Friday Follies...
Well my friends, we have made it to another weekend...relatively UNSCATHED, unless you include the fact that CRUDE OIL has DROPPED to $85 a barrel, and we're STILL forking over $3.85 (and UP...mostly up) at the pumps, or the FACT that the Dow took a nosedive yesterday since our "debt-ceiling crisis" has been averted (yeah, the rest of the world is shaking now, too).
And that's about the BEST news we can find to end this week on...amazing.
Sure glad the government isn't "all that bad"...ROFLMAO!
This was the last Friday grocery trip for the Missus and I (we return to Saturdays next week...joy), and the Waynedale Scotts gave us a great "send-off"...a LONG wait in the checkout line (only ONE register was initially open)...astounding!
Still, it wasn't that bad..traffic was light (the "locals" are still nestled on the mattresses on the floors on their government-sponsored hovels, Lord bless them), and even before we set off, we had our OTHER "friends" stopping by...like my buddy, Gimpy the squirrel.
Wifey and I were talking about the traffic patterns down south here, and we've noticed the INCREASES all over the place.
Now, before you go and say it's "due to all the new businesses"...you're not correct in that thinking.
It's because these neighborhoods were FIRST designed with single family houses with perhaps ONE (maybe TWO cars), and not for EVERY damn household. THAT is why when people are allowed to park on BOTH sides of the street, it makes it damn near impossible to STILL have two-way traffic.
As for the larger, main thoroughfares?
Well, they're stretched to the limit when it comes to traffic flow. Look at South Anthony...or Lafayette, or even McKinnie (where all the FWCS bus stops seem to be), or even Rudisill or Oxford. They often back up like cheap toilets (which can be found in most any rental down here, btw).
Bad traffic patterns only ADD to the reasons that businesses shy away from down here, and if you drive up NORTH (where all the businesses seem to be), traffic there is HORRIBLE. It's like hurry up and WAIT when it comes to major intersections, but that is what happens when over development trumps proper traffic planning...
"Let's put the STORES in first...we'll worry about access and egress LATER..."
Yeah, that ALWAYS works...NOT!
(and then, due to CONSTRUCTION that has to occur to make traffic flow BETTER, traffic backs up EVEN MORE...)
You can never seem to win, that's for sure.
So, Happy Motoring, gang...enjoy the ride.
*** And speaking of "rides"...how's about a FREE one...like to DOWNTOWN?
(( Published: August 5, 2011 3:00 a.m.
Robber stages 3 heists in 5 hours, police say - Jeff Wiehe The Journal Gazette
He hit two drugstores and one gas station on Fort Wayne’s north side early Thursday.
Each time he’d pretend to browse around before making his way to the register. He’d demand money from the cashier and, if questioned, he’d reachbehind his back or root around in his pockets, making it at least look like he had a weapon.
His loot: cash, a bottle of vodka, orange juice, cigarettes and an energy drink.
And now Fort Wayne police are looking for him.
The man, described as 5-foot-8 to 6 feet tall, black with a medium build and a teardrop tattoo under one eye, began his robbery spree a little after midnight and ended it just before 5 a.m., struggling with one cashier along the way.
First, the man went into the CVS at 2802 E. State Blvd. at 12:35 a.m. and left with some cash, the vodka and the orange juice.
At the time he wore a red shirt, which police said he later shed.
He walked into the Walgreens at 2410 Coliseum Blvd. N. wearing a yellow shirt at 4:26 a.m. and left with just a carton of cigarettes. According to police, he had a struggle with the cashier before leaving.
Less than a half-hour later, at 4:51 a.m., he robbed the Marathon gas station at 5830 Coldwater Road of money and one energy drink.
Fort Wayne police are asking anyone with information to call the department at 427-1222 or Crime Stoppers at 436-7867. ))
But, WAIT...there IS a happy ending...
(( Editor's note: The man , Christopher Miles, suspected of robbing 3 Fort Wayne stores early Thursday morning was arrested in Decatur Friday, according to WANE. According to Decatur Police Chief Ken Ketzler, Christopher Miles was picked up between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. after several tips led officers to find him at the 17th Street Apartments. ))
Now, he's a "guest" of the Allen County lockup...enjoy your stay, Christopher.
That teardrop tattoo usually signifies how many people HE killed, or it can also mean the number of "friends" lost to rival gangs.
Either way, he's a loser!
*** And this story is interesting because of a "personal" involvement in years past.
(( Published: August 5, 2011 3:00 a.m.
‘Drano’ bomb left at city park
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A suspicious item found by a Fort Wayne police officer in Lawton Park was blown up by the FWPD bomb squad Thursday morning.
According to the Fort Wayne Police Department, the bomb squad was called to Lawton Park after a person walking in the park found a swollen 2-liter plastic bottle containing some type of substance at 6:52 a.m., according to police. The bomb technician responded and deemed the bottle a "Drano bomb," made out of a combination of materials including the product that helps unclog pipes.
FWPD said the officer found a two liter bottle that was elongated to twice its normal size, distorted, capped and filled with some kind of foamy substance.
The bomb had not exploded, and the bomb technician "disturbed" the bottle to make sure it was safe, police said.
Shortly before 8:00 a.m., the bomb squad blew up the bottle, which turned out to be a Drano Bomb that had not blown up.
A summer camp with Lakewood Park visited the area Thursday. Supervisor Colette Swathwood was disappointed someone would leave the bottle there, especially because so many kids visit.
"One of our things that we try to teach the kids is not to litter. So a lot of our kids go around and they're picking up trash and they're trying to be supportive of their community," Swathwood said. "To have them try and go up and do a good thing and be injured from something like that, we're going to have to go through and make sure we're educating our students."
Police do not know who put it in the park.
Thursday’s case marked the second time the department has investigated a bottle-type bomb – not necessarily a Drano bomb – this year, Foster said. There were 11 such cases last year.
Anyone who might have information about who left the bomb, is asked to call the police department at 427-1222. ))
About TEN (or so) years ago, we had a bottle bomb tossed on OUR lawn, and when it went off, you thought either a transformer popped or a damn water heater blew the hell up...yeah, they're THAT loud, especially when within 20 feet of your house.
I went outside the next morning and saw the remains of the bottle and some foil, so I "gloved-up", and placed the shards in a plastic bag, and then emailed our quadrant captain to see if they wanted to come by and pick it up.
To this day...not a word was said regarding this....Maybe, I should call the media and let them know how "involved" the command staff of the FWPD seemed to be all those years ago?
Now, I could "suppose" that bomb was there to "chase" us away...sorry, I don't scare THAT easily (and now, I can return fire with glee - note to criminals that think they're bad-assed...you have been warned, and ONE warning is ALL you will ever receive.)
These bottle bombs are VERY easy to manufacture, and I can attest that I could make one in a few minutes...without using DRANO...and I could make it a LOT more "effective"...yeah, some things you never forget, even if it was in another "lifetime".
People are becoming more adept at making this homemade crap, thanks to the Internet, and items like The Anarchist's Cookbook...like we really need THAT these days to motivate these twisted individuals.
The FWPD bomb squad did an OK job of dealing with the "device", but it could have been handled a bit differently.
They could have just used a set of long-handled "grips" (or the robot "BOB"), then PLACED the bottle into a "containment" vessel, and then taken it away to be detonated ELSEWHERE, instead of ON THE DAMN BRIDGE.
As it stands now, the bridge suffered TWO damaged planks, that will have to be replaced.
And, if the device had something "else" inside it, there could have been frag damage within a radius of a good TWENTY feet.
But, it's not like I know anything about such stuff...
(and I was never here, either...lol)
*** Lastly today, are you ready for difficult times?
If we rolled back to Depression-Era times, how well would you fare?
Can you cook? Sew? How are those survival instincts doing?
Now, I'm not saying we're all soon to become Grizzly Adams, living off the land, for in such times as these, society has been all but weaned off of the self-sufficiency that our predecessors enjoyed.
I don't think we're heading towards Armageddon yet, but with the state of the GLOBAL economies, and the manner in which America fits into the mix, it could rough-going for a while.
We might have to do without some things...we might have to prioritize what we deem as NECESSITIES, and even do the unthinkable...SAVE MONEY (or look for alternatives to money).
If that means getting precious metals...fine.
If that means precious gems as well, okie-dokie. (because even the gemstone markets are RISING past levels I could never imagine)
The price of DIAMONDS are following the price of GOLD...and SILVER.
And, if we look back to antiquity, precious STONES were some of the FIRST currencies we had on the face of the planet.
There are many ways we can see ourselves through such things, but the foremost method is knowing what to do when the unexpected comes along.
We can never prepare for EVERY eventuality, but by God, we can sure prepare for a FEW of them.
And if every one of us takes some time to re-evaluate our life, and how we can make it as good as we can, for as long as we can, we WILL come out the other side of this none the worse for wear.
That, my friends is much of the story of THIS nation; people who LEARNED...people who can LEAD, and people who can TEACH.
We can always do better, but it should never have to take a Sword of Damocles hanging over our head to urge us into motivating ourselves.
THAT we should be able to accomplish BY OURSELVES...FOR ourselves, and then to help others do likewise.
It's who we are..and who we should be...all the time.
Have yourselves a great weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.