Friday Follies...

Well, because Wifey had FOUR days in school instead of five, it seems a shorter week to ME, but here we are anyway...it's a WEEKEND!
And it will be feeling MORE like summer over the next several days, unlike the nice respite we have been enjoying.
Sorry, but it IS August...them's the breaks.
Our Hoosierland weather today will have us with partly sunny skies, and temps reaching a bit higher into the 80s, and with that comes higher humidity.
We might be hitting 90 between now and Monday as well, so, a word to the wise, right?
Anyway, let's all procure our morning beverage of choice and see what has been going on elsewhere...
*** First off of the rooftop is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
August 14 -
---Today is NATIONAL CREAMSICLE DAY.

God, the only thing I remember about them is HOW COLD they were off the truck...my damn tongue would stick to them like Ralphie's brother to that flagpole...LOL.
*** Now, since it's FRIDAY, let's see what will happen over the weekend, JUST so you can be a part of the "fun":
August 15 -
---Saturday is VJ DAY
(Japan officially signed the declaration of surrender)

The KISS felt around the world.

Here's the lowdown if you're a history buff:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_over_Japan_Day
---It's also RELAXATION DAY

Shoulda combined this with HAMMOCK day.

Hell, ANY day is worthy of that, right?
Grab it if 'ya got it!
---It's also NATIONAL LEMON MERINGUE PIE DAY

(again, just ONE day for something THIS good?
August 16 -
---Sunday is NATIONAL TELL A JOKE DAY

(Hey, have you heard the one about the failed president and how he screwed up our nation?)
Well, no one said the joke HAD to be funny.
---It's also NATIONAL RUM DAY

(makes a good mix with LOTS of stuff...lol.
---And, it's NATIONAL AIRBORNE DAY

(why brave troopers jump out of perfectly GOOD airplanes is odd, but it DOES get the job done.)
---It's also NATIONAL ROLLER COASTER DAY

(don't tell that to the family of the guy that was killed when he went where he shouldn't and got WHACKED by one at Cedar Point)
And there you have it...all the stuff you NEED to know to make life fun.
*** Next up, just when you thought that armed robberies in our city MIGHT be slacking off, comes THIS:
http://wane.com/2015/08/13/police-investigate-armed-robbery-at-wendys/

"Canna getta BACONATOR wif yo cash?"

The WENDY'S down at Southtown Crossing was targeted around 2200 hrs last night (closing time) by an armed gunman demanding (what else?) money. A police K-9 unit tracked the scent to the parking lot...
I suppose that's a start. It's logical to conclude that a getaway VEHICLE was used.
And, a description of the robber was NOT available...(wonder why?) Any bets that he was BLACK?
This is exactly WHY businesses will NOT come down here, even if the land they can build upon is rendered "free" by our "king", mayor Henry.
To paraphrase an old saying - "IT'S THE CRIME, STUPID!"
Now, forgive me for being a tad dense here, but what was it that our mayor is ALWAYS telling us about how our city is so damn good BECAUSE of this QUALITY-OF-LIFE thing?

Major FAIL in SEVERAL categories for the SE side.

I think I need to hear this bullshit AGAIN, because I'm STILL not QUITE convinced of yet...even after 18 years here.
Moving on...
*** Next up,...ast week, fuel prices (for regular) were in the $2.32 range...I filled up the Wifeymobile last week and took notice.

Here we go AGAIN.

What I didn't expect was to see prices JUMP damn near SEVENTY CENTS a gallon to tickle the $3.00 mark (again).
Figures we "all of a sudden" have this problem at the ONE major (and largest) refinery in the Midwest.
Here's the story link:
http://www.toledonewsnow.com/story/29774558/shutdown-at-midwest-refinery-causes-gas-prices-to-go-up
Nobody's "fessing up" as to WHY the plant shut the hell down, but this brings up something I've mentioned here over the years.
We have NOT had one NEW refinery built in America in OVER FORTY YEARS...!
And all the other refineries have been in constant operation for SO long, they need some serious upgrades made to them.

Unexplained shutdown? Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot, folks!

To not follow a plan like this results in...well, read the news and look at the gas station signage...that tells it all, doesn't it?
*** Next up, a lot of residents in the SW area are cheesed off over a county proposal to stick a "truck hub" in the midst of their semi-pristine landscape, and they all should be ticked.

Not one happy face in THIS crowd.

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/Truck-rail-hub-hearing-delay-upsets-crowd-8226521
Now, WHY does someone want to screw up another nice area?
Well, look at the SE part of Ft. Wayne for that answer.

(because those in power CAN?) You got it.
The area in question is presently a CORNFIELD.
Didn't we need MORE corn for food, feed and (crappy) ethanol?

So, isn't this like cutting off a nose to spite a face?
Sure sounds like it to me.
The lawyers for the proposal asked for a postponement of hearings (didn't expect the people to PUSH BACK...didja?)
I know I'd be pissed if I spent the money to get a house AWAY from the madding crowds, only to find out that some local authority wants to bring that crap to MY neighborhood...
Good for those who trying to beat back "the system"...they already did it once in 2005.
*** And from the world of Hollyweird, there's ANOTHER "remake", "reboot", call it what you will, and it's another shot at something from the "sixties"::
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

We ALL wanted to work for THIS outfit.

Now, I take ALL these remakes with a grain of salt, because nothing beats the ORIGINAL (imho).
There was some shifting of air times for the show through it's run, as broadcasters were starting to do...kept you guessing each season, but at least we had fewer commercials back then.
Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) made the world safer from all these "over the top" bad guys, and it was a good show in it's day.
(lasted FOUR years. That's longer than Star Trek)
Here's the WIKI on the original show:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_U.N.C.L.E.
Part drama, part satire, and a REALLY cool Jerry Goldsmith theme.
DelFloria's Tailor Shop in Manhattan was the place to be, IF you were working for U.N.C.L.E.
(an acronym for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement)

The good old days were cool, suave, and fun.

I'm sorry, but this remake might have some good points to it (bigger budget, big screen, yada, yada, yada...but in the end, all the nuances that made the SERIES a hit at the time, never translates well enough to the big screen to keep me coming back.
*** Before we head off into the sunset, I wanted to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM  ((...AHEM...))

It's 80 years old today..(and damn near broke thanks to the FEDS...imagine that).
Here's the history of this debacle:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Social_Security_in_the_United_States
Whaddya mean there's NO CAKE???

You feds screwed us all...say it...SAY IT!!!!

Would have been SO much better to have privatized this a long time ago, if we knew the government would be taking our OWN money (that we paid into all those working years) from us. Talk about a colossal waste.
*** Last back to the basement...yeah, the Cold War used to be a fun time.

In a nutshell...

We were learning to hide under our desks, watching TV shows that proved WE were the GOOD GUYS, and that America stood tall through any situation (Cuban Missile Crisis) and were never the first ones to "flinch" in a game of nuclear chicken. Through all that, plus all those "dangerous" toys that would be banned before they hit the stores...we SURVIVED.
We (as children) could "protect" our neighborhoods with CAP GUNS...and police were not yelling at us to "put the gun down!"
Hell, we played harder than most people worked...and we never got paid...we got EDUCATED instead.
The humorous part to all this, is that with a "more evolved" world after 5 decades, we have learned little to nothing..except how to take things away from people.
Things like liberty and freedom.
I never see kids playing with cap guns these days...many are too busy stealing the REAL thing and holding people the hell up (or worse).

And things ARE heating up.

We have another "Cold War" on our hands, but it's not being fought on the ground as much as it's being waged in CYBERSPACE.
We have nation's economies failing daily, Jihad against everyone NOT following Islam, and to top it all off...insipid commercials interrupting all these crap reality and "talent" TV shows.
Now HOW f$cked up it THAT?
I thought life was SUPPOSED to be getting BETTER, so what's going on here?
If I didn't know better, I'd think that when it comes to REMAKES, our society is trying it's damnedest to create one of it's own...at the expense of who and what we used to be as a nation.
I'll take a pass on that one, folks.
Give me what we used to have, because THAT was SO much better.
DO have yourselves a good weekend.

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out the, America.