Allen's Weblog

(Chuckle) Months after American Hero, John MCCain has been eulogized, transported, then eulogized, and again transported…and eventually buried at a Naval Academy he did so much to needle while he was a Midshipman, McCain got under Trumps thin skin for the 12th millionth time!

If it were possible for a corpse to grin, McCain is grinning. It will likely not be the last time. McCain, who bedeviled the Academy, the Navy, the Vietnam Cong prison guards, then the U.S. Senate, and finally President Trump, can continue from the grave.

You have to give MCCain credit! I certainly do!

By now you have heard about (probably) some Captain trying to make Admiral by sucking up to the President in covering the fantail naming the ship. The ship was in dry dock so it couldn’t be moved out of the President’s view during the presidential trip to Japan.

The president denies he gave an order to put a tarp over the John MCCain name, and I believe him. My 26 years in the Navy left me with many examples of “working toward the Leader,” or trying to guess what will ingratiate themselves with the leader.

(I never heard of the phrase, but have seen it in action, often.)

The last thing Trump thought he would have to do is to deny he ordered the covering up of John McCain’s name. Then to top it off, the president had to listen to his own Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, praise MCCain: “I would never dishonor the memory of a great American patriot like Sen. John McCain” in asking that the fantail be covered.

McCain got Trump again!

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According to the U.S. Section of the “International Boundary and Water Commission,” some 100 million gallons of toxic waste have flowed into the San Diego County from Mexico just in the past two months.

This has been going on for at least 40 of the past years, day in, day out, unabated and generally unremarked upon, except for surfers and bathers of South San Diego beaches. Finally, lawsuits are bringing some visibility to the problem of being so close to Tijuana.

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The Washington Post held a taste panel to discover the best hot dog in America.

I’ll save you the mystery, which is so very predictable…COSTCO was the winner.

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According to WaPo, Berkeley, California is having a liberal meltdown over homeless RVs parking on city streets. In a Most illiberal move, the City Council just banned the practice, which equally liberal Oakland objects to for fear the Homeless Vans will occupy that neighboring city.

San Diego has gone through this, first permitting the practice, then banning it, all in a few weeks. California has about half the Homeless population in America thanks to a mild climate and liberal policies, but even the homeless don’t prefer sleeping on concrete.

San Diego just approved a tiny room (30 s.f.) sleeping pod facility with shared toilet/shower use for the overnight travelers at the airport. (I have stayed in a similar facility in Helsinki…not bad at all.) The charge is predicted to be $35 a night. Perhaps that concept, plus huge tents, plus Tiny Homes can help bring this scourge under control.

As one Berkeley homeowner remarked, he has a million dollar home, but the guy in the broken down camper at his curb has a better view!

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The Washington Post has a great article on baseball, attributing baseballs problems with pitching velocity! Anyone watching baseball this year can agree…pitchers have too much velocity, and many are over 100 MPH.

True to form, the San Diego Padres announced on the same day as the front page WaPo article, that they were bringing up to a higher level, a 20 year old reliever from Mexico who throws 104 MPH.

The result is that batters are striking out at a record pace…8.78 strikeouts, league-wide, per nine innings. Another result is that teams are using more relief pitchers, trying to get rested arms in the game.

Major League Baseball is considering changing the distance from the plate to the mound, from its historic 60 feet six inches, to 62 feet six inches, or even 64 feet in an effort to give batters a chance. When you read the article, complete with the stats baseball is famous for, you understand the problem better, and no, it isn’t North Korea, Iran or even Venezuela, but it is a problem.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/05/21/velocity-is-strangling-baseball-its-grip-keeps-tightening/?utm_term=.4b66f2f1823e

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Crime is starting to pay, less and less.

Everyone who doesn’t have security cameras is aided by neighbors who do. Thieves don’t have personal helicopters, so the culprits must walk or drive and neighbor’s cameras catch them coming and going.

My front cameras cover the street and the driveway of my neighbors across the street. My rear cameras cover not just my property, but the green of the golf course behind me. That green has attracted kids in trucks in the past, but now there are several cameras covering every inch of the golf course.

Every night we see on the news about some Porch Pirate caught on camera. How dumb does one have to be not to recognize the number of doorbell camera units in America?

Now I’m certain that the criminal element will find some method to evade cameras, or at least cover themselves so they aren’t recognize. Cars have more problems, and just this morning in San Diego a doorbell camera caught a hit and run on camera.

In some communities, police are organizing camera-owning individual homes to provide ready-made surveillance of public areas and streets, and to be able to quickly track the individuals after they commit crimes.

Eventually,even the criminal class will figure this out. Someone will see them camera Electronics to disable cameras in areas, or at least camera location devices.

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I grit my teeth every time I write a check to Wounded Warrior, or similar organizations that help those wounded in battle. The US Government that sent them into battle should take care or their every need. That means robotic limbs, houses that accommodate them and cars or track vehicles — for life!

Every homeless Vet should also be the responsibility of the Federal Government.

The government’s send men (primarily) into battle, then wash their hands with the exception of the Veterans Administration. Of course it is better than Britain after the Battles or Trafalgar and Waterloo, after which thousands of war amputees lined the streets of London as beggars…but just barely.

The federal government should provide EVERYTHING necessary to to bring these men who gave so much for their country to parity with their non-combat brethren, and if the government thinks the price too high, perhaps it will be more reluctant to send the men into foreign battle.

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You don’t have to be a fan of track and field to appreciate the comeback of Matthew Boling in the anchor leg of the high school 4×400 meter relay in Texas. Almost three seconds behind when he took the baton, Boling just ate up the leading runner in what is described as an unprecedented comeback.

Now Boling is, as some have described, in another dimension as a runner. He set a new national record in the 100 meter dash of 9.98 seconds, but the wind was a tick over the requirement for the absolute record.

Nevertheless, Bolings’ relay was heart stopping! The 4×400 had four of the top rated Seven high school relay teams in the nation, so this was a real test. In the last lap, the Strake Jesuit team was way behind the leading runner, but the crowd knew what Boling could do, and as expected, he just ate up the distance. In relays, the fastest runner is usually the last, so Boling was not running against some nobody, and Boling had the crowd cheering as he caught the leading runner at the tape.

Truly amazing. Analysts say that Boling’s form has flaws, but nobody can catch him to tell. In my Texas youth, Texas always had the fastest sprinters.

They do again!

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Wonderful!

The Vatican learned something from universities…they want victims to report to them, instead of going first to the police!

No! No! And, No! An Archdiocese is no better able to investigate, than is a University. Police investigate, District Attorneys indict, and a Bishop or a College Administrator do neither.

The Vatican is trying to minimize the impact of worldwide sex abuse investigations by Attorney Generals, that is quickly expanding from children to Nuns.

Neither the Catholic Church nor the University is the proper venue for giving victims and accused their due.

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O.K. This is going to be a sensitive subject, so if your virginal ears are twitching, skip this.

The largest, and most influential consumer show in the US, perhaps the world, is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It is an annual affair and until it simply got so big as to wear me out, I attended it when I was heavy into computers.

The most sought after award, worth $2 million, is the Robotics Innovation Award, and this past show that was won by Lora Dicarlo Company for a, let me use an euphemism, “women’s pleasure device.”

After getting the award, the award was taken back, as was the $2 million. It seems the Consumer Electronics Show was embarrassed, but if it was embarrassed by the award, that was nothing compared to the embarrassment of denying the Lora Dicarlo Company of the award and taking it back.

It seems that among the robotic entries were robotic floor cleaners and lawnmowers and a sex doll for men, but the directors of the show were embarrassed that a women’s, ahhh, “pleasure device” could win. The women in the electronics world cried foul!

And indeed it was!

Well, the show directors have reversed their decision. The “Ose” Massaging Device is handsfree, and is indeed the winner, and with it $2 million, which will go a long way in rewarding the company and the Oregon State Electronics Department which helped develop it…ahhh, whatever it is.

Whatever it is will first ship in November.

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For 20 years an aluminum extruded company has been providing product to NASA, and those extrusions have been below standards, purposely.

The results, according to a government investigation, were two missile losses along with associated payroll, totaling some $700 million. The Oregon Company, Sapa but now Hydro Extrusions Portland, has been reorganized after committing this fraud. It paid $46 million in fines and faces still more in criminal charges for falsifying inspection results.

Two questions: Why has not this been important news, and why are the Principals not already in prison?

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The Padres fought the hated Dodgers two straight nights only to lose by one run each time, once in the ninth inning. Sunday looked like a repeat with the Dodgers leading by one in the ninth inning, but in the bottom of the ninth the Padres got the bases loaded, using two bunts for base hits. There were no outs, but then there were two outs, with the bases still loaded.

The Pitchers position was next, but the Padres put in reserve outfielder Hunter Refroe, who promptly drove a pitch over the wall for a pinch hit, walk off, bases loaded home run, and the Padres sent a message in all three games that the Padres would need to be respected if not feared.

When Tatis gets back, the Padres will go Dodger hunting.

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