Failed Predictions

In honor of the walk of shame that another prognosticator has yet taken once again, a post of Failed Predictions.









Source Credits: Listverse, ODDEE,2 Spare, 2 Thing.org, and Live Science

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” — Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp.

“We will never make a 32 bit operating system.” — Bill Gates 

“Lee DeForest has said in many newspapers and over his signature that it would be possible to transmit the human voice across the Atlantic before many years. Based on these absurd and deliberately misleading statements, the misguided public … has been persuaded to purchase stock in his company …” — a U.S. District Attorney, prosecuting American inventor Lee DeForest for selling stock fraudulently through the mail for his Radio Telephone Company in 1913.

“There is practically no chance communications space satellites will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television, or radio service inside the United States.” — T. Craven, FCC Commissioner, in 1961 (the first commercial communications satellite went into service in 1965).

“To place a man in a multi-stage rocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the moon where the passengers can make scientific observations, perhaps land alive, and then return to earth – all that constitutes a wild dream worthy of Jules Verne. I am bold enough to say that such a man-made voyage will never occur regardless of all future advances.” — Lee DeForest, American radio pioneer and inventor of the vacuum tube, in 1926

“A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth’s atmosphere.” — New York Times, 1936.

“Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical (sic) and insignificant, if not utterly impossible.” – Simon Newcomb; The Wright Brothers flew at Kittyhawk 18 months later.

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” — Lord Kelvin, British mathematician and physicist, president of the British Royal Society, 1895.

“There will never be a bigger plane built.” — A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that holds ten people

“Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality in 10 years.” -– Alex Lewyt, president of vacuum cleaner company Lewyt Corp., in the New York Times in 1955.

"It will be years --not in my time-- before a woman will become Prime Minister."
--Margaret Thatcher, October 26th, 1969.

“That virus [HIV] is a pussycat.”
--Dr. Peter Duesberg, molecular-biology professor at U.C. Berkeley, 1988

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy."
--Associates of Edwin L. Drake refusing his suggestion to drill for oil in 1859.

"Reagan doesn’t have that presidential look."
--United Artists Executive, rejecting Reagan as lead in 1964 film The Best Man

"The singer [Mick Jagger] will have to go; the BBC won’t like him."
--- First Rolling Stones manager Eric Easton to his partner after watching them perform.

"Taking the best left-handed pitcher in baseball and converting him into a right fielder is one of the dumbest things I ever heard."
-- Tris Speaker, baseball hall of famer, talking about Babe Ruth, 1919.

"Ours has been the first [expedition], and doubtless to be the last, to visit this profitless locality."
---- Lt. Joseph Ives, after visiting the Grand Canyon in 1861.

Everything that can be invented has been invented.
Charles H. Duell, an official at the US patent office, 1899.

Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.»
Irving Fisher, economics professor at Yale University, 1929. 

Democracy will be dead by 1950.
John Langdon-Davies, A Short History of The Future, 1936.

They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist-
Last words of Gen. John Sedgwick, spoken as he looked out over the parapet at enemy lines during the Battle of Spotsylvania in 1864.

Man will not fly for 50 years.
Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer, to brother Orville, after a disappointing flying experiment, 1901 (their first successful flight was in 1903).

The Americans are good about making fancy cars and refrigerators, but that doesn't mean they are any good at making aircraft. They are bluffing. They are excellent at bluffing.
Hermann Goering, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, 1942.

... good enough for our transatlantic friends ... but unworthy of the attention of practical or scientific men.»
British Parliamentary Committee, referring to Edison's light bulb, 1878.

Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?» H. M. Warner, co-founder of Warner Brothers, 1927.

END OF THE WORLD...well no its um tomorrow...sorry.  Or is it the next day...

Person                                                  Date

Charles Wesley                                   1794

John Wesley (Brother of above)           1836

Jehovah Witness                                 1914,1915,1918,1920,1925,1941,1975,1994

William Miller                                     March 21, 1843 through March 21, 1844

Joanna Southcott                                Oct 19, 1814

Albert Porta                                        Dec 17, 1919

Nostradamus                                       July 1999

Joseph Smith                                       Feb 1835 plus 56 years.

Pat Robertson                                     End of 1982.

Michael Rood                                     April 15, 2000

Richard Noone                                   May 5, 2000

Rebecca Harrison                               May 17, 2000

Marily Agee                                        May 28, 2000

David Parked                                      May 28, 2001

Proverbs 12:23
The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.

End of the World!!!!!!!!

I was going to take a shot at Harold Camping and his mathematical system he created to delve into the mysteries of the Bible that had today as the Judgement Day.  But instead I will ask this question instead...If it really was the end of days do you know FOR SURE  where you would go? Heaven? Hell? Wal-Mart greeter in purgatory?  Drummer for an all girls polka band? 


Salvation is the only way to live for eternity with our Lord in heaven.


Romans 3:23   All have sinned.
A sin is anything we do wrong, anything we do that is disobedient to God. This is one reason we should read our bible so we understand what is sin and what isn't.

Romans 6:23    The wages of sin is death
The death being spoken of here is not physical death but it is separation from God for eternity in Hell.

Romans 5:8      Jesus paid the penalty for your sin.
God sent his one and only Son to die for YOU on a cross so that you may be forgiven of your sin.

Romans 10:9-10    Believe in the Lord Jesus and the salvation provided through Him.
It's simple all you have to do is believe that Jesus is God's Son and he was sent to die for YOU upon a cross and confess with your mouth and believe with your heart.

Romans 10:13   Everyone who calls on the name of te Lord will be saved.
All you have to do is pray and ask God to forgive you of your sins and you must repent of (or turn away from) your sin.


Now the end of the world has no fear for you, you now know your final destination.

Salvation Verses

Charles Barkley-You gotta love him...

I was listening to sports radio, Tuesday, while on another marathon vehicle surveillance (can't feel me knees anymore) when an interview came up with basketball legend/Michael Jordan confidant/TNT announcer, Charles Barkley.  Since it was with ESPN radio, the sycophantic sportscasters were gushing all over him and pushing the TNT broadcast that he would be on.  They asked the enviable question concerning his contribution to  Basketball and American society in general.

Charles said this, "I am just an entertainer.  I always say that there are only five real jobs.  Doctor, Police Officer, fireman, teacher and the military.  The rest, while nice, aren't necessary.  I am an entertainer.  I hope that for a few hours I can let people get away from their problems but my job has never been important."

Wow, can't argue with that.  I wish the rest of society would wind that swiftly into the clockwork in their heads.  But my hopes are not high.



Ephesians 4:11
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,

Addendum:  I wish I could fully embrace Charles except for the: drunken driving, gambling problems and driving around looking for a "blow job" (Dec 31, 2008).

 

Life and the Job...Changes

The first vehicle pursuit that I got into I remember thinking, wow this is cool, this is the reason I signed on to be a Police Officer.  The lights flashing, the blaring of the radio, the engine noise coming through into the interior because of it's near red-lining, brakes squealing and coming home after that shift with stiff and sore calves because of the continuous *stomp* on the gas followed by *stomp* on the brakes followed by *stomp* on the gas...well you get the idea.  Oh and we got him too.

The last one that I got into recently, my feelings were quite different.  The thoughts that were going through my mind this time was not about how cool this was, but rather it was *stomp* on the gas, “I am going to get sued and loose my house”, *stomp* “some little kid is going to run in front of me”, *stomp* “if I ding up my car its going to be three weeks of paperwork”, and so on.  Oh and he got away.

I always marveled when I first came on the job about how all the veteran Officers seemed so embittered toward Law Enforcement.  They would pine over their future retirement at every roll call.

I understand them a little better know that I am half way through.  It slowly kills the enjoyment of this job when you begin to focus not on the task at hand or the people you help but rather on the consequences that would happen should it suddenly go all wrong. 

Its best summarized this way: in the beginning it was, "Yeah! We got him! Can you believe...(insert story of incident that just happened)", and now its, "Wow sure glad nothing happened!  Can you believe what would have happened had...(insert analysis of worst case scenario)...I knew a cop that...(insert story of Officer that got in trouble or lost his job through no fault of his/her own under similar circumstances)".

The first part makes you look forward to going to work, the second part makes you look forward to going home.

Matthew 6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


1.  5/04/2011 1:33am

Back from Vacation

Spent a week in Sedona Arizona for the family's yearly visit and got some much needed R and R.  The kids got to run around like manics and my wife was able to be left alone (a very rare occurrence).  In order to make the trip more relaxing we decided to leave right after having our 1st floor repainted...it only took three weeks.  We are just getting the house back together and are using the total chaos to Spring clean and chuck all the assorted bric-n-brac that have piled up over the years.

So...computer put back together, blogging resuming.  Status quo reached.

Psalm 116:7
Return to your rest, O my soul,For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

PS:  the house we were staying at is just on the other side of Cockscomb the rock formation pictured.

Easter

A little late but...

HE HAS RISEN INDEED

Chap-Hop

I was originally going to post this on April 4th after reading about Chap-Hop in the WSJ.  But when I searched the internet to listen to a couple of examples of this new sub-genre of Hip Hop, I discovered hundreds of people blogged about it already.  So, I waited till now in the attempt to appear fresh and unique, which I am not.

I do have to say I really enjoyed the music I came across and discovered it is legitimate musical form way beyond the apparent novelty aspects it first seems to present.  It is a Steam-punk ethic of Hip-Hop.  I embedded my favorite four in this post.  A Victorian gentlemen hip-hopping about about relevant issues in his day.  If you could throw in a dose of Doctor Who into the mix I would never need another type of media to enjoy.

So put on your tweed, send the servants to bed and enjoy the night with a whiskey, neat, and Mr. B or Professor Elemental on the Victrola.

  







I have to say I really like the music...

Mexican Drug Cartels-making insane decisions-Update

Update...

MATAMOROS, MEXICO-- Ten more bodies were found in a new mass grave in Mexico's northern state of Tamaulipas, bringing the total number to 126 bodies, officials said Wednesday.

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They have terror, they have most of the government paralyzed, they are the second biggest employer next to the oil industry in Mexico...etc.  I still can not frame this within an economical model, geopolitical model or even within a terrorist framework.  Time will tell.

FYI:  Most gang members pose for a booking photo or news photo with their chin up so that the picture can not be used to identify them in a future criminal investigation.  

Mexican Drug Cartels-making insane decisions.

Mexican authorities have found 59 bodies on a remote ranch in the La Joya farming village.  This occurred in the same area where they had found 72 bodies less than a year ago.

The news link from Yahoo


The story

At least 59 bodies found on Mexico ranch

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (AFP) – At least 59 bodies have been found on a ranch in Mexico's northern state of Tamaulipas, on the US border, authorities said Wednesday, warning that the grim toll could rise.

The Tamaulipas state prosecutor's office said 11 people had been arrested and another five kidnapping victims had been set free in the same operation on Wednesday.

Police and military staff learned March 25 that several buses had disappeared in the area, leading to their investigation which turned up a grisly find: eight mass graves in the La Joya farming village, in the town of San Fernando, the prosecutor's office said.

"With our work that is under way, we are trying to establish if the remains are those of the people who went missing on the buses," the prosecutor's statement said.

Authorities said they feared the number of dead would rise as the remains had only been counted in three of eight mass graves. A military patrol located the mass grave, the source added.

The gruesome find was in the same town of San Fernando where 72 migrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador and Brazil were killed in August 2010 for refusing to work for drug traffickers.

Meanwhile thousands of outraged citizens took to the streets of 38 Mexican cities on Wednesday, venting anger over widespread violence linked to the country's illegal drug trade.

The protest marches were organized following the murder of a well-known author's son along with four close friends and two others on March 28.

Javier Sicilia, a poet and columnist for the daily La Jornada and the weekly Proceso -- two of the country's leading publications -- called for the protests following the killing of his son Juan Francisco, 24, near Cuernavaca, 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Mexico City.

Seven major drug gangs are operating in Mexico whose bloody clashes have left over 34,600 people dead since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon's government launched a military crackdown that has so far failed to stem the violence.

Authorities said Saturday that 20 people were killed in under 24 hours in Mexico's most violent city, Ciudad Juarez, which borders the US state of Texas.

Ciudad Juarez is considered the most violent city in Mexico, with more than 3,100 homicides in 2010. Most of the violence is blamed on drug cartels who fight for control of lucrative drug routes into the United States.

Just on Monday the United States boosted security at its consulate in Mexico's drug war-rocked northern city of Monterrey, where it built a second protective ring wall.

Two other US consulates on the Mexican side of the shared border were temporarily closed last year. Security concerns forced the office in Ciudad Juarez to close for several days, while another in Nuevo Laredo was closed after an explosive device attack.

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__My thoughts______________________________________

One of the core principles in illicit drug investigations is to approach the enterprise as a business entity and not as a criminal conspiracy.  You either attack the supply line or the financial line.  It is simple logistics, they have to move product in through a distribution network to their retail outlets and take out their profits, after paying the bills, usually through a different network.  They have personnel and raw material costs, banking/financing costs etc.  You attack one side or the other and work your way back.  It is a logical though criminal system.  The violence that a criminal enterprise generates can even be viewed in two ways:  one as an internal ( but extremely draconian) self correcting/disciplinary function or a method to gain market dominance.

However these mass killings do not make any business sense and I am having trouble placing them into prospective.  I understand that violence can streamline and prevent governmental/law enforcement interference by keeping information under control and increasing local populations participation in the criminal enterprise and decreasing its participation with law enforcement.   Further it can create a political climate that is conducive to their criminal activities, but that is usually achieved through different levels and types of corruption (See Chicago, New Orleans).  But the caveat to the use of violence to achieve financial ends is that once a certain threshold is reached and maintained the citizenry will rise up and fight back (See Columbia 1990's).

The cartels control almost all aspects of local Mexican governmental bodies.  They have almost total "buy-in" from the peasant class.  The terror they generate from killing criminal participants within and without their cartels is almost total for the population and sapped the majority of the will to combat illicit drug sales and distribution.  These mass killing gain the cartels almost nothing, in fact it is starting to raise resistance.  They do not make sense from a money making prospective.  It even allows further enticement for the American's to demand  and President Calderon to allow, American military cross boarder sorties against the cartels.

So what is this?  I can think of only three possibilities.  1st, there is an enforcer for a cartel that really is a serial killer that found his/her ultimate dream job.  2nd, it is another voodoo drug cult like the one where they discovered (04-11-1989) had murdered the 12 American college students in the Mexican city of Matamoros or 3rd some of the cartels have become terrorist groups that have both broad political and and financial goals ( example: al qaeda selling heroin).

I am waiting and watching for the answer.

1 Kings 18:4
While Jezebel was killing off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.)

Risk, Death and the Job.

I was notified about Deputy Robert Britton death on duty through the nationwide law enforcement prayer chain that I am a part of because of my membership in FCPO. He was killed by a wounded cow.

The Link to the Story

The Story from the Star Telegram

TYLER, Texas — An East Texas deputy has died of head injuries suffered when he was attacked by an injured cow while he directed traffic around the half-ton animal.

Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith says Deputy Robert Britton of Tyler died Monday at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, where he'd been since the incident early Thursday near Bullard, 95 miles southeast of Dallas and 15 miles south of Tyler.

Smith had said the 54-year-old deputy had responded to a report of a stray cow struck by a vehicle and was directing traffic on Farm Road 344 when the cow charged him. He says Britton was knocked into the air and landed head-first on the pavement before the animal continued the attack until other deputies rescued Britton.

Smith says the cow was euthanized.
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The probability of being killed/murdered on the job by the hand of another is very slim.  According to the Washington Post there were 160 officers killed in the line of duty in 2010 (all levels, local, state, federal), out of around 900,000 officers country wide.  The officers that I have known that have died on the job have been killed in traffic crashes, heart attacks, accidents or environmental hazards.  The real risk on this job is the environment in which we conduct our business.  This risk is not understood by the public we serve.

In this case Deputy Britton was responding to a traffic accident involving car verses cow.  I was talking to my friends about the incident at Baker's Square waiting for our kids to get out of Awana.  I was being asked, if the cow was wounded why he didn't shoot it, or why he didn't hear it coming or...whatever.  I had to tell them that the cow still has value if it can be properly butchered, if the cow is shot it can not be used for anything.  Britton was trying to keep the rancher from loosing out on the total value of his property.  Second, when you are out directing traffic, it is noisy and it takes all of your attention.  The motoring public does not pay attention and will hit you if you are not watching every direction at once, I have been brushed by side mirrors more times than I would like to remember.  Third, most people have no experience with large animals.  I have been around a few cattle when I lived in Waco, Texas and they are huge and they are fast (got chased out of a pasture once).  I have had a few deer who were struck by a car, suddenly bound up and run away. If they had connected with me what happened here could easily have happen to me.

There were two times where I remember cutting it close.  One was a fire department assist for a reported heart attack and another FD assist for a burning stove.  The heart attack had been caused because the family that lived in the house had set off about five roach bug bombs but didn't leave the house.  I was the first one on scene and walked right in and promptly got poisoned.  I was found bent over on the front lawn fighting for air.  I beat the FD to the stove fire and met the family standing in the hallway of the apartment while smoke was pouring out of their front door.  I was told that "Molly" was still in the apartment, so I ran in to save "Molly" and of course "Molly" was their cat (I think they didn't say please save Molly our pet cat because I would have looked at them with the "yeah right" look), which when I had made it to the back bedroom promptly ran out of the apartment saving itself.  And again, I was found bent over on the front lawn gasping for breath.

That's the real risk to this job and since its not sensational or dynamic or "Hollywood", the public just doesn't understand what's being risked for them.   Deputy Britton lost his life trying to protect a rancher's property, directing traffic for others safety and just doing his job.

Our prayers are for his family and the ones he left behind

1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses

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Thoughts from the Wire

Just a couple of thoughts that I gathered spending hour after hour on phone intercepts for the last decade or so, at least it seems like a decade.




• No one uses their articles and prepositions’. Don’t think this is a generalization based on creed or ethnicity or home country or origin or religion or social position or education or income level. “You com’n here?” is universal. I wore out the backspace button on my keyboard taking out the “of” “a” “an” “the” “if” etc that I thought was in there when it was not.



• The use of “ing” at the end of a verb is a dying art. Clearly the “g” was late for work and the car pool left without him. “Comin’” “goin” “itchen” “swinn’”. I am going to put up posters on telephone poles to see if anyone has my lost “g” and will return him for an award.



• The proper contraction for “going to” is “gonna”.



• The word “what” has retired, it has been replaced on the job by “uh?”.



• Every drug boss ends up being better than almost all bosses I have ever had. Really, much, much, better in fact. I wonder if I promised to work for him would he stop doing that pesky, murder thing.



• Everyone calls their best friend and demeans someone else. Soon that someone else calls and when they realize who it is they pitch up their voice and say, “Hey dude, been thinking of you”.



• Everyone thinks they are getting ripped off. The other guy is always making more money, selling more product or tagging more women. Strangely that’s true for men and …women.



• Everyone but you is stupid.



• Everyone is an informant.



• Cops are fools, till they get lucky and catch you for the fifth time.



• A ten o’clock meeting for tomorrow in the drug store parking lot really means two weeks from last Wednesday on the night of a full moon in the MacDonald’s parking lot. It’s not code, yet somehow they all know, really, everyone one of them, they all know.



• If you meet a girl at a club for the first time and she lets you take her home that night don’t start dating her. Unless you want to find out that when she is not at your house she’s at your best friend’s house.



• The use of code words always breaks down because the members of the gang forget what the code means and have to explain that a “light bulb” is a pack of heroin..........................................every other phone call.



• That the local drug dealer with millions in the bank is still going to use his/her Link card to buy groceries.  They are owed it.



• Every cop out there is watching you...just...you.



• Every hype stutters.


·         You date you don’t ever, ever, ever marry.



·         The F-word is quite efficient.  It is a noun, verb, adjective and adverb.


·          Listening to other people swear is contagious.  I told my daughter in a nice conversational tone the other day to “practice you mother f@#$%^& piano”.



Proper way to decline a verb:

Indicative

• Present Perfect: I run, you run, she runs, we run, they run, I have run, you have run, she has run, we have run, they have run
• Past Pluperfect: I ran, you ran, she ran, we ran, they ran, I had run, you had run, she had run, we had run, they had run
• Future Future perfect: I will run, you will run, she will run, we will run, they will run, I will have run, you will have run, she will have run, we will have run, they will have run
• Imperative Present run! let's run!

Conditional

• Present Perfect: I would run, you would run, she would run, we would run, they would run, I would have run, you would have run, she would have run, we would have run, they would have run

Conjunctive

• Present Perfect: I run, you run, she run, we run, they run, I have run, you have run, she have run, we have run, they have run
• Past Pluperfect: I ran, you ran, she ran, we ran, they ran, I had run, you had run, she had run, we had run, they had run

Participle

• Gerund Past: running, run

Phone Intercept Verb Declination

Indicative

• Present Perfect: I go, you go, she go, we go, they go, I have go, you have go, she has go, we have go, they have go
• Past Pluperfect: I go, you go, she go, we go, they go, I had go, you had go, she had go, we had go, they had go
• Future Future perfect: I will go, you will go, she will go, we will go, they will go, I will have go, you will have go, she will have go, we will have go, they will have go
• Imperative Present go! let's go!

Conditional

• Present Perfect: I would go, you would go, she would go, we would go, they would go, I would have go, you would have go, she would have go, we would have go, they would have go

Conjunctive

• Present Perfect: I go, you go, she go, we go, they go, I have go, you have go, she have go, we have go, they have go
• Past Pluperfect: I go, you go, she go, we go, they go, I had go, you had go, she had go, we had go, they had go

Participle

• Gerund Past: gonn', go

and finally...

• If you loose the target and your on surveillence its the phone rooms fault, unless your in the phone room then its surveillence fault.  Meeting to follow.

2 Samuel 10:3

the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?”

Now we have a Sparkling Wine Dinner

I know that most people that enjoy my quirky blog that attempts to dwell at the intersection of law enforcement and faith while mainlining a full sense of humor are probably not wine lovers. But my wife and I have just started attending these once a month gourmet set menu dinners that emphasize course and wine pairings.


This time it was sparkling wine. Here is the list of the ones that we really enjoyed. You're safe from another blog entry like this for two months till we go to the beer/whisky dinner.

• Vouvray Petillant, Loire, Brut NV Chenin Blanc

• Billcart Salmon, Champagne, Brut Reserve NV

• Graham Beck, Sparkling, South Africa, Brut Rose NV

• 2009 Lini Labrusca Rosso Emilia

• Gruet Demi Sec, Sparkling, New Mexico, NV

 
 
2 Samuel 16:2


The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

The Wire screwed up my schedule but weekends are again free.

Lost my weekends due to the wire schedule cancelling everyone's weekends off but its Monday through Friday again after this weekend.

My wife and I went to a wine tasting fixed menu dinner and what follows is a list of our favorite wines from that night.  All are worthy of sliding into the gullet and I have no vested interest in any of them other than for libation.

• Cal del Monte 2001 Amarone (Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC, Italy)
• 
  
• Sorelle Bronca NV Extra Dry Prosecco (Valdobbiadene, Italy) (Already bought two bottles of this)
• 
  
• Mastrojanni 2005 Brunello (Montalcino, Italy)
• 
  
• Palmina 2009 Arneis, Honea Vineyard (Santa Ynez Valley, California)
• 
  
• Palmina 2009 Dolcetto (Santa Barbara County, California)

Link of Wine Distributor (Cream Wine Company) for the dinner www.creamwine.com

Genesis 27:28
May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine.

Some Public Pension Thoughts-from one who is going to receive one.

I have been following all the news concerning the efforts of pension reform throughout the Midwest (Wisconsin's attempting to end collective bargaining)( Indiana's attempt to do the same)(Illinois moving to end the pension process with current benefits locked in place and future investment in a 401k type program) and as is typical with the modern American press I am not hearing a number of facts/elements that need to be interjected into this national debate.  The only coverage seems to be in support of the idiotic vitriol from either the right or the left. Here is a quick bullet point list of elements that should be considered in this debate.

• For the City that I work for, the pension obligation for Police/Fire/Public Works/City Employees is the single biggest budget item. Last I checked over 35% of the cities tax base/operating capital is spent on pensions.

• All public pensions were negotiated in public and signed off by duly elected officials.  Every union contract is on file and obtainable by any citizen, further all pension provisions/benefits are also publicly disclosed.  There are no secretes here...where has everyone been for the last twenty years?  The public/tax payer was fully represented by the official they elected.

• The real problem with pensions is not their insolvency or undue burden on the taxpayer but rather on the total corruption of the politicians that did not fully fund them (right and left).  Had the proper payments been maintained, rather then used for other purposes, there would not been a pension problem right now at all.  I find it interesting that after years of political mismanagement and under payment into the funds the demonetization is not on the politicians that created the problem but rather on the workers that had the governments promise broken.  I keep hearing that we do not need to look into the past but rather reform them now.  Question:  if you cut my benefits now and have not fixed the funneling out of the funds in underpayment or misappropriations, are you not going to come back to me in ten years and ask for more? 

• Most, more than 90%, of all public employees pay into their pensions, in my case 9%.  That is 9% of my gross income, the average American saves less than 6% of their NET income.  (Link source of data http://www.bea.gov/briefrm/saving.htm).  Bottom line?  I am paying much more for my retirement than you are.

• I do not get social security.  I am one of the lucky ones in that I do not have to pay into social security either but the vast majority of public pensions employees pay into the fund.  At retirement the Social Security benefit is subtracted from the pension payment and if the number is above zero than that is the social security benefit for the employee.  That number is never above zero.  So public pensions employees are paying an extra 7% for everyone else to have social security.

• The city I work for has on every contract claimed they are out of money and can not provide us with any percentage salary raise or increased benefits package.  Yet in the end they have always paid us and been in the black.  The city is attempting to lower our salaries and benefit packages and participate in a greater movement to lower all public pensions but it still has funds in the budget to pay for Christmas lights along our main street and fireworks on the fourth of July.  It is not an argument of lack of funds it truly is an argument of preference for the use of funds.  You want to convince us that you need to lower my quality of retirement permanently?  Then cut all discretionary spending and then show me your still in financial jeopardy, but as long as I go into the station and see coloring book handouts, newsletters, bicycle days, softball festivals and the like I know you really do still have money for my current pension.

• When I decided to pursue my current vocation as a Law Enforcement Officer one of the major decisions points was the guarantee retirement provision that the pension offered me.  I had a number of my college buddies call me when the economy was booming and offer me a job over at their company.  The suggestion, well statement, they kept saying was I was a fool to work for a stupid little salary when there was so much money to be made so quickly.  Later, when the wheels came off the economy and their investments had tanked and they were let go, my stupid little salary looked awesome.  Bottom line: in a good economy my job looks like crap in a bad economy my job looks golden.

• I have a master's degree, no discipline in my personnel file, I have never been successfully sued, I have given more money back to my department as a result of my job related actions than I have ever cost the department.  If plans continue to move forward where they would retire my pension and replace it going forward with a 401k program, I would have to re-evaluate my current employment.  Even right now in the private sector I could obtain employment in the private sector at a salary higher than my current one from my department.  But over all, however, with the pension in consideration it is a better situation for me if I stay.  The bottom line: do you want your Officer to be in that squad because he/she wants to be there and has passed by opportunities in the private sector or someone that had no where else to go.

• I have to admit I always found it un-democratic, in that when I joined the force I was forced to join our union, I did not have a choice.  If the union was such a good deal for the police employee wouldn't I just join because it was the smart thing to do, why was that decision taken away from me?

• Finally for this posting, one of the realizations that was made in the early modern era of Law Enforcement was that there is a indirect ratio between salary and corruption.  The higher the salary the less the corruption.  Conversely, the lower the salary the higher the corruption.  It is a little like the speed limit, in which the calculation is made for safety verses travel time.  If everyone drove at 5mph then few, if any crashes would be fatal but it would be faster to take a horse to get around town.  However if you go 200mph you get everywhere quick but most crashes would be fatal.  I have not seen this decision tree been discussed so far in this debate. 

Just some thoughts...probably will have a few more some time soon.  Gets you thinking when you starting imaging the future and you see your retirement home moving form San Diego and heading to Detroit.

Another good Police Blog List

See the link below for a good list of current Police Blogs-always a good resource to have.  I became aware of it when my blog was listed.

Criminal Justice Degree Schools Site

Knowledge is power...and a number of other Saturday morning slogans.  Enjoy.

Worst Case Scenario-Full Meltdown

Just dabbling in a little fear mongering.  Worst case scenario for the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in cooling towers 1 through 6 in Okuma, Japan.

The tectonic plates of the earth are floating on magma, they hold up our land and water masses.  The magma surrounds a liquid center (earth's core), spinning under incredible pressure and heat.  If any of the six generators in cooling towers, one through six, enters into full melt down, it will soon burn through the containment vessel and then through the power plant itself.  Should there be enough nuclear material to allow for a sustained fission reaction, it could conceivably burn a path to the earth's core.

The contents of the earth's core would then forcibly eject itself out of the shaft the burning nuclear material formed on the way down from its power plant.  This would create two events; the earth would slowly stop spinning but more importantly the liquid iron of the earth core would act as a "rocket engine" and push the earth either into the sun or out of orbit into the cold night of space.

Pretty scary




or just a testimony of my inadequate/misguided/ignorant understanding of geology, chemistry and physics.




Just wanted to be silly for a moment to take a quick step back from an event so horrific and sorrowful that it is simply beyond my understanding.

Do what you can (money, time, skill, labor) and pray for our brothers and sisters in Japan.

Psalm 55:5
Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.

Video Games-Saving the world one pixel at a time.

I belong to the first generation that could call itself "gamers".  I was eight years old when in Maryland my Dad came home with an Atari 2600 for Christmas.  I have been playing games ever since...trust me my parents never understood, and well since I am racing to become an old man, my kids didn't know that there was ever a time when there were no video games.  So I am stuck in the middle with you...but I digress.

I have always thought that the gamers, the games and all the designers had much more potential than what was being utilized.  But I never went beyond that thought.  But Jane McGonigal did and below is a presentation that she did for the TED Speaking series.  Enjoy...and you gotta love TED.

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

I always knew that my trigger thumb would take over the WORLD!

Its the weekend-A little Humor

One of the often overlooked facets of the "Police Life" is the humor that permeates everything we do...it allows us to blow off steam, replace tragic with the ironic, drop over inflated egos back down to earth and basically keep us sane.

I can be something as simple as leaving your computer unattended and upon returning realizing that you e-mailed the Chief a love letter from you to him...quickly followed up by an email you author explaining that your co-workers are idiots to same said Chief.  It can also be a co-worker deciding to take digital camera photos of "Johnsons" in the act of relief while in the field, causing everyone from that point forward to perform that function with one hand to grip and the other to cover and scanning side to side to keep from becoming a camera victim (a lot of wet shoes that week).  At another time, a co-worker left his credential wallet out and someone grabbed it and glued the face of George Washington onto his photo ID so that whenever he flashed his ID he did not get respect for his a-thor-ity but rather giggles until he discovered the prank.  To telling the story of the rookie that while in court identified himself as, "I with the D&D, no the DNA no I with the DEA, yes that's it, the DEA" and while we were all on the floor laughing having him complain that we were embarrassing him in front of the civilians (that he did all by himself).  To authoring a operational plan, in another co-workers name of course, that required sign off by the Chief of the Police Departments operational response in case of wide spread polar bear attack.

All that said to introduce the following video that I must have seen at every training session, meeting, etc where officers are gathered.  Enjoy. *Language is a little rough...

Dragon software, a new experience posting by my voice.

I am dyslexic.  While this is not prevented me from going to Baylor University or getting my Masters from the Adler school of professional psychology, it has made school and homework a very time-consuming and laborious undertaking. As time has gone by I have found the effects of this dyslexia receding to the point where only when I'm extremely tired or stressed or emotional do they manifest themselves.

Fortunately for my younger daughter she is not dyslexic but for my son he is highly dyslexic. When we had him formally evaluated the psychologist who perform the evaluation told us that he was a nine point 9/10 in severity of the effect. His struggle in school and with the schoolwork have long reminded me of all the long nights that I spent working long past any of my classmates. So as an attempt to aid the learning process for him we picked up Dragon software, a voice to text recognition program. That is what I'm using to blog right now.

What I hadn't realized that after spending so much time trying to adapt myself to the printed word that I am finding it difficult to merely speak into the computer and formulate a coherent thought and get it into text.  Yet seeing that my words are being translated effortlessly into the computer and spelled correctly, the time-saving is immense.

When I left college and began working in the law enforcement field I had to step back into a lesser technology than what I had been used to. In that I've gone from computers that spell checked, grammar checked and instantly formatted my papers correctly,to being forced to take pen to paper in hand write everything that I observed into a report. I lived for the first 10 years of my career with a Franklin pocket speller and a bottle of white out.  If only I had had this software now, back then, I can even imagine how much I've could've gotten done that was wasted on trying to get everything onto the written page that would not make me ridiculed in the courtroom.

I have to say I am envious of my son and all the time he is going to save learning instead of writing. I know that I developed a lot of my personal discipline for the written word through the hours and hours and hours of attempting to figure out how to put it down on paper in such a way that it made sense to another reader but what could've been my knowledge base if I have been freed from that labor.

I will never know but the neat thing is my son will. To quote the song, "the future's so bright I have to wear shades."

The Mexican Cartels Strike Back-Los Zetas Cartel

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I try to keep track of the Mexican drug wars and the American Law Enforcement response.

Up till now there have been some unwritten rules that the cartels followed, mainly to keep from having a full Mexican military intervention into their actions and to keep the Mexican position of no significant American forces operating in their country intact.



The Rules:
 1.  No cartel involved violence in/near major tourist sites.
 2.  American diplomats are not to be targeted
 3.  Hit just the target and not have huge civilian causalities

Well recent history has shown that number 3 has been abandoned since they are no longer content in grabbing their target, torturing him/her and dumping the body but instead lobing grenades at discos and shooting up parties.

Rule number one has fallen with the attacks on Americans/Europeans in and around tourist destinations.

Rule number two has just fallen.  On February 15, 2011 two ICE agents were ambushed in their armored car by  (logical guess) members of the Los Zetas*, with the result of one killed and one gravely wounded.  Reading the different news articles the attacks were specifically targeting American officials.  I am watching and waiting for the American response.  So far a couple of department heads but not the President have condemned the action but no follow up actions have been remunerated.  My belief is if the Obama administration only gives speeches (which so far is the case) and does not follow up with actions, then attacks like these will increase in number until all American law enforcement currently in Mexico are returned home.  If a major joint operation is conducted aside the government-loyal Mexican military, then this attack will be an anomaly.

Only time will tell.

Our prayers go out to the agents involved and their families.

* The Los Zetas Cartel was founded by Mexican Army Special Forces deserters who were recruited by the Gulf Cartel as a security force (assassinations, money and drug couriers, security).  The Cartel has since split into two factions, one loyal to the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels and the other to ABL.  In reality they are playing both sides to increase their share of the international drug trade.

The Article


Two ICE Agents Shot, 1 Killed inside Mexico

Two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were shot in the line of duty today approximately 100 miles outside Mexico City Tuesday.

One of the officers has died from his wounds, reports the Associated Press, quoting an anonymous official.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Mexico City tells CBS News the two agents were shot while driving from Mexico City to Monterey by unknown assailants.

"ICE is working with the U.S. State Department, Mexican authorities and other U.S. law enforcement partners to investigate the shooting. Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues," ICE officials said in a statement this afternoon.

Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano condemned the attacks.

"Let me be clear: any act of violence against our ICE personnel - or any DHS personnel - is an attack against all those who serve our nation and put their lives at risk for our safety," Napolitano said. "We remain committed in our broader support for Mexico's efforts to combat violence within its borders."

The two agents were driving in the northern state of San Luis Potosi when they were stopped at what appeared to be a military checkpoint, said one Mexican official, who could not be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

After they stopped, someone opened fire on them, the official said.

San Luis Potosi police said gunmen attacked two people a blue Suburban on Highway 57 between Mexico City and Monterrey, near the town of Santa Maria Del Rio, at about 2:30 p.m.

Police said one person was killed and another was flown to a Mexico City hospital, though they couldn't confirm the victims were the ICE agents.

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhan spoke with ICE chief John Morton to express Mexico's condolences, according to a spokesman.

"This is a difficult time for ICE and especially for the families and loved ones of our agents. Our hearts and prayers go out to them. This tragedy is a stark reminder of the risks confronted and the sacrifices made by our men and women every day," Morton said in a statement.

Though Mexico is seeing record rates of violence from warring drug cartels and a crackdown on organized crime, it is rare for U.S. officials to be attacked. The U.S. government, however, has become increasingly concerned about the safety of its employees in Mexico amid the escalating violence.

In March, a U.S. employee of a consulate, her husband and a Mexican tied to the American consulate were killed when drug gang members fired on their cars as they left a children's party in Ciudad Juarez, the city across from El Paso, Texas.

The U.S. State Department has taken several measures over the past year to protect consulate employees and their families. It has at times authorized the departure of relatives of U.S. government employees in northern Mexican cities.

In July, it temporarily closed the consulate in Ciudad Juarez after receiving unspecified threats.

In a famous case, in 1985 U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar was tortured and killed in Mexico. Mexican trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero is serving a 40-year prison term for Camarena's slaying.

ICE, the investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the second largest investigative agency in the federal government, enforced immigration laws and is primarily responsible for arresting, detaining and deporting people who are in the U.S. illegally. It also investigates drug cases in the U.S. and Mexico and other types of trafficking.

It was created in 2003 through a merger of the investigative and interior enforcement elements of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service and has more than 20,000 employees in offices in all 50 states and 47 foreign countries.In December, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry was shot and killed just north of the Arizona-Mexico as he tried to catch bandits suspected of targeting illegal immigrants.

As CBS News reported last week, violence has been escalating in Mexican border towns. In Juarez, Mexico, nearly seven people a day have died this year.

Nationwide, almost 35,000 people have been killed in drug violence since President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown against drug trafficking shortly after taking office in December 2006.

Psalm 116:2-4

² Because he turned his ear to me,
   I will call on him as long as I live.
 ³ The cords of death entangled me,
   the anguish of the grave came over me;
   I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
⁴ Then I called on the name of the LORD:
   “LORD, save me!”