Daylight Savings Time

Yes! Tonight at 2:00 AM you must set your clocks ahead one hour to remain in sync with the rest of America. Most normal people will make the time change tonight, before going to bed for the night.

But why???
I have an old friend named Kevin who had a very interesting opinion on that matter. However it must be said that Kevin is an extremely different kind of person. He is a very suspicious person. He is paranoid. But he is not schizoid. He doesn't hear voices telling him to do things. He has no auditory or visual hallucinations. He just has a very deep seated distrust of humans. If you saw him in public you would not be impressed by him in any direction. But you would never see him in the same place two days in a row. He has several routes to every destination. And he never returns the same way he came. Even if it's just to pick up some bread. Just in case someone IS following him.

But inside Kevin's home is where you'll see how much effort he really puts into his personal security. His doors and windows have locks. But so does his refrigerator and pantry. Once he enters his home he balances a beer bottle upside down on the top of his door knobs so that if anyone tries to jiggle the knob, the bottle will fall to the floor. I have sworn to my friend Kevin to state nothing of what he does after the bottle falls.

He does not wear a tin foil hat. But he does believe there are people interested in reading our thoughts. And whenever Kevin turns off his television set, he unplugs the power cord also. It has nothing to do with fire safety. It is a hold over from the 60s. When TV sets had vacuum tubes. Back in those days the power supply kept some of the tubes turned on so that the TV would come on faster. Those tubes would glow and the light could be seen through the ventilation holes in the back of the set. And Kevin was sure that the TV was still on and could be used to watch him. Similar to the way a CB radio could transmit and receive. The invention of the transistor and solid state circuitry made the glowing tubes unnecessary. But 40 years later Kevin still unplugs his TV when it is not being used to receive a signal.

I had to tell you that so that I could tell you this. In 1975 Kevin told me that daylight saving time was a conspiracy by the powers behind the throne to do away with "Drive-In-Theaters." It had nothing to do with what time farmers went to bed. But those DRIVE INs were a cesspool or immorality. And they were corrupting the moral values of the American youth. I asked him how changing the time would accomplish this goal. And Kevin told me that the movies would not be able to start until it was dark enough. And in the prime of summer, the movies wouldn't be able to start until 9:00 PM or later. And by 9PM most people would have found something else to do. I laughed at Kevin's suspect theory and he reminded me of the fact that harvesters and combines have huge lighting systems and are capable of working 24-7.

I shrugged off his assessment then. But, about this time every year, from then until now, Kevin asks me; "Been to a DRIVE-IN lately?" Whatever you choose to believe about why? Be sure to set your clocks ahead tonight.

Some of the Places I've Called Home

USS DAVIS (DD-937)

Home Port: New Port, Rhode Island

USS Parsons (DDG-33)

Home Port: Yokosuka, Japan

USS Cape Cod (AD-43)

Home Port: San Diego, California

USS Lewis B. Puller (FFG-23)

Home Port: San Diego,California

USS Frank S. Reasoner (FFG-1063)

Home port: San Diego, California

During my 21 years, 5 months and 8 days of active duty in the US Navy, I spent just under 17 years on Sea Duty aboard these five ships. I made one cruise through the Mediterranean Sea. Two trips through the North Atlantic. Two transits through the Panama Canal. Six Cruises through the Western Pacific. One cruise through the Caribbean Sea. Four cruises to the Indian Ocean. And six drug interdiction Operations near the Coast of Columbia.

Trouble In Paradise

San Diego, California.

San Diego is the second largest city in the state, right behind  L.A. And the 5th largest in the US. San Diego has a population of 1,279,329. This coastal city is also the county seat of San Diego County as well as the economic center of the San Diego–Carlsbad–San Marcos Metropolitan Area 

 

San Diego is also the largest city of The US, Southern Border with Mexico, and is the region's western anchor. The city was rated the fifth best place to live in 2006 by Money Magazine. According to Forbes the city of San Diego ranks as the fifth wealthiest in the United States. San Diego's biggest industries are manufacturing, military, and tourism.
 

San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship-repair, ship-construction, software development, telecommunications, wireless research, and tourism. The presence of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with the affiliated UCSD Medical Center promotes research in biotechnology.

If you visit our lovely city, you can find almost anything climate wise, you heart could desire. From the Balmy Coastal white sand beaches, to the arid scorching sands of The Borego Desert. From the high Chaparral of East County. To the Snow covered Cuyamaca Mountains. It's a sportsman's paradise. The unofficial world's largest bass was caught and released here, at Lake Dixon in 2006. 

In 1988 the world's eyes were focused on San Diego, as Dennis Connor and his 12 meter "STARS AND STRIPES" recaptured and defended The America's Cup.

But the one thing you won't find in any travel brochure, or visitor guide, is that there are 2706 registered sex offenders. This number does not include the individuals who were convicted of "Public Nudity" or caught peeing in the bushes, mooning, flashing or convicted of prostitution. Those numbers are in the tens of thousands.

No these 2706 people are in a class of their own; "Sexual Predators." And recently one of those special people has been making the national news scene, when he was arrested and charged with the Rape and Murder of a teen age girl named Chelsea King. This, and the discovery of the skeletal remains of another missing teenager named Amber Dubois, has everyone in San Diego asking "Why?" 

"Why did this happen?"

"Why was this known child molester still walking around?"

"Why didn't the police keep better tabs on him?"

"Why doesn't the justice system keep those predators incarcerated?"

"Why not require Child Molesters to carry a GPS tracker?"

"Why don't we have a "One Strike, and you're out" LAW?"

And "What?"

"What do I tell my children?"

"What will the government do to prevent a repeat?"

"What about the other 2705 of those freaks?"

"What about those who are still in Atascadero State Hospital?"

These are all good questions. But there are no fast and easy answers. Unless you deputize 50% of the population, there won't be enough police to monitor all the possible next offenders. A GPS Tracker will not tell you anything about a threat before it happens. Unless all the possible victims are monitored at the same time. Hell's Bells. There aren't enough police to take all the accident reports any time it rains in San Diego. And with the City Employee's Union holding the politicians hostage with their ridiculous pension benefits, it would take a 125% income tax on city residents to pay someone to monitor such a system, if it already existed. And it does not. 

A new law will accomplish nothing. It is already against the law to molest children in San Diego.And still it continues. The threat of punishment holds no weight with these miscreants. Even the Death Penalty is a joke in California. On 11 April 1878 when four Native Americans were shot in San Diego County for conspiracy to commit murder. These were the first of 709 California executions before the Furman v. Georgia decision of the United States Supreme Court, which found the state's death penalty to be Unconstitutionally vague.

Since 1976, when the Death Penalty was re-instituted, 13 people have been executed by the state. As of 13 August 2009 there are 685 people, including 16 women, on California's "Death Row". 

You're more likely to die crossing the street in California than by the death penalty:

- Over 180,000 pedestrians have been killed in motor vehicle accidents between 1975 and 2005.

That's an astronomical ratio. 13 ÷ 180,000. That's 7.2 with 38 trailing zeroes.

I won't tell you to stay away from San Diego. I love it here. When I retired from the US Navy, in 1994, I had my choice to settle anywhere in the world. And I picked this place.

But if you plan on becoming a child molester, there are a few things you should consider before coming to San Diego:

1.  You're not the first. Or the last.

2.  Unless you are especially stupid or messy, you won't get caught.

3.  Even if you do get caught, the bleeding heart liberals, will find a way to excuse your behavior. And the lawyers will plea bargain you out.

4.  Don't expect the government to do anything beyond posturing and gesturing. Or enacting yet another law they can't pay for, or won't enforce.

5.  Look both ways before you step into traffic. You may have the right of way! But the odds are not in your favor.

Are you listening Mayor Jerry Sanders? How about you Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger? 

I AM TALKING TO YOU!

Fight or Flight?

 I recently heard one of my local TV news casters say "We'll be showing you how to fight for your life." The woman who had made this outlandish statement was one of those "Pretty Face" types, named Crissy Russo. In all fairness I must say that I do not personally know Ms Russo. And my opinions of her were a stereotype and I was extremely skeptical and said to my wife, "This chick is gonna get people killed." An example would be Doctor Laura, telling everyone via her daily talk show how she had earned her "Black Belt" in karate. Or Katie Couric telling you to use your car keys as a means of defending yourself.

Martial Arts, all martial arts, have a history. Some open and honest  about their purpose. Some steeped in secrecy and tradition. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages. Thus the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighting. PRIDE FIGHTs, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships), WEC (World Extreme Cage fighting). And they have some great fighters. Bob Sapp, Ernesto Hoost, Ken Shamrock, Brock Lesnar, Lyoto Machida, Matt Hughes, Royce Gracie, Takanori Gomi. The list goes on. But none of these Fighting Art forms have a foot hold in reality. They all take years of discipline and training. They have weight classes and RULES for the fight. And every fight starts with both opponents standing, facing each other with empty hands. And there is always a referee standing between them to call a "time out" should someone break a rule or one fighter become unable to defend themselves.

I don't mean to imply those guys can't fight. Or aren't tough. The MMA fights are not choreographed or scripted like Pro Wrestling. They use terms like "Pound for Pound" and "Previously Undefeated." And "Middle Weight." and "Title Defense"

But in a street fight there are no weight classes. No referees. No prize money (unless you consider your wallet a prize). No black belts. No starting bell. And the fight is only over when, the winner decides to quit fighting. And that could be just after they empty your wallet. Empty your house. Take your car. Or take your life. Or just get tired of raping you or kicking the ever lovin' hell out of you.

I have those years of  training and discipline. Karate. Jujitsu. Aikido. American Kempo and one more you probably never heard of. And so maybe you'll understand my concern when I heard Ms Russo say she was going to show you how to "Fight For Your Life." on the 6:30 news. There is one self defense system that doesn't require years and years of  hard dedicated monotonous spiritual training to learn. It does take practice. Practice with a partner. And a little leg work to find a training center. But what were the chances that Ms Crissy Russo, had foud out about "Krav Maga?"

Well she did. I apologize Ms Russo. watch and learn from what she learned. In part 1 of 3 sessions she shows you how to "FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE."
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If you want more of this let me know!

What we have here! Is a failure to Communicate...

USA military and civilians share a common language. But we rarely use the same words to describe an incident. For example, your understanding of the term FIRE FIGHT might conger up images of men and women, dragging hoses and trying to extinguish a towering inferno. But in the military we know it as a heated exchange of gunfire against an armed adversary.
The difference in lingo is so great that after deciding to retire from active duty, Uncle Sam's Canoe Club sent me to a 2 week Indoctrination School. For almost 22 years I had not needed to pick out which clothes to wear. I had only one color of socks. 15 pairs of black socks. All of my neck ties were black. And my work clothes were all Khaki. But the words I had used to describe my surroundings made me uninformed and unable to communicate with civilians. "Yes Sir" and Yes Ma'am" would work fine. But if I wanted to know the location of the mens head, or where to find a scuttlebutt, or wanted some gedunk, there was going to be a problem! A head is a toilet. A scuttlebutt is a drinking fountain. And gedunk is snack food, like candy bars.

A bulkhead is a wall. A deck is a floor. A hatch is a door. Port and starboard are right and left when facing the bow. When civilians have a Field day, it is a pick nick. When sailors have a field day it is a top down scrubbing of the living areas. You go to bed in your bedroom. We hit the rack in the berthing compartment. You take a shower. Sailors hit the rain locker. You visit the Emergency Room. We go to the hurt locker. You brush your teeth. We scrub our bucks. You Take short cuts in procedures when doing a tedious job. In the Navy it's called Gundecking. If you take to many short cuts , you'll get called out on the carpet. If a sailor gets caught gundecking, they go to Captain's Mast.

And some terms just don't translate at all. Consider the day I  was in a weekly meeting. I was in the room with several high ranking executives. As the resident DATA SECURITY EXPERT, I was there to present evidence against a middle manager who had been misusing the Corporate Email. And when they asked for my recommendation on how to dispose of the offense. I said "Lets take him out back and Butt-stroke him."
Next thing I know, I'm in the HR Office with the "Head" of the company and a few other concerned members of my chain of command. I was being given an oral reprimand for suggesting a homosexual rape as a valid form of discipline. But the way they were dancing around the subject made it almost impossible to understand how or what had made them decide I had ever said such a thing.
When I asked "What ARE you talking about?"
They chimed in unison "BUTT-STROKE."
So, I grabbed a broom in the corner and held it in my hands diagonally at chest height. I shoved up and out with my right hand bringing the bristles end into the jaw of an imaginary adversary. And said, "If this broom were a rifle, I just stroked that guy with the butt."
"OOHHH!!! Never mind." They sang. And I went back to catch more evil doers.

But it really should have been no surprise. The Language differences between military and civilian is one thing.  There is a great difference.between languages, the individual services use.
What you refer to as a Captain, the military calls a Commercial Airline Pilot.
What the Army, Air force, and Marines calls a Captain. The Navy calls a Lieutenant.
What the Navy calls a Captain. The other services all call a Colonel.
What the other services call a General. The Navy Calls an Admiral. The Navy used to have a rank called Commodore. But they did away with it in the 80s, because the other services couldn't decide who had to salute a Commodore.
The differences go farther than rank names. Marines and sailors share a common language for the most part, because the Marine Corps was originally  the first shock troops formed to be the elite warrior class, and were under the Navy. Because there were no parachutes. And no planes to use them from. And the Army couldn't swim and using them to jump from ships to attack land would have been beyond reasonable expectations.
One quick language difference. You say "Aquamarine" and think gem stones. Sailors say aquamarine and think "Seasick Jarheads."

When The:
Navy and Marines say "Head." The Army says "Latrine." And the Air Force says "Toilet Facilities."
Navy and Marines say "Mess hall." The Army says "Chow Hall." The Air Force says "Enlisted Dining Room."
Navy and Marines say "Field Day." The Army says "Police the barracks." The Air Force says "Maid Service."
Navy and Marines say "Passage way." The others say "Hallway."
Even our tools have different names. When the Navy wants to measure the depth of the water, we use a "Fathometer." When the Coast Guard measures the depth of the water they use a "Yardstick." =o)

Consider the different services response to a simple order:
"SECURE THAT BUILDING."

The Air Force will make arrangements to negotiate and fill a short term lease. And will ensure that the utilities, water and electricity, are included. And will make sure the price includes cleaning and maid services for all rooms. The rooms are inspected for Habitability. No guard is needed.

The Army will send in a team of experts to clean the building. Top to bottom. All horizontal surfaces are scrubbed down and the floors are waxed and polished. And they will check to make sure the lights are turned off. And they post an armed guard at the front door.

The Navy will inspect the building. Check that the lights are out and all the doors and windows are locked. They will use locks that will indicate tamper attempts. And armed guards are posted at the front and rear doors. But their pistols and ammo magazines will be in separate holsters on the belt.

The Marines will deploy Three, five man fire teams. Team one will set up a machine gun and lay down a suppressing fire. Teams two and three will each perform a flanking maneuver. Then they will move into position and deploy explosive anti-personnel ordinance through the ground floor windows. Fire team one will then storm the front door and do a room to room, floor by floor sweep to eliminate and neutralize all enemy threats. The fire teams will then be split up to form 4 automatic weapons emplacements. One at each of the four corners of the building. And the remainder of the teams will perform roving patrols around the perimiter of the building. And one, two man sniper team, will go up on the the roof.

At the end of each of these operations all services will report to their respective commanders:
"The Building is secure, Sir."
And the orders to "Carry on." will be issued. But that isn't "Permission to act a fool."