Those April Showers...

We've got them today here in the Hoosierland, that's for sure.
And most likely gonna have them tomorrow as well.
Break out those umbrellas (for those of you not wishing to get wet).
We can kiss off seeing much of the sun today, as temps rise to only the mid-40s.
As you travel farther south in Indiana, the weather will be more severe with high winds added to the rain.
Anywho, let's get busy with the "rest of the story" as we top off that morning cup of java (or whatever else you prefer)...
*** First off of the hotplate today is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."

This was spoken by the late Ray Bradbury - (22 August 1920 - 5 June 2012) and here is his WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury
And, if you want to spend some time reading about this wonderful writer of fantasy and science fiction, by all means, read the WIKI on him. I promise that if nothing else, it will prove to be more than a bit inspirational.
His life was not that bad for someone who never had a driver's license, was married once to the only girl he dated, and spent several hours every day in the library during the Depression.
Moving on...
*** When getting the Wifeymobile yesterday, I had the opportunity (?) to get a look at how our alley is doing...as well as what is NOT being down, namely cleaning it the hell up.

Looking northbound - not TOO bad.

There are times you just walk along, shaking your head in disbelief...that we (as a society) can care so little about things we SHOULD be caring about, while caring too much about things that deserve little if any real attention at all.

Looking southbound - VERY bad.

Talk about misplaced priorities...!
It doesn't take that much effort to effect some real change, but it DOES take something called DESIRE.
The sincere WANT to make things better. That's the key.
And, of course, you also require the MOTIVATION to do such things.
I swear that some people could use (and need) some drill sergeant in their face 24/7 "helping" them along life's way.
You can tell how disconnected people are by their "ghetto-shuffle" down the middle of the streets around here.
You can look at them and know they haven't a clue as to how they're going to handle the rest of the day, let alone the remainder of such pitiful lives.
Such people seem to go from one event to another...one minute to the next...
That's pretty sad, but it does explain why things are the way they are in this part of town.

This crap has been here a LONG time.

Trash sits for MONTHS in back of some of the rental houses...houses that taxpayers help fund through the government gravy-train programs.
There needs to be some "training" that people who are on government-sponsorship (ad perpetuum) should be required to undergo, so they can better "fit in" to areas where some of us still give a rat's ass to living in a nice neighborhood, rather than a burgeoning slum.

LOVE becomes a very subjective term.

Or, we can just herd all these "people" into a confined area like the old projects and watch the fun (again).
We know that experiment was destined to fail, which it did, but our government never seems to learn from it's mistakes.
*** Next up...Scrappers have a rough life, especially when they take to stealing copper from utility companies...or vacant housea...and then get busted.

There's "gold" in that thar hill!

Some of them cause things to go "boom" when they crack a gas line and cause the structure to explode.
But over in Bangkok (got some irony there), there needs to be some "instructions" for when people find a WW2 era 500lb BOMB and then take it to a scrap metal dealer and attempt to dismantle it...with a damn BLOWTORCH!!!

Yeah, THAT left a mark!

I guess that nation or city hasn't heard of  EOD or knows that ordinance THAT old would be filled with HIGHLY-UNSTABLE explosive material?
See, some things get better with "age"...like WINE, or a good pair of shoes (comfy), while other things (like TNT)...get "worse".
Some workers there found out the HARD way...and it was the last thing they found out on THIS plain of existence.
Here's the story from the UK Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2595244/Seven-killed-Bangkok-workers-tried-dismantle-Second-World-War-bomb-blowtorch.html

After all those years...still goes BOOM!

Yeah, 70 year old unexploded bombs and blowtorches don't get along too well.
Seven workers discovered that.
The 500-pounder damn near LEVELED the scrap metal place...(as it was designed to do all those years ago).
Like I always say...we (America) used to build things that LAST...no planned obsolescence here.
*** Next, Kevin Leininger of the News-Sentinel has a good article on the education of youth in America and here's the link:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140403/NEWS/140409937/1041/LEININGER
It speaks to the problem we have with kids not "wanting" to learn, which (imho) falls in lockstep with the "deincentivising" of America to seek employment (because the government has so many reasons not to work and stay on the dole)
And, if you simply ignore the "comment" by this person named Craig who spends all his waking hours dissing Kevin (for no reason other than the fact that he has the 1st Amendment on his side), it's a really good read.
I've stated here that we are now spending about THREE TIMES MORE  than what we (as a nation) USED to spend (40 years ago) on ONE child to attend school from K-12. And with ALL that additional revenue pouring in, we've not much to show for it.
Since those forty years when I was in school, we have seen more dropouts, lower achievement, lower standards, more suspensions, more crime on school grounds, and more police there.

We who led, are playing "catch-up" with the world.

We have seen nations that were far beneath us on the educational achievement list in decades past, rise ABOVE us, sending us down the list.
Here's a WIKI that thumbnails it from a 2009 report:
That's FIVE years ago, and we're not moving up the lust.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_student_performance
ESTONIA has better students that WE do???
Another reason to shake your head, hmm?
*** Last back to the barn today...we ARE in a global arena...no getting around that.
And with more nations crawling out of the Middle Ages and arriving into the modern era, we SHOULD be setting a lot better example.
Whether it's education, economics, politics, or even social issues, America needs to be a LEADER.
We've slipped a bit in recent history, and we've been fragmented from within on many occasions.
That good old "Can-Do" spirit is being held by fewer people, so why is that?
Why are many content to sit back and let the government "drive" to whatever destination THEY have in mind?
I thought that it was the individuals that made up the bulk of this nation...the melting pot, as it were; the crucible by which we were all tested.
When it comes to education these days, we always seem to "teach to the test", and yet we're falling behind.
That should never be allowed to happen, and a return to what USED to work (and with less money being wasted) would seem the prudent thing to do.
You might not be able to change people per se, but if you can change their HEARTS and MINDS by teaching them and demonstrating to them that real progress and achievement doesn't come from lounging away one's life on the government's teat, but rather by applying oneself to productive pursuits, then more than half that battle is already won.

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

((Tomorrow - Wifey and I get to do a sequel to the recent movie NOAH...AGAIN!))