Gun Initiative Gets Big Boost From Gates, Allen and Ballmer

Bill Gates and Paul Allen, co-founders of Microsoft along with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer have joined forces and fortunes to donate heavily to the Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a coalition that wants to require background checks for Washington residents who buy firearms at gun shows and online. Initiative 594, which will be on the November ballot, would close what the alliance calls a “loophole” in Washington gun laws.

Paul Allen has donated $500,000 to the Alliance while Steve Ballmer has pitched in $600,000. Nick Hanauer has shown his support by throwing in $400,000. Bill Gates has given a more modest donation of $50,000. Gates, along with his wife Melinda, have become the biggest philanthropists in history with close to $30 billion going to worthwhile causes around the globe as they continue to concentrate on eradication of diseases such as Malaria and Aids as well as promoting education.

Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates, Paul Allen

Initiative 594 makes sure anyone buying a gun in Washington State passes the same background check, no matter where they buy the gun and no matter whom they buy it from. Law enforcement agencies and public safety officials agree that the existing “loophole” promotes illegal gun trafficking and enables those with criminal intent to purchase firearms. This initiative will simply ensure that a background check is conducted for every gun purchase.

Reasonable Exceptions – background checks are not required for:

• Gifts between immediate family members
• Antiques and relics
• Temporary transfers for self-defense
• Loans for lawful hunting or sporting activities

A recent poll showed Initiative 594 is supported by 72% of voters in Washington State. I, for one, am happy to see these hi-tech billionaires putting some of their vast fortunes towards issues that will definitely be good for both their communities and their country as a whole. It’s a long way until November so there’s no telling what the final outcome of this vote may be.

Thanks for visiting!

I Have A Question For You

So, Grandpa, where’s your blog today? What’s the problem? I checked this morning and nada!  Am I going to have to step in again and takeover?

Your loving grandson, Mason!

A Quiet, Peaceful Sunday Morning In Victoria

Our little man, Mason, has a real fascination with doors. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a door to a kitchen cupboard, a really big door to his bedroom or just a window door in a play house like the one on the left.

Mason will sit, or stand, while opening and closing the door for what seems like forever. It’s just “open the door, close the door, open the door, close the door” and he never seems to tire of it.

Doors are a very close second to his interest with anything electronic like TV remotes, iPhones, computers and anything else that has buttons, dials or switches.

Mason is a curious little guy and it sure is fun to watch what he goes for when we take him someplace new.

Sunday morning, Paulette and I drove down to Victoria to visit with Carrie and Mason and then to take the little man out for a walk in his stroller. It was another warm, sunny morning so we walked down to the local Starbucks and sat outside in the shade while we enjoyed our coffee.

We shared a blueberry muffin with Mason and he promptly smushed it to bits with a crayon. Next, he used his fingers to make sure it was really mashed up. Right when we figured the muffin was toast, he started eating the beat up pieces and finished it all up. I guess there’s more than one way to eat a blueberry muffin!

There was a big car show going on in the street in front of Starbuck’s featuring all kinds of cars going back to the 30’s maybe even the 20’s. Several blocks of the main street were blocked off for the show. I never did get around to taking a single photo of any of the cars. For whatever reason, I’ve never really been into cars and car shows like a lot of guys. As long as the car I had ran o.k. (and, a lot of them didn’t) I was happy. Other than that, I didn’t care too much.

I think we wore our little man out – he conked out as soon as he was home

We took Mason for a long walk and let him look at all the action going on before we headed back.  As soon as I took him out of his stroller when we got back and sat down on the couch with him, he conked right out with his head on my chest. I sat with him like that for about a half-hour before Carrie said he was likely to sleep for another hour!  With that, Carrie took him and put him in his crib and he never even opened his eyes. That was our cue to say goodbye and head for home!

Thanks for visiting!

Dropcam – Super Simple Video Security For Home Or RV

As RV’ers, we’ve always wondered, and I suppose worried a bit too, about what’s going on in our home while we’re away. We’ve often wished we could just check-in somehow to have a look and make sure everything’s o.k.

Now, thanks to Dropcam, a simple yet powerful video security system, we’ll be able to do just that no matter where we happen to be as long as we have Internet access – and, that goes without saying!!

With Dropcam’s wireless high-definition live streaming, night vision, two-way talk and mobile apps, it’s simple to stay connected with the place you call home whether it be your stix ‘n brix or your RV.

I’ve been researching and looking for a good, home security camera for quite a while now. I wanted one that ran on our home’s WiFi network, was simple to setup, had excellent night vision, 2-way built-in talk, streaming video that could be accessed 24/7 from my smartphone, iPad or laptop and, most importantly, one that would send me alerts and email messages whenever the system detected either motion or sounds in our home while we were away.

Major features of the Dropcam Video System

The Dropcam fit the bill on all counts. I bought a Dropcam Pro yesterday for $199 and once I had it home it was setup and working perfectly within 15 minutes! The video feed is as clear as a bell and covers a wide area. I downloaded the Dropcam apps to my iPhone and iPad and they allow me to do everything with the camera including turning it on and off or scheduling it to come on and off at specific times.

The Dropcam Pro gives a wide, clear 130 degree view of our living room

I was anxious to test the Alert system so after setting the camera up in our living room as shown in the above photo, I walked out of my computer room (the far doorway) just to see what would happen. I was pretty far away so I was really curious to see if the Motion Sensor on the Dropcam would work as advertised.

Within a few seconds of walking into range of the Dropcam, I received both an Alert on my iPhone and an email warning me of detected motion as shown in the above image. In real life, if I were thousands of miles away, I could actually check my ‘live feed’ using my iPhone or laptop and see exactly what was going on. If it was an intruder, I would be able to shout at him “This is Alarm Guard, we are watching you and the police are on their way” – or something like that. As well, we could phone the local RCMP detachment and tell them what was happening. Pretty amazing.

When Motion or Sound are detected, it sends Alerts and Emails to me

If you happen to be one of those people who are really bothered by Google, then beware, because after Google bought Nest, the maker of WiFi thermostats and smoke alarms, earlier this year for $3.2 billion, Google went out and bought Dropcam for its Nest division for a paltry $555 million in cash. Software engineers Greg Duffy and Aamir Virani founded Dropcam in 2009 in San Francisco and will continue to develop Dropcam as part of Nest – just one big happy, rich family!

Dropcam Pro has very good night infrared vision

So, maybe you’re wondering how this works and how exactly does live-streaming get from your home in Milwaukee, WI to Yuma, AZ? Every Dropcam comes with free live streaming service. When Dropcam is turned on, your camera sends encrypted video to the cloud for motion and sound detection. The cloud then securely streams video to your devices. Bank level security encryption.ensures only you see your footage.

Like many Internet operations, Dropcam offers extra options at a cost. In this case it’s called Continuous Video Recording (CVR) which securely records up to 30 days of footage for you to review after it's happened. f you have CVR service, your footage is stored securely on cloud servers so you can access it anytime, anywhere. It’s pretty costly though at 7-Day recording for $9.95 a month or 30-Day recording at $29.95 a month. I don’t intend to get either. As long as my camera is turned on, motion and sound detection remain active and I’ll receive all Alert messages.

Many Dropcam users are hoping that with Google’s deep pockets and massive server farm storage capacities that they just might give away 30 days of storage for free some day. Maybe. But, for RVers here’s the thing – 24/7 streaming of live video to the cloud would use about 70GB of bandwidth. That blows a giant hole in 5GB plans. Casual checking of your feed on a daily basis or when you get an alert results in very minimal use of bandwidth so for most of us it’s probably the best option.

Thanks for visiting!

9 9 14
Control Panel, Fix It, Bing Desktop, Latest Win 8.1 Tips.

 

Dear Classmates,

Our Windows 7, and 8.1, Workshop
will meet Tuesday September 9 at 7 pm.  After class questions we
will demo the following 4 items.

 1. Control
Panel.

 2 Views of the Windows 7 Control Panel,
the Default view of the is by Category.

Up on the Right, click on the Down Arrow by Category and click on Large
or Small Icons.

======================================

2. Fix it.

The next time you have trouble you
might want to try Fix it.

Download:  http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/

You
click on the Icon you are having trouble with and it ask you;

"What
are you trying to do?", and gives several options. Once you select an
option it will give you several solutions to try.

The best solutions have a Run
Now in Green.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.                         The Bing Desktop.

(For Windows 7, 8.1, and VISTA)

You can search the web with Bing. Under
that, the first Icon is WALLPAPER,  then WEATHER,
TOP NEWS, and IMAGES

Download:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35844      

 To configure the Weather: click on
the second icon, over to the right click on Options, under Add a location type
in an area code like 40505, then click on the Magnifying glass, now click on
the city to highlight it, then click on the + sign.

If you wish to remove a city, on the
right, highlight it and click on the – Sign.

 4. 5 Things you need to know
about WINDOWS 8.1:

 Bring a friend and share the knowledge.

 Kindest
regards,

 Joe
Isaac 

========================================

 Q. My speaker symbol is not there.

 A. Go to Control Panel and click on Notification Area Icons

 ----------------------------------------

Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2014

To: Joe Isaac

Subject: Handy Information

Hey Joe, just finished reading the
e-edition of newspaper when your handyman email came in, what a treat to find
out so many useful hints.

Thanks and you have a good day, you
help each of us so very much.

 

God Bless You

--------------------------------

Joe, I agree completely! Even better than
jokes! This is a wealth of information. Hope you are doing okay. You are in my
prayers.

Blessings,

--------------------------------

 

Thanks for the ideas . I esp.  want to try the corn idea.

Thinking of you Joe.

--------------------------------

 Great ideas!  Thank you!

--------------------------------

 

Great Joe, thanks... 

====================================

WINDOWS
8.1 LESSONS:

Lesson 1: What
Is It and Why Does It Matter?

Lesson 2: Making
the Start Screen Fit Your Needs

Lesson 3:
Personalizing Your Start Screen

Lesson 4: Using
the Windows Store and Windows Store Apps

Lesson 5:
Working with PC Settings

Lesson 6:
Working with Accounts and Exploring Sync Settings

Lesson 7:
Search, Apps, and Search Some More

Lesson 8: The
Rest of the Settings

Lesson 9: Using
the WIN+X Menu for Essential Administration

Lesson 10: The
Rest of Windows 8.1

--------------------------------

From
Myra Engle: Bananas

 http://www.youtube.com/embed/_l7sak6Vlq8?rel=0

--------------------------------

Sent: Sunday, August 10,
2014

Subject: Help!!

  Joe,

Q. I am looking for a file that I believe
you gave us. . .it is a video of a young woman and young man doing the boogie
woogie to piano music played by a man.  I thought I had put it on my hard
drive, but cannot find it. 

If you know the one I am referring to
and can send it to me, I surely would be grateful.

A. "Dancin' The Boogie"
- by Silvan Zingg Boogie Woogie Piano

Will
& Maéva Dancers   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QQzbCmlZM4 

My
favorite, I play it a lot. They are the best I’ve seen.

-------------------------------- 

Response:  That’s it!! 
Thanks so much.  I agree with your
assessment of them, and it is my favorite, too.

========================================

========================================

========================================

 

.

Genius Of The Day – GOP Senator Rand Paul

“If I had been told to get out of the street as a teenager, there would have been a distinct possibility that I might have smarted off. But, I wouldn’t have expected to be shot.”

“Anyone who thinks that race does not still, even if inadvertently, skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention.”

Never in a million years did I ever expect to nominate a GOP Senator as my Genius of the Day. Especially one who is a Tea Party darling like Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

But, Rand Paul wrote a thought provoking op-ed for Time Magazine on the situation unfolding in Ferguson, MO following the police shooting of unarmed 18 yr. old Michael Brown. In his op-ed, Senator Brown called for the “demilitarization of the police” in the USA. Here are some excerpts from his atricle:

The outrage in Ferguson is understandable—though there is never an excuse for rioting or looting. There is a legitimate role for the police to keep the peace, but there should be a difference between a police response and a military response. The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action.

Glenn Reynolds, in Popular Mechanics, recognized the increasing militarization of the police five years ago. In 2009 he wrote:

Soldiers and police are supposed to be different. … Police look inward. They’re supposed to protect their fellow citizens from criminals, and to maintain order with a minimum of force.

It’s the difference between Audie Murphy and Andy Griffith. But nowadays, police are looking, and acting, more like soldiers than cops, with bad consequences. And those who suffer the consequences are usually innocent civilians.

The Cato Institute’s Walter Olson observed this week how the rising militarization of law enforcement is currently playing out in Ferguson:

Why armored vehicles in a Midwestern inner suburb? Why would cops wear camouflage gear against a terrain patterned by convenience stores and beauty parlors? Why are the authorities in Ferguson, Mo. so given to quasi-martial crowd control methods (such as bans on walking on the street) and, per the reporting of Riverfront Times, the firing of tear gas at people in their own yards?

(“‘This my property!’ he shouted, prompting police to fire a tear gas canister directly at his face.”) Why would someone identifying himself as an 82nd Airborne Army veteran, observing the Ferguson police scene, comment that “We rolled lighter than that in an actual warzone”?

Olson added, “the dominant visual aspect of the story, however, has been the sight of overpowering police forces confronting unarmed protesters who are seen waving signs or just their hands.”

How did this happen?

Most police officers are good cops and good people. It is an unquestionably difficult job, especially in the current circumstances.  There is a systemic problem with today’s law enforcement.

Given these developments, it is almost impossible for many Americans not to feel like their government is targeting them. Given the racial disparities in our criminal justice system, it is impossible for African-Americans not to feel like their government is particularly targeting them.

This is part of the anguish we are seeing in the tragic events outside of St. Louis, Missouri. It is what the citizens of Ferguson feel when there is an unfortunate and heartbreaking shooting like the incident with Michael Brown.

Anyone who thinks that race does not still, even if inadvertently, skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention. Our prisons are full of black and brown men and women who are serving inappropriately long and harsh sentences for non-violent mistakes in their youth.

Americans must never sacrifice their liberty for an illusive and dangerous, or false, security. This has been a cause I have championed for years, and one that is at a near-crisis point in our country.  Let us continue to pray for Michael Brown’s family, the people of Ferguson, police, and citizens alike.

Rand Paul

Governor Jay Nixon of MO apparently got the message as yesterday he removed the St. Louis County police from the streets of Ferguson, Mo., and handed oversight to the Missouri State Highway Patrol under the command of Capt. Ronald S. Johnson who grew up in Ferguson. Nixon had finally realized the St. Louis County police were “not going to do the right thing”  and would no longer be involved.

Last night, in Ferguson, with the Missouri State Highway Patrol in charge and an entirely new attitude there were only peaceful protests after five nights of unrest. Hopefully, that will continue and justice will be done.

Thanks for visiting!

Is Ferguson A City In Missouri or Iran? Egypt? Syria?

Last night, while I was sitting at my computer about to write this post, I noticed a huge jump in “tweets’ showing up on my Twitter feed. When I checked to see what was happening I read that Wesley Lowery, a reporter for The Washington Post, who has been reporting on the unrest in Ferguson, Mo. following the police fatal shooting of an unarmed 18 yr. old black youth, had been arrested by police in Ferguson.

He wasn’t alone as he and other reporters were working in a McDonald’s in Ferguson when about half a dozen police officers came into the restaurant, Lowery said. Some officers were in regular uniforms, while others were dressed in riot gear and carrying assault weapons. Ryan J. Reilly of the Huffington Post was also taken into custody at the same McDonalds along with other reporters who were just doing their jobs.

The action appeared to catch Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson by complete surprise. "Oh, God," he told the Los Angeles Times when he was told by LA Times reporter Matt Pearce what had happened. Lowery and Reilly were set free shortly thereafter with no charges being laid and no explanations given for their arrests.

Here’s a video of the arrests

As federal civil rights investigators and the FBI carry out their own inquiry into the case, tensions are running high in Ferguson, where there's a history of distrust between the predominately black community and the largely white police force. Brown was African-American. Police have not identified the shooter, but a witness told CNN on Tuesday that the officer who opened fire is a white male.

The 5th shooting death by police of an unarmed black man in the past month

Another reason I’m writing this post is because I’m still a bit shocked after reading a version of the Ferguson killing in another RV Blogger’s post. After writing that the area was “being hit with rioting and civil unrest due the to the police killing of a young black man” , the blogger went on to write “Just the place you would expect trouble in, to (sic) much drugs, to (sic) many people with time on their hands and no ambition.”  Each of you can draw your own conclusions from that statement.

Even more disturbing to me were the comments left by fellow bloggers I know and follow. Among them, there was this one:

I also don't understand how people can loot and burn their neighbors businesses. Makes no sense to me. Prayers for all those police officers who are putting their lives on the line to try and restore some order.

No prayers or one word of remorse or sorrow was offered for the fact that a young, black male aged 18, who full of ambition was due to start his first college semester in just two days, was shot several times by a white police officer while he faced him unarmed with his hands in the air. Instead, prayers were offered for the police but no concern, apparently for the mother and father of slain Michael Brown. These same folks, I know, profess to be devout Christians. Sometimes, the Devil is in the details! 

Thanks for visiting!