Humpday Happenings...
Middle of the week, and some really nice weather in the Heartland (for a needed change). Moderate temps and cooler nights prevail.
Wifey took her car in for some pre-school fixin', and that didn't dent the Hip-National Bank (also, for a welcome change).
If there's one thing you don't want, it's to have your vehicle strand you when you least expect it, so an ounce of "prevention" certainly IS worth that pound of "cure" they always talk about.
(Did I mention she goes back to school on my BIRTHDAY this coming Monday? How lame is THAT?)
Alone on your birthday...well, not exactly. I still have the two CATS, and the "critters" that stop by...and of course, ALL of YOU folks out there.
Works for me.
Could always be worse, right?
*** First up, today is a special day for a certain fellow blogger out there.
THE OBSERVER (link at left) is TWO years old TODAY...CONGRATS!
I find this blog a really good read, and has plenty of diverse happenings in and around KCMO to keep one interested and coming back.
I especially enjoy the "car events" out there...but I'm a closet "gearhead" at heart.
So, a very HAPPY SECOND ANNIVERSARY...may you have many more years of items to rant and/or rave about.
*** Next, I was listening to the police radio yesterday when I heard a call come over about an officer who was at a house where the resident found some "metallic cylindrical items"...
The officer read off one of them: "12 grams...CO2...keep away from children...yada, yada, yada..."
Now this alone is not cause for alarm.
Hell, I have over FORTY of the damn things at my disposal for my .43 caliber paintball pistol AND my assorted BB pistols...no biggie.

But the officer asked dispatch "I want to know how I should transport and dispose of them?"

To quote Momma Fargo - ((*blink-blink*))
You ARE kidding me, right?

How's about dropping them in a BAG and CARRYING them someplace else (like to MY house, if they're unused)?
At that point, I was somewhere between laughter and crying.
You mean to tell me that we have police officers (on our streets) that are NOT acquainted with CO2 cartridges?
They NEVER shot or handled a BB gun that uses them?
(but they ARE carrying a loaded REAL gun?)
Now that is somehow a bit disconcerting...
I mean, it takes a LOT to make the cartridges rupture, and unless they're all rusty as hell, they're safe (especially if the end has a hole where it had been pierced)...(rolls eyes)...Jeezus, gimme a break here.
Could the FWPD have "Officer Uninformed " report to my place, and I can take him downstairs to my BB shooting gallery and give him the $5 tour?
*** This story has to be fully understood in order to be of ANY value.
It reports on Hoosier kids and how they're faring when it comes to "poverty".
Here's the link to the article:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110817/LOCAL/308179980
Indiana is ranked 31st (out of 50, naturally), and even MICHIGAN is above us (30).
Now, we talked the other week as to what constitutes POVERTY these days, right?
So, you need to "read between the lines" here.
The Fed poverty line is $21,756 for a family of 4 (2 adults - 2 kids).
Granted that variables such as unemployment, foreclosures, and divorce can play a large part in a child's well-being.
But that doesn't mean that EVERY single child exposed to such things is going off the cliff.
Kids are pretty damn resilient...I know. I was one once.
Now, if that "family of four" IS making under that $21K (and change), how much MORE is added thanks to assistance programs and the like?
They "could" be raking in DOUBLE that $21K in "benefits" elsewhere (there are OVER 400 assistance programs available), so actually, they are not REALLY in poverty, are they?
Well, all those cell phones the kids carry around bears that out, as I'm sure that 40 inch TV in the living room does.
There is always MORE here than meets the eye...all you have to do is discover it, and know the truth.
*** Looks like the Fort Wayne recycling gig is working...
Here's the link to a story about it:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110817/LOCAL/308179972
City Council wants to roll back the cost by $1.05 for trash pickup (that should pay for the SEWER upgrade, so that money's shot-to-hell).
A decent plan...sort of.
Because more people recycle, this "cost-reduction" is passing through the city budget departments like crap through a goose.
And that's all well and good...sort of.
See, the way *I* look at this, those homeowners who DO recycle should be the beneficiaries of any and all cost reduction...we're doing OUR part.
Everyone else needs to "get on the same bus, or put on their walking shoes" to get where we're all going with this.
I can't see giving people who do NOT recycle any "break" in trash pickup fees...let THEM earn it, or better yet, let them pay MORE.
Seems kinda heartless, but if you want a plan to work with as many folks as you can get, make it difficult for those who don't want to play.
But don't "reward" those who don't recycle by giving them lower rates.
That's like giving the whole class an *A* when only FIVE kids (out of 30+) got one on a damn test...
Right?
*** Lastly, it seems today that everyone loves a winner...even more than in times past.
Everyone HAS to be a winner, and there are those that would not permit anyone to ever lose at anything, any time, for any reason.
Now, that's just plain pie-in-the-sky nonsense.
We ALL have ups and downs in our lives...some more than others, and some pretty damn severe.
We have the marvelous successes, and the glorious defeats.
All of these help make us who we are.
We can never learn anything without losing (at) something once in a while.
Life would also be pretty damn boring if we WON all the time, and never knew defeat.
Like kids, we all are resilient beings.
We bounce back, or at least should learn to.
We fall off the bike, and we get right back on...and wind up becoming adept at riding it.
We fall down, skin a knee, and get back up and try again...that's what WE do.
But when someone decides to make everyone a winner, that may elevate a few, but it diminishes the many.
Those few are led to believe that being made a winner under false pretenses allows them to grow as a person.
That is incorrect thinking, and will have consequences later on in life.
We NEED to strive, and to fail occasionally, so that we can get back on track and eventually achieve that victory we sought.
It may not be THE win we were looking for, as there are various conditions OF victory, but we take our wins wherever we find them.
Victories, as well as defeats (and people) come in ALL shapes and sizes, and the best we can hope to do, is to perform at the highest level we can, in order to lessen our defeats and magnify our personal victories.
We do that through persistence, with knowledge and wisdom, and patience.
It's not something new...it's just something we should be reminding ourselves of...every day.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.