19 June 2017

Monday Musings...
And we're off once again at the start of another week, sure to excite both young and old (he said sarcastically). Here's (also) hoping I manage to get a comment or two today (everyone took Friday off, it seemed)...lol.
At least we didn't have hoards of aimlessly wandering children asking where's my daddy on Father's Day.
We also survived that rain event over the weekend, small as it was. Sure jacked up the humidity.
Our Hoosierland weather for today brings us partly to mostly cloudy skies, temps only (?) reaching up top around 77 degrees, and that chance of rain in the afternoon. It's not as hot (and humid). That's a good thing.
So, what say we kick off the week with a nice refreshing beverage to wet our whistle, as we see what's been going on elsewhere, hmm?
*** First off the rails is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
JUNE 19 -
---it's National FreeBSD Day
(look it up - it's not as free as you might think)
---It's National Martini Day
(It's an acquired taste, and not a favorite of mine, but it's not bad with the right ingredients)
---It's National Watch Day
(yes, it's a timey-wimey thing)
---It's Juneteenth
(I'll make this one easy for 'ya...here's the link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth
---Cripes, I almost forgot...today is a special day for America's favorite feline.
It's Garfield's Birthday.
Have to admit he still looks good for his age.
And may he enjoy MANY more (save me a slice of cake).
*** Next up, what's up with our destroyer being rammed by a container ship (killing 7 sailors) in the middle of the night, anyway?
Here's the story link:
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/world/2017/06/17/us-sailors-found-dead-destroyer-collision-freighter-japan
What I find totally weird, is that the Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer (of which the USS Fitzgerald is one) has a fantastic radar system that allows objects to be spotted up to hundreds of miles away, and that included in the air, below the sea, and (in this case) ON the damn sea. So WTH went wrong?
A ship the size of several football fields was certainly not a stealthy craft by ANY means.
So, why didn't the destroyer notice it, and ran it off, take evasive action, or just sail the hell out of the way?
I mean our ship could (literally) sail circles around a cargo ship (and do it at 30+ knots).
Something just does not add up here.
*** Next up, we lost actor Stephen Furst over the weekend, from complications from years of diabetes. He was 63 years old.
Here's his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Furst
Wifey and I got to meet him once at a sci-fi con, and he signed a photo from Babylon 5 for her.
A very jovial person, and someone who did a very good job as an actor.
Sure, everyone remembers him as "Flounder" in Animal House, but he did more than that.
His B5 character, Vir Cotto was one who evolved through the 5-year story-line, and yes, they made an action figure of that character (2 variants, in fact). We have both of those.
For a series that aired in the 1990s, many cast members have left us too soon.
And, it was one of the best told stories in small screen science fiction, thanks to J. Michael Straczynski.
*** Next up, I read that Whole Food (markets) was bought by Amazon, and that's got grocery chains (and others) a bit nervous.
Here's just one story:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2017/06/18/amazon-whole-foods-deal-is-bad-news-for-store-cashiers-and-the-fight-for-15-minimum-wage/1#3a392b257513
Now, I guess Kroger wants to get a jump on all this by saying they're lowerinbg prices in their stores for basic items.
Well, I can tell you, that I noticed NONE of that going on (this weekend). Milk was still $2.69 a gallon, and eggs were still $1.59 doz. Margarine is still 99 cents (Imperial and Blue Bonnet).
Kroger's going to have to up the ante is they want to stay ahead of Amazon...ditto for places like Walgreens, Target, Walmart, Menards, Aldi, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Save-a-lot and damn near every convenience store, because THEY also seel basics like MILK and eggs, and such.
*** Next up, let's take a stroll over to "Kitten Corner"...
The kids really got into bird-watching over the weekend, and that seemed to wind them up more than usual. The word "frenetic" comes to mind.
Still, they always calm back down, and get to being cute and adorable (he's cute, she's adorable).
There are times when they become a handful, and that's when Wifey pulls out a laser and runs them around tiring them out.
Why not, right?
*** Next, time for our "Tales of Midnight"...
Our furry buddy spends a bit more time away from our house of late. Have no idea where he goes, but he DOES come back for food, and sometimes just to hang out until it starts getting dark.
Maybe he's got a girlfriend, who can say.
I do know he's always out by the patio door each morning for eats, and that's good.
*** Last back to the station house...again, we see more changes that we're told we WANT. It might not be what we NEED, but that never seems to matter these days.
Everyone wants to do less, and that means making such mundane things as grocery shopping EASIER. Like people don't ant to bother making a list, and then driving to a store, picking items by hand from shelves and then paying for it...
Nah, that's too much or an encumbrance to manage. Nation of wusses, that's what we're heading toward.
Maybe that's why the judicial system is as effed up as it is...plea deals are easier than working for a honest conviction?
We are being led in a particular direction.
That's why we have rolling computers instead of vehicles these days...all the frills and bells and whistles of living at home INSIDE your car or SUV...how quaint. Just stay the hell home, then.
We talk about autonomous cars, drones delivering items we purchase (online), and then have the audacity to bitch a fit when the tech fails or gets hacked. You can't have all this stuff and not expect it ALL to be totally foolproof, can you?
This isn't the 24th century...yet.
And the scary part, is that all this tech is far outpacing OUR ability to both keep up with it, and educate ourselves on how to properly USE it for the purpose it was intended.
Where it will all end, I have no frigging idea, but I sure hope WE are prepared to work with it, and not wind up with it running our lives. We might not enjoy how THAT would turn out.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

8 comments:

Momma Fargo said...

The collision of the USS Fitzgerald remains a mystery and if they even tell us what happened besides a crash, who knows? I think it is weird. I don't get it. Maybe it was a pit maneuver? LOL

Bob G. said...

Momma Fargo:
LOL...a PIT maneuver. I'd PAY to see that done with a navy ship.
Gotta admit there's a lot more we're not being told.
Add to that a Syrian fighter we shot down (that was attacking our allies in Syria). The Russkies break comms with us...WTF is going on?
We have got to get ALL our global asse4s together, sit the hell down and talk some shit out.
(such a novel idea just might work).

Thanks for rolling up today to comment.

Stay safe down there, dear.

A Beer for the Shower said...

Grocery stores are nervous? Good. I hope we do see them lower some prices. I can't remember the last time I went grocery shopping and thought "Wow, what a great deal!" on... well, anything.

My cats are actually bird watching at this very moment. It's like they can come together and stop fighting just for a single moment - to stare at the birds they wish they could kill together.

With that said, I don't think they'd know what to do with one if they were lucky enough to catch it.

Bob G. said...

ABFS:
---Yeah, after that merger was mentioned, ALL stocks concerning stores that sold grocery items took a bit of a nosedive on Wall St...weird hoe that works, ain't it?
---You can take the cat out of the wild, but you can never take the "wild" out of the cat, can you?
(It's their version of the BRAVO channel...LOL)
---What often happens is that they kill them by accident (considering they're NOT hungry to begin with)...they think it's a toy and therefore can be handled roughly and be carried around by the neck.
Doesn't work out for the bird, unless it can fly away first.

Hey, thanks for stopping by today to comment.

Stay safe (and classy in a feline way) out there, guys.

CWMartin said...

All right, back from my trip back to Friday to comment (again), and I'll be right with you today after this brief message from urine.

Okay, all better now, let's get on with the Monday fun!

I read to the part that I figured out BSD isn't sexually related (or transmitted), and moved on...

There's about a million varieties of martinis these days. Been a long time since I did any of 'em.

I've been wondering the same thing about the shipwreck. Gonna research some more when I get done here.

FLOUNDER!!!!!


So, Amazon has it's own grocery chain. Hmmm...


Bob G. said...

Chris:
Alright now...I got the band back together here...lol.
---BSD - who knows, in the future, it MAY be a transmitted disease.
---I'll do the "Bond" gig - vodka martini, shaken, not stirred. And don't make it "dirty", either.
---If you can come up with as much with the ship as you did with LHN, then you will REALLKY earn the name "Scoop Martin".
---I have to look and see if D got a picture taken with Stephen furst...it was a good convention (Indy, I think...maybe Cincy). Been a while.
---Yeah, Amazon is making waves...almost as scary as having our brains merged with computers. Stay tuned for that one.

Thanks for dropping by and commenting today.

Stay safe (and happy sleuthing) up there, brother.

CWMartin said...

First, I wouldn't say she's out of danger at all... they won't know till Friday whether they have to go ahead and operate or not (just transfer this from the Friday discussion.)

Second the crash- so ABC reports that the USN and Japanese reports are still at variance as to the time, with evidence on the Jap side. By all the maps of the Jap GPS, the container had to have seen it first, because accident reports said she had to have been bearing south to get damage where she did, and the only time it was bearing south before the crash is when she did a hard right, presumably to miss the Destroyer.

Then she veered back on course and made like she was going to do a hit and run- and then did a sharp U to return to the scene. They did not report anything for an hour- thus the original time given of 2:30- then backtracked it to an hour earlier, which was born out by the GPS.

I would find it hard to believe that the Destroyer had time to say get the H outta here and fudge the time to cover something up, because it took heroic efforts of the crew to get it to port without going under; and the Captain of the destroyer was in his cabin at crash time and injured bad enough to get airlifted off. But... why did the container take off, then return, and delay on reporting? WTF were the destroyer crew doing, with no real excuse for not seeing something four times their size? Everyone's asking what the container was doing at the time, but a) by laws of the sea, the container had the right of way, and b)the destroyer had both the tech to easily see the container and the speed to avoid it. And apparently, the USN was at least initially going with a time of crash they knew to be false. Lots of questions. Better call Gibbs.

Bob G. said...

Chris:
--I SHOULD have prefaced my comment by stating IMMEDIATE danger. Typical triage for edema is "drilling" (barbaric as it is) to relive pressure on the brain which, if not attended to ASAP can cause semi or permanent damage.
I will send a prayer her way.
---Yeah, it looked like more of a "glancing" blow and NOT a direct ram.
But WHY the destroyer didn't see THAT ship and keep a track on it to AVOID a "near miss" just bowls me over.
I recall other collisions at sea, and all vessels concerned usually come to a complete STOP (as soon as they can, anyway).
The "Fitz" should have known the EXACT location ALL the damn time, and either radioed the container ship to provide ample room to pass, or maneuvered out of it's way and reported it for running "silent", if such was the case.
Yeah, I agree...we definitely need NCIS on this one!

Good coverage, "Scoop".
Well done. Carry on.