Sure Doesn't FEEL Like January...

It's days like THIS that make me hearken back to the early 1970s...when (back in Philly) I remember working with my dear buddy downtown...in 70 degree weather, unloading trucks for J.E.Caldwell Jewelers. Not easy work, but honest work.
Today's weather won't get AS warm...we're only supposed to reach SIXTY degrees, with clouds.
Then, we start sliding BACK into more seasonal weather...yeah, that means COLD, folks.
In any event, let's enjoy the respite from snow, ice, sleet and slush for the rest of the day.
And let's sneak a peek at all the crap that's happening around us.
*** First up today, the update to the THIRD HOMICIDE in the county of Allen (and Ft. Wayne):
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130129/LOCAL07/301299974/0/FRONTPAGE

The victim was Jeremy Dewayne Crews, 25, of Ft. Wayne, formerly from Alabama.
And he didn't have anything on his rap sheet except two infractions based out of the New Haven City Court.
One was for failure to produce a fishing license (16 Jun 2010), and the other was failure to produce a DRIVER'S license (8 Apr 2011).

He came to Ft. Wayne to be with his mother, and looked to start a new life.

Well, if it involved "street pharms" (which authorities believe to be the case), he looked in the WRONG place.

Now, since he did keep his nose relatively "clean", one has to wonder WHY he would wind up DEAD on a SE side street?
He did earn a GED from Ivy Tech, and according to court records, his address was listed as being 2724 Millbrook Drive, 46802, and that's NOWHERE near Hanna and Suttenfield, which happens to be an active area regarding drug use and purchases.

This boy was damn near clear across town.

A man who has lived in that neighborhood for ONLY two years, says he hears gunfire on a REGULAR basis.

He states: "I'm ready to get my kids out of here. If I had my way about it, I'd get my family out of here today."

Gee...kinda sounds like MOST of the SOUTHEAST area...at least those who DO still have a modicum of traditional values.

Now you know how WE feel here at the "Fortress"...every...single...day...!
*** Did you hear about or read the story regarding the woman who was ARRESTED when she REFUSED to allow her utility company to install one of those "smart meters"?
No? Well, here's that story:
http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/01/25/woman-arrested-for-refusing-smart-meter/
Jennifer Stahl has been an advocate AGAINST smart meters since the beginning.
And I can see her point.
Now, I mention this story from Naperville, ILLINOIS for a reason...
The SAME technology IS COMING to...(you guessed it)...INDIANA.
And here's the proof:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130129/LOCAL/301299937/1002/LOCAL

NIPSCO is planning to roll out similar meters to homes all over Indiana starting this year and finishing up by 2016.
But, you have to read BETWEEN the lines of this story, because it sounds like a GOOD idea...at first.
The company "claims" it's being done to "speed up the process of reading natural gas and electric meters".
The meters will allow NIPSCO to "gather" monthly reading from a vehicle, rather than have the readers walk about on foot.

You have to pay attention here, because if data can flow ONE way, it can certainly flow the OTHER way.
And, since these new meters will be electronic and digital, what the hell would happen if we have an "event" that disallows the usage of electrical devices?
Do we STOP getting electric and natural gas?
Do we go back to the 18th century?

This is about CONTROL...nothing else.
Suppose the company believes you're using TOO MUCH gas or electricity? (even if YOU are paying for it)
Well, they COULD just brown you out for a while, so that other people can get THEIR share...
It's just a supposition....not meant to be FACT (even though it IS).
NIPSCO is partnering up with METADIGM, a "national" utility services company.
(why the need for some national involvement, unless the government is behind this...)
Here's a related article:
http://www.prlog.org/11635268-metadigm-services-reaches-milestone-2-million-smart-meter-installations-for-major-utility-company.html
TWO MILLION smart meters on this new "smart grid"...and growing!
Here's that company's website:
http://www.metadigmservices.com/

It's not a meter replacement...they call it a DEPLOYMENT.
(like some armed forces troops...how "quaint")
Metadigm does ALL these meters...water, gas and electric, so "someone" will eventually have us ALL "by the short-hairs".
We might get more precise billing, but someone WILL have the "power" (no pun intended) to wrest utility power from OUR homes and businesses.
All sounds a bit intimidating, does it not?
Moving on...(while we still can)...
*** Lastly today...We've ALL been spanked at one time or another, especially when growing up.

(some actually prefer it long after they become ADULTS, but that's ANOTHER post for another, more lascivious day...lol)
Our parents didn't want to do it, but it was the only way to get things through our childish (and rather thick) skulls...and backsides.
And, if we learned anything from being spanked, it was never to do what it was that CAUSED that spanking in the first place...ever again.
Rare was the time you were spanked for doing the same thing over and over...right?

Yes folks, nothing like that "Board of Education" firmly applied to that "Seat of Knowledge" to get the point across.
But, there ARE those that see things a bit differently, like in THIS story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130129/FEAT/301299995/1011/FEAT
Personally, I think the guy was abused as a child.
He wants to "re-brand" spanking as HITTING..again with the PC name changes for things.
(like: yeah, it's not a WAR - it's an OVERSEAS CONTINGENCY OPERATION...whatta load of BULLSH*T!)
Corporal punishment has a PURPOSE, and is solely meant as the "last resort" when a misbehaving child allows no other recourse.

I know...I WAS A CHILD...ONCE.
How's that saying go: "Spare the rod...spoil the child".
And how many spoiled children were produced IN that manner?
Now, the Bible also says to: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is older, he will not depart from it".
I have known Christian couples that did JUST that...trained a child in CHRISTIAN values...and it worked for them.
Doesn't mean it works for EVERYONE, or every situation.
When I knew a spanking was coming, I would always try to invoke that Biblical passage about "Come, let us REASON TOGETHER"...
That "cop-out" didn't seem to go over as well as intended with my parents...LOL.

Dad had "his" way of putting it...as seen above.
Spanking has to used properly, wisely, and cautiously, if it's to be effective.

Hell, you can be ARRESTED for spanking your child (who probably deserves it) in PUBLIC today...

We ARE raising a nation of WUSSIFIED PEOPLE...of BOTH genders!

(it's easier to CONTROL people if they're that way)

No punishment = no consequences...simple as that.

-- If the consequence becomes a sore backside when you sass back, you LEARN from the experience.

-- If, however, you just get a finger shake and a "don't do that again"...you (as a child, rebellious as you are) will DO IT AGAIN, because the consequence ain't so damn bad...is it?

Our JUDICIAL SYSTEM loves to practice THIS method, BTW...with the typical results.

Spankings are part of growing the hell up...like falling down and skinning your knees, or trying something and failing.

You get NO rewards for doing nothing or showing up...but you DO LEARN about how to overcome falling down (watch where your feet fall), losing at something (you try harder or pursue a different tactic), or even what got your ass spanked (not to cuss, steal or whatever).

To negate such forms of corporal punishment diminishes the whole "cause and effect" we NEED when developing into adults, because the world sucks PLENTY more than childhood, and being instructed properly better prepares us for THOSE challenges.

If we're bad...we get punished (and probably spanked if needed), and if we're good, we get rewarded JUST as readily.
Pretty damn simple to figure out, right?
(just be sure to never get used to spanking your monkey...LOL)

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