Chop-chop goes bye-bye; sheriffs to have a fried egg sandwich sale?

Divers searched Friday for a high-tech drone belonging to a suburban Houston sheriff’s department that crashed into a lake.

Deputies from the Montgomery Co. Sheriff’s Department said a search had begun after the quarter-million dollar “ShadowHawk” unmanned aircraft went missing in Lake Conroe, northwest of Houston, according to news reports. The money for the drone came from a Homeland Security grant.

The drone, built by Vanguard Defense Industries in nearby Spring, Texas, can be used in military and public safety settings. Or, so it would seem, both. But one use for the now water-logged craft not used is surveillance, said a law enforcement spokesman. It is used for “operation overwatch” such as in SWAT operations. That wouldn’t be surveillance now would it?

The sheriff’s agency headquartered in Conroe created quite a controversy, a.k.a. “shit storm,” after it was purchased about two years ago. One must now wonder if the department will hold a fried egg sandwich sale as a way to dispose of all that egg which must be accumulating on their collective faces?

Okay, you may have guessed by now I am not a big drone fan. At least I don’t care much for drones outside of a military setting. I am likewise not so sure the unmanned aircraft should be used as widely as they are in defense and intelligence. I am concerned about potential abuses by law enforcement and other government agencies such as with spying.

Also, I just plain don’t want the sky filled with the damn things.

Businesses have said they want to use drones for home delivery of products. What? And do away with all those great legs in UPS and postal service shorts?

It just seems the potential for a lot of nuisance, like swatting mosquitoes.