year. In the spring, right around dividend payment time, European companies and pension funds loan some $100 billion worth of shares to tax exempt institutions. The borrowing institutions collect the dividend, and pay the share owners a "rental" fee equal to the dividend foregone. This dodge enables the lender to avoid paying a withholding tax due on dividends. They don't escape taxes, they just don't have to pay them early, they can wait til they do their taxes at the end of the year.
Borrowing stocks is popular with short sellers like hedge funds. Short sellers figure a stock is gonna fall, so they sell (putting downward pressure on the stock's price) and buy the stock back later when it is cheaper. Used to be, a short seller didn't actually have to own the stock he shorted, he just sold it, and he had the normal clearing time (days) to actually deliver the stock certificate. Stock market players and all public joint stock companies (just about all companies) hate short selling. They got Congress to tighten up on short sellers, the short seller is supposed to actually own the stock he is shorting, before he shorts it. Well, maybe they don't REALLY own it, they just borrow it.
Then there are banks who want their asset portfolio (stocks and bonds) to look "better". They borrow very safe bonds, and they lend out their speculative dollar stocks. Presto, chango, a high grade portfolio to show investors, bank regulators, central banks and other suckers. Greeks do this a lot. Far as I am concerned its a pure scam.
Or places like AIG, who loaned out $90 billion dollars worth of stock and used the cash so raised to play the mortgage backed security market. When SHTF, the borrowers of AIG's stock all returned the stock and demanded their money back. AIG had already lost the money playing the market and the US taxpayer had to pay off $90 billion to the borrowers.
None of this sounds like legitimate financial activity to me. But the Economist worries in print that bad things will happen if governments crack down on it.
Borrowing stocks is popular with short sellers like hedge funds. Short sellers figure a stock is gonna fall, so they sell (putting downward pressure on the stock's price) and buy the stock back later when it is cheaper. Used to be, a short seller didn't actually have to own the stock he shorted, he just sold it, and he had the normal clearing time (days) to actually deliver the stock certificate. Stock market players and all public joint stock companies (just about all companies) hate short selling. They got Congress to tighten up on short sellers, the short seller is supposed to actually own the stock he is shorting, before he shorts it. Well, maybe they don't REALLY own it, they just borrow it.
Then there are banks who want their asset portfolio (stocks and bonds) to look "better". They borrow very safe bonds, and they lend out their speculative dollar stocks. Presto, chango, a high grade portfolio to show investors, bank regulators, central banks and other suckers. Greeks do this a lot. Far as I am concerned its a pure scam.
Or places like AIG, who loaned out $90 billion dollars worth of stock and used the cash so raised to play the mortgage backed security market. When SHTF, the borrowers of AIG's stock all returned the stock and demanded their money back. AIG had already lost the money playing the market and the US taxpayer had to pay off $90 billion to the borrowers.
None of this sounds like legitimate financial activity to me. But the Economist worries in print that bad things will happen if governments crack down on it.
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