Where to from here?

Greatest Year Ever -- Update

I'm still awaiting word on my Sony camera. I've yet to receive a call from Sony or Best Buy regarding the warranty repair. I'll be sure to post when something happens.

As the days of 2006 continue to march forward, I'm making final plans for the celebration of my 30th birthday. I'm proclaiming the entire year from July 14, 2006 through July 14, 2007 the "Johnny's Greatest Year Ever". Basically the year will include adventures and experiences in celebration of my 30th year of life. The adventures/experiences will be focused to provide a sense of enhancement and improvement in the quality of my life or even broaden my outlook on life.

If you have suggestions please forward them via my personal email

I'll let the cat out of the bag with all the details via the blog on June 14, 2006.

Sony camera broken

I bought a Sony T-5 camera last month from Best Buy and now the LCD screen is broken. I have no clue what happened.... maybe I should have taken the advise of the salesman and purchased the warranty/insurance. Oh well, I guess you live and learn. I returned the camera to Best Buy and the store shipped the camera back to Sony for repair. I should have it back in about 3 weeks.

Hurricane Dustin visits the NW

Last weekend, I had the pleasure to meet a fellow blogger (Dustin) and his wife (Kelly) during their vacation in the Pacific Northwest. The Florida couple met while attending a Christian college for their post secondary education. I really enjoyed sharing with them the excitement of living in Seattle and hearing about the people that they met during their road trip throughout the NW.

Coffee County (GA) Sheriff arrested

The biggest Douglas, GA news story in about three years is just gathering steam. Its seems that the Coffee County is having trouble keeping a Sheriff that actually upholds the law. The previous Sheriff committed suicide after he was charged with growing and selling illegal drugs. On Monday, the current Sheriff, Rob Smith, was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of use of an inmate for personal gain, two counts of violation of oath of office, two counts of malpractice and malfeasance while in office and one count of theft by conversion. Yesterday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) arrested him on these charges.

I am puzzled by why the Sheriff would think that it was ok to use of an inmate at the County jail to make political signs for his reelection or why he would convert a law enforcement vehicle for his personal use by removing the government tag and replacing it with his own personal tag. Maybe he thought that because Douglas is a small town, no one would care.

Just as the story was breaking news, nearly 100 protesters gathered outside of the Coffee County Court House, voicing their support for the Sheriff (sorry I don't have actual pictures).

Here are some of the quotes of protesters I got from the news wire:

"Out of all the sheriffs that have been in Coffee County, Rob has proven to be the most legitimate and justified right man for the job," said Rev. Collin McQueen.

"If anybody has a right to carry a badge, it's Rob Smith. He just doesn't care about people, he cares about the community ...."

The protest organizer....said she believes "Smith is innocent of any alleged wrongdoing and should be left to do his job as he sees fit."Rob's a good man and [he's] never hurt nobody," she stated. "If Rob can't help you, he's not going to hurt you. If he can do anything for you, he will do it. I don't care who you are, what color you are, he don't care. The only thing I think Rob's guilty of is helping people."

"He doesn't need to be treated like this. I could understand if he killed somebody or was growing dope, but not like this."

I lived in Douglas 8 years ago and I cannot recall ever meeting Rob Smith so I currently don't have a opinion on the matter and cannot confirm why so many of the protesters claim that he has actually helped the community. I'm not sure why some community members would think that just because Smith has done something good for the community that he can do no wrong. By now the GBI must have a wire tapes and cameras in Douglas watching the dealings of the local law enforcement. I would be rather surprised if Sheriff Smith actually served time for the crime.. for sure the charges will get everyone else on thier toes and stop the use of government property for personal gains.

State of the U.S. black male

Today, the New York Times published a story on the state of the American black male. According to the article with the shift from factory jobs in this country, unskilled workers of all races have lost ground, but none more so than blacks. The author of the article attributes the problem to black men in inner cities not finishing high school (more than half of all black boys in urban cities do not finish high school). I pulled some of the issues from the article below:

• By 2004, 50 percent of black men in their 20's who lacked a college education were jobless, as were 72 percent of high school dropouts (twice the rate for white and Hispanic men).

By the time black men reach their mid-30's, 30 percent of black men with no more than a high school education have served time in prison, and 60 percent of high school dropouts.

Among black dropouts in their late 20's, more are in prison on a given day — 34 percent — than are working — 30 percent.

50% of all black men in their late 20's and early 30's who did not go to college are noncustodial fathers.

Black men are really falling behind in America. As a black man that happened to graduate from high school and several colleges, I'm not quite sure if the issue is education or if it is the social constraints of society. Society puts pressure on black men to fit a certain mold (tone of voice) to get a job. More black men would likely find suitable employment if they actually left the urban cities for rural or moderate sized towns. The redistribution of poor blacks from the Gulf region after Katrina provided new career opporunities personal growth. Society should think about providing job and education training to help single men escape the black hole they face.

Quiet on the Fishcop Front

My blog has been quiet now for 10 days. I've been extremely busy with work projects (writing environmental documents).

Today, I'm going to have lunch with Dustin from www.dustball.blogspot.com. This will be my first meet-up with someone I met in the blogosphere.

Mission Accomplished?

Today, President Bush signed into law the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005. One of the enhancements under the renewed Act is the practice of Sneek-and-Peak searches. These are searches that are conducted secretly without notifying the property owner; such as in the case of federal agents reviewing your library records, phone records, or residences. You can read the Act here.

Donor
Pledges (US$)
Contributions (US$)
United Kingdom 70,000,000
Sweden 41,093,249
Norway 30,000,000
Netherlands 11,903,360
Ireland 11,903,360
Denmark 8,100,000
Luxembourg 4,000,000
Switzerland 2,475,158
1,542,842
Finland 4,900,000
France 1,190,336
Greece 100,000
Estonia 24,000
Croatia 5,000
Sri Lanka 10,000
Liechtenstein 100,000
Grenada 10,000
Armenia 5,000
Mexico 50,000
Pakistan 20,000
Egypt 15,000
Republic of Korea 5,000,000
Iceland 150,000
India 2,000,000
Nigeria 100,000
Qatar 5,000
Kuwait 200,000
South Africa 300,000
Spain 10,000,000
Australia 7,328,894
China 1,000,000
Belgium 1,190,336
Disaster Resource Network
10,000
Hyogo Prefecture
850,211
Canada 17,000,000
United States 10,000,000
Total Pledged
over US$256 million
Source: CERF

Act of penance

I think that Bush maybe in the spirit of Lent. Today, he got took a look on all side of the recovery in the gulf region by doing an aerial survey, walking tour of neighborhoods and looking at levee repair in the Orleans parish. He really should be thinking about visiting relocated victims of the hurricance at their temporary housing throughout the rest of the country. From what I understand that's the really social issue.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

While I was in southern California over the weekend I visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The admission was $12 and well worth the cost of getting a glimpse into the life of the great communicator. I've posted some of my pictures from the library visit below.

Reagan was the first president to have an Airforce One.

The memorial site

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

model of the oval office

Dreaming of flying further faster

787 Dreamliner under construction at Boeing in Seattle.
photo courtesy of soggydan

Boeing's latest jetliner project is a superefficient 200-to-250-seat jet. Though smaller than the 777s and 747s that make up most of today's intercontinental fleet, the Dreamliner employs new engine and materials technologies that allow it to burn significantly less fuel per passenger and fly farther without refueling. Boeing hopes airlines will use it to open new nonstop links between midsize cities. Its 9,000-plus-mile range would take it from Singapore to Denver without a layover, and those long flights may also be more comfortable. The cabin pressure will be higher (making it feel as if you're 6,000 feet above sea level instead of 8,000), and increased humidity will mitigate the Death Valley dryness of today's air travel.