11 January 2012

Humpday Happenings...
Welcome to a "transition day" in our weather patterns here in the Heartland (so says the local meteorologists). Today will be mild, ending in rain, which will turn over to snow, with temps dropping faster than Tiffany stocks on Wall St. The low for tonight will very likely be the HIGH for tomorrow.
And that's not to be confused with the "high" most all the locals manage to obtain.
With that said, let's get rolling, because today's post has MORE links than a JIMMY DEAN sausage factory and is packed tighter than an ad for CURVY KATE brassieres.
(sigh - leave it to those Brits )
*** Item - This story is SO great is just HAS to be fattening:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/Teen-forced-to-wear-sign-as-punishment
Seems that we have a CONCERNED MOM (yes, there are some out there still) that took measures into her OWN hands when it came to discipline for her son.
She made him wear a SIGN that said:
I LIE - I STEAL - I SELL DRUGS - I DON'T FOLLOW THE LAW.

How novel is THAT?
I love it...SHAME these kids into obedience...THAT'S a damn good way to get them to straighten up and fly right.
Yet, this isn't the first time something like this was employed...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029105/Townsville-mother-makes-son-wear-humiliating-Im-thief-sign.html

Or THIS:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/tampa-mom-makes-son-wear-sign-announcing-122-gpa
Now, about bringing back the public DUNKING STOOL...and the PILLORY...or even better yet...take this idea to WASHINGTON, D.C.
(bwahahahahaha)
*** Item - Looks like Fort Wayne needs more of YOUR money...again.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120111/LOCAL/301119986
I love the "irony" of the story title...city FLOATS water rate hike...LOL
We're looking at a FORTY-F$CKING-PERCENT jump...that's nothing to piss (and then flush) at, folks!
The rate hike (if approved) will not go into effect until 2013 (good, that leaves plenty of time to SAVE or look for somewhere ELSE to move to.)
The last rate hike was 2006, after the Indiana Utility Commission approved a 25% hike.
Increased expenses are to blame for the rate hike proposal (guess those UNIONS aren't getting enough to pay for the bosses to take adequate vacations in the Caribbean)
Cripes, at this rate, water will cost MORE than gasoline...or is that ALL part of that "master plan"?
*** Item - Alaska town is in need.
And the LAST thing that Cordova, Alaska needs right now is MORE SNOW...but they're getting it (again).
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120111/APA/1201110599
What this town DOES need are SHOVELS...and LOTS OF THEM...pronto!
People have been checking the major cities in hope of finding the elusive implements.
They called out the National Guard to help with snow removal (so you know it's BAD).
Four businesses and two homes have been damaged so far by all that snow.
Highways been been victims of avalanches and are still closed.
Sure hope no one is living near anyone named DONNER!
*** Item - Some of that SPECIAL kind of Stupid:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120111/NEWS13/120119935/1066/NEWS03
When you're in handcuffs, and feel the need to STEAL the cruiser you've just been placed into, it's really NOT a smart thing to use the on board RADIO to ask WHERE the handcuff keys are...as well as the cigarette lighter.
That's EXACTLY what this bone-headed perp did in Kouts, Indiana (NW part of the state).
William Francis Blankenship is still on the lam, according to authorities.
The cruiser is the ONLY ONE for that town, and DOES have loaded weapons (in the trunk).
Maybe, someone should NOT have left the KEYS in the ignition?
(just a thought)
((Update - 1330hrs - The cruiser was reported found in LaPorte County, wrecked and under water. Gonna need another cruiser, gang!))
***
Item - MORE of that SPECIAL kind of Stupid:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120110/NEWS13/120119978/1066/NEWS03
Looking for a way to get a vacation to Sunny Costa Rica?
Well, one "creative" NYC school employee found one...
Fake your child's DEATH!
(hey, I don't make this stuff up)
She told her (now former) employer her daughter died in Costa Rica, and needed 2 1/2 weeks to take care of business down there.
(yeah right)
The death certificate was FORGED, and Costa Rican authorities corroborated that the document was a FAKE.
Can YOU say..."OOPS"?
*** Item - Help, we need an Interpreter...!
The wrong man killed a member of the Fort Wayne Burmese community last year...apparently.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120111/LOCAL03/301119981/1002/LOCAL
Aung Win stabbed a man back in April 2011, and hours later was dead at the hands of another Burmese.
Nyunt Shwe was initially arrested for the crime (a pestle was used to kill Aung Win)
Now, Nyunt Shwe's attorney says that it was Thein Oo who struck the fatal blow to Aung Win, and NOT his client.
(With me SO far?)
Aung Win stabbed Thein Oo, and Aung Win was killed NOT by Nyunt Shwe, but by Thein Oo, and we need people with PROPER names...WHY (again)? And tell them to stop spitting all over the place...that's disgusting!
OY VEY...!!!
(NO, that's NOT a cousin of Aung Win, OR Nyunt Shwe, OR Thein Oo...sheesh!)
*** Item - More tech comes to our "fortress"...
Had a misbehaving MOUSE (not the one I expansion-foamed into the wall), so I decided to purchase an OPTICAL mouse (no ball).
Tell you one thing...that bugger is RESPONSIVE (a lot more so than ANY city official or department...lol).
No ball means no more "schmutz" gumming up the rollers inside (that have to be cleaned periodically).
I had to actually SLOW DOWN the speed of the pointer so I wouldn't keep overshooting everything.
And it ONLY cost $5 (from China, who makes almost every damn thing we have in our houses) on eBay!!!
It's still a WIRED mouse, and not a USB version (one step at a time for good old Bob).
I showed Mrs. Bobby G. the new mouse, and she told me she ALREADY uses one AT SCHOOL...
(thanks, Hon - burst THAT bubble)
So, I ordered HER one for the other system...again..for UNDER FIVE BUCKS.
*** Lastly today, we've clearly seen the vicissitudes that life brings, along with the stupidity that often accompanies those who pursue things in life that are other than expected behaviors.
And I learned to grudgingly embrace another piece of technology...
That isn't to say I'm ready to tech the hell out...no way.
I like much of the simplicities of life...the simpler, the better.
I hate when things become over-thought, over-worked, and over-applied....it takes away from US...the PEOPLE.
Life is too short to waste away on items alleged to "make our lives easier", when in fact, they cause more harm than good...because we have to REPLACE them, or UPGRADE them on too regular a basis...all that crap ain't coming for free.
Life should have some of that marvelous DOWN TIME...when we "turn it all off" for a spell, kick back, and enjoy creation that's all around us.
Maybe we put on some music, curl up with a book, or even rub our local "lap cat" (or dog).
We need to step away from things...and get more in touch with US.
'Nuff said about that, then.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

10 comments:

ms nk rey said...

I was applauding the lady who made her son wear the sign, until I read this: her son has already been convicted of multiple felonies and the court system has done little to correct her son’s actions.

“He constantly chooses to break the law. I’ve had my son in the system and he ends up getting nothing but community service. So today I decided that if he wants attention, we are going to get him some attention.”

I have sons and had any of my sons acted in that manner they would have had to face the COURT OF MOM.

Bob G. said...

MSN:
I felt the EXACT same way when I read the story...

The LAW has become SO watered-down these days, especially for JUVENILES (unless they commit a capital offense), and God KNOWS they're certainly NOT getting the DISCIPLINE they NEED at home with WHOEVER is supposed to be raising them.

Single moms CAN (and DO) often provide the right kind of tough love when needed...and their kids turn out just fine.
So being a single parent can't be accused.
It's not the schools...their job is to EDUCATE...NOT PARENT a child.
Can't accuse them either.

It's the judicial system.
(coupled with cultural deviations that counter productive behavior AND that entitlement mentality I always speak about here)
Plain and simple.

He'll get "attention".
He'll get noticed.
But WILL he LEARN from being SHAMED?
THAT is the rudimentary question.

Many of these people grow up NEVER knowing what REAL SHAME is (or proper discipline).
Shameless people...every single one of them.

But YOU (along with MY Mom and others) have known what the ANSWER is for this problem for a while now...
right?
And THAT seemed to work.

Thanks for spending some time here today and commenting.
Much appreciated.

Stay safe (and watch US get snow up HERE) down there.

CWMartin said...

I have to question the entire Kouts community if the cops are dumb enough to let their only cruiser gets stolen by a handcuffed perp who is dumb enough to radion for the cuff key- AND THEY STILL CAN"T FIND HIM!!! I have this mental picture of a car speeding past sirens on with a trio of cops on tricycles chasing at breakneck speed!

Mrs. Bobby G. said...

I agree with CW. It was the only cop car in town and most of those have GPS or Onstar type devices.
When my husband said "optical mouse" I pictured a pet rodent with glasses.

Bob G. said...

CWM:
Oh, I'm sure it wasn't ANYthing like "Mayberry"...the officer(s?) probably used their OWN vehicles and got help from the Stateys!
I worry about the firearms.

I'd like to see a picture OF the perp...betcha he looks NOTHING like "Otis" (the drunk)...LOL.

Yeah, that town pretty much kissed off having a "LAW OFFICER OF THE YEAR" in Indiana award...don'cha think?

Thanks for stopping by and commenting today.

Stay safe (and get Scrappy ready for a snow-walk) up there.

Bob G. said...

Wifey:

LMAO w/ the glasses on a rodent thingy...!
(Leave Sgt. Squeaky alone)

They shouldn't even CALL it a "mouse"...more like a damn MONGOOSE witn the speed it operates at...LOL!
(yes, faster than a cobra-strike)

OK, it's official, we now have a computer MONGOOSE..no more MICE.

Luv 'ya, Hon...
((((MWAH))))

Diane said...

Somehow I think that moron that jacked the police car isn't going to figure out how to unhook the guns either, if he can't find a lighter! (hint - its the round thing that pushes in, and the music does NOT come on)

A pestle? I must have the wrong style mortar & pestle, as mine holds about 3/4 of a cup of stuff, and its tiny. More for crushing herbs and coriander seeds. Must have been one of those giant ones I see at the local produce store made out of concrete.

:O you expansion foamed it into the wall? All I've done is run over one with a riding lawnmower (made crazy patches in the lawn chasing it) and dropped the blades on the thing.

I succumbed to a wireless USB mouse, mainly because I liked the flowers on the top. I remember when they came out with mice for computers, I didn't like it, and just kept using keyboard shortcuts, as it seemed a waste of time to leave the kb and grab the mouse. Now for the life of me, the only keyboard shortcuts I remember are CTRL-V and C (paste & copy) and Ctrl-F (find) and the find i figured out by accident one day.

Seems like your part of Indiana always has something happening.

Although here, back in Nov? Dec? We made the Houston news - sumdood killed his 4 kids & wife, as they were going to leave him - he went the "if I can't have you, no one can" route. Then shot himself in teh head, as kids were walking home from school.

Enjoy your snow & rain!

gadfly said...

Hmmm - a 40% water rate hike! Now we need to go back to the Mayor's What-To-Do-With-The-City-Light-Windfall committee to see if we can put it all down for sewer infrastructure.

Come to think of it, the mayor wants to use Downtown Redevelopment funds to cover his broken elevators that no one knew about. So why not use the $5 million left in that fund to shore up the sewers as well? New sewers downtown equals Downtown Redevelopment.

Bob G. said...

Diane:
I'm posting an update to that story THURSDAY...so stay tuned (I know that you will...).

Yeah, MY pestl;e is ONLY a few INCHES long, but it IS made of polished STONE.
The only pestle that could REALLY kill would be a wooden one that pushes meat through a grinder.
Leave it to those spitting Burmese to figure out "novel" ways to kill each other.

I haven't seen that mopuse since I foamed the break in the siding, so either he's outside again, or is doing a JIMMY HOFFA...either way.

The OTHER mouse is nice (and cheap enough), and not having to clean off the ball OR those rollers (inside) is going to be heaven.

OH, it's a LOT more interesting here than I would care to want...that's for sure.
To think I moved here from Philly to "get away" from that stuff...it FOLLOWED ME...LOL.

Geez, those "sumdoods" are ALWAYS doing something stupid (and violent) aren't they?

Hey, thanks for spending some of your day right here and commenting.

You stay safe (and sumdood-free) down there.

Bob G. said...

Gadfly:
The sewers are only PART of this fiasco...much has to do (I hope you're sitting down)...FEDERAL REGULATIONS...!!!
Like using UV light instead of CHEMICALS to treat the water at the plants.
(if anything, I would have thought it would be CHEAPER to use UV and buying ALL those chemicals)

Today's paper has a followup on what I posted and I will be sure to add it to Thursday's post...just so we can remain informed (or misinformed as this administration prefers us all to be, by the way they are constantly reaching into OUR pockets).

Thanks a lot for stopping on by today and commenting.

You stay safe out there.