Nostalgia

I was just sitting here thinking about the television shows of my youth. Does anyone remember the shows that I am thinking of:


Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
Wonderful World of Disney
Mork and Mindy
The Muppet Show
Happy Days
Laverne and Shirley
Barney Miller
Emergency!
SWAT
Welcome Back, Kotter
WKRP
The Jefferson's
MASH


There were even more shows that were in reruns by the time I was of age to remember them, and I'm sure I have forgotten a few, but television sure has changed over the years.

Playing favorites.

Rattlesnake Tactical is a company that wants to open an ammunition factory in Osceola County. That county is waiving the $265,000 in taxes that they would otherwise be required to pay in order to open the doors. State business records do not mention the name of the owners, but I'm guessing that they have friends down at the county offices.

Why? Because my brother wanted to open a business a few years ago, and they would not waive the taxes. The government is in the business of picking winners and losers.

Arrogant Americans

There is an American academic who was attending a conference in the UAE was arrested for taking a picture of a sign banning photography. From the headlines:

Architect Dr Robert Alan Black was lecturing at a conference in Abu Dhabi when he innocently took a picture of sign banning photography

No one can "innocently" take a photo of a sign banning photography. He knew the sign was there, he flouted the law, and took the picture anyway. He broke the law. 

Dr Black was lecturing at a conference in the city and was thought to have innocently taken a photo of the strict sign near his hotel on a walkabout of the embassy district. He appeared to be amused by the sign, and was entirely unaware that it enforces an ultra-strict code which allows for a five-year sentence for anyone who breaks no-photography rules.

70-year-old from Athens, GA, was held by police in United Arab  Emirates' capital for seven days before a translator alerted his family

OK. And?

Grandfather has been allowed just two snatched phone calls to his worried family who say he is innocent and just wants to get out

He was allowed to call home twice in the past 2 weeks, which seems to be inconsistent with the implied claim that a translator needed to notify the family because he was being held incommunicado. He isn't innocent.


Supporters tell MailOnline of fears for health of diabetic academic, who is said to be losing weight behind bars and cannot afford local lawyer

 So he can't afford a lawyer? Why did he intentionally break the law then?

Americans travel the world with the attitude that they can ignore the law wherever they go. This is what happens, and why people see us as arrogant.

Wholesale ticket writing through automation

Police in Central Florida now have a device that tracks the speed of every vehicle within range, records plates of all moving and parked vehicles, and automatically issues citations. Not only that, the system tracks the location of every license plate it passes, and the information is stored in a police database. Are you a politician or citizen that votes for cop paycuts? Well, the cops know where you have been, and let's just say that you better change your tune, if you don't want the information made public, or you don't want some free lance "asset forfeiture."

The Ekin Patrol, automated violations.

Welcome to the police state.

Communist Pope

The Pope has been advocating for the government to take care of the poor. He claims that wanting to care for the poor doesn't make one a communist. That is true, but when you say that the government should care for the poor, what you are saying is that the government should send armed men to your home to forcibly take money from you and give it to the poor (after they get their own cut, of course) IS communism as it has been practiced.

I cannot listen to a man tell me that I need to give more of my money to feed the poor when he is the guy taking a dump on a solid gold crapper that is crusted with diammonds and said to be worth over US$50 million. . The Catholic church is wealthy beyond measure. Maybe the Pope can start there. Sure, the Pope doesn't own that stuff, the Church does. Sure, he is technically under a vow of poverty. He does, however, live in a palace filled with priceless works of art, has hundreds of servants and body guards, an armored Limo, and a personal jet.


Communism is for the people, not the communists.

Interference problem found

Last week I reported having some issues with my breakers tripping when I transmit with my amateur radio at anything above fifty watts. I have found the problem. It seems that Eaton, the company that made my circuit breakers, shipped out a batch of AFCI breakers that trip when exposed to strong RF interference.

Part 15 of the FCC rules state:

1) The device may not cause harmful interference.

2) The device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

I will be contacting Eaton on Monday.

IRS problems resolved

I was having some issues with the IRS. In short, they have been claiming that I owe $8,400 in back taxes. We have been writing letters back and forth since May. I finally got my answer: I owe nothing, and my case is now closed.

That is one bit of drama that is off my plate.

Harmful interference

So I spent the day rigging a G5RV JR antenna in my attic. 52 feet of wire antenna, stretching from one side of the house to the other. I ran the coax feeder inside the wall to my radio shack, and hooked it all up. I turned the transmitter down to the minimum output (5 watts) and tested the system. It worked fine. I was getting SWR of about 1.1:1 without a tuner on all bands from 40 meters up to 10 meters.

So I started cruising the bands. I found someone broadcasting from Europe, turned my power up to 100 watts, and pushed the transmit key.

Every light in the house went out. The breaker for the general lighting was tripped. I guess I am getting RF feedback into the power lines.

My girlfriend was pretty annoyed. Have to go up and move the antenna tomorrow.

Seroconversion

Regarding the nurse that is refusing to submit to quarantine for Ebola, much ado is being made of the fact that she has tested negative for Ebola, and many are saying that since she has tested negative, this means that she isn't infected, and that placing her in quarantine is in opposition to science and to her rights.

First, the test. A test for Ebola (and most other infections) is based not on testing for the virus itself, but looking for the body's response to the virus. That is, when you are infected, your immune system eventually recognizes the infection and begins to produce chemicals to fight the infection. These chemicals are called antibodies. Each antibody is specific to the virus or other pathogen that it is being made in response to. When the levels of those antibodies rise to detectable levels, a person will show as "positive" for that infection. This is called "seroconversion" and is an indicator that you have been exposed to a given pathogen at some time in the past.

A negative test does not mean that you are not infected. It doesn't mean that you have never been exposed. All it means is that your body has not yet begin to produce antibodies. Some people take longer to develop detectable antibodies than others, and still others never develop them. (Called silent seroconversion) For example, I have been exposed multiple times to chicken pox (vaccination and direct exposure) and still have no detectable antibodies, but I have never caught the illness.

As to her rights, any person who is engaged in an activity that is dangerous to the health of others can result in restrictions. For example, I could say that it should be permissible for me to have a campfire in the living room of my first floor condo. After all, if the fire hasn't spread to an adjoining apartment, it isn't hurting anyone, right? How about being able to fire my pistol down a crowded street? After all, if no bullet strikes anyone, no one was harmed. Drunk driving?

In short, that argument doesn't fly with me. 21 days is not that big of a deal, and this nurse is acting like it is the end of the world. 

(to my biology friends: I know that some of the concepts in here are oversimplified, but that doesn't change the gist of the argument.)

Mayberry to Martial law

Police agencies have acquired over a billion dollars of military equipment this year alone.