Monday Musings...

Welcome to a VERY frosty morning here in the Heartland.
A good time to be thankful we're not suffering over SEVEN FEET of snow...like they have to endure in the Boston area.
(Nice mini-blizzard we had on Saturday here, too.)
Still, cold IS cold...and we've plenty of that starting off the week.
Our Hoosierland weather will see us with LOTS of that cold...high today is about 15 degrees, but on the "up" side, it IS on the positive end of the thermometer.
 The down side is that with the wind chills out there, it FEELS like MINUS 15...
Mostly cloudy today, but no precipitation...(that'll come tomorrow).
So, go get yourselves a nice :LARGE cup of something hot...we're going to need it as we see what's been going on elsewhere.
*** First out of the arctic is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
February 16 - 
---Today is PRESIDENT'S DAY...the day we combine Lincoln and Washington's birthdays to form ONE HUGE SALE DAY at most any store, as opposed to two smaller sales...lol.

(makes it better for for those who don't know the REAL birthdays.)
I like it the old way.
---And, it's also DO A GROUCH A FAVOR DAY.

And if anyone "wants" to do ME a favor...you go right ahead, I won't stop you.
Curmudgeon...grouch...all the same to me.
Moving on...
*** A five year old girl dies in Fort Wayne after being shot.

(and no, it wasn't a stray round from a rolling shootout, as is usually the case)
Here's the story link:
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/14/year-old-girl-dies-shot-face-fort-wayne/23412537/
The reason I used THIS link, is that it had the most to say. Local media sources didn't have jack to say, and that's disturbing.
I heard this will be investigated as a HOMICIDE.
This shooting was described as a "negligent discharge", and I thought such things only caused unwanted pregnancies. Learn something new every day

I thought I JUST had a post about responsible firearms ownership.
Guess the person who had this gun didn't read the article...or COULDN'T.
In any event, a small child is dead, and I hope there's enough GUILT to go around, because it is warranted.
*** And after three MORE armed robberies, it looks like the FWPD "might" have a person-of-interest in custody connected to these as well as several other recent robberies.

Here's the story link:
http://wane.com/2015/02/16/fwpd-investigates-possible-armed-robbery/
BTW, it's NEVER a "possible" armed robbery when the perp HAS A DAMN GUN...I wish to hell they'd tell the truth.

Phil's One Stop Marathon Station

It's a DEFINITE armed robbery...period.
Plus, if items taken DURING a robbery are found in the car of the person being stopped and detained, that kinda nails it down, doesn't it?
(DEFINITELY, and not possibly)
*** Next up, Wifey drove back from Vincennes, and arrived at the "Fortress" early Saturday evening, none the worse for wear, but with a veritable carload of STUFF.

All her Mom's things like quilts, photo albums, and other assorted things.

We did get a new(er) microwave oven (1.3 cu.ft.Sharp carousel, like what MY mom had back in Philly) and it works great.

Our old one (huge beast with a rotary timing knob) has been relegated to the basement, in case we ever need to fall back on it.
And, since we didn't get to grocery shop on Saturday, we went yesterday morning instead, so that throws off MY schedule, but not enough to turn me into a sobbing pile on the floor....lol.
That's just NOT gonna happen.
We did get some nice art prints, with the "centerpiece" being a HUGE copy of Van Gogh's "The Starry Night".

Now, all we need are some more WALLS to hang them.
*** Last back to the igloo...ever sine the leftist loons started this global-warming BS, I've been a staunch opponent, and with good reason.
We simply cannot control what the EARTH wants to do any more than we can all live to be several hundred years old...just not in the cards, and besides, there is a much HIGHER authority at work here.

"Oy, stop with the warming thing, already..."

Recently, NASA released some time-lapse shots of our SUN (over a decade or so), and you can see the solar prominences, coronal mass ejections, and sunspots as they form.
Here's another instance of something WAY beyond OUR control, and yet, given the proper circumstances -  just one DECENT "CME" is enough to disrupt LOTS of things on our little blue ball...and "we" have NO control over that either.

Just another coronal mass ejection.

Yet, we keep constantly hearing these people telling us about mankind being to blame for warming the Earth up...
Yeah, that's like saying that an empty gas tank makes your car HEAVIER.
Or that an EMPTY firearm will kill MORE people than a loaded one (bludgeonings aside).
Sure, we can contribute to some small changes here and there (barring the nuclear M.A.D.), but long term, it always comes down to MOTHER EARTH and what "she" chooses to do, as well as the infinite plan of the universe (again, run by that higher authority).
I wonder what the people in BOSTON are thinking about, when anyone mentions GLOBAL WARMING...as they shovel all..that...snow...?

"How 'bout let's put the snow up Gore's ass?."

(and wonder where to put it all - I hear the harbor is on the short-list)
Bet a lot of people there are changing their minds.
This planet's been here a LONG time, and has got a lot of mileage left in it.
If anything, we should be trying to attune ourselves (as the human race) TO the planet, much like the Native-Americans believe. A state of symbiosis to some level.
That's not saying we hug some trees, but a more responsible approach is warranted.
RESPONSIBLE people ...the way they used to be.
(imagine that)
People speak about our dependency on oil...but in the larger scheme of things, we depend on SO much more, like WATER, and AIR, and the EARTH still being here when we go to sleep and wake up the next day..
And it's high time we realized that there will ALWAYS be things on this planet we cannot ever change, no matter how much we stick our primate noses into it.
If anything, we should be striving to change OURSELVES...makes US better.
Shouldn't that be what life is about...a better "us"?

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