APPLES AND DENTISTS

Yesterday was a long drive and a long day. I had an appointment in Modesto, a one hour and 30 minute drive,  with an Implant Periodontist, which is a dental specialist. But, before my appointment, I wanted to do two things in the city that I cannot do in Murphys. Go to an Apple Store and get help with my Ipod and go to an AT&T Store and get help with my new  phone.  Does the picture above look like a store?

It didn’t look like one to me, either. I learned you are supposed to go on-line and make an appointment. That’s a novel idea. I guess it makes sense, since I needed help, not a device. The walls are filled with items for sale, though.  I waited at this table with others who had appointments. They fit me in.

Jason was very nice and patient. He re-registered my device and saved my music. According to the woman I waited with, she comes down with 10 things on a list she wants to learn on her Ipod and they give her a lesson and she takes notes. Then, she returns with a new list until she gets it. If you live close to an Apple Store, that works.
No one pressured me into buying anything, but I did buy a charger.  And you can see, out came a drawer to make change. It actually is a store.
I got to my dental appointment, but didn’t make it to the phone store. I learned you must have an appointment for your phone, too.  I then drove on another 78 miles  to Oakland to meet my property manager and looked over my rental to see what work needs to be done.

It was pretty dirty, but I was glad I made the trip. Haven’t been there in several years. Decided to do away with the wallpaper. Looked on-line how to do faux bellagio, an Italian wall design.  Returned home by 7:00 p.m. for a late dinner. Phone has to wait for another time.

UNNECCESARY VIOLENCE

By all accounts the Occupy Wall Street protests have been quiet, and orderly. Messy and annoying for city officials? Yes. Have both parties been in communication?  Yes. Do people have a right to peaceful assembly? Yes.  Do people occupying a park eventually get tired and go home? Yes. Was it necessary to  shoot beanbag guns and rubber bullets? No.  Is it correct use of tear gas canisters and flash grenades to deliberately make contact with a person?  No.
This morning, after seeing the video of the Oakland Police throwing a flash bang grenade into a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters who gathered around an injured vet, struck by a Police non-lethal weapon, and were themselves than struck, at close range, from the police ranks, while trying to give aid and assistance, angers me. There are ways to break up a crowd, with a simple wedge and batons. The police form a solid wedge, and move forward with batons in action. If a protester doesn't want to get hit by a moving baton,  he moves away from the wedge. His choice. There is no reason for a  law enforcement individual to jump out of the wedge and shoot into the ranks of protestors unless protestors attack them.  Tear gas is acceptable but not when aimed at a person. Flash grenades as well, if not aimed at a person. There is much experience in Alameda County to fall back on from the 1960's and 70's riot control.  These are citizens on the street, not criminals. Have we learned nothing from the protests of the 1960's and 1970's?  Getting  people angrier than they already are at the injustices done to them, is not going to help.
Check out the video below.
By all accounts the Occupy Wall Street protests have been quiet, and orderly. Messy and annoying for city officials? Yes. Have both parties been in communication?  Yes. Do people have a right to peaceful assembly? Yes.  Do people occupying a park eventually get tired and go home? Yes. Was it necessary to  shoot beanbag guns and rubber bullets? No.  Is it correct use of tear gas canisters and flash grenades to deliberately make contact with a person?  No.
This morning, after seeing the video of the Oakland Police throwing a flash bang grenade into a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters who gathered around an injured vet, struck by a Police non-lethal weapon, and were themselves than struck, at close range, from the police ranks, while trying to give aid and assistance, angers me. There are ways to break up a crowd, with a simple wedge and batons. The police form a solid wedge, and move forward with batons in action. If a protester doesn't want to get hit by a moving baton,  he moves away from the wedge. His choice. There is no reason for a  law enforcement individual to jump out of the wedge and shoot into the ranks of protestors unless protestors attack them.  Tear gas is acceptable but not when aimed at a person. Flash grenades as well, if not aimed at a person. There is much experience in Alameda County to fall back on from the 1960's and 70's riot control.  These are citizens on the street, not criminals. Have we learned nothing from the protests of the 1960's and 1970's?  Getting  people angrier than they already are at the injustices done to them, is not going to help.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/10/occupy-oakland-protesters-violence

TELEVISION ANTENNAS AND BUGGY WHIPS

This antenna is slated to go the way of the buggy whip and I, for one, lament its passing. When commercial and government interests join hands to keep signals from delivering freely through the air and stop them in a box or cable before they reach the receiver, I'm not convinced its in my best interest.
In Calaveras County we were promised that cable would be competitive and keep prices low. I've seen cable prices go up, up and up with the same cable company delivering cheaper prices in Oakland, for instance, with more choices, than in my community. The cable companies have bought into satellite networks making competition pretty nil.
How does this affect us when we travel? In Spain, can I get CNN? Or is it controlled? No more American television in Italy unless U.S. interests place what they want seen there? Hmmm! Its a sorry fact of life that most U.S. Citizens no longer trust their government.
What about Public Television, the most revered broadcasting program available according to surveys. Will we have to pay a premium to see PBS down the line?
The companies that make antennas apparently don't have a strong enough lobby to complain about the government shutting down THEIR businesses.
Maybe what we need to do more than anything else, is protect radio signals with all our might before they enclose them in a cable box and feed us what they want us to hear as well. I particularly dislike the Communications Commission attitude toward the people's right to the airwaves. After all, our airwaves, like free speech, water, and oxygen should not be sold to the highest bidder. Other countries have control of their channels and they dedicate one or more as an election channel so elections are not so expensive. Our government could do the same but doesn't. And, God knows, we need cheaper electioneering. I guess this is a rant.