Monday Musings...

Welcome to the start of the week, and the end of this month.
Looks like all of us will begin (in earnest) the heart of the holiday season by week's end.
It's not like we haven't been bombarded by the hype for a month already though, has it?
And cripes, the Christmas movie viewings are already starting to cheese me off. I like my Christmas movies a LOT closer TO CHRISTMAS.
Guess that's asking too much.
We have an interesting week ahead, forecast-wise.
Our Hoosierland weather for today has us seeing increasing clouds in our skies (will we get a sunrise?) leading up to some rain overnight tonight, with temps topping out in the mid-forties range.
Not that bad a way to say goodbye to November, is it?
So what say we get that morning drink poured as we tackle whatever issues come our way, hmm?
*** First out of the microwave is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
November 30 -
---Today is NATIONAL MOUSSE DAY

Yeah, don't want that in the hair.

(wonder if they mean the hair product or the dessert? Don't ever mix the two)
---It's also NATIONAL METH AWARENESS DAY

NOT better living through chemistry.

(sadly, we've too many people already "aware" of this, and not in a good way, mind you.)
---And, it's COMPUTER SECURITY DAY

(which makes you wonder how safe is YOURS when companies and governments get hacked)
---It's also STAY HOME BECAUSE YOU'RE WELL DAY

(a faux celebratory day if ever I saw one)
---And, it is CYBER-MONDAY

(we'll tackle this one straight away, so keep reading)
*** Next up, Wifey is going back to work (school) today after her oral surgery, and I've been worrying my ass off (luckily my pants are there to keep it from falling off completely...lol).

She had to take a semi-emergency trip Saturday to the doc's for treatment of "dry-socket" of one of the four teeth pulled, and that bugged me, because I love to say that going to ANY doctor is like a woman going to the hair or nail salon; once they get you in, you're THEIRS (seemingly) forever...
Still the pain she had was taken care off, and she feels well enough to get back into the swing of things.
(hopefully no other complications will arise)
And speaking of schools, congrats to SNIDER and DWENGER for BOTH winning their respective state football championships. Not a bad showing for our city.

WTG, people.

Now, if we could ONLY win some state EDUCATIONAL championships for a change.
I know...never satisfied, right?
*** Next up, the other week, I was speaking about this "micro-aggression" that people in general and blacks in particular seemed to be suffering from (which explains a lot of the in-store fighting on black Friday).

The LIBERAL "explanation".

Well, there was a letter to the editor today that made me take notice (anew) to this increasingly disturbing trend.
Here's the link to the letter:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/letters/Letters-9951302
(scroll down to the one that reads "Re-segregation will solve ‘micro-aggression’ effects"

The author makes a valid point, but I also know this was written more not as what we SHOULD do, but rather what others think could be done. I look at the letter as more "tongue-in-cheek" than fact, and it is well-written.
To that, I'd say "hold one a moment - not so fast, pardner".
To re-segregate the blacks WOULD toss us back to the 1950s, so that idea is a wash in my book.
But, what is even more blatant (and why city leaders don't take off their blinders and see it for themselves is beyond me) is that blacks have this TENDENCY to SELF--SEGREGATE, without the help of anyone else.
And this especially pertains to the blacks of the low-information persuasion.
The farther DOWN the educational and societal ladder you go, the MORE they will segregate THEMSELVES, which is in stark contrast to all the integration that was done dating back through the civil rights movement.

Shoe's on the OTHER foot...by choice.

When you have low-income, minority filled apartment complexes (for example) you have MORE CRIME, thanks in no small part to all this micro-aggression. Every little thing sets them off with their OWN people, so it's little wonder they can't (or won't) tolerate other ethnicities.
The stats regarding black-on-black crime bear that much out, because that occurs where blacks have segregated themselves.
Sometimes, cities (knowingly) PERMIT (or foster) such segregation, and turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the problems (like the south side of Chicago, or the SE part of Ft. Wayne).
Whether this is done to allow the blacks to "police themselves" (which never seems to work), or for the hope of  "we know where they're at, so maybe they'll just all kill one another off", and as nasty as this sounds, is more appropriate as far as the city believes.

The REAL racists are on the LEFT.

In some cases, forced integration (of the low-information crowd) is never an option, and many communities simply will not allow it, but in fact, will have other-raced people living there.
Given the chance, this group of minorities will ALWAYS seek to be "with their own", and we know the results that always produces.
When people decide that a segregated life is better than all the opportunities that integrating themselves with the rest of society can bring, it says much for the future of that part of the populace, and is extremely predictable (or should be), right?
The only real cure (imho) for all this micro-aggression is to become better educated and get a thicker skin. In essence, be a lot more human, and lot less animalistic in nature.
*** Next up, it is indeed CYBER-MONDAY

And no, this is NOT a Doctor Who reference in any way)
Here is the WIKI on this day:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Monday
Now, as you could expect, this is NOT a term giving by the Philly police, but rather a MARKETING term given to this day to denote ONLINE SALES, as opposed to walking into the "brick and mortar" stores to get your "stuff".
And more people are liking this.
Actually, last week's Black Friday sales were a bit on the flat side, because more people DID shop online.
Here's a link to this story:
http://time.com/4128592/black-friday-sales-down/
Yep, retail sales at stores were DOWN by about a BILLION bucks, according to researcher SHOPPERTRAK.
Consumer shoppers "only" spent $10.4 Billion...what a shame.
Wifey and I didn't spend one---thin---dime. (blame us, right? LOL)
Cyber-Monday is expected to be the biggest e-retail day, however.
Considering you have a choice of either having things delivered OR can just waltz into a store to pick it up (and not bother fighting shoppers) it's a good way to go.
Many stores have free shipping as well.
It would seem the Internet has become the new retail battleground, with your wallet or purse at stake.
Cyber-Monday got it's start in 2005, so it hasn't been around that long, but it sure has taken off.
Last years sales on this day were about $2.69 billion (up from $2.39 bil the previous year) while in store retail accounted for $11 billion in 2014. e-retail is taking a larger bite each year.
Guess shoppers would rather get SEASONS GREETINGS instead of SEASONS BEATINGS?

Some Fridays are blacker than others.

I can't blame them one damn bit, either.
Since it's inception, Cyber-Monday only took 5 years to surpass the $1 billion-dollar mark, so we know where the future of shopping for the holidays is going.
Today is now a world-wide phenomenon, and it's practiced all over.
Nice to know America can still be "innovative", right?
*** Last back to the breakfast table...you can try and dress it up any way you like, but people are the most complex species on the planet, and that's not exactly a bad thing.

Remediations R Us

I mean SOMEONE has to be at the top of the food-chain, hmm?
But the problem comes when "we" make the complex even MORE complex than we should.
Mankind is always seeking to make life "better" for us all, and yet keeps falling short of the mark, in that it doesn't come down to THINGS which make us better; WE have to find ways to make OURSELVES better.
And no trinket, bauble, or government agency on Earth is going to do that for us.
WE have to do it...each and every one of us.
When we devolve into instinctual behavior like any other mammal, we see the results.
While instinct helps us learn about our behavior, it should not (alone) dictate that behavior.
REASON sees to that, or at least it should.
You don't even have to enter the realm of religion to see that much, although that helps immensely.
And perhaps, if more people took reasoning a lot more seriously, they would not suffer half the crap that gets them in trouble. I know I could do with reading less about the bad things people do, and instead see some of the enormous good we're all capable of.
Seems a perfect time of year to start, anyway.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.
(See 'ya next month)