Monday Musings...

Welcome to a rather CHRISTMASEY morning out in the Midwest.
See...THIS is what you get when yoi start playing all those Christmas songs TOO DAMN EARLY - Mother Nature listens and gives you the weather to go along WITH those songs.
At least, it sure seems that way.
(and damn near every school had a 2-hr delay EXCEPT the FWCS...gotta love that).
Our Hoosierland weather is as follows - COLD...all damn day, with temps DROPPING as the day progresses, so as we begin with 29 degrees, by late afternoon it will around 22 degrees...and with gusting winds, it will FEEL like it's below zero out there by nightfall.
More on that in a bit, but first, we've got some other things that need attention, so let's get a nice HOT cup of coffee, tea or cocoa, and see what else has been going on.
*** First out of the freezer is our "What the hell happens today,Bob?' feature:
November 17 - 

When stamps get TOO expensive?

-- Today we have a bunch iof things going on, not the least of which...It's ELECTRONIC GREETING CARD DAY...so who the hell do you think created THIS one, hmm?

You can almost SMELL it...

-- It's also HOMEMADE BREAD DAY, and on a cold morning, some nice, thickly-sliced WARM bread with the topping(s) of your choice sounds like a damn good thing, doesn't it?

To WHERE...and WHY?

-- And, it's TAKE A HIKE DAY...but I'm wondering WHO in their right mind would want to hike in the COLD and SNOW?
(aside from Earnest Shackleton or Robert Peary, and they HAD to)

Like THAT is gonna happen soon.

-- Lastly, it's WORLD PEACE DAY, and that begs the question WHO wants a "peace" (read piece) of WHAT?
Seems we can't have ANY peace when all these putzes who want a piece of anything they can grab by force, right?
Someone told me today was World Peace Day...and I promptly told THEM to go "take a hike"...LOL
Be nice if we had peace break out instead of war, but there's no pleasing SOME people in the world.
*** We had a couple of ARMED ROBBERIES and some SHOOTINGS going on over the weekend in Ft. Wayne.
Here's the link for the shootings that left two males and one female in critical condition around 0328 hrs Saturday morning .
(don't expect much information):
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20141116/LOCAL07/311169959/1043/LOCAL07
This is what happens when people don't want the police to know WHERE and WHEN they were shot...they drive themselves (or get a "friend" to drive them) to hospital.
They must LIKE having blood in the interior of their vehicles, as people don't stop bleeding just because they're in a Caddy...lol.
And here's the link to the armed robberies
http://wane.com/2014/11/16/police-investigate-two-possible-armed-robberies/
POSSIBLE armed robberies?
Don'cha LOVE the media headlines?
They were COMMITTED, so that means it's a bit more than possible...it's a score for the DEFINITE.
Moving on...
*** And now, for some thoughts on this snow...
First of all, it sucks...period. It just does.
It's lousy to drive in, unless you have the road ALL to yourself.

Okay, it's not THAT bad outside.

Face it, the majority of accidents are caused by those morons who still think the roads are CLEAR (that would include ALL the chronic DUI mooks that the courts keep releasing on their OWN recognizance).
The word IMPAIRED comes to mind.
When everyone keeps a level head about them and realizes that trying to get to their destination FASTER will not yield the intended result, and they pay attention to DRIVING ONLY, that's when you don't have accidents.
Put the damn phone DOWN - you don't need to text people what you're doing, or take some pictures of the snow, or even another accident to post on Facebook, kapeesh?
Turn the radio DOWN...singing won't make you a better driver, nor does trying to drown out the world...listen for priority vehicles like police, fire, or ambulances.

Don't become an "OOPS" moment.

If need be, drop to a LOWER GEAR - it limits your top speed, and the last thing you want to do in snow, slush or ice is TRY to go fast, because that's not gonna happen.
You WILL slip and slide VERY well, though.
Remember, God may be your CO-PILOT, but it's still YOUR hands on the damn wheel. Stay alert.
-- Next, I really don't like shoveling snow, but, it's one of those nasty necessities in life.
You need to clear your walkways...so OTHERS won't have a hard time getting around.

Not bad for NOT shoveling...(yet).

Doesn't apply down here...all the Aborigines haven't been clued in on something called a SIDEWALK, so they walk down the middle of the damn street, like natives in some 3rd world African village.
Sorry, this is a CIVILIZED nation, state and city (for the most part), and it's time these idiots learned that,  so they need to get their damn ass OUT of the street, before I make them a hood ornament.
MY walk is shoveled for THEIR safety, dammit. Time they figured that one out.
-- Keeping the feeder full for the birds is becoming a chore...but a happy one.

Easy to go through 5 lbs of seed.

We had sparrows and wrens, but also nuthatch, titmouse, junco, cardinals and blue jays...and multiples of every one.
It's like we need to have a "bird-cam" in place...just to watch it all.
Then, there are the squirrels, who love the suet cake (placed for the BIRDS), as if the peanuts, raisins and apple slices aren't enough?
All we need are the rabbits we used to have come by to make it complete.
When it comes to a "free-lunch" program, we always do it to the least of God's creatures...and THEN, work our way up.
*** Last back to the wigwam...used to be a time when your parents would have to DRAG you in from the snow...too busy making snowmen, or forts, or tossing snowballs at each other to be bothered with "dumb" things like EATING.

NICE...and comfy.

Nowadays, I LIKE feeling "comfy"...and that means warm (not hot) when it's cold outside, and not sweating in the summer.
It's like our personal "thermostat" goes through an adjustment...the RANGE of temps we could handle diminishes noticeably, and that range gets more narrow as we get older.
You can always put on more clothing, so that makes winters tolerable - it's when you have to venture OUT that it bites the big one.
Still, if you outfit yourself properly, and not cause yourself to perspire when out in the cold, you'll do okay.
And since this weather doesn't appear to be going away ANY time soon (for at least several months, anyway), we're in this for the long haul, and that means we take the steps required to maintain our lives.
When I see kids improperly dressed in weather like this, it both saddens me and angers me. It's as if whatever is passing for a parent today couldn't give a rip, and when you see these "adults:" wearing flip flop sandals outside in near freezing weather, you KNOW where the kids get this sh*t from.

I'm ALWAYS dressed right, so THERE!

Doesn't take a genius to figure it out.
And there's certainly NO excuse to not prep for cold weather...OR to be a better role model (as a parent) for a child. Teach by example.
Be bold enough to set the bar high, and then be courageous enough to keep reaching fot it.
That is something to think about on a snowy Monday, right?

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