Why I Have Issues with FedEX of Oroville

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For some crazy crazy reason, from time to time, FedEx get a wild hare up their pasture, and instead of shipping from Sacto to Grass Valley, 20 minutes from here, they ship the stuff to Oroville. Case in point, an Epson Artsan 810 printed makes it from Indianapolis to Sacto in three days. Instead of shipping it to Grass Valley, they send it off to Oroville, where they make trips every now and then up to North San Juan. Net result, it is now 5 days since the package hit Oroville, and it is still yet to show here.

I hate Fed Ex when they lie about communications with their trucks. I sign for a package and the truck can barely make it to highway 49 before the fact that I just signed for it shows up on my computer. For them to claim it is only one way, and only consisted of drop off information, is a total and complete LIE. Those trucks are linked by private radio networks, and have at a minimum their version of texting, if not full two way voice communication, either via private radio, or more likely now, via cell phone. It is very unproductive for America to have people hanging around home base all day, waiting for stuff with no assurance that it will even show.

I'm also sure the trucks all have GPS units that show where they are. They deny that too.

277FOTO Covers Yuba River Charter School's 2009 Moondance

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I took some great photos at the Moondance, put on by the Yuba River Charter School, last night, November 7th, 2009. The event took place at the Nevada City Miners' Foundry. You can see the entire batch as I put them up, at www.flickr.com/photos/keachie . The images will be in the Set, a Flickr term for Album, Moondance 2009, so do a search within Keachie's photostream. There are 11 photos there now, and there will be at least 100 more added over the next week or two. Redeye removal, cropping, and color adjustments take time.

Douglas Keachie, your friendly village photographer.

PS, I also took some middlin' pictures, which will be posted too, so everyone gets to see themselves. If you'd rather an image not be posted, please let me know. 277FOTO is a local cell, as well as a soon to be active, website.

Microsoft Support is So Bad...You Can't Even Pay for It!

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I was trying to renew a domain name I had through Microsoft Live, which has expired. My Microsoft Live Email was being rejected as non existent, and so I tried calling. One of the the options was "pay for it" support. Rather than waste a lot of time, I thought I would pay for it. So I sat on hold for 15 minutes, no human, just muzak.

It hung up on me.

A chance to hire back the 800 employees they just laid off, and the phone hung up on me.

Here's the response I got after emailing for support, as it was recommended by Microsoft that I do, to: SUPPORT@OfficeLive.com:

Envelope-to: doug207@keachie.com
Delivery-date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:55:05 -0700
Received: from bay0-xmr-012.hotmail.com ([65.54.241.164] helo=BAY0-XMR-012.phx.gbl)
by host133.hostmonster.com with esmtp (Exim 4.69)
(envelope-from )
id 1N64fx-0005Xz-Eo
for doug2009@keachie.com; Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:55:05 -0700
Received: from mail pickup service by BAY0-XMR-012.phx.gbl with Microsoft SMTPSVC;
Thu, 5 Nov 2009 07:55:04 -0800
To: doug207@keachie.com
From: Microsoft Office Live
Subject: Domain Renewal, Login Issues
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-transfer-encoding: 8bit
References:
Message-ID:
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 05 Nov 2009 15:55:04.0384 (UTC) FILETIME=[56F55400:01CA5E30]
Date: 5 Nov 2009 07:55:04 -0800

You have reached an unmonitored e-mail address; we apologize that we cannot directly reply to your message.

For help with Office Live Workspace, please see http://workspace.officelive.com/support

For help with Office Live Small Business, please see http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/FX101954801033.aspx

"We'd Like to Know a Little About You for Our Files..."

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I pay $588/month for medical through United Health Services, and there is a mental health coverage. Mom died, and I thought it would be good to get some counseling. Made arrangements, followed procedures, and then got this form in the mail. Basically it is a suicide and drug and drinking questionnaire, with the results to be FAXXED to a number where a minimum wage worker will see the last four of my social, my full name, and my accurate birthdate. Do they even bother to shred? I never give out the birthdate accurately, except in absolute need to know situations. Suffice it to say, I'll pay for any therapy out of pocket, and cross this "benefit" off as one that puts you on all kinds of lists, and exposes you to a risk of identity theft, and porbably even asking to exercise this benefit will affect my ability to get other coverages, including life insurance. One good thing, maybe fewer mailers from life insurance companies...

Online Consumers vs MegaCorps, Score, 0 to 99

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After a couple of years, I've had a new occasion file a major complaint about a product. Last time I did this there were many sites for consumers to blow off steam, and educate one another. Made the Mega Corps mad, and what they couldn't stop legally, they bought out, by grabbing the websites. Many of them were on the order of www.megaCorpsoandsosucks.com. The one from Home Depot was particularly choice, with hundreds of pages of horror stories, both from employess and customers. Today the site is still up, and at first glance it looks like they are going strong. Look closely, nothing newer than 2005, none of the disgruntled employees, etc. It's a camouflaged buyout.

Epson makes no bones about it. www.epsonsucks.com goes directly to a site that directs you to all the normal Epson sites. So here I am, the only place to post about an Epson Artisan 810 that just won't go after printing 10 pages total since new is here. Technorati will index it so other consumers can find it? Used to, not any more. Not unless you have established a following of at least several hundred. Less than that, and they don't even index your site any more. The promise of the Internet to help consumers is being destroyed, quietly, so as to not disturb the buying public.

The Consumerist www.consumerist.com , used to be great. Now you can't comment unless you are witty and creative and approved by their "board." Their content is now all largely coupons, and stories that have already hit the newswires. You want to post something new about a problem with a printer, FAT CHANCE! Now it is one big ad for Consumers reports. Those that started these sites are probably living well on their buyouts....the American Way strikes again.

Tractors 4 Poppies will Beat the Taliban

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Let's face it, Obama has an awful lot on his plate, but yes, even the Left expects action. As for me, take the dollars spent in Afghanistan, and send them seeds, fertilizers, tractors, PVC solar panels and pumps in exchange for the opium poppies. Suspend trade with any country that buys these tractors etc from the Taliban. Oh, don't forget sat receivers, production equipment, and tv's.

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This is just too funny not to republish, from the BBc, thanks!

US paper seeks pot correspondent

The medical marijuana business is booming in California and Colorado

A US newspaper says it has received well over 100 applicants for the post of marijuana critic - many of whom have offered to work for free.

The alternative Denver newspaper, Westword, is seeking a writer for its weekly review of Colorado's booming medical marijuana dispensaries.

But there is a catch - candidates must have a medical ailment allowing them to enter a dispensary and use marijuana.

Fourteen US states now allow the sale of some sort of medical cannabis.

'Stoned'

Compensation will be meagre - and no, we can't expense your purchases Westword job posting

"Keep in mind this isn't about assessing the quality of the medicine on site; it's about evaluating the quality of the establishment," says the Westword job posting.

"After all, we can't have our reviewer be stoned all the time."

States like Colorado and California, where medical use is legal, have seen an explosion in the number of pot shops - ranging from upmarket clinics to dingy drugs dens.

The dispensaries sell more than a dozen varieties, from White Widow to the less expensive Afghan Gold Seal. Some cost up to $130 (£78) an ounce.

But the writer of Westword's Mile Highs and Lows column is expected to focus on the dispensaries, not the drugs.

"Compensation will be meagre," says the posting. It says the paper can't pay for marijuana purchases, "although that would be pretty cool."

Microsoft Trashes Firefox, Moving to Opera, Linux?

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Microsoft moved an addin into Firefox which has left in vulnerable, and in my case, unfixable. History no longer works. Eudora has also just been kicked out of being my primary email, in favor of Outlook, and Eudora can't change the registry back. Thank you, Microsoft!

just like the good old days when Windows first came out, with a deliberate timed cripple against WordPerfect which got progressively worse until it was unusable. Linux is looking better again, and with swappable drives so easy to arrange these days, I may go there. One to boot to Windows for the apps that use it, another to boot to Linux for all communications with the Internet, Email and Web, and possibly two different machines, the laptop for web, the desktop for heavy duty graphics, and a network storage device, accessable from both.


And to think Microsoft want us to pay for System 7?

Serious Problems with Yahoo Flickr Today

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Could not even get to the website for a couple of hours this morning. Finally I got through and logged in under my new paid for Flickr account, the search engine wouldn't function right. Then I logged out and went to log into the other account, also paid for, and that one wouldn't let me in, supposedly because I hadn't been on line for a while. Heck, I've left it alone for weeks in the past and have always gotten back in instantly. They mush have had a major attack on their servers or something. I am in the process of moving my photos to a site that I can completely control, and it looks like I am none too soon in doing so. I knew this kind of thing would happen when Flickr sold out to yahoo. Now when things go south.....blame it on the paying customer! Yahoo Offline, and now limping back online, trying to pretend nothing happened!

Adobe Serial Numbers Hacked, Good Disks on EBAY, BAD DEAL!

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Some ring somewhere appears to have cracked the algorithm that Adobe installs on its CDs to check a serial number at the time of the install.

By purchasing software that has already been installed, good disks and boxing materials, and then providing a counterfeit serial number that passes the algorithm, the software installs and runs fine until you are connected to the internet. Then the product crashes and demands a new serial number purchase.

Adobe could give legitimate sellers of their software on eBay a special seal of approval, or EBay could ban the sale of any of the current CS3 and CS4 products on eBay, but they don't.

They could also replace their Indian tech support workers with real American English speaking Americans, but they don't. Spent three days with them trying to get my legitmate copy of CS3 Master Collection to reinstall, major, major hassle.

Blogging Towards the Presidency

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This is a quick test to see what happens with a straight cut and paste from The Union, and a darned good batch of ideas, if I do say so for myself.

	Keachie, Release 4.0 wrote: "This is not equatable but a point to make: Churchill and FDR were downright underhanded in WWII. Sometimes you have to compromise purity to defeat evil." Clinton understood this very well. Check out the new book by his friend who at Bill's demand, recorded many, many tapes during Clinton's adminstration, of the two of them talking together. Fascinating history, on NPR yesterday. Clinton kept the tapes in his sock drawer. 10/8/2009 7:59:07 AM on theunion.com Recommend Report abuse
	Keachie, Release 4.0 wrote: The top winners also go on the ballot, and are allowed to run as a troika or duo for the office, if they so desire, and can write up a responsibilities contract, who votes on what issues. Such a system allows for more specialization at the top, just as industry uses CEO's and CIO's, etc. Keachie, who thinks outside the box in parallel universes. 10/8/2009 7:54:18 AM on theunion.com Recommend Report abuse
	Keachie, Release 4.0 wrote: The run for office of President should be anonymous, and based on ideas in blogs, written by the potential candidates. Only in the last months, do the cream of the crop of the potential winners, voted on by the readers, become known publicly. No references to dwelling location, beyond maybe 12 major zones for the entire USA is allowed. The incumbent would obviously have a public blog, if desired. Two way, negative as well as positive voting, allowed, for informational purposes. Only the positive votes count. Initially quarterly votes during first two years of re-election cycle, monthly in the third year, and first six of the fourth, then weekly till 3 months to election. Top three winners go head to head in all national debates with any candidates supported by national parties. The top winners also go on the ballot, and are allowed to run as a troika or duo for the office, if they so desire, and can write up a responsibilities 10/8/2009 7:51:32 AM on theunion.com

Making Conservatives' Skins Crawl, Obama's Got them Quirming

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I don't know what upsets conservies more:

The fact that Obama as a person is obviously smarter and richer and more talented than they are,

OR

the fact that his election means that the conservies are very definitely now a MINORITY in this country themselves?

Which is it, conservies?


Our military, roads, postal service, K12 schools, are all socialistic.

The transcontinental railroad was built with funding from the government.

We didn't buy our first nukes from GE.

Most police forces are socialistic.

Even within socialism their is still room for fedEx UPS and others.

There is still room for private schools.

You can still wire up and arm your residence like Fort Knox.

The term "socialism" is just used as short hand for "I hate the fact that Obama is President."

Get used to it. We'll elect him again in 2012.

Civil War Reenactment Pioneer Park Nevada City 2009

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For you Civil War buffs, I posted a whole slew of pictures from the September 2009 Pioneer Park event at:

www.flickr.com/photos/keachie

Saving American Lives in Afghanistan Via Automation

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The other day, my mind strung together several pieces of existing technology, cheap technology, to create a new defense system for use in places like Afghanistan. I first spoke of this last night on Dr Bill Wattenburg's show on KGO, 810 on the AM dial out of San Francisco. We are currently using unmanned drones to track and attack, with pretty good results. The enemy, with its willingness to hide behind skirts and children, does bring about some tragedies.

I have always been fond of the pop on lights which use PIR sensors (passive infrared radiation) to sense motion, and then activate the lights for a set period of time. I've marveled at the Game Spy cameras which for $200 will illuminate and area with invisible to the human eye infrared, and then, using PIR to detect once again, take 6 megabyte photographs or short videos, over a period of days.

I was in Radio Shack Saturday and noticed a lighting system for a Halloween pumpkin that included a PIR, and a voice/sound chip, like the greeting cards, that was full of scary noises to amuse anyone who walked close enough to it. The cost, retail? $10.00.

Now let's go to Redwood City, which some time back was having a prolem with people firing guns into the air for New Years Eve, Fourth of July, Cinco De Mayo, etc. People were being hurt in the resulting slugfall, so, being an area full of computer scientists, they developed a network of listening posts throughout the city, which fed to a software program, which quickly identified the sector where the gun fire was occuring.

If you mount sensors (microphones) in inconspiuous and movable towers, I believe Redwood City used the telephone poles, and you sow the surroundling fields or roadside with PIR equipped noise makers, possible emitting coded sounds to help pin point their location, the codes changing each day, and then use a local flying drone to check out the disturbances, you might be able to slow down the enemy substantially. In a way, it is a minefield without explosives.

My wife points out that the Taliban and Al Qaeda would use children to attempt to clear an area, in which case you might include anti Taliban slogans emitting from the devices, and candy attached to them, to avoid premature destruction, and slow down those efforts.

You might also want to make every 1,000th Sound Thumper (Dune derived name) a very sophisticated detector, with a video feed, and its own ability to sense approaching targets from the cheap thumpers around it. Outwardly identical, this one could be detonated, with most of the deadly force going to just one side, after a remote human had determined a real target within range.

Where the others have short spikes to secure themselves, this one would secure itself deep into the ground. Should a motorcycle be used to cause havoc in a sensing field, one of these would eventually put an end to the practice. A simple reversable command, "blowup at will," would turn these babies into real land mines, lost in a forest of identical Sound Thumpers. Another command would make it easy to remove just these when the need for them had passed.

Boffo PooPoos Cultural Change Via Technology

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And so I responded with:

Oh Boffo!

Let's compare phones of 1970 vs those of today. Today's kindergartner can out call and out text President Nixon with ease.

Are you still lugging that room full of key punching equipment to make cards for your mainframe?

Reagan had little to do with the downfall of Russia. The personal computer, the xerox machine, and most importantly the wide spread use of black market videos which showed a warped but enticing view of the West did far more to demoralize the USSR than anything Reagan did or said. He may have cut the ribbon, but that dam was ready to blow regardless.

How many snail mail missives did you send each day in 1970? How much stuff did you buy from points 3,000 miles away from total strangers? How many trips to the library did you make to check out what your doctor was telling you? How many elections were funded and won on-line?

How many cold cases were solved using fingerprints, as compared to DNA?

Grow Up

Tea Party is Screaming Tidal Wave When When faced with Forest Fire

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Nobody in this country is going to win until we squarely face the Big Three:

Container Ships

747's

Modern Internet Communications


These three have driven capitalistic organized jobs off shore. The rest of the world is now discovering that what the Americans can't buy (Tap City), the rest of the rest of the world CAN buy, at somewhat reduced prices. The party has gone away, and it is not coming back, except in the form of rich capitalists from abroad buying up cheap real estate in the USA.

Welcome to the 21st Century, and for God's sake and your own, stop bickering over obvious necessities like health care for all, and biometric national ID's, plus jail for employers who hire non citizens, to stop the flood of illegals.. Put a firm and solar powered foundation under the country and maybe, just maybe, if we all pull together, we can bounce upwards, instead of being blasted downwards.

Rebane Would Like to TAX Everyone's Pensions?

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Keachie, Release 4.0 wrote:

Just got a mailing from my retiree's Union.

I guess Rebane is just one more Richie out to kill off the middle class any way he can. Apparently there is an initiative circulating that would create an annual tax on retiree "pension income" (pensions, health benefits, and social security) ranging from 20% on $40,000 to 60% on $150,000 or more. It would apply to EVERYONE with a pension, not just public service employees. So far no additional initiatives attacking our pensions have been registered with the Secretary of State, but that could change tomorrow.

Remember:

Don't sign ANY petition that has ANYTHING to do with anyone's pension.

I'm guessing the Richies have enough dough stored up so that this would cost them very little, and would refill the coffers of the state at the expense of the middle class.

Well George, isn't that what would happen?

I double post everything permanently to farstars.blogspot.com, with good tags.

Where's the Flaw, George Rebane?

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Keachie, Release 4.0 wrote:

If conservatives wanted to do away with paying for aliens, they could pass laws jailing any employer who hired one.

Oh horrors! National ID cards!

I'm sorry, but the private sector has beat the government to this sort of thing. In resetting my password with Chase Mortgage, in addition to my social and Mortgage #, they verified who I was by asking me which age range my daughter was in, and gave me several choices. They knew her name, and apparently her actual birthdate. I had NEVER given them any information about her. So how did they know? They have access to public records they said. I guess that means they scanned DMV for others living at our address.

As Bill Joy said some years back, "Privacy, forget it! You don't have any."

National biometric ID's won't be any worse than where we are now. And it would, with jail terms for employers, wipe out the money the illegals come here for. Where's the flaw, George?

Town Hall Rt Wingnuts Have No Evidence of "Rationing, etc."

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The truth is, anyone smart enough to have an opinion that should be respected is also smart enough to dig up the health care bill, and do a search for "euthanasia," "rationing," and "death panel" so as to make cogent arguments with references.

Likewise, anyone smart enough to reference implied items above, should be capable of searching the documents for the words they claim lead to such implications. If you can't Google well enough to do these kinds of searches, and the radio hosts and their researchers can't Google well enough to find the passages that reference such implied activities (and then post the notes on their pages for easy use by their toadies) then such passages most likely DO NOT EXIST, and those HOLDING OPINIONS about NON-EXISTENT PASSAGES can be completely ignored, and town hall meeting can be held on-line, and the ranters comments can be moved around like demonstrators at a Bush appearance.

Elders Running for Jails for Medical Care

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So let's house these two awful threats to society in jail for a couple of years at a cost of what? Just the thing we need to help our economy. More jails to build, more guards, and apparently a lot of medical care, which is what, 40% of the cost housing a prisoner? It does keep a lot of people employed, taking care of them, but you know, I don't see any net gain here, just more taxes, from the few remaining citizens who actually produce stuff that can be sold and used to reduce our trade deficit.

Pretty soon, given the medical needs of our aging population, and the insistence by Repubbys on keeping the insurance companies at the hog trough, elders will get themselves busted to take care of their medical needs and to avoid being homeless and sick. Put those 80 million numbers in your economic pipes and smoke it, conservy Republicans!

Rich Owe Society Taxes, You Betcha!

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They get the most out of society, so paying back in is only fair.

Very few rich people get that way without making use of the people society supports as employees, yet very few rich people seem to appreciate the fact that those employees have more costs involved than salaries and benefits, and they are resentful about paying their fair share of maintaining the resources they use (their employees) that society provides.

Rich folks love well educated and talented people, and hate paying for the schools that produce them. They're rather short sighted in that regard.

Use of the term "rich people" in this little broadside only refers to some of the rich people, not all. Easy to tell which ones, by listening for their distinct warning call:

"Taxes, too many Taxes, taxes, too many taxes, Taxes, too many Taxes, taxes, too many taxes, Taxes, too many Taxes, taxes, too many taxes, Taxes, too many Taxes, taxes, too many taxes, Taxes, too many Taxes, taxes, too many taxes,"

Memorial for Darrell "Shifty" Powers

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This came to me via my daughter from another relative, ex Marine:

Subject: Memorial Service:

you're invited

We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services. I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers. Shifty volunteered for the airrborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat. Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made. Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 ... "
at which point my heart

skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped. I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem."


I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day..

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say. I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in
coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach. He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it.

And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.


There was no parade. No big event in Staples Center. No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. No weeping fans on television. And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

Chuck Yeager, MajGen. [ret.]

Tyranny and Buying Legislation

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Tyranny is being able to buy the laws you want.

Global MegaCorps, many USA based, have been doing just that for a century and a half. "Too Big to Fail" is this generation's version of a vertical monopoly. Corporations are NOT people, and should not have ANY access to members of Congress. Access to members of Congress should be lotto-ed off to random voters, who can then sell their hours to the highest bidder, on an open exchange. That way we would know who paying to get what laws passed, and there would be a real incentive to vote. I would guess that 1 hour of a Congressperson's time would bring in at least $5,000 to $25,000 to some lucky voting citizen.

Promoting Nevada County

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Have a TV crew explore the Empire, IM, and other mines with scuba, looking for gold. Let them foot the cost, and recover same from a Discovery like channel. Make it a series, and explore the lives of panners and dredgers as well. Work in local events.

Suggested title:

"Gold is Where You Find It"

Easy to include the general lifestyle up here and the hi tech companies.

Another Keachie Koncept.

Save Your House From Embers, Shields Up!

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After watching a multi-million dollar palace in Santa Barbara with a Spanish tile roof burn, I realized a weakness in modern structures which does not seem to be addressed anywhere. This home was not grazed by nearby flames. Apparently, based on the video of the burn, sparks/embers/whatever, got inside the attic area, where it is totally dry and probably at 130 degrees to begin with.

I seems to me that metal shutters should be at the ready for every entrance into the roof areas. There are of course big vents, usually 2 feet square or bigger, but there are also all those little vents under the eves. All need to be metal shuttered and secured. The differences in air pressure can be quite strong during a forest fire, even just from one side of a house to the other, and this can literally suck in the tiny burning particles that doom a house.

Sadly, this house had a giant pool, but no auto pumping devices, which would also have helped douse the tiny embers of doom.