Notes From Northern California
D.M. Schwartz
- Location
- Fair Oaks, California, USA
- Bio
- Architect, engineer, writer, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
To find my stories on the Web, search Amazon or Google: "D.M. Schwartz."
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “Thanks for your very
honest and touching article
about your
son. My
brother-in-la…”
September 21, 2009 12:14AM - “Thanks, Patricia.
Famous? Maybe for my BBQ
sauce, but only
among a small
group.
Ch…”
September 21, 2009 12:02AM - “John;
The
secret is the fertilizer. You
should see the zucchini.
I'm
growing a va…”
September 01, 2009 12:16AM - “Uh oh. Please don't tell
that to the judges of my
pumpkins at
the state
fair.”
August 31, 2009 11:33PM - “Yes, Patricia, that's me
about a year ago. I'll update
the
avatar pic when I
get…”
August 12, 2009 06:31PM
D.M. Schwartz's Links
Glenn Beck's Hot New Bag!
New York City, NY, 5 November 2009. Today, Fox News announced the introduction of commentator-branded promotional items. The first line of products carries/
Geeking Out With Smoke and Lasers
Photo (C)2009 Schwartz
You might be wondering, what does that woman with the smoke and the laser beam in the picture above have to do with anything? It's a concept image; the one we used for promotion of my new thing at the Audio Engineering Society convention and exhibition… Read full post »
New tech: (smoke + laser + photocell) = mic
Smoke and Laser Mic Prototype
I'm an engineer. Aside from being somewhat socially inept, that means I like to build stuff, especially things that nobody has seen before. This time around, my new toy is a microphone; a really strange one. For starters, it's missing the one part
… Read full post »Ten reasons Eric Cantor is a schmuck
Go ahead, argue with my rankings here. No matter how you stack the chips, the guy comes up a dipshit.
10. Schmuck sounds better than dick.
9. Favors more tax breaks for the wealthy.
8. Wants economic stimulus money in the pipeline diverted to
… Read full post »How to Save the New York Times
I read the New York Times in print occasionally, but most of the time on its website. Unfortunately, unless the NYT changes its business model the end is near. Many factors have combined to put the Times into a death spiral: increased costs of printing, distribution and staff, loss
… Read full post »The Scary Truth of ObamaCare
The media stories circulating in Real America about Obama's health care plans are only the tip of the truth iceberg. What you haven't heard is how the Obama Cabal intends to pay for the plan. I removed my tinfoil hat long enough to receive the secret and I'd like to… Read full post »
Actually, everybody in cyberspace does know you're a dog.
One of the truisms of the Internet used to be, "nobody knows you're a dog in cyberspace." Anybody could adopt a persona and an avatar and run amok. One blogger's opinion was as good as another. Mainstream media types loved to point out that most information and opinion on the Web… Read full post »
Get drunk, pee off the boat, fall, drown
Risky Business
David Caney is dead at age 61. Nobody knows for sure, but it’s likely my friend fell off the stern of his boat last week. We’re not certain drowning was the cause of death—might have been a heart attack. The State Medical Examiner has yet to… Read full post »
Could I have killed Robert McNamara?
Martha's Vineyard Ferry
Did Robert McNamara live twenty-five years longer than he should have because I hesitated? Sometime in the summer of 1984, I was on the Martha’s Vineyard ferry from Woods Hole, Massachusetts to Vineyard Haven for the weekend. It was a cool, foggy morning with a
… Read full post »Palin = Obama?
Head to Head
Many pundits, bloggers, and even Alaskans are puzzled by Sarah Palin's decision to quit as governor eighteen month short of finishing her first term. Her attorney has warned everybody (not me, I only write parodies though sometimes people have a hard time figuring that out)
… Read full post »Palin Rumors: Lovers, Fathers, and Drugs, Oh My!
Proud Parents?
San Francisco is atwitter with rumors of dirty deeds done real deep in Alaska; Palin's resignation being the tip of the iceberg. The cover story about Sarah gearing up for a White House run in 2012 is obvious nonsense. The traditional best use of lame duck… Read full post »
OS goes ‘bloid on your ass
Let’s face it; Open Salon gets more clicks when posts are hot and topical. If I’d written ‘tropical’ the only readers would be travel agents, assuming they’re not extinct. Editorial policy here rewards tabloidish content with front page placement, be it my own… Read full post »
Mike Schwartz, 1913 - 2003
My father and I were never very close. That’s why I was surprised to learn recently, six years after his death, that Dad prevented Mom from turning my teacher over to the authorities for statutory rape. Dad was a quiet, ex-communist
… Read full post »Did Hidden Defects Kill Air France 447?
A310 Tail With No Rudder
Many recent news reports about the crash of Air France 447 focus on air speed sensors; specifically, pitot tubes that were known to be troublesome. If the speed sensing system gave false readings, which seems likely, the plane’s computer might have set the
… Read full post »Sky Wars; Fly-By-Wire vs. Fly-By-Computer
The cause of the recent loss of Air France flight 447 with 228 people on board is not yet known and may never be. The A330’s black box is no doubt on the bottom of the Atlantic, which is deep and mountainous in those parts. One thing you can bet… Read full post »
228 people died when their Air France A330 Airbus broke up and fell into the Atlantic Monday night. It brought to mind several recent incidents of errant automatic controls on A330s, like those experienced by Qantas Air. The A330 is an all-electric fly-by-wire machine. The pilot uses a little… Read full post »
GM's Oldies But Goodies
Having owned more than a few GM products, it’s not the ones I bought new that are the most memorable, but some of the well-worn ones. In particular, the 1961 Oldsmobile F-85 that I bought from a rancher near Denver, Colorado in 1980 stands out. The car had at… Read full post »
Latina Nail for GOP’s Coffin
You gotta give Team Obama big credit for political smarts. Those guys don’t miss a trick. The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court was both a solid progressive pick and perfect red meat bait for Republican conservatives. The only way the bait could have been made more
… Read full post »New Star Trek is Plot Hole City
Despite all its faults, I loved the new Star Trek movie. The acting in virtually every role, large and small ranges from very good to excellent. What could have been cheesy or corny references to earlier Star Treks were handled with finesse. For example, when Bones tells Jim he's
… Read full post »Sex, Polygamy, and Serial Monogamy
Lamech and His Wives by William Blake
OK, everybody here who’s been in more than one sexual relationship raise their hand. Thought so. Keep your hand up if you’ve been divorced and remarried. Uh-huh. Now, everybody living with more than one wife, keep your hand up. S
… Read full post »Gearhead Confessions: First Hog
I admit it. I love anything that transports me. Doesn’t matter if it has wheels, wings, skis, a hull or can be found in a stack at the start of the cafeteria line. I remember my baby stroller, tricycle, bikes, and a borrowed Honda moped. But the first vehicle
… Read full post »Anarchist America
A long, long time ago, in a very faraway place, (Pittsburgh, actually) I was an anarchist. Not the bowling ball bomb with hissing fuse type of anarchist, but an anti-government activist. The idea of small self-governing communities without any big brother hovering over us was seductive… Read full post »
Swine Flu! Don’t panic, die calm.
I remember the last big pandemic: Hong Kong Flu in 1968. Mostly what I remember is feverishly thinking I’d rather be dead than puking my guts out. Worldwide, best estimates are that one million people were killed, 34,000 in the United States. The Hong Kong Flu tagged old people… Read full post »
Play the Torture Tapes
The CIA and Department of Defense assert that all of the Muslim terrorist interrogation videotapes have been destroyed. Not likely. For one thing, many of the recordings were never on tape; they were direct to disk. The ones that were on digital tape were dumped to dis… Read full post »
Obama's Best Enemy Ever!
Dick Cheney is making a new career out of demonizing President Obama at every opportunity. His latest salvo was on Fox News, where he attacked the administration’s economic policies. Cheney seemed about to say Obama was going the euro-socialist route but stopped short. … Read full post »
Graham Sale
Palindrome
emma peel
JRDOG
Dave Edgar
patricia k
Salon.com