If It's Thursday...
It MUST be trash day (for me) in Fort Wayne, it MUST be raining (or somehow inclement regarding the weather), and it MUST be...ALMOST FRIDAY...lol.
Now if one of those isn't cause for celebration on some small scale, I don't know WHAT is, right?
Funny thing about trash day...absolutely NONE of the "neighbors" ever hop in the damn trash truck when they come by...wonder why?
It's not like they have NO reason not to do so, believe you me.
(I think they'd all make GREAT landfill - be the first REAL job they ever had, too)
Anyway, let's get busy with today's "bid'ness", shall we?
*** First up, the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"One never attributes folly to his enemy - but then, of such stuff are surprises made."
The person credited with saying this was Lt. General Philip P. Davidson, writing on the rashness of the 1968 TET offensive by the North Vietnamese, Vietnam at War, 1968.
Here's the WIKI on him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Davidson
Have to admit, in spite of intel to the contrary (of a build up along the Ho Chi Minh trail), many didn't see this one coming, and that's what happens when you give someone the benefit (ceasefire) of the doubt, when they're undeserving of such things.
*** Next up - Here Comes The Sun.
(Well...PART of it, anyway)
No, this isn't a tribute to the B side of the Abbey Road LP from the Beatles, but it IS something I've been mentioning a couple times (here), namely SOLAR FLARES, or to use the scientific terminology...Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).
A really large one happened on the sun this past Tuesday and is expected to arrive at Earth sometime THIS morning, so if your high-tech electronics start acting a bit on the HINKY side...you'll know why.
WAY back in 2007 (30 May) I first mentioned such an event, and it warrants concern, because our power grid infrastructure is wonderfully antiquated, and could easily succumb to solar activity.
Sure, we've slapped and patched it with "bailing wire and chewing gum" over the decades, but the grid is "at-risk" should something like the CME event from the late 1800s comes a'calling.
The electromagnetic radiation is what causes the grid to shut down...think of it as an "overloaded" circuit, only on a lot BIGGER scale.
And we just can't "reset" the breaker...not when a huge CME blows out a few of those honking big TRANSFORMERS.
(Optimus Prime need not be concerned, though).
They don't actually keep "spares" for those in the back room closet, either. They have to be railed (and trucked) in to whatever station requires them. Sometimes, they have to be BUILT, because certain transformers are not stockpiled AT ALL.
That can take weeks, if not months...fun stuff, huh?
Now imagine the scenario if we ALL depended on ELECTRIC CARS and needed to CHARGE THEM DAILY...
That would most certainly bring DOWN the grid in a lot of areas of this nation...and people would have to walk, bike, or saddle up Old Dobbin...unless they still had a FOSSIL-FUELED vehicle to depend upon (like we all do NOW).
Sorry Obama, I'll cling to my guns, my Bible, AND my 26 year-old fossil-fueled Firebird, thank you very much.
YOU go and buy that battery-buggy.
*** This is a followup to the early morning credit union robbery I mentioned at the top of yesterday's post:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120308/LOCAL07/303089961
I had details about this earlier than the newspaper (police radios are way cool), but I wanted to wait until the print story came out to see HOW ACCURATE they were regarding the FACTS of the story versus the radio chatter.
These were pretty stupid criminals, expecting a JANITOR to have access to the stash of cash...whatta team of assholes!
They did get a free ride in his vehicle (which was found a bit later on, not far from the robbery scene).
Two white trash perps AT-LARGE...wonder if they live down here (a few white people still do...look at US)
*** Next up, there's THIS:
Who ever said it was OK to point a gun at a police officer?
Well, apparently THIS perp thought it was, and it was a bittersweet "win" for the FWPD.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120308/LOCAL07/303089917
The responding officer crashed the cruiser when the perp pointed a handgun at them (evasive maneuvers CAN save your life) after the suspect fled from the officers, who believed the man to be involved in a domestic.
Now, if it were me, and the perp pointed a weapon at MY windshield, that perp would be pulling MY cruiser's grille from HIS grille for the better part of a week, if you get my drift.
I'd much rather run the sunavabitch OVER than crash the cruiser...besides, you can always duck down behind the wheel.
One LESS perp to bother the citizenry, and maybe ONLY some front-end work for the squad car..easily fixed.
(then I'd paint one of those silhouettes that PILOTS use to put on their planes to signify a "mission-kill"...in the shape of a BODY OUTLINE on the driver's door...yeah, I'm one vindictive old fart, ain't I? Serve as a reminder to others out there that THIS boy doesn't screw around)
I know, doing THAT would get on the chief's carpet faster than the cleaning lady and her Eureka...LOL
But hey, the guy (Jason D. Davis, of the 3100 block of Stardale Drive) was charged with the following:
1) Criminal recklessness
2) Resisting law enforcement
3) possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon
And if this was the same guy I heard on the radio, it was a Grand Prix that was going through yards that attracted the attention of the FWPD.
(you're gonna give GOOD Pontiac drivers like ME a bad name, you f$cking idiot!)
Still, a happy ending, but don't be surprised if "someone" tries to call the officer out for crashing the cruiser (I expect no disciplinary action, but you never know these days). Like I say, the media doesn't report ALL the facts, the police don't release all the information, so much is left to supposition.
(And I am not the Peyton Manning of armchair-quarterbacks)
*** They're going to sell off the trailer park where Aliahna Lemmon was killed.
Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120306/LOCAL/303069977
Now, the thing is, when (and not if) they sell off this place, those EIGHTEEN sex offenders living there have got to go "somewhere", right? And living restrictions prevent them from dwelling damn near ANYWHERE in "nice" neighborhoods, or near schools, and places where children can congregate, like playgrounds...
So what is a city to DO with such people?
Well, they will (most likely) find SOME way to ship them DOWN HERE to the...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE of Fort Wayne.
(mark my words)
Considering that at last check (several months ago), I found close to FORTY-FIVE sex offenders just within a ONE-MILE RADIUS of our "fortress", it would be a good choice (for them , not for me) to send them all.
We don't have much as far as playgrounds (read drug hangouts), schools (they bus kids out of the area), or places kids can congregate (like our corner, or the damn middle of any street).
Plenty of VACANT housing to accommodate them...that's for sure.
To me, I dunno if I'd want to have sex offenders OR the aborigines living around us...rather have NEITHER.
(yeah, it's rough being an "endangered species" down here)
*** Lastly today, tonight is the full moon, and I don't care what the "experts" say, there are MORE loons out there THIS time of the month than at any other...period.
But having the nuthouse open it's doors to the rest of us shouldn't cause us undue fear and trepidation.
It SHOULD make us more aware...more vigilant to be on OUR guard, against the principalities of evil, because we certainly do have our share of them (and it) in today's world.
On the other hand, we're also knocking on the door to Spring, and to me, that signifies a time of "rebirth".
Plants and flowers start to poke from the ground again, and the world becomes a bit nicer to the eye.
A sense of freedom fills the air again...
But we must be wary about what freedoms we have and what freedoms we stand to lose.
We've already lost a lot of freedom when it comes to CHOICE...be it the cars we drive, the foods we eat, and the places we go.
We've even lost much of the freedom to FEEL FREE.
Look at the ways we have to protect our property and possessions from those who just want to TAKE from us.
We place multiple locks on door, invest in alarm systems, purchase firearms (not just for recreational use), take self-defense classes, bar our windows and doors with "ornamental" scroll-work, and call it decorative in nature.
We should not...we must not allow those who have forced us into such behaviors to get a foothold on this nation, and our lives.
We've done pretty damn good so far, and I think there is much room for improvement.
We can make our voices heard, we can make our votes count, and we can take back this country and the freedoms that are being denied us.
All WE have to do is want it bad enough to make that happen.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.