Monday Musings...

Well, kids...looks to be another fun-filled week here in the Hoosierland, at least as far as the WEATHER goes.
And welcome to February, where Punxatawney Phil SAW his shadow (and with ALL the damn KLIEG LIGHTS around, I'm surprised we're not for six more MONTHS of Winter, while Chuck, the groundhog in Woodburn, Indiana, did NOT see his shadow, and Canterbury Pete was totally M.I.A.
(probably sipping a Mojito on a beach in Cabo)
We are under another winter storm watch from later today into Wednesday, with a potential snowfall amount between (depends who you listen to) 4-10 INCHES!
Yes, this is on TOP of what we currently have (that's not been plowed on side streets, thank you, street dept) on the ground and nicely frozen I might add, because temps are not going above freezing for a good part of the week. Many schools pulled a 2-hour delay TODAY (except FWCS of course because they value TEST scores more than the kids or those that educate them)
Sounds like a perfect recipe for a "craptastic" (*Bob's lexicon - page 49) week.

Gonna need one of THESE to get around soon enough.

Today's high will be around the mid-20s with some sunshine
So, keep your hot beverage of choice at-the-ready, for we're not quite out of the (winter) woods yet.
Let's hitch up the sled team and get those doggies hoofing...we've plenty to cover...
*** First out of the skating rink today is this past weekend.
--We certainly had our share of weather.
Wifey and I planned to grocery shop EARLIER than usual, because of the road conditions.
We had snow overnight, and by morning we were staring at drizzle, sleet, and more light snow.

Maybe by THURSDAY it'll be THIS bad...

Driving wasn't that bad, as the roads were so-so, as long as you didn't try anything ABRUPT...stop slowly, start out slowly, turn slowly..you get the idea.
The store was less crowded, too...made for an EASY trip, but as we were heading home, I could feel the car reacting to the road.
I actually drove part of the ay home in the lower D2 gear (didn't need to go OVER 35, that's for sure).
We were glad we went when we did, as people started getting stuck and the (soon to be encrypted) police radio had an assortment of vehicular accidents, slideoffs and even a couple rollovers.
Wasn't a fit day to be driving that long AFTER the sun came up.
Saturday was a breeze, otherwise.
--Yesterday saw a Super Bowl that was more like a ROUT than anything else. Guess someone forgot to tell Denver that they have to PLAY to win...?
Perhaps the Seahawks were hungrier for the championship - been known to happen in years past...plus, having the BEST defense in the league doesn't hurt (except the opposing team).

And about TIME, too.

The GOOD news for us, was that we not only got to watch Puppy Bowl X (that's TEN), but prior to that show on Animal Planet, the HALLMARK channel has a THREE hour broadcast of the FIRST...KITTEN BOWL.
Now THAT was just too damn cute.
It was really done WELL, and it featured a "four team" playoff, with the 2 winners competing for the championship (won by the North Shore Bengals)

A much better scoring "game" than that OTHER one.

Even the "commentary" was good, considering we must have heard EVERY possible cat "pun" created...but I already heard MOST of them before...in the old BATMAN TV series (thanks Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt...lol)
Yes, the Kitten Bowl was a very pleasant surprise.
A surprise of another sort greeted me when I flipped over to the Puppy Bowl...

I WANTED it to be good...really!

Over the last 10 years, it has grown in both fame and sponsorship, and you have to be careful whenever that happens (in ANY sport or event)
So, imagine my astonishment when I saw Michelle (ma belle) Obama on my screen hawking fitness and nutrition during the Puppy Bowl!!!
If you would have been in our living room (and a couple of you have) you would have heard me SHOUTING at the TV to the lilting strains of "I watched this for the PUPPIES...not a presidential family outing/PSA from someone who (with her husband) wants to fundamentally change MY AMERICA".

I mean...WHAT...THE...F---...???

That took whatever wind I had in my sails out, and I only watched parts of the show...whenever SHE came on, I just left the room. Guess I SHOULD have turned it into a DRINKING GAME...but that would mean that dinner would have been postponed due to an "inclement husband"...LOL.

Some of the best 10 minutes on TV of late.

I will say that prior to the REAL "stupor bowl" Bill O'Reilly had a one-on-one interview with Da Prez, and did a very good job of asking some hardball questions.Naturally, you could feel the "dodge" from Obummer (the old shuck and jive), and his body language gave him away nicely.
He lied AGAIN when he told Bill that (when asked why he was fundamentally changing America) that he was NOT...you heard it on worldwide cable news, folks...all that he HAS done isn't "changing" America at all...nah...go back to sleep, folks.
The grades are in -
-- The O'Reilly interview - A
-- The Kitten Bowl - A+
--The Puppy Bowl - C (thanks, Mrs Prez)
-- Super Bowl 48 - D (Bruno Mars saved it from failing, imho)
*** And that brings us to TODAY...
Over the weekend we did have some crime in the Summit City, ; like THIS story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140203/LOCAL07/302039979/1043/LOCAL07

This happened in the 600 block of E. Creighton around 1315 hrs yesterday.
Had to roll out the armored car for this "standoff".
Seems a male victim was robbed by 2-3 other males of his wallet and was then pistol-whipped.
(such violence HERE?)
When police arrived (after it occurred, naturally) they detained two men of possible interest.
I guess THOSE two were not monitoring the POLICE SCANNER like all the other "bad guys" do, according to Rusty York.
PIO Mike Joyner stated they had consent to search a house in that 600 block, because a possible third person might be inside. That's when the EST was called in (SWAT).
They found NO ONE ELSE after both a robot camera and an entry team gained access.
Joyner's body language told me that maybe all the truth wasn't forthcoming (you know what to look for).
We shall see...
*** Next up, more on this upgrade to the police scanner/radio fiasco.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140202/LOCAL/302029944/1043/LOCAL07
See, we have this NEW "cabal" of sorts - the Consolidated Communications Partnership (sounds innocent enough).

And these people see it fit to UPGRADE the radio systems to the "tune" of $17 MILLION bucks (that's one helluva song)
We hear that MOST of the channels (actually part of a TRUNKED system and not channels per se) will be encrypted, as are the TAC (tactical) channels and investigative channels.
Rusty York, the newly appointed Dir of Pub. Safety states that the 800Mhz system is readily available to the "bad guys", and this is something I said a long time back, regarding phone APPS for scanners...not a good use of technology, especially when you have some "good eyes" fronting a local drug house.
This new system (another one so soon?) is impossible to monitor.
(brave talk, because NOTHING is that infallible)

Sheriff Fries had been frustrated with the current system, and believes the new system will allow officers better comms management...as in being able to be heard in areas that used to have dropouts (like buildings, rural areas, and hilly terrain).
Not to mention that Fries noticed a level of "planned operational obsolescence" in the current systems, and that necessitates replacement of equipment, costing millions of bucks MORE.
Curiously enough, although an encryption mandate came down from the FEDS - Dept of Homeland Security (DHS), the local director, Bernie Beier is NOT part of the "partnership". why the hell NOT? He should be the tip of the spear on this one...one would think?
All the while...every law-abiding citizen gets "the big dark".
So, if the police radio has a call where they're looking for a particular vehicle for a crime just committed, and that vehicle is on MY street, there is NO way of knowing that the FWPD is looking for it, because I can't monitor the radio after Tuesday...right?

Looks LESS likely these days

Can't help the po-po when the top brass of the FWPD constantly ASKS us for our help...anyone ELSE seeing a conundrum (or Catch-22) here?
I mean...it's only the DISPATCH channel, and the overwhelming majority of dispatches happen AFTER a crime is committed, with few occurring DURING the commission of a crime. Very often, by the time police are rolling to scene, the perps are long gone...got nothing to do w/ the police radio channel that's NOT encrypted. Maybe if enough people bitch about this, the channel we listen to will remain online...
*** Lastly today, we know how much technology has become a part of our life...it's in damn near everything we touch, see and hear.

Your car or truck is a rolling computer system that checks engine functions HUNDREDS of times per second (and woe to us if it decides to take a day off)...your coffee maker has a digital touch-screen that sets the brewing time, so it's there when YOU wake up (and we can't make coffee the old-fashioned way...WHY?)...your major appliances all run by computer...no dials to turn (and hurt your pinky)...your TV set is in actuality a "monitor" that (now) can plug directly into the Internet, so you don't lose a nanosecond of whatever suits your fancy at the moment.
Our phones are computers as well...hell, we don't even need calculators any longer (every computer can do that).

LOTS smarter than the computer than landed us on the MOON!

We have robotic floor cleaners and vacuums, smart houses that remotely open drapes, set temps throughout the place, lock their own doors, and all but schedule your day for you (maybe next week)...and that's just the beginning.
Now, if ALL of this crap was meant to free up time for US, so we could pursue more enlightening and educational aspects to out humanity...fine.
But, all it's REALLY doing is giving us more and constant ways of being...entertained.
We're not becoming better...lazier perhaps, or even less able to personally interact, but definitely not better (as people).
We really need to start using technology for what it's for, and that means to make our lives BETTER...not easier.
Easier is not better, but better can always lead to easier, if given the tight impetus.
Sounds hard, but this is one instance where EASY truly fits the criteria.
May we strive for BETTER...always.

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