My wife and I are planning to exit California in about four more years. This is our plan but we know that it is contingent on a few different things, some of which are out of our control. At this point, we are just watching housing prices in our neighborhood. Watching housing prices is like watching the value of the stocks in your long-term investment portfolio. The ups and downs are about enough to get you seasick if you take your eyes off the horizon.
Flip House
Sitting on the sidelines and watching real estate prices is not a sport for the weak. The problem with watching real estate prices on Zillow and other places is that much of the numbers are nonsense. The posterchild for this is the “flip house” around the corner from me.
About two years ago, Zillow said a house around the corner from us was worth about $450K. (Note: Zillow does not know that said house sat empty for the previous two years and treated it as comparable to others occupied homes in the neighborhood.)
Blog dog on patrol
One day, I was walking the “blog dog” and noticed some intense work happening at this particular house. Over the course of about two weeks, the house was renovated inside and out. The house was then staged with furniture, photographed, and put up for sale at $150K above the Zillow price. Folks, the workmanship of the flip was really sketchy (no way there were any permits pulled) but the online photos made the house look great. After one false start, the house had an offer and sold at $590K. How does a house go from abandoned and empty for two years to the highest per square foot in the neighborhood on the basis of a shoddy flip? You literally could see defects just from standing on the sidewalk. A year later, the new owners renovated the house—probably due to poor workmanship.
Other Prices
I get regular solicitations from some local realtors claiming my house is worth X, or Y, or Z but I don’t get where the numbers come from. My next door neighbor’s house was comparable to ours on Zillow but after they redid their front yard, getting rid of about half their lawn and the beautiful tree that once stood there, Zillow awarded the homeowner by boosting the home’s value by $75K in one month. I would guess they spent all of about $12K on their front yard. Again, go figure?
Zillow algorithm valuing your home
I know our place needs some work but trying to figure how to get the most bang for our dollar and avoid substandard work sometimes looks like a daunting task. Nevertheless, it’s a chore that will probably begin picking up momentum in 2020. As we get closer to our departure date, I think we need to consult a real estate oracle to help us get the most bang for our home improvement bucks.
Lastly, per Zillow, today the flip house is now $42K above the purchase price.
Here are a few things worth a look as you ponder getting new tech toys for Christmas giving.
1Ring in the New Year with Santa and his creepy friends.
Only four days after installing it, her 8-year-old daughter, Alyssa, heard music and a banging noise coming from the room where the camera was installed.
Alyssa says that when she began looking for the source of the noise, she heard a voice saying, “I’m Santa Claus, don’t you want to be my best friend?”
Lemay says the voice taunted Alyssa and encouraged her to mess up her room and break her TV before her dad came into the room and shut the camera off.
2Lest you think Amazon is the only guys watching whether you are naughty or nice; Facebook is too, but only if you use a smartphone made by Tim Cook.
The glitch affects iPhone owners, who said their camera suddenly switched itself on while they were scrolling through their feed, watching videos or looking at photos.
When people turned the video to full-screen mode and then switched back to Facebook’s normal view, they could see a little open space on the left and the camera app in the background. Several people have tweeted about the bug and it has been replicated by tech journalists.
Daryl Lasafin, a creative director, tweeted: ‘Facebook app on iOS 13.2.2 opens my phone’s rear camera when I open a profile photo swipe down to return (look at the little slit on the left of the video). Is this an app bug or an iOS bug??’
Joshua Maddox, a web designer and digital strategist, tweeted: ‘Found a Facebook security & privacy issue. When the app is open it actively uses the camera. I found a bug in the app that lets you see the camera open behind your feed.’
3However, if you thought Android devices were safer, you’d be very wrong.
The security research team at Checkmarx has made something of a habit of uncovering alarming vulnerabilities, with past disclosures covering Amazon’s Alexa and Tinder. However, a discovery of vulnerabilities affecting Google and Samsung smartphones, with the potential to impact hundreds of millions of Android users, is the biggest to date. What did the researchers discover? Oh, only a way for an attacker to take control of smartphone camera apps and remotely take photos, record video, spy on your conversations by recording them as you lift the phone to your ear, identify your location, and more. All of this performed silently, in the background, with the user none the wiser.
The vulnerabilities themselves (CVE-2019-2234) allowed a rogue application to grab input from the camera, microphone as well as GPS location data, all remotely.
Once the app is installed and started, it would create a persistent connection to that command and control server and then sit and wait for instructions. Closing the app did not close that server connection. What instructions could be sent by the attacker, resulting in what actions? I hope you are sitting down as it’s a lengthy and worrying list.
Take a photo using the smartphone camera and upload it to the command server.
Record video using the smartphone camera and upload it to the command server.
Wait for a voice call to start, by monitoring the smartphone proximity sensor to determine when the phone is held to the ear and record the audio from both sides of the conversation.
During those monitored calls, the attacker could also record video of the user at the same time as capturing audio.
Capture GPS tags from all photos taken and use these to locate the owner on a global map.
Access and copy stored photo and video information, as well as the images captured during an attack.
Operate stealthily by silencing the smartphone while taking photos and recording videos, so no camera shutter sounds to alert the user.
The photo and video recording activity could be initiated regardless of whether the smartphone was unlocked.
Since the whole world is watch you anyway, “you’d better be good for goodness sake…”
4In other news, Tim Cook not only knows whether you’re good or bad but where you are (or have been too).
Apple has admitted that the company still collects location data of iPhones even when the user has turned off location settings. This comes just after a security researcher found that iPhone 11 Pro was collecting data after the location settings were turned off.
KrebsOnSecurity identified the issue and published a video showcasing the location data collection after the user had selected ‘never’ for all individual system services and apps. The researcher then forwarded the issue to Apple who gave a generic reply stating that some services require location data and they continue to collect it even when the user has turned off location settings.
Krebs noted that the statement contradicts with Apple’s claim that users get granular control over sharing their location. Apple hasn’t discussed more about the issue but for now, the company has confirmed that it indeed allow apps to collect location data even when the user has specifically blocked the app from doing so.
5On Christmas, there is a tradition that if you find yourself under the mistletoe with a beautiful woman that you are obligated to kiss her; however, there might be repercussions; especially if you are equipped with a Fitbit.
There’s no ideal way to find out that your partner is cheating on you, but thanks to modern technology, there are at least more ways to learn the truth. This week, NFL Network correspondent Jane Slater has shared the story of how she discovered her boyfriend was being unfaithful after his Fitbit data exposed him.
The couple had both previously synced their Fitbit devices, so when Slater didn’t know where her boyfriend was at 4 o’clock in the morning, she checked her Fitbit account. Let’s just say, he was getting in some exercise.
6Fitbit was just recently purchased by Google although some regulators aren’t sure they want Google to be exposed to Fitbit data.
By next year, the health data Fitbit has on its users today will become Google’s data – a valuable acquisition for Google, undoubtedly, but one that I predict could make consumers uncomfortable.
7Meanwhile, Microsoft discovers that computer users tend to reuse passwords for different accounts. Like no duh. I have an active list of at least forty different online accounts that I frequently use. Its somewhere between inconvenience and impossible to remember them all. I use technology to track my technology access. Microsoft has one password to access all their products on any platform. I guess they decided to look at their users and got a surprise.
Microsoft performed a threat assessment of their services and the users between January and March of this year and the results are shocking. According to the Microsoft threat research team, millions of users are reusing their passwords on Microsoft’s services.
As a part of the threat assessment, Microsoft checked over 3 billion credentials, out of which 44 million Microsoft services and Azure AD accounts matched indicating that the aforementioned accounts were reusing credentials. Microsoft also noted that out of the 3 billion credentials, many were leaked online and the company forced a password reset to ensure the accounts aren’t abused.
Furthermore, Microsoft said that 30% of the reused or modified passwords can be cracked within just 10 guesses.
8Finally, another Tim Cook story, this one from Germany where Apple has been ordered to allow other vendors to use NFC capabilities of the iPhone for pay services other than Apple’s.
We reported in October that Apple was drawing attention from the European Competition Commission over their monopoly over the NFC reader on the iPhone which prevented other payment companies such as banks from supporting contact-less payments directly on the handset.
Instead, banks had to subscribe to Apple Pay and pay Apple a percentage for the privilege. This is in contrast to Android, where users are able to set up any app as their contact-less payment provider.
Today Reuters report that last night a German parliamentary committee voted to force Apple to open up the payment platform on the iPhone. The legislation, which does not name Apple directly, was added as an amendment to an anti-money laundering law.
So that’s it for Friday the 13th. Be careful out there ‘cause lots of tech companies are depending on you so they can monetize your data, fill their coffers, and keep their Asia workforce employed for another year.
Folks I just don’t get it. Why will the House vote to impeach President Trump? There is no hope of getting a conviction in the Senate. The House effort has zero Republican support and has been predetermined before Democrats even created “charges” to make against the President.
CRA motivational flyer as seen at Stop Trump call center
Oh, yes I fully expect that Mitt Romney—whom I once voted for—will throw Trump under the political bus if he gets the chance but I’m hoping he resists his baser instincts to pile-on. I think the Senate Democrats running for President must recuse themselves. This, action alone will make getting a 2/3 vote to convict in the Senate an impossibility.
Is this really the 2020 Presidential campaign? Sadly, I think it’s all they have because they certainly don’t have a worthy opponent to Trump. Furthermore, Democrats have already said that they will impeach Trump again and again. Folks, such an attitude is shredding the Constitution—Ok, what little of it remains—and turn us into a banana republic. The political games being played now cannot be walked back.
I agree with the Sith Lord that the Republic will fracture into different nation-states—a possibility that he has discussed for many years—but it’s painful to see. I feel like I’m in ancient Israel right before the masses were carted-off into captivity by Babylon and Egypt.
Trump the Negotiator
I’m going to state something that is only superficially true but has some merit. Trump is like Jesus in a few ways. First, with him there is no neutrality. Second, his trial is one of false accusations and conflicting accounts which are not corroborated by any evidence. Third, his enemies want to crucify him. Fourth, he is like a fulcrum, he is dividing the sheep from the goats. Trump will go down in history as the most divisive figure in the White House since Lincoln. Fifth, Trump is triumphing over his enemies because the traps they laid for him are in reality their doom.
Folks, I know I keep harping on Elon Musk and the utopian dream of all electric homes, cars, and life in general but as Clint Eastwood once famously said in one of his many Dirty Harry movies, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”
Now
Tesla has hardly any market penetration in the United States but is gaining in popularity in California but not without consequences. As I keep saying, charging these cars is a big deal. Look at the ridiculous lines over the Thanksgiving vacation just to keep Elon’s fleet on the road. Drivers waited up to an hour to get to a charger and then a decent charge takes 45 minutes.
Footage out of Kettleman City, the location of one of the largest supercharging sites boasting up to 40 chargers, shows drivers queued up back-to-back in a line about a half mile long.
Testy drivers attempting to juice up after Black Friday sounded off on social media, claiming the wait time was anywhere from thirty minutes to well over an hour.
Predictions of the future are worse. If 10 percent of California households owned a Tesla and try to charge them overnight, the resulting electric demand would crash the electric grid and that’s assuming PG&E and Southern Cal Edison are maintaining their gear.
As we have previously documented on this blog, given current rates of worldwide mineral production and demand, Great Britain cannot achieve its goal of an all-electric fleet of vehicles by 2040—this calculation is assuming that nobody else in the world like maybe California is simultaneously trying to do the same thing.
Long-term
Worse yet, another battery (pun intended) of reports has even more dire warnings about our dependence on technology. At current rates of production, six vital minerals used in high tech devices like self-driving cars and smartphones will be gone within 100 years.
Besides the raw waste, mobile devices contain “conflict elements” like gold, toxic elements such as arsenic and rare elements like indium, the Royal Society of Chemistry said. “Natural sources of six of the elements found in mobile phones are set to run out within the next 100 years,” it added.
Another concern over the recycling of unused devices is that they often contain what are known as “conflict elements” such as tin, gold, tungsten and tantalum, which are mined in areas where battles and child labour are often a routine part of their mining.
“There are about 30 different elements just in a smartphone,” said Elisabeth Ratcliffe from the Royal Society of Chemistry, “and many of them are very rare.”
The metal indium, she explained, is used in a unique compound called indium tin oxide, which is vital for touch screens, because it conducts electricity and is transparent. “It’s also used in solar panels, so we’re going to need a lot of it in the future.
“There’s not a lot of it in the Earth and you need a kilo of ore to extract just a few milligrams of indium.”
Most of us will not have heard of tantalum, but it’s a highly corrosion-resistant metal that is “perfect for small electronic devices like our phones”, explained Ms Ratcliffe. “But it’s also perfect for hearing aids and pace-makers,” she told BBC News.
Scientists estimate that indium and tantalum mines, among others, could run out within a century. Meanwhile, our demand for new technology continues to increase.
“Even the copper in all that wire is not endlessly abundant,” added Ms Ratcliffe.
Elements in smart phones that could run out within the next 100 years
Gallium: Used in medical thermometers, LEDs, solar panels, telescopes and has possible anti-cancer properties;
Arsenic: Used in fireworks, as a wood preserver;
Silver: Used in mirrors, reactive lenses that darken in sunlight, antibacterial clothing and gloves for use with touch-screens;
Indium: Used in transistors, microchips, fire-sprinkler systems, as a coating for ball-bearings in Formula One cars and solar panels;
Yttrium: Used in white LED lights, camera lenses and can be used to treat some cancers;
Tantalum: Used in surgical implants, electrodes for neon lights, turbine blades, rocket nozzles and nose caps for supersonic aircraft, hearing aids and pacemakers.
Before this series of articles, I’d never heard the term “conflict elements.” I guess folks were successful with turning “conflict diamonds” into “blood diamonds” so I guess now we can call things “blood Teslas” or “blood iPhones” or “blood solar panels”, the possibilities are seemingly endless. Oh, and child/slave labor also gets a shout-out in these articles too.
It seems that Liberals are torn between telling you to recycle your old gizmos and guilt tripping folks that love technology. Maybe they’ll try doing both. Folks look for this pending shortage to be a way to raise even more taxes on recycling when you buy new stuff—even if it really ends up in the landfill. And if the predictions start to pan-out as being true, look for Elon Musk to propose mining asteroids, the Moon, or some other astronomical body to keep our stuff in production.
Bottom-line: Government planners and technology manufacturers seem to be on a collision course with reality. Mineral production is far less than long term demand and nothing will change that anytime soon.
Lastly, look for this as a future way to weaponize a movement against technology for the masses.
The number three political party in California, the embattled California Republican Party (CAGOP), has taken a page from Karen England’s playbook and decided to raise money off the efforts of someone else’s ballot initiative. In this case, the recall of Governor Gavin Newsom. The only problem is that California’s Republicans have no interest in supporting either recall effort (there are two measures currently gathering signatures). Just like Capital Resource Institute did during Proposition 8 and other efforts during that era, the GOP is raising money off of the ballot initiative and diverting the money to keep their doors.
Here is CRA expat Steve Frank’s summary of the story. (Emphasis in original)
“Meanwhile: The California Republican Party has sent a fund-raising pitch seemingly embracing an effort to recall Newsom.
GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said money raised would go to the party, not the recall backers, the Sacramento Bee reported.
A long shot: Qualifying a recall for the ballot could cost $10 million. In its most recent filing, the California Republican Party had $1.6 million in the bank, and many legislative seats to defend.”
You read that right—“GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said money raised would go to the party, not the recall backers, the Sacramento Bee reported.”
Folks, I left the Republican Party a few years ago but I’m sure they never voted to support the recall of our Governor so how can they pretend differently; even if they are just feigning it. Surely, Chad Mays and those other gutless wonders at the “Bill Mill” would never stand for such a display of speaking truth to power; especially, when they covet the power more than their political or eternal souls.
Folks this recall effort is doomed before it gets started but the fact that the CAGOP is anywhere near it shows how out of touch their leadership really is. Perhaps if Republicans in California advocated answers instead of cheap gimmicks their registration numbers would stabilized. Sadly, they have yet to hit bottom. Charles Munger did a number on these guys and they couldn’t see it at the time or even now.
My son, Really Right Jr, is taking American Sign Language (ASL) in school. As part of the class, he is expected to attend a number of outside deaf events each grading period. With a few weeks remaining in the grading period, he wanted to get his outside event completed during his Thanksgiving break.
ASL sign for Jesus
We looked at a few options and decided to “stay within the lines” as they say here in Elk Grove and opted to attend the second service at Creekside Christian Church—the former First Baptist Church of Elk Grove.
FBC changed their name a few years ago and rebranded—this seems to be the fad in many Baptist churches. I spent over a decade of my life in and around Baptist churches so I thought I knew what I was in for but wow!
I have been on the campus of the church for various reasons in the past but never attended a service there before.
We arrived and took the first parking spot that we found which was far from the door. Parking is at a premium at this venue. We headed for the main building which was labeled as “Auditorium”. This is your first clue that this will not be a traditional worship experience. Why not a traditional name like church or sanctuary? Or even the more modern term worship center? Nope just auditorium.
Entering the auditorium building takes you into an outer room about the size of a large house. It was filled with a myriad of people. Near the entrance was a Christmas tree over 20 feet tall. Further in on the left was a generic Starbucks with gallons of various types of coffee and an assortment of donuts. The donuts were apparently for sale and not just given to members. I couldn’t tell if the coffee was complementary or for sale also. Many information tables were setup in the middle of the room. Of course the restrooms were located in this area also.
After navigating thru the chaos we finally made our way to the entrance of the auditorium proper. As expected, ushers were handing out bulletins to people as they entered. We let the usher know that our son was there to experience the deaf interpretation as a school assignment. He left his station and walked us to the area in the front where deaf and hearing impaired people were seated. Our son took a seat amongst the deaf folks and we found some open seats a few rows back.
The seats themselves were the kind that I really hate. They were padded but have interlocking hooks so all chairs in the row are linked together so you really get friendly with your neighbors whether you are comfortable doing that or not. I hate being cramped like a sardine. These seats make me feel like I’m in the lap of the person next to me. Think the stereotype of a Southwest Airlines flight.
After getting seated, we noted that there were no Bibles or hymnals available. We opened the bulletin and it was devoid of any information on the service order for that day. There was no kind of information on worship order or welcome to visitors or anything like that. It was devoid of song order, what we believe or similar doctrinal statement, and never even told us who would be preaching that morning. However, the back listed an extensive array of names that seemed to be mostly paid staff.
The other thing that you notice when you gaze around the room was the stage. It looked like a Hollywood stage for American Idol or some other television show with a little bit of a Christmas flavor added just to have an excuse for even more lights. There were two complete drum sets on the back left side of the stage which were both played simultaneously during the music, several singers, and guys playing electric guitars. A piano was on the right side but clearly missing was any semblance of a pulpit. On the back wall were large projection screens.
Creekside Concert
A few minutes after we were seated, the show began. The band cranked it up and started belting out songs that I had never heard anywhere before. Apparently if you go there a lot or happen to listen to “The Fish” radio station, you might know them.
Given the volume of the music, I can see why the church has hearing impaired people in the crowd. I thought the music was entertainment and not worshipful. By the second song, I was wondering if I had missed the popcorn line at the entrance. Maybe it was on the opposite side from the coffee. Anyway, as I watched the show, I was in the mood for a salty snack and cold ice tea. After a few more tunes, they took an offering and did another song.
Partway thru the show, a guy steps up to the microphone and starts talking. He made an announcement about the importance of a charity called Compassion International. And then he kept talking about Compassion. About 40 minutes later he finished talking about the charity. This was the sermon or done in place of it. I felt that I was at a live telethon and didn’t even know it.
Please understand that I like Compassion International and I’m happy whoever this guy is, does too, but typically I’ve seen stuff like this done at Sunday school or other non-worship time. Dare I say, even at concerts.
The program then continued and things really went strange… oh yes, there was more. Shortly after the presentation on Compassion International was finished yet another incongruity occurred. People were then invited to do Communion. Folks, I had a boatload of theological problems with how this was done.
First, the elements—bread and wine (or grape juice, not sure which)—were never blessed. There was no Scripture recited, no pray of thanksgiving, no “Do this in remembrance of me”, nothing. I’ve seen some fast and loose ways of doing Communion and felt a lack of reverence before but this one was just not there at all.
Second, the table was not fenced either verbally or in actuality. Folks this is a really big deal.
Communion was literally self-service and at a number of locations. I think Scripture makes it clear that there was one table where Jesus broke bread and said “Do this in remembrance of me.” Every Christian church service that I have heretofore attended has always had one table where Scripture and a prayer are said and then elements are distributed from there to the congregation. Jesus is The Bread and The Life. He is The Bread broken for you… This important symbolism of a foundational truth claim of the Bible was completely absent.
Also, Jesus’ body and blood were given for us. The symbolism of taking the elements out of unattended dishes where you literally help yourself instead of it being given to you by an ordained servant of Christ is just wrong. Yes I’ve seen unordained folks help in distribution but only after the bread and wine were consecrated.
Next, Scripture instructs us as to when to come to the table. We are told not to come unworthily. We come as sinners clothed with the righteousness of Christ but we are commanded to examine our hearts and be right with our brother before coming. No announcement (or even note in the bulletin) was made that you need to be baptized and not under church discipline to partake in Communion. Folks the biggest reason for someone to be ordained is to administer the Sacraments and these folks completely reneged on their responsibility. As I said before, no effort to fence the table at all.
Given the casual nature with which these guys approach the Sacraments, is it any wonder they dropped “Baptist” from their name. Baptists are well known not just for demanding that a person be baptized to receive Communion but also the method of baptism be immersion or it is not a valid one. “Believer’s baptism” is a real and unique theological term. The fact that it was never mentioned was frankly troubling given what I was expecting. Bread in a tray like Chick-fil-A mints and shot glasses of juice in unattended trays was deeply disturbing and irreverent. We didn’t go because we weren’t invited to and the elements were never blessed (consecrated). It was a mockery or parody of the Sacrament.
Chick-fil-A self-serve mint dispenser
As I left the service, I was left wondering whether they held to anything other than good works as their “Christian” duty. Other than the pronouns used, what I witnesses could have passed for Methodist or any other group. Was this a clubhouse or a church? I couldn’t tell.
To recap:
You have money changers in the lobby hawking coffee and donuts
A “worship band” that drowns-out congregational singing instead of leading them
A sermon that wasn’t (I like Compassion International so I can’t complain too much plus they prefaced the presentation by saying it was out of format)
Self-serve Communion with absolutely zero clergy involvement
Folks I love most Christian rock music and listen to it often but I also feel that congregational worship is not an appropriate venue for this type of music. Rock is entertainment and I don’t go to church to be entertained. Entertainment is a musician saying look at me, while worship should be look at God. Confusing who is truly worthy is not helpful. I think of Christian rock as outreach not an up-reach.
But the real deal killer for me was the Communion service. I do believe that a Biblical alter call is going forward for Communion with God not visitors doing the sinner’s prayer and walking the aisle but the way Creekside did it was outside of the practices of the historic church.
Sorry, but I have zero interest in returning—except maybe if they actually have a good concert. I can honestly say that the sound system rocks and there’s plenty of free parking too.
Three stories that make a difference that were buried in the last few days.
California is fulfilling their role as a take no prisoners, authoritarian regime. In the latest moves to ban the internal combustion engine and anything else that uses fossil fuels, California has created another list of politically incorrect people that are to be avoided. This time the list includes automakers that will not be allowed to sell to the State. First on the list are GM, Chrysler, Nissan, and Toyota.
Mary Nichols-California Air Resources Board
California issued a statement late Monday saying that as of January the state would only buy vehicles from automakers that recognize the California Air Resources Board’s authority to set tough greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles. California also pledged only to do business with automakers that committed to stringent emissions reduction goals.
Separately, the state also said it will no longer buy sedans that are powered only by internal combustion engines, no matter who manufactures the car. It will buy only plug-in electric or hybrid sedans, although California would make an exception for certain public safety vehicles. That rule does not apply to SUV or truck purchases.
This list is in addition to the ones that prohibit State employees and athletic teams from California State Universities from traveling to other States because the States are pro-life or pro-marriage; both of which are outlawed in California. I’m sure a similar list banning travel to places based on gun ownership is also in the works.
As a result of this utopian B.S., Elon Musk looks to be the beneficiary of more taxpayer money that he didn’t really earn. Of course this will be in addition to the money being directed to him as a result of the solar panel mandate that begins in January. Elon, by far, is the most heavily subsidized fellow in the history of the planet. Elon gets more corporate welfare from the government than any defense contractor ever dreamed.
Elon Musk has tax money to burn
Next up is California oil production, a story which is told via two news accounts.
But since taking office in January, Newsom’s own department of energy management has approved 33 percent more new oil and gas drilling permits than were approved under Newsom’s predecessor Jerry Brown over the same period in 2018—a median of 174 permits to drill new oil, gas, and cyclic steam wells approved a month, based on Geologic Energy Management Division (CALGEM) reports analyzed by CityLab.
The rate of fracking permits approved also soared at the start of the year, up 109 percent through June.
The fact that fracking approvals in California had spiked in the new year was first reported in July by the FracTracker Alliance and Consumer Watchdog. Newsom responded quickly to the news, firing the head of the approving agency for employing regulators who owned stock in oil companies, and directing the department to stop approving fracking permits. Since June 28, California hasn’t cleared any new hydraulic fracturing projects. After publication of this story on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that Newsom announced he was fully stopping the permitting of new hydraulic fracturing pending independent scientific review. He also said he’d issue a moratorium on “new permits for steam-injected oil drilling.”
The lesson is, if you support jobs and energy then you won’t last long holding an appointed government office in California.
I think Chevron should move its headquarters from San Francisco to Texas ASAP and close all their California refineries when they go. If California wants to ban fossil fuels then I think the private sector should cooperate. Let’s give politicians a world without gasoline and diesel now. Why wait until 2040? After all, there’s no time like the present. Give fossil fuel users the same treatment that PG&E is giving their electrical customers. Clearly the environmentalist message is, if you hate the planet so much that you use fossil fuels, then you deserve some payback. You can’t break addiction without pain.
Oh and speaking of pain, our illustrious leaders also want to ban the last reliable fuel used to generate electricity, natural gas. (FYI nuclear is banned in California and hydroelectric is not considered renewable energy.)
Maybe we could shut natural gas off for a week or so in February just to show people what that’s really like. Maybe such a move right before the Primary Elections in March would cause voters to make more sensible choices on the ballot.
Folks I apologize for not blogging too much lately but when things in your personal life go south, it tends to distract you from your hobbies. Right now I feel the need to vent so here we go.
I work for the State of California and let me tell you, their structure of management is ridiculous. For every six or seven employees, there is a supervisor. Then for every three supervisors, they have a supervisor. At my office, this goes up four layers before you get to the guy in charge of our building. Our site houses about two hundred people and of course is just one of many such facilities.
The management structure was codified into law (and union contracts) back in the early 1970’s when Jerry Brown was governor the first time. Back then office workers used IBM Selectric Typewriters, carbon paper, Webster’s Dictionary, rotary telephones, vacuum tubes to send intra-office messages, snail mail, and filing cabinets. Office workers dressed more formally, men wore ties and women wore dresses. Unions were a new idea in civil service.
Anyway, my second level supervisor has become a microcosm of what is wrong with government in general and California in particular. This supervisor has one set of rules for her friends and another for everyone else. This double standard, coupled with her Type A personality, is a killer combination for a bureaucrat. Another trait of this manager is that she has no regard for the chain of command under her. Having been in the military, I know that the chain of command flows from the top to the very bottom and vice versa.
This manager knows how to talk a good game but as you would expect, the disparity between words and deeds is vast. The manager often will talk about giving people opportunities to advance but the track record in my unit is atrocious. In nine years, only two people have been internally promoted from my level to the next step. During that period, we have added three more positions at the next level and a year ago, Type A declined creating another.
Two of the three managers directly under her are bullied and abused on a regular basis. These two folks happen to be from a different ethnic group and culture than she is and she runs roughshod over them all the time. They are documenting her behavior but have yet to pull the trigger on an EEOC or other complaint. They happen to be nice people and she despises them. Like some twisted soap opera, they all pretend to be collegial but it is clear that all is not well.
The latest office drama in my life began when an employee in my unit left at the end of April. This departure created a vacancy at the level above me. This rather sudden resignation created a flurry of activity behind the scenes. It took a month or two for the vacancy paperwork to work its way thru the personnel office. Filling the vacancy involves advertising the position, screening candidates, and conducting interviews. The paperwork done behind the scenes to get this done is horrendous. Management was ready to begin this process but it was halted in June for an unexpected reason. A Muslim lady that used to work in my unit contacted her old supervisor to say she was being failed on probation and would be returning to our unit—probably in July.
(In State employment, when you promote, this often involves moving to another unit or agency. If you fail probation—typically a six month term—then per agreement with the union, you have a right to return to your previous position.)
At this point, everything went dark. Type A manager decided there was no scenario in which she would allow the Muslim lady to return back into our unit. Instead, she arranged to have the Muslim lady handed-off to another unit. Only when the Muslim lady was safely back and with a different unit did the paperwork go forward to advertise the opening in my unit.
Finally, after almost six months, the vacant position was advertised. I was one of many applicants, but what surprised me was the number of qualified people within my unit that did not apply.
It has been convention that the interview panel would narrow the field to the top three and then let the immediate supervisor make the determination as to which person they wish to hire. (In the above, I’m using “convention” because although I thought it was required, I can find nothing in writing requiring that the selection to be from the top three or the hiring decision is the prerogative of the immediate supervisor.) Typically, the hiring manager does the paperwork, screening, and arranging of candidates for interview. This protocol was not the one followed in filling the vacancy.
Type A manager immersed herself in the minutia of what should have been a routine hire by one of the three managers under her. She screened applicants, selected the candidates for interview, scheduled the interview times, wrote the interview questions, selected the panel members, and selected the candidate via an undisclosed criterion. This all was frankly above her station.
Remember what I said about chain of command? She stripped the person under her of the authority to conduct the interview. Her place in the process should have been simply to oversee the process and if necessary be on the interview panel. Her actions deliberately undercut the authority of the supervisor under her to manage and select his employees.
To add even more insult to the injury, Type A manager added an employee under the mistreated supervisor to the interview panel. In effect, she diminished the supervisor and elevated a person under him. Note that the elevated person was at same level as the vacancy and was the most recent hire at that level. Word is that Type A manager is grooming this employee for advancement by personally directing his career path and wanted him to be able to use this experience to put on his resume. Other people at this level have never been on any interview panels.
Oh, I’ve been in this unit for ten years and worked my way up from the bottom. I was not on Type A manager’s list of candidates to interview. The abused manager under her had me on his list and requested that I be interviewed. In a pyric victory for me, Type A manager agreed. Obviously I had no chance of getting the job when she had already excluded me.
Interview and Beyond
Type A manager frontloaded the interview panel and then began the interview by reading the criterion that the selected candidate would need to work until 5 pm. We were then asked a series of questions about being managers in the unit and asked what we would do. These questions were all outside the scope of the duty statement and materials used to advertise the job. (I found out later that Type A manger had tried to advertise the job this way and was shot down by personnel because that was not an appropriate description of the vacant position. Apparently, she ignored both our personnel office and her org chart.)
Two days after the interviews were completed, each of the five people in my unit that had interviewed, were called one-by-one into Type A manager’s office and told they were not selected and then dismissed. I attempted to ask questions and was booted from her office. A coworker asked what happened and I described the experience ask being scraped off the bottom of her shoe like a piece of excrement and tossed away.
I grumbled to a few employees and a week later this resulted in me being called on her carpet yet again. Unlike last time, I was allowed to speak. I made a case that no one has been internally promoted in over five years and that many of us have done the work of those above us and were more than qualified for advancement. I tried to keep it from being flipped into a situation where I could be dismissed as just being mad that I was passed over. I also made the point that the primary duty of senior people was to train those under them. I cited the example of the lady whose resignation created this vacancy in the first place. I specifically talked about the time that a new hire in her second week on the job went to her and asked for help. The new hire was told, “Go figure it out for yourself” and then sent away. New hire then came to me. I answered her question and made sure that she was properly trained. I said it was inexcusable for someone in a senior position to treat a new hire like that.
In response, I was told by Type A manager that my experience and knowledge were not relevant to the position even though during my time in the unit, I’ve done the same production work as the people above me. She made it clear that I will never be promoted in this unit…as if I needed further clarification.
Oh the outside candidate that she picked was unwilling to work until 5 pm so she gets to go home at 4 pm instead. Of the five that interviewed for internal promotion, currently four work until either 4:30 or 5.
Final Thoughts
Because such heavy-handed tactics leave many enemies in its wake, I have been told by others about many things I’m not supposed to know about Type A manager. Such happens when you’re willing to speak-up if even a little. Type A manager has been known to redo interview results to give her the outcome that she wants, just in case someone actually challenges the results. Oh, favored recent hire mentioned above as part of the interview panel was the recipient of her generosity. He reportedly went from sixth to first due to manipulation of post-interview results. My sources on this information are impeccable.
So that’s my story. I’m looking for an exit strategy where I land on my feet. I think it’s tragic that this manager chooses to behave like this. It just goes to show that unchecked power corrupts. I doubt her conscience even keeps her up at night but I bet it used to.
My wife’s car registration was due in October. After getting my paycheck at the end of September, I dutifully went on the Internet to pay her registration. Amazingly enough, the DMV payment system was down. No, not because of hacking or PG&E power outages but for an overhaul of their payment system. Furthermore, I was greeted with a note that when the system came back up, DMV would be charging me a percentage for a processing fee.
DMV Warning of extra charge
Being a thrifty guy, at least when it comes to surrendering money to the government, I decided to write a check for the renewal and snail mail it. I wrote them a check and mailed it on September 28th.
On the 15th of October, I received a note from DMV that there was no payment enclosed in the envelope. I know this is not true. These guys lost the check. I even wrote the license plate number on the memo line of the check.
Knowing that the due date was imminent, I wrote them a check the very same day and mailed it again, but not before holding the sealed envelope up to the light and reading every part of the check to verify that they are without excuse.
Yesterday was November first and neither check has cleared my bank. Now I’m worried. Did they lose the second check too? I looked on their website and there’s no way to verify if something is paid. So, I came up with an experiment that seems to do the job. Here’s what you need, last five numbers of the VIN and license plate number. You pretend to pay online, and one of two things will happen, it will give you an error or show you an amount due.
DMV renewal screen
I tested this on my car that was paid many months ago and then with the car due in October. I got the same result, so my conclusion was that both were shown as paid at DMV. I still don’t know what happened to either check.
If you get this error then DMV shows your renewal as paid
I think if enough of us start opting out of paying electronically, they will drop the surcharge to pay online. Just don’t wait until the last minute because if they lose your check you need time on your side.
Elon Musk has been rewarded by the 90-day calendar guys after surviving the third quarter report. Elon apparently sprinkled magic pixie dust on the financials and turned a year over year sales loss into a $50 a share boost in one day.
Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) third-quarter revenue tumbled 39% in the United States, its first drop in more than two years…
U.S. sales, which account for the biggest share of the company’s total revenue, fell to $3.13 billion from $5.13 billion a year earlier.
If it weren’t for all the hysteria about saving the planet from imaginary destruction and other automakers being forced into giving billions to Tesla in the name of carbon credits, his goose would have been cooked years ago.
Speaking of cook, our friend of the blog, Tim Cook, has found a new way to be featured in tech blogs, he broke Apple’s Tesla app. Yep, iOS 13 has struck again. The latest iteration of this troubled operating system—also known here as “Apple’s Vista” —has killed the iPhone’s ability to run apps in the background and multitask.
iOS has of course never been famous for being an operating system which placed multi-tasking first, but some developers have come to rely on having their app running in the background.
One of these has been Tesla, which lets you replace your car keys with your phone. Tesla owners are now complaining that their doors do not open when they approach with iOS 13.2.
Of course, not only Tesla owners are affected. Many home automation systems like electronic door locks rely on the same feature.
Apple is rapidly earning a reputation of delivering more issues than features with their software updates, and I suspect more iOS users will be reconsidering installing the latest OS update without it being well tested in the market first.
Apple ‘s iOS 13.2 update was supposed to fix bugs introduced with the initial buggy iOS 13 release and add a few new features, but it seems like all is not well over in Cupertino.
iOS’s RAM management is so heavy-handed that it shuts down apps almost as soon as you switch away from them. Users find it hard to maintain a conversation on say WhatsApp and switch to Safari to get some information because the former app will reload when they switch back to it and Safari will shut down tabs when they switch away. This issue has shown itself on iPhones as expensive as the top-end iPhone 11 Pro, so it has been a frustrating experience even for superfans.
“I’m sure Apple has good excuses about why their software quality is so shitty again,” Overcast and Instapaper creator Marco Arment said over on Twitter. “I hear the same thing over and over from people inside: they aren’t given enough time to fix bugs. Your software quality is broken, Apple. Deeply, systemically broken. Get your shit together.”
Modern software is often developed with a ship first, fix later attitude. Apple’s fast updates mean that while users can get fixes as soon as they’re ready, they’ll also be more likely to experience bugs due to the initial shipping scramble.
Last I heard, north of 60 percent of Apple phone users—that don’t loose support November 3rd—were running this version of the operating system. I have faith that Apple will eventually get it right. I know it will irritate their customers but when you have folks locked into your eco system on two and three year contracts, then these sorts of errors don’t hurt the 90-day clock too badly.
Back to Tesla’s founder; California’s looming solar mandate for new construction and PG&E blackouts are breathing new life into another Elon Musk venture. This convergence of mandates and malfeasance is looking like the next step in cordcutting, being able to live off the grid in suburbia.
Once again, Elon is benefitting from government interferrence in the free market under the guise of saving the planet. It’s amazing how he has inserted himself into the minds of many as the high priest of the green religion.Musk’s use of captalism to fleece socialists is kind of poetic.
