Sarah Palin Now Has Her Own TV Program......

Well, I just couldn't resist. Yes, we can now watch Palin on TV. Yes, she has her own show.

"Palin publicly announced her project Sunday.

In a video on her YouTube channel, she called it “a news channel that really is a lot more than news.” It will cover stories about her family, behind-the-scenes looks at events and “the issues that the mainstream media won’t talk about,” Palin said.

Palin expressed hope that the channel would be a “community,” where viewers could share their concerns directly with her. However, this community does come at a cost. The subscription rate is $9.95 a month or $99.95 a year."  (ABC News, July 28, 2014)

And, if you want to be part of her community, cough up a few bucks a month.

Frankly folks, this does not speak well of us. It would be interesting to interview a few of you who are subscribed to her channel. Yes, and interview a few of you who voted for her. Of course in some ways, she can be an inspiration, for if she can run for the next-to-the-highest office in our country....well, maybe there's hope for the rest of us who aspire to such things. Remember, when she was running for office, she repeatedly couldn't accurately say what is the job of the vice president.

Here's a link to her new TV program.

And, here's a link from The Young Turks with a little something about Palin.    

She could do a Timex watch commercial. Yes, she just keeps on ticking.

No, I Didn't Go Looking for These...In Fact, A Little Reluctant to Post!

Another photo of the witch. No, this surely has nothing to do with
the content of this post. Just wanted a photo here.

So, how did this all start? Good question!

I was looking around on CNN and looked at a video by Jeanne Moos, one of my favorite folks on CNN.

Here's the link to that video. Yes, it's an article about guys who goof-up their diesel trucks so that they spew bunches of black smoke: Rollin' Coal!

Here's the link that goes into a little detail about the folks who own these trucks.

Now for the real whopper, pun intended or not. Yes, on the same website as the trucks was another article, have you folks heard of stuffers? Well, I hadn't, either. We are becoming known as a country with a high percentage of our citizens who are obese. In fact, there was recently a study that claimed (rightly or wrongly) that smokers lived longer than people who are obese. Yes, there are folks out there, seemingly the majority being women who are trying to gain weight, yes, by stuffing themselves. I was going to post before and after photos of one of these ladies; however, if you would like to take a look here is the link. Also, they claim it has something to do with sex. I'll let you folks ponder that and try to figure it out. Hey, I guess I'm getting a little too old for some of this stuff.

Guys spending money to make their trucks get poor gas mileage and belch smoke and attractive slender young women stuffing themselves to the point that they look pregnant. Ahh, yes, bring back the sixties.......

First Snaps With My New Camera........

Have been wanting to get out and take a few snaps with my new camera....and, here they are.  This camera is designed for what I think is called the action sports folks; yes, those of you who ski, SCUBA, race, kayak, sky dive, and so on. It's primary purpose is to take videos though it's obviously able to take still shots.

This photo taken at Mount Trashmore, Virginia Beach, looks sort of normal. Regular tourist-type photo. Yes, regular old bland benign photo.

The photo to the right is the full-frame photo from which the above photo was cropped. The lens is advertised as having a 170-degree view, which of course we'd call a fish-eye lens. The curving of the lamp post is normal for this type of lens.

Full- frame, uncropped photo.  Seems to be fairly sharp considering the low-cost of the camera. Well, it's sharp enough for me.

Ahh, yes, a church. Yes, there is another story here, that I hope to cover in more detail

some time. The photo to the right is a statue of a witch. Yes, a witch. Well, at least the good church folks claimed she was a witch. It's a full-frame photo with no cropping. Though you can't see the hospital, this statue is on the property of Bayside Hospital, Virginia Beach.

Back to the camera. Based on just this brief outing, I have no buyer's remorse.

The camera is quick to set-up and you do have some control on exposure over/under. Yes, it's a fixed-focus lens. As I said, it's primarily used for videos. Nothing complicated, just snap away. The camera is so tiny that you have to be careful of having camera movement. It has an anti-shake feature that I had turned on.  For me, these snaps are fine and I have no complaints. For this type of camera, at a little less than one-hundred dollars, it seems like a real bargain. 

Well, My New Camera Will be Here in a Few Days! Now, What?

Yes, it's coming from Amazon. How did all of this start?

A few years ago, I almost bought a GoPro. Yes, those folks seem to have a lock on what's called action cameras. The GoPro and the camera I bought, the SJ4000, people use to photograph their action sports; diving, skiing, skateboarding, racing, and so on.

I guess the catalyst for this purchase is that the bottom-of-the line GoPro, the white model, is now $200. Yesterday, I had that camera, extra batteries, and a couple of other things in my cart. Yes, I was ready to buy the GoPro.

I then found out about the SJ4000 when I watched this comprehensive and detailed review. The SJ4000 is a spec under $100 and comes with a pile of extras; just about every mounting device you can think of. The only extra I bought was a couple of batteries.

Yes, yes, I know, I'm surely not an action sports kinda guy. So, how the heck am I going to use this camera? Good question.

One thing, well the main appeal, is the 170 degree view. Yes, a whopping-wide fish-eye view. Should be entertaining fooling around with the camera if for no other reason that the 170 view.

Yes, it takes still photos as well as videos. Will add some stuff as soon as I’m able to use it.

                                                                                                                                                                  

This is the waterproof case.  Mine will be black. They have quite an assortment of colors, including pink!

You Folks Gotta Get One of These...Yes, it's an "HD" Radio....Honest, This is the Last on Radios.....

I bought this yesterday at Best Buy for $51.99.

As I best understand HD radio, the signals are cleaner without hiss. Also, there can be more than one channel on a frequency. So, your local PBS may be broadcasting three programs on their regular frequency. 

To my old ears the HD sounds much better. Yes, even on this what many would call an inexpensive radio. Actually, Amazon has this listed for about $90 (through another seller).

There are about 30 FM and one AM HD stations in my area. And, no, this radio only tunes to FM stations.

Take a look here for all of the information about HD radio.

Frankie and Tonya......or, The Reverend and the Arsonist.....Is There a Country and Western Song, Here?

Reverend, You Have a New Girlfriend….

“I do.”
“You’ve had bad luck. Several divorces and your last girlfriend ran around on you.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
“How is this lady any different?”
“Well, I know she’ll never run around on me. And, I pretty much know where she is 24/7.”
“That’s great. How so?”
“She’s in jail and charged with 63 arsons.”

Courtesy Virginian-Pilot

No, this isn’t funny in a ha-ha way; however, for some reason I couldn’t resist making this post. And, yes, the story above is exactly 55-words. This lady is charged with 60-plus felonies for setting fires on the Eastern Shore. Yes, just across the way from where I live in Virginia Beach.

Her then-boyfriend has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. He testified against her today, though says he still loves her.

The new dude on the scene, if you will, is Reverend Dickerson.

“Monday, a different man said he is Bundick’s current boyfriend. Testifying in her defense, the Rev. Frank Dickerson, of Withams, said she has a reputation for being “brutally honest,” and it is “not in her nature” to commit a crime.” (From the Virginian-Pilot, July 14, 2014)

Hey, I ain’t no lawyer, but why was he allowed to even testify? Because he’s a reverend? By the way, no search showed any church affiliation or any reference to him at all, except for his testimony in the trial.

Let’s see, dang, I’m a reverend. Hmmm……. I wonder?????   

Here are two newspaper links.  DelmarvaNow.Com and the Virginian-Pilot.

EDIT:  July 15, 2014. Tonya convicted. Sentence to be decided. Her reverend boyfriend, it seems, is a self-confessed former drug addict.

This is Pretty-Darn Bizarre.......

Does this take the cake, or what?     

As I best understand it, two kids are dating. Yes, a 15YO girl and a 17YO boy. It seems the girl sent photos of herself  to him and the boy responded with a video of himself. The girl's mom called the police.

The police now have a warrant. Listen carefully. Yes, the police want to take the teen boy to a hospital, have him injected so that he'll have an erection, and film him so that they, the police, can match their video with the one that he sent his girl friend.

"The teen is facing two felony charges in juvenile court, manufacturing and distributing child pornography, which could lead not only to incarceration until he’s 21 but also to inclusion on the state sex offender registry, at a judge’s discretion, for the rest of his life."

This is wrong on so many accounts.... First off, the law makers may have been well-intentioned and I'm sure they had in mind legislation that would allow then to prosecute and convict sexual predators preying on young people. But, we hear too often of cases like this, where a couple of kids are being kids and a felony conviction is looming in their future. These laws need to be changed and make allowances for the kids (under 18) who get caught in this net. I would hope that all police departments have better things to do than spend countless hours trying convict a couple of teenagers for being, yes, teenagers. 

I'm sure the parents of young girls don't want them sending their nude snaps around, but that's the way it is. This is for the parents to deal with not the police. A crime to send a nude photo of yourself when you're a teenager sending it to another teenager!

When I was growing up many families didn't have phones much less every kid running around with these fancy photo-taking phones.

If you're interested, here's the article from the Virginian-Pilot.

EDIT:  Note, the paper is now reporting that the cops are no longer going to pursue the warrant. Yes, evidently the outcry was such that they decided to not got forward with the warrant. Now, if they'd just drop the case.


EDIT: 7/12/2014 11:50pm  I just added the Virginia seal. Yes, there's a breast exposed. Take a look here to see what our attorney general did in 2010.

EDIT: 7/13/2014 10:29am  Well, speaking of boobs.   

Yes, I have one of these (long story, for another time). It's a 1917 quarter.

"A Bare-Breasted Liberty Finally Meets Her Outraged Public:

On January 17 of 1917, the bare-breasted Standing Liberty Quarter finally entered circulation, and the outcry was immediate and loud. Religious leaders used words like "obscene" and "filthy" to describe the visage of our beautiful Miss Liberty with her breast exposed. Citizens' groups rallied their memberships to lobby Congress to have the disgusting coin recalled."

If you're interested, do a search for more information.

To Add a Little Levity, A Benign Humorous Story That Actually Happened.....

Yes, this is from my trip to Lynnhaven Fish House...

Five or six years ago, I stayed at a motel in a small college town in West Virginia. In fact, the motel had hosted a meeting of world leaders, so it was far from a shabby stay-for-twenty-bucks a night place.

Anyway, went to the dining room for dinner. Just outside the doors to the dining room was a short counter. There were a couple of people behind the counter. As I best remember, the conversation went something like this...

The person who seemed to be the manager, said, “Hi, are you here for dinner?”

“Yes.”

“Well, would you mind checking back with us later?”

I thought that was kind of odd. Anyway, I walked a few feet and looked in the dining room. Can't remember how many tables total, but there were at least six or so that were cleaned off and empty. So, I'm thinking, what in the heck is going on?

“Listen; there are several tables that are empty. I don't want to go back up stairs and then check with you later. If you all are, well...running a little behind or something that's fine. Just seat us, bring us some coffee, and then take your time.”

So, yes, we got a table. The waitress brought us coffee. The weird thing was they didn't seem to be backed-up or anything. In fact, the waitress promptly took our order and the food came out in a reasonable time. And, the food was fine; quite tasty, in fact.

As we walked by the counter after finishing our meal, the manager was still there.

“By the way, it's not important, but I thought I'd let you know I'm the food editor for the Baltimore Sun.”

Then I smiled. They looked at each other and...well...the manager I think was saying to himself, "Oh, $%&X."

An hour or so later, I went back down to the restaurant, held out my hand to the manager and as we shook hands, I said,"Hey, I was kidding, I'm not the food editor for The Sun."

He got a big grin on his face and seemed relieved. I guess there was a lesson to be learned. 


Note: Posted April 2013 on another of my blogs.

Biology Teacher, Down There In Atlanta...Creationism, Yes..... Evolution, No! Up Here in Norfolk, Students May Get Anointed! Religion Strikes Again!

Yes, religion again. Down there in Atlanta, biology teacher tells students evolution is the great evil. Evolution is Satan.

Up here in Norfolk (a few miles away), your kids' teacher might anoint them with oil.

There's nothing I can add...... Well, is there any hope for us!?

Today Is the Fourth of July. I Can Think of No Better Post Than This One.....

No, I surely don't wake up everyday and say, Gosh, it's good to be an American. In fact, I doubt many of us do.

However, something that happened a few days ago made me think about what it means to live in a country that allows its citizens to do just about anything they want, to have freedoms that in many parts of the world people do not have. In particular, I'm talking about freedom of speech.

A few days ago, a person who lives in a county far away, asked my permission to use stories from my book, Fifty-Five 55-Word Stories. The person is putting together a book of one-hundred short stories and obliviously, I was quite flattered that he chose six of mine.

Sadly, like many Americans, I know little about countries other than ours. Yes, I read the news and know about some of the horrible things that happen to citizens in other places who speak their minds. In fact, this person lives in a country where you can be killed, yes, murdered by the state, for saying the wrong things about gods.

Yes, religion again.

Can you even imagine getting up in the morning and having to watch what you say?

So, I'm going to try to keep in mind our right to freedom of speech. And, I'm hoping that if anyone is reading this, they too will get up and think, if only for a moment, that's it's great to live in a country where we can say what we want.

This posted on another of my blogs, a year or so ago…..

Guns, Guns, Guns, and Everyone's Packin' Heat.......

The is the XDS .45 model. Small enough to fit in my
front jeans' pocket without looking like a gun.

Recently Georgia passed a law that under some circumstances allows teachers and school staff to strap on guns.

I think the NRA mantra is; Only good guys with guns can stop bad guys with guns. Hmmm, yes, that’s something to hang on to.

Before talking about teachers packin’ heat…. Let me back up a little.

It seems just about everyone is strutting around with guns. Locally, there’s a new high-end, if that’s the appropriate word, shooting range geared to women. Yes, it’s a costly one. They are trying to get away from the old somewhat-dim ranges that catered to the guys wearing camos and aviator glasses.

We, yes, here in Virginia Beach made the national news last year. Why? How? Well, a young man who owns a pizza restaurant started giving a 10% discount for those who came to his place of business with a gun. Yes, the old open carry, rifle or pistol would qualify. Also, for those packin’ concealed just show your permit.

There was a video to go with one of his national interviews. Yep, there were a bunch of guys with huge guns strapped-on….of course, they had the mandatory and requisite camos and baseball-caps on backwards. It made me want to rush down and get my 10% off.

Now, this one is going to be hard to believe. Yes, a midwife giving a 20% discount if you’re, yes, packin’ heat….. Is there something in the water, here? The midwife lives just a few miles up the road.

Back to guns.

Like lots of guys I’ve always liked guns and have always had at least one. And, with that one I would go to a range every so often and fire off a box or two of bullets.

There came a time when I started buying guns; sort of like the radios I just bought (just joking).

But, I’d go years between visits to the range. I now have eight guns, from .22 to .45. I like the .45s as I find them a real challenge to fire accurately. The gun pictured here (XDS) I bought when they first came out. And, that was most likely two years ago. And, I have yet to fire it. Go figure.

Not sure when it came about, but all of a sudden I realized in Virginia it didn’t take much to get a permit to carry concealed (from here on I’ll just say permit). It used to be you had to have a darn-good reason and convince a judge. You know, folks who closed their businesses late at night and then made bank deposits. There had to be an actual reason. No longer.

What does it take now? Not much. In fact, basically nothing. Now, listen carefully, unless I’m completely wrong about this and I’m pretty sure I’m not, yes, in Virginia you can get a permit without ever firing a gun! The Commonwealth will allow you to buy the biggest gun you can find that has a huge bullet capacity and allow you to conceal it on your person.

George, that can’t be.

OK, there are two ways to get a permit in Virginia. One, show up with a DD-214 (this is the discharge paper that all veterans are given—tells about your time in the service) with an honorable discharge.

Or, provide evidence that you went through an approved training program. OK, here’s the good part. You can satisfy the training requirement by paying for an online training program and test. So, you can get the permit without ever showing or proving to someone that you can handle and fire a gun safely. Much less, prove that you’d be competent if you ever had to use the darn thing.

OK, I’ll be 75 next month. I was in the air force and discharged 1964. 1964! Now age 75! And, yes, I have a permit. Just went and filled out some forms saying I’ve never been convicted of a felony, never been committed to a psych hospital, and so on and a couple of weeks later my permit arrived.

So, do I pack heat? Nope, I’d actually feel kind of silly walking around with a gun. Then why did I get the permit?

I think the laws in Virginia allow you to have a gun in your car going to and from the range and maybe under some other circumstances. Actually, I thought that having a permit would eliminate all problems if I happened to have a gun in my car. I had made plans (yes, another project by the wayside) that would have me out and about on secondary roads late at night. Thought I wouldn't mind having a gun along. Hey, I’m 75! Too old to run and surely don’t want to fight.

The other part of getting the permit was to see if the Commonwealth would give a 75YO guy a permit without any kind of testing! And, yes, they did.

We need to do something to try to cut down on the mass shootings that happen with some regularity. Most, if not all of these shootings seem to have a common component. Mental illness! To cut down on these massacres we need to be more aware of our friends, neighbors, and relatives and when they start talking about using their guns or making threats we need to get them evaluated. The other part of this is of course having adequate services for the mentally ill.

Back to Georgia. The new law allows, under some circumstances, for teachers and staff to carry a gun. Folks, do we even need to discuss this? 

Well, I’m running out of steam in writing this, so here’s what I have to say.

I doubt if 1% of the folks with permits are competent to decide when to draw their weapon, and if they do, are skilled enough to hit their target.

All police officers have some training. And, just a casual perusal of news show that they make mistake after mistake. I think the Empire State Building shooting is a good example. I think this was a couple of years ago. As I best remember, a suspect had a gun. The officers fired and wounded nine, yes, nine, innocent bystanders.

Did you ever take flying lessons? You know, the 150s/172s? Punching holes in the clouds? And, I am sure that for some of us who then flew on huge commercial planes, we would daydream about the pilot becoming disabled, and the stewardess would yell out, Are there any pilots aboard? We need help!

And, then, yes, we’d swagger to the cockpit and yes, land the plane. Hmmm…. OK, never did have that daydream….did I?

Anyway, I think there’s a similar daydream to many of the folks with permits. Yes, they are going to save us all from the bad guys… Yeah, just give me the chance. And, folks, we don’t need those people roaming around with a gun. Period.

Why do I like guns. Hmmm….. Good question. It’s enjoyable at times to target shoot and try and improve your skills. The designs of guns are interesting. In fact, I have three 1911 pistols and reading about the designers and the history I find interesting.

                                           

This is the military issue 1911.

One of the best-known designers of guns was John Moses Browning  (BTW, he was a Mormon, for cryin’ out loud) and the 1911. The 1911 was the US services’ sidearm from 1911 until 1985. That was a heck of a run for a military sidearm. Though the military stopped using it, the gun continues to be a best seller. In the day of many folks clamoring for huge-capacity magazines, the standard 1911 holds seven rounds in the magazine as compared to 15 or so in many of the 9mm guns now manufactured. But, people still buy, shoot, and collect the 1911s.

Well, folks, that’s sort of my take on guns. If you must have one, please keep it secured, away from children, don’t mess with it when you’re having a drink or in a bad mood. And, especially lock it up with you and the little lady are having a knock-down-drag out.

You can’t unring a bell and you surely can’t call the bullet back or ask for a do over…..

And, for you guys out there. Hey, do you really need camos? And, wear those baseball caps the way they were designed. Yes, the brim goes in the front.

Well, I Can't Seem to Get Away From Radios....

If anyone happens to read this, I'll assume you most likely didn't have times as this photo depicts.

Yes, I remember sitting in the floor looking at the radio.

Obviously, I'm trying to remember back many years ago, and I'm sure my recollections are somewhat colored by the passage of time and whatever failings my memory may have.

My first radio, I'm almost positive came from Western Auto and according to what I just found on the Internet, the brand may have been Truetone. I just tried to find a Truetone radio that would be similar to the one I had, but no luck. However, this is close. 

Mine was a deep maroon and all metal. It may have been portable but I'm sure it worked on AC as I got I got shocked several times.

Also, remember grounding it to a radiator. Just searched the web and found mention of that. Not sure if it was for an antenna or a ground.

Back to radios and listening.

Each day when I came home from school, I'd tune in. Some programs I remember are Gang Busters, Captain Midnight, and of course, The Shadow.

Ahh, yes, then there was the secret decoder ring. I’m sure it was the Ovaltine Company that promoted them. Yep, send off a little money and get the special ring.

For some reason I think there were other rings, though I could be wrong. I remember one that had a compartment to hide a secret message and maybe even had a magnifying glass. Yes, those rings were magic. Well, to a seven or eight year old, they were. 

Cut the tether to your TV. Unshackle yourself from the mindlessness of The Tube.

Get your radios out folks and have a listen. Yes, sit back and relax and take it easy. Have a radio evening for a change. You'll feel better. Honest.

I just discovered this station. They play music from 1920-1950. OK, I’m an old guy and find it relaxing and entertaining. According to their website, you might be able to listen to them regardless of where you are. Yes, I admit, I know nothing about the streaming stuff. They are located in Chesapeake, Virginia and I can tune them in on my radio.

Give the radio a chance. If nothing more, tune into your local NPR and stop the aural and visual assault of your TV. It's painless, honest. Give it a try.