Monday Musings...

If you're one of the many people who just can;t wait until Springtime comes (as predicted back on Groundhog Day, then this week in the Midwest might be the place for you.
That's right folks, we get to give our furnaces and space heaters some well-deserved time-off this week.
Our Hoosierland weather for today sees us with a nice (gradual) warm-up with temps reaching around the 60-degree mark. But, with any good thing, there is a bad thing attached. We'll have mostly cloudy skies with showers a little later on.
And the showers will be with us most of the latter half of the week, Guess we're into a "rainy" season?
In any event, let's not allow that to stop us getting our comforting morning drink, as we all see what's been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the starting gate is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
March 7 -
---Today is NATIONAL CROWN OF ROAST PORK DAY

(roast...pork...what's not to like about that?)
---It's also NATIONAL CEREAL DAY

(hot or cold, it's what's for breakfast a lot of the time. I just wish they still had GOOD free prizes inside)
---And, it's NATIONAL BE HEARD DAY

(seems the Internet has taken care of that - for good OR for bad, right?)
Oh, and there IS a difference between HEARING...and LISTENING.
*** Next up, didn't take long - we're back to having shootings in the Summit City.

(but not to fear THAT much, they're still lousy shots)
Here's the link to the story (so far):
http://wane.com/2016/03/07/one-hurt-in-morning-shooting-outside-bar/
This took place around 0330 hrs this morning in the 2200 block of Fairfield St at the Las Lomas Mexican Grill. Police were called to a shooting and when they arrived, they found a man with a wound to his leg outside the place.

This was non-life threatening, and the man was transported to hospital.
Shell casings from a 9mm semi-auto were found across the street near the intersection with DeWald St.
(( UPDATE - 1200 hrs - FWPD caught the shooter AFTER he returned to the scene (dumbass). Eduardo Lopez, 22, is in custody after trying to flee. A K-9 unit found him in a nearby yard "buried in a hole". Obviously, NOT deep enough. Nice work!))
*** Next up, a flight that was supposed to leave the Fort Wayne Airport developed an engine issue and aborted the flight. Here's the story:
http://www.21alive.com/news/local/Engine-malfunction-delays-take-off-for-FWA-Allegiant-flight-fills-cabin-with-smoke--371165981.html

Beware falling engine parts.

I'm no real fan of Allegiant Airlines, because they have had this nasty habit of overflying our area at LOW altitudes...much lower than most other flights (and what should be allowed by the FAA), and they have purchased "used" aircraft. Also, along those lines, THIS story from back in January seems to have a lot more traction.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/former-allegiant-air-mechanic-says-he-quit-over-obscene-maintenance/2260591
A VETERAN mechanic left after 2 weeks (from Allegiant), citing unsafe maintenance practices.
This articles mentions more than a few issues with the budget airline (based in Vegas).

Another mechanic left late LAST year.

Good to see an employee "fire" his employer for a change.
Luckily the plane at FWA was STILL on the ground when the problem occurred.
*** Next up, Indiana is at the TOP of another list, and this is one where you really don't WANT to be.

Not so fast with the smiles, mate...

Here's the story link:
http://www.abc57.com/story/31398961/new-study-shows-indiana-has-the-highest-rate-of-black-homicide-victims-in-the-country
And here's the lowdown from our state's capital:
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2016/03/03/indiana-has-highest-rate-black-homicide-victims-study-says/81266864/

The 2013 mosaic of homicides - Fort Wayne

Of course, former Ft. Wayne mayor, Paul Helmke HAS to weigh in, saying that in Indiana, it's too easy to get guns. Well, it's apparently easy enough to get ILLEGAL ones, that's for sure, and you know the crims aren't buying legal ones themselves, are they, Paul?
Take some time to get YOUR facts straight (for once). Yep...when it comes to black homicide victims, we lead the pack...(who'da thunk that?)
Last year, it was Missouri.
Guess we SHOWED THEM. 
Goes to prove what you can do when you put your mind (less) to work, right?
What this study does NOT reveal is that in Allen County, 2013 was that record year of homicides (majority were black, BTW), and that no data SINCE 2013 has been presented. That's THREE years with nothing new from the FBI ? Thought we had all this tech to help with data retrieval and compilation?
In 2014, Fort Wayne had a steep DECLINE in homicides, right in step with a similar "cycle" in 1998, the year after the FIRST record-setting year (1997).
Here's the local take on this:
http://www.21alive.com/news/local/Indiana-tops-the-nation-for-black-homicide-victimization-rate-371129661.html

Dem facts don't lie!

Naturally, we hear the hackneyed "poverty" card being used as a "reason" for the uptick in black homicides. Not a good reason in my estimation.
Thing is, the majority is black-on-BLACK homicides, with around 80% of the victims and killers knowing each other, which is about right, numerically-speaking.
Can't see why poor people can get a gun and shoot someone else because of a girlfriend rift, or because one guy is a better drug dealer than another, We're not being given the whole story here.
The poverty mentioned is real (in SOME cases) but can not and does not lead to the high crime rate among blacks. It's all a predatory thing to them...and when they can't prey on one another, they turn to OTHER races and ethnicities...simple, huh? They live for opportunity along those lines, rather than the opportunity to make themselves a BETTER person. THAT'S the problem.
*** Next up, former First Lady, Nancy Reagan passed away at the age of 94 from congestive heart failure yesterday.
Here's her WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Reagan
Now, people can say what they want, and believe what they will. I thought she was a class act and she and Ron really loved one another.

That always showed through when they were seen together.
She was born the same year as both my parents (who have already passed on in 1978 and 1998).
Nancy will be buried next to Ron at his Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Guess that goes to show that loved ones are never really separated from one another forever.
Sooner or later they will be reunited.
*** Next up, a couple photos of the squirrel activity around the "Fortress"...

Patches keeps balance with his tail.

Bashful prefers a "corner-seat".

They might all look alike to the untrained eye, but BELIEVE me, they are ALL slightly different. And their actions bear that much out, too.

Finally got a decent pic of Zippy (right before he dashed off).

Zippy has a very bushy brown tail, Patches has a white spot on his right thigh fur, and Bashful has a lighter tan-brown belly (when he stands up). The others are more rust-brown in color.
*** Last back to the finish line...brevity is the often the soul of wit, and so it is with a lot of  things in life.. I wish such a similarity would follow the American people through this election cycle.

Ain't THAT the gospel truth!

I'm pretty much clocked out on the lot of them, and no one's been nominated yet.
Used to be a time when it was the BIG things that bugged us in life, like nuclear annihilation..
Then, it was "all those damnable little things" that bugged us even more, because much of that was cumulative in nature. It was like hundreds of gnats buzzing around us.

Rules to handle all things - big OR small.

Now, those little things seem to have become big things...and we're beset with a lot more problems we have to deal with (because they won't take care of themselves). Try swatting at gnats the size of bloodhounds...lol.
It's that multi-directional pulling syndrome we're suffering from - Stretch-Armstrong Disease.
I don't believe the human race was destined to be treated in such a manner, and by so many people and issues at once.
We should be able to have time (and space) to sort stuff out a bit more.
We're told that so many "things" are to blame, but it really comes down to (as usual)  WHO is to blame.
In some cases, it's those IN power, while in other cases, it's those who WANT power over others.
The cycle never seems to end, but it does move a lot faster these days..
I'd just like to see the level of dumbassery diminish long enough for everyone to get a proper grip on their lives and allow us the dignity to have our lives to ourselves.

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