Friday Follies...
End of another summer week, which means we've got another week-END full of...well, hot a humid weather here in the Midwest.

Where are the SNOW-CONE vendors when you need 'em, eh?

Or something we called "RADIO-BALLS" (back east)... now THERE'S something I haven't seen in a long, LONG time (snow-cone with a scoop of ice cream at the bottom...and ONLY a QUARTER -yummy).

Or what about Rita's Italian Water Ice?

Anyway, onward and upward.

Sorry for the relative tardiness, but after grocery shopping, I just had to take the camera and provide an "update" to the Gardens-Ops.

(Yes, all this has been previously cleared through the proper agencies and is currently considered "declassified"...in case you were wondering.)

Here are the latest "eyes-on" happenings.

Now, let's get things rolling with some items that are GOOD, BAD, and UGLY.
(which is a damn FINE movie, btw)

Never fear though...it's not ALL bad news.
*** Looks like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has finally been capped (87 days in), and although BP says its a temporary fix, the initial signs look very promising.
Personally, I'm not going around and beating up on BP. The spill wasn't really ALL their fault. There was plenty of blame to be assigned elsewhere.
Whenever you go into "uncharted waters" (no pun intended) with technology that is new for the venue (face it...drilling for oil a MILE underwater isn't for the average person), there will always be those unforeseen things that COULD occur.
Here's a link to an article about the fix:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100716/NEWS03/307169905
I think that given the lack of experience under such conditions, BP nevertheless did a decent job of finding a method to stem the flow of oil from the well cap.
I feel this is ground-breaking technological usage here. Robotics doing ALL the work to place and secure a cap on something that far under water, and under THOSE levels of pressure...amazing.
Their only concern NOW is that any pressure UNDER the oil well might crack the sea bed, causing another outflow of oil.
Keep your fingers crossed, people...so far...so good.
*** Here's something that goes to show you never know what you might find digging around.
An 18th century ship was found at the foot of the WTC site by excavators.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100716/APA/1007160571

And another:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/18th-century-ship-found-at-trade-center-site/
I think it's amazing considering that much of lower Manhattan wound up being a colonial "landfill".
Now, if they could only find Jimmy Hoffa...
*** I've been following this "Grim Sleeper" case (off and on) and this popped up in the news (From AP) :
(( LOS ANGELES – In hindsight, the investigation into the Grim Sleeper serial killings could have led to Lonnie Franklin Jr.’s doorstep much sooner.
He lived in the same neighborhood where the serial killer stalked prostitutes and drug addicts over 22 years.
He spoke openly about his contempt for prostitutes and said they deserved to die. He displayed photographs he’d taken of women in sexually explicit poses. He had a lengthy criminal record that included 15 arrests.
Now that police have identified Franklin as the man suspected of killing 10 young black women in the case, residents in this working-class Los Angeles neighborhood worry they missed warning signs and wonder whether they should have alerted authorities.
"I’m a little shook up by the experience," said Franklin’s longtime friend, Lydia Kam, as she stood in disbelief outside Franklin’s shuttered house. "I’m wondering if we are too lenient. … I should have made a better choice."
Franklin would often regale Kam with stories of his sexual exploits and was even more graphic with her husband, Mark Tribble.
"He would have violent fantasies," Tribble said. "He was putting the girls down … saying someone is going to kill these girls, saying they were going to end up dead."
Despite a lack of community help, police used DNA evidence to arrest Franklin on July 7 at his home in the Manchester Square neighborhood nine miles south of downtown.
The serial slayings occurred here between 1985 and 2007, with the killer apparently taking a pause between 1988 and 2002, prompting the Grim Sleeper nickname.
Cold-case detectives announced in September 2008 that a serial killer was on the loose and, partly in response to pressure from victims’ families and activists, launched a publicity blitz to generate leads.
No one suspected Franklin, despite billboards being put up across the area where the killer struck, advertising a $500,000 reward.
In a neighborhood where helping police is often frowned upon, it was easy for people to dismiss his stories as the fantasies of an unhappily married man who could get them cheap car parts.
Franklin, 57, was arrested after investigators identified him through a DNA sample. The break came after Franklin’s son was arrested and swabbed for DNA. Using a controversial technique known as a familial DNA search, the sample came back as similar to evidence in the serial killings, ultimately leading police to Franklin.
Aside from the 10 murder charges, police believe Franklin also killed a man who may have discovered he was a killer. They are also reviewing whether Franklin was involved in about 30 other homicide cases. He has not been charged in those cases.
Franklin was arrested at least 15 times for burglary, assaults and other crimes, but avoided state prison. He is alleged to have killed one of his victims in July 2003, a time when he should have been in county jail but was released early because of overcrowding.
He is expected to plead not guilty at his arraignment next month. ))
Seems the judicial system had WAY too many cracks for this guy to slip between..and he took good advantage of it, obviously.
*** In a more "local" arena...
(( Armed bandit flees video store with $61 - The Journal Gazette
Fort Wayne police investigated an armed robbery late Wednesday at the Blockbuster video store in Southgate Plaza.
The robbery was reported just after 10:30 p.m. at the store at 100 E. Pettit Ave.
A man with a silver semiautomatic handgun entered the store and demanded money.
An employee gave the robber $61 and he fled on foot, a police report said.
The robber was described as being in his mid- to late-20s, black, about 6 feet tall and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

A police dog was unable to track the man. ))
First off, if it's 75 degrees out at 2230 hrs (which it was), ANYONE who comes into "my" store wearing a hooded sweatshirt would cause my finger to instantly go to whatever "panic button" is available.
I certainly hope this perp enjoys his $61 heist.
This is typical of the type of behavior you see in our area.
I was talking to our one, good neighbor (one block over), and she saw a man taking a piss in the alley between the blocks against a garage (not ours) on a Sunday morning as she left for church...amazing, huh?
She has FIVE vacant houses on her block.

We're a bit more "fortunate", in that we only have TWO (directly adjacent to ours).
Now, I really don;t want to see these houses occupied any time soon, and with good reason.
I have already SEEN what these "occupants" are into, as far as lifestyles go.
-None of them work...that's almost a given from day one.
-All of them have too many kids (for not working).
-Many of them have a revolving door when it comes to boyfriends (and more kids in the future). -Some of them have NEW cars (with no job?).
-Many appear to be getting "supplemental incomes" from the activities of their "boyfriends"... (that would mean the neighborhood distribution of "under the counter" botanical or chemical pharmaceuticals for recreational use).
That would explain those new cars real well.
I would much rather see ALL these houses vacant...it would make MY "job" of keeping an eye on OUR house easier, and would certainly make the job of the POLICE a damn sight less complex.
I've stated for years, that the best way to revitalize this area is to:
1) Get the riff-raff the hell OUT, and keep them out.
2) Refurb the houses into habitable condition (for many of them aren't).
3) Get some DECENT people into them, such as seniors or veterans.
Then the city can sit back, and get back SOME of the property tax they are obviously losing because all the current "tenants" are on the damn dole, and have been there most of their pitiful lives due to something I call "CLS" or Chronic Lazyass Syndrome.
Yeah, I once worked for a medical book publishing company, so I can make up feigned conditions as well as the government...LOL.
But we ARE at...the weekend.
A time to stand down from all the garbage that's being flung at We, the People this entire week.
We can kick back, take life a bit easier, look at all those things we missed during our hectic week, and just enjoy.
So, wherever the fates find you for the next 72 hours...have yourselves a great weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.