Friday, August 14, 2015

Bad Intentions: Caught Before Anyone is Harmed

Good Day World!

The bad guys don’t always get to carry out their bad intentions.

Sometimes they are thwarted by chance, good police work, or alert citizens.

For example:

A New York cop pulled a vehicle over the other day for a traffic violation, and was surprised to find a loaded Bible during a search brought about because of the scent of marijuana. (Source)

Loaded Bible? Well, actually it was container that looked like a leather-bound King James Bible. But instead of the word of God, it contained a loaded Glock 17, 10 bullets and a magazine.

In my book, that means the owner had bad intentions. The police felt the same way and arrested him on a weapons charge.

The next case is about a Cincinnati man accused of bringing a loaded gun to campus during officer's visitation day.

Kamaron Lyshe had a gun concealed under his shirt and told officers three different stories about why he was there.

At his sentencing the Judge concluded he brought the gun with bad intentions. “It could only be one thing” the Judge said regarding the reason Lyshe had the gun.

In some cases bad intentions are avoided by the sheer stupidity of the person committing a crime.

Authorities say a New Jersey man planning a burglary inadvertently dialed 911, allowing dispatchers to listen in on his conversation. Somerset County prosecutors say Branchburg police received the errant call on July 27, but were unsure of the caller's location.

They learned that the phone number had recently been assigned to 42-year-old Scott Esser, of Elizabeth who was promptly arrested.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Editor’s Note: I’ll be gone Aug. 15th & 16th. Back on Monday the 17th.

 

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Finally! A Reproducing Robot!

Image result for robots having babies

Good Day World!

I Robot is a reality.

The movie “I Robot” came to mind when I read about what researchers were doing with artificial evolution experiments recently.

More on that shortly.

One of my favorite robot movies harkens back to the silent film era. If you have a few minutes watch…

METROPOLIS
In the future city of Metropolis, people are divided into exalted thinkers and downtrodden workers, and a robot disguised as a woman causes sexually charged mischief. Fritz Lang's masterpiece (1927) was the most expensive silent movie ever made.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Researchers have demonstrated a sort of rudimentary artificial evolution: a robot that creates generations of smaller "baby" robots, evaluates them and selects the best to "live" on — just like Mother Nature.

Check this video out

“The study was led by Fumiya Iida at the University of Cambridge.

A "mother robot" assembled smaller robots by gluing together pieces, some of which were equipped with motors, in various configurations.

It then observed how quickly the resulting "children" could move, and then kept the designs of the fastest ones and disassembled the rest.

It then included this information when creating a new "generation" — either mutating the successful designs or integrating them into less successful ones.” (Source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Sing along with ‘It’s My Party and I’ll Whine If I Want To’

Good Day World!

Are you ready to sing along with the latest big hit in political tunes?

“It’s My Party and I’ll Whine if I Want To” (to the tune of It’s My Party by Leslie Gore) is currently the number one hit on the Political PlayBill Chart.

The source for this tune came from Donald Trump in a recent NBC interview where he declared;

“I do whine because I want to win and I’m not happy about not winning. And I am a whiner and I keep whining and whining until I win.”

Okay then -with apologies to Leslie Gore’s classic - here’s how the new song goes:

It's my GOP Party, and I'll whine if I want to
Whine if I want to, whine if I want to
You would whine too if everyone was after you!

Nobody knows how to solve immigration
But me
So quit calling me a racist
When I’m telling you how things should be

It's my GOP Party, and I'll whine if I want to
Whine if I want to, whine if I want to
You would whine too if people picked on you!

Watch all the re-runs of my TV show all night
But leave me alone for a while
while I dance with extremists
And I sport a smile

It's my party, and I'll whine if I want to
whine if I want to, whine if I want to

Oh, Jeb and Hillary just walked through the door
Like a queen with her King
Oh what a campaign surprise
Hillary’s wearin' his ring!

It's my party, and I'll whine if I want to
whine if I want to, whine if I want to…

                                                                         ****

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

You Aren’t Going to Like This: Air Traffic Controller Study Suppressed

Good Day World!

It’s never good when a government entity hides something from the public.

It’s even worse when public safety is at risk.

If you’re a frequent flyer who thinks air traffic controllers’ are always alert and rested, you may want to sit down for a moment.

(Illustration source)

Nearly four years ago, Federal Aviation Administration officials knew there was a problem – air traffic controllers’ schedules were causing chronic fatigue. That meant they knew most workers were less than alert.

The suppressed study found that nearly 2 in 10 controllers had committed significant errors in the previous year — such as bringing planes too close together — and over half attributed the errors to fatigue.

So why have Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials been so secretive about this study that was produced by NASA at the FAA's request?

You’d think it was in everyone’s best interest to keep the national air traffic system safe. But in spite of repeated requests and a Freedom of Information Act request by The Associated Press, the FAA stonewalled them.

FAA officials also refused to share the report with researchers from the National Academies, which advises Congress on science issues.

However, the AP was finally able to obtain a draft of the final report dated Dec. 1, 2011.

WHAT PROMPTED THE STUDY?

The impetus for the study was a recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board to the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association to revise controller schedules to provide rest periods that are long enough "to obtain sufficient restorative sleep."

The study was completed several months after a series of incidents involving controllers falling asleep on the job embarrassed FAA officials and led to the resignation of the head of the agency's air traffic organization.

After the incidents, the FAA and the controllers' union announced several changes to address fatigue, including requirements that there be at least two controllers on duty after midnight and that controllers be provided at least nine hours between shifts to rest.

But the transportation safety board told the FAA in 2013: "We are concerned that, given the realities of the time required for an employee to commute home and back to work, and to attend to personal and family needs, a nine-hour break may not allow enough time for an employee to obtain eight continuous hours of sleep." (Source)

So far, nothings changed. There’s a lot of talking going on, but no action. Meanwhile somewhere in an airport near you there’s an air-traffic controller struggling to stay awake!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Monday, August 10, 2015

Bullying Others Doesn’t Lend Credibility to “Black Lives Matter” Activists

  Good Day World!

African-Americans have a good reason to be upset with policing practices that marginalize them.

(Photo -Mara Willaford, Black Lives Matter activist, disrupts Social Security Works Coalition's celebration of entitlement services, where Bernie Sanders was scheduled to speak. ALEX GARLAND)

But that shouldn’t mean acting like rude asses to get their message out to the public.

Black activists have a forum in the mainstream media and social media. They can apply for permits to march and protest their plight in any state, or city.

Some protestors – in particular “Black Lives Matter” activists – however, are going too far with their methods of getting their message out.

For example:  

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders had to leave a campaign event in Seattle without giving his speech Saturday after "black lives matter" activists took over the podium.

Two black women walked up and literally pushed the presidential candidate aside, shredding any pretense of being civil.

They approached the podium just as Sanders began addressing the crowd of several thousand, and demanded the microphone. Sanders stepped aside, and one woman got into an argument with an organizer, shouting "We are angry!"

After she got the microphone, the crowd booed. They didn’t come to hear a protest, they came to listen to a man who was running for president and to see what he stands for.

It was the second time in a month that “black lives” activists protested racial inequality by interrupting an event. On July 18, "black lives matter" demonstrators entered a Netroots Nation forum and took over that program.

But these activists felt that their message was the only one that mattered. By rudely taking over a public forum they overstepped the bounds of decency. Sander’s should have been able to speak without being intimidated.

It’s called Free Speech. 

If “black lives matter” activists want to get their message out to a receptive audience they need to respect others, and to stop bullying people who are only exercising their First Amendment rights.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Sunday, August 9, 2015

‘Lone wolves’ are stalking our judicial system

Good Day World!

No man-made judicial system is perfect.

The United States boasts about it’s justice system with 12 jurors ultimately deciding a person’s fate.

But let’s be clear on one thing; the system can be gamed.

(Illustration source) 

Instead of talking about all the ways lawyers can subvert justice through technicalities, I’m just going to center on ONE WAY our judicial system can be sabotaged.

First, this recent story:

“The jury deciding whether Aurora movie theater shooter James Holmes should be sentenced to death ended deliberations Friday after it became apparent one juror would not budge from her opposition to a death sentence, a juror told reporters.

Because the jury could not reach a unanimous decision, Holmes will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for opening fire during a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" on July 20, 2012, killing 12 people and wounding 70 others.” (Source)

If you haven’t already guessed where I’m going with this, it’s simple: one person can prevent justice by ignoring facts because they don’t believe in something – like the death penalty.

Yes, potential jurors are vetted by the prosecution, and the defense. But, if that person choses to lie about their real feelings about a certain subject - like their beliefs regarding the death penalty, they can.

In that case, the trial is over before it begins. One person is all it takes to disrupt justice. That same person could have other reasons to lie, like concealing their connection to the accused (friendship or a bribe to lie) in order to obtain a mistrial.

Today, you often hear the term “lone wolf.” It’s usually in reference to a terrorist activity. I’m suggesting that “lone wolves” are also stalking our justice system.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

Universal Music Power

In a delightful description of the power of music William Congreve wrote "Music hath charms to sooth a savage beast..." in his 16...