One thing that you will see in 100% of shootings by police is that any time someone is shot they always claim that the killed person did something aggressive that justified the shooting. In this case to justify the shooting there has to be a claim there was a bomb and that there was reason to believe that he was going to detonate it. It is a given that no matter what really happened that the story would have been the same.

So as I’m watching them blow up luggage on the tarmac when clearly they already knew at that point that they totally fucked up, what I see is at least theatrics and at worse the destruction of evidence.

My opinion is that what is most likely the case is that this guy mouthed off and they decided to teach him a lesson because they knew they could get away with it.

Let’s see if they find any passengers who actually heard the bomb threat other than the cops. It wouldn’t surprise me if they made that up.

I don’t trust police and I know how they lie. Having been kidnapped 3 times by the police I don’t have a very high opinion of their honesty. I don’t want to sound like I don’t appreciate them because most cops are good public servants. But when cops do bad things they all come together and cover up for the bad cop every time. And in this case the facts just don’t add up to something I think is believable. I don’t believe that when a guy is off the plane and just acting a little nuts that he was a serious danger of being a terrorist. I would guarantee that a real terrorist would not behave that way. A real terrorist would be as cool and normal looking as you can get.

I don’t know if it was just not in the news but I don’t remember hearing reports of this kind of looting after the tsunami last year in other countries. It seems that a lot of people in New Orleans are just criminals taking advantage of an opportunity to steal.

I’m definitely glad I’m not living there as I sit on the adge of the San Andreas fault watching it on TV.

If you are still in New Orleans and reading this – GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE AS FAST AS YOU CAN !!!!

A little over two years ago I had my eyes lasered and it really made a difference. I was 5.5 diopters nearsighted – which means that if I didn’t know where my glasses were – I had a hard time finding them. So – being nearly blind without glasses I decided to get my eyes fixed.

The first thing was to decided where so I left a message on Craigslist and several people recommended Dr. Ella Faktorovich at Pacific Vision Institute. I went over there for a consultation and she was brilliant. I had a lot of reservations about it and beening a geek – I wanted to know every detail of how it worked. Since this was in San Francisco – I wanted to know what would happen if there was an earthquake during the procedure – and she had an answer for that too – the laser would instantly shut off if there was a tracking error.

Since I was 47 at the time I was already having vision problems focusing a different distances. If not for the fact that I was already nearsighted – I would have needed reading glasses. As you get older you lose the range of vision that you would have if you were younger. And – I learned that if I had both eyes corrected to distance vision that I would lose my superior near vision and would have to put glasses on to read.

She suggested an interesting solution though. What she suggested was to leave one eye slghtly nearsighted so that I would have a “driving eye” and a “reading eye”. Some people’s brains can handle it – some can’t. But – she wanted to try it since I was a tech and my near vision was something that was important to me.

She sent me to another eye doctor that does contact lenses and had me fitted to contacts that simulated the way my eyes would be corrected. The split vision would out very well – so well in fact that instead if a 1.5 diopter split I asked for two diopters.

I had the actual procedure done on my 47th birthday. I was given some valium to get me all doped up to where I didn’t care about anything. She also put a numbing agent and antibiotic drops in my eyes. The numbing agent was a little stinggy at first but that passed after a few seconds. 30 minutes later I was taken to the room where the procedure was to take place.

Getting your eyes lasered is an interesting process. Perhaps most people would be more comfortable not knowing exactly what they do – but not me. Basically they slice off the front of your eye – peal it back – and then they laser off the flay surface to reshape the eye the way it needs to be. The front flap is then replaced and grows back together. The entire provedure takes abut 10 minutes for both eyes.

As a patient it was very easy. It’s more comfortable than getting your teeth cleaned. But teeth cleaning is something I understand. I laid down on my back on the table under the device. I remember Ella was looking through what appeared to be a microscpoe into my eyes. My eyelids were taped open – but there was drops being applied to keep my eyes moist. I had the sensation that I could blink – but actually couldn’t. That was something I had been worried about – not being able to blink – but not a problem.

What I say was a ring of white lights (white LEDs) and a green dot on the middle. My job was to heep focused on the green dot. lla explained every step of the procedure as she was doing it. She said that the green dot was going to disappear and that I might feel a little pressure. This is where the instrument came in contact with my eye and made the cut to separate the front of my eye. She then folded it back exposing the surface. Of course – if you don’t know what’s happening – all you feel is a little pressure. You never feel anything being cut.

With the eye now having a flat surface the green dot looked like it was as big as a dime. I heard the machine making a pulsing noise as the laser shaved off tiny layers of tissue. You can’t see the laser that actually does the cutting – but I did notice a secind red traching laser that it used to guide the cutting laser. The tracking system keeps the laser on target even if you move your eye during the procedure. That only lasted mayv=be 30 seconds. Then the flap was replaced and the green dot was again a green dot.

The procedure was repeated for the other eye. It was all very comfortable – especially with the valium which makes everything ok. Aren’t drugs wonderful. After 10 minutes the procedure was over.

I got up and although I was supposed to keep my eyes closed for the most part – I took a peek – and my vision was mostly clear. Sort of like looking through the windshield during rain though. I was taken t a room where I laid down to way for a friend to give me a ride home. I fell asleep while waiting.

30 minutes later my ride came. I was led to the car but I did take some small peeks to see my way in. You’re supposed to keep your eyes shut for 4 hours after the procedure. They recommend a nap. And the Valium helps with that. I went home to bed. About 4 hours later – I woke up.

I could already see the difference. I had to put a lot of drops in my eyes. I used antibiotic drops, antiinflamatories – and general drops to keep my eyes moist. So – every hour it was eyedrops. Even worked on the computer and experimented with getting used to having the near eye and the far eye. Then I went to bed early.

The next morning I woke up and I could see all the way across the street without glasses. There was a flag in the window on the other side of the street and I could not only see the stars – but the points on the stars. It was amazing.

As someone who has warn glasses all my life and not had contacts the idea of not having glasses on was very disturbing. Especially getting in my car and driving. I had a pair of sunglasses that came with the procedure and putting those on made my face feel normal again. I’m someone who actually likes to have glasses on and not having them on was almost like being outside naked. But in time I got used to it.

Most people can’t handle a 2 diopter split though. I’m rather unusual. I think the difference is that I understand the technology and I don’t try to make both eyes see normal. I understand that things aren’t always going to appear perfect under all circumstances. I also think that my right eye is a little “lazy” and that because my left eye is so dominant that everything looks clear at a distace. Looking at things near take a little more effort – but I can read without glasses when others my age can’t.

When I drive I have driving glasses. They correct my right eye back to normal and provide some shading in the sun. I also wear the hiking. I also have some 1.25 diopter reading glasses from wallgreens ($15 for 2 pair) and some 3 diopter glasses for close work. I also had some custom glasses made for computer distance. So – I’m not glasses free. But at my age that’s is to be expected.

It’s been a big improvement. I can go swimming and check out the women. I don’t have glasses falling off or getting steamed up and not blind without them. I can see very well without being so nearsighted. There is a downside in that I have lost my super close vision – but I can put glasses on to get that back.

So – if you are in the Bay Area – or if you aren’t it’sworth flying here to have it done – Dr. Factorivich is the best. She’s considered a leader in her field and a lot of celebrities go to her to get their eyes done. She’s not cheap – $3500 – $5000 – but at the time I had the money and decided I wanted the best. And – I’m happy the way it turned out. I got the extra attention I needed to calculated the best diopter split for me.

Besides – Dr. Faktorovich is a babe. I told her the most painful part of the procedure was finding out she was already married. But – she is just the best in every way from doing it right to assuring you that you won’t be blind after it’s all over.

In mediation it’s not about who is right or wrong. It’s not a trial – and both parties have to agree. So the process is all about reaching a deal that every is willing to settle for.

In my case we were so far apart that I had serious doubts that it was going to happen. In fact – at the end of the day we had failed to reach an agreement. I left an offer open on the table till the end of the week and the week passed and nothing.

But John Bates refused to accept failure and he kept the negotiations open, working mostly on the other side to bring them closer to reality – and it paid off. Ultimately we agreed and both came away feeling screwed. But – I’ve been screwed worse in real court and as they say – a bird in the hand ….

So – my point. Mediation is definitely worth trying and I really like John Bates for pulling off a miracle. It was a very educational experience.

Right now it’s moderated for everyone but once I get the user account thing figured out I will allow some people to post without moderation. The upgrade process hasn’t been pretty so be patient.

First – the low interest rates are creating artificially high prices. When interest rates were 8% there was a limit to how much of a monthy payment someone could afford. But at 4% the same person can buy a house for almost twice as much for the same payment. Thus – real estate prices increase. Especially for people who are suckered into variable rate loans as low as 3%.

Because the market went up so fast banks started making loans with nothing down and bad credit – figuring the homes are going up so fast that the collateral will cover it. People are buying up homes like they were in 2000 day trading stock. It’s called turn and burn. Your hairdresser might own 10 homes in different parts of the country. The bouy a house – sit on it for 6 months – and then sell it for 50 grand more than they paid for it. And it all works as long as prices continue to climb and it remains greed driven.

But this is artificial and at some point the reality will hit like it did for the artificially high dot com stocks. The greed driven market will turn fear driven and collapse extremely fast. And when it hits – real estate will drop to half price overnight – there will be huge losses – and banks will be stuck with property worth far less that the loans against it. And when that happens you’ll see a huge banking collapse just like what happened in the 1980s under Reagan.

So – when you hear Bush say that home ownership is at it’s highest level ever – this is why.

My accountant was telling me all about it because he’s helping process a lot of these transactions for these people. At it all made sense. I had beeen confused about how it is with the deficit so high and economy so low – and real estate so high – how does anyone afford to buy a house? Well – now I know.

So – here’s what the crash looks like. And it will be a small interest rate hike to will trigger it. Fear enteres the market. People realize the the rise is over and they start to sell. The houses sit on the market for some time and nothing sells – so people start lowering their price. Once the prices start going down everyone panics and all of a sudden – every turn and burn property is on the markey at the same time. While it sits there – they still have to make the payments on the property and quickly burn up the capital they have – often borrowed on credit cards – and then they can’t make the payments anymore.

The homes get reposessed – but the banks can’t sell them. Now not only is there a glut of turn and burn properties for sale – but there are forclosure sale properties on the market. And – as interest rates creep up – those people who got a 3% teaser loan that they could barely affors to pay are all of a sudden paying 6% and nearly double the payment. So home owners get hit as well.

With all the loan failures – the banks will start failing and torn to the federal government for yet another huge bailout. A government that already is setting records for deficit spending.

We still owe the money for the 1980s bailout of the Savings and Load industry. this collapse will be far bigger.

But – it won’t happen till after the November election.

If you are playing this game – the time to get out is now.