Humpday Happenings...
March came in like a lamb, and in our house, it seems to want to go out like a dead mongoose.
Our newest addition to our computer family (3 members...and counting) has once AGAIN decided to pack it in for spring break.
Now, you all KNOW how much I love these devices (yeah, love to toss them out a 10th floor window), so, suffice it to say, it will most likely need ANOTHER trip to a repair shop. I swear we can't seem to have ANY system for a year around here...must be some Indian burial ground nearby...or all the "bad vibes" I get from our "neighbors"...LOL.
I already reloaded the OEM disk and basically reformatted the C drive (not MY first choice, but I had no alternative), in the "hope" it would bring everything back to specs. Only problem now, is that it can't seem to find the Internet connection we had last night (and still have, by the way).
That computer is one screwed up f$cktard of a system!
I'm on (my) the "other" PC, and although I have been slowed down, I have NOT been halted...so there, Microsoft...suck on that.
In the meantime...
*** An update to yesterday's homicide:
(( Victim slain days short of 21st birthday / Holly Abrams - The Journal Gazette
Fort Wayne police want to know what prompted Monday night’s slaying of a city man.
Allen County’s ninth homicide victim this year was identified as Stanford Walker, 20, of Fort Wayne, who was shot to death, according to autopsy results released Tuesday by the Allen County coroner. Walker would have turned 21 today.
Officers were called just before 9:30 p.m. Monday to the 7900 block of Serenity Drive, just off Decatur Road.
When police arrived, they found Walker suffering from gunshot wounds in a grassy area just north of an apartment building at 7942 Serenity Drive.
Walker was critically wounded and placed in an ambulance. He died before reaching a hospital, police said.
Police believe Walker, who did not live on Serenity Drive, was outside an apartment building when he was shot.
Serenity Drive houses the Arbors of South Towne Square Apartments on the south side and Centennial Townhomes on the north side.
No witnesses have come forward to say they were with Walker at the time, police spokeswoman officer Raquel Foster said.
There is no indication Walker was robbed, and neither drugs nor gang activity are believed to have played a role in the slaying, she said.
"We don’t even know why he was there," she said, adding that police have no suspects.
A 911 caller reported seeing a white car leaving the area after gunshots had been fired.
Foster said it’s unclear whether that vehicle had any role in the killing.
All but one of the county’s homicides this year have been in Fort Wayne.
Police are asking that anyone with information call Crime Stoppers at 436-7867.
Callers can remain anonymous.
habrams@jg.net ))
Now, that picture doesn't look like a "family portrait", and I know for a fact this Mr. Walker wasn't what one would call a "model student" during his stint in the FWCS system.
Let's just say this might have been a "wrong place, wrong time" incident, especially when it comes to the 7900 block of Serenity Drive.
It's sad that a person has to be cut down in this manner, but at the same time, you have to acknowledge that this typifies the issues facing cities today with growing populations of "disenfranchised" ethnicities (shall we say).
(( Here is a "review" of these apartments:))
http://yellowpages.superpages.com/reviews/userreviews.jsp?SRC=bpo&EG=2&LID=afi6myvhxE3%2FH6sbiA5pOg%3D%3D&PI=1&attres=true&lbp=1&lrv=1
And this PDF is about the complex itself:
http://www.in.gov/ihcda/files/20051026.pdf
Decide for yourselves...
(reminds me of some places in Camden, NJ that you DON'T want to ever visit.)
And, as with so many other cases, we again have NO witnesses, in spite of the fact that this area (and it's "high-rise" apartments) is what one could call an "area of interest" (read hot spot) in the city. There are too many people there NOT to have seen something, especially with SIX shots being fired.
Yes, more of that "desensitivity" I mentioned yesterday.
What I found curiously disturbing, is that the PIO (Raquel Foster) said in a statement to the TV media was that "People will probably NOT see more police CARS in the area, but there WILL be an increase in the department's EFFORTS..."
WTF is THAT supposed to mean?
How can you have more EFFORT and NOT have more PRESENCE in the damn area?
How is any officer going to exhibit more EFFORT? They gonna drive FASTER when responding?
And how is NOT having any MORE cars in the area beneficial?
I mean, I will attest that the department ALREADY has a (significant) problem with such things as stopping SPEEDERS...NOISE violations (out the ass)...and all sorts of traffic "no-nos" such as u-turns at intersections, overly-tinted windows, and reverse driving up a street. But that's aside from the drug houses that are still operating, and the scrappers that prowl our streets and alleys looking for some vacant house to pillage.
But that's just in MY neighborhood, and I'm SURE the department mandate clearly states that the EFFORTS being made in my area have no doubt DOUBLED. (rolls eyes)
Yeah, that MUST be true, because I'm certainly NOT seeing any more patrol cars in the area, so the EFFORTS must be what I can't see...and it's sure paying off in dividends...NOT.
The FWPD can't seem to even catch ONE boomcar that has been harassing our house for the past few months (the "Mr. Loudass" I spoke about the other day - marvelously obnoxious skinhead white-trash moron driver of that silvery-blue Buick Lesabre with tag number 971 BJN...yeah THAT guy). Hell, I placed another call into dispatch on the 27th, and what did I find on the blotter the following day?
Not one single control number or incident report for the call I placed...zip, zero, nada.
Goes to show that a lot of EFFORT is going into pulling this asshat over, doesn't it?
Well, I've always been a devout follower of that good old "broken window" theory.
You let the "small sh*t" go long enough, and pretty soon, you're up to your chest in BIG SH*T!
Welcome to MY neighborhood..where small sh*t runs like a rain-swollen river!
And that will inevitably lead to all the BIG sh*t I can see coming this way like a jail on wheels.
Hell, I predicted as much...YEARS ago, when I saw trends that would be a portent of things to come in our neighborhood...and I was right (again). Some things are SO obvious to some of us, while totally obscure to others.
But hey, far be for me to question HOW the city SHOULD be run (aside from into the crapper...and by the looks of things, they're doing a damn good job of it).
I'm still fighting with computers that don't want to work. (just like all my "neighbors"...lol)
These are the times that try men's' souls (as Thomas Paine noted)...and women's souls as well. None of us are exempt (unless we're under the caring hand of our fearless leader who sees fit to take from the taxpayers to give to the limp, lame and lazy..because he can). It doesn't appear to get easier for us who still care about something or someone...there is always something on the horizon we need to be watchful of, and lord knows we're keeping a lookout for such things.
Still, it would be really nice to catch a break from all the "action" once in a while, don'cha think?
Collectively, we all need a breather; a respite from all that we're assailed with daily.
Used to be that a nap in the afternoon solved that problem.
Not anymore.
We need for the world to back off from us...just for a little while.
Let us be able to recharge our psyche...renew ourselves, so we can begin again with the fervor for doing what is right and just.
We owe that much to ourselves and those we care about.
Be well, make a difference today, and...
Stay safe out there, America.