Archive for 'Tom Lawless'
December 3, 2006
So, walk in to the mini-convenience store on base the other day. I am rarely at this particular base but a mini-convenience store is the same world wide right? So, wander in, find my Naked Juice and skittles (I know horrible combination but hey) and I take them to the register and place them on the counter. The clerk asks "So, what do we have here?" Like an idiot I reply "just some munchies". There comes an awkward pause and then he asks again "So, what do we have here?" At this point he kind of stares somewhere over my right shoulder and whispers "I am kind of blind so how about helping me out and telling what you have"....Not much else to say.........
Posted by Tom Lawless @
9:10 pm in
General
November 4, 2006
Last night was my first night with my new FTO (Field Training Officer). Just to make it interesting we had non-stop calls. I am really beginning to appreciate working the Poway area. There is a such a huge range of people and the variety of calls keeps you thinking. We had traffic accidents, crazy/drugged out person attacking passing cars, alzheimers woman lost who we helped get home, and then the adrenaline rush call of person with a gun and the resulting barreling through the door of a residence and holding 10 subjects at gunpoint. I learned a lot, and it also reminded me how much more I have to learn. The "C" Shift out of Poway is an awesome team.
Off to a "date" with my wife.
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
2:53 pm in
General
October 23, 2006
Yes, to the amazement of all, I can actually post twice in a month. Will be going racing tomorrow night, again. Been fun, not cheap, but fun. If you are in San Diego and remember Malibu Gran Prix (even better because up to 10 of you are all on the track at the same time) check this out:
www.miramarspeedcircuit.comSAR games were last weekend. We went full pack, up and down the Torrey Pines state beach area. Kind of like a large scavenger hunt with specific activities that had to be completed at each site. Really enjoyed the day, was not in super competitive mode. Although, I was troubled by seeing friends of mine cheat just to get a high score. Oh well, get a group of Type A folks (if you are in SAR or LE and you are not a Type A you need to do a google on the definition of Type A) and what do you expect. News coverage is here, I am on screen for all of two seconds:
http://www.news8online.com/stories/story.67478.htmlOff Road Season begins this weekend for the Sheriff’s department. Finally get to utilize my medical AND law enforcement training. Really looking forward to it.
A random bummer thing was a neighbor who came over the other day. She is probably mid-40’s and lost her job recently and went on disability as her back pain had become unbearable, and she would lose her balance frequently, not good when delivering food products. Well, she found out very recently that her balance and pain issues are all part of her having MS. It just reminds you how lucky we are to have every day, every breath, and share every ounce of love with our loved ones.
Cheers,
Tom
October 11, 2006
Hey, long time no post my apologies, not that there has not been a lot to talk about.
Let’s start with the most recent item tech wise. If you have any interest in home theatre or high end televisions you need to read this article about a new TV technology slated for DEC 07:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/NATIONAL/Laser-TV-predicted-to-be-death-of-plasma/2006/10/10/1160246121576.htmlWhat’s a tech blog without a mention of VISTA. RC1 is very, very stable compared to Beta 2. Even better ATI came out with drivers for backward compatibility supporting the AERO interface.
Okay, off to LE for a moment. Worked the Poway Rodeo a couple of weeks ago. I had never been to a rodeo. It was GREAT. Watching the barrel racing and the beautiful horses it was very cool. A very family friendly environment, definitely taking friends & family next year.
Promise to post more,
Cheers,
Tom
August 28, 2006
Very interesting new technology where clothing, furniture, and anything covered in fabric can display images. Imagine that the wall of your cubicle now becomes a 6 by 8 screen. I wonder who will jump on this first, fashion industry or public safety folks?
http://www.research.philips.com/newscenter/archive/2006/060901-lumalive.htmlHad a true Search and Rescue operation last weekend out in the Ocotillo Wells portion of the desert. I was excited because I really know that area well and was able to apply that knowledge as the planning officer and then the assistant planning officer. We definitely saved the young boys life. Feels great.
One thing I am noticing as I get older is that things I have that need to be replaced no longer exist except for the new model. Yet, the new model in it’s desire to be "new", does not have the features I found important in the orginal one but many "cute" features.
Am scheduled for Taser class next month ought to be fun, except the part where I will probably end up getting tased.
August 3, 2006
Gads this year is just flying. Looks like I failed to post anything in July. Had an excellent vacation where we went to Flathead Lake Montana and then to Glacier Park. Nothing like travelling in large groups like our family does. We provide a lot of our own entertainment. Especially when it’s it the 4th of July and the state of Montana pretty much allows the sale of anything that goes boom.
After 9 months of being in the police academy and then going through the Sheriff’s department prerequisites I finally had my first Law Enforcement shift (vice my SAR/LE support history of the last 9 years). So of course, the key to the squad car was unavailable, was late picking up my partner, missed briefing, and literally ended up in the middle of a riot.
The event I was working and the date will go unnamed. The event was very interesting for a number of reasons:
1. One of the undercover officers in the crowd was someone I knew. Had to remind myself not to acknowledge him.
2. Once the riot started and we started moving people out of the intersection it was a very dynamic process. If you saw another officer unprotected you covered each other, kind of commonsense but when you are fighting a moving battle on three sides of an intersection it takes a lot of situational awareness. At this point the UCs gave up being undercover and rushed to help us. Slight problem was that the UC who showed up on my right shoulder did not announce she was there or who she was. When I noticed her presence I almost threw her out into the crowd except for the badge on her belt and the PR-24 in her right arm. At "normal" life speed this would have been an easy reasoning item but when you are pumped up and things are happening fast you have less than a second to decide friend or foe.
3. What really calmed the whole thing down was not the number of officers that flooded the intersection but the dogs. If you really want to block of an area put a really pissed of dog in the middle of it on a long leash.
4. I learned that as convenient as collapsible batons are to carry, nothing beats a straight PR-24 when have to mix it up.
5. I also learned that the typical amount of paper that you have to generate when you touch someone goes out the window in a riot situation. Well, at least one benefit.
Took my wife to see the play Wicked last weekend. Very cool, I am usually checking my watch frequently at most shows. Wicked sucks you in and the time just flies.
Well off to quad certified (clutch, already auto certified) for the departments clutch driven quads this weekend. Should be fun.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:06 pm in
General
June 20, 2006
Been far too long. My apologies. Well I have finished the pre-requisite three detention shifts. They just reinforced my dislike for working in the detentions/corrections environment. Will begin my field LE training soon.
Ben graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Very proud of the knucklehead.
Bill resigns from Microsoft, hmmm?you almost have to wonder what his motivation was to stay on after making the first 10 billion dollars. You would think that we all have our price limit. Me, I figure I would stop working if I had a minimum of 3 million in the bank. Maybe some property to generate income. What is your price?
Went shooting trap and skeet last weekend with friends from work and LE. I used to think trap was hard. Skeet is a flippin? nightmare. Shooting trap is pretty straightforward. Skeet requires a bloody black belt in shotgun work.
The other interesting thing recently has been the guy who has the same first and last name using an ISP I have never used. I am now receiving all of his mail, and considering that some of it is related to matchmaking/dating website it has been very entertaining. At first I thought it was a phishing type of attack but the volume, content, and consistency has proven otherwise. I can send an email to this address and it comes right back to my email via one of my ISP?s. To do the right thing, I have tried to contact him and let him know but I have had no response so far. All I can say so far is that if you have a choice who your ISP is, I would not choose Earthlink. Nothing like reading someone else?s email when you are not even trying.
Sorry it?s been so long,
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
4:02 pm in
General
May 11, 2006
After graduation (a common them for all in the months of May and June) you would think that all your stress would melt away. Yet we just find new things to stress about, a death in the family, increased workload, and all those chores you have put off for the last semester or two that can no longer be delayed 8)
Whether or not you agree with the whole contraception and high school students issue, the senior who pulled this prank has some serious guts. Very smooth operation, I would hire the person ;) Maybe not let them have access to anything I have signed though.....
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20060511-9999-1mi11prank.html10 months after purchasing my iPod I had to return it last night (have an extended protection plan) as it was just going nuts. As the protection plan was with Circuit City I am half tempted to just take the gift card and finally buy my xbox 360 and get a iPod later, hmmm...tempting
Cheers,
Tom
April 28, 2006
Police Academy is almost done, we graduate next Friday, Yes!!! Finally have some free time.
Next weekend will be nuts, between graduation, Chiara’s birthday, and Pat’s wedding it will be crazy.
Windows Vista Beta 2, found that you REALLY have to a good graphics card before you enable 32 bit graphics. Once I knocked it down to 16 bit I lost all the "artifacts" that would clutter the screen and obscure menus.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
2:33 pm in
General
April 6, 2006
One of the meanings of "ides" is that time when the bills are due. So there goes all that money for income and property taxes. Well at least we have our Internet access ;)
A couple of things I have found of use or interesing recently:
CommView for WiFi, great wireless analysis tool.
Alcatel bought Lucent..hmmm..security issues here and not just because they are foreign. Let’s just say Alcatel has done some bad things.
SBC and AT&T are one again. I don’t get it though. I thought the whole idea of breaking up AT&T in the first place was to encourage competition and break up a monopoly...?...
In the UK, Microsoft is pleading with PC vendors not to sell PCswithout an O/S because it hurts the vendors ability to sell add on software. Gee, it is sooo nice to Microsoft worrying about the small business folks. I wonder if MS has an alterior motive ;)
I can see why I would want to be able to dual boot windows and OS Xon a MAC but some people are a little too eager/crazy about theidea of running windows on a MAC. Okay, I get the novelty/irony but some of these guys are acting like they found the holy grail.
If you really want to get close to holy grail in the tech world look at how there are now 32GB flash drives as they usher in theextinction of hard drives. Now THAT will be a paradigm shift!
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
10:50 am in
General
March 22, 2006
Samsung has launched what it reckons its the world’s first 32GB NAND Flash-based hard disk drive replacement unit. The company claimed the so-called "solid state disk" can access data three times faster than an HDD can and write files one-and-a-half times more quickly - though we don’t know what HDD spec it was comparing its product to.
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/03/21/samsung_unveils_ssd/
March 22, 2006
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that police without a warrant cannot search a home when one resident says to come in but another tells them to go away, and the court’s new leader complained that the ruling could hamper investigations of domestic abuse.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SCOTUS_POLICE_SEARCHES?SITE=CADIU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-03-22-10-51-51
March 16, 2006
Six more weeks of instruction (not including the one week for springbreak) and the academy is done. In the meantime am playing with some biometric gear. Biometric Thumbdrives and an overall concept I like to call "Office on a stick"
Cheers
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:12 pm in
General
February 23, 2006
Ironically a neighbor asked me a couple of weeks ago to recommend a new wireless/router/access point as his had just died. It kind of felt like work but on a Sunday morning I took about 10 minutes and recommended the Linksys SRX 200. Well, Karma is a good thing. A week ago thursday my ancient Dlink WAP died. So at least I knew what to go get. Pretty impressed with it. The firewall portion is pretty advanced. You can do typical things like block a site but it can even block by keyword. Wonder if the Chinese government uses these ;)
Seriously though, the only thing better is the SRX 400 which comes with three antennas instead of two. As this is just for home and do not that much range stuck with the 200.
Bluetooth speakerphone is still working great
Blackberry 8700c is great
Should be getting a Nextel/GPS phone soon for testing. Not sure yet if it will blackberry based or not. We’ll see what happens when it arrives.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
11:37 am in
General
February 9, 2006
Not much to post, it’s just that I had promised an update on the bluetooth speakerphone. I am very, very happy with this speakerphone. It’s amazing how quickly you get used to not having to scramble for your headset when a call comes in or having to really watch your driving while you try and attach it. I typically have a multi-point commute that involves a 25 minute segment in the evening while driving to the police academy. I find that I am calling more people than before (maybe bad for them) and that I am more relaxed in the conversations.If you are struggling with which to buy, at least check it out:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0008JISMU/103-7959294-5991032?v=glanceCheers,Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
3:53 pm in
General
January 29, 2006
Have a few new gadgets;
For Christmas my wife bought me the Garmin Foretrex 100, awesome wrist mounted GPS for SAR/Hiker folks.
The odd Christmas gift was well...., my list asked for a device called an airpro, this is a single shot hand held system for re-inflating and fixing bike tires that you can put in your camelbak or backpack. Well, thanks to the lords of mis-communication I am now the proud owner of an air compressor, the thing is a monster! Damn cool, can’t wait to buy the nail gun accessory for it ;)
Just picked up my new phone. The old SmartPhone PDA piece of junk from audiovox is now a boat anchor somewhere. I now have my first blackberry (8700c) and all I can say is wow. This thing rocks, all kinds of awesome features, but most importantly the phone part of it actually works everywhere I go.
Was really torn between getting a bluetooth headset and the bluetooth speakerphone accessory. Decided on the bluethooth speakerphone from Motorola. It clips to my visor and syncs with the blackberry. Just tested it today, really works. Although, I do need to speak at a certain volume or it does not pick up my voice well. We’ll see how it works over the next couple of weeks. I like the idea of not always having to wear a headset or fumble for one when I need it.
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
11:46 pm in
General
January 29, 2006
Sorry for the serious lag in posting. The reserve police academy (upgrading certification from a III to II) has been a serious time suck. Yesterday we were exposed to CS (tear gas) and pepper spray. To this point we have been told that pepper spray is a good less lethal option but that about 15% of the population is immune to it, and at that, it takes a good 60 seconds to take full effect. Well, let me tell you, every single one of us rated the pain involved as an absolute ten and it started hurting way before 60 seconds. Even worse, rinsing water gets the chemical(technically it’s organic) off you but the second you stop rinsing the area with water it hurts just as bad all over again. What you need to do is just suck up the pain for about 10-15 minutes and let it air out, otherwise it is like greek fire. NEVER, EVER, let yourself be exposed just to find out. The pain is temporary, but you will never forget.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
11:36 pm in
General
December 9, 2005
Would not believe it unless I watched this video. A must see!
http://www.break.com/articles/sharkvsoctopus.html?t=4414
December 7, 2005
For those of you that have a technically inclined significant other the following article is a MUST read:
http://wiki.ehow.com/Find-a-Gift-for-a-Self-Proclaimed-Nerd-or-GeekThere is a major difference between a nerd and a geek. A nerd is almost more of a behavioral thing and a geek is typically obsessed about a particular topic such as computers but is otherwise socialized. The article is good advice for the non/nerd-geek and humorous for the nerd-geek.
Merry Christmas,
There I said it!
Tom
November 29, 2005
If you have any need to review logs from multiple servers and/or network devices, especially from an IA POV, check this freeware tool out. Looks sweet.
http://www.intersectalliance.com/projects/SnareWindows/
November 29, 2005
Well, been busy. Thanksgiving was fun up in Palo Alto. Nothing exciting to report, life is just moving along. Can not believe Christmas is so darn close.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
8:08 pm in
General
October 13, 2005
Check this site out, especially the story about the $5 million dollar con.
http://www.chuvakin.org/rss2html/
September 23, 2005
I am up in LA this week attending a computer forensics course at a hotel next to LAX. Was watching the landing of the plane with malfunctioning front landing gear. Watching that landing was inspiring. One of those moments where even in a crowd of no one you know you say "alright!" and throw your hands up. Seriously, was nice to see something good happening in the world.
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
6:20 pm in
General
September 13, 2005
This is an excellent editorial on computer / network security and some of the frequent illogical "routing loops" that computer security personnel fall into. Definitely a must read.
http://www.ranum.com/security/computer_security/editorials/dumb/
August 31, 2005
It is disappointing to see how quickly the veneer of our "gentle" society is so quickly swept away. I have heard of a few cases were people truly needed food and water but most of these stories are about folks stealing cases of beer, 12 pairs of tennis shoes, 15 football jerseys etc.......
Thousands of years of supposed evolution and yet when the comforts of civilization are removed we regress to club carrying hooligans.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050831-1059-katrina-looting.html
August 16, 2005
Posted by Tom Lawless @
3:39 pm in
General
August 5, 2005
Posted by Tom Lawless @
12:07 pm in
General
July 27, 2005
Wednesday
Saw, heard, and felt the 5" and the CWIS fire. I was closer to the CWIS just aft of the flying bridge, and even with ear protection that thing was like a jackhammer on the ear drums.
Small arms training on the flight deck. Kind of disappointed but once I thought it through it made some sense. The Force Protection (FP) group, 3 chiefs and about 20 sailors set up the flight deck with two targets and marked off 3, 7, and 20 yard positions. The sailors were trained to have 9mm out of the holster and at their side to begin. They were also instructed to engage one target, and were never instructed to scan (typical 30-45 degree sweep on each side initial target) after engaging single target. The other thing that drove me nuts was that when it came time to perform combat reloads the shooter was handed a magazine by a gunners mate at their side. Even though they are wearing the gun belt with magazine pouches, they are not trained to use them. The implicattion being that if these guys ever engage more than one target or need a second magazine they are out of luck. The part that makes sense is that the chiefs only get two hours, infrequently, to run 20 sailors through just the basics. For the time they had the chiefs did a great job of walking the sailors through tap, rack, bang, basic mechanics, and safety.
Counter Measures washdown occured today, but this time they did announce it. I was working on email in my quarters when two stewards knocked. I asked them to enter. They came in carrying two very large trash bags. I gave them a quizzical look as my one trash can is very small. The senior steward mentioned that sometimes, as a result of the washdown, a leak happens right above the unit commanders bunk (my bed). So, they kindly wrapped my bunk in trash bags and departed.
Today was our opposed replenishment at sea exercise. I have never seen at sea replenishment and figured it would be kind of cool. It definitely was. Had a chief join us at the mid deck by the CWIS system and explain the entire process. We had to duck a few times as the lines shot over by the oiler went a bit wide a few times. Both Shiloh and Shoup connected at the same time, at opposite sides of the oiler obviously (yes, oiler is wrong term but it will do). So we watch this whole process and find it interesting but after an hour plus I had seen enough. Just as I am about to leave they have finished refueling and begin the emergency breakaway drill. The receiving ships knock the lines away with hammers. Once the lines are clear the Shiloh started cranking Motley Crue at full blast through external speakers and pushed the throttle to flank and accelerated away at a hard starboard angle while the Shoup performed the similar maneuver but at a hard port angle. These ships haul butt when pushed to flank. Was a great drag race. It would have made an awesome "Go Navy" commercial. If you like powerboats you would have seriously enjoyed this.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
3:42 pm in
General
July 27, 2005
USS Shiloh has been an EXPERIENCE. All kinds of little stories just after
one day. The funniest/worst one so far is last night when I returned to the
quarters I was sharing with 6 other junior officers. When I first arrived
yesterday I was shown to quarters and I there were folded linens laying next
to the bottom bunk. So I made the bunk up and threw my book on the bed as a
marker to say "hey someone is sleeping here". Gave it no further thought.
Ended up staying late as I got to play with helo squadron folks. About
midnight I roll in and some is sleeping in my bunk and the others are
asleep. I woke the guy and he very nicely said that it was his bunk and he
was the one who had put the folded linens next to the bunk earlier and that
he had been surprised when someone made his bunk for him (The Captain upon
hearing this later found that part very hilarious). There are two unoccupied
bunks on the other side of the rack but it looks like someone has brought
their own eggshell mat for the mid bunk and the other unoccupied bunk has
personal stuff all over it. Well, even if I sleep on the eggshell bunk there
are no linens, and believe me, the AC really works down here. So I go up to
the wardroom in my t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops and find one of the helo
guys who then makes a batch of calls and about 15 mins later a chief arrives
with linens and pillow. I then made the bunk and passed out on it.
So today the Commodore departs and guess who gets his quarters for
the rest of the trip. Wow, own pantry, head/shower, living room, meeting
room, computer systems...etc...
Been playing ASW against the Swedish diesel electric submarine
Gottland. This thing is bloody quiet. Giving the P3, Helo, and sonartechs a
good run. Submarine uses some kind of new technology called "AIP" that makes
it more quiet and extends to about 3 weeks the amount of time they can run
electric.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
3:40 pm in
General
July 27, 2005
Sorry for the delays on post. Was at sea last week and did not have web access. Found a real cool tool called UBCD for windows. Basically it is a bootable windows O/S on a CD with all kinds of nice tools. Check it out at :
http://www.ubcd4win.com/index.htm
Worrying about the gene pool today....read on my brothers blog that he fell through a hole in the roof of his home as he was working on it. Glad that he is okay but yikes. I think he has too many "smart" brain cells and not enough "situational awareness" brain cells ;)
Posted by Tom Lawless @
3:39 pm in
General
July 11, 2005
This rant was inspired by a call on National Public Radio for people to define what they believe in an essay and send it in. I am not writing an essay or sending anything in but it motivated me to write some thoughts down:
I believe....
I believe in a world where the strong help the weak.
I believe love is more than a commercial anthem or an abstract concept.
I believe in admitting when we are wrong and taking responsiblity. Because ironically,this is how we control our lives and show our strength.
I believe that there are people who sell fear like a ballpark vendor sells hot dogs.
I believe that who we are is not defined by what we do when everyone is watching, but when no one is.
I believe that we are judged not by how tall we stand but how many times we stand back up after being knocked down.
I believe I can be a better person every day
I believe that there are times for war, for destruction, and also times for peace. This tenuous balance we all depend on. How far do we go in defeating the neighborhood bully?
I believe some of us have forgotten how we in our war for independence from the british were considered terrorists because we hid behind trees and boulders in a gun fight. Oh, but that was only combat, no civilians right?American Indians have been defending the homeland and fighting terrorists since 1492. Try and tell a native American that we "civilized" folks never slaughtered innocent civilians. Just a little perspective folks, not excusing anyone for anything.
I believe that Native American tribes have every right to have casinos on their land. It is insulting and ridiculous to see local and state governments try to legislate what native americans can do on sovereign territory. It just grates against my sense of justice to hear these rich white suburban people complain about what has the local casino not done for them. Especially when the real fuss is being made by lobbyists funded by the "competition", the vegas casinos. Somehow it is more acceptable to have people indulge their desires in the state of Nevada.
I believe that most of our modern day terrorists motives are more about power than religion.
I believe in God. I believe in someone else’s right to not believe in anything.
I believe that it is wrong to tell someone that their faith or belief system is wrong. Ironically, I think we see this with faith groups that are more similar than different. Maybe it’s the frustration that the other person could almost be perfect like me...who knows?
I believe that we all need to have faith in something or someone, even if it is just ourselves.
I believe we spend too much money and not enough time.
I believe that I have ranted too much today.......
Posted by Tom Lawless @
9:19 pm in
General
July 11, 2005
Posted by Tom Lawless @
8:41 pm in
General
June 30, 2005
Posted by Tom Lawless @
10:08 pm in
General
June 21, 2005
Posted by Tom Lawless @
2:11 pm in
General
June 21, 2005
Posted by Tom Lawless @
12:36 pm in
General
June 14, 2005
Part Passionate Kisser
|
For you, kissing is about all about following your urges
If someone’s hot, you’ll go in for the kiss - end of story
You can keep any relationship hot with your steamy kisses
A total spark plug - your kisses are bound to get you in trouble |
Part Romantic Kisser
|
For you, kissing is all about feeling the romance
You love to kiss under the stars or by the sea
The perfect kiss involves the perfect mood
It’s pretty common for kisses to sweep you off your feet |
Well, at least that is what the survey said.....
Try the the link above to see what kind of kisser you are.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
6:19 pm in
General
June 7, 2005
Am I the only one frustrated that the term rape is being replaced by the term sexual assualt? Is the term rape too harsh? Rape is a harsh, disturbing, and evil thing that we should not try to make sound "better" by less offensive terms. Besides, legally, the definition of assualt is that you attempted to attack someone, even if you failed. Far too ambiguous a term for a crime that should shock and repulse us every time we hear/read it, not a nice easy term that we can all get comfortable with.
End Rant
Posted by Tom Lawless @
1:16 pm in
General
June 7, 2005
Too much time in Maui and not enough on the Internet what a shame ;) Maui was awesome, did all the touristy things but took some serious time to just lay on the beach.
Will get back to typical rant, real soon
Posted by Tom Lawless @
12:55 pm in
General
May 23, 2005
A co-worker showed me this web site today. While some of the videos are R rated, many of the videos are darwin award type videos. You do not know whether to laugh or just hope that the gene pool involved will not procreate ;) This site is like America’s Funniest Home Videos on steroids and a couple of red bulls.
www.big-boys.com, It’s not porn I swear!
BTW, hate the DVR Time Warner has, we are on our fourth one and it is failing. Supposedly the next generation actually has a fan it so the hard drive does not bake....argh......
Posted by Tom Lawless @
10:05 pm in
General
May 17, 2005
Vicente Fox making friends in the U.S. by stating that Mexican immigrants to the United States take jobs "that not even blacks want to do."
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/14/fox.jackson/
Duncan Hunter being interviewed on NPR this morning (No URL for the actual text) regarding the topic of don’t ask don’t tell in the military. When it was pointed out that the UK and Israel have had no problems integrating gays and lesbians into their military Hunter stated something like "Well, our military actually wins wars....." Regardless of your stand on the issue of gays in the military it was a rather non-diplomatic statement at best.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
10:32 am in
General
May 2, 2005
Just when you thought you thought you knew who your children were going to school with:
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=4&id=335992It would probably kick most families butt at math or word games however it would probably lose badly in a water balloon fight ;)
April 25, 2005
Been a bit busy. I have decided to demote from Lieutenant to deputy. As a reserve there is no pay difference ;) Weekend was okay. Second weekend shooting. Taught some friends some of the basics and some basic combat skills. Our trip to Maui at the end of May is a huge light at the end of tunnel right now. That said, life is pretty good. Will post more tech/LE stuff soon. This next weekend is the SAR academy "survival" weekend. Ahh... back to basics. It is always fun.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
12:01 pm in
General
April 15, 2005
While reading this newstory
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050415-1038-clerk-robber.html
about great-great-grandmother defending a convenience store and wounding the robber some very scary facts emerge. Here is a hint:
’.....shot, authorities said, by the great-great-grandmother working behind the counter. ......"I think he thought I was an old woman and would just give him the money," Grammer, 64, said Friday. ’
Only in Florida......
Posted by Tom Lawless @
3:47 pm in
General
April 14, 2005
Posted by Tom Lawless @
10:58 am in
General
April 11, 2005
Posted by Tom Lawless @
12:16 pm in
General
April 7, 2005
Crazy week. Paintball on Sunday and late nights (SAR/reserves) all week. Very ready for a nice slow weekend. Have Three DVD movies waiting at home, may adopt a German Shepherd, and play some good racquetball.
Still thinking about leaving SAR. I started this when I was single and I needed a focus for my spare time.I am now married to a wonderful woman and think we deserve some more time together. Although, we are going to Maui for a little while at the end of May 8)
Posted by Tom Lawless @
6:54 pm in
General
March 30, 2005
Now keep in mind, this sword exists(existed) only in the online gaming environment:
http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000237038257/
Just nuts. Imagine the things that might occur as this type of incident becomes more complicated due to online "realities" and motives. Criminal investigation will become just as entwined with the virtual world. I guess Virtua Cop would be the name......
My current dream toys are a PSP, seen some very cool hacks for it already and a iPOD Photo.
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
3:47 pm in
General
March 25, 2005
This is a free service I have been using for over a year. You log on to their website and define what roads/highways you use to get to work. It uses the time of day to assume whether you are on your way home or to work. It can also do ad hoc queries. Check it out at:
http://traffic.calit2.net/index.jsp
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:51 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Well, since I took forever to post I will have to condense a batch of stuff:
Holidays - Great
Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas - Awesome
Next door neighbor with issues - Annoying beyond belief
First Felony Arrest (no not me being arrested, me arresting someone else) - Cool
Getting ready to go New Zealand and Australia - Aniticipation is killing me
Chargers choking in the playoffs - all I can say is "Lights Out"
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Well, we are back from two weeks in NZ, Tasmania (part of Australia), and Australian mainland. Best trip Chiara and have ever taken.
Tips - Do not even think about speeding in AUS
Tasmanian devil, really not that bad of an animal
Kiwi fruit actually originated in China
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Vista on my wife’s new computer - So far so good (fingers crossed and the remains of a vodoo protection ritual remain, anyone know how to get chicken blood out of a firewire port?)
My first 5150 commit, sad, just sad
Roleplaying as a victim and then bad guys for the current Police Academy - A lot of fun, and keeps me sharp. We did a lot weird stuff but what we should have done is had a solo driver (deaf) being pulled over. That would have been interesting to watch the cadets work out.
Be afraid, very afraid, I get my Taser in a few weeks. I wonder when my brother Ben visits next...hmmm...Does it really hurt if someone Tase’s you while you are sleeping.....
Maybe it’s not ironic but it was funny; I am returning from a desert LE detail in a unmarked (not undercover, white Ford expedition with a gazillion antennas) when a driver in a car coming the other way puts his hand out in the universal slow down there’s a cop behind gesture. Sure enough, about 1/2 a mile later I pass a CHP car. Not gut busting funny, but definitely was worth a grin.
Brother in law gets married this weekend. Should be a lot fun. Expect massive amounts of stress about small things while sure enough one or two major things will be forgotten. Like I told him "On your wedding day somethings will go wrong, some big and some small. Some you will know about and some nothing at all." Okay, maybe I didn’t rhyme it, but something like that.
Other Brother in Law was exclaiming how beautiful the Padres games are on his 46" Bravia LCD HD screen. And yes, it is, and yes I am green with envy. So we are at a gathering at his house when he tells me how especially great the picture is when the Padres games are broadcast in DLP. Okay, so what do you do? You don’t want to appear to be a know it all and explain that DLP is a projection technology and not a broadcast technology. Take the high road. Wait about another 30 minutes or so and hear him tell someone else the same thing. At this point I figure I would rather have him be mad at me for correcting him than have others politely nod at him while thinking less than genius thoughts about my brother law who while we are not soul mates is a great guy who will do anything for anyone.
Went to very scary (capabilities wise) brief for a government set of tools provided by a company called Anonymizer. I learned a thing two while having a whole new appreciation for our IA/IO/IW capabilities. Enough said, black helicopter landing on front la.......
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Well, just found out that my Taser class has been postponed indefintely. Somehow I think my brother and maybe the general population were not ready for me to have a Taser yet ;)
---------------------
The LAPD immigration march scandal? LAPD Gone Wild? I am not so certain that this is the scandal that everyone is saying. To start with, I honestly do not think most of the population actually understands what a general order to disperse means or the legal authority behind it. Also, the video that I HAVE seen shows the PD walking slowly with PR-24s and prodding people forward. I see a few of these take 5 steps away and then turn back to the advancing line to challenge the officers. Then the civilian is jabbed with the PR-24 then falls and breaks a wrist.
I understand that not everyone understands the legal implications of a dispersion order but when you know what is coming and you decide to challenge it then who is really at fault.
Now, the order to fire the rubber/foam bullets. I have seen/heard very little about this. Keep in mind that at least 12 officers had been injured before the PD took ANY action.
I will never say cops are perfect, but the public truly does not understand or appreciate the true amount of patience and discipline that these officers exercise. I have been on "the line" and it is scary as hell, the only thing you know is that the officer on your left and right are your lifeline and you are theirs.
-----
Bad week to live in Kansas
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
I am going to be issued a 160GB hard drive for my laptop. The very idea of dual booting Vista and XP while having enough storage to actually keep my iTunes libary on my internal disk, all very cool.
So, how am I going to do this? Been reading a lot of dual boot suggestions. Ideally I want to clone the XP image I am working on now, lay that on top of the new disk. Then add Vista as a dual boot option. My current disk is about 60GB. Is there a particular utility that will let me clone to an external USB drive and then image the new disk from it? I have got an old version of Ghost laying around and a backup app called retrospect that I need to go back and get smart on.
Please share your ideas and experiences other than get a Mac/*nix ;)
If you have Vista Ultimate and have not played with DVDMaker and DreamScape, you should.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Dual boot...forget about it. I would get it to work, but within a day weird, bad, and evil things would happen. Tried different hard disks, different media, and yes, it occurred to me that the operator may be the problem but all to no avail.
After about a week of attempting dual boot I just sacrificed my 160GB to it. Since then, no problems. Any time I want to game or need use DOD PKI stuff I slap in my XP drive and go. Yes, I do have a XP virtual PC in Vista, but CAC card reader does not work with Vista yet so....
Through a very interesting offer made to a special group of U. S. Navy users (who I belatedly found out that I belong to) I was able to pick up a copy of Office 2007 enterprise for $21. Cool. At the same time, if you really want to see Vista run any slower, install Office 2007. As slow as it is (the send/receive mail takes about 3X the time it takes in Outlook 2003), it does work well.
Oh yeah, on the LE side of things. Had the experience of running into someone I have previously arrested. It was a non-event as she did not even notice me but it made me start thinking about why it might be a good idea to use my CCW more often. Especially as I continue to arrest/and or transport people to jail.
LE - part II been on days for the last 6 months or so, we are now on night shift. Looking forward to the increased pace of night time shifts but will miss spending as much time on shift.
Paris Hilton in jail/out of jail/ in jail....my brother kicking puppies on his website...time for a beer...
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Well, at least we’ll always have August. Been kind of crazy. Transitioning from a black helicopter project to unclassified public safety project supporting DHS. Already been a lot of fun and very interesting.
Latest Vista performance fixes have made my xps1710 much more stable. People seem to forget how unstable XP was when it first came out. Should be fun trying to get Lotus notes 6.5.4 to work on Vista next week. I hear that you really need 7.x but we do not have it yet, so....
Attending a mid-career retirement class next week. Ought to be interesting to see if my forecasts match up with I learn there.
My brother Ben needs to take a one day class in dressing for success. Or maybe just the basic how to dress when going to a formal event course. At somepoint I think he will ship me back the shoes, socks, and belt I lent him ;) Nicole threatened to take him shopping when they got home.
The RC helicopter was/is a lot of fun. The only thing is that it really was not meant for outdoor flight. Maybe in a couple of years I will pick up one of the independent tail rotor models (much more difficult to learn how to fly).
December 31, 1969
School starts again and Chiara brings the diseases home. You would think that by now my immune system would be pretty strong. Yet, there is always that new strain of something that just wants to reach out and say hi.
Let’s see, a few updates:
Notes 6.5.4 working fine on Vista
Retirement class was great, I had been operating under some seriously false assumptions
Comments:
Saw the documentary MAXED OUT. All about credit card and real estate debt. Feel sorry for some of these people but it is kind of like blaming candy manufacturers for people being obese. Yes, the banking industry practices predatory lending practices, that is kind of their job. Distasteful and slightly amoral, but not illegal. The debt collectors came across as the worst kind of vultures, not from what they do, but their "we are trying to help people" attitudes came across as so false as to be insulting and deceptive. Just admit that debt collection is what you do for a living and stop trying to pretend that you are anything different.
Saw in the news today that obesity rates have increased in almost every state and none have declined. Mississippi has broken the obesity barrier by having an obesity rate over 30% of their population. I had expected California to be the "thinnest" but it was actually Colorado. Go figure.
Oh, and the one thing that absolutely validates the concept that the USA is going downhill was the report that one of four U.S. Citizens (I assume this did not count infants) did not read a book last year. How can you go a year without reading a book? Not just for entertainment but for work related requirements. It is sad, but we are truly becoming a nation of illiterate, indebted, and obese couch potatos. Yet we seem to think that we should be the standard by which the rest of the world should aspires to? I hope not.
I am a patriot, yet I am shamed by how absolutely corrupt and morally bankrupt our current administration (Gonzales finally stepped down) is and how we as citizens exercise so little self-discipline or delayed gratification. As citizens it is all about ourselves and we have absolutely lost the sense of community and relationships. Relationships these days seem to be about let’s get married, buy a house, have children, and accomplish goal after goal. While some of these are great things to happen to us it seems like it becomes endless, the new car, the new room addition, the new X. It seems so rare that you hear about couples actually working on or investing in their own relationships. I guess like everything else in our society, relationships have become as disposable as last years cell phone.
END RANT
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
This looks like the next big thing, very cool!
"Sharp has developed a LCD display with
optical sensors built into the displays pixels, without requiring a touch-sensitive film to be bonded on top of the regular screen. The optical sensor is similar to that used in scanners, allowing for notes or business cards to be scanned by the screen itself. As the optical recognition technology is built into the pixels it also simplifies tactile recognition based on simultaneously touching multiple points. Future uses include fingerprint authentication on the screen of your mobile phone or PDA, or iPhone style touch recognition. Volume production will start next spring."
--snip from the slashdot.org website
December 31, 1969
What would the month before my birthday be without my birthday wish list. It may disappoint some in that the list does not ask for everything possible. Every good birthday list should know it’s limitations :)
Our women and men to be home from Iraq AND afghanistan in time for Thanksgiving. Not exactly world peace but just as improbable.
As much of my family as possible to join me on our camping trip in October
Bluetooth mouse:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104003Sony ICF-C1iP iPod Clock Radio
Pama Omega Sun Visor - Bluetooth car speakerphone
Books 1-4 and number 6 of E.E. Knight’s vampire earth series
Way of the Wolf
Choice of the Cat
Tale of the Thunderbolt
Valentine’s Rising
Valentine’s Resolve
I took a gamble and bought the fifth book, Valentines Exile and loved it. Very post apocalyptic with Vampires, what else could you want ;)
December 31, 1969
Okay silly item to discuss but after spending some time on the east coast, specifically the humid places. I finally came to realize why one might actually want to use an umbrella. My experience with rain to date has been that if it rains it is cold. If it is cold and raining all you have to do is wear a waterproof outerlayer and some kind of hat or hood.
Ahhh...but now I have experienced rain when it is warm and humid. As you are already sweltering you have no desire to put on another layer of clothing yet you do not want to be drenched either. So the solution, an umbrella. Never understood why people used them, other than great things to poison enemy spies with.
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Saw this little snippet on slashdot.org
"Equipment powering the internet accounts for 9.4% of electricity demand in the U.S., and 5.3% of global demand, according to
research by David Sarokin at online pay-for-answers service Uclue. Worldwide,
that’s 868 billion kilowatt-hours per year. The total includes the energy used by desktop computers and monitors (which makes up two-thirds of the total), plus other energy sinks including modems, routers, data processing equipment and cooling equipment."
December 31, 1969
Random comments:
1. If the chargers are not going to win frequently, at least they win big when they do 8)
2. 40 years old, can’t quite say it snuck up on me. Never really imagined making it past 24 so hey.....
3. East coast and West coast both need a lot of rain
4. Gore winning the Nobel peace prize...So you lose an election and win the Nobel, not a bad consolation prize ;) I wonder what humanitarian milestones GW will achieve when he leaves the oval office.
5. Anybody notice that the Russians are back to playing hardball? It’s almost like we’re back in the cold war.
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Did not post much as I was in D.C. for two months, my apologies.
Chargers are leading the division at 6-5, okay good to be in the lead, but um......
Found a new root beer soda, besides HW, try Sprecher if you can find it.
The whole not working in IT thing anymore is still a bit strange. Fun and very enthralling but a tad out of my element. Going to ICS 300 course next week and a master evaluator course in January.
At SDSU today and tomorrow for Golden Phoenix planning conference. Campus has CHANGED, and why do all the students look like they are in junior high?
ORET run last weekend was fun. Wish I had more time to work out there but need SOME time at home.
Introduced to Phil’s BBQ the other day, damn that was good.
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
45,000 miles in frequent flyer points to fly to D.C. for a weekend.
$20 in metro/subway fare
Watching my wife chase her hat down the Washington mall on a day where the weather is below freezing...PRICELESS...8)
Chargers losing the AFC championship. With LT out and Rivers playing with no ACL, an honorable performance. No shame.
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Okay, okay...I’ve been busy sheesh....
1. Finally got the television. 46" Samsung. It is amazing what that thing looks like with PS3/Blu-Ray.
2. Got a bluetooth adapter for my XTS3000 motorola radio. Have not used it on duty yet, but should be a good thing.
3. Rockband the game, now that brings family and friends together.
4. You just have to love a society that will pay through the news for the latest information about Britney/Hannah/Lindsay while our education system goes bankrupt. We deserve to be a second rate country.
Gotta go
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Wow,
Way, way guilty of not posting in a very long time. Well here is what is happening these days:
1. Bluetooth headset for my police radio - not so great. Good for undercover type work but not patrol.
2. Disneyland was actually fun this summer. Very short lines, economy sucks, so not many people up to even paying the gas just to get to Disneyland.
3. Yosemite, horribly crowded and way hot.
4. Knott’s Berry farm, can you say amusement park for parolees?
5. Training, war game, exercise planning, now restart. Busy time.
PS3 Rainbow Six Vegas 2 rocks!!!
Cheers,
Tom
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Here goes another bunch of random thoughts and rants:
WRT the picture on the right, we have all felt like that at some point. Took it at the Wild Animal Park a few weeks ago.
Olympics - Good cool stuff. Did not even mind the "fake" fireworks as NBC knew about it and decided not to say or do much about it so who cares. Phelps, even if you hated the guy, you have to give him his props. Nice to see Ms. Johnson finally pick up a gold. Ms. Alicia Sacramone, wow, if I was anywhere even close to that age and not in love, well.....enough said, definitely goes on the island.
Oceanside P.D. - Is it just bad luck or ....... The city with the highest rate of domestic violence cases has one of their Lt.’s arrested on a DV charge. Would not be so bad but for the other Oceanside officer who is currently flying a desk due to his DUI last summer.
Finally bit the bullet and bought a Dance Dance Revolution game with two pads for the PS3. I think my wife, sister in law, and nieces are going to love it. Kind of frustrating though as there are no "dance" games that take advantage of the capabilities of the PS3. The only dance games available are PS2, they work but when you are used to high end gaming, low end graphics can be a let down. Well, we’ll see.
The ridiculous state of the school campus and the rooms that my wife is having to deal with as the schoolyear begins is insane. The person in charge of the refurbish projects in Poway needs to go find another job.
EMT refresher coming up as well as the off road vehicle season. Good time to be updating patient assessment skills.
That’s it for now,
Be safe.
December 31, 1969
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Went to ride a shift with a friend in a traffic unit up in Encinitas last night. It always amazes me how there are still places in San Diego county where I have no idea what the street layout is like. My friend is new to Encinitas and we spent a fair amount of time checking the computer map as we were responding to calls. Relatively slow night traffic wise but we did get this doozy, no one hurt but the airbags definitely deployed. New driver, teen, has had license for 2 months, second accident.
December 31, 1969
Nothing like travelling while you are healthy, seemed to enjoy the trip much more this time. Although it was interesting to step out onto my balcony on Hawaii and see that Wheel of Fortune was taping there. One of the guys we were working with on the island was telling us that WOF is very popular out there.
Came back just in time to see the Chargers to lose, again. And again, another major gaffe by the zebras. Although, we really do need some defense.
Us the taxpayers just bought out AIG because it was just too damn big to let fail? The treasury just printed/put into the economy an extra $120 billion. I get it, but at the same time, by not letting the market correct and we keep using artificial measures to keep everyone happy we are making the inevitable crash that much more painful and we end up with an economy and a currency that is worthless. I think one of the biggest hypocrisies of the whole situation is that those same “free market/capitalism” folks who are always refusing any kind of regulation or government intervention are now begging the government to bail them out after they ran their enterprises in to the ground. Getting a little worried retirement fund wise as this is more than just a blip on the radar.
December 31, 1969
St. Thomas was outstanding. Instead of boring you with praise and pictures from the Virgin Islands I have attached, arguably, the best or the worst political ad I have ever seen. All the snide comments we made included little gems like what would happen to the Roach administration if someone turned the lights on? ;)
Quad training up in San Bernardino was great, it was foggy and raining instead of 100+ degrees. Although a bit more visibility may have kept me from scaring the heck out of myself as I got way too close to the edge of a cliff during a descent. I am finally certified on the standard transmission quads.
Back to EMT school for re-certification. Wow, a lot of standards have changed or been added since my last re-cert. Good thing I am paying attention.
Chargers, what do you say?
Bailout? Extra money in my bank account? Are you kidding? I will be lucky if my bank is still here next week.
Biden and Palin debate, not the slaughter everyone thought it would be. Biden was a bit too slick at times (very Clinton like) and Palin just had too many of those moments were you can just hear her mental process repeating the mantra Breathe, Think, Speak.
December 31, 1969
Posted by Tom Lawless @
7:00 pm in
General
December 31, 1969
Well letsee what has transpired.....
Thanksgiving was wonderful.
Planning for the Inauguration has been interesting, very interesting. Too many politicians making operational decisions that should be left to operational experts.
Golden Guardian Earthquake exercise went well, lots of lessons learned.
Took my laptop memory up to 3GB from 2GB has made a tremendous difference in performance (Vista Ultimate with 2.6GHz DuoCore).
Terrabyte external drive(WD Book) is working great. Had bad experiences with 250MB (WD Book).
Not too excited/happy with Chiara’s new Blackberry Storm. The performance pales compared to my BB Curve. Could be the provider, her Storm is on Verizon and my curve is on AT&T...?....
Christmas vacation was outstanding. First time I have been healthy through the holidays in a long time.
Cousins staying with us while looking for homes has been very cool. Joseph cooks a lot and it’s great having them around.
Go Chargers!!!
On a LE shift I was fifth on the scene, behind an ambulance and as an EMT I was primary?!? The ambulance had no EMT basics or Paramedics on board. Just a driver......Very weird.
LE shift the night before was in a "failure to yield" situation. I need to learn to calm down on the radio. Comments received balanced out at early adolescent with a lot of helium after drinking a six pack of Jolt cola.
Decided to cut our phone bill in half by switching from AT&T to Time Warner. Hope the service is just as good (crossing fingers).
Mortgage rates are amazing right now!!! Enough said.
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