Thoughts For Thursday...

Winter will be making a comeback today, according to our forecast.
So, say goodbye (for a while) to the sunshine.
Our Hoosierland weather will see our area covered with about 1-3 inches of the flaky white stuff.
Temps will only get into the low 30s, so any melting might turn things into an icy-slush mix on the roads.
Keep that brush/scraper handy for the car...you're gonna need it.
Now, with taken care of, let's get that nice hot cup of our favorite morning drink  as we see what else has been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the cupboard is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men." 

This was spoken by JOSEPH CONRAD (3 Dec 1857 - 3 Aug 1924), and he was a Polish-British writer regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language.
And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad
Let's say he has a lengthy biography, and it's a decent read, if you can get past all the Slavic names.
He wrote stories and novels, many with a nautical setting, that depicted the trials of the human spirit in the midst of an impassive, inscrutable universe (sounds like a lot of us in some ways...lol)

He is considered an early modernist, and has influenced authors such as T.S. Eliot, William Faulkner, and (more recently) Salman Rushdie.
A few of his most famous works are LORD JIM (1900), HEART OF DARKNESS (1899), and THE INHERITORS (co-authored with Ford Madux Ford). There is also a list of his stories and essays.
Your assignment is to read up on a remarkable man who doesn't seem to garner the attention he should considering the powerful writings he was responsible for, (and how we had to study them in high school...lol).
*** Next up, a MILESTONE for this blog.

I have finally reached TEN THOUSAND PUBLISHED COMMENTS!
(sound the trumpets and loose the pigeons)
And I have all of you who took the time TO comment to thank.

Only took nearly TEN years...LOL

(In answering your comments, I might have had a small hand in this, too...heh)
Thanks again for dropping by and saying what you feel.
*** Next, we bring you our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
March 3 -
---Today is NATIONAL ANTHEM DAY

(sing along...you know the words - or you SHOULD)
---It's also NATIONAL COLD CUTS DAY

(make mine Italian, and plentiful)
---And, it's NATIONAL MULLED WINE DAY

(I always mull things over when I have a glass of wine)
---It's NATIONAL I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY DAY

(man, is THAT going to be a chore in today's world...)
*** Next up, there was a good Frank Gray story in this morning's paper.
It ties in with the triple shooting last week. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/Execution-style-can-mean-many-things-11783227

Just one of MANY ways

Execution-style can elude to many things, and is subjective.
It's not always "one to the back of the head" kinda "Wiseguys" thing.
It can also be like the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, or a mob hit in a South Philly restaurant (or house), an ambush-style take-down Like the two Maryland cops who were recently murdered in a restaurant JUST BECAUSE they were "in uniform" (google that one)...it all depends on the circumstances and the manner in which the event is presented by the media sources. (remember, they can us take down almost any road they choose).
It does shed light on some things, especially the premeditation of this crime.
*** Next up, the city is slated to "buy" 88 houses and then....
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/City-seeking-88-blighted-homesfor-demolition-11803044
Eighty-eight blighted houses that will undergo demolition...imagine that. Only several hundred more to go.
How much you want to bet the majority of them are on the SOUTH side (I'm leaning to the SE)?

Too familiar on the SOUTH side of Fort Wayne.

The most recent additions to the demo-list would be any damaged by fire that are unable to be renovated (enough) to meet the codes for occupation.
Now, this does mean the houses will be RAZED (as in torn down) and that the properties will be "redeveloped". (cheaper homes put in their place?)
The city will determine whether the cost of renovation will exceed the cost of tearing the house down, in which case, the latter will be employed.
Heather Presley-Cowen is at the front of this, so you KNOW it's gonna be done for LOW-INCOME housing (and many of the low-information miscreants that will be inhabiting them).
We'll see what happens and how much "better" our neighborhoods will become, but I wouldn't be holding MY breath on this one. I know the attention this part of the city (never) gets.
*** Next, we have a novel type of loud-ass in our neighborhood, and we came to hear of him (several blocks away) last year.

He ALSO has a motorized "wheelchair".

He rides an adult "trike", and has a BOOMBOX attached to it, and you can hear his ass coming blocks away (thank God there's no bass, but it IS effin loud).
This jerk could drown out a straight-pipe Harley!
I called the police on him once this year, and also last year. He tends to quiet down for a time.

Can't be THAT "disabled", can he?

Sad thing is, he lives one block west, and always has to pass OUR house ( I think on purpose). He drowns out whatever you're listening to INSIDE the house. It's kinda funny to tell the FWPD dispatch that you have an adult riding a trike (I dare not use the word VELOCIPEDE, as that term will befuddle anyone on the other end of that call), and that he's "booming".
You can TRY shouting at him, but you can't hear yourself yelling, so you know it's got to be even LOUDER for him. Can't imagine how he could hear a POLICE CAR, AMBULANCE, or FIRE ENGINE. Hey, maybe they'll do me a favor and run him the f$ck over?
(beats tossing a rock at him to get his attention).

You just KNOW this is in the works.

I can't imagine what could possible come NEXT...can you?
The mere thought bothers me to no end.
Must be a black "cultural" thing...LOL.
*** Next up...how many of you have a flat-screen TV or monitor?
How about a smart phone or tablet?

Now, how many of you have noticed either a change in sleep patterns, headaches, or a decline in visual acuity?
Well, it just might be all that "blue-light" you're being exposed to that is the cause.
But, don't take MY word for this...check our the following:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side
Or THIS:
http://www.bluelightexposed.com/
Or even THIS:
https://gigaom.com/2014/09/01/what-is-the-blue-light-from-our-screens-really-doing-to-our-eyes/

Now, all this technology is SUPPOSED to be good for us, right?
Well, maybe not so much as we were led to believe.
And maybe, it's harming us in ways we're not even aware of.
Naturally, this is all BY DESIGN, as the EPA told us we HAD to change over to this tech.
And we all know those LED TVs last so much longer than the old CRT sets... (oh, wait...they DON'T)
Life-expectancy for the new sets is NOT 20-30 years like our OLD sets. It's more like ten (or less).
So much for saving money...AND apparently, our HEALTH.
I  can't help but think we're all being "herded" (or corralled) into some sort of mindset and behavior.
To what end,  I haven't the foggiest. Maybe we're being set up for an alien takeover? LOL!

All I DO know is that since we got flat-screen monitors for the computers, my vision has gotten noticeably worse, and I even take more breaks from those screens.
It's like when Mom used to chide you about "sitting too close to the television".

Well, none of us went blind, or became irradiated, did we?
This is something that experts from around the world are taking notice off - all that BLUE-LIGHT is having adverse effects on us. As to how to protect ourselves...they're all still working on that one. (blue light filters can help)
*** Last back to the living room...I'm one of those people who believe that ANY technology needs to be thoroughly studied and evaluated BEFORE it reaches the (unwashed) hands of the masses.

The late Robert Oppenheimer knew as much when the first atomic bomb was detonated.
THAT particular technology, although it would yield great power, would also produce great devastation.
And this was long before we had to worry about nuclear WASTE and where to store it properly.
It was also long before 3-mile Island or Chernobyl or Fukushima.
We were told that our tired and true incandescent bulbs were a waste of energy, and were told that those "curly-fries" bulbs would be our salvation for the planet.
Turns out they were MORE hazardous in our homes with the mercury inside them.
So now, we're told that LED bulbs are the way to go...but they cast a higher level of blue light, and that is having adverse effects on us all. Where and when does all the lying stop, and the truth begin?
When are the so-called "experts" going to fess up and tell us the PROBLEMS connected with all this technology, and do it BEFORE we spend lots of bucks buying into it?

Just...one...more...hit.

We've a society that has become addicted to social media, and every device that allows us to enter that realm produces higher levels of blue light, and then we sit around and wonder WHY people are suddenly going out and shooting one another, or are enraged to levels we never have seen, or are committing suicide in higher numbers (especially for young people - the most prevalent users of all these "smart" devices).

The road we're on doesn't seem that clear of impediments.
In fact, it seems worse than other roads we've traveled over time. Life is short enough, without having that which we create sapping us of such a precious commodity.
Perhaps we need to step back and take a long, hard look at the things we've been forced to become dependent upon,  We should seek the truth to these matters, before it costs us more than our health...or lives. Just something to think about, right?

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