Cars. Explosions. Exploding cars. Stuff blows up. Like cars.
I can't wait.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
White House Working on Privacy Guidelines for Drones
In an act of ultimate hypocrisy, the Obama Administration is working on developing policies defined to protect "privacy" for citizens against drone technologies. This from the same administration that has given us an abusive IRS and an ever spying NSA (hi, NSA!)
It is astonishing to me what this President can do with his media enablers to absolutely create news where none exists, and to carry forward stories that are abject lies. This administration has cried "SQUIRREL" over and over again, and the media dutifully reports it, and a mindless electorate looks toward the distraction.
Again and again.
It is astonishing to me what this President can do with his media enablers to absolutely create news where none exists, and to carry forward stories that are abject lies. This administration has cried "SQUIRREL" over and over again, and the media dutifully reports it, and a mindless electorate looks toward the distraction.
Again and again.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Leading Fron Behind
Leading is hard. It is tough to be the one that makes decisions, to potentially be wrong, to do what is right, to set a tone, to be responsible, to deliver results, to influence others, and to deliver outcomes. But in our current administration, we have none of that. Our dearth of leadership is beyond gaping - it is a chasm that hasn't been seen in this country since pre-World War One.
The world is completely falling apart before our eyes. Russia in the Ukraine, Libya exploding, Hamas using kids as shields, South America ravaging our own borders, Iran another day closer to a nuke, planes falling from the skies, and chaos everywhere. And when the world used to turn their eyes to the US for leadership, security, and standing up for what is right, they now see a feckless, impotent, and ignorant superpower wearing a kryptonite cape of a philosopy of "leading from behind."
What does that even mean? It's wrong by definition. It's like saying "winning by losing."
Leaders lead. That's what they do. And they sure as hell don't do it "from behind."
Where this philosophy will lead us (no pun intended), is downright frightening.
The world is completely falling apart before our eyes. Russia in the Ukraine, Libya exploding, Hamas using kids as shields, South America ravaging our own borders, Iran another day closer to a nuke, planes falling from the skies, and chaos everywhere. And when the world used to turn their eyes to the US for leadership, security, and standing up for what is right, they now see a feckless, impotent, and ignorant superpower wearing a kryptonite cape of a philosopy of "leading from behind."
What does that even mean? It's wrong by definition. It's like saying "winning by losing."
Leaders lead. That's what they do. And they sure as hell don't do it "from behind."
Where this philosophy will lead us (no pun intended), is downright frightening.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Hamas Using Human Shields, Nobody Cares
The pictures are horrific and graphic. But yet nobody, save a few in the media and the Israelis themselves, are talking about the real reason why those pictures exist:
I'm not so concerned about the easily swayed dupes. I'm more concerned about those that know better, but just flat out want Israel to be annihilated, regardless of the method or the cost. Hatred of Israel has been going on for thousands of years now, and appears to be continuing unabated.
I'm not so concerned about the easily swayed dupes. I'm more concerned about those that know better, but just flat out want Israel to be annihilated, regardless of the method or the cost. Hatred of Israel has been going on for thousands of years now, and appears to be continuing unabated.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Mark Dayton Donates 2.8% of Income to Charity
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton released his tax returns. The heir to the Dayton fortune was embarrassed to have donated just $1,000 to charity last year. But don't worry, this year the trust fund baby dropped $10,000 to charity. On an income of $353,000. For 2.8% of his "income" (note, this has nothing to do with the wealth he has tucked away).
I reading the article on the StarTribune, it is interesting to see the apologists for the Governor/Cheapskate. There are two basic themes there:
I reading the article on the StarTribune, it is interesting to see the apologists for the Governor/Cheapskate. There are two basic themes there:
- Conservatives give to things like churches, which aren't really charity. If you take that out of the equation, Liberals donate more
- Conservatives don't understand that things like taxes actually benefit everyone, not just religious fanatics
Let's take each of these one at a time:
- On the church argument, there are two points. 1) Take the Catholic Church, for example. There is no bigger entity in the world that educates, heals, protects, feeds, clothes, and takes care of people. It's not even close. And it is absolutely being done down at the parish level. So take your assumptions about religion and stick them with the rest of your ignorance. 2) Even factoring out religious donations, I guarantee Conservatives donate more. That certainly applies to me relative to Governor Dayton, and my income was significantly less than his, and my bank account is a rounding error compared to his. Just a couple that got my support last year were Wounded Warriors, Caring and Sharing Hands, Alzheimer's Association, American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, Goodwill, United Way, Second Harvest, Messmer Schools, Disabled American Veterans, Food for the Poor, the Salvation Army, and over a half dozen wildlife conservation organizations.
And this is not the full list. - Taxes aren't charity. Despite what Joe Biden and Mark Dayton claim, they aren't. They're wasteful contributions (spent on things like IRS hard drives, for example), that keep people needy, and not moving them out of poverty or predicaments. Are there examples of some being helped? Oh, sure. Has poverty gotten better since Lyndon Johnson declared war on it 50 years ago? Hell no. Not one damn bit. Suckers.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Fascinating Study on Restaurant Patrons
Recently, a restaurant in NYC was seeing bad reviews for service, and wondered what was going on. They felt they hadn't changed appreciably, and had been a very popular place for many tourists and locals alike. Fortunately for them, they had access to video surveillance from back in 2004, and could see what, if anything, was happening.
This is what they found:
2004:
Customers walk in.
They gets seated and are given menus, out of 45 customers 3 request to be seated elsewhere.
Customers on average spend 8 minutes before closing the menu to show they are ready to order.
Waiters shows up almost instantly takes the order.
Food starts getting delivered within 6 minutes, obviously the more complex items take way longer.
Out of 45 customers 2 sent items back that where too cold we assume (given they were not steak we assume they wanted the item heated up more).
Waiters keep an eye out for their tables so they can respond quickly if the customer needs something.
Customers are done, check delivered, and within 5 minutes they leave.
Average time from start to finish: 1:05
2014:
Customers walk in.
Customers get seated and is given menus, out of 45 customers 18 requested to be seated elsewhere.
Before even opening the menu they take their phones out, some are taking photos while others are simply doing something else on their phone (sorry we have no clue what they are doing and do not monitor customer WIFI activity).
7 out of the 45 customers had waiters come over right away, they showed them something on their phone and spent an average of 5 minutes of the waiter's time. Given this is recent footage, we asked the waiters about this and they explained those customers had a problem connecting to the WIFI and demanded the waiters try to help them.
Finally the waiters are walking over to the table to see what the customers would like to order. The majority have not even opened the menu and ask the waiter to wait a bit.
Customer opens the menu, places their hands holding their phones on top of it and continue doing whatever on their phone.
Waiter returns to see if they are ready to order or have any questions. The customer asks for more time.
Finally they are ready to order.
Total average time from when the customer was seated until they placed their order 21 minutes.
Food starts getting delivered within 6 minutes, obviously the more complex items take way longer.
26 out of 45 customers spend an average of 3 minutes taking photos of the food.
14 out of 45 customers take pictures of each other with the food in front of them or as they are eating the food. This takes on average another 4 minutes as they must review and sometimes retake the photo.
9 out of 45 customers sent their food back to reheat. Obviously if they didn't pause to do whatever on their phone the food wouldn't have gotten cold.
27 out of 45 customers asked their waiter to take a group photo. 14 of those requested the waiter retake the photo as they were not pleased with the first photo. On average this entire process between the chit chatting and reviewing the photo taken added another 5 minutes and obviously caused the waiter not to be able to take care of other tables he/she was serving.
Given in most cases the customers are constantly busy on their phones it took an average of 20 minutes more from when they were done eating until they requested a check. Furthermore once the check was delivered it took 15 minutes longer than 10 years ago for them to pay and leave.
8 out of 45 customers bumped into other customers or in one case a waiter (texting while walking) as they were either walking in or out of the Restaurant.
Average time from start to finish: 1:55
A couple of days ago, I wrote about the massive gains in productivity brought about by technology.
I take it all back...
This is what they found:
2004:
Customers walk in.
They gets seated and are given menus, out of 45 customers 3 request to be seated elsewhere.
Customers on average spend 8 minutes before closing the menu to show they are ready to order.
Waiters shows up almost instantly takes the order.
Food starts getting delivered within 6 minutes, obviously the more complex items take way longer.
Out of 45 customers 2 sent items back that where too cold we assume (given they were not steak we assume they wanted the item heated up more).
Waiters keep an eye out for their tables so they can respond quickly if the customer needs something.
Customers are done, check delivered, and within 5 minutes they leave.
Average time from start to finish: 1:05
2014:
Customers walk in.
Customers get seated and is given menus, out of 45 customers 18 requested to be seated elsewhere.
Before even opening the menu they take their phones out, some are taking photos while others are simply doing something else on their phone (sorry we have no clue what they are doing and do not monitor customer WIFI activity).
7 out of the 45 customers had waiters come over right away, they showed them something on their phone and spent an average of 5 minutes of the waiter's time. Given this is recent footage, we asked the waiters about this and they explained those customers had a problem connecting to the WIFI and demanded the waiters try to help them.
Finally the waiters are walking over to the table to see what the customers would like to order. The majority have not even opened the menu and ask the waiter to wait a bit.
Customer opens the menu, places their hands holding their phones on top of it and continue doing whatever on their phone.
Waiter returns to see if they are ready to order or have any questions. The customer asks for more time.
Finally they are ready to order.
Total average time from when the customer was seated until they placed their order 21 minutes.
Food starts getting delivered within 6 minutes, obviously the more complex items take way longer.
26 out of 45 customers spend an average of 3 minutes taking photos of the food.
14 out of 45 customers take pictures of each other with the food in front of them or as they are eating the food. This takes on average another 4 minutes as they must review and sometimes retake the photo.
9 out of 45 customers sent their food back to reheat. Obviously if they didn't pause to do whatever on their phone the food wouldn't have gotten cold.
27 out of 45 customers asked their waiter to take a group photo. 14 of those requested the waiter retake the photo as they were not pleased with the first photo. On average this entire process between the chit chatting and reviewing the photo taken added another 5 minutes and obviously caused the waiter not to be able to take care of other tables he/she was serving.
Given in most cases the customers are constantly busy on their phones it took an average of 20 minutes more from when they were done eating until they requested a check. Furthermore once the check was delivered it took 15 minutes longer than 10 years ago for them to pay and leave.
8 out of 45 customers bumped into other customers or in one case a waiter (texting while walking) as they were either walking in or out of the Restaurant.
Average time from start to finish: 1:55
A couple of days ago, I wrote about the massive gains in productivity brought about by technology.
I take it all back...
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Shotgun Silencer Video
For those of us that hunt waterfowl successfully, concealment is requisite for success. By using decoys and calling, we hope our stealth is rewarded by bringing our quarry close enough for a shot. Then, once the shot is taken, the jig is up. We've exposed our position, and warned other birds that may have been on approach that danger lies ahead.
But imagine if the shots taken weren't so loud. What might that be like?
Perhaps like this:
At $1,400 - pretty much the cost of a quality waterfowl auto-loader - this is way too expensive for the average duck hunter. Likewise, I have no idea its impact on ballistics, especially for ultra high-velocity loads of which I'm a huge fan. But for things like metro-area goose round ups, where one is looking to keep the neighbor and golfer distractions to a minimum, this could be the ticket.
But imagine if the shots taken weren't so loud. What might that be like?
Perhaps like this:
At $1,400 - pretty much the cost of a quality waterfowl auto-loader - this is way too expensive for the average duck hunter. Likewise, I have no idea its impact on ballistics, especially for ultra high-velocity loads of which I'm a huge fan. But for things like metro-area goose round ups, where one is looking to keep the neighbor and golfer distractions to a minimum, this could be the ticket.
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