Blogger Jim

April 30, 2011

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I’ve been spending some time today on blog duty, editing posts at QueerVisalia.com, QueerFresno.com, and QueerLandia.com.

If you’d like to join us at QueerVisalia or QueerFresno, just go to each site, register, and start blogging!  It’s an easy way to get your feet wet in the great big ocean of blogging, see if you like it, and let us know what YOU think of things!

You can also set up a personal blog on the WordPress.com site, that’s where I’m hosting this one, and let the world know what you think of anything your heart desires!  It’s a great hobby, and depending on your goals and interests, a great way to “win friends and influence others”.

Jump in!  The water’s fine!

Another Night in Paradise

April 29, 2011

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It’s Friday night, back at it.

Freedom From Religion Foundation

April 27, 2011

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Tornado Strikes Visalia! I must have slept right through it.

April 24, 2011

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The Universe, at my command?

April 24, 2011

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So yesterday Aaron came by and set me up with AT&T’s U-Verse Internet, TV, and VOIP telephone service.  The appointment was scheduled between 1pm and 3pm, and he arrived right at 3pm.  Talk about timing!  So now we see how this goes, after having one problem right off the bat.  Seems when I ordered it, I didn’t check as closely as I thought I had, and ended up with a TV package that didn’t include the three channels I watch the most!  Well, that just won’t do, so as soon as the service center was taking calls I phoned in and upped the package to something with at least SyFy, BBC America, and MSNBC.  It looks like I’ll even be able to watch Logo! Because of my screw-up, I missed the season premier of Dr. Who last night.  I’m hoping they re-run it soon.  Anyway, next up is learning how to program the recorder, including how to work it all from my iPhone.  As Aaron and I were discussing, technology has really been leaping along.  It was a bit humorous (to me anyway) that he had never seen or even heard of the brand name of my television, a Bell & Howell.  Yeah, a Bell & Howell.  Manufactured in 1995.  In Tennessee.   Before I bought it at Wards, I thought they just did power tools, too.  Although the movie Back to the Future II should have been a clue…  the pizza hydrator was a Bell & Howell.  He suprised me, though, by being able to set the DVR remote to operate the set right off the bat.  I’ve never been able to get any other remote to do that.  I’d always written it off to the odd brand, but perhaps it just requires the operator to be smarter than the remote! 😉

Oh, the Belkin UPS next to the modem came with the set-up.  Since the modem draws power from the house circuit, it has to have a back-up in case the electric service goes out.  Can’t have the liability for not having 9-1-1 available if there’s no electricity!  I bet the lawyers insisted on that one.  But it’s nice, as long as people remember to change it out once in a while.

The Universe is mine!  Bwwahahahahaahaha!

Friends Don’t Let Friends Jet Ski

April 22, 2011

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Plus

equals

The crazy thing?

Neither vessel touched the other!

And no alcohol was involved, either!

This occurred a long time ago, but the subject recently came up in a discussion with the prime suspect.

Beetle set to infest US – again?

April 18, 2011

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Photo Credit Volkswagon

2012 Volkswagon Beetle

A newly designed VW Beetle will make it’s appearance as a 2012 model, kicking off VW’s attempt to increase it’s market share in the US.

The Beetle’s first design was approved by Adolph Hitler.

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He Came Back For A Short Visit

April 14, 2011

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Yep, Space Cadet Jimmie Joe popped up for a quick visit this morning.  At 4:50 am, to be exact.

That’s when the International Space Station was visible gliding across the sky from my driveway again.  Nothing more than a bright star, moving across the heavens.  But I know what it is, and so does Space Cadet Jimmie Joe.  When the ISS makes it’s appearance, you can be sure he will, too.

Science fiction novels, movies, the Jetsons, Star Trek, Johnny Quest.  Isaac Assimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Orson Scott Card, Carl Sagan.  Jimmie Joe is from a certain time, the 60’s and 70’s.  Things sometimes looked bleak back then, but they also held potential.  The Moon.  A Space Station.  Mars.

In 50 years we’ve gone from the first human in outer space, six manned expeditions to the Moon, and now a permanent presence in an orbiting laboratory above the Earth.  In 65 years we went from the first airplane to landing men on the Moon!

Space Cadet Jimmie Joe pops in from time to time to see how things are progressing.  He’s excited about the internet, my iPhone, the laptop I’m writing this blog post on, and all the cool futuristic stuff he sees, but he’s really disappointed that the flying cars haven’t made their appearance yet.   I am too. After all, promises were made.  To both of us.

I hope Space Cadet Jimmie Joe never gets so disappointed that he stops making his visits.

I’d really miss him.

 

Display Sites Chosen For Retired Shuttle Fleet

April 12, 2011

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NASA Administrator (and former astronaut) Charles Bolden, in a ceremony at one of the Shuttle Processing Facilities, announced Tuesday the locations where the retired Space Shuttle Fleet will be displayed.

Enterprise, the first Space Shuttle, used as a test platform which never went into space, will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution‘s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport, to New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

Shuttle Discovery will be displayed in Enterprise’s place at the Udvar-Hazy Center.

Shuttle Endeavour will be at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Shuttle Atlantis will remain at the Kennedy Space Center, on display at the Visitor’s Complex.

Retirement of the Space Shuttle Fleet leaves the United States without the capability to send people into orbit.  Any access by astronauts will be on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.  The Constellation program, which was to be our follow-up to the Shuttle has been defunded, leaving the United States hoping that successful commercial vehicles can be developed in the future.  Until such vehicles are developed, at an unknown point in the future, the United States can only send unmanned rockets into space.

A Tale of Two Leaders

April 10, 2011

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Last night I attended the annual Public Safety Communications Association Dispatcher Of The Year banquet in Fresno.  The yearly event recognizes dispatchers from area agencies, and highlights the often unsung heroes who toil behind the scenes to support deputy sheriffs, police officers, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics.

Last night’s event was started off by opening remarks from two of Fresno County’s top law enforcement officers.  Fresno Sheriff Margaret Mims, and Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer spoke to the assembled dispatchers, family, officers, deputies, paramedics, firefighters, friends and supporters.  This blog is about the difference between those two presentations.

Margaret Mims, Fresno County Sheriff

Police Chief Jerry Dyer, Fresno PD

One speaker used the entire time at the podium to talk about dispatchers, the other started off talking about dispatchers, but veered off the night’s topic halfway through and instead turned to speaking about themselves and their religion. I’ve not seen the first speaker in person before, but I have had to sit through the “god talk” from the second at previous banquets. You can probably guess who’s talk I preferred.
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