Almost At Weekend's Door...

And the weather is feeling a LOT more Spring-like with lower temps throughout the day, and of course, the possibility of rain, which we managed to see a smattering of yesterday...enough to wet the ground, and that was it. Who knows, by tonight, you might even have to kick on the HEAT.
In the meantime, let us venture forth into this day and see what has been going on.
*** First up is our Motto of the Week aka WHO SAID THAT?
"Learn to adjust yourself to the conditions you have to endure, but make a point of trying to alter or correct conditions so that they are most favorable to you."
This was spoken by someone with ties to the Hoosier State - William Frederick Book (1873 - 1940).
And nope, there's NO WIKI on him, nor can I find a picture, but here's a link to what I DID find:
http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=book-william-frederick-1873-1940-cr.xml

A wonderfully obscure person who was born in Princeton, Indiana, received a B/A from IU in Bloomington, and later received his PhD from Clark University in Worcester, MA.
Here's a PDF file on one of his works (Learning how to study and work effectively - 1926):
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/apl/11/3/241.pdf
He became a professor of psychology at the University of Montana in 1906.
He also taught summer sessions at Columbia and did research back at Clark.
Between 1913 and 1917, he was director of Indiana University's vocational ed department.
Book was a professor emeritus at IU until his death in 1940, and obviously, he was thought to be quite quotable by many.
Now, you ALL know something not many others do, especially those attending IU...lol.
Moving on...
*** We have a WINNER in our DUMBASS OF THE WEEK award...and here I thought I would either not find one this week, OR have way too many to choose from.

The latter tends to be the societal norm down here in the crotch of Ft. Wayne these days.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130522/LOCAL07/305229925/0/SEARCH
Joshua Dixon, 21 of 7410 Meriwood Drive (46835) was arrested and is being held without bail after robbing the Walgreen's at Stellhorn and Maplecrest and THEN changing clothes afterward (outside???) and going into a nearby Target store, purchasing some razors.

This occurred back on Monday around 1900 hours.

He then went into the store's restroom and shaved his beard so as to change his appearance.

(oh, yeah, this thug thinks he's REAL slick)

Thing is, cameras caught him both at Walgreen's AND going across a parking lot TO the Target store, and thanks to Walgreen's employees picking his face out from a photo lineup, it was soon afterward that he was busted...for being too damn stupid.

Guess that TATTOO on the arm kinda gives things away, also, doesn't it?
I suppose that $608 bucks and the Mountain Dew were REALLY worth the hassle. Hope you enjoyed that soda...gonna be a while before you get another.
When I get a picture of the perp, I'll post it here.
(WANE showed his mug last night, but I can't find hide nor hair of it anyplace)
*** On a lighter note, Wifey put out the hummingbird feeders this past weekend, and we have BOTH seen hummers at them already!
Granted, they don't stay long enough to get a picture (yet), but it's a good sign to see them here in May.
We usually don't see them appearing until June, so I guess the little guys are avoiding the rush?

And we've spent the high side of $60 to make the garden and property a bit more "colorful" for the season...petunias, impatiens, and verbena, along with those "paintbrush" plants.

Hell, even the clematis is blooming already...that's pretty cool.
I've got one cardinal that waits for me to put bird seed out every morning. He sits on the fence until I go back inside, then he's down on the patio, enjoying the "buffet".

And we have our assorted sparrows, finches (no gold ones, sorry) and a couple cowbirds along with Mr. Bunny.

The robins have built another nest in the SAME spot they had one LAST year (a tall berry shrub alongside the garage door), so we could hear the sound of babies any time now.

If it wasn't for such things as these, I swear I'd go stark-raving mad...or at least POSTAL on the locals (not that they don't deserve it anyway).
*** The trouble with having such amenities on your property, is that you can rarely ENJOY them to the extent that I believe one should.
All it takes is ONE loud boomcar, and the birds will fly away. That kinda spoils it for everyone...as usual.

Then there is the ghettohood "background" noise, or as I like to call it...the "shouting whispers"...

There is not ONE ethnic around here that knows how to speak in a NORMAL tone...they ALL shout...all the damn time, and sometimes the length of the damn block. I don't know about YOU, but I think it's both presumptuous and annoying to WANT to BROADCAST one's life to every damn person in this part of Allen County. The cell phoners are the worst.

I can be watching TV, and I hear someone shouting outside. So I go to the window, and here it's some aborigine "talking" into their damn (Obama) phone...like they think that I WANT to hear every damn word they say.

I really DON'T...seriously.
And I'd hate to think that their "outdoor" voice is the same as their INDOOR voice.
If I lived in a household like that, I'd be convicted of homicide in a heartbeat...LOL.
There is a time for everything, as the Good Book states, and that includes a time to be LOUD, as well as a time to be QUIET.
Being LOUD (to me) means a warning...to prevent harm or danger. It can also mean a way of cheering one's team on.
It should NOT mean the usual manner one conducts oneself in public, because not everyone wants to hear your life story, and certainly NOT at ear-splitting levels.

To me, it becomes real simple...if you cannot control your personal volume in a public venue, then just STFU...period!

Try stuffing a pair of 6 month old GYM SOCKS in your piehole a few times...or have someone sew, staple, or nail your lips together, but just SHUT THE F$CK UP.

*** It's like I say...people just DO NOT know their boundaries any longer, and that makes it damn hard for the REST of us that still believe in acting CIVIL.
We still know what it means to BE POLITE...and we know what MANNERS are.
You can still have a cell phone and NOT annoy everyone within a 100 ft. radius.
You don't have to be loud to be heard. (except when you want the city to do it's job like removing 3-month old logs from a sidewalk...lol)

And you most certainly DON'T have to inflict whatever your life is about upon others...we used to call that privacy, as well as respect for others.
You can't go to the store...or the movies, or damn near anywhere without seeing such idiots, and that says SO much about where our society is headed. That prospect doesn't look all that shiny, either.
We really need to revisit those times when we kept things to ourselves regarding our personal lives.
There is a place for that, and it's NOT at a mall...or a movie theater, or walking down the middle of some street.
And in order to teach people HOW to behave again, we''re going to find methods to help them UNLEARN all those nasty habits.
(or, we could just shoot 'em...lol)
It can be done, and it should be done, before it gets further out of hand.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.