We're Almost There...

...To the weekend, that is, and we're even tossing in a St. Patty's Day for full measure.
The weather today will be cold with little to no breeze, but temps will threaten to rise above freezing, and we'll probably see more sun than we did yesterday (and hopefully a lot fewer ELEVEN CAR ACCIDENTS on the local highways). Plan accordingly, especially for drivers with no sense of driving skills.
We've lots of things to mull over today, so let's jump right into it.
*** First up, the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT quote:
"To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail."

This is attributed to Abraham H. Maslow, and his WIKI is HERE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow
Yes, he's the SAME Maslow who was a notable psychologist, best know for creating the "hierarchy of needs" (something our Blamer-in-Chief should read), and stressed the importance of focusing on the POSITIVE qualities of people, rather than viewing them as a "bag of symptoms".

It's a good read, and I've always found him and his life story to be very interesting.

Hierarchy of Needs

Near the end of his life (he died in 1970), he pondered such questions as "Why don't more people self-actualize when their basic needs are met?"

('cause the government GIVES them everything they WANT!)
He would certainly find people TODAY a lot more troubled, I think.
Moving on...*** We have POPE-SIGN...!

The 266th Pope was installed yesterday in Rome (makes it sound like a bathroom fixture) when WHITE smoke billowed from the Vatican chimney.
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected Pope in the fifth balloting by the college of cardinals in Vatican City.
Here's the story link:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/14/world-watches-as-cardinals-convene-for-2nd-day-papal-conclave/

He's a JESUIT, too, and that means he's more conservative-leaning, and he's lived a very spartan life in his native Argentina.

(and he's got great "jazz-hands")

He took the name Francis (from the 13th century Assisi namesake) and it's regarded to mean a "rebuilding" of the church in a time of turmoil.
Being a Jesuit tends to mean that there is a higher level of intellectuality to him, and many in the Vatican believe that someone with such qualifications is needed to fill the need in the church.
I wish him well, and pray that God will bless and guide him in every endeavor.
Meanwhile, back at the confessional...
*** This just in...Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez is STILL...dead.

But the new "president" states that Chavez may have been MURDERED...((dunh..dunh..duhhhhh))

Here's the lowdown:

http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/was-hugo-chavez-murdered-leaders-death-fuels-cancer-conspiracies-130312.htm
There are those that are saying that Mossad was responsible...I'm sure the line to off this guy went "around the block".
Well, perhaps he was no more murdered than say Jack Ruby (who claimed he had information on the Kennedy assassination)...
Just putting that out there...you decide this one.

*** Fort Wayne has it's SEVENTH HOMICIDE for 2013, but not in the manner you'd think...

Here's the story link:

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130314/LOCAL07/303149969/1002/LOCAL

Yeah, THIS homicide stems from complications from a shooting...from 1980...(pause for effect)...!!!

And the victim was shot twice by a .22 rifle in the back, so the caliber of bullet means little when the aim is good.

David A. Thornsely (then 20 years old) was shot as he rode his bike near Rudisill Blvd and Smith Sts on the city's...(all together, gang)...SOUTHEAST SIDE. Amazing how SOME things just do not change, isn't it?

What was true THEN is just as true NOW.

We have a SE side problem with many of the PEOPLE residing here.
 (and it sure as hell ain't "us")

And to THIS DAY, there are NO suspects and NO motive for the shooting...from TWENTY THREE YEARS AGO.
That's a pretty f$cking sad state of affairs, isn't it?
*** Allen County (Indiana) can now boast (?) a population of 360,000...!
(well that explains the RISE in crime quite well)
Here's THIS story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130314/LOCAL/303149971

According to the article, BIRTHS over deaths are the cause of the population RISE...
((...well, DUH...!!!))
The story states the "energy boom" in the Midwest is responsible for increased population...(yawn).
I would argue that the government "gravy-train" has a lot MORE to do with it, especially when you have a lower cost of living (here), cheaper housing AND all that "free-sh*t" the government is giving to the unworthy and undeserving...kinda like an IDIOT MAGNET for the feigned poverty-stricken.
Add a few dozen truckloads of IMMIGRANTS to the mix and naturally the population will CLIMB.
(and English becomes a second language)
Now doesn't that give you a nice big "warm and fuzzy"?
And now, much closer to home...
*** Our basement is drying out nicely, as are all the rugs.

Breezy down there!

My books and magazines are still a bit on the "iffy" side.
Some look to be drying out fine.
The box fan is helping to no small end.
My back, which was REALLY killing me, isn't nearly as bad, and I did find a great remedy for the pain... 
(other than a few glasses of blended scotch).

I took 2 EXTRA-STRENGTH Tylenol for ARTHRITIS yesterday morning, and the pain subsided well enough where I could move about a HELLUVA lot better, and that was fantastic. This stuff is BRILLIANT!
Oddly enough, it lasted most of the day, but did let me know when it was wearing off.
I will repeat the process today...
So there 'ya go.
"Doctor" Bob finds a magic bullet (of sorts). Not too bad a deal...and it WORKS!
*** Last back to the barn today...this headline which stared back at me from the business section of today's paper read:
INSURANCE PRICE SPIKES SEEN

(well now, isn't THAT special?)
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130314/BIZ/303149993/1031/BIZ

It really BOTHERS me when our Whiner-in-Chief is too busy pushing legislation through that's more lame than a legless horse, has minions dumber than a bag of rocks, blames anyone BUT himself for thing's HE has put into place...AND is, above all that, a CHRONIC LIAR!
Obummercare is supposed to be SO much better...so, HOW is paying between 20%-100% MORE on health premiums any BETTER?
Well, the CEO of AETNA insurance (one of the biggies) is trying to get THAT point across.
Mark Bertolini (Aetna) states this is "premium rate shock"...and he's damn right there.

THIS is what you get when legislation is passed WITHOUT knowing all that's in it.

Not to mention all the WASTEFUL pork spending contained in the "Affordable Care Act"...

I think we have ourselves a NEW OXYMORON (aside from the one behind the desk in the oval orifice).

Amazing how we got by BEFORE Obummercare, isn't it?
I don't know about YOU, but I'm getting damn tired of this sleight-of-hand dog and pony show from D.C.
I've said for a LONG time here to watch BOTH hands of this administration.
Same goes for all this "gun-control" thing...
The UNIVERSAL background checks are meant to track ALL guns bought by EVERYONE, so that would make it a LOT easier when confiscation time rolls around, won't it? And some in D.C. make no bones about such things.

You have to watch out for thinly-veiled rhetoric which will say ONE thing, but mean another.
You have to be on guard now...a LOT more then before, because there will not be any "wholesale" attack on your rights.
It will done in a more clandestine manner...little by little, so you barely notice it, unless you're looking RIGHT at it.
One gun at a time...one health premium at a time...one tax at a time...one "ban" at a time.
THAT is the way a good planner would "fundamentally change" this nation.
If we allow that juggernaut to get up such a head of steam, it will become increasingly more difficult to halt, let alone slow the hell down.
And THAT is something to think about.

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