It's THAT Time Again...

Yes friends, we're long past due for some more of those totally unbelievable bouts of asshattery; those things that get you thinking, and a few items that even will have you wondering if you're still residing upon the same planet that you went to sleep on last night.
We'll be tackling such ponderous notions anon, but first, what's doing with the weather?
It's going to be another cold one today, with a few scattered and light snow showers (no accumulation, thank the Maker) and a high today again in the lower 20s with mostly cloudy skies.
Nope, that ice will not be leaving the streets anytime soon.

And since the local ice rink will be CLOSING this weekend, it makes you wonder who's going to be shot in the foot next? Keep the damn place open for another few weeks...it'll STILL be cold.
Now, with any further ado, let's refill that morning cup of coffee, tea or cocoa and get busy with what's been on my mind (and in the news).
*** First off the snow bank today is an update of sorts, in that the REST of the media sources finally covered that police chase this past Sunday.
Here's the Journal-Gazette version:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140225/LOCAL07/302259944/1043/LOCAL07
Seems that the thug the police (STATE police, mind you) arrested after a brief chase Sunday was connected with the "D-Boyz" gang, or as I prefer to call them, the (D for) DUMBASS BOYZ.
Considering the rap sheet I posted yesterday, it's no surprise this punk-ass thug had it coming.
And the gun he tossed from the car was STOLEN...not purchased by legal means.
(take that, you gun-control assholes).

The perp tried diving into a snow pile to elude capture...sorry kids, but there's too much pigmentation for THAT one to work effectively.
(like I said...DUMBASS)
And speaking of dumbasses....
*** The FWCS has decided to jerk their collective board's knees and make the school days LONGER by an hour (starting next week) to make up for the snow days incurred this winter, which total 12.

Now, I don't know about YOU, but back in the Jurassic Age, when I attended school, missing 12 days was no big deal, and was easily made up. Then again, we had PARENTS that made SURE we didn't miss the school work, and would at the school ASKING for the material we had missed.
And to think we had NONE of the communication and social media technology we have TODAY.
Our parents had a hard line PHONE, TWO FEET...and a MOUTH...and THOSE worked well enough.
Then again, WE, as students had a RESPONSIBILITY to do what our parents and teachers said, and were accountable to get any missed lessons made up in whatever manner could be arranged. We didn't make days longer, or add days to school years.

And we didn't get bused all over creation, either!

WE took the initiative to do the work...or fail because we did not.
Hell, I missed several MONTHS due to double pneumonia in elementary school, and I STILL passed the grade, because my Mother was in constant contact with my teacher and made sure that any and all school work was sent home, so that I would not miss anything.
So, there's absolutely NO reason to not do the same these days...it should be EASIER to do so, in fact.
Stop trying to reinvent the damn wheel and just roll with what used to work.
*** Next up,  another dumbass, this time an appointee of the Obummer Administration, Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagle, is looking to DOWNSIZE the military to pre-WW2 levels.

Another case of  BAD "jazz hands"...

Ain't that a kick in the old Pearl Harbor?
He wants to "concentrate" on Spec Ops and technology (and tech works well enough until it goes wrong, and then you have to rely on sheer manpower and solid weaponry).
Never become that dependent upon technology when some little EMP could render most ALL of it inoperative.
These people must all be graduates of the Han Solo School of Action Before Thought.
Naturally with military cuts in size comes cuts in pay scales and benefits...how's THAT help?
Could we be leaning towards another act of "conscription" if something breaks out in the world?
(that would decrease that nasty surplus population nicely)

The "future" of military cutbacks?

Grated we cannot, nor should not become the world's "police force", but we DO have an obligation to protect OUR interests, both foreign and domestic.
You can't pick your wars, unfortunately, but you CAN fight them to win...politics be damned.
And you should ALWAYS have a BIGGER STICK than the other guy.
Moving on...
*** In a related story, the Pentagon wants to revisit the retirement of the A-10 aircraft and here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140225/LOCAL/302259982

We've only got 340 ships in the inventory as it is.
The local 122nd ANG (Black Snakes) would love to see the new F-35 JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) come to their hangars, and that's only fair, as the F-16 Falcon fleet is also being phased out, and the venerable F-15 Eagle is past it's prime as well.
Congress will be deciding IF the 122nd will receive the F-35.
The commander of the 122nd would like to see 18 of the new aircraft deployed to the Fort Wayne ANG.

The real problem (as always) is MONEY...predicated upon a force structure of a $30-$40 million dollar aircraft and NOT a $200 million dollar aircraft.
The Air Force Times reported (last year) that the per-hour flying cost to operate an F-35 is nearly DOUBLE that of an A-10 (which costs around $17,564 per hour).
And you thought that $3.50 a gallon for fuel was a lot to pay at the pumps.
*** Ever wonder WHY we have all these damn POTHOLES?
And WHO is taking the contents OF those holes...and WHERE are they taking it all?

We have this problem in America when it comes to ROADS...we don't build them as well as say...EUROPE.
Over there, they tend to make the road surface DEEPER (thicker), and the chance of potholes developing are greatly lessened.
Sure, it is costlier, but what really is MORE cost effective in the long run?
A more expensive, yet better-constructed roadway OR a thin road surface that needs near constant repair and/or resurfacing?
Not to mention that the FROST LINE has a LOT to do with road construction and maintenance.
The freeze-thaw conditions lead to roadway deterioration faster than any condition, including increased traffic.

Yeah, THAT should last a GOOD two days!

THAT is why We (here) have the problem we do...ice EXPANDS and pushes the roadway up and out of where it was laid down.
That ALSO compromises the water mains and sewers UNDER them, especially when the sewer-water lines are NOT buried DEEP ENOUGH.
Pressure and shifting causes the breaks we've seen.
I'm no engineer, but, thanks to common sense, I know what works and what doesn't.
What we have HERE...doesn't
(Frank Suarez is another of the Good Old Boys that can't seem to find his ass with both hands - time to PROMOTE him.)
The "cold-patch" the city is using will only come the hell out again...another band-aid on a broken leg thing.
*** Lastly today, the sad passing of one of recent comedy's funniest writers...Harold Ramis has died at the age of 69.

And here is his WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Ramis
I remember first seeing him on the old SCTV (as the station manager, "Moe" Green), but we ALL remember his as Egon Spengler, one of the Ghostbusters, and as Bill Murray's sidekick in Stripes.

"THIS is the mayor's brain, Ray - spongy but tasty."

The movies that Ramis wrote and/or directed and produced are numerous, and the WIKI provides you with the compilation of a lot of flicks that I'm sure you've seen many times.
Caddyshack was one of my favorites, because the writing and the cast gelled so damn well.

The army WAS better than teaching at FWCS.

Whether you appreciated him as an actor, a director or producer, you have to admit there was someone that managed to reach into every one of us to find something to make us smile.
And perhaps that's something we should make time for each day...the ability to smile, and to laugh.
So let me leave you with this...
I have had this blog since 2006 and yet, after all that time, I STILL have only 29 followers, so when someone asks if that bothers me, I simply reply:
"Jesus only had TWELVE followers".
(thanks to UK's Top Gear for that one)

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