Wit, Wisdom, and Whimsy. (your mileage may vary)
December 28, 2011
commentary, Humor, Personal government nonsense, high heels, keep off the cement 1 Comment
Guess what I did tonight??
Brand new (ish) sidewalk closed because someone can’t walk in heels (it wasn’t me!) without stepping off a perfectly good cement path!
I have no idea what they’re going to do.
It was originally put in so people could walk to the street without getting their shoes wet and slippery from the grass.
Sigh.
Rebel Jim. I walked on the sidewalk. Yeah, so arrest me.
December 23, 2011
9-1-1, commentary, geek, Personal california winters, frosted windshield, overtime, winter solstice Leave a comment
7am in California
Trying to head home after a 14 hour shift.
I’m ready for summer, please.
December 21, 2011
commentary, geek, Humor geek, science humor, Tweets of God Leave a comment
Oh, I love a good scientific joke. This is great! Thanks, God!
December 20, 2011
commentary, geek, video air national guard, clovis avenue, Fresno Yosemite International, FYI, jet fighters Leave a comment
One end of Fresno Yosemite International Airport (yes, Fresno really has an international airport!) is mere yards from a busy feeder street, Clovis Avenue. As you sit at the traffic light, planes come floating in for a landing, and it feels like you can reach out and touch them. Fighter jets from the Fresno Air National Guard post tend to scream, rather than float, as they come in for a landing.
Two things I noticed in this video. My windshield was really dirty, and the turn signal relay is a noisy contraption!
Squirrel has two meanings here… like the dog in UP!, it’s easy to get distracted by something suddenly screaming into range, and also an inside joke at a certain computer IT company.
December 16, 2011
commentary, geek, Personal photo effects, There's an app for that Leave a comment
I’m at work. But was it last night, or was it a long time ago, and far far away?
There’s an app for that!
December 16, 2011
commentary London fog, Tulare County, Tule fog 2 Comments
London town, you don’t have anything on good old central valley Tule fog!
This isn’t even all that bad!
3 am, December 16, 2011, Visalia, California
December 15, 2011
Gay, Humor muscle santa, Santa Claus, Secret Santa 2 Comments
He could be my secret Santa any day. (Just needs to lose the cigar)
December 10, 2011
commentary, geek, Personal lunar eclipse, Moon, orbital mechanics 1 Comment
So I’m standing outside in 28 degree weather, watching the Moon being swallowed by Earth’s shadow. I’m standing there thinking, “I wish I had a decent camera to capture this with… the iPhone just doesn’t have the oomph, and my other camera probably wouldn’t either, even if I had fresh batteries for it.”
Then it dawned on me… “Jim, you’re as dense as neutronium! YOU’VE GOT A TELESCOPE!” A quick run into the house to get it, and back out and set up in minutes. By the time I got it pointed at the Moon, two things conspired to prevent a good shot. One, the Moon was almost completely in shadow, and the iPhone just isn’t up to that, and two, the next door neighbor’s spotlight on the garage came on! Still, I managed to get these to shots, by simply holding the iPhone camera over the lens and moving it around until something came into focus. Better than nothing, and now I know how to make it work, and I will try some other shots some other time. Look out Jupiter and Saturn… you’re next! Space Cadet Jimmie Joe is now itching for some astro-shots!
December 7, 2011
commentary, Gay, geek, Personal Brian Jacob Smith, Chick-Fil-A, LGBT, Stargate Universe, Twitter Leave a comment
So one of the cool things about Twitter is being able to follow “stars”. I’m not much of a star-struck type, I don’t try to get autographs, or buy lots of material licensed by famous people. It was cool to get George Takei, appearing at a Star Trek convention in Visalia years ago, to sign a copy of a science fiction novel he wrote, and I once walked past a television actor (Lance Kerwin of ‘James at 15’) on the sidewalk at Venice Beach. Late one night Steven Segal came into the liquor/convenience store I was working in (and behaved like an asshole. I think he was insulted that I didn’t recognize him. I just thought a grown man giggling that he loudly passed gas was a bit juvenile). I don’t really have a desire to meet actors, because I tend to think of them as the characters they portray, not as the real individuals they are. I think that sets you up for a disappointment, because the real person is probably not much like the character you know. The real person may be someone it would be great to get to know, but they could also be a self-absorbed jerk. Even in today’s over exposed world, the real character of a person who “fakes” a character for a living, could be something much less than their public persona.
Twitter adds a new dimension to interaction with the famous, however. I follow a few famous people, simply because they’re in something I liked, or are somehow related to something I’m interested in. Simon Pegg, George Takei, Buzz Aldrin, Bill Maher, All Mighty God, Brent Spiner, David Hewett, David Blue, and Brian Jacob Smith are a few of the “famous” I follow. Some of them Tweet only professional stuff, intended to promote their careers or particular interests. Some only randomly Tweet, and others run hot and cold. I don’t expect to actually interact with them, they simply have too many people Tweeting at them to expect that they’ll see my Tweet in the flood of messages directed at them. Every once in a while, however, quite unexpectedly, you hit paydirt.
Not expecting him to actually see it, or respond, I sent off a Tweet to an actor in a favorite show of mine, Stargate Universe. Brian Jacob Smith, who played Lt. Scott in the SyFy Channel series responded.
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
Cop show drama in real life
December 30, 2011
Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary kidnapper shot by police, police shooting, tulare police shooting 1 Comment
Photo: Ron Holman/Visalia Times Delta
One of the many interesting aspects about my job is that I get to experience things most people never will. For instance, my tangential role in yesterday’s kidnapping and police shooting event. Beginning in Porterville, a male subject kidnapped a woman and drove away with her. We got a BOL (Be On the Lookout broadcast) from Porterville Police Department not long after the initial kidnapping. I was working our channel 2, which is the north end of the county. Since we didn’t know where the suspect might be going, I broadcast the details, which included the vehicle description, it’s license plate, the names of the suspect and victim, and that the suspect was armed. That’s usually the end of it, as it’s rare for patrol units to simply run across the subject of a BOL (although it DOES happen).
Through technological means, a possible location of the suspect was traced to Tulare. Tulare PD located the vehicle, and at some point attempted to make contact with the suspect. In the following moments, Tulare PD officers were forced to open fire, killing the suspect.
Although the initial call of 1199, officer needs help, was dramatic enough in itself, the most amazing moment was later that night, when we got to hear a recording of the “shots fired!” transmissions from the police units. While they were still firing.
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