Monday Musings...

Welcome to a rather MILD start to our week...a condition which will fast return to more "seasonal" temperatures.
Today, we'll be talking about celebrating the "green", a utility "burp", and some remedial mathematics for the local media.
But first let's take a look at the forecast.
Our Hoosierland weather today will see us with very NICE conditions with partly sunny skies and an expected high of around SIXTY-SEVEN (that's 67) degrees...!
I've already seen long satin shorts on the "locals"...crripes.
No precipitation today (that comes later this week), so this is a good chance to see the LAST vestiges of our winter snowfalls bite the big one.
Now, with that over and done with, let's see what else has been going on since last we met here.
You get your cup of morning bliss and I'll get mine.
*** First off the turnip truck is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
March 16 - 
---Today is EVERYTHING YOU DO IS RIGHT DAY...lol
(who thinks this shit UP, anyway?)

I'd like to believe that MOST of what I do is RIGHT, and most all the time, but being "only" human, there are those chance encounters with what we consider "wrong".
Yes, even I am in error from time to time...(and I had so many years without an incident...lol).
Still, if you're a Godly person, I'd wager your right is better than others.
---It's also FREEDOM OF INFORMATION DAY...

I guess we can grab us some Hillary emails then?
Maybe I'd just be happier with hearing a lot more TRUTH spewing forth from those that have been telling us otherwise...how about you?
*** Next up, Wifey and I decided to commemorate St. Patty's Day a tad earlier than usual, being as it falls on a TUESDAY.

Got my mouth watering again...heh

That means I made us a corned beef brisket (tender enough to melt in your mouth).
And I made it IN THE OVEN (with potatoes)...best one I've done yet.
I washed dinner down with a nice KILLIAN'S STOUT, too.

Gotta do it RIGHT, right?

Got pretty close to heaven yesterday with that.
It was worth spending the money to get the brisket...got leftovers for DAYS.
We didn't really need the "cabbage" - Wifey doesn't eat it, and they don't sell 1/4 heads of the stuff...lol.
*** Next, we had a bit of a scare when the power "blinked" out for a second last evening.

I hate when this happens...

Sure glad we didn't have any "weeping angels" about the area...that would have been awkward.
I will say that whenever the power goes out, watching THE WALKING DEAD is perhaps not the BEST way to greet the darkness...LOL!

Where's Rick or Darryl when I NEED them?

Suffice it to say, I had to reset some of the clocks, flashlight in one hand, 9 mm in the other...JUST in case the power decided to "burp" again.
This used to be a regular problem down here in the late 1990s, and since then, we've had few instances.
Funny thing, you'd expect an outage if a transformer pops (and they pop LOUDLY), or when some idiot marries his Toyota to a damn utility pole, but the outages WE "enjoy" seem to be wonderfully RANDOM in nature, barring a major outage like the one we had in July a couple years back.
Guess it pays to have that city infrastructure in good repair.
*** Next on tap, we had a double SHOOTING at Piere's (again?) that left one in serious condition and the other eventually DECEASED.

Here we go again, and again, and again...

This happened around 0300 hrs Sunday in the parking lot. FWPD was doing security AT the place, and several HUNDRED people were leaving when the shooting broke out.
Over THIRTY of those little yellow (crime scene) markers were scattered about, and no details as to how MANY rounds were expended, where the shooting came from (person or car - my guess would be a vehicle), no information released yet as to the victims, and not much on the witness front (with so many people, someone should have seen something...you'd think).
But, that's not what got ME po'ed when I heard and read about this.
Here's the story link, in case you were wondering:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/1-dead--1-hurt-in-brawl-outside-bar-5571255

What had me damn near shouting at these drive-by media sources was that they listed this latest homicide as the THIRD for Allen County (and Fort Wayne). WRONG...!!!!
If these reporters would do some MATH, they'd figure out this is the FOURTH homicide...not the third.
And, naturally, I have MY archive posts to back this up.
So, as a public service, and to aid these media sources in their quest for better math skills, let's take them by the hand and set things straight:
Fort Wayne homicides for 2015 (so far):
1) - 22 January - HIlario Segura
2) - 17 February - Mya Marie White
3) - 12 March - Marcus Q. Bibbs
4) - 15 March - ???
Now, from where I come from, THAT totals FOUR...not three.

You write a "3", and I'll break that hand.

I could see if we had SO many homicides like in Philly or Chicago...(several hundred per year and ONE gets lost in the news-shuffle), but cripes almighty, it's ONLY SINGLE DIGITS...lose the interns at the papers and news stations and get people with GOOD math skills doing this.
BTW, I emailed several news sources with the facts, and 2 of them have changed their stories, the J-G being one of them, but WOWO and the News-Sentinel still have it listed as the third homicide.
((Editor's Update - 1300 hrs. - The victim has been ID'ed as Leon Dante Moore, 23 of Fort Wayne, according to WPTA website and NOW listed as the 4th homicide...or, just listen to me for a change, people))
*** Next, last evening one of the nearby drug cribs (...you don't know that, Bob - I don't NOT know that, folks) had some (black) males in the alley, playing loud music from a car and milling about (a yard was right next to them)

Oh, you can just BET this can't be good...

Even for our area, this is a FIRST that I've seen.
So, I called it in as suspicious (signal 43).
The FWPD has had a MENU in place for the last two years...and it SUCKS.
I'd rather speak DIRECTLY to a dispatcher and get the damn ball (and cruiser) rolling.
I get the first person (with a heavy accent) who takes all the info about the goings on, and then HE hands me off to a SECOND person (female) who is the dispatcher.
For God's sake, it's a WEEKEND...how many people we got on the payroll to make things take longer anyway?
Well, I got the call in, and waited to see if a police car would come by.
I didn't see any after 20 minutes, and as we all know...IF a fight should break out, it only takes s MOMENT to pop a cap in someone's ass (or elsewhere).
THIS is the type of thing I'd LIKE to avoid in our area, even if the city thinks otherwise.
*** Next, the people who "maintain" the (once nice) house across the street came by to play "trim-a-tree" Saturday...and did a spectacular job...of LEAVING THE REFUSE ALONG THE CURBSIDE...for what reason I have no idea.

Not an "OOPS" moment, a "WTF?" moment.

They had a pickup, so "take it with you and drop it off at a recycling place".
Well, this will facilitate another call to SOMEONE in some city department (or several) and get them reported.
That's why carrying a camera around is a necessity down here...you NEVER KNOW what you'll be witness to at ANY given time.
*** Last back to the  produce shelves...I was going to talk about this new "blight-removal" initiative set down by the city (thanks in no small part to government GRANTS) to make certain areas LESS nasty-ass looking.

Get rid of the CRIME, and you get rid of the BLIGHT - it's that simple.

Well, I'll do that tomorrow.
But, that plan, or any other set down from City Hall is a drop in the damn bucket when it comes to some real and lasting GOOD changes down here.
You all have heard me bitch, gripe, piss and moan over this for a long time, and I thank you for indulging me.
I do this with REASON, however...and with conviction.
Things do NOT have to be the way they are, unless someone permits it, and actually nourishes it.
Houses do not "dilapidate" themselves without some "external influence", like the weather and lack-of maintenance. We know the "people" have a heavy hand adding to this.

SO goes the SE side - and it's SPREADING.

It always comes down to the tried and true BROKEN WINDOW THEORY.
Only, it no longer IS just a theory...it's in full PRACTICE.

And yes, it's always the PEOPLE who are at the root cause of such things, thanks to something we call IGNORANCE.
Everyone has the exact same opportunity to be a BETTER person...many of us have found that out.
Some never will, and that's perhaps the saddest part to this story.

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