[SOC] Don't get mad, get even.

[Todd Butler]

Quoting portions of what Jan wrote:

>Egad! (but slow down)
>
(Snip)

>The proliferation of security and law enforcement cameras seems to have gone a lot further over there than over here.
>
You got to go to the Big City (Cedar Rapids) some time.  Former Mayor 
Don Canney equipped the Cedar Rapids Air Force (the police department) 
with multiple aircraft with options like infrared night vision, laser 
speed detectors, multiple (public) service band radios, and a host of 
pilots.  Mainly to patrol about a ten mile stretch of Interstate 380 
from Prairie High School and the Eastern Iowa Airport to Hiawatha.   But 
if needed he claimed they could cover most of Linn County in less than 
ten minutes for any emergency, medical, fire, or crime scene.   I think 
they finally started sharing costs and benefits with the Linn county 
Sheriff after Buzz Sawyer was replaced.

>I'm more worried about the Patriot Act at the moment, which seems to be being consistently misused for standard law enforcement have nothing at all to do with terrorism or national security (which doesn't surprise me too much).
>
Like AG Ashcroft wants more power and authority?   A la Alexander Haig?

>Keep us posted. ((Two kids were killed near DeWitt Iowa the other day because they were standing on one set of tracks watching a train on the other. This is a line (the only one I know of) laid out many years ago by British engineers, therefore the trains run on the left. 
>
Blame the Brits.....after all they run the trains!   (grin)

>Two other kids were killed in my town about 20 years ago because they ran across the tracks in bad weather after one train had passed and were looking the wrong way when the other train struck them (I don't know why they just don't change it back, but no one seems to have thought of this yet). I suspect these kids were casually watching in the wrong direction for the other train.
>
I did the very same thing on the east end of the Beverly Yard in the 
early 1980's (I was about 25) watching a westbound train as an eastbound 
pulled out of the yard.  Note:  The Beverly Yard is located just south 
of Cedar Rapids, just north of the Eastern Iowa Airport, about a ten 
minute drive (at my speeds) west of Jan's QTH.   I stepped out of the 
way with plenty of time (very SOC of me) but still managing to snap six 
shots of the approaching SD38-2 (# 5058) as it closed on me.  I'm also a 
big rail fan and HO Scale modeler.

>Habits are hard to change.
>
My underwear is not a habit.  Wonder if a "habit" wearer has trouble 
changing?

73,      Todd      N0NCL    SOC  # 533