Cajon Pass, CA —For the last several brushfires that plagued this severely water parched area, claims were made that drone sightings delayed firefighting efforts. Like so many reports by conventional pilots there’s never a shred of independent evidence such as videos, photos or the drones themselves. The overblown and sensational claims of delayed response threatening lives and property are beyond outrageous. Let me say that everyone is aware that conventional firefighting aircraft must fly well below the minimum airspace altitude.   Camera drones could conceivably collide with conventional aircraft within nearby airspace.   That could be dangerous.   Drone operators don’t want their drones destroyed, nor do they want their drones to be responsible for any kind of mishap.   Drone technology is evolving faster than any wildfire and drones will soon replace conventional aircraft for these sometimes-risky firefighting missions. Are pilots making up the...

Charleston, SC —It’s never the losers of wars that write the history books.  With glee, the winners demonize the losers at every opportunity in anything published about the conflicts. Our Civil War was much more about a heavy handed federal government and states rights than slavery.  Personally, I abhor the concept of slavery.   Today that same federal government has made slaves out of every taxpayer.  They take more than half of what we earn and reward corrupt businesses that bribe politicians.  The slavery of the Negro is distant history. Nobody alive today owned slaves or were slaves except for taxpayers of every color. The Confederate flag represents among other things thousands of brave young American men that gave their lives fighting for their country.   It’s not a symbol of racism or hate.  Saying all that, ignorance and propaganda has relentlessly maligned the flag over the many years at least to African-Americans it ha...

Los Angeles, CA — Uber has taken the taxi business to new highs or perhaps lows.   The convenient but overpriced service you order and pay for on your smartphone has suddenly banned firearms both drivers and passengers. The right of self-defense is not something politicians or corporate suits can abridge. Our creator gave us the gift of fear and the instinct for survival. We are all alive because most of us understand   threats, danger and that injury or death is no option. Some of us have had charmed lives always living and working in safe places where behavior is civilized.   Others have had to live and work where rape, robbery and murder is a reality.   Some of us understand the need to be prepared for self-defense much better than others.   Uber decreed their fleet of vehicle as “Gun Free” with a press release and a prayer.   Do they really think their policy is somehow enforceable?   I suppose if they find out a gun somehow was in posse...

Los Angeles, CA —There everywhere, small trucks, vans, carts and stands.  They offer water, beverages, ice cream and snacks.  These are the equivalent of a kid’s lemonade stand.  In L.A. people with highly questionable immigration status seem to exclusively operate them.  The vendor’s seem to have sanitation challenges since they don’t seem to have access to hot water to wash their hands.  I think we are all capable of deciding if their products are fit for consumption. The vendor’s products are cheap and service is fast.  Most importantly the vendors aren’t stealing, begging or damaging our way of life. The complaints against the food carts are nearly the exclusively owners of local brick and mortar shops and restaurants. The brick and mortar set have the additional government tyranny to deal with over the new $15.00 per hour minimum wage!. That is in no the way the fault of the food cart operators! The complainers carp and w...

Van Nuys, CA —I’ve been hooked on camera drones for a while now and I very recently picked up a new addition to my five drone, air force.  My drone dealer of choice is Pirofliprc.com , which is also a brick and motor store located very close to the Apollo IX Model Aircraft Field  between Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks. This time it was the coveted DJI Inspire 1 with its dedicated 4K camera.  The Inspire I’s camera is distortion free unlike the GoPro cameras.  With the GoPro you can fix the distortion in postproduction but it’s a pain in the butt, at least for me. The Inspire 1 camera will also shoot 12 megapixel stills.  Previously I simply grabbed a frame from the Go Pro camera.  I can control the camera from the controller so this is literally just a snap now.  A12 megapixel photograph is a lot richer than any video grab.  This is a great drone for two.  You simply use two controllers with two monitors.  The pilot operates...

Town of Paradise Valley, AZ —If you don’t like cameras pointed at you, you'd better learn to smile.  They are here to stay watching, documenting and exposing all of your public behavior to the world. With the new consumer camera drone technology the camera shy folks are in paranoia overdrive.  These people seem to have forgotten that cameras are watching them 24/7 everywhere. From the time you leave your front door until you return cameras are constantly watching you.  Some you can see and there are many others you can’t. For example if you enter the Town of Paradise Valley, Arizona in a vehicle a camera concealed in a cactus grabs the license plate number. It’s placed in a searchable database that allows the town government to know each vehicle’s exact movements.  There are live cameras capturing and saving video everywhere.  Some store video for a short time others keep video indefinitely only limited by the size of their hard drives. Fr...

Oliver Jones Mazatlan, Mexico —I’ve been able to verify through Oliver "Pareece"  Jones ’ sister that he’s been located here and is safe.  I know his five children are celebrating today and are very anxious to be reunited with their father. The personal details are sketchy right now but they seem to surround a head injury Jones received in Hollywood just before he vanished on or about April 4 th .       I wish to thank the San Bernardino, CA Sheriff’s Police of Rancho Cucamonga for their diligent and professional efforts.   Additionally I want to thank KTLA-TV, NBC-4, ABC-7, KCBS/KCAL-TV and ABC News Network  for their efforts in informing their Southern California audience of the crisis and broadcasting Pareece’s pictures everywhere!    Special Thanks go to KTLA’s great reporters, Kareen Wynter, Sara Welch and Rick Chambers for their interest and concerns.   KTLA’s five hours of broadcast local news was incredibly val...