Humpday Happenings...

Welcome to the midweek journey into our lives.
Today's weather will see a bit of a cool down after a little rain overnight, with temps only reaching into the mid-60s. Yesterday was another error...we didn't even make it to 70 degrees. But today seems more on-track. We might even see the sun most of the day, because I sure didn't see any of it yesterday.
Now, with that said, let's set to work and see what's been going on elsewhere...
*** First up , as is the custom, is our Motto of the Week aka WHO SAID THAT?
"Crime and bad lives are the measure of a state's failure, all crime in the end is the crime of the community."
And if you've been following the news (and read the rest of today's post) you'll see just how well this quote fits into the scheme of things.
So who said that anyway? The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
Meanwhile, back at the library...
*** Yes friends, we have another winner in Ft. Wayne's dead pool with homicide number THIRTY SIX (that's 36).

We're rapidly closing in on FORTY, are we not?
Here's the story:
(so far):
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131016/LOCAL07/310169944
So there you are in the 3100 block of Smith St, nestled deep in the ghettohood, and it's also the time that schools are letting out, so what's a person to do anyway to pass the time?
How about a robbery...or a shootout?
How about BOTH?
Sounds like some marvelous TNB to me.

Two men were found by police and EMS around 1545 hrs yesterday, with both suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were transported to hospital, one in serious condition, the other in critical. The man who was critical was the one that died a short time later.
The coroner will say today whether or not it's a homicide, but, YOU know and I know that it already IS, so to us, it's just a formality.
This cavalier attitude with firearms is becoming a BIG issue with certain sections of our populace, because I'd wager that neither of the two weapons found nearby (in a back yard of a house) the shooting scene were LEGAL. It would be a miracle if ONE of them was, for that goes against the status quo down here.

And NO, no amount of gun LAWS would have prevented THIS from happening anymore than the rest of the shootings in this part of town, except for the JUSTIFIED police-action shootings and the one home owner that offed a burglar.
Details are still sketchy at this point, so police don't even know IF the two men were the actual combatants. One man told a neighbor he exchanged gunfire with the other man during a robbery attempt.
Now, he could be telling the truth, but he also could be diverting attention. Bleeding from a hole in your body does weird sh*t to people.

There is usually TOO much drama down here to ever get to the truth of most ANY matter, and that impedes police investigations to no end. Trying to find witnesses who SEE things can also be problematic. The one neighbor is listed as a witness, BUT...she didn't SEE anything; she just heard the shots and went outside (after the fact...like when police usually show up)
Like the quote I used today, this IS a crime that involves a LOT of people, as are most all the crimes down here.
If you ever take some time to go to the SPOT CRIME website, and type in either YOUR OWN address...or the addresses of the latest shootings, you might find yourself a bit more surprised than usual.

I can FEEL the "love"

I get the daily emails from them regarding a 3 mile radius of OUR address, and I can tell you, there IS a lot of crime that goes unpublished in the papers and other media sources.
I suppose that's meant to make us all feel good about OUR neighborhoods...yeah, that's called propaganda.
Or, maybe it's to show that crime is going down...yeah, that's a downright LIE.
I always believe that an INFORMED public is a PREPARED public, and many times, in too many neighborhoods around the Summit City, you NEED to be prepared. That goes from those out in Aboite, to those by Foster Park, to those way up by Maysville Road...and all points in between.
Get yourselves prepared for the worst...but never stop hoping for the best.
That's the best thing YOU can do these days.
(( ** Editor's Update - 1115 hrs - Here is the latest about this SE side double shooting that left one person recently-deceased:
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/Reports-Of-Double-Shooting-On-Smith-227867821.html
And now you know...as much as there is TO know.))
Moving on...
*** Fort Wayne's Downtown Improvement District is getting "new digs"?
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131016/LOCAL/310169970/1002/LOCAL

And here I thought they were pondering their impending disbanding, because there's little LEFT to improve with ALL the projects they dumped into the center city area...simply amazing.
Wonder how MUCH the city could SAVE if this entity just "went away"?
Here's their website:
http://downtownfortwayne.com/
The staff gets new offices...for WHAT reason, exactly?
(Try working at home - you can STILL get a tax break FOR that, you know)
Let's try to improve OTHER parts of town...like the SOUTHEAST.
Hell, an "improvement" would be LESS than THIRTY HOMICIDES these days...wouldn't it?
An improvement would be some RETAIL other than Wal Mart, wouldn't it?
An improvement would be having more decent home OWNERS rather than all the damn rentals filled with section 8ers sucking on the taxpayer's teats, wouldn't it?
An improvement would be razing houses that NEED it, rehabbing ones that can accept it, and encouraging a better "quality-of-life" through better enforcement of the LAWS down here, wouldn't it?
I think you get the general idea...wish to hell the CITY would...THAT in itself would be a MAJOR improvement.
***  Just when you thought life couldn't get any MORE screwed up, there's THIS story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131016/APW/1310160572

Is there an APP to locate more APPS?

Seems that people are becoming just a bit TOO lazy these days to do things for themselves (that explains turning to crime, rather than working a job for a living)...and we have technology coming to the "rescue"...
Yes, if you need "motivation", there IS an APP for that now...
((...rolls eyes...))
Are you frigging kidding me?
You want REAL motivation?

Join the military and get a DRILL SGT in your face at 0430 hrs...ROFL!
Whatever happened to the days when we were more SELF-motivated?
And where would this nation be if early pioneers and settlers weren't "motivated" enough to SURVIVE, anyway?
That saying still rings true: 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going".
Thing is...we don't seem AS TOUGH enough as we used to be...wonder why that is?
Could it be technology doing things FOR us (that we used to be ABLE and willing to do ourselves)?
(Short answer: DAMN STRAIGHT!)
I say get off your duff and get yourself motivated.
After all, I haven't come across ANY APP yet that will do your laundry, cook your dinner, vacuum the rugs or paint your house...have you?
*** Last back to the barn today, again, we see evidence of a lack of many things in our supposedly "evolved" society.
We were SUPPOSED to be so much better off than our parents...or their parents used to be.
And while we have all these nice, shiny "things" to occupy our time and lives, we're still coming up short in MANY facets in the lives we're leading.
We're too easily upset, too quick to sue someone, too readily angered on the streets or highways, too easily depressed, too readily wanting something for nothing...and the list keeps getting longer.

Whatever happened to being just plain old CONTENT about who you were, where you were in life, and what you were doing to make things better for yourself and family? Life never promised happiness...NOR contentment; those were things we had to WORK at to achieve.
And like everything else in life, how you work at things determines the outcome OF your toil.
We would be much better off if we backed it all up, took a page or two from our parents or grandparents playbook (that they made up as THEY went along) and followed THAT lead for a spell.. We might even surprise ourselves in some marvelous ways.
We'll never know...until we try, right?

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