Humpday Happenings...
Welcome to both the middle of our week...AND the end of the month.
Tomorrow we sail into the month of JULY, and, as I've come to expect in MY part of the city, "There Be Dragons...", which translates into "Welcome to the month where people with NO source of income (that is evident), somehow wind up spending HUNDREDS of bucks on FIREWORKS, all for the sole purpose to ANNOY you".
Okay, so hold that thought for a moment or two, because I've something of note that I want ALL you readers to know about.
*** Yesterday, as I was logging back onto this blog, a "message screen" came up, stating that THIS blog had a DMCA alert placed against it.
A DMCA is apparently the Digital Millennium Copyright Act , not to be confused with the DCMA - the Defense Contract Management Agency (as I would like to have hoped...LOL).
They went on to say that one of my posts should be re-edited.
(24 November 2009)
I followed their link and checked the post out.
I found neither ANY "objectionable" material, NOR any pictures that were not gotten free and clear from the Internet (unless the someone I got them from did something wrong, but it's not MY fault).
Now they also said they sent me an email (good luck with that), but I block every incoming address EXCEPT those on my list, and you KNOW who you are.
So, if this is someone "crying wolf", I'm not listening all that much, for anyone could send an "abuse or copyright alert" without reason or justifiable cause, if they wanted to be a regular S.O.B.
As goes the world, so goes this saying of mine:
"Anything will eventually rub someone the wrong way, at some point, and that becomes THEIR problem...not yours, especially when conveying the truth".
(yes, you may quote me)
Now, if this decides to escalate out of control, don't think I won't up and LEAVE BLOGGER, and head over to WORDPRESS, or some other blogging site that DOES NOT chase after wild geese at the drop of some loon's hat.
If you care to, archive the post in question and you tell ME if there's anything objectionable or if you see any copyright infringement.
(missing pictures were not "deleted", but may have been dropped from my Picasa storage...I do that from time to time to clean out duplicate images and make more room there...just so you know.)
We now return you to our regularly-scheduled blog post for the day.
Ah, yes the sound of fireworks in the ghettohood...not too far removed from the sounds of GUNFIRE that we ALSO "enjoy" all too frequently.
ON any "holiday", it can often sound close to Baghdad on a Friday night, if you get my drift.
People are setting off ordinance that would rival something on the order of an 81mm MORTAR (many of them being set off does sound pretty damn close to the real deal), and they think it's perfectly NORMAL behavior to do so.
Today's paper has an article about the use of fireworks in Fort Wayne (rolls eyes), so you can see for yourselves the ludicrous laws we have (please not that the locals down here chronically break every damn law they can, so this doesn't apply to THEM).
(( Many got head start on fireworks calendar - Benjamin Lanka / The Journal Gazette
FORT WAYNE – Although the sporadic booms started days ago, Tuesday marked the start of the 10-day window when fireworks can be ignited legally in Fort Wayne and New Haven.
Raquel Foster, Fort Wayne police spokeswoman, said the department has already received numerous complaints of fireworks use.
"We receive so many, sometimes we don’t have the manpower to respond," she said.
Unfortunately, she said, those complaints often make it difficult to find the culprits because only a general area is given for the offense. Foster encouraged residents to try to determine a specific location when calling in a complaint.
She said residents should call the police department’s non-emergency number – 427-1222 – to lodge a fireworks complaint.
State law allows Hoosiers who are at least 18 to set off fireworks on their own property or property they have permission to use.
There are minimal time restrictions – fireworks cannot be used before 9 a.m. or after 11 p.m.
Indiana law specifies 13 days as holidays – and all Sundays – when fireworks can be used until midnight.
But after numerous complaints from residents, including in Fort Wayne, the state gave municipalities the option to prohibit fireworks except for 10 days surrounding Independence Day and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The Fort Wayne City Council provided a bit more leeway by giving residents 17 days to set off pyrotechnics.
The city’s law makes fireworks legal from 5 p.m. to two hours after sunset – about 11 p.m. – on the five days before Independence Day and the five days after the holiday. Fireworks are legal from 10 a.m. to midnight July 4.
Fireworks are also legal from 10 a.m. Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. Jan. 1, and from 10 a.m. to midnight on Memorial Day and
Labor Day and the Sunday before those holidays.
The New Haven City Council adopted an ordinance to mirror Fort Wayne’s law to help make enforcement consistent.
Residents convicted of breaking the fireworks ban can be fined between $150 and $500 for each offense. The ban doesn’t keep adults from buying smaller pyrotechnics, such as sparklers or snakes, which will continue to be legal year-round. ))
And there 'ya go...idiocy run amok (at least in my part of town).
"Don't have the manpower to RESPOND" ???
You ARE joking, right Raquel?
Personally, I know that there ARE times when the SE quadrant is MINIMALLY-STAFFED...that's a given.
And I also know that fireworks have a LOWER priority than say "party armed" (signal 62).
But consider this...the manner in which many of these neophyte "pyrotechnicians" play with some of the larger fireworks does border on being a "party armed".
Consider also, that many times, the INTERSECTION of our streets is used for the "launch pad" of the aforementioned ordinance.
Just try driving through the area during a celebratory day...I dare 'ya!
These "people" just up and buy the fireworks, light 'em up, and run like hell...don't bother to read anything regarding SAFETY (probably can't read to begin with).
They don't care if the spent casings wind up on YOUR property (hey, they don't clean ANYTHING up as it is - but they DO so love to litter...must be in their genes).
If some white-hot shard from a missile falls on YOUR roof...keep the garden hose handy, for these folks don't give a rip about YOU...it's ALL about THEM!
Well, I got news for "them" this year...any ordinance that comes onto MY property, because of improper attention to safety or care WILL be reported to the FWPD...and ASAP. I have no love for those that infest my neighborhood, as they certainly have demonstrated like behavior towards us over the years.
It's more like a "living arrangement of inconvenience" than anything else.
Leave it to people such as THESE to ruin an otherwise nice holiday...where you can go see PROFESSIONAL FIREWORKS...for FREE.
(and at lots of locations in Fort Wayne, as well as other cities and town nearby)
The most we do at our house is smoke bombs (good for masking your movements...lol), snakes and sparklers (look cool at night).
Funny thing is, we have a playground (and small park) well within 2-3 blocks of our house that EVERYONE wanting to set off much larger fireworks COULD go to, and take the kids...have a nice time, enjoy a cookout...everyone in one place doing the same thing (where police can keep a covert eye on them).
But NO...they can't do that...because it requires having to DRIVE or WALK there...(and it's better to use the gas for getting fast food, ciggies, booze and drugs). Can't waste it on anything close to a "family event"...there isn't what any of US would call a REAL family to be seen for BLOCKS!
Diversity...gotta LOVE it, eh?
Well, this is what will happen when people become "entitled"...are shown that the only way to get ahead is to stick it to everyone else (including your own race)...and are taught that a a"handout" is way better than a "hand up" when it comes to being a responsible individual.
The only thing they will do for themselves is spend YOUR tax money...
Everything else revolves around them...and they know it, and flaunt it.
Sooner or later, EVERYONE has to ante up and pay the Piper.
Be nice to see how THEY decide to handle that one.
As for the REST of us...I know we'll be doing the right thing, and as I always say, NOT because it's EASY, but because we have learned to know better for everyone concerned what IS right...and what is wrong.
We will celebrate in a manner befitting the 4th of July, and not by some out-of-control, raucous gathering full of litter, stupidity, shouting, fighting, or (dare I say it?) gun play. We will be responsible in our celebration, and enjoy not only the reason behind the 4th, but the history behind it as well.
We can do no less as caretakers of this country.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.