DJI Products are as good as their service and at least today that Sucks.

Los Angeles, CA-My DJI Inspire 1 drone cost well over $3,000.00 extra batteries are well over $200.00 each. 

Realistically you need several additional batteries if you plan to do any extended flying.  

One of the batteries I purchased was only recharged seven times and somehow gave a "damaged cell" warning.  The battery is absolutely unusable.  

Three DJI technical support calls later they told me to send it in with photos of all six sides of the battery with proof of purchase and I'd get a replacement.  Sounds simple! 

Not so fast!  The date on the receipt Oct 2015 was not readable.  So they refused to send me the replacement.  Without a better copy of thr receipt I'm out of luck! 

So now I'm supposed to kiss enough ass to get a better copy of the receipt from my dealer.  He's closed today so it will delay replacement assuming the dealer will generate another copy. My drone dealer is top notch in every way and I know he will help me within reason. 

I asked DJI if they would simply call the dealer who knows me very well and could verify the sale.  I was told that the DJI policy would not allow for a simple phone call.  

Needless to say I'm going to be unlikely to recommend them or purchase another product with their very unreasonable nitpicking.  

I'll say this for what it's worth.  I'm not talking behind DJI's back.  They are getting a link to this review of their service. 

I'm angry about this crappy treatment and hope this fiasco won't get worse.  I will update and publish just how this aggravation is resolved.

An Update!

DJI finally heard my complaint and cut out the obstruction.  They were slow but by within a week they sent me a new battery.

My lost productivity because of the battery problem was much greater and more expensive than had I just bought a new one!  That was indeed unfortunate.

DJI makes wonderful products.  They like every relatively new business has some setbacks.  Dealing with fraud is no small problem and security measures are no small concern.

I've heard a multitude of complaints about DJI's service.  Will their service ever have the same excellence as their products?  We all hope that will be the case.  I say they need time to streamline and make service more customer friendly.  I hope my criticism was constructive and helpful to that end.

Politics and The Oscar Awards are a Horrible Mix

LosAngeles, CA--instead of having a contest about the art of filmmaking, acting and soundtracks we now have a disgraceful political exercise, The Oscar Awards.

The Olympic Games began as a way to unite people everywhere.  The common enjoyment of sports connected people with the  singleminded goal of excellence.   Instead of creating dividing issues with race, politics and religion the Olympics have brought people together.

Likewise the art of entertainment should be a uniting force.  However the evil of division, hate and distrust has turned the Oscars into a political freak show.

The participants now wear ribbons and bracelets and campaign for political crap that has nothing to do with art or entertainment.  

Nobody benefits from divisive, abrasive or offensive political rhetoric, boycotts or blacklisting.  Those being offended the most are the ticket buying audience. 

The only thing that should count at the Oscars are compelling stories told by those talented folks involved with making films. Instead we see race card promotion, political ass kissing and garbage not related to entertainment. 

The entertainment industry went sideways with the Blacklisting disaster of the 1950's.  They learned nothing from the the sports athletes.  What the public sees are a bunch of narcissistic millionaire brats dictating from the Oscar stage. 

As a film patron I don't give a rat's about anything other then the performances, visuals and sounds.  I don't care about the personal political, sexual or religious proclivities of the players.  Make me laugh, cry or be angry through the delivery of your special art not your political message. 

There is a place for satire in entertainment provided it's funny. Politics has no place on the Red Carpet or acceptance speeches. 

Few will ever forget the horror of the 1972 Olympics in Munich with the murders of promising young athletes.  The athletes did absolutely nothing to create animosity like so many of the Oscar competitors are doing today. Instead the violence and hate came from outside of the competition. 

  

Unarmed Security is Meaningless Because it Simply Facilitates Violence

Los Angeles, CA--As the final preparations are being made for Sunday's Oscar Awards Gala terrorism is a real possibility.  Terrorists love to create havoc during events that draw worldwide publicity.

Having untrained minimum-wage earning workers in pseudo police garb is beyond silly.  Thankfully the LAPD will be out in force with every possible resource to deal with these issues. 

I keep wondering when terrorists will employ mortars for assassination and terror within the USA? That may be old technology but teemed up with small computers those things would have amazing accuracy.  Air surveillance by helicopters or drones is  now more important than ever. 

Our large shopping malls are perfect soft targets because they phased out armed security over 40 years ago.  Before everyone had a cell phone there was an advantage to mall guards with radios.  They could notify their office to call police to deal with problems.  Now anyone can make the call so that became a game changer.  Now other than giving directions to confused shoppers or dealing with lost children they have no function.

The Gun Fee Zone concept works as long as criminals or terrorists are not involved.  Making a super-soft target of any public gathering site is pure insanity.  

Running, ducking and hiding does not save lives.  Armed resistance on the other hand is a proven lifesaver. 

Remember, when seconds count the cops are many minutes away. Once the cops arrive they can't tell the good guys from the bad ones. 

Trained and armed citizens or security people can react and end these unthinkable events on the spot.  

I must ask, why do the mall operators and politicians always  prefere solutions that they know don't work? 

My Review of the Jessie Owens Biopic Film, RACE.

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Los Angeles, CA--Last night I attended a screening of RACE at the Director's Guild Theater in Beverly Hills.  I was waiting and waiting to see my personal favorite actress, Carice van Houten playing Adolf Hitler's cinematographer, Leni Riefenstahl.    

Riefenstahl was more than a filmmaker, she was an amazing artist that invented film equipment like jibes and cranes that are still in use today. 

RACE was about the Berlin 1936 Olympic star athlete, Jessie Owens wonderfully played by a fine young actor, Stephan James.  

The script by Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel was a historically correct, spellbinding masterpiece.  

Actor, Jason Sudeikis rocked as Owen's coach, Larry Snyder.  The issues of racial differences and bigotry were overcome here by a simple conspiracy to make Owens the fastest man alive. 

In 1936 while World War Two was still unthinkable the Nazis were rounding up and deporting Jews.  That atrocity and others were not lost in this offering. 

The treatment of Jews by the Nazis was no small issue to the Olympic Committee.  There were serious questions of a USA boycott of the Berlin games. Avery Brundage played by Jeremy Irons and Jeremiah Mahoney played William Hurt proved well up to those important portrayals. 

Owens' personal life was expertly fleshed out through the terrific performance of Shanice Banton  as Ruth Solomon.  

My favorite actress, Carice van Houten thrilled me with an authentic German accent. This talented Dutch thespian has got a natural gift for languages as she effortlessly delivered her lines in both German an English.

The writers gave van Houten a special challenge to "selectively" translate some angry exchanges between Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, played by Barnaby Metschurat and Avary Brundage (Irons).

I love van Houten's special gift for facial expressions with her gorgeous big eyes subtly rolling.  You need never guess what she's thinking!  She grew up watching silent films and obviously learned that from the likes of Laurel & Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. 

Riefenstahl was not a Nazi but a opportunistic filmmaker using well  the envious and unlimited budget to showcase the Olympics.  She wouldn't even let Hitler dictate how to make this historic sports ducumentary. 

I'd love to see these writers and this director, Stephen Hopkins roll further with van Houten staring once again but this time in a second biopic of this amazing filmmaker. 

This is a must see film.  There are those people with preconceived political or racial notions that will expect a political spin.  There is no spin!  This is a showcase of determination to transcend hate, ugliness and politics through a sports competition to simply win the gold.  This film wins the gold! 

The trailer: 

We Must Kill All The TV News Anchors!

Los Angeles, CA--Kill them?  Not really but their jobs are meaningless.  They are overpaid, underworked and rarely are actually involved in creating news content.  

The anchor smiles, personalities and emotional response to news content serves no purpose other than to create a subtitle propaganda influence on each story.  Celebrity anchors help shape the simple minds of viewers and the audience votes. 

I don't think there's anyone that can't live without those rehearsed, TelePrompTer reading familiar news faces. 

One of the silly games played are those phony anchor questions, tossed to the field reporters.  They are designed to sound candid but they're written by the reporters in a rather poor attempt to make the anchor sound involved with or at least interested in the story. 

News, both broadcast and print is rapidly drowning in red ink.  The Internet is currently the real source for finding news content.  It's quick, easy and always on demand. Twitter and Facebook seems to get the breaking news information substantially faster that of our TV networks. 

Even the companion websites created by both TV and print publications have no anchors.  

The millions saved by removing the anchors could be used to beef up the actual news content creation.  More reporters, field producers to dig and tell the stories is a better choice for available funding.

Crime stories have never been reported in such a pathetic and lame manner.  The cops notify the media of an event such as an arrest or crime.  Rather than reporters out locating witnesses and those involved in the event.  They simply rely on the cops for the information. 

Today reporters stand around waiting for the official police propaganda officers to tell their version of the instant crime story.  The reporters then broadcast or publish exactly what the cops want, nothing less and certainly nothing more.  I find that process very troubling.  Why even hire reporters?  They're letting cops report the news anyway! 

It takes money and effort to flesh our a crime story.  To do it right the backgrounds of these news makers need fast examination.  People that disagree with the police version should be located, vetted and interviewed.  

Too often defense attorneys are overlooked.  News coverage of crime stories are rarely accurate.  Instead lies are redundantly repeated. Often the truth never surfaces until the case is being tried in a courtroom a year or two later. 

With depleted revenue enterprising reporting was the first thing to end in news.  Investigative reporting died because of the fear of lawsuits and legal fees by news executives.  Likewise they stopped hiring lawyers to enforce public records disclosure laws.  

Any meaningful check and balance on government fraud, waste and corruption went to Hell.  The media has surrendered its most important mission.  We now have news censorship by through simple declining revenue. 

There was a failed experiment to dump news anchors in the Bay Area. I confess that I never saw just what they did.

Perhaps it's time for simple graphics and a voiceover artist to introduce the stories and reporters. I for one can live without the on set anchor chit-chat.  The worst example is with breaking news like helicopter covered police chases.  

The anchors all blab on like they're police experts.  The more they say the more ignorance they display.  I'd rather hear raw police communications or narratives from the news chopper pilots especially location information. 

Drones for news gathering are the future. Despite the wild phenomenon of Drone Hysteria they are safer by far and cost a mere fraction of helicopters.  They also can also provide an often superior low altitude view. 

As for news organizations they better move in a hurry.  They need to get lean, improve their content and report news.  Eventually I see TV and Internet sites being mirror images. However the Internet version will repeat until the next show is ready for broadcasting and posting. 

The use of funds for anchors rather than effective  content providers is insane.  The failure of the media to lobby and litigate against drone limitations by the FAA is inexcusable and has already put the industry behind. 

The breaking news is, that news as we knew it must change. 

Should Apple be forced to help the FBI breach the security of an iPhone?

Los Angeles, CA--A judge here ordered Apple to aid the FBI in their investigation of the San Bernadino Terror case.  So far Apple has balked and is refusing to comply with the court order. 

Giving the government the power to see the material on our cell-phones to combat terror is far more dangerous than any terrorist on earth.  This would truly be the THOUGHT POLICE Orwell warned us about. 

A lot of people ask me why I love Germany. Here is the answer!

Aschaffenberg, Germany--it was December 1968 when after being drafted by the Army I wound up in this beautiful hamlet.  I was just about 15 miles from Frankfurt and was blessed to be assigned there as a medical corpsman.

It was Christmas time and I was in a strange land far away from home.  I decided that since I was a guest in  this nation I'd act like one. 

I was compelled to learn the customs, language and culture.  I stayed far away from fellow soldiers if for no other reason I liked the elegant German babes better.  

I soon found that the German people were incredibly kind to me.  I made some wonderful new friends and got an education few Americans ever get.  

The 18 months I spent in Germany  was the very best time of my life.  I traveled everywhere I could.  The money exchange rate was four Marks to the Dollar then. It was truly an adventure! 

If I made a mistake it was not staying there and finishing my education in a medical profession in Munich or Berlin.  

I never forgot the kindness and love that the German people showed me when I was so young.  

Over the last 25 years I worked on the Debra Milke Death Penalty travesty in Arizona.  I investigated not on her behalf but was hired by many media organizations to help them cover that nightmare.  

It turned out that I discovered early that Milke was framed and told that to anyone who'd listen. It turned out I was correct once again. 

The Milke case actually got me sent back to Europe three times.  The last trip in December was indirectly because of my involvement with the case.

ARMAGEDDON IS ON THE WAY!

Big Bend, TX--With the sudden death of Supreme Court Judge  Antonin Scalia we can count on Barack Obama to appoint a gun grabbing Communist to the court.  That would shift the court 180 degrees to the Left. 

It remains to be seen if foul play was involved in Scalia's death however at 79 he reached life expectancy for males he was however considered in good health.

My guess is we are a year away or less from a second Civil War as the Left will destroy our hard won freedom. We can try to wait and see but by then it will be too late.  Arguably any appointment could face delay by the Senate but should that happen the unrest will be severe.  

Obama has prepared his Homeland Security just as Hitler did with his SS.  They've been given huge resources and more than a billion rounds of ammunition to use against guess who? 

Internment camps are ready along with thousands of coffins for those that dare resist. I see absolute doom on the horizon.  

Can Obama's effort to appoint a Communist pal like Eric Holder to the court get derailed? Delayed perhaps but it's unlikely he can be stopped.  Martial Law can't be far behind. 

We fought for freedom before but will our young men and women even understand the importance of protecting our Bill of Rights enough to fight for them? 

Will any future election in America ever be trustworthy?  

Food, arms, medicines and ammunition will begin disappear from our shelves.  God help us all! 

McDonald's Must Change Radically or Die!

Oak Brook, IL--This Chicago suburb is the long time home of McDonald's headquarters.  The market share of this fast food icon has been slipping into the Abyss for the last decade.  Their schemes like 24 hour breakfast has done little.  Adding a few un-exciting menu items hasn't worked very well either.  

I have the cure.  It's incredibly simple but I think corporate arrogance has prevented this kind of necessary menu reform.  

McDonalds and burgers were matched from Ray Krock's grand idea.  This is six decades later and times and tastes have changed.  Frankly we need more choices today.  

Rival fast food enterprise Burger King is not without similar problems and they just announced they are adding hot dogs.  The pictures of their new offerings make it clear they don't have a clue of how to do dogs! Ketchup on hotdogs is not fit for human consumption! Yes, that's what they're offering? Yuck!

The big three hotdogs in America are Vienna, Nathan's and Best.  McDonalds should work with any of those but let me say I'm really partial to Vienna. 

Vienna will teach McDonald's about the simple Chicago dog because there's none better! Steamed dogs on a bun with the right stuff would up McDonald's market share by 30% across the board.  Screwing with the Vienna formula would be suicide. 

This would bring me back to the Golden Arches in a flash.  Burger Kings offering won't do anything but fail. 

Perhaps McDonald's can learn something from Portillo's another Chicago success story.  Portillo's is always filled to capacity unlike McDonalds or Burger King.  The two burger giants are past their prime and have lost their luster.  It's time to change or fold up the tent and go home. 

California Crime Boiling Over With New Gun Bans

Los Angeles, CA--As California's politicians enact new protections and enablements for its criminals the results were to be expected. 

As California arrogantly bucks the nationwide trend of reversing gun bans the crime rate here is going off the charts.  Police are unable to respond to even the more serious crimes in a timely fashion. So now even the cops and their union are telling people to pack heat. 

Guns are just as necessary other pieces of safety equipment like seat belts or fire extinguishers.  Without them and some training you and your family's lives are more endangered. 

For many decades after the invention of automobiles most people scoffed at the idea of wearing seat belts as unnecessary!  Statistics were clear that seat belts saved lives. Finally laws made using them mandatory.  You only need them if you get into an accident! 

You only need a gun when criminals threaten you or a family member's life!  Your chances of being a crime victim are much better than being in a car accident! 

Unlike seat belts those that choose to scoff at their own use of a firearm for self-defense want to dictate away the self-defense tools for others!  They fail to realize that cowardly criminals are actually deterred just knowing the victims they select may be armed.  In the end more armed law-abiding citizens armed the safer it is for everyone. 

Why to people believe a 911 operator on the phone is somehow more adequate than a gun in their hand? Of course those people that opted to stay unarmed don't have the training that would help them understand the effectiveness of defensive gun use.

Guns are used thousands of times a day to stop criminals cold in America.  Over 99% of the time these incidents just don't make news since not even a single shot is fired.  Instead the criminals simply run for their lives! 

Of course the gun owner that's unwilling to actually fire shots is likely to have their guns forcibly taken and used against the by criminals.  However our gift of fear and instincts for survival kick in and we do what we must. 

California's ban on carrying weapons for self-defense is still wrangling though the courts despite Two U.S. Supreme Court cases striking down similar bans.  

The choice is clear, take the risk of being unarmed or   not!  The gun bans for the most part are actually more lawless than carrying the gun! 

As for consequences ask yourself a simple question.  When was the last time a cop stopped and searched you on the street? The Fourth Amendment protects you and criminals from warrantless searches.  

If you use a gun for self-defense how are cops going to know if you were in violation of a carrying ban?  If you survive a crime who then cares is some gun ban may have been ignored? 

If you use deadly force no lawyer in the land will ever tell you to tell the cops what happened or if you pointed or fired a gun. That means rather than to blab you simply tell the cops you want a lawyer. 

Yours and your family's survival demands that you ignore gun those California gun bans as the likelihood of being targeted by violent criminals has arrived. 

Gun rights are just that, rights.  Guns are not something the government can license like automobiles. Of course politicians think they are above the law as they violate our rights. 

By the way the same Liberal politicians dictating your gun rights away are the ones letting criminals out of our prisons way too early!