RETIRED WARRANT

This is an outrage

Again I will put ships on hold for a little while as I almost crashed my car when I heard this one on the radio this morning so it deserves comment.

In Arizona, I am not sure if it is state or local, grew concerned about the high dropout rate of high school students. They came up with and implemented a program where they will be giving $25 a week to students that attend school and maintain a passing average. What the heck kind of message is this supposed to send? Are we now going to get these kids indoctrinated into the government handout system at a still younger age? This does not teach responsibility at all.

Anyway the callers on the radio were pretty much into the same way I feel and that is that we spoil our children too much. We buy them cars and games and stuff. We give them too much money, and we don’t demand them to take responsibility. I am guilty of it mainly due to the practices of the ex.

When I grew up, if I needed anything after starting Junior High School, I had to work for my own money. That meant that while I was in high school I didn’t have a car and I bought my own clothes. That encouraged me to make sure I was always employed part time and it developed my work ethic and my sense of responsibility.

These days we buy our kids cars, clothes, and the latest in video games. Trying to get them to get out of the house and get a job is like pulling teeth. They do not have that drive and initiative that my generation had in high school. When I was in school everyone had a job be it at a fast food place or yard work or something.

These days kids don’t work, they sit at home and consume. They don’t get their first entry level job until they are in their mid twenties, and that is a sad state of affairs. I don’t know how or when this attitude changed. Maybe it is the liberal schools or the influence of Hollywood, but somehow the majority of a whole generation has gone to hell.

This trend needs to be changed, but I think with the peer pressure and the constant brainwashing in the schools, on television, and in the movies we will lose this fight. It’s a shame when they know who the winner of American Idol is but can not find Iraq on a map of the world. I guess it is all President Bush’s fault though as everything is these days.

Well that is my rant for today.

Observations

Well it is the second Monday of the week and I am still a little bit tired, but will be fine as soon as I get going. Today as I said before all the Navy guys will be at some training and I will be giving the antenna exam so it should be a pretty quiet day.

This morning just to be different I will just write about a few things I observed on my way to work. Last year there used to be a recycling center next to our local supermarket. It attracted about every bum in San Diego and there were so many complaints that it was shut down and that greatly reduced the bum population in our neighborhood.

Well this morning on my way to work I saw that the post office overflow parking area was all fenced off and a large sign was posted “Coming Soon, Recycling Center”. So that is some swell news. Here come the bums, rooting through our trash and panhandling outside every business on Plaza Blvd. I guess they have not learned there lesson and now I also wonder where everyone is going to park when they go to the post office as there is already a parking problem, and this is going to make that problem worse.

After that I got stuck behind someone in a pickup towing one of those over sized RV trailers. I think they should have to have a special license to drive those things because the clown towing this one had no idea what he was doing. Every time I saw this guy turn he would use about three lanes. I was glad when I got on the freeway and was able to leave him in my rear view mirror.

I then got behind some idiot that was driving a car that was new to him. I could tell as it had the transfer documents on the back window. Anyway I got behind that genius and here he was doing 25 MPH down the freeway, maybe getting used to the car or maybe driving. I tried to pass him but the traffic in the lane next to me was really flying so I couldn’t. Anyway the freeway off ramp to 43rd street ends at a red light and it was red anyway so it didn’t really matter anyway. Anyway just as we are nearing the cars stopped at the stoplight the guy flipped on his turn signal and pulled out in front of several cars that had to slam on their brakes to keep from hitting him.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better and that I had seen it all the totally unbelievable happened. For the past couple weeks they have been opening the side gate on Vesta for traffic leaving the base in the morning. Only the outbound gate is open and the incoming gate has a huge sign saying to use the back gate. Anyway this clown came tearing down Main Street at a high rate of speed and then stopped really quick at Vesta and tried to go in the out gate. Of course security turned him away and the poor sailor standing security watch on the gate looked as surprised as I was. I think they should have called ahead and had the guy pulled over for a sobriety test.

Also the whole time I was listening to Laura Ingraham on the radio and she was talking about the horrors of eating at a buffet and all the foods you need to avoid when eating at one. Well she pretty much listed everything that I have ever seen at a buffet, but then I can see the reasoning. Cold foods must be kept very cold to keep from spoiling. Hot food must be kept very hot for the same reason and to kill bacteria. Also do you know if the person in front of you washed their hands or didn’t sneeze in the food? All of these things made me think again of “How safe is the fast food I buy?”

Anyway on a lighter note today when I get home the week will be 2/5 over. If I look at it that way I won’t feel bad that it is only Tuesday and there is still the rest of the week to contend with.

Have a great day.

Didn’t blog

I did not blog over the weekend as I was in sick mode again. It was either a really bad cold or the flu, I don’t know which but I am still feeling the effects of it even though it is Monday.

I got up at 5 AM and took a shower and all and was very tempted to call in sick, but then I remembered all the military staff has to Physical Training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so no one would be here to open up the classroom for the students so I came in even though I feel like crap.

On the way in Rick Roberts morning radio show was talking about some program they are trying to pass through in New York that will reward people for doing such things as attending PTA meetings or getting a job. Imagine getting a check for going to a meeting that you should be attending for your children’s benefit anyway. It is just going more toward the socialization or our society.

Anyway he was stating something that I have been saying for a long time, and that is that when you give someone something for nothing it is not appreciated. When so go ahead under the welfare state and you give a person a welfare check each month, why should they find a job?

When you give them free medical care in the emergency rooms, why should they get healthcare? I have worked since I was ten years old. When I was attending school the jobs were summer jobs because of school but I always had one. After my school days I worked full time until I retired and then took a year off before starting work again.

Some of those summer jobs didn’t pay a whole lot but they allowed me to gain experience and get better jobs later.

When I decided to join the Navy I was making more than twice the minimum wage, but I wanted to get training to do even better in my life and I got that training in the Navy.

I have noticed something though, through bringing up my kids and watching life in general. If you do not have people earn what you give them they do not demonstrate a sense of ownership or responsibility.

My son for instance is a good example. When he graduated from high school my ex bought him a car. I was against the idea as I was brought up differently, but gave in. He didn’t take care of it and after several major repairs she replaced it with another. He killed that one too, and why did he do this? Because they were given to him, and if he would have gone out and earned the money to purchase them he would have had an appreciation of the sacrifices made to make those purchases.

Money is not free and any money that is in you wallet was earned by someone having to go out and work for it. Maybe you got you money from your parents who worked for it. Maybe you got it from your spouse who worked for it.

I do not understand why Joe Welfare gets a check for sitting at home doing nothing. He has no appreciation that someone had to earn that money. Somebody worked for it by putting in many hours on the job and then they had to pay it to Joe Welfare through the form of taxes.

Does Joe Welfare show an appreciation for it? In the majority of cases, they don’t. These are the people spending their welfare checks on lotto tickets, selling the food they buy with food stamps and generally abusing the system. There is no guilt in receiving someone else’s hard earned wages and no incentive to get off the system. The politicians want people on the system because that is votes. The more people you can scare by saying they will take your welfare away, the more votes you will get.

I get a check from the government sure, but that is my Navy retirement and it was earned. Joe Welfare gets a check from the government by keeping those people in power that will give him money for nothing. Let’s just scrap the entire welfare system and have the politicians pay for their votes and eliminate the bureaucracy. Think of the money that can be saved if your local congressman just went door to door handing out cash for votes.

Anyway that is my rant for today, have a good week and I will try and keep up with posting, even though I am still feeling under the weather.

Right of way

Correct me if I am wrong but I always thought that the “Right of way” rule meant that if two people are stopped at an intersection at the same time the one on the right proceeds after they have determined it is safe to do so. Well if you live in San Diego that does not count any more as everyday I see people that don’t even bother to stop at the stop signs at all.

This morning I almost got tee-boned at an intersection and I am a little angry. I was at a stop sign on a major street. I looked both ways and there was a lady driving a green sedan slowing down to stop at the stop sign on my right. I am sure she saw me as my headlights were on. As she slowed down for the stop sign I started forward to make my turn. I was about halfway through my turn and I had to slam on the breaks as she had determined in her mind, I guess, that she had the right of way and sped up or maybe she hit the gas instead of the breaks. Anyway I didn’t hit her and she missed me by about 18 inches.

I am really getting tired of this crap. Yesterday while picking up my mail at the post office and trying to leave the post office parking lot I was prevented from turning onto Reo Drive as six cars in succession failed to stop at the stop sign. And this is an everyday thing any more. As far as I am concerned the city could save a ton of money by just getting rid of the traffic signals since they are not being obeyed anyway.

Anyway I made it to work safely again and am just being extra careful when I am out driving around town. And now that I am at work it looks like I am going to have a very boring day. I was all set to have my students continue with their practice troubleshooting, but the class got picked to go over and go through random drug testing so I guess I will be working on power point presentations until they get back.

Last night on Unification Wars we had a very interesting and busy time. A fed mate and I were out of damage protection and collecting planets and all when a few more fed mates came on line. A few of them accidentally put their outpost in their system and they wound up out of damage protection and at the same time two more members who were not in communication with the rest of us came out and one minute we were two and the next minute we were seven. It looked really awesome to see all of us together in a group on the active page, but it also left very few people to post outpost for the rest of us. Due to some good work by the few remaining members everyone safely made it back in and we made a lot of gains.

Later our leader came on and I almost bankrupted myself posting outpost for him, but I survived that by quickly selling stuff on the market. It was fun, frustrating, and got the adrenalin up all at the same time.

Anyway, I guess that is about it for now. Got to get to work so have a great day everyone.

My 2 cents

I have stayed off the subject of politics lately and then this morning while listening to the radio something hit a nerve so I figured I would add my two cents.

I was listening to the Rick Roberts Show and he had one of those left wing people that try and put the host on the spot. The guy said he was for the current war in Iraq but could not understand why a few of the conservative talk show hosts were against the things Clinton did in Bosnia. So basically he was trying to bait Rick, who didn’t fall into the trap.

But I like what Rick had to say. He highlighted the point that the people in the military do not chose their battles. They do what they are ordered to do, and that is a fact. If I had a choice to go or not go to some of the places I have been or some of the missions I was involved in I might have opted out, but that is not the way the military is run.

If each battle were a debate everyone would be killed while they stood around questioning rather to fire or not. So the military has to be the way it is, strict obedience or orders.

As Rick said, he knows that and respects that. He also said that members of the press need to remember that the reason they have the ability to write freely as they do is because of the men and women who protect their rights to free speech.

Right now the press, some politicians, and anti war activists are speaking out against the war and the military. As Rick puts it, when we have boots on the ground the troops deserve our support, whether you agree or disagree with the conflict.

The political games and the slanted reporting need to stop. Again the troops on the ground are following orders. The time to argue about the war is after the troops come home, but while they are away fighting on foreign shores they should be supported.

Anyway that is my rant for today, time to get something to eat.

BMG Music

I am writing this as kind of a public service announcement.

A couple of months ago I received a music CD in the mail from BMG Music. I never joined this or any other music club, and so I took it back to the post office and had them return it to sender.

Over the weekend I received a bill from them saying that I was delinquent paying this bill. Anyway I was talking to the guys at work and a few of them have had the same thing happen and my daughter also got one of these things too, so I was wondering how many folks this has happened to.

Anyway, I think when I get home today I will check the net to see what is up with this company and if there are similar complaints. Yeah it is only three dollars or so, but I refuse to be shaken down by shady companies.

It seems to me that they bought an address list from someone and are just blanket mailing these things out. I seldom listen to music and I haven’t bought any audio CD’s since about 1995.

Just remember one thing, that the post office will return an item at the companies expense as long as it is sent back unopened, so if you receive one of these things in the mail and you didn’t order it, send it right back and be sure to write that fact on any bills you receive.

Security Check

Today, I woke up a bit early and after putting out the trash and cleaning up a few things, I chatted with Laila before going to work. This morning after our morning prayers, I was watching the news and saw that the Naval Bases were conducting heightened security checks at the gate, so I left about 15 minutes earlier than usual.

On the news, they showed that the traffic into Coronado was backed up clear across the Coronado Bay Bridge and onto both the N and S I-5. It looked really terrible so I did not know what to expect when I got to 32nd Street. It was not bad at all, maybe because I was there earlier than normal.

So now I have a little extra time before the class gets here and we start the final troubleshooting performance tests.

On the way in I was switching back and forth between Rick Roberts and Laura Ingraham’s Radio shows. Laura was talking about, how there is opposition to a bill requiring identification when people vote. There are actually some people in congress that are against this bill, and their reasons are dumb. It costs too much to get Identification is one of them. When you need Identification to get a credit card, beer, cigarettes, or a loan then I think everyone that is alive in this country must have some form of legal documents. The people that are against this bill want the illegal aliens to vote I guess.

Rick Roberts Show was about the speeches made at the United Nations. The United Nations is a totally useless and corrupt organization that needs to be disbanded. The oil for food and all the sex scandals over UN troops in Africa highlight an organization that has out lived its usefulness. When they would place terrorist nations on the UN Security Counsel they just demonstrate their uselessness.

Anyway about the speeches mad by the Presidents of Iran and Venezuela, I say fine. If the US is so evil, no more aid for you. I would break all diplomatic ties and I would freeze all of their assets here in the states. With Iran I would say, stop the nuclear enrichment program or we will sanction them.

We should also seriously look at all the countries that were cheering and clapping during the speeches. Why do we continue to send aid to countries that will use that aid to harm us? The time for common sense is here.

Citgo gasoline is owned by the Government of Venezuela and after all the kind words from Hugo Chavez about our president being the devil, I will never buy a drop of Citgo gasoline.

We need to find out what businesses some of these countries own and just stop buying their stuff. The only thing these people understand is money or war. We can’t war against the whole world, so let’s stop the aid and stop buying their goods.

That is it for today. Have a good week.

World War III?

After waking up late today and doing a few household chores and while waiting for my daughter to get up so we could eat and go to church I started reading a few of the news sites. I came to the realization that we are indeed in the middle of World War III and people do not realize it.

Our enemy does not wear a uniform, and there have not been the big classic battles as there were in World War I and World War II. No, in this one we have suicidal bombers who blow up weddings, funerals, malls, and train stations.

And these bombings are taking place all over the world, not just in Israel and Iraq. People need to wake up to what is going on around the world. There are many news reports coming out of Israel and I have decided to put my World Net Daily news headlines back up above my links on the left side of my blog. I

f you read some of the stories you will know what I am talking about.

How stupid is this

OK, I heard this on the radio and saw it reported on Fox News, then I found it on Drudge. I just want to know why this is news. I guess it just means that many people are less smart than I gave them credit for.

When I am in an area of a thunderstorm I try and stay inside and away from windows. I would never dream of using any electronic or electrical device outside in the rain, just as I would not go golfing or flying a kite in a thunderstorm.

Lightning is electricity folks, and it is attracted to metal objects. And I did not have to go to Basic Electronics and Electricity or Electronics Technician schools to learn that. I think I learned it back in 1st or 2nd grade science classes back in elementary school.

Sheesh, I can not believe this was newsworthy. I guess some people just go to school to keep a chair warm or something.

Why I do not use Cellphones

As an electronics technician who has worked with radar and high powered communications systems for over 30 years now, I have always suspected that cell phones were hazardous to a persons health.

Now Swedish researchers have conducted a study that the heavy use of cell phones cause brain tumors. I have always been suspect of past studies as I am very familiar with how radio frequency equipment works and know that placing a transmitter next to your head and putting out radio waves, no matter how small the wattage is, could have an effect.

Anyway I lost my stepfather back in 1974 to a brain tumor. He, like myself was a US Navy electronics technician for 24 years, but he started back in the days when they were still finding out about the effects of radio frequencies on the body.

By the time I came in, before you could even go work on an antenna, you had to run a man aloft chit (permission to go up the mast). You did this not just on your ship, but other ships on the pier. You had to tag out and secure all equipment listed as possibly harmful to personnel. All of these safety measures were put in place to protect people from the effects of microwave energy.

Even with all the protection offered, some unofficial research we did around the shop a couple of months kind of surprized us a bit. We were wondering why the majority of kids we have are girls, and were wondering if it had anything to do with our chosen profession, and it all basically started as a joke.

Where I work we have about 15 Ultra High Frequency Transceivers (225 MHZ to 399.975 MHZ) in our lab. While we have them all terminated into dummy loads, not all of the energy is disapated by the dummy loads. In fact we use that to our advantage when we want to do back to back checks. We just sit the dummy loads next to one another and can talk from radio to radio.

We also like to listen to the FM commercial radio when we are in lab and we get great reception when we are doing static (not energized) labs. When we are doing dynamic (operational) labs, trying to get a clear FM channel is very difficult due to the bleedover from the transceivers.

We were joking around one day about the fact that we were glad we all did not want any more kids, because of all the residual radiation and then wondered if it really had an effect.

Our unscientific research had us looking at who had boys, who had girls, and when we had them. What we found out was when we were on shore duty in a non-radio frequency environment we had boys, but when we were on sea duty almost all of us had girls. It may just be a coincidence, but it made us think.

Anyway, knowing that a cell phone is like a small microwave transmitter and is very low power, but it is still a microwave device. The power in a microwave oven is not what cooks the food. It is the frequency of the radio waves.

A microwave is a really high frequency alternating waveform. By that I mean it rapidly changes polarity. My microwave oven for instance operates at 2450 MHZ. That means that the waveform changes polarity every .0000000000408 seconds. That is pretty fast and the friction caused by the polarity shifts is what cooks things from the inside out.

While cell phones in the United States operate at lower frequencies from 824-894 MHZ which is somewhat lower these polarities are still changing at a rate of .00000000121 seconds.

I have always suspected that heavy cell phone use could affect people and now there is finally a study that supports that. Anyway, I seldom have used them, don’t own one, and really see no need.