Monday Musings...

Can you believe this is the last week of SEPTEMBER already?
Seems like we'll be digging back out the Christmas decorations in no time, if this keeps up.
At least it will feel a bit more like autumn this week.
Our Hoosierland weather will bring us some rain today (left over from late last night), somewhat cloudy skies and temps reaching to around the 70-degree mark. Supposed to clear up by afternoon.
Now, what say we wet our whistles by getting ourselves something to drink as we begin anew another week?
*** First off of the roof if our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
SEPTEMBER 26 -
---Today is NATIONAL SITUATIONAL AWARENESS DAY

(heh, that's EVERY day down where we live)
---It's NATIONAL COMPLIANCE OFFICER DAY

(if you like all those regulations, this might be your day)
---It's also NATIONAL DUMPLING DAY

(plenty of choices there)
---It's NATIONAL JOHNNY APPLESEED DAY

(wonder how our city missed that one by nearly 2 weeks?)
---It's NATIONAL SHAMU THE WHALE DAY

(and Shamu died in 1971, but it's a Seaworld association thing)
---And, it's NATIONAL PANCAKE DAY

(now I know why I've had a hankering for them)
*** Next up, Golfing icon and legend Arnold Palmer dies.

Here's the story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/26/sports/golf/arnold-palmer-dies-at-87.html?_r=0
And here's his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Palmer
For me, what I remember is that he was the first person to make golf interesting enough to watch.
And golf itself has never been the same since.

The WIKI is a good read, and one of the more lengthy ones for someone connected to sports, but he did leave his mark on the sport of golf, as well as a lot of the world.
*** Next up, we couldn't have a weekend without a shooting in Fort Wayne.

So here's this weekend's entry:
http://wane.com/2016/09/25/nightclub-shooting-leaves-person-seriously-hurt/
Yes, the "new" Piere's, known as Early Birds (nightclub) was the place not to be early Sunday morning.

One person was shot there, around 0345 hrs at the club, located at 4201 N. Wells St.
Police took a person in custody , and the victim was taken to hospital in serious condition.
*** Next, a Latino man is behind bars for growing some serious marijuana.

Here's the story:
http://wane.com/2016/09/25/investigation-nets-850-marijuana-plants-man-arrested/
Now, the crime has spread to southwest Allen County...(as predicted).

Street value = $500K

Juan Abel Navarrete-Garcia, 39, of Fort Wayne is facing three charges: cultivating marijuana, dealing marijuana, and maintaining a common nuisance.
Authorities found 850 plants growing in one of three plots of land Garcia has.
I'd check his green card, too. Wonder WHICH South American nation he hails from and how he's so damn successful at cultivating the illegal herb. Find out who's funding him, too.
*** Next, FWPD busts several men wanted in connection with some armed robberies around town.

Here's the story link:

Oh, yeah...gotta be HUD sponsored.

This 8-hour standoff took place at the Three Fountains Apartments on Hessen Cassel Rd yesterday around 0430 hrs, after investigating armed robberies.
Police finally made entry and caught three.
Mang Z. Suan, 19, Fort Wayne, was arrested on one count of armed robbery. Reginald L. Bowers, 20, Fort Wayne, was arrested on an unrelated warrant and one count of armed robbery.

You be BUSTED, Reg.

A juvenile was also arrested for an unrelated juvenile warrant. The juvenile’s name was withheld by the police department.
Does not say WHAT robberies they're involved with.
*** Police caught that Washington state mall shooter, too.

And the media got it wrong, as he was NOT a Latino. Here's the story:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/09/25/suspect-in-washington-state-mall-shooting-in-custody.html
He was a TURKISH IMMIGRANT...imagine that!
And he had PRIORS, as well.

(( At a news conference, officials said they had not ruled out any possible motives for why 20-year-old Arcan Cetin allegedly shot four women and one man at the Cascade Mall in Burlington Friday evening.))
Doesn't make a good case for allowing ALL these middle easterners in our country, does it?
One of the shooter's victims was an 18-year old sophomore, who was a cancer survivor.
How does the liberal agenda justify actions such as this?
*** Next, if you're like me, you've never totally divorced yourself from your inner child, which means you LOVE toy stores.

There does seem to be a problem though with a major chain, namely Toys R Us. Here's the lowdown:
http://www.journalgazette.net/business/Toying-with-new-ideas-15341167

Apparently, these folks are looking to win back customers (myself being one of them).
You want to win me back, get something I LIKE in the damn stores...and at decent prices.
This store used to have the best selection of toys for all ages, and they worked hard to get there. But that was a while back, and like many big box stores, have "rested on their laurels", as competitors (namely the Internet) have proven a much better source for a much better selection.
TRU advertises items they don't stock, and they should be talking to manufacturers as to lowering prices. I mean when Wal-Mart (which has even less selection) is beating them out, that does not bode well.

I loved the DISNEY store, but we don't have one here any longer. You'd think with Disney owning Star Wars AND Marvel, it would be a no-brainer for the toy market.
We don't have a Warner Bros store either. Another "swing and a miss".
Hell, Target stores is a direct competitor, as is K-Mart (which fort Wayne also no longer has any of). You can't call yourself a toy store JUST because you have a department that sells toys...sorry.
*** Next, another chapter in "The Hobo Chronicles"...
Saturday was a good day to do nothing, but roam around and get a case of the "antics".

Let's play "Stalk the squirrel"...

Sunday was a day I mowed the side and front lawn (hopefully for the last time this year), and
Hobo kept his distance, but watched the proceedings from a comfortable distance.

"I can supervise from here just fine."

He found a nice spot under our fountain grass at the front of the house when I was mowing along the curb strip.

"What? It's comfy".

He also has taken to sitting on the patio chairs...actually more like laying down on them.

"Heads up...I'm coming down."

That when he's not going up or down from a tree.

"Then...I have to rest from all the food and fun."

And he is always there when it's time to get fed, both in the early morning as well as when the sun sets.
*** Last back to the basement...I don't know about you, but I get REAL tired of the media "cherry-picking" news stories.

I suppose that's to be expected, given the 24/7 news cycle we're stuck with.
I prefer the important stories.
But you have to admit that certain stories are made into mountains when they should remain mole hills.
Conversely, stories that SHOULD garner our attention hardly get any coverage, and if they do, it's merely in passing (nothing to see here).
Now, we have to first acknowledge that media sources are not JUST there "for the news".
They are all propaganda machines, in some fashion, either for good OR bad.
And as such, they have the unique ability to "steer" the public in any direction they so desire, as long as that population never takes time to dig deeper for any truth that may be omitted from any given story.

Tell a LIBERAL that...!

Another instance is when not all the facts are known, and yet conclusions are drawn (erroneously), and then summarily dismissed when they don't serve the "storyline" (that can also be an agenda).
Too many people today are too easily swayed, and often in the wrong direction, but that's a big deal, as long as it becomes entertaining.

And, since our attention spans are shortened every year, due to all the diversionary tactics by the wrong people, it's little wonder we can focus on anything (maybe that's why cars and other appliances and items have become so smart - we're getting collectively dumber).
This course our nation is on regarding such things is not in our best interest, and certainly  is not fostering a sense of liberty. It's more about security than freedom, and we get real comfortable when we feel more secure, no matter how much freedom we cough up along the way.
Soon,enough, we might wake one morning, and find we have neither, and then Franklin's quote will become all too true. God help us when that day arrives.

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