Monday Musings...

Welcome to the last full week of the month of September, and in case you missed it, FALL finally fell over the weekend. That was most likely the THUD you heard.
Fortunately, there were no injuries involved in that.
Now, we get some days where we don't run the A/C and maybe not even the furnace...that's sure to save us a few bucks (to help pay off the rising costs of the rate hikes coming).
Our Hoosierland weather for today brings us cloudy skies, temps rising to about 70 degrees, and a chance of rain stopping by sometime around or after midday (take the umbrella) just in case).

(wonder if they can carry the creamer?)

Now, what say we get things started with a nice cup of coffee or tea, or maybe even a soft drink, as we see what else has been going on, hmm?
*** First off of the starting blocks is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
SEPTEMBER 24 -
---It's National Cherries Jubilee Day

(always wanted to try this...looks good)
---It's National Punctuation Day

(where would we be without THAT, I wonder?)
---It's Schwenkfelder Thanksgiving

(This started in Philadelphia back in 1734)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwenkfelder_Church
And now you know a lot more than the average person.
*** Next up...as is becoming the usual in Fort Wayne, it has been a busy weekend...and that was only Friday, which started off with a bang (or two).

---We begin this with (what else?) another double shooting on the city's SE side. Here's the story:
https://wpta21.com/news/breaking-news/2018/09/21/police-investigate-reported-shooting-at-fort-wayne-restaurant/

This took place at Link's Wonderland (restaurant) in the 1700 block of Creighton Avenue near South Anthony Boulevard around 0925 hrs.
The shooter was a black male (any bets that the victims were ALSO black?)
UPDATE: Here's the latest:
https://wpta21.com/news/crime/2018/09/24/police-looking-for-suspect-in-friday-morning-shooting/
Seems 29-year-old Gabriel Hicks is the suspect in the shooting. Hicks is a 5’9″ tall man.
He's been through the system before...that's a given.
He weighs approximately 175 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes. He is known to wear colored contact lenses and prescription glasses. He has tattoos on both arms and neck. Police say Hicks should be considered armed and dangerous.
We need to get this perp off our streets ASAP!.
Several witnesses were there at the time of he shootings, and police are talking with them. No arrests have been made and the investigation (along with what passes for living down here) continues.
---A little later, there was ANOTHER robbery at the Wells Fargo bank branch on W. State Blvd. (at Sherman) - it's the same branch  that was hit earlier ;last week

Here's that story:
https://wpta21.com/uncategorized/2018/09/21/robber-strikes-bank-branch-for-second-time-in-one-week/

The robbery took place around 1140 hrs Friday morning.
This time around, the robber was described as a BLACK MALE
Wonder if the video will be AS GOOD as it was for the white guy who robbed this bank last Monday?
Where the hell IS that video anyway???
---And after that, there was a dead body found in the St. Mary's river. Here's that story:
https://www.wane.com/news/local-news/body-found-in-st-marys-river/1464452935

((Around 1:30 p.m., passengers on the Sweet Breeze river boat spotted a body in water just north of the Three Rivers Apartments building, near the intersection of Superior Street and Spy Run Avenue, according to Fort Wayne Fire Department spokesman Adam O'Connor.The body of a man was found in a log jam, inside a tent. ))
(talk about Sightseeing along Fort Wayne's waterways, huh?)
My guess is that might be a homeless person.
Homicide detectives from the FWPD were on scene along with DNR.
*** Next, all our high tech vehicles come with high(er) costs of repair.
Now who'da thunk THAT? Here's the story:
https://www.baxterbulletin.com/story/money/cars/2018/09/18/car-repair-costs/1343625002/

My 1st car looked kinda like THIS - LOW-tech.

I said this years ago,  There was a time when I once drove a car that had NO computer-assisted anything.
It was all HUMAN-assisted, which actually forced people to DRIVE a car, rather then be the passenger holding the steering wheel (while talking on a damn cell phone).
My first car had an automatic transmission and power steering, and that...was... IT!
The 2015 Wifeymobile 2.0 is nothing like that 1968 Buick Special Deluxe. Her Impala is a rolling 3,662 lb. computer.
We've got bluetooth stuff, touch screen infotainment system, anti-lock brakes, auto engine shut off at stoplights, back-up cameras...the list goes on and on. and the steering wheel DOES still steer the car (along with doing a myriad of other functions...if you're not careful).

Simple stuff now costs $$$.

And yes, fixing any of that stuff costs $$$.
Gone are the days when you could adjust your carburetor to the seasons. My '83 Firebird (dinosaur that it is) STILL has one, but that is (you guessed it)...computer-controlled.
These days, with newer cars, the onboard computer adjusts the engine functions hundreds of times per second, and there is NO carburetor any longer; it's ALL fuel injected.
I can see why people don't bother to get stuff fixed these days...cheaper to just get another vehicle, or anything else that craps out. Mechanics have become computer techs rather than wrench-turners.
*** Next up, time to stop by our "Kitten Corner"...

Our kids had a wonderful weekend, with only small bouts of manic chasing. That's to be expected anyway.

Violet and Gallifrey are not as a loss for affection from us...nor we from them.
Sometimes, they even get to share breakfast with us.

Or, they watch us when we're outside.
But, they have been known to pursue the never elusive "long nap", and that's fine by us.
*** Next, let's check in with "Midnight and Whiskers"...

Our furry twosome were around for a good part of the weekend, Saturday had Whiskers there when we came back from grocery shopping, so I had me a supervisor as I brought in the bags. And she got some treats for her efforts.

Midnight was prowling about, but was there for lunch (a wee bit late).
But on Sunday, both of them took off after breakfast, and they both missed lunch.

Fortunately, they both returned. Whiskers came back first and got a later than usual lunch, while Midnight was back in time for the wet food dinner that they always get on Sundays.

We did spend some time with them on the back steps (after the sun had set)...got in some laser playtime, and they provided the leg uibs and head bumps.
*** Last back the finish line...a totally unrelated (to this post)  subject that we need to be aware of, because it can happen when we don't expect it....

We usually buy a gallon of milk each week, and Wifey is always keen to get the LATEST expiration date . With what's left over from the previous week, we have 1 1/2 gallons total.
Today, we might have to toss a half of a gallon away, even though the "date" on the jug is listed as...OCTOBER 1.
(?!?)
There's no way it's going to last until then, judging just by the "aroma".
That's quite odd, because we've had milk that didn't start to go sour until a good WEEK AFTER the date, so something's not right here.
There could have been an instance where the trucker hauling the milk didn't have the right temperature in the trailer. That can cause early spoilage.

As long as it's refrigerated, the dates on the jugs SHOULD be fine, and you can more than likely get away with having a week AFTER that date. Yet, once in a while, someone (or something) goes awry. I plan to send an email to Kroger and make them aware of this.
I mean, with ALL the problems (salmonella and e.coli for example) we seem to have with foods and drinks, consumers need to be more aware than in times past.

There was a day when milk was DELIVERED to your door, and it had just come FROM the dairy processing plant. Talk about fresh. It came in GLASS bottles, no less (that were picked up, washed, and reused by the milk company. No waste or trash there.

And it was cheaper to get it delivered than to pay the prices in stores today for questionable items.
Technology making life better?
In this case...not one damn bit.
I miss the milkmen of days gone by, and milk that didn't spoil as quickly.
A shame that some people today never knew what a milkman was...a real shame.

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