I found this post at HotAir by happenstance. It starts as a story about a man in Seattle importing a boat from Canada and how the DHS Customs official tried to get him to swear to a simple lie on a form. It ends with a more important observation by Scott Adams (Dilbert author) about how the complexity of modern life is swamping our brains with trivia, leaving little room for knowledgeable thought.
See here: dhs-steals-techcrunch-founders-boat-over-paperwork-error
Now for the additional humor and followup, see here:
the-department-of-homeland-security-is-now-bitching-at-me-on-my-blog/
If you can stand it, be sure to read some of the comments to the blog. I'll never understand how so many people can express so much vitriol for someone they don't know. At least the conversation gets a little more civil later on.
Showing posts with label Sailing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sailing. Show all posts
Monday, February 25, 2013
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sailing: Onto the rocks with GPS Degradation via Crony Capitalism
We had a wonderful day on SF Bay yesterday. It was sunny and warm and fairly light breezes south of the Bay Bridge, with the usual 20+ knots north of the bridge. We introduced a young lady from Sydney, Australia to the microclimates of the Bay.
Fast Kitty is normally pretty non-political, but an article in Latitude 38 magazine pissed her off yesterday.
Crony Capitalism About to Degrade Your GPS?
The story is that a company called LightSquared has received tentative approval from the FCC to develop a new national wireless system based on a piece of electromagnetic spectrum that lies close to the frequencies used for the global GPS system. If it goes through it probably will affect the sensitivity and accuracy of all GPS units near LightSquared towers.
As if that is not bad enough, LightSquared is using classic political cronyism tactics to get FCC and the Obama administration to bless their plans. It is owned by a guy named Falcone, a poorly performing hedge fund manager who used to contribute to Republicans but lately makes maximum contributions to Democrats; almost like government is for making money through favoritism. See also a letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Regulation about the subject.
Harbinger Letter
For sailors, this is a life and death situation, if GPS reception is degraded I could find myself on the rocks. Ditto for my small plane pilot sister. Ditto for the military. For car drivers, it could mean poor performance and navigating to the wrong places. You can complain by July 30 through the BoatUS website at BoatUS Website.
Fast Kitty is normally pretty non-political, but an article in Latitude 38 magazine pissed her off yesterday.
Crony Capitalism About to Degrade Your GPS?
The story is that a company called LightSquared has received tentative approval from the FCC to develop a new national wireless system based on a piece of electromagnetic spectrum that lies close to the frequencies used for the global GPS system. If it goes through it probably will affect the sensitivity and accuracy of all GPS units near LightSquared towers.
As if that is not bad enough, LightSquared is using classic political cronyism tactics to get FCC and the Obama administration to bless their plans. It is owned by a guy named Falcone, a poorly performing hedge fund manager who used to contribute to Republicans but lately makes maximum contributions to Democrats; almost like government is for making money through favoritism. See also a letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Regulation about the subject.
Harbinger Letter
For sailors, this is a life and death situation, if GPS reception is degraded I could find myself on the rocks. Ditto for my small plane pilot sister. Ditto for the military. For car drivers, it could mean poor performance and navigating to the wrong places. You can complain by July 30 through the BoatUS website at BoatUS Website.
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