Tuesday Tidbits...

I thought we were going to have a nice sunrise on this morning.
Guess not.
We've got some cloudy skies outside early on, turning to partly cloudy (or sunny) skies later this AM.
The rest of our Hooiserland weather will see us with a high today of around 63 degrees, which is only about ten degrees warmer than it is right now.
All in all, a pretty good day to mow the back yard (again) - hint to myself...
In the meantime, let's all get our morning cup or glass of whatever we fancy, as we take a good look at what else has been going on.
*** First out of the field of dreams is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
May 12 -
---Today is FATIGUE SYNDROME DAY.
Not sure if this is an "awareness" day or we need to catch us some...

Ahh, well that explains it.
In this day and age, it's hard NOT to get a bit fatigued, that's for sure.
---It's also INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY

(you could nab a  two-fer", guys...if you play this whenever you get fatigued...lol.
---And, it's also LIMERICK DAY

So, dig out the "There was an old man from Nantucket" and have at it.
*** Next, is our salute to local moronic behavior with ALL the shots fired and armed robbery calls the media NEVER lets you in on...

SHOTS FIRED and ARMED ROBBERIES - 5/4 - 5/10
===========================================
MAY 4 - 
15F053212 04:16:35 113 SHOTS FIRED 2300 GLENWOOD AVE & CAREW ST
(NO armed robberies)
MAY 5 - 
15F053644 00:24:14 113 SHOTS FIRED 600 THIRD ST
15F053682 02:36:47 113 SHOTS FIRED 1300 BOONE ST
15F054111 22:31:31 113 SHOTS FIRED 4700 WEISSER PARK AVE
(NO armed robberies)
MAY 6 - 
15F054134 00:00:16 113 SHOTS FIRED 3300 BROOKLYN AVE
15F054334 13:58:52 113 SHOTS FIRED 2600 BELLE VISTA BLVD
15F054579 22:57:12 113 SHOTS FIRED 5700 RIVER RUN TRL
(NO armed robberies)
MAY 7- 
15F054795 13:27:57 113 SHOTS FIRED 3900 WINTER ST
15F055054 22:55:42 113 SHOTS FIRED 2100 EDEN ST & GREENE ST
15F055067 23:25:45 113 SHOTS FIRED 1300 WALLACE ST E
15F055074 23:48:19 53 ARMED ROB 1600 ST JOE CENTER RD
MAY 8 -
15F055078 00:06:28 113 SHOTS FIRED 1400 GREENE ST
15F055266 12:51:49 113 SHOTS FIRED 3400 WINTER ST & OXFORD ST
15F055313 14:31:26 113 SHOTS FIRED 11400 COLDWATER RD
15F055375 16:00:51 113 SHOTS FIRED 200 ESMOND ST
15F055518 21:28:13 113 SHOTS FIRED 3900 PLAZA DR
15F055176 08:53:30 53 ARMED ROB 3900 REED ST
MAY 9 - 
15F055649 01:17:35 113 SHOTS FIRED 3600 BROADWAY & OAKDALE DR W
15F056001 19:31:57 113 SHOTS FIRED 4400 WEISSER PARK AVE
15F056049 21:22:23 113 SHOTS FIRED 8300 BRIDGEWAY CIR
(NO armed robberies)
MAY 10 - 
15F056432 16:46:48 113 SHOTS FIRED 1200 HUESTIS AVE
(NO armed robberies)
========================
Ever notice that EARLY in the month, not much goes on, as opposed to near the END of the month when the EBT cards are getting a might "empty"?
Yes, there IS a pattern...(note to law-enforcement)
*** Next up, has anyone in the drive-by media mentioned that all this week is NATIONAL POLICE WEEK?

I know I haven't seen or heard a whimper about it.
But, I have heard all that football bullshit over this "deflategate" crap.
Can't turn on ANY news source without hearing this...same for picking up a damn newspaper.
When did all our nation's PRIORITIES get so damned screwed the hell on BACKWARDS, anyway?
This is the sort of stuff that should piss off any real American, as well as make them wary about where we are headed as a country.
We've got a serious problem in this nation with this blatant disrespect for authority of ANY form, shape, or function.
So, as a "PSA", I bring you the schedule of events for the entire week that revolvs around ALL our police men and women (taking place in our nation's capital).
Here's the link to the website:
http://www.policeweek.org/schedule.html
Now, you know more than the news agencies will tell you.
Moving on...
*** Yesterday, way down here in the "crotch" of Fort Wayne, we were privy to a TORNADO WARNING...
Heard the sirens go off (for once), and noticed that the traffic died down...a LOT.

My kinda signage...HA!

I turned on the weather and watched this huge cell coming our way, and I got into "possible pre-disaster mode"
Locate the go-bag, know where the cat's at...where the guns and ammo are at, get shoes on over the socks, keep a radio nearby...the usual stuff.
Thing is, we never got high winds. In fact, it got eerily CALM (that got me a bit on edge).
The storm front moved farther south and headed NE, bypassing us altogether.
(sigh-of-relief time for me).
We never had a tornado in Philly (a couple small earthquakes, though...kinda cool) but's it seems to be SOP here.
Now, I might be a neophyte when it comes to such regularities of the Midwest...BUT, I DO know enough to prep for whenever "something wicked this way comes". Let's just say we have a proper basement, and I have no plans to take a trip to "OZ" anytime soon (no matter HOW much better it looks than here...lol).
*** Next up, Wifey had some mail to put out to the box yesterday, so, after doing the blog, I walked it out, put up the little red flag, and waited for the USPS to "do it's thing"...

Well, I waited...and waited...and waited some more. After Wifey got home, I told here I was STILL waiting for the mail to come (and pick up our stuff). We've had late mail before, but this was ridiculous.
She called the local post office (Diplomat Plaza, out by Hessen Cassel Rd.) and the woman said that "unless there is incoming mail, carriers will NOT pick up anything outgoing".
That is verbatim what she told the Missus.
When Wifey told ME, I was like "WTF???" Never heard of that before, and if the USPS has such a "new" policy, they would have had a press release...or something.

Huh...wha???

Anyway, the carrier DID come by around 1645 hrs, and it was our old carrier, Jackie. I managed to get our mail picked up and I asked her what the policy was for pickup mail from the box.
Nothing changed - USPS will STILL pick up the outgoing mail as long as the red FLAG is up and there is no incoming mail. That has never changed in any way, she told me, and she's been with the USPS for more than a couple years.
So there 'ya go...it's now not ONLY the IRS that will give you a WRONG answer if you call 'em...the USPS also likes to provide it's own brand of "fiction":. And that's why it ALWAYS pays to QUESTION EVERYTHING.
(the only way you can learn the truth)
*** Last back to the roundhouse...Getting back to the whole priorities gig...has anyone noticed the manner in which our society is now assigning such things as to "what is really important"?

When we elevate a sports figure (who is alleged to have cheated) ABOVE that of fallen police officers who CHOSE to put their lives on the line to protect the citizenry, isn't that saying a LOT about "us" as a nation?
And, isn't this just another updated version of "Bread and Circuses"?
(which is not JUST an episode of the original Star Trek, BTW)

I'm "sure" we can TALK this one out, fellas...

And, is this not another way we are trying to imitate the ancient Roman Empire?
We all know how THAT finally worked out, don't we?
That's right, I've read Gibbon's "Decline and Fall"...(all three paperback volumes), and I remembered a LOT from those books.
There was a time...back in the 1980s, when I was teaching Sunday school, and I used Gibbons to demonstrate how America was following much the same path as ancient Rome.
The proof was right in front of our faces...
-- Ancient Rome suffered from corrupt politics...so have we (and to this day)
-- Ancient Rome had sexual debauchery...so have we (and embraced it in much the same ways)
-- Ancient Rome had financial troubles...so do we (and the major blame can be found in our current administration)
-- Ancient Rome suffered from outside influences...so do we, in the name of progressivism, and socialism.
-- Ancient Rome had a huge "immigration" problem...as do WE, and financially, it is completely unsustainable.
ALL of these aspects are just the easy ones to spot...there are so many other subtle ones that we (today) have in common with ancient Rome.
Perhaps the time is nigh to take measures to halt such a repetition of history, lest we become victims to the exact same end as what befell the Roman Empire. One would think enough people would notice this.
Maybe they are starting to, and that can be the impetus we need to get OUR nation back to the greatness it deserves, and not what it settles for.

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