Tuesday Tidbits...

Looks like the sunshine we had yesterday will be taking the day off today.
And, we're going to see the return of some scattered light rain, which should not be anything close to a torrential downpour. The next rain event won't be until this weekend, so do plan accordingly.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will see us with a couple rain showers, mostly cloudy skies and temps reaching to the 60 degree mark. Not much else to tell, except to say it will be getting nicer as the week unfolds.
Now, let's get a soothing drink poured (got a feeling we may need it), as we see what else has been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the toaster is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
May 17 -
---Today is HONOR OUR LGBT ELDERS DAY

(puh-lease...HONOR??? - give me a break. I can handle acknowledgement for now.)
---It's also NATIONAL CHERRY COBBLER DAY

(that's more like it...something tasty)
---And, it's NATIONAL PACK RAT DAY

(not to be confused with the RAT PACK, got it?)

Frank then told me "That's not how I spell HOARD".

And to think they have REALITY shows to demonstrate this.
---It's NATIONAL WALNUT DAY

(kinda early in the year, but what the heck)
*** Next up, it's time once again for ALL the police calls regarding shots fired and armed robberies the media never tells us about, because we're supposed to believe that crime is going down...(ROFL). Tell me another.

SHOTS FIRED / ARMED ROBBERY CALLS - 5/9 - 5/15
MAY 9 -
16F059973 00:10:08 113 SHOTS FIRED 2700 CAMBRIDGE BLVD
16F059980 00:30:30 113 SHOTS FIRED 500 LAWTON PL
((NO armed robberies))
MAY 10 -
16F060492 03:27:10 113 SHOTS FIRED 7900 DECATUR RD
16F060498 04:57:21 113 SHOTS FIRED 1400 DUBOIS ST
16F060510 06:39:18 113 SHOTS FIRED 3700 WASHINGTON BLVD E
16F060567 10:11:59 113 SHOTS FIRED 2000 ANTHONY BLVD S
16F061028 23:45:01 113 SHOTS FIRED 1800 MCKINNIE AVE & ANTHONY BLVD S
16F061021 23:33:31 53 ARMED ROB 3300 COLISEUM BLVD W
MAY 11 -
16F061032 00:07:01 113 SHOTS FIRED 2000 DREXEL AVE & PLAZA DR
16F061612 21:43:55 113 SHOTS FIRED 100 WASHINGTON CENTER RD W
((NO armed robberies))
MAY 12 -
16F061775 08:37:23 113 SHOTS FIRED 4700 TRIER RD
16F062189 22:36:46 113 SHOTS FIRED 900 WASHINGTON BLVD E
((NO armed robberies))
MAY 13 -
16F062716 20:48:06 113 SHOTS FIRED 5600 WERLING DR
16F062739 21:25:04 113 SHOTS FIRED 1900 OXFORD ST & CENTRAL DR
16F062777 22:24:33 113 SHOTS FIRED 7500 DECATUR RD
16F062782 22:30:40 113 SHOTS FIRED 6200 CHADDSFORD DR
16F062240 02:55:30 58 SHOOTING 700 BROADWAY
((NO armed robberies))
MAY 14 -
16F062873 01:39:15 113 SHOTS FIRED 6000 WINTER ST & FARWOOD AVE
16F062878 01:40:59 113 SHOTS FIRED 3000 ASHCROFT DR & DEVONSHIRE DR
16F062901 03:30:13 113 SHOTS FIRED 3400 CENTRAL DR
16F062922 03:57:38 113 SHOTS FIRED 3200 HANNA ST S
16F063255 22:56:06 113 SHOTS FIRED 500 RUDISILL BLVD E & WARSAW ST
((NO armed robberies))
MAY 15 - 
16F063321 01:17:57 113 SHOTS FIRED 4300 ALVERADO DR
16F063324 01:30:51 113 SHOTS FIRED 8600 LAKESIDE DR
16F063348 02:42:49 113 SHOTS FIRED 4200 WELLS ST
16F063359 03:20:29 113 SHOTS FIRED 6200 ST JOE RD
16F063725 22:33:21 113 SHOTS FIRED 5400 SOUTHERN CT
16F063754 23:46:31 113 SHOTS FIRED 4700 BOWSER AVE
16F063755 23:51:02 53 ARMED ROB 5600 LE STEELE BLVD
===========================
FIREWORKS CALLS 5/9 - 5/15
===========================
MAY 13
16F062457 14:39:41 44FW 1800 WALLEN RD W
===========================
(Yes, there just HAS to be one idiot, doesn't there?)
*** Next up, and speaking of crime, and those who serve the public trying to keep crime off our streets, it is NATIONAL POLICE WEEK, so be mindful of that as well as those patrolling our streets.

They choose to do what they do, namely put themselves in harm's way for ALL of us.
---There also was an article in yesterday's paper that got my attention (must have been the LARGE type font), and it's a really good read. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/us/Cities-deal-with-more-homicides-13072992

Now this might get you scratching your noggin, because it does seem a bit too obvious, right?
I will say that when the director of the FBI (James Comey) states we have a serious problem, it would be wise to heed such words. I have never heard a federal law-enforcement official address this problem quite like this, though.
I thought we were ALL being told that crime was going down (maybe those incidental crimes?).
I would tend to consider that homicides are at the TOP of the criminal heap.
Many (including Comey) state that the CAUSES of this increase in homicides are "unclear"...(???).
I do know that GUNS are not THE cause - just a contributing factor, like using a HAMMER to build a house. It's a TOOL of the trade, so to speak. Homicides are committed using anything "at hand".
One might consider that such spikes are also cyclical in nature, just as historical lows are.

It could be the massive influx of (undocumented) immigrants, the (ever) growing numbers of gang members, or a combination of both. We're not looking at some infinite number of causes here.
And naturally, it's happening in major cities (many of which are all too familiar).
Funny thing, in specific cities, while homicides have taken a double-digit increase, non-fatal shootings have remained flat OR have dropped. Someone might be practicing out there.
Comey is right to be concerned, and, as he states, this is "a problem American can drive around".

No longer JUST a "theory".

That is a very scary scenario in today's world where people are distracted from much of what IS going on around them when it comes to something BIG going on...right?
*** Next, before you go out and buy, or even decide to look into these driverless cars, think on THIS story. Here's the link:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/effect-robot-cars-traffic-congestion-070728013.html

Letting government take away YOUR driving privilege.

Now WHO would have ever come to the conclusion that the main problem with these vehicles would be...(...wait for it...)...PEOPLE?
Doesn't it ALWAYS come down to this, especially where our technologies are concerned?
Such vehicles are SUPPOSED to make travel both safer AND easier...where have we heard THAT line before (let's see...the TSA...AMTRAK) when it comes to damn near every technology we have been permitted to obtain?

No. Thank. You. !!!

We have taken everything that was alleged to make life better, and bastardized it into something we have come to curse on a regular basis. Every facet of the computer "realm" has followed this pattern, so what makes us think otherwise with these vehicles? To me, it's another snowball down another mountain...and we're at the bottom (as usual).
*** Next, I hear we have a NEW "pastime", that has taken the place of conversation or even...reading.
It's NETFLIX. Here's the story link:
http://www.askmen.com/news/entertainment/we-spend-twice-as-much-time-on-netflix-than-socializing-or-exercising.html

C'mon, you know you want to give up your interpersonal skills.

Sorry, not into that, and with good reason - we pay enough for something that USED to be relatively free (analog TV airwaves) and paid little for basic cable (and that included HBO when it first came out), so why continue to "feed the beast", hmm? The lack of personal interaction is proving to be a driving force when it comes to the way people behave and how they react to others these days.
Maybe it's one of the causes of rising homicides? just a thought.
*** Last back to the kitchen sink...what has history taught us, and why are we ignoring such lessons?

Now THAT is a loaded question, isn't it?
Apparently we're not learning much, yet we are enjoying things that make life easier.
But, are those gadgets, trinkets, shiny keys and colored beads making our lives BETTER?
THAT is the important question, and one which we SHOULD be focusing on in times like these.

We have come to rely on damn near everything and everyone, and have all but forgotten how to rely on OURSELVES.
Some devices DO actually aid us in our everyday lives, but that should be freeing us up to pursue the other things that used to sap us of the all too valuable commodity - TIME.
Instead, we have come to "expect" someone (like the federal government) to take care of "this or that", while we waste time chasing after things we used to consider trivial.
Wants vs. needs. All over again.

"Oops!"

Doesn't matter if it's in our schools, at home, in our vehicles...any case seems to justify some NEED, when in fact, it just another "whim"...a WANT instead.
We should be able to do much better, as generations before us managed to do.
We could choose to rely on ourselves (or even one another) without the need of a catastrophe to help us along that path.
We have the ability to make such things possible, if only we choose to have the desire and the willingness to follow through and create that reality. We can learn from history, unless we prefer to repeat it.

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