Tuesday Tidbits...

Sure seems a LOT warmer outside this morning.
It's already into the 20s.
Let's hope whatever snow came down over the last two days will be gone soon enough (and before whatever other snow awaits us later this week).
Our Hoosierland weather will see us with mostly cloudy skies, and temps reaching all the way up around 33 degrees. Supposed to be some "freezing fog" outside, but I'm not seeing much around the "Fortress".
I am seeing a little light snow.
I'd still beware of slick spots on the roads out there, and be careful with steps outside, as they could also be a bit on the slippery side. I'd run with Murphy's Law with such things.
Beats all those sub-zero morning temps that freezes our nether-regions off, right? Expect the unexpected, and be properly prepared.
So, with that said, let's get a nice soothing morning drink poured and then we can get a gander at what has been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the slush-puddle is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
February 16 -
---Today is NATIONAL DO A GROUCH A FAVOR DAY

(lol, guess I might make out rather well on THIS one.)
---It's also NATIONAL ALMOND DAY

(I love almonds...used to get those Jordan Amonds at the movies a long time ago)
*** Next, as is the usual fare, it's time to show you ALL the police calls for shots fired and armed robberies around town, because the media won't bother to do so.

SHOTS FIRED / ARMED ROBBERY CALLS - 2/8- 2/14
===============================================
FEB 8-
16F016787 18:12:09 113 SHOTS FIRED 1400 GREENE ST
16F016885 23:13:55 113 SHOTS FIRED 1400 GREENE ST
16F016669 14:54:54 53 ARMED ROB 1400 ST JOSEPH BLVD
16F016664 14:43:23 58 SHOOTING 11100 PARKVIEW PLAZA DR
FEB 9 -
16F017314 23:29:17 113 SHOTS FIRED 2800 BARR ST S
16F017198 18:03:59 53 ARMED ROB 1000 STOPHLET ST
16F017278 21:31:11 53 ARMED ROB 100 RUDISILL BLVD E
16F017283 21:56:37 53 ARMED ROB 900 STATE BLVD W
FEB 10 - 
16F017672 20:32:06 113 SHOTS FIRED 1800 STATE BLVD W
((NO armed robberies))
FEB 11 -
16F018118 21:28:36 113 SHOTS FIRED 500 LAWTON PL
((NO armed robberies))
FEB 12-
16F018167 01:38:28 113 SHOTS FIRED 3700 PAULDING RD E
16F018169 01:41:13 113 SHOTS FIRED 1300 HURON ST
16F018168 01:41:37 113 SHOTS FIRED 1300 WASHINGTON BLVD W
16F018546 21:30:33 113 SHOTS FIRED 1300 GREENE ST
16F018501 19:07:07 53 ARMED ROB 1200 WAYNE ST E
FEB 13 -
16F019024 22:11:36 113 SHOTS FIRED 800 OAKLAWN CT
((NO armed robberies))
FEB 14 -
16F019080 00:21:17 113 SHOTS FIRED 700 FLORENCE AVE
16F019309 15:18:28 113 SHOTS FIRED 4200 WARSAW ST
16F019293 14:38:03 53 ARMED ROB 1300 GRANT AVE & LUTHER ST
============================
Fireworks calls - 2/8 - 2/14
((NONE - for a change..astounding))
*** Next up, I saw this story on the newscast last night, and I couldn't help but be mildly amused. Here's the link
http://wane.com/2016/02/15/big-increase-in-indiana-homicides-under-age-20/

Alyssa Ivanson did a very good job putting this story (and stats) toegther.
Saves me from having to look all of them up in my archives here.
Youth homicides are on the rise across Indiana...now who'da thunk that?
But what is more interesting is the WHERE and WHO.
The "where" is in Allen, Marion, and Lake counties.
The "who" is painfully obvious, as in where are the majority of blacks located?
If you guessed the aforementioned  counties...head of the class time for you.

We have the overwhelming majority of homicides against youths being carried out in those three counties, and by other blacks.

I know I'm not doing it, so I don't want to hear anything about forced "white guilt" over this.
It's their own community who is to blame, and not anyone else.
They have failed their young people (and it's not the educational system at blame), plain and simple. Really not that hard to figure out.
One person quoted (Tasha Sare - Center for Non-Violence in Fort Wayne) feels kinda the same way, stating that "It's shocking to see it in numerical form, but NOT surprising in terms of what we're seeing and what we're feeling in the community."
In 2013, ALL the youth homicides in Fort Wayne (ages 15-19) were black (4 male, 1 female).
Sare goes on to say that "The mindsets that go in to fuel violence and fuel power and control and fuel the fact that violence is the only way out, that violence is the only way to solve things, starts at a very early age. Those mindsets are hardened by the time they get to that high school age, for the most part,”

I see evidence of this every day down in our part of the ghettohood, and "we" don't have a damn thing to do with any of this (except to chase those who don't know boundaries off our property and pick up all the damn trash they toss).
Guess the schools can't be tasked to raise these children either, so why even attempt to do so?
And, I suppose that the dissolution of the traditional black family (and holding no one accountable) doesn't have a damn thing to do with this either?
All these programs created to help the children doesn't seem to be doing AS good a job as we're led to believe.

But, more importantly, it's the democrats who create the environment for such behaviors, molly-coddle the minorities (for their votes), and all but force an "entitlement mentality" upon these people for the sole purpose of CONTROL over them. And everyone else pays for this failed attempt of a "better society".
This stuff makes my brain hurt.
*** Next up, first it was UTEC taking 700 jobs from Indiana and moving them to Mexico.

Now, it's CARRIER's turn to do likewise.
Funny thing, BOTH companies come under the same PARENT company...what a coincidence.
Yep, Carrier is taking their jobs to Mexico as well (must be that $4.19 a day "living wage" down there).
But some politicians (here) are pushing back, and here's the lowdown:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/indiana/Carrier-s-exit-reason-in-question-11511262
Governor Pence feels it's the federal regulations that are partially to blame for Carrier leaving, while Senator Joe Donnelly (D) thinks it's the wage gap (and corporate "profit chase"). I feel that both men are correct.
Now, an argument could be made for the $23 an hour the workers for Carrier make here and how that bites into profits (for new tech and research). But how can you compete with $4.19 A BLODDY DAY for damn near slave labor?
Maybe this is designed to cause all the (11 mil+) illegal immigrants to want to HEAD BACK to Mexico?
Helluva way to accomplish that one. I'll believe that when I see it.
*** Next, more about that TV-Internet tech and what happens when it fails.

"Oops".

Here's the story:
http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/15/comcast-outage/
Comcast is the culprit here...people across the USA were hit with an outage yesterday.

Step right up.

Normally, this would not be a big deal, but considering that damn near anything and everything gets "routed" through the Internet (all the streaming crap I told you about before), people became HIGHLY IRATE at this loss of connectivity.

That's a LOT of pissed off customers.

I know I get cheesed, and I'm close to the bottom on the "techicratic intrusion" charts.
I could still watch local TV (digital converters are pretty cool and handy to have) or watch a DVD, but I can't do a blog post.
Naturally, this can ALSO affect phone service for those who "bundle" the cable/Internet'Phones at their house.
That's why we all MUST have cell phones..until the towers have an outage, right?

Batteries NOT required.

It was SO much easier when we used to have FREE airwaves that we could grab TV signals from (and not have to pay anyone else to do so), and to have a hard-wired PHONE on a table or wall that ALWAYS seemed to work (and didn't need batteries to operate), no matter what.
Am I the only one who misses such times?
*** Last back to the  corral...once again, we see the irrefutable evidence when it comes to failure.
Let's face facts...EVERYTHING fails (sooner or later), and this isn't meant to be a "Danny-Downer" exercise.

Entropy encompasses everything and everyone.
It's just the way life works, and we have to come to terms with that (again, sooner or later).
People fail themselves...or one another.
Technology fails (and often times is hurried along because of the that marvelous marketing and profiteering tool known as "planned obsolescence").

What we have to be aware of is how we will act or react when such failure comes along.
We can always just shrug our shoulders and chalk it up to human nature, or man's inability to perfect that which he creates. Nothing wrong with that, unless it means we do nothing to change the status quo.

Or, we can work to ensure that the failures are kept to a minimum.
When we attempt something and fail, some folks just give the hell up (trying to bail out the Titanic with a five-gallon bucket would be a best analogy here) and move on. Others look at an initial failure as something to pursue until success is found (Edison was a person like that).
You keep plugging along until you conquer that which seemed unconquerable.

History is replete with such men and women who simply could not take "no" for an answer to their particular problems and issues.
We are no different, except in our own DESIRE to follow suit.
We all have the exact same opportunities to succeed OR fail.
We make the right choices often enough and long enough, we will do just that...succeed.
And, as the saying goes "Nothing succeeds like success" (Alexandre Dumas), right?

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