Have To Agree.....

Courtesy of The Feral Irishman!

Help Find Out How Your Local PD Is Using Drones

The guys over at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have published a handy little guide of things to ask your local PD.

Here's their opening paragraph:

Since last month, when EFF released a list of the sixty-odd public agencies that have already received from the FAA approval to fly domestic drones, the issue of drone surveillance has reached front and center in many Americans’ mind.  Yet barely any information is known about what law enforcement agencies plan to do with these unmanned flying vehicles. So we want your help to gather this information into one place.

To find out more, head on over to the EFF website, and read the whole thing. 

If you don't want to read the entire thing, here's a link to the questions.

I've been an EFF member for some years now, and while I may not agree 100% with them, this is a worthwhile venture on their part.
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Colorado Fires *UPDATE*

Well, the stepson's GF heard from her Mom today.
Their house is still standing.
She said it's a bit scorched, and the deck is gone along with all of the outbuildings, but the house itself appears intact.
Her parents haven't been allowed back in the immediate area yet, so they don't know if it's habitable or not, but at least it's still there.
She's headed back today to help with the mountains of paperwork that come with a loss like this.

Colorado Fires....

My stepson's girlfriend is from the Colorado Springs area, and her parents had to evacuate their farm last week.
WELL.....she got the news today that their place is a total loss.
Her Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, and the dogs and livestock are OK as they moved all that over the weekend. but the rest of their stuff is gone.
Thankfully, her parents carried a lot of insurance, as her Dad also ran his construction business and Christmas tree farm from that location, but she told me today very little is left.
If any 'good' can come out of a personal tragedy like this, it should be a sobering reminder to document all your "stuff" that wouldn't ordinarily be covered by your homeowner's insurance.
Serial numbers, descriptions, and photographs, and keep them in a safe place away from your home.
And if you have unusual items that aren't specifically listed in a rider on your homeowner's insurance, make sure you get supplemental insurance to cover them.
I'm right now in the process of documenting all my radio gear and test equipment, "Just In Case".

GROAN.....Finally Home

They (Da Management) posted our ETA at the Pilot Station three different times today, NONE of which were accurate.
Hit the Pilot Station at 1830, but they didn't get us tied up and drop the gangway until 2030. This is about an HOUR longer than 'normal'.
I swear, Longshoremen are the epitome of "I get paid by the hour".
Then, nobody told the marine crew we'd need a basket lift to get our luggage off the ship, so that was another 30 minutes.
And of course, my stuff was in the last load to be brought down.
Got home about 2200, and after I spend a few minutes winding down, I'm hittin' they hay!
See you all tomorrow.....

About 30 Hours Out....

We're at 29*40'N, 127*W @ 19knots.

ETA at Home Port is approx 1800 on Saturday.

Can barely wait to get off the ship, and back home......

The Union Creek Journal

Wonderful story, well written. I found it via a link posted by the good guys at the Western Rifle Shooters Association.
The site itself it a great one, but read the Journal in chronological order, then look at the rest.
Amazingly well done.

Quiet Night Off Hilo.....

Our Bell 212 took off about 45 minutes ago to take a sick passenger to Hilo. We're sitting about 12 miles off the coast on Dynamic Positioning waiting for them to return so we can get headed back to our Home Port in Long Beach.
There's some big whoop-de-dos going on in the bar tonight, but since I don't do bars anymore, it's a nice quiet time to sit at my desk and watch a movie.
Tonight's feature is "Ghost In The Shell 2.0" in Blu-Ray. I brought this one, and "Ghost In The Shell: Innocence" with me, which I watched Sunday afternoon. I think "Innocence" is a better movie as it goes into the characters more, but the first one is a classic, and I do loves my "classic" movies.
I also brought the entire collection of "Miami Vice" with me, but I'm a bit frazzled on those after getting through the first two seasons over the weekend!
Our re-revised ETA at Home Port is sometime Sunday, but we'll get a better ETA as we get closer to home.

Ten Interesting Facts.....

1) Only in America could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000 a plate campaign fund raising event. 2) Only in America could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when we have a black President, a black Attorney General, and roughly 18% of the federal workforce is black. 12% of the population is black. 3) Only in America could we have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner, the head of the Treasury Department and Charles Rangel who once ran the Ways and Means Committee, BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes. 4) Only in America can we have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash. 5) Only in America would we make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege while we discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just become American citizens. 6) Only in America could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists." 7) Only in America could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote. 8) Only in America could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. oil company (Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike). 9) Only in America could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a trillion dollars more than it has per year for total spending of $7 million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money. 10) Only in America could the rich people who pay 86% of all income taxes be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.

Short Wave Radio At Sea

Even though I haven't be able to get a Reciprocal Operating Permit from the country where our ship is flagged, I do bring my little Grundig G3 shortwave receiver with me. On days like today, I enjoy going out on deck and tuning around the bands to 'see' what I can 'hear'. This weekend is Museum Ships Weekend, and I was able to hear KH6BB, onboard the U.S.S. Missouri anchored in Pearl Harbor. I'm going to send them a reception report, with an SASE, of course, and hope they get a kick out of being heard from 4*17'N, 149*43'W.
We're chugging along at 19 knots, and hopefully will be back in Home Port  next Saturday the 9th.
I'll miss my YF's birthday, but I ordered her some of her favorite flowers from ProFlowers.com, the BEST place I've ever dealt with when it comes to sending floral arrangements.

The little Grundig is a better radio than I expected. It has Synchronous Detection for AM use, which helps eliminate fading, and although it has 1kHz tuning steps, the fine tuning control has a greater than 1kHz range, making it very easy to tune in SSB.
It also receives standard AM broadcast, FM stereo (with headphones), Aircraft Band, and has most of the standard Shortwave Bands available at the touch of a button.
Pleasant little radio for under $100, and would make a good addition to your bug out/emergency kit.

Successful Launch

Launched right on time, successful spacecraft separation, and successful spacecraft acquisition.

We'll pack up and stow our stuff Friday, and head for home.