April 18, 2024

Found on Reddit -Recruiting ad for the Coast Guard...

Sorry, don't have an Instagram to post this on, so here's the text from gocoastguard.gov...

" Think you're too old or out of shape for the Coast Guard? Think again. Discover what you can be when you find your grit..."

Laz wonders if they'll take a 58 year old with arthritis and Long Covid. He's found his grit already, and he's qualified to get into comms or networking...



Haele

April 18, 2024

Example of cross border crime - burglary rings using tourist visas...

Sorry for pretty much just the link, but I'm posting from my phone.
Burglary crews have been coming to the US from Ecuador, Chile, and Brazil on tourist visas, hitting wealthy residential areas over a period of a week or so, then move on to other cities until their visas run out. And I'm sure they're not the only criminal gangs from other countries doing this.
Part of the problem is that the vetting for tourist visas into the US belongs to the country of origin. And I'm pretty sure some of these countries aren't too careful - basically "has the application been found guilty of a violent crime?", and that's the extent of it.

Yeah, those poor folks crossing without documents to get jobs to support their families or fleeing gangs are causing all the immigrant crime in the US. Not foreigners coming over regularly through airports on tourist visas.

Haele

[link:https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/burglary-tourism-foreign-organized-crime-groups-are-targeting-san-diego-homes-da-stephan-says/3490647/https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/burglary-tourism-foreign-organized-crime-groups-are-targeting-san-diego-homes-da-stephan-says/3490647/|

April 17, 2024

Possible Meteor sighting in San Diego -

At 2000 PDT (8:00 pm Pacific for you non military clock readers) pretty much on the dot, we were driving facing pretty much directly east when this ball of green came straight down from about 60 degrees above the horizon to about 10 degrees above the horizon. It was either splitting up as it was coming down into a main and a smaller one, or it was two rocks.
Pretty big, too. So it was either small and close or middling and higher up/further away.
But it was definitely green, whatever it was. Laz and I said it at the same time.
So...be careful buying succulent plants over the next couple weeks.

Haele

March 25, 2024

Border Policy affects? San Diego Binational Half Marathon -

A friend of mine passed this on; quite a few military members intend to sign up, and their waiting on legal to okay the route and event. This event allows runners to register in both the US and Mexico.

Prior to 2001, this would not be a problem. The only issue would have been the border crossing area. Which, as one local pundit proclaimed, might take twice as long as the race to get across...

I'm hoping they will have a fast track line at the border, and that the runners coming up from Mexico won't get hassled.

[link:https://binationalrace.com/|

Haele

February 16, 2024

Products that aren't what they used to be.

The kids are home this week (Teacher break), so last night I got them the fixings for quickie Apple Cinnamon Rolls using the Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls, some left over fried apples from last night's stuffed pork chops, and raisins.
I had taught the eldest how to unroll and re-roll the dough from the can with the filling inside(pinch the bottom of the dough as you re-roll) a couple years ago, but this time she calls me from my home office here, complaining she can't unroll the dough.
They aren't rolls anymore. They're biscuits that are cut, the top molded to look like it's rolled and brushed with a cinnamon sugar.
So we made filled biscuits instead.
They also don't have as much baking powder as they used to, even the top of the biscuit wasn't as fluffy as it used to be.
Guess the oldest is going to have to stop looking for shortcuts and buckle down and learn how to make sweet biscuit roll dough. It takes time (about an hour and a half for prep and the dough alone), and she's still a bit scared of screwing up.
To which I always say, " unless it's charcoal, it's still eatable"...

But man, that's a sucky trick for Pillsbury. They knew half the joy of those rolls was to unroll them and add dried fruit, nuts, or syrups before baking to jazz them up

Haele

February 6, 2024

Here we go...Tornado Warnings 2 miles SE of us in San Diego...

And now, the other band of heavy rain is overhead.
And me in a double-wide.

On edit - the rotation stayed in the clouds, other side of the ridge from the grandkid's school.

Stay dry, San Diego.

Haele

January 22, 2024

San Diegans, Check in! First major city -wide flood of the century...

I just came back from an hour and a half circuitous route to pick up the grandkids after their school flooded and power there went out. Only 2 1/2 miles away, normally a 20 minute there and back. To get there, I normally drive along Imperial Ave from Market to 69th, but the creek that runs along the Blue line Trolley overflowed about 3 - 5 ft above the banks. GPS was no help, especially since the whole area is hills and dips that were about 1 - 2 ft of rushing water.
I saw a jacked up Jeep stall out trying to ford, never saw anything like that here in San Diego since I moved here in 1984.
The bases all had shelter in place alerts.

Haele

January 7, 2024

My Two Cents - Tech Bros, Financial "Wizards", Pundits and Academia....

My Two Cents based on my opinions, shaped by six decades of academic experience (I was a good baby and my parents often took me to their college classes which I still vaguely remember), technical and humanities education and research.

1. Research and Experimentation is iterative. It builds on previous discoveries or writings. Therefore, logically, as individuals or groups work to advance a science, ideas, or their personal positions, these advancements are influenced by a myriad of whatever went before. They simply pick what resonates with their personal philosophical view and go with it.

2. People who are not sitting on their laurels because they gaslight themselves that they are at the top of their fields are constantly reading about or experimenting with the latest advances within their chosen fields.
These people are the ones who are too busy actually doing the work and refining the new information and technology to make headlines or show up for the cameras at conferences, fancy dress events, and on TV/Streaming services on a weekly basis.
You know, the people who are writing the scripts or realizing the ideas for the Bro or Wizard CEOs or Pundit mouthpieces - the Staff.

3. Tech Bros, Pundits, and "Financial Wizards" who find themselves in positions of power routinely plagiarize other people's ideas and work. Especially literary works they read as teenagers.
Those whose high incomes depend on the more emotion based sciences that make up successful political influencing, media dissemination, marketing and branding are constantly referencing authors whose works influenced their career choices.

I have noted before that if one looked at the educational and work background between someone like me, an average computer technician turned Project Manager and Systems Engineer, and Billionaire Tech Bros like Elon Musk or Larry Ellison, the primary differences are the initial financial backing to get into a good university and network, personal marketing, successful plagerization (err, leveraging on or buying out) of other people's hard work and ultimately luck.
One could say the same thing about the average accountant/bank manager like my brother in law and Bill Ackerman or Jimmie Dimon.

My Two Cents. Go ahead and Discuss.

Haele

December 22, 2023

Well, that was a wakeup thunderclap.

Sounded like it was right on top of us and might have hit a tree nearby. Glad I don't live in L.A., it's pouring out there right now.

Haele

December 10, 2023

Just saw a meteor heading past San Diego!

Pretty high up, ENE (heading towards AZ or NM) 5:15 pm Pacific. Sun was going down, so it was pretty bright against the navy blue sky, with a long clear contrail.
Times like this I wish I had a dashcam.

Haele.