Saturday, July 30, 2016

Nothing Changes

Pick One!

Did you hear the one about the politician who died; went to limbo, and was given the chance of choosing between heaven & hell?  He would get to spend a week in each place before deciding where he'd spend eternity, and started off with heaven.  He found it comfortable, but boring, he felt alone because he didn't know anyone, and the music was weird.   When he began his trial week in hell the politician immediately ran into all his old friends, who were apparently having a permanent party.  Everyone was drinking, cavorting, and indulging every deviant whim.  There was a feast for kings, with every kind of food imaginable; and a new concert every night.

Seven days went by faster than the dead politician thought, and soon he was back in limbo, it was time to choose between heaven and hell.  Without a second thought the politician said he was ready to go re-join all his friends in hell; and so was transported back there instantly.  Everything he'd seen before was now gone, the landscape was bleak and burning, with starving rats gnawing at his heels.  There was no food to be seen and all his friends were burning in agony.  The politician cried out that this wasn't right, demanded to know what happened.  His guide calmly explained it to him; "Well sir you see, last week was the campaign, today you voted!"

So here we are with the convention hysteria behind us; bracing ourselves for the next 100 days  of psy-war-ops known as political ads hammering us whenever we dare go near any kind of media: topped off with the coronation of a new president.
What does it say about the current state of things that when  Michelle Obama spoke at the convention she was wearing body armor under her dress?  It was so obvious I almost mistook her for a Star Wars storm trooper.  What it says is that despite all security precautions in place, they weren't confident they could protect her.  I'm not saying she shouldn't wear body armor; I'm saying she shouldn't have to.  A sad reality; things aren't supposed to be this way.

Politicians are thieves by nature, they want something; they just take it.  An excellent example is how they steal music as background for their campaigns, ads, and ceremonies.  In nearly every instance they ignore copyright & royalties because they want a particular song.  Yeah, I can hear some of you saying that's pretty minor; but my point is if they do not respect personal intellectual property rights, it's a character flaw. Steal a little - steal a lot.  I am reasonably sure that some who get into politics are sincerely wanting to bring positive change and reform; it's just that the whole system is so corrupt it assimilates & corrupts everyone involved. It's like trying to swim without getting wet.

"I alone can fix it."
The story going around the media pundits is that Ohio governor John Kasich was approached by Trump to be his running mate; with Trump reportedly telling Kasich he could be in charge of foreign & domestic affairs. (The job of the president) When Kasich asked what Trump would be doing instead of foreign & domestic affairs, the answer was, "Making America Great Again."  Comments like that don't come from thinking people, they come from reading your script, playing your part.  The words of a puppet.
Trump is the big blunt instrument hammering us with fear & fakery.  For all his hype and vitriol, Trump simply has no substance.  He is a hate doll who spews out sound bites on cue whenever his string is pulled.  He's a human hot air balloon, er, make that Buffoon.  Have you really listened to him speak?  All he brings are short, easy to remember sound bites that have zero substance beyond fanning the flames of intolerance and racism.  He has no "platform" other than instigating hatred among Americans, driving us apart. 

Trump speaks with a distinctive cadence & rhythm that tends to put listeners into an Alpha state of consciousness, exactly the same as when watching TV or a movie.  This makes it so easy to then plant the seeds of hatred with his caustic remarks-plant them right in your head.  He appeals to a range of people who are disenfranchised citizens; and feeling abandoned by the government.  It's all just empty rhetoric.  He has no plan for this country except to exploit it financially like he does with everything he touches: he's playing a role, reading his lines.  A vacuous bag of bovine excrement!  

Everything about Trump (in his words) is always the biggest, the best, the most amazing.  The last time I heard bragging like that it was on the schoolyard, and the bragger was trying desperately to conceal his own incompetence and shit personality.  All that bluster & luster has to be hiding something.  You'll please notice that outside of his family, nobody else on the planet speaks that way about Trump.  How much money you have isn't as important as how you got it; and in Trump's case that means not paying the folks who work for you, then filing serial bankruptcy's to cheat the system.  Just another crook.


Not only does Trump openly admire Russian tough-guy leader Putin; he openly invites the Russians to continue hacking American computer systems!!  I am 100% certain that those words constitute a violation of the patriot act and likely even qualifies as treason yet you watch, he will suffer no consequence from his actions.  Just like he suffered no consequence for openly advocating genocide by taking out the families of terrorists.  Trump openly admires and compliments not only Putin, but Saddam Hussein as well.  North Korea's demented psychopathic leader "Un" thinks Trump is his kind of guy, and is probably in business with him.  If Trump's role models are these psychotic dictators, what kind of leader do you suppose he'd be?  Willing to risk it, are ya?

These issues never seem to come up in the daily "news cycle" because he is reading the script prepared for him.  The closer we get to the "selection" of president, the scarier he will become; sending 'voters' running for Hillary's protection.  Totally lacking in substance, Trump refuses to make his tax records public, invites Russia to cyber hack American citizens, and begs his followers not to watch Clinton's convention speech.  What is he so afraid of, that he would be seen for just what he is? 

"It takes a villain"
Hillary was well rewarded for standing aside in 2008, and told that 2016 would be her time.  Unfortunately her reputation and record are so bad; the only person out of a field of 17 she could maybe beat, is Trump! 

Hillary's convention spotlighted as many blacks and minorities as they could get to show up on stage - still pandering for votes.  Regardless of all image management efforts, let us not forget that Hillary's biggest backer is still Goldman Sachs, and that she recently evaded criminal charges by the skin of her teeth; I guess you could say that neither Hillary or Trump have any convictions.  Don't lose sight of the fact that according to recent polls, 62% of Americans distrust her.

 Remember Vince Foster long time Clinton friend, business associate and rumored to be Hillary's secret lover?  You remember, he had a falling out with the Clintons and then threatened to expose their criminal actions; then suddenly changed his mind and opted for suicide instead.  It is altogether chilling to realize that his name is just one of over 75 Clinton 'friends & associates' who died under mysterious circumstances.  How about that?

Now factor in that Chelsea Clinton & Ivanka Trump are close friends, as are their husbands.  The Clintons and Trumps have been friends for years, except for this year's staged street theater election process...and when it's all done they'll remain friends.  It's all a sham, a great shining lie; no more "real" than professional wrestling.  It's just more heft & hype.

Both Trump and Hillary picked unknown lackluster running mates who totally represent the 1% of powerful rich elites & their interests.  Absolute clones of Joe Biden!!  The only difference between them is that Pence is more open with his bigoted stupidity and racist views.  Both of them are as white as white can get.  Are there no minority politicians qualified to be vice president?  Just the same old stagnation with different white names & faces.  Nothing changes!
Doesn't it seem just cozy comfortable for the ruling elite that we only have the "two party system?"  Why not three or even four major parties?  The only thing multiple political parties would change is the elite's chances of staying in control of things.  Don't expect any kind of reform in your, or your children's lifetime; it simply won't be permitted.

The electoral college is the centerpiece of the 2-party system, the one which ensures that the people's voice isn't allowed to influence election outcomes.  Despite and aside from whoever gets the "popular vote" the electoral college is under no obligation to name that candidate as the new president.  The fix is always in, and I kinda believe we've always known that, and ignored it.  You can see how well that has worked out for us, right??

With these people it's always wedge issues, guns, race, gender identity, gay rights.  The goal is to drive us apart and against one another, hitting us at our weakest points. It's always the same thing just before every presidential election; they make a big stink over guns, which creates the fear that they'll come for our guns, resulting in ever-increasing gun sales.  Its always the same; politicians make all kinds of promises during the un-relenting campaign process, which are forgotten the moment a winner is declared.  Remember how Obama promised to close Gitmo?  It's still there isn't it?  Nothing changes. 

The strategy is to appeal to peoples emotions, their feelings; then they convince them their feelings are the same as facts.  Never has there ever been a more destructive example of false equivalency.  How you feel about any given subject is just that, a feeling.  Because you feel a certain way does not give your feeling the status of fact.  It's just a feeling.  You may want it to be fact, but that is just wishful thinking, not factual unless it happens to match the facts.

Because the greedy elite never leave anything to chance they also employ an array of anti-voter tactics & dirty tricks: like closing 75% of the polling locations in minority filled urban areas.  Like requiring voter ID cards which are difficult for some folks to obtain.  Like removing 80% of the voting machines in some precinct polling places, forcing urban voters to stand on line for hours just to vote; and of course the paperless Diebold electronic voting machines which anyone with a computer can hack.

"Politics" ~ Poli= manyTics= Blood sucking parasites

Not a single speaker at either convention mentioned the Fukushima dilemma, what with the death of the pacific ocean and dead sea life littering pacific beaches, you'd think it might have come up.  Nope, just fear mongering and name calling.  Not a single speaker at either convention mentioned fracking, or BP's lingering toxification of the gulf of Mexico.  None of them mentioned keeping our children safe from pedophile priests in the clergy, yet another forbidden subject.  No speaker at either convention addressed the four+ year drought in California, or the dying Colorado river.  They never want to address real issues that affect everyone every day, just fear & loathing.  Nothing Changes.

How about your soul, your spirit, did any politician bring that into the dialogue?  Nope, they prefer to distract us from thinking about our soul, and how much more of this insanity our spirit can take.

As I predicted in a recent post, cop assassinations are now happening almost every day since the RNC convention opened.  It's happening so frequently it almost certainly is a planned orchestration; designed to keep the fires of racism burning like a running fuse. 
Is it possible that the elites are intentionally ramping up towards the declaration of martial law?  It's a distinct possibility because it's a certain way to keep the powers that be in power and in control...control over us, not to put too fine a point on it!

All politicians speak with glowing admiration for "Our Veterans" when they want to send even more young men into harms way to die for Exxon & Standard oil; or when they want to appear patriotic; but how about when vets survive and come home to resume life.  The flip side of that coin isn't nearly so shiny!  You may recall the ongoing scandal with the Veterans Administration, after more than 40 vets died waiting for an appointment!  Well folks, I AM a Vietnam veteran who has dealt with the VA for many years.  Let me just tell you a few things for the sake of clarity. 

The VA is designed to be ineffectual, slow and archaic.  Their mandate is NOT to help as many vets as possible; but rather to delay having to pay disability & medical claims for as long as possible.  The VA has many tricks to make this happen, and the very worst is their computer system.  Oh the system is modern enough; but the VA policies allow no files to be added by any mass storage device, (USB flash drive, Fax, scanner, etc.)  Another particularly nasty trick is the VA refusal to let vets communicate with their doctor or psychologist via phone, email or any other means except an in person appointment.  By slowing down the speed at which information intake is done, the VA holds onto taxpayers dollars as long as possible...while vets die waiting to be seen.

In my own case, the VA denied my claim for disability benefits a total of four years before finally giving in and approving my claim.  The law said they owed me 4 years back pay for denied benefits, but in the end they stiffed me, only paid for 2 years.  Cheap greedy bastards. 

Money isn't the only reason for the criminal neglect from the VA, as always there are ulterior motives; and in this case they show their true colors.  Think about it for a minute: You could fill several sport stadiums and more with just veterans from our various wars of conquest.  If they ever became healthy and politically organized, the veteran population at best would be a voice the elites don't want the people to hear, and a powerful voting lobby.  Veterans know which dirty deeds were done, and where the evidence and bodies are buried; and if angered would represent an armed & trained military force within the country.  A military force of angry vets demanding justice is something they have faced in the past, and they don't want a repeat scenario now.

Once in the VA 'health care' system; the policy is heavy medications to subdue the symptoms, with little or nothing being done to help the tormented soul having those symptoms.  When you add that to criminal obfuscations & delays is it any wonder a veteran commits suicide 22 times a day?  This is a national disgrace, simple as that.  The VA spends millions yearly on absurd outdoor artwork at their many locations, including a 2 million dollar rock!!  The VA facility I go to turned 2 acres of prime parking in front of their brand new building; into a peace garden full of no trespassing signs.  Great, they give us a peace garden we're forbidden to enter; then force us to walk 65 yards to the front door.  Perfect, just perfect!

Ever wonder why it is that every presidential election we can only have two people to choose from, and they're both greedy criminals, or a criminal and an oaf, or variations thereof?  Despite all the vitriolic rhetoric from both 'parties' and despite all the flowery talk of hope and the American dream; nothing changes.  Back when we still had a few honorable people in politics some of them tried to tell us, tried to warn us; but we did not listen, we did not care.   It could be that we are about to learn the price of all that upwardly mobile apathy.

© 2016 full re-post with permission only











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Signed by Trump -(NSFW)


Monday, July 18, 2016

Future Imperfect

As a small child one of my favorite times of year was when the circus came to town; the larger than life extravaganza was a feast for the senses and a wonderment to behold.  All these long years later it's all so very different.  There is no longer any need to wait for the circus because the power elite have turned everyday life into the greatest show on earth, and P.T. Barnum is rolling in his grave! 

With their weapons of mass distraction, and using fear as the prime motivator; they have consistently & steadily kept applying pressure at all our weakest points.  Turning the heat up gradually, the same way ya cook a lobster.  Herding us like cattle into the direction of their choosing, (the slaughterhouse) all while telling us the choice is our own.

I remember how it used to be, back when we were only bombarded with election stuff for a brief time prior to the election.  Ahhh, sweet nostalgia!  In the nervous now, the election cycle never ends and we are so inundated with all the crap, lies & bullshit that we no longer care who "wins" so long as it's over...for a little while...before it all starts over again.  It's all designed to keep us off balance and apathetic, and it's working.
     

So here we are at convention time, the biggest spectacle of them all; and if the last year of Donald Trump is any indication, we are in for a real crowd pleaser of a time; that is if your tastes run towards chaos and pandemonium.  This openly racist totally fabricated and phony blow hard Trump was carefully selected and designed from the bottom up to be a wedge used for driving Americans apart to the point of actually instigating and provoking open violence at many Trump events.  Originally they were going to use him earlier, which is why he raised such a media hype out of Obama's birth certificate.  However, the shot callers of the power elite decided to hold trump as their battering ram for this election.  You can tell he is the power elite puppet because he was the only candidate whose comments on twitter were regularly treated as Breaking News.

These people leave absolutely nothing to chance with stakes as big as they currently are.  If voting actually was permitted to change things according to the will of the people it would be illegal tomorrow morning.  The fix has always been in, and if you are doubtful of this go up on YouTube and watch President Eisenhower's farewell speech.  With nearly total use of the notorious Diebold voting machines the power elite can determine any election result they desire, simple as that.  Just to make certain sure; they also conduct various efforts to get minority names removed from voting registrars, disqualify certain votes, and telling our servicemen and women who they're to vote for. They have every angle covered.

"I think you're overestimating humanity."

It is the circus of the absurd, and I for one have seen more than enough.  Can anyone please tell me exactly how much longer we're gonna accept this shit as our unalterable reality??   I need to know - I got plans.  We all understand that the fix is in and corruption always gets it's way but we've just conditioned ourselves to ignore it and be content with the little things in life when we find them.  Are you not yet tired of them bombarding us with fear in all its many forms 24 hours a day?  What a way to run a planet!!

What was the biggest news story just before the Dallas event?  Hillary getting off the hook and everyone yelling "foul"... Just as people were starting to suspect the fix was in on her evading prosecution; just as some very good questions were being asked, five cops assassinated in Dallas sucks the wind from the room and Hillary from the headlines.

I watched the entire news coverage of the event as it unfolded, watched it for several hours and recorded much of it.  Looking for evidence of a false flag attack, I didn't see it right away, but it was right there in front of everyone:  Where were all the ambulances?  In every other terrorist attack we always see a fleet of ambulances scurrying about tending to the dead and wounded, but not at Dallas, why not?  Where were they?


 With Clinton and Trump tied at 40% each going into the convention this week and all the headlines about the Clintons strong-arming the judicial system; they just couldn't risk her losing any momentum, so they sacrificed five cops on the altar of Hillary Clinton to change the subject of the national discourse to racism.  Let that one sink in for a minute, and then realize that Trump's only purpose has been to scare people into voting for Hillary despite their dislike & distrust of the woman.

Other big false flag indicators are how the newscasters had to remind us every ten minutes that this all happened a block or two from Dealey plaza where JFK was assassinated...and the fact it happened on 7/7, one of those numerological number pairings the power elite like so much; like 9/11.

"In the land of the blind; a one-eyed man is King."

For the first 30 to 45 minutes of news coverage everyone spoke about multiple shooters in multiple locations, even the Dallas chief of police, and his patrol officers.  You could hear gunfire on the video clips they played; and as a combat veteran I can assure you there was definitely more than one heavy rifle firing.  There was footage of a black Mercedes being stopped after two people tossed a camouflaged bag in it and drove away from the scene, but the police let them go!!  There was also a "spectator" armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, whom the Dallas police also let go without arrest or even holding for questioning!  Then, suddenly as if someone threw a light switch off, all anyone talked of from that point was a lone gunman, just exactly like with JFK. 
Just like with Lee Harvey OswaldMicah Xavier Johnson is credited with single handedly firing every shot fired, killing five and wounding seven more, not counting civilians.  More god damned "magic bullets" and superhuman ability. And just like Oswald; Johnson was killed (in a parking structure) before he could talk.  How very fucking convenient.  They made a big deal of Johnson having been a combat veteran, that's a half truth, he was in the rear with the gear, and never saw combat, and did not receive the kind of training necessary to shoot at superhuman levels, he was a carpenter!  I call Bullshit on the entire affair, more lies, more deceit.  Are YOU buying it??

The power elite are poking the bear; trying earnestly to start a race war, with Trump as their cheerleader, egging on his followers to partake; and terrifying voters into supporting Clinton.  So, what it boils down to in this 'election' year, after all the hoopla, debates and schoolyard insults, is that the American voter is left with choosing between two of the most evil and despised people ever to run for the presidency.  You really OK with that?  It looks like we may be in for one long hot shitstorm of a summer.

Is it mere coincidence that Comcast cable added "Straight Outta Compton" to their lineup the weekend before the conventions?

How about the fact that Trump has received $30 million worth of free media coverage in his bid for the presidency?  Is that Fair, is that American?  The media gave him all that free coverage because this is all a circus and he's playing his role.

Leaving nothing to chance, the RNC spit in the face of free speech by denying a roll call vote before the convention even began; preventing delegates not loyal to Trump the chance to voice their opinion.  Democracy or Dick move, you decide!  When the biggest celebrities Trump can get (pay) to speak on his behalf at the convention are such mega stars as Scott Baio, Antonio Sabato Jr. and some guy from Duck Dynasty; it kinda says it all!


Is it really just another coincidence that there were three more policemen killed in Baton Rogue, Louisiana on the opening day of the RNC convention??  How come all the "news" networks are covering the convention instead of the killing of three more cops?  Kinda shows where their priorities are.

What the power elite are trying to do is keep humanity below the threshold of evolution; in a state of arrested development ... they believe they can actually change the course of human evolution like one would a river.  Why do we continue to live this way; letting psychopathic monsters run the world into ruin while we settle for whatever crumbs of joy we may find, as our freedoms and liberty are eroded away a piece at a time?? 

"When you argue in favor of your limitations, you get to keep them!"

The back to back terror attacks are the power elite trying to keep us all so off balance and frightened of the future that we follow their directives and wishes in blind faith.  Why does it always come down to the lesser of two evils, when we still end up with evil calling the shots?  The devil you know is still a devil!  Can we aspire to nothing greater?

With a second street assassination of cops they aren't poking the bear any more, they're kicking him in the balls and setting him on fire.  How much more do you suppose the bear is going to take?  If there are more of these targeted assassinations of cops; and maybe even some violence at Trump's convention it'll be a custom tailored recipe for the imposition of martial law.  If that happens; among a myriad of other things it will almost certainly herald the beginning of the power elite's endgame, and the final death gasp of liberty.  Maybe that is why in his fiery speech at the convention Rudy Giuliani said "There will be no more elections"  Hmmm, what a thing to say.


Is it just a coincidence that whoever wrote Melania Trump's opening speech lifted key segments verbatim right out of Michelle Obama's 2008 convention speech?  Hell, these people cannot even use their own words when lying thru their teeth; how are we supposed to accept this kind of charade with a straight face?  Melania said she wrote the speech herself with as little help as possible; so did she plagiarize Michelle Obama's speech from eight years ago thinking nobody would notice?  Somebody did!  Or maybe it was a dirty trick, how hard would it be to hack into a teleprompter?  In reality it's doubtful that either woman wrote any speeches, they hire speech writers for that; so really it was one speech writer plagiarizing another.  A circus by any other name is still a circus.

A scene filmed on the convention floor perfectly sums it all up.  A young woman is seen carrying a sign saying "No Racism - No Hate" and being chased around by some guy trying to cover her sign up with an American flag!  Laugh if you must, but just remember, we laughed the first time W. ran for office too, didn't we.  The only thing worse than Clinton winning, is Trump winning.  OMG!!


When will we as a citizenry finally understand that the system isn't broken as so many politicians bemoan in their speeches; it was designed to function exactly how it does with the rich, powerful & greedy types keeping the rest of us under their thumb.  If you really think you still have the constitutional right of Free Speech, try going out and practicing a little of it in public - see what happens! 

I've been watching the exact same dog & pony show over presidential elections for several decades now, and it just never changes.  I really used to think that by this time a grass roots reform movement would have grown strong enough to overthrow the dynasty of greedy old white people, but, alas, the old bastards never leave anything to chance.  During the Vietnam war citizens filled the streets in the thousands; and even shut down cities and government in protest.  Where is all the rage now?  Why aren't you fuckers all filling the streets and shutting the place down in protest....oh yeah, chemtrails & GMO food, I almost forgot for a minute.  Brief luxury.

"I'm tired now, and my balls are low"

Those of us who have always dreamed about and tried to create a better world to leave our children are not upset for our own sake; but for that of our progeny.  I'll tell you here and now we very well may have waited too long for others to build that better world, but what the hey, better late than never, right?  The whole entire great shining lie is off balance just now, faltering under the weight of it's own corruption.  What do ya say we collectively give them a shove over the edge and take this place over in the name of sanity.  Or do we have to wait until the flames of the next race riot are visible from our homes before we decide to act? 
© 2016 full re-post with permission only 


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Monday, July 4, 2016

A Drone of Your Own


What with everything that's been going on over the last couple of years; you may not have noticed all the civilian drones buzzing around at a steadily increasing rate.  Last Christmas season they say over two million drones were bought as gifts.  Sure, a few days later the number was dramatically smaller, due to crashes & accidents, but still, that's a lot of drones, or quadcopters as they are more correctly called.

Hardly a day goes by without a news story about drones, in addition to the news using them to film stories.  Drones have become standard equipment for all types of video production and movie making.  Just like the personal computer, drones are here to stay whether we like it or not.  "Drones" have a bad rap going into any discussion due to the familiar military use of armed UAV's; but there are an almost limitless number of peaceful, civilian applications.

Oh they're out there alright, and in a mind-numbing array of sizes and styles; everything from video capable nano drones you can hide in your hand, to the prosumer and professional camera drones used by major news networks, agriculture, private security, photographers, architecture, and engineering just to name a few applications.


Remote controlled aircraft have been around for quite a while; I got my first at about 14 years old, and have kept the interest ever since.  Just in the last few years there have been many improvements and advancements in the industry; resulting in fairly sophisticated flying machines that come RTF, ready to fly right out of the box.  The advancements in such craft are such that anyone can learn how to fly fairly quickly.  Today's consumer drones are way more robust and durable than their predecessors of even five years ago.

By far the biggest market segment is hobby drones which range from the very small and relatively inexpensive Nano drones all the way up to Prosumer drones costing hundreds of dollars.  After the Nano drones are the Mini-quadcopters (and Hexacopters) which are more or less palm sized.  Then there are mid-range drones which are much larger than minis, yet smaller & lighter than the more expensive types.


 Nano drones are very small but packed with some nice features, including wi-fi and FPV capable.  (FPV is First Person View and indicates that the drone is controlled by smart phone or tablet which lets the pilot see thru the drones camera to fly & navigate, in addition to visually.)  These little drones have a micro SD card slot to store videos which can then be transferred to computer.  Primarily for indoor use; these little drones tend to not fare too well in windy outdoor conditions.  Easy to loose something so small in a gust of wind.  They all come with red & blue LED running lights which are helpful when searching for a downed drone. 

Nano drones have small permanent  LiPo (lithium polymer) batteries which cannot be swapped out.  Average flight time is about five minutes tops, and recharging the battery takes 20 to 40 minutes depending on make & model.  The software for small hobby drones is open source which means most of them are using the same exact software regardless of company or brand.  Almost all of these nano and mini drones are made in China, and customer service can be hit or miss, which is why the smaller, cheaper drones are considered by many as disposable


As for the mini-drones they are basically a step up in size and performance.  Most all drones in this class have replaceable batteries and the majority have cameras.  There are also some models built specifically for speed & stunts, and without a camera adding weight, they fly longer and are more agile as a rule.

Unlike hobby helicopters of the past, today's drones are rugged and durable little flyers that bounce back time and again from hard impact crashes.  They are fairly sophisticated, featuring novice, normal & advanced flight modes.  In the advanced mode you get some aggressive flight capabilities and acrobatic tricks such as flips & rolls. Some of the smaller drones are now equipped with FPV but the thing is they rely on using a smart phone as the controller; and regardless the app used, phones do not give you the degree of control and response that you get from a transmitter controller. 

While it is generally true that learning to fly small drones well builds skill sets that will help when flying larger drones; the reverse is not so true.  You want to start small and work your way up to the bigger, more serious drones.


LiPo batteries need to cool down once drained, and should not be recharged for 15 to 20 minutes after use.  Not observing this cool down period will soon fry the battery & possibly even the circuit board.  The Chinese who make these by the thousands for sale on Amazon & other sites use angel hair wires which being so thin can both melt from over heating, and break upon repeated severe crash impact.... and accordingly if you want your drone to continue working properly it's wise to not overheat the motors & motherboard by using several batteries in one flying session.  Because they generate heat; LiPo batteries should always be charged safely on a non-conducting surface; and never left unattended as they can cause fires if basic precautions are not followed.  Many of the serious users are using inexpensive asbestos battery bags for charging & storage; a wise precaution.


 First Person View (FPV) is easily the most popular feature on consumer and prosumer drones; which is why it is now being incorporated in even the smallest units available.  Being able to see thru the camera adds a new dimension to flying with confidence and is really a lot of fun. (see videos below)  As mentioned, many of the less expensive hobby drones now come FPV capable & most of them use you smart phone as the controller.  While this may be easy and convenient, cell phone apps do not give the degree of adjustment or control you need for flying, and there is usually a small lag time in streaming the video - which can cause crashes.  A radio controller gives you the ability to fully adjust the drones flight trimming etc, quicker response to controls, and a faster video feed.  For these capabilities you'll want a dedicated controller with the view screen built in; and possibly even a FPV headset.


 Invariably when humans get ahold of something new, before long they'll find a way to have races, and drones are certainly no exception.  In fact, drone racing has become so popular that starting this summer cable sports networks are covering major drone races; so consult your local listings.  Empty sports arenas and underground parking structures have been favorite racing locations in the past few years; and as drone popularity increases, more professional and challenging venues are being designed for drone racing.  They do a lot of drone racing in Dubai, and it's coming soon to a city near you!


 The fastest growing segment of the drone market is for units in the $500.00 to $1200.00 dollar and up range, generally used for extreme sports, travel, professional photography and network newscasts.   These higher end drones boast features such as GPS, one button launch, auto-hover, "follow me mode", headless flying mode, and one button return home function.  Some of the more sophisticated units can use two controllers, two people: one flies the quadcopter while the other operates the camera, with everything wi-fi to phone, tablet or FPV headset.

Most of the higher end prosumer and professional drones are automatically prevented from operating in FAA restricted airspace such as airports, etc.  There is a 500 foot altitude limit set by the FAA, but most higher end drones can go much, much higher after switching off the restrictive setting.  California and a few other states already have laws which prohibit the flying of drones in places where privacy is expected and around schoolyards.  The higher end drones usually have a feature which establishes flight boundaries, which should keep good relations with the neighbors.  Good time to mention that there is a $25,000 dollar fine for flying an unregistered drone in public spaces; so be legal, be safe!

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 Just recently the FAA announced new drone regulations taking effect this year.  A lot of folks were concerned that they would even further limit the use of drones, and a lot of folks were surprised because essentially the FAA opened the whole thing up for expansive growth.  Now, those who wish to use a drone for personal or commercial purposes have only to complete some basic requirements to become legal & licensed; exactly like operating a car or any other vehicle.  The FAA even came up with a new acronym for use across the 'drone' landscape.  They didn't want to use "UAV" as that's a military designation, so UAS is the new designation: Unmanned Aircraft Systems, for drones and all multi-rotor radio controlled aircraft.


Drones are being used for an ever widening field of applications these days as people are seeing the advantages of having a bird's eye view of things.  There is an entire classification of security drones as that is a fast growing market in and of itself; including a set & forget  autonomous patrol drone system with HD video.  Developers are using drones to monitor construction site progress, Ranchers use them to monitor livestock and the "south 40".  Drones are also put to work monitoring large estates, vineyards, and farms.  The police use them, and so does the forestry service; for search & rescue, and fire watch. 

"Drones aren't going anywhere - in fact they're going everywhere"
                                                                              ~Good Kill~

A while back my brother and I were flying a drone on my property, and before long the nearby trees were full of squawking blue jays; a group protest to defend their air space from a strange and noisy intruder.  Then last week we had our drones at a friends ranch 30 miles away out in the country.  After we'd been flying and doing stunt flips & rolls for a while we noticed a canyon hawk cruising above the drone.  He was definitely checking the drone out, as a few minutes later he drifted by again, so we landed the drone.  About a minute later the canyon hawk cruised by just above roof level, looking below him for the drone.  When we sent the Traxxas Aton drone aloft again, the bird returned; and again was showing interest in the drone, so we just kept avoiding it.  Within just a few minutes four more canyon hawks joined the first, and wherever the drone flew, they were loitering above in a huge circle formation.



A good point to bring up responsible drone operation.  Various wildlife laws insist upon us humans staying 500 feet from any endangered or protected birds or animals.  In my mind this applies even if the bird or other animal comes close for a better look.  Always do your aerial photography from a safe distance.  An interesting side note; in Germany and Holland police are using trained eagles and hawks to bring down drones operating outside the law.


 Whenever human desire gets ahold of technology it's usually a recipe for breaking bad.   A good example are the drone operators who recently flew drones over several of the California wildfires.  On at least four different fires; desire to get great footage put drones right in the path of the aircraft fighting the fire from the air; causing them to abort their chemical runs.  Pilots like that are going to make it hard for the rest of us, and create bad press against civilian drone flyers.  This civilian drone market is still young and many of these quadcopters are openly designated as experimental.  Yes they're packed with a lot of technology...technology we consumers are paying to beta test because few of them are letter perfect.  One of the most popular high end camera drones has a reputation for loosing link and falling from the sky, and for horrible customer service.  It's logical that with so many of one model sold you're going to see a lot of accidents etc, but customer service should always be five star, and it sometimes isn't.  Then there are companies whose customer service is so good, they actually call you (from China) to make sure you are satisfied.

What this means is they are going to malfunction now and then; some models more than others, and when they malfunction, guess who is held responsible for damages?  A five pound chainsaw flying at 50 mph is something you don't want to loose control of in a crowded area.  Just last week a woman was hit in the head by a falling drone, so there is always that aspect to consider.   It's worth noting that one should avoid flying drones equipped with GPS near sunrise or sunset, as at those times the earth's electromagnetic field is in flux.  Flying in the gloaming hour can cause your drone to behave in an erratic manner, go crazy, or just fly away at top speed.  Fly safely!

Due diligence is the key to happy flying.  Before you plunk your money down for a high end drone in the $500.00 to $3,000.00 range be sure to do your homework first.  Do some in depth Google searches on the make & model of drone you're interested in; especially reviews from other consumers like yourself.  Beware though, of the "hired gun" reviewers who were compensated in some way for their "unbiased" review.  Just recently Amazon has cracked down on such endorsements by going after companies engaged in said practice.  Also be cautious getting involved in any drones being sold via one of the crowd funding offers.  One should absolutely also investigate the customer support for the purchase you're considering. 


The flying gene is alive and well throughout human society, maybe we all have a little bit of Icarus in our blood, the way we sometimes wish we could fly like the birds do.  For a while we may be satisfied with Flight Simulators on our computers; but if the flying gene runs strong in your blood you'll eventually upgrade to flying 3D in the real world and there has never been a better time than now to do so.

Some universities and academies are even adding "Drone Classes" to their curriculum.

Once you see your videos taken from a few hundred feet in the air, you'll be hooked, and your brain will start identifying all the very cool things a drone can do for you. Someday in the not too distant future; drones will be as commonplace in the American home as computers are now. ~ "Land of the free - Home of the drone."
© 2016 full re-post with permission only 

~Related Augureye Posts~

Addicted to Technology?
Homegrown Drones


Other Voices

Recommended Viewing 
"Rise of the Drones"
"Good Kill"
"Eye in the Sky"
"Eagle Eye"