Friday Follies...

Good to see 'ya Joe...and welcome everyone to a wonderfully DAMP day here in the Heartland.
Yep...not only do we get rain to wash away the snow and ice...BUT, we also get record high temps today topping out in the MID-FIFTIES!
How 'bout THEM apples?
Anywho, let's kick back, pour another cup or glass of whatever you're enjoying, and see what's been going on, fair enough?
*** Local apartments in Fort Wayne are the target of recent home invasions.
Now who would EVER believe that?

Sounds like something we dealt with just LAST year...like Deja Vu - all over again.

Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130111/LOCAL07/301119976
We got us some ARMED perps forcing their way into apartments in THREE of the city's four quadrants.

"The Southeast Way"

Seems they're leaving the SE side alone (for the time being)...because of fear of being SHOT (by someone else brandishing an illegal gun)?
I mean we have plenty of shootings at HOUSES here (and a few govt-sponsored apartments)...better to go where people might NOT have (as many) weapons to defend themselves, right?
Residents at the Colony Bay, Autumn Creek, and the Gardenview apartments on the NE, NW, and SW side of town have been the victims to such home invasions.
And just LAST NIGHT, two MORE complexes were hit by the same (apparent) two gunmen.
Here's THAT story (thanks to WANE's Rod Hissong):
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/shots-fired-during-home-invasion
Only during one of THESE two incidents, shots WERE fired.
The two apartment complexes were the Island Club Apartments off of Wallen Road, and the Cambridge Square Apartments, along the 7500 block of Coldsprings Blvd. Again, nothing down in the...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST side of town.
The two thugs were described as being BLACK MALES, in their late teens or early 20s, wearing dark clothing (so the only way you can see them at night is WHEN THEY SMILE).
Curiously, an AIR PISTOL was found in the parking lot of the Coldsprings Blvd apartment complex, apparently dropped by one of the two suspects.
And even MORE curious, was a man suffering from a gunshot wound to his BUTTOCKS was dropped off at a local hospital.
The man said he was shot "around the Cook and Lima Rd area"...
(I thought the area he was shot was HIS ASS?)
This area is close enough to the Coldspring location to warrant suspicion and the shooting victim IS being questioned by authorities.
The way I see it, if a resident had the balls to shoot one of the perps...pin a damn MEDAL on him...or her.
(and take them out and buy 'em a box of AMMO)
If you DO live in places OTHER than the SE side, then BE ON YOUR GUARD...seriously.
These thugs are still loose (well, maybe "Mr. I got shot in the ass" might soon be fitted for an orange jumpsuit...we can hope), and although they MAY have been armed with AIR PISTOLS, most folks don't KNOW that, or want to take the chance, and I can understand that.
Hell, LEOS don't take such chances, and will end you where you stand if you brandish a "look-alike" weapon and level it AT THEM.
And that's why I'm providing you, free of charge, the following PSA:
(Public Service Announcement)
"The Official Bobby G. Primer Of Weapon Recognition".

Now, to start off, most crims CAN'T GET firearms (thanks to laws ALREADY IN PLACE), and that's a good thing.

But there is ALWAYS the "black market" (which is not solely FOR blacks...just so's you know). Yeah...that costs money.
And "straw-purchases" are tracked as well.

They usually turn to THEFT as a means to get guns...that's the EASIEST way.
(( Oh, just in case you were wondering...NONE of this is to be confused with The Journalist's Guide to Firearms Indentification, as seen BELOW.))

Anyway, air pistols and even airsoft guns are WAY cheaper to buy, provide a lot LESS risk to burglary, and can often look VERY MUCH like the real thing.

That's where I come in...
I, having been a modeler for a very long time, find it relatively EASY to modify ANY fake gun into looking like something you DON'T want to stare down the barrel of...(even if it only pops out 6mm plastic BBs, and will bounce off damn near anything or anyone).
That's MY edge...the INTIMIDATION factor.
Who can say if it's REAL or not when I'm holding it...with intent ?
Many times, just going outside wearing a hip holster (with something in it) is sufficient to shut most assholes the hell up and get 'em to move along.

And a BB pistol (at night, along with a million candlepower spotlight) WILL chase people off of your property when they're otherwise engaged in wailing the snot out of one another. They don't want to take a chance if it's REAL or not.
BTW, such a "bluff" is not for the faint-of-heart.
Unfortunately, it's the same intimidation factor used by the street thugs who can''t "afford" a real gun...yet.
When someone kicks in the door, and constantly shouts demands while waving "something" around and point it AT YOU, your first thought isn't to EXAMINE the weapon being displayed.

At worst, a fake gun can be made of metal, and when pistol-whipped, will hurt JUST as much as a real gun, and crack your cocoanut just as easily.
The shock value of such tactics puts us off our guard, and rightly so.
Advantage...to the thug.
I own both REAL and FAKE weapons...and it's up to any potential home invader to "find out the difference" (which they most certainly WILL).
If the weapon is black in color, it COULD be a fake, because a chrome or stainless steel firearm is pretty easy to pick out of the mix, and plastic with a chrome or stainless "finish" just looks fake (to me anyway).
What people need to do, aside from legally purchasing a firearm, learning to use it and keep it handy for such criminal activity (should it come calling), is to get to KNOW what firearms look like...
Stop into a gun store, look around...store personnel will be more than willing to help you check out the merchandise, and notice HOW they look (and feel).
Then, go into a K-Mart or Wal-Mart and stop by the sporting goods area and look at the AIR PISTOLS and other non-firearms they have...there are differences that even Stevie Wonder could spot.
All you have to do is learn the difference, right?

I did a couple posts a while back about lookalike weapons, and how they could be brought into schools (which they still can).
Check my archives for 24 Oct 2006, 21 Nov 2008, and 21 Dec 2010 for the skinny on all this.
Usually, if a weapon is pointed at you, the easiest way is to notice the SIZE of the barrel opening or muzzle.
A steel BB is only 4.5MM, and an airsoft is 6MM.
My RAP4 P99 CO2 paintball pistol is a whopping .43 caliber (close to 11MM) and can defy easy recognition, even close up...trust me...lol.

But, if I were to wave ANY of these pistols around, shouting orders to you to get on the floor, shut up, etc...that's going to distract you from seeing I have a FAKE gun in my primate hand, isn't it?
Like ANY situation where YOU need to be in control instead of the crim...it's all about VIOLENCE-OF-ACTION (or VOA), and how FAST and EFFECTIVELY you can deploy it.
The thugs are good at this...they get plenty of practice in their dysfunctional families and street posse to hone such skills.
Look at ANY robbery, and you will invariably find a higher level of VOA, especially with the slew of bank and credit union robberies we've had.
*** Lastly today...we shouldn't have to talk about such things like I mentioned today...(rather do a post about puppies once in a while...lol) if people were a lot more civil (or people had national OPEN CARRY availability).
But all of this is for your protection...and knowledge.

My "Pride & Joy"

And with such knowledge comes power...the power that YOU possess, or CAN possess, along with the responsibility that accompanies it.

It's the ability to thwart a theft, or rape, or robbery, because YOUR level of fear is a lot LOWER than the punk trying to rob you.
Also, there is no such thing as not having ANY fear whatsoever.
Anyone that tells you different is a liar.
Everyone has it from the grunt in the trench to the street thug to the police officer or firefighter.
It's how that fear is MANAGED that makes ordinary people...extraordinary.
It's the difference between being a victim, a statistic, a survivor, or even a hero.
It's the proper handling of our fear that enables us to work THROUGH things in life - to overcome such when faced with adversity.
Without our fear, we don't know possible consequences of our actions, and that often leads to stupidity of Biblical proportions on our part.
Never think of fear as something to be shunned.
Consider it as a check-valve that allows us to think with better clarity, know with certainty, and act with definition on the things we need to do in life.
Yes, knowledge IS power, and wisdom is the tempering of that knowledge.

That should provide some food for thought over the next 72 hours, eh?

Have yourselves a great weekend.

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...

Stay SAFE out there, America.