According to this, CONCORD NH, is spending $1.2 million of "stimulus funds" to place eavesdropping microphones on transit buses. To fritter good money away on hi tech gadgetry is bad enough. To violate privacy is even worse. Apparently the system is accessible from the public internet, like a web cam.
Un mentioned in this article is how the system separates voice conversations from the roar of the engine, but presumably an extension of the "hands-free car kit" technology can do it.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Landlines
I've got one, I think. I was pretty sure I had one until last night when I lifted the phone and no dial tone. So I walked up to the Mittersill Inn to see if their phone still worked, and if so, to call in my number as broken. Fairpoint, our local phone co had three or four trucks working the phone line up three mile hill to my place. The trucks were gone yesterday but they had left a couple of those little tents hanging off the phone wires. I was pretty sure they must have broken something up there.
The girl on the desk at the Inn was unsure as to whether their phone worked. She didn't understand the difference between an outside line and calling a room inside the building. I finally knocked on the door of a nearby chalet that was showing lights and begged the use of their phone to call Fairpoint. The Fairpoint service desk took my name and address and promised a crew would be out tomorrow, anytime between 6 AM and 6 PM.
And, wonder of wonders, they did show up around 1 PM. A big Fairpoint truck with a cherry picker pulls up in front of the house, and the phone rings. It's the guy in the truck checking to see if he had fixed things. As I had thought, the workers on three mile hill had broken something. The other interesting item, the work on the hill is putting in a DSL booster to bring DSL up to Mittersill. Right now all we have is cable modems.
Anyhow, I'm thinking about getting a cell phone, if only to call Fairpoint when the landline conks out.
The girl on the desk at the Inn was unsure as to whether their phone worked. She didn't understand the difference between an outside line and calling a room inside the building. I finally knocked on the door of a nearby chalet that was showing lights and begged the use of their phone to call Fairpoint. The Fairpoint service desk took my name and address and promised a crew would be out tomorrow, anytime between 6 AM and 6 PM.
And, wonder of wonders, they did show up around 1 PM. A big Fairpoint truck with a cherry picker pulls up in front of the house, and the phone rings. It's the guy in the truck checking to see if he had fixed things. As I had thought, the workers on three mile hill had broken something. The other interesting item, the work on the hill is putting in a DSL booster to bring DSL up to Mittersill. Right now all we have is cable modems.
Anyhow, I'm thinking about getting a cell phone, if only to call Fairpoint when the landline conks out.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Obama wants a tax hike, Republicans want cuts
And, the Republicans keep asking Obama to "make some cuts". Nice work if you can get it. US government doesn't work that way. Congress appropriates money by law to run the government. The president signs the appropriation bill. In principle he could veto a truly objecionable one, but somehow that never happens. Appropriation bills are law, the sequester is just a wish of Congress. Appropriate, or better don't appropriate, is the name of the game.
In short, if the Republicans want spending cuts, they have to pass them thru the House (which they control) and then dare the Democratic Senate to trashcan them. The Senate doesn't want to be accused of driving the economy over the fiscal cliff. For any reasonable bill, there will be a lot of pressure on the Senate to pass it rather than be left holding the blame.
Given a bill passed House and Senate, Obama will have to sign it, or take a lot of blame for all the things that are going to go wrong.
But it has to start with the House passing something. Asking Obama to make spending cuts is a waste of airtime. The House has to do it.
In short, if the Republicans want spending cuts, they have to pass them thru the House (which they control) and then dare the Democratic Senate to trashcan them. The Senate doesn't want to be accused of driving the economy over the fiscal cliff. For any reasonable bill, there will be a lot of pressure on the Senate to pass it rather than be left holding the blame.
Given a bill passed House and Senate, Obama will have to sign it, or take a lot of blame for all the things that are going to go wrong.
But it has to start with the House passing something. Asking Obama to make spending cuts is a waste of airtime. The House has to do it.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Time for some Sequestration
The Air Force has been muddling thru the business of buying tanker places for some years now. The current tanker fleet is largely the KC135 tankers purchased back in the Eisenhower administration. Worthy planes, but after 50 years of service it's time for replacements. After quite a bit of bungling, Airbus bids, court fights and hassle, USAF gave a contract to Boeing to make tankers based on the Boeing 767 jetliner. This should have been straight forward, make some more of a well proven civilian jet airliner, leave out the seats and put in tanks to hold jet fuel. So simple.
USAF has managed to do significant cost enhancement to this job. First off, they are having Boeing replace the existing 767 cockpit with the newer and jazzier cockpit from the brand new 787. This means changing all the instruments over to work off the 767 airframe. It also means reprogramming the 787 stuff. $oftware is spelled Money and Program Delays. The existing 767 cockpit worked just fine and is still flying hundreds of 767 from here to everywhere, but that wasn't good enough for USAF. They had an urge to spend tax money, just for the hell of it.
This procurement program has been running for nearly two years. They don't expect to deliver any aircraft for another FIVE well paid years. Boeing plans to spend a whole year working on the refueling boom. This is just a piece of pipe sticking out the back of the tanker, to which client aircraft plug in to fill up. A year to do a piece of pipe is craziness.
USAF has managed to do significant cost enhancement to this job. First off, they are having Boeing replace the existing 767 cockpit with the newer and jazzier cockpit from the brand new 787. This means changing all the instruments over to work off the 767 airframe. It also means reprogramming the 787 stuff. $oftware is spelled Money and Program Delays. The existing 767 cockpit worked just fine and is still flying hundreds of 767 from here to everywhere, but that wasn't good enough for USAF. They had an urge to spend tax money, just for the hell of it.
This procurement program has been running for nearly two years. They don't expect to deliver any aircraft for another FIVE well paid years. Boeing plans to spend a whole year working on the refueling boom. This is just a piece of pipe sticking out the back of the tanker, to which client aircraft plug in to fill up. A year to do a piece of pipe is craziness.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Meet The Press
David Gregory spent a good deal of air time boosting Hilary for 2016. Heh Gregory, ease up, we are still recovering from the last election. Don't we get any time off from pundits like you pushing their favorite candidates?
Gregory showed that 57% of something (voters, democrats, likely voters, man on the street, who knows) would blame the Republicans if we go over the fiscal cliff. Even his leftie guests didn't buy into that one. Bob Woodward said the the president owns the economy and if going over the fiscal cliff prolongs Great Depression 2.0, Obama will own that.
Gregory showed that 57% of something (voters, democrats, likely voters, man on the street, who knows) would blame the Republicans if we go over the fiscal cliff. Even his leftie guests didn't buy into that one. Bob Woodward said the the president owns the economy and if going over the fiscal cliff prolongs Great Depression 2.0, Obama will own that.
Brixit
The Economist (a London based newsweekly) is running a cover story about the potential for Britain leaving the EU. Amusing cover cartoon showing Britainna in full costume (Roman helmet, Union Jack on shield) riding a fighter plane style ejection seat. Apparently Brussels bureaucrats have riled up the ordinary Brit voter to the point that they might vote "leave" if a straight forward "In or Out" referendum were presented to them.
Unfortunately, 50% of Britain's trade is with other EU members. If Britain withdrew then all this trade would be subject to EU tariff, which will hurt, a lot.
If the Brits are so dumb as to stiff arm their best customers, we ought to offer to let them into NAFTA.
Unfortunately, 50% of Britain's trade is with other EU members. If Britain withdrew then all this trade would be subject to EU tariff, which will hurt, a lot.
If the Brits are so dumb as to stiff arm their best customers, we ought to offer to let them into NAFTA.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Cameras, Cameras, Cameras
My trusty but aging Kodak Z1485 all plastic Point-n-Shoot is showing its age. It's getting flaky, I have to whack it with my hand to get the color to show properly in the view finder. It refused to take pictures under indoor lighting the other day. The paint is wearing off the plastic making it look shabby.
So, when a Nikon flyer fell out of my Wall St Journal, I gave it a look see. Overwhelming. Nikon is advertising 20 different models at prices from $79 to $2999. They break down into three broad classes, the Coolpix point-n-shoot ($79 to $299), the Nikon 1 a larger point-n-shoot with interchangeable lenses($499 to $999) and the big black pro cameras with interchangeable lenses and thru the lens viewfinders ($479-$2999).
Looking at the meager specs provided with each camera, it wasn't clear what each model offered, other than price. The all claimed 10 megapixels and up. 9 megapixels gives as good an image as 35 mm film ever did, so even the bottom of the line $79 model can make photos as sharp and crisp as anyone needs. Nikon doesn't talk about batteries. I have no idea if batteries are included, rechargeable, buy-able at the super market, Lithium Ion, how long they last, and will the camera show you the state of charge?
All have zoom lenses. The point-n-shoot lenses are speced as such and such a power (10x, 14X and so on) The interchangeable lenses are speced in millimeters (18-55. 30-110) It is beyond my mathematical ability to convert from one to another.
And, Target is the store that carries all this hi tech goodness. Lots a luck trying to get a Target salesclerk to give you anything more than the price.
So, when a Nikon flyer fell out of my Wall St Journal, I gave it a look see. Overwhelming. Nikon is advertising 20 different models at prices from $79 to $2999. They break down into three broad classes, the Coolpix point-n-shoot ($79 to $299), the Nikon 1 a larger point-n-shoot with interchangeable lenses($499 to $999) and the big black pro cameras with interchangeable lenses and thru the lens viewfinders ($479-$2999).
Looking at the meager specs provided with each camera, it wasn't clear what each model offered, other than price. The all claimed 10 megapixels and up. 9 megapixels gives as good an image as 35 mm film ever did, so even the bottom of the line $79 model can make photos as sharp and crisp as anyone needs. Nikon doesn't talk about batteries. I have no idea if batteries are included, rechargeable, buy-able at the super market, Lithium Ion, how long they last, and will the camera show you the state of charge?
All have zoom lenses. The point-n-shoot lenses are speced as such and such a power (10x, 14X and so on) The interchangeable lenses are speced in millimeters (18-55. 30-110) It is beyond my mathematical ability to convert from one to another.
And, Target is the store that carries all this hi tech goodness. Lots a luck trying to get a Target salesclerk to give you anything more than the price.
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