Thoughts For Thursday...

If you woke up this morning, stuck your head out the door and wondered if this was feeling more like a POLAR event than anything else, welcome to "global warming".
Yes, it IS cold out there...and we're past the DAMN cold level, heading into the F$CKING cold area, And this weekend only intends to get COLDER still.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will be...well, VERY COLD, and the high today is going to be around the 22 degree mark. Expect off and on snow showers, with little to no accumulation, unless you live a lot farther north of Ft. Wayne.
As can be expected, we've got mostly cloudy skies, so reflective melting will be spotty at best.
Now, with that dispensed with, let's get something nice and HOT poured as we see what else has been going on...
*** First off of the ice floe is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses."

This was spoken by one of the great Americans (who happened to be black) - George Washington Carver (c. 1860 - 5 January 1943) The exact month and day of his birth are not known. All that is known is that he was born into slavery in Missouri either in 1861 or January 1864) And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

His reputation comes from his research into alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes.
He was also a leader in promoting environmentalism (long before the EPA came along and screwed all that up).
His early years are alone worth the read, as it was about as far from a normal upbringing as one can imagine.
He obtained a diploma from Minneapolis High School in Kansas.
After securing a $300 loan after applying to (and being rejected because of his race) from Highland College in Kansas, he homesteaded a small tract of land in Eden Township (Kansas) maintaining a small conservatory for plants, and earning money by doing odd jobs.
Carver started to study the piano and art at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa.
In 1896, Booker T. Washington invited Carver to head up the Agriculture Dept at the Tuskegee Institute.

Let's just say this is a true "rags to riches" story, and President Teddy Roosevelt came to admire his work very much when Carver became notable in the research fields of botany.
His fame brought with it the chance to promote Tuskegee Institute, peanuts and (more importantly) racial harmony. Three American Presidents met with him - Teddy Roosevelt, Coolidge, and FDR.
Curiously, Carver never married.
What Carver did believe is that faith in God AND science was possible, integrating them both into his life. And his latest honor came (long after he died) in 2007, with a garden named for him (Missouri Botanical Gardens).
Like I said...it is a good read. Sure could use a lot more like him TODAY.
Moving on...
*** Next, is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
February 11 -
---Today is NATIONAL DON'T CRY OVER SPILLED MILK DAY

( I prefer to cuss in direct proportion to the AMOUNT spilled)
---It's also NATIONAL PEPPERMINT PATTY DAY

(the food and not the Peanuts girl)
---It's NATIONAL INVENTOR'S DAY

(Plenty to choose from too)
---And, it's NATIONAL MAKE A FRIEND DAY

(hard to do where we live)
---It's also NATIONAL SHUT-IN VISITATION DAY

Don't know of any, but I've done my share over time)
---And, it's NATIONAL WHITE SHIRT DAY

(coal miners need not apply here)
(whew)...that was a lot of stuff going on.
*** Next up,  Our "King" held court downtown yesterday and enlightened us with his latest "address".

Here's the story link:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/Henry-s--State-of-the-City--address-short-on-new-goals----including-downtown-arena
And this is actually a better description of some of what was said:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/Balancing-act-11423286

The latter column mentions the only GOOD point I could find in the king's address.
Starting off, he mentioned Yeomans Auto Service along Pettit Ave, and how Donny (3rd generation now)  served the community (one of a handful that simply refused to leave).
The business is actually growing (from 7 to 11 employees). Hey, it's much better than watching our Scotts close...and Walgreens close, and those other 150+ businesses that have left the area.
Of course Henry moved on from there to ALL the other schemes we've heard of before (many times over), not the least of which as pushing for  this "better benefits" thing, which sounds good initially.
I mean to have women getting a PAID maternity leave is VERY FAIR, but then to mention higher WAGES in the same sentence? Let's face it...what he MEANS is a higher MINIMUM wage (like every democrat loves to enact).

"Costaplenty THREE"?

And he mentioned that BIG TUNNEL job, meant to stop any sewer overflows.
He said crime was down (that's debatable).
There was the downtown-riverfront-arena BS once again.
He mentioned (almost in passing) that this developer was "hired" to take a look into the SE side retail (more properly, the LACK of it). and the Quimby Village redevelopment.
Like I say...nothing we haven't heard before (ad nauseum).
I'd much rather hear LESS talk and MORE (positive) action when it comes to our NEIGHBORHOODS.
Let your ACTIONS regarding our declining areas and blighted neighborhoods speak MUCH louder than the words you toss around at every presser or gathering.
Eight years (and counting), and our area isn't getting ANY better. We (down here) have heard the exact same WORDS for decades, and not any real action to back any of it up.
You want a real legacy, Mr Mayor?
Be the mayor who brings BACK the entire SOUTH side (east and west) from the precipice of social and economic entropy.
Now that WOULD be an accomplishment.
*** Next up, if anyone thinks that jobs are COMING to the Fort Wayne area (Mr Mayor)...maybe they should look at THIS and ponder the realities involved:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/UTEC-cutting-700-Huntington-jobs-11425139
Yep...700 jobs LEAVING for "south of the border"...nice, huh?
Well, they are keeping 100 jobs...wonder why?

Do they have to pay back any tax ABATEMENT money?

And just because the company is located in Huntington, doesn't mean that people LIVING in Fort Wayne aren't affected. We're all in this stuff together...regionally-speaking.
Just thought his highness at Fort Wayne's City Hall should know this...
*** Next up, technology "strikes" again...here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/business/Agency-redefines--driver--11422844
The NHTSA is "redefining" the term DRIVER for the near future.

ROFL - that's a CAR?

his has to do with the advent of those "self-driving" cars we're hearing about.
Apparently a "computer" can be termed a "driver"...who'da thunk it?
Thankfully, it will be some time before such cars are on the highways in large enough numbers to matter, but still...
*** Last back to the wigwam...when was the last time you enjoyed being lied to?

Maybe it had to do with how someone else viewed you...or when someone told you an obvious untruth at work.
Perhaps it's was something you said, or did...or something someone ELSE did...or said.

Whatever the case, if you're observant enough and have been paying attention in life, you catch on pretty quick as to what goes on. sometimes, it might take a bit longer.
But the fact of the matter is that being lied to doesn't usually end well, and being a liar certainly doesn't hold one in any level of esteem to others (or oneself).
And yet, every day we're lied to, mostly by those in some sort of authority, as if revealing the TRUTH to things will somehow damage us all beyond mental recovery.
That's not the case. Many times, we're lied to so the person doing the lying makes themselves look or feel better.
They lie to themselves before they ever lie to anyone else.
(not a great way to go through life...just the only way for some)

The TRUTH is what sets people free, so the opposite must be true about lies, right?
Can't be that hard to figure out, and you don;t even have to delve into the Scriptures to find that.
Oh, how I wish that more people in power would resist the temptation OF that power and yield to honestly.
I mean, I'd rather know what I'm up against, than to be lulled into any false sense of security...or the feigned shroud of liberty and freedom. Sounds like the truth is the only practical way to go, doesn't it?

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