Notes From Northern California

and random rants

D.M. Schwartz

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."

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 5:50PM

Glenn Beck's Hot New Bag!

Beck Bag
 uncopyright 2009 schwartz
The Beck Bag 
First item in a new line of Fox News products available online, now

New York City, NY, 5 November 2009.  Today, Fox News announced the introduction of commentator-branded promotional items. The first line of products carries/
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NOVEMBER 4, 2009 12:57AM

Geeking Out With Smoke and Lasers

 

 Smokin' Laser Lady

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 »

smoke 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

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 12:00AM

Ten reasons Eric Cantor is a schmuck


Eric Cantor

 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

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SEPTEMBER 7, 2009 8:42PM

How to Save the New York Times

2D Barcode

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

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AUGUST 31, 2009 10:51PM

The Scary Truth of ObamaCare

kidneys

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 »

 

 Hound

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 »

boating

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 »

Martha's Vineyard Ferry

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

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JULY 5, 2009 2:55PM

Palin = Obama?

Palin and 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)

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palin, trig, mccain

 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 »

JUNE 25, 2009 7:24PM

OS goes ‘bloid on your ass


tabloids

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 »

Editor’s Pick
JUNE 15, 2009 11:15PM

Thanks, Dad, for not letting Mom call the cops


Dad

 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

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Air Transat A310 - No Rudder

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

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B-2 Wreck

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 »

Editor’s Pick
JUNE 3, 2009 4:58PM

Did Software Kill Flight 447?

night storm

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 »

JUNE 1, 2009 5:24PM

GM's Oldies But Goodies

My GMC

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 atRead full post »

MAY 26, 2009 3:03PM

Latina Nail for GOP’s Coffin

official portrait

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

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MAY 16, 2009 7:12PM

New Star Trek is Plot Hole City

The Enterprise

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

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Blake's Lamech and His Wives

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

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MAY 6, 2009 2:45PM

Gearhead Confessions: First Hog

My 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

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APRIL 29, 2009 5:50PM

Anarchist America

earth-day-flag

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 »

APRIL 28, 2009 5:15PM

Swine Flu! Don’t panic, die calm.

tent

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 peopleRead full post »

APRIL 23, 2009 11:45PM

Play the Torture Tapes

Server Farm 

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 »

APRIL 22, 2009 1:33PM

Obama's Best Enemy Ever!

Cheney Portrait

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 »