Tuesday Tidbits...
Got some curious "odds and ends" to get to this morning, "So let's have another cup of coffee...and let's have another piece of pie", as the jingle used to go. (for breakfast? Sure, why not? I like cold pizza myself...lol)
*** And speaking of coffee...if you enjoy it as much as I do, you might have found THIS story interesting:
Here's the link to the source article:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/coffee/map.html
Did you know that the TOP TEN coffee-producing nations were:
1) Brazil (22.5 mil bags)
2) Colombia (10.5 mil bags)
3) Indonesia (6.7 mil bags)
4) Vietnam (5.8 mil bags)
5) Mexico (5 mil bags)
6) Ethiopia (3.8 mil bags)
7) India ( 3.8 mil bags)
8) Guatemala ( 3.5 mil bags)
9) Cote d' Ivoire (3.3 mil bags)
10) Uganda (3 mil bags)
Well, THAT certainly explains the ONE HUNDRED TROOPS that the Obama administration recently SENT to Uganda...
(they're there to protect our coffee interests...!)
Actually, it might be due to OIL that Uganda is sitting on...just a hunch.
Didn't know THAT many nations did the java-gig.
And VIETNAM?
Considering where most of these countries lie on the globe, the regions of specific climates make sense to me.
Just keep the brew coming, and you won't have to deal with a caffeine-depleted ME...got it, guys?
(not a pretty picture...AND I have guns...LOL)
*** More followups on the Ian Crace murder trials...
Andre Washington was sentenced yesterday (about damn time), and here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111018/LOCAL03/310189982
Amazing how family and pastors paint a much different picture of Andre...(a real nice guy who preached in church)...and now a convicted felon.
My, my...how things DO change.
He's going to be gone for 45 years (5 suspended), with the murder and felony murder dismissed as part of the (rolls eyes) PLEA AGREEMENT.
Wonder how that would have worked out with John Wilkes Booth...or Lee Harvey Oswald...or Sirhan Sirhan??
Makes me wonder WHERE the hell the word JUSTICE has disappeared to these days.
DeAngelo Bennett also pleaded guilty to the ROBBERY, but NEITHER one admitted to pulling the trigger of the gun that killed Crace.
Basically, Judge Surbeck called this "an ambush".
In any event, there is little consolation for a family that lost a son (and who worked for a living, instead of the two pieces of human filth that took that man's life). Justice...seems to mean something a bit different that what is used to be...doesn't it?
*** And we had an armed standoff yesterday on the east side of the city.
Here's the link to this story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111018/LOCAL07/310189973
I was following this on the radio...they got the perimeter established REAL fast and rather extensively to boot.
The call was listed as a *65A* (suicide attempt), and the person holed up in the house was said to be armed (I heard with a rifle, didn't catch the caliber). SWAT rolled on this, got out the V-100 Commando armored car, a CP (command post) was set up a couple blocks away and a negotiator attempted to talk the man down. Even got to hear the "nicknames" of a few of the SWAT team members as they were getting staged.
Snipers were setting up around the neighborhood, and people were instructed to remain inside their residences.
At one point, the police could not establish communication with the man, and it was said he was "out of minutes", so a TRACPHONE was going to be secured in the negotiations.
After 3 hours, the man was finally taken into custody, and no one was injured in the entire OP.
Some people (like the woman in the article) wonder why a "small army" trains their weapons at ONE man with a rifle who is suicidal?
Well, it has to do with the whole "ARMED and potentially dangerous to himself and/or other people" thing, dear.
Remember when I say that ONE MAN can make a "difference"?
Well, THIS kind of difference could mean that an officer might or might not be going home alive, or that the suicidal man may or may not wind up on the receiving end of a .308 bolt-action.
It all depends on the circumstance, so you opt for safety in numbers AND the ability to act as required should the situation change at a moment's notice. Every scenario is different, and you train for such things as best you can.
Logistically, staging such an OP involves a lot more than you see on TV shows.
Let's just say that this situation had the best possible outcome for all concerned.
*** When you live in the ghettohood as I do, you become used to seeing certain things...some things will change with the seasons, while others will seemingly not change one bit.
You see a vacant house...been vacant since the owner passed 2 years ago...typical.
We have houses that have sat vacant for MUCH longer. And you think little of it, even if that house is close by.
SO, imagine MY surprise when I go out to check the garden and see if the backyard needs mowing, and discover THIS:
The vacant house next door was nicely broken into at the loft area over the garage, with the siding ripped away, baring the studs.
So, I called the FWPD, and they dispatch an office to the scene, where I give him the "$5 tour" of the back of the place, replete with rickety ladder still propped against the house.
I get a bit concerned, since this butts up against our fence, and I don't like anyone getting too close to OUR place, unless they've been hired BY US to be there, or have been otherwise INVITED to be there.
The officer noted that the residence might be condemned outright, considering the condition of it now, and that to have it torn down will take close to TWO YEARS (the city DOES have a huge backlog, and they don't care about the SE side anyway - I've found that much out).
Now, this represents a REAL hazard to OUR property (it's not bullet-proof or fire-proof), should some arsonist decide to practice his craft, as it were.
I don't much like seeing our place turned to toast because the city can't board the damn place the hell UP.
Then, there's the situation with wild critters getting into the place, and we're talking the FOUR-footed variety.
(got enough of the 2-footed animals around here as it is)
To me, it's a safety AND a health hazard now.
Wifey even mentioned that if and when the place does get razed, she'd consider buying the GROUND and extending our fence line to include that property. I like that idea, because it would keep the Barbarians a bit farther "from the gates" on THAT side anyway.
But, you have to make sure no one comes OVER the fence (and you have to shoot 'em), or trespasses, plus the TYPE of fence (and cost) needs to be considered. For the price of the fence and the property, we could add some new doors and windows and even a roof for the house.
Lots to consider here. but at least the property taxes would still not be all that much, as opposed Io other places further away that cost a helluva lot more. Crazy stuff, this ghettohood living...especially when you're a lot more "normal", than damn near everyone else living around you.
Financially, it makes sense to remain...we can bank a lot more than if we had a mortgage and much higher taxes and utilities.
The down side, is that this area and it's "inhabitants" pretty much suck-on-ice (and that's being way too kind).
My preference would be to tear down ALL the hovels...clear the damn slate, and then begin anew with a REAL purpose and a REAL reason to revitalize this part of the city, removing as much of the criminal element as is humanly possible.
That would be a REALLY nice idea.
And the best part about those ideas....THEY, (unlike our house or ourselves) are bulletproof.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.