My review of downtown San Francisco.  I traveled to San Francisco for a couple days to support the Wolford v Lopez hearing in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which is located in the middle of downtown.  Subway from the Airport to Downtown SF during the day was okay and it was surprisingly clean. There were a couple of homeless people sleeping in the car

First thing out of the station, I see two homeless guys scrapping.  There were 2 security guys in reflective jackets trying to stop them, kind of.  All they did was just try and get between them, but the two guys kept scrapping.  SF has a lot of security and law enforcement in the tourist and financial districts.  They just stand around and don't do much. I guess they only get involved when the homeless mess with tourists and businessmen or do something major.  Most of the retail stores, malls, and hotels have a security guy at the door.  Go a couple blocks off the main strip, and there are no police or officers to be seen and it gets more sketchy.






It's relatively okay during the day, equivalent to Downtown Honolulu at midnight.  There's homeless screaming, sleeping on the ground, begging, and wandering around dazed.    There is  quite a bit of poo on the ground in the early morning where I have to watch my step.  A poo patrol goes around to clean it up. Most of the homeless are well dressed.  Guess that's all the clothes they steal from the stores.   People also openly use and sell drugs on the street.  Anything from pakalolo to black tar heroin.





Nighttime reminds me of the old NES Castlevania game where regiular people come out during the day, but are replaced by vampires and monsters at night. They have a "swap meet" to sell things like tidepods, handbags, and clothes.  The homeless setup their camps for the night alongside my hotel.  These pics are from early in the night and it gets worse around midnight.

Other NATO allies don't have to come to Hawaii's defense if attacked, due to we are not in the Atlantic region.  We need to get more guns.  And more Aloha spirit!

This US state is not covered by the NATO treaty. Some experts say that needs to change
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/29/us/nato-treaty-hawaii-intl-hnk-ml-dst/index.html

“People tend to assume Hawaii is part of the US and therefore it’s covered by NATO,” he says.  But, he concedes, the tip-off is in the alliance’s name – North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Hawaii is, of course, in the Pacific, and unlike California, Colorado or Alaska, the 50th state is not part of the continental US that reaches the North Atlantic Ocean on its eastern shores.
“The argument for not including Hawaii is simply that it’s not part of North America,” Santoro says.

I bought the Axil XCOR Bluetooth earplugs ($188 after disc, 21-23nrr) after seeing it advertised on Facebook a lot.  I prefer plugs over muffs for comfort, and have used the SportEars custom plugs ($1200, 29nrr) and 3M EEP100 w/skullscrews ($250, 23-30nrr) in the past.

The XCOR regular price is $199 and $299 with Bluetooth and there are regular discounts of 30 to 40% off.  It comes with a charging battery case, silicone tips 21nrr, foam tips 23nrr, and USB C charging cable.

The charging case is small and easily fits in a pocket.  The plugs are a bit in the larger side but fit comfortably and stay in well.  You could wear them all day with no problem.  These are rated for 12 hours of hearing control, 6 hours Bluetooth only, and 4 hours of hearing and Bluetooth. These ratings seem accurate with my use and 12 hours is more than enough to get through an extended range day.

These do an adequate job of blocking gunfire at the outdoor Koko Head bullseye pistol range.  I haven't tested the XCORs at an indoor range yet, but I'd expect the 23nrr is just enough for standard pistols, and anything more powerful would require doubling up.  My old 3Ms 30nrr was usable just by themselves at indoor ranges with the exception of muzzle brakes and the most powerful calibers.

The XCOR filters down loud noises which is better than cutting off all volume that cheaper stuff does, like the popular Howard Leight muffs.  However It does so noticably with a slight lag to return to normal volume.  Not bad, not great.  My SportEars did the same magically where you didn't notice it filtering.  The 3Ms cut off all sound for a split second which is a bit jarring.

The hearing enhancement is adequate.  There are 3 levels of enhancement from 1x, 2x, and 6x.  It performs as expected amplifying soft sounds and speech is clear.  However there is white noise from a soft hiss at 1x that you'll ignore after a short time but it gets louder at 6x where you probably won't use it.  I've found nothing that tops my old SportEars which were crystal clear and I could hear conversations at the other end of the firing line.  They were basically hearing aids that blocked sound. My 3Ms were poor in comparison with speech a bit muddied and the max amplification was about 1.5x..

I like having Bluetooth on my muffs/plugs as I use a shot timer app on the phone.   I don't bother other shooters next to me. The volume is loud.  Sometimes I'll listen to podcasts and the speech is clear.  The microphone for taking phone calls is just usable.  Music quality is just adequate with weak highs and lows.

Overall they're a good value for what they cost.  I just wish the NRR was higher.  It is a good improvement from my 5 year old 3Ms, but still nowhere near the performance of my 15 year old SportEars.

https://goaxil.com/products/xcor

On the down side, more taxes and fees for us.  On the plus side, I don't think the gun buyback and the new gun violence office are happening.



Bad News For The Budget: Maui Fire Costs Could Top $600 Million This Year Alone

Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz told his colleagues in a memo last week the state’s share of the recovery effort this year alone may amount to $600 million, which is the sum Gov. Josh Green had earmarked in his financial plan for the Maui recovery during the next four years.

The state must also budget for hundreds of millions of dollars in hazard pay that is still owed to state workers from the pandemic, Saiki said, adding that the combined cost of hazard pay and the upfront wildfire recovery costs this year may top $1 billion.

https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/02/bad-news-for-the-budget-maui-fire-costs-could-top-600-million-this-year-alone/


Proposed HECO Bailout Bill Could Force The Utility Company To Restructure

The fundamental change sought by HECO would allow the company to impose new fees on its 460,000 customers statewide outside the standard ratemaking process.

https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/02/proposed-heco-bailout-bill-could-force-the-utility-company-to-restructure/

Armed citizen assists a cop with felony stop.   I can see issues with an untrained person shooting when they shouldn't or adding complexity in a situation for cops.  But it will be a godsend for cops in dire situations or in remote areas where backup is a long ways away.



Another story.  HPD Chiefs worst dream, armed citizen defends 2 cops


Deeter story on saving the cops
https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/i-drop-an-entire-magazine-fox-13-news-talks-to-man-who-helped-save-whatcom-co-deputies

Saw the Vietnam memorial wall in Hilo today.  I've seen the original and the replica before and just thought it was a wall with names on it.  I took a short tour this time and was enlightened to what the wall means.

The wall designed by a 21 year old college student in a contest with 1,400 entries.  Veterans hated the design of the wall which was plain, below ground level like a ditch, and black - the color of sorrow.  It didn't show any grandness or heroism that monuments usually do.  Maya Ying Lin, who was Chinese and born in Ohio, received a lot of hate mail for her race and age, and that the wall represented communism.

The reason the Wall won was because of the care and symbology she graced it with.  The wall represented a wound, as if a giant knife cut a wound into America, splitting it apart, with both ends extending into the ground.  The black granite, a fairly rare material, represents the color of the earth and is long lasting.  The wall was polished so a person can see their reflection in it to connect the living and the lost.  One end of the wall points to the Washington monument with the other pointed to the Lincoln memorial showing it's place in history.

The names, no ranks listed, are listed in chronological order not from end to end, but from the center.  This is to show that everyone was the same regardless of rank, race, or time they died.  The first panel in the center represents all of the service members who died in the first 5 years of the war.  The 2nd represents the next 5 months. The 3rd panel represents deaths in the next 5 days, to include those soldiers in the La Drang battle.  The chronological order allows those who died together to be listed together.  it also tells the story of the war like a diary.

Learn more about it


https://www.vvmf.org/About-The-Wall/history-of-the-vietnam-veterans-memorial/

There is no right to keep and bear shopping carts!  They must be regulated.

Join the Task Force!

Reminder not to drop the slide on a empty chamber to prevent wear and breakage.  I used to manually put a round into the chamber and ease the slide forward onto it, and check for lock.  But that can put pressure on the extractor as explained in the video.

CA sensitive places injunction paused in 9th circuit court of appeals pending consideration by 3 member panel.  California's ban is similar to Hawaii's, but lawsuits are different as the CA lawsuit challenges everything while Hawaiis is limited.
Hawaiis partial injunction is still in place.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-appeals-court-allows-california-bar-guns-most-public-places-2023-12-30/

Mr Beast built 100 wells in africa to provide water for a half million people and some people find it controversial.

I find the topic of Africans needing clean drinking water fascinating.  Something so simple we have in the US today and don't think about is a matter of survival in other parts of the world.  Something to be thankful for.  I went over it a little in the water filter thread.  https://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=50349.0

MrBeast is a popular YouTube celebrity with the 2nd largest fan base of 213M and has videos on crazy things he does. He also does charity work and in this video he builds 100 drinking water wells in Africa which I find amazing.  But some find it controversial due to capitalism, white supremacy, and object to black people needing help from white people.

Just want to give credit where credit is due and encourage people to donate and put in the time for charitable work.