HEROIC: Philly cop saves child from a potentially deadly fall while he’s acrophobic

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/philadelphia-police-officer-sets-aside-fear-of-heights-to-rescue-child-from-a-roof/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=20-04-2025

Philadelphia Police Officer Sets Aside Fear of Heights to Rescue Child from a Roof
By Andy Corbley – Apr 16, 2025

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It takes bravery to be a police officer, but for someone with a fear of heights, it’s probably safe to assume most of the work will be done with feet on solid ground.

For one acrophobic Philadelphia officer however, preventing disaster meant going above and beyond the call of duty, literally.

Officer Eric Robbins was on patrol December 10th, among the two-storey houses on N. 64th Street, when he got a call from neighbors saying someone’s child was out and walking on the pitched-roof of a nearby house.

*** end quote ***

That takes courage.  Any adult can quickly realize what a fall from such a height can mean.  For someone already afraid of heights to push thru and save a baby is imho heroic.

I know how quickly babies can get into trouble even when you’re sitting watching them.  Never mind doing a chore or cooking at your phone.  The baby was probably down for a nap, woke up, and silently decide to explore out an open window with no child guard.

Well all’s well that ends well.

Thanks to a fast cop with no fear.  

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GUNS: Defend yourself and others and get evicted — just wrong

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2025/04/18/florida-woman-evicted-from-apartment-after-shooting-would-be-intruder-n1228364

Florida Woman Evicted From Apartment After Shooting Would-Be Intruder

By Cam Edwards | 4:01 PM | April 18, 2025

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Even if Diego had no ill intent when he tried to enter the apartment, the women inside had no idea what his intentions were. As far as they’re concerned, a stranger (who turned out to be armed himself) was trying to break into their home. Under Florida’s Castle Doctrine, there’s a strong case to be made that the armed citizen acted in lawful defense of herself and her roommates, and the fact that police haven’t filed any charges more than a week after the incident at least suggests that law enforcement is leading to that conclusion. 

The management of the complex, however, isn’t waiting for police to officially determine whether any charges should be filed. It sounds like as far as they’re concerned, the tenants are already guilty of violating the terms of their lease. 

*** and ***

So if you discharge a gun, even in self-defense, you’re violating the terms of your lease? What about telling a would-be intruder “leave or I’ll shoot you”? Would that be considered threatening violence by the apartment complex’s management?

I’d love to see these tenants fight the eviction notice, but Lurie says his daughter and her friends plan on leaving the Carlton Apartments in the next few days. Still, he’s speaking out about the letter they received because he’s “shocked” at the policy and the disregard for the particular circumstances involved here, telling Fox 4. “If the intruder had gotten in and harmed the occupants, including my daughter, then they’d be allowed to stay? It just doesn’t make any sense to me.

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but I think “Carlton Apartments” is guilty of making the victims defenseless against a criminal.  As such, isn’t that some type of “unreasonable restriction”?

I hope the various “Justice” organizations take this to court.

If I was a judge, (I’m not!) then I’d declare that the lease is defective and unenforceable as a against public policy!

Argh!

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MEME: Happy with are;; happy with have

Monday, April 21, 2025

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SURVIVAL: Swift rescue due to precise location id

Monday, April 21, 2025

https://www.mytexasdaily.com/upper-gulf-coast/drone-technology-aids-in-swift-rescue-of-lost-hikers-in-sugar-land/article_6be1e49b-2992-524e-9181-d94f07a57e81.html?utm_campaign=6757289-USA%20B2C%20Newsletter%202025&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–6-0YPXZUeNVJWZmcGw3rUEhWwhuy5QKiNQmApKyaxgCwkgbTBKjPkNKeQo19VymN2krxjzFTAao8tEBeKpKhaQFn7kw&_hsmi=356333343&utm_content=356333343&utm_source=hs_automation#google_vignette

Drone technology aids in swift rescue of lost hikers in Sugar Land
Mathew Richards Feb 2, 2025 

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SUGAR LAND, Texas — Three hikers lost in Cullinan Park were swiftly located and rescued thanks to the quick response and advanced technology of the Sugar Land Police Department.

The hikers, who called 911 after becoming disoriented, were found within 15 minutes of the department deploying a drone.

The incident began just after 6:30 p.m. when a distressed female, accompanied by two others, contacted the police after they were unable to find their way back to the park entrance in the dark. Dispatchers used the What3Words application to pinpoint the hikers’ exact location, according to a press release from the Sugar Land Police Department.

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I’ve cited what3words here in this blog many many times.  For all the junk that people put on their phones, this one should coexist with the rest of the bloatware that phone makers and networks provide “free”.

Now getting lost on a hike is inexcusable; some would say unavoidable.  Not being able to communicate your precise location can be fatal.

The use of the drone was very cost effective rather than rounding up a posse and searching even a small area.

So put the app on your phone and, if you never use it, you can say “told ya so”.  

Minimize confusion, promote efficiency, and possibly save a life.  

Talk to your family, friends, and enemies. 

The life you save may be your own or a loved one.

Argh!

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: The Taxpayer shouldn’t fund stadiums PERIOD

Sunday, April 20, 2025

https://sharylattkisson.com/2025/04/watch-sports-stadiums/

Sports Stadiums
By Sharyl Attkisson | April 16, 2025

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Taxpayers are funding more than half the cost ($1.26 billion) of the Tennessee Titans’ new $2.1 billion stadiumthe biggest public contribution toward a stadium in US history. It’s supposed to be finished in 2027. But not without controversy over whether public money should be paying to lure rich sports teams to town. Lisa Fletcher investigates big costs and questionable returns.

*** end quote ***

Whatelse needs to be said?  The NFL can afford to pay for its own infrastructure.  We can’t!

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RANT: When do “We, The Sheeple” wake up to the world around us?

Saturday, April 19, 2025

https://www.commanderzero.com/?p=12029

“The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere, any time and with utter recklessness.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

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GUNS: Does the Bill of Rights apply to the States?

Saturday, April 19, 2025

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2025/04/11/2a-advocates-notch-a-win-in-fight-against-maines-waiting-period-for-gun-sales-n1228286

2A Advocates Notch a Win in Fight Against Maine’s Waiting Period for Gun Sales
By Cam Edwards | 1:01 PM | April 11, 2025

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The attorney general also cited the Supreme Court’s language in Heller that “imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms” are “presumptively lawful regulatory measures,” but there’s a big difference between presuming something is lawful and actually looking at the historical record (or lack thereof) when it comes to delaying the lawful transfer of a firearm just because the state believes buyers need a cooling off period. There is nothing in the text of the Second Amendment or the national tradition of gun ownership that suggests arbitrary waiting periods preventing people from exercising their right to possess a firearm were the norm or even the exception in 1791 or 1868. Waiting periods are a modern invention, and a fair hearing under the Bruen test should lead the federal courts to establish that these artificial delays are a violation of our fundamental right to keep and bear arms. 

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All this “Sturm und Drang” relies on “incorporation” that the Bill OF Rights (BoR) applies to the States as well as the Federal Gooferment.

In the modern age of Linconialism, after the “War of Northern Aggression” aka the “the (un) Civil War, everything became “national”.  

In the world of originalism, before the Fourteenth Amendment, the States created the Federal union; not the other way around.  The Dead Old White Guys would have never approved the Constitution  —  and some historians call it a coop  —  if the States were subservient to the Federal Gooferment.

The proper question is the RKBA enshrined in the various State Constitutions?  And, if not, why not?

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TECHNOLOGY: Uncrewed aircraft delivery seems to be working

Friday, April 18, 2025

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/04/dont-call-it-a-drone-ziplines-uncrewed-aircraft-wants-to-reinvent-retail/

Don’t call it a drone: Zipline’s uncrewed aircraft wants to reinvent retail

  • Ars visits a zipline delivery service that’s deploying in more locations soon.

Tim Stevens – Apr 8, 2025 9:00 AM

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The inner portion of the Zipline P2 is lowered to the ground on a tether, facing into the wind, with a small propeller at the back. Doors on the bottom open when it touches the ground, depositing the cargo. Credit: Tim Stevens

The skies around Dallas are about to get a lot more interesting. No, DFW airport isn’t planning any more expansions, nor does American Airlines have any more retro liveries to debut. This will be something different, something liable to make all the excitement around the supposed New Jersey drones look a bit quaint.

Zipline is launching its airborne delivery service for real, rolling it out in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Mesquite ahead of a gradual spread that, if all goes according to plan, will also see its craft landing in Seattle before the end of the year. These automated drones can be loaded in seconds, carry small packages for miles, and deposit them with pinpoint accuracy at the end of a retractable tether.

It looks and sounds like the future, but this launch has been a decade in the making. Zipline has already flown more than 1.4 million deliveries and covered over 100 million miles, yet it feels like things are just getting started.

*** end quote ***

I was especially interest in their description of delivering blood in remote places in Africa.  That could be used to deliver organs with less risk and fewer delays.  A lot can be improved if their service is as promised.  I imagine that some day, I would be able to ship stuff from my doorstep.  Instacart, DoorDash, and UberEats may be in trouble.

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TECHNOLOGY: eSims introduce a single point of failure

Thursday, April 17, 2025

https://www.androidauthority.com/esim-vs-physical-sim-experience-3539851/

I was ready to ditch physical SIMs forever — then my toddler threw my phone off a balcony

  • I was ready to declare physical SIM cards obsolete until disaster struck!

By Adamya Sharma

April 5, 2025

*** begin quote ***

Just before writing that wholly different article, my iPhone 15 Pro, on which my primary number was registered as an eSIM, met a dramatic end. While on holiday, my toddler decided my phone would look cool skydiving from a ninth-floor balcony. Spoiler Alert: It didn’t stick the landing. Not only did the iPhone’s screen shatter to pieces from one corner, but the grade 5 titanium frame literally tore from the antenna band. Not to mention the internal damage to other crucial components.

After mourning the loss and explaining to my child that phones aren’t actually meant to fly, I faced a new problem. I needed a new phone. And fast. Apple told me the phone can’t be fixed and will need to be replaced. Shedding tears of desperation, I swallowed the bitter pill and coughed up to buy the iPhone 16 Pro.

But here’s the catch. You can’t just pop into a store, grab a phone, and swap out the SIM anymore when you’re only using an eSIM. Sure, transferring an eSIM is usually as easy as scanning a QR code, but what happens when your old phone’s display is completely dead?

*** end quote ***

Never thought about this.  Clearly, there needs to be a backup solution for an eSim.

I’m waiting.

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RANT: Let’s record everything

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

FROM TWITTER.

https://x.com/amuse/status/1906860386508230897?s=46&t=fNifJ9M-EU2FgGneNcz51w

*** begin quote ***

DOGE: Once the DOGE team breached the fortress of taxpayer-funded tranquility known as the U.S. Institute of Peace, the accounting firm overseeing its books promptly deleted over a terabyte of financial data—an act as subtle as a burglar torching the crime scene. Fortunately, Big Balls intervened, recovering the lost data and exposing a veritable orgy of fraud, waste, and abuse, including the agency’s peculiar addiction to private jet travel, all in the noble name of “peace.”

*** end quote ***

Why aren’t ALL Gooferment financial records, messages, and memos recorded to a blockchain? What are the bureaucrats afraid of?

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