Three (more) quick ones!
I saw three news items that grabbed me tonight. Two of them were from California, and the other was about photographic editing.
1) “Seeing is Believing.” Not anymore…. The editors of the Egyptian government-majority owned Al-Ahram newspaper made Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak look foolish, worldwide, by publishing an altered photographic image in which Mubarak led U.S. President Barack Obama, Jordanian King Abdullah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the red carpet, with the words “The route to Sharm Al-Sheikh” beneath it. Sharm Al-Sheikh peace talks occurred on that same day. In “real life,” U.S. President Barack Obama led the procession.
2) Best Buy CEO backtracks. Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn might have exaggerated a bit when he said that the iPad was cutting into notebook sales at Best Buy by “as much as 50 percent.” 
The quote was from a Wall Street Journal article earlier in the week. Best Buy now says that the statement was a “gross exaggeration.” After all, there are only so many intelligent people in the world….
3) “The hills are (were) alive” with the sound of automatic weapons fire. A photographic series details the “Best in the West” SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team competition in the dry hills of Santa Clara County on Thursday and today as more than 150 agents from SWAT, sheriff’s offices, and state and federal agencies from California, Oregon, and Washington put their skills to the test. Tests included shooting out the eyes of hostage takers and sniping at up to 1200 yards! (Note added September 19, 2010: Of course 1200 yards is substantially LESS than a mile. I am willing to bet that some of the officers in the competition are “graduated” military snipers. Military snipers have successfully made “kills” at distances much GREATER than a mile.) At least the temperatures in the Bay Area have been much cooler than normal this year for the heavily armored and equipped participants. I have not heard who the winners are for 2010, but a federal agency, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SWAT team from Lawrence Livermore National Lab, is the reigning champ. The team won top honors and tactical bragging rights at Best in the West in 2009. I am happy to have them close by!
-Bill at
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