Friday Follies...

Here we are then...end of another week, with 15 shopping days left until Christmas.
And, within the next 72 hours, it will probably LOOK a lot like Christmas, if the weather models have anything to do with it. We are expecting some significant snowfall by the start of next week, so be prepared.
Our Hoosierland weather for today is more on the "less stressful" side with partly cloudy skies, a few light snow showers (again, mostly to the north), temps only getting up to around 24 degrees, and light winds.
Kinda feels like winter, doesn't it? Gotta blame that damn global warming...lol.
In any event, let's get the day and weekend started with a nice hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa as we set about today and take in all it has to offer...
*** First off of the ice scraper is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
DECEMBER 9 -
---Today is National Pastry Day

(three words: Say...No...More!)
---And, it's Weary Willie Day

(It's an Emmett Kelly homage thing)
*** And, because it's Friday, let's take a look at the observances occurring over the next 48 hours:
December 10 -
---Saturday is Dewey Decimal System Day

(making it safe to navigate the library stacks for decades!)
---It's Human Rights Day

(we ARE talking rights...and NOT privileges here.)
---It's Nobel Prize Day

(not what they used to be - look at Obama's "peace" prize...whatta joke)
DECEMBER 11 -
---Sunday is National Noodle Ring Day

(gonna be a good weather for some hot soup, too)
And that's all folks...
*** Next up, looks like we're losing more people of note.
---Pioneering astronaut and former senator, John Glenn passed away yesterday at the age of 95 (same age as my parents would have been).

Here's the WIKI on this true American hero:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Glenn
And here's the story from his home state of Ohio:
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/john-glenn/john-glenn.html
He was the last surviving astronaut from the original "Mercury Seven".

I still have the LP recording of the historic flight he made into space, becoming America's FIRST man to orbit the earth (3 times). Dad bought that through a promotion with NBC and it is the actual recording of the entire flight back on 20 February 1962,
You can obtain a repress of the vinyl, but a first release is gonna cost you some $$$.
(pays to hang onto stuff)

Not to mention, the WIKI provides all the medals and awards Glenn was given...pretty impressive. Godspeed on you final journey.
---And the music world lost Greg Lake, founding member of both King Crimson (Court of the Crimson King) and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.

He passed on December 7 at the age of 69 from cancer. Here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Lake#Death

I actually met him, along with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer when I worked for Circuit City - they did a signing at a store opening near Quakertown, PA in the early 90s - Return of the Manticore CD era.
Very nice fellows. Quite accommodating.
Interestingly enough (and not to step on our own Music Timelord, Chris Martin's toes) Lake's time with King Crimson featured guitarist Robert Fripp, who later worked with David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, and Brian Eno.
Those were some classic days of rock for sure.
*** Next up, and as can be expected in THIS city, rubber stamps are STILL being used.

Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/Riverfront-project-designs-OK-d-16734825
Yep, the designs for the riverfront have moved right along...again.

Cost for this phase one (so far) is $20 MIL. Expect THAT number to go up.
It ALWAYS does.
*** Next, and along somewhat similar lines, we have THIS story about housing:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/Neighbors-question-housing-project-16718277

Okay, so what to do about the homeless along the river? (no, not the beavers)
Let's put up a $10 MIL 56 unit housing project along Spy Run (extended) just south of Parnell, and call it "River's Edge". And by all means, let's have the Fort Wayne Housing Authority run this dog and pony show.
Oops, there might be a "problem", however...
(( Some residents who live along Spy Run Extended north of downtown Fort Wayne are concerned about how safety and property values might be affected by the Fort Wayne Housing Authority’s planned permanent supportive housing project. ))

Yeah, there's those nasty-ass RESIDENTS who have something to say about this.
We gonna force THEM out of THEIR (nice) neighborhoods next, just like what was allowed on the SE and now the SW sides?
When you hear "housing authority", start watching BOTH hands of these people...HUD won't be that far behind. Mark my words.

It's the SAME authority that brought us ALL those wonderful apartment complexes that have become havens of crime and for those committing them. Push back, before it's too late.
*** Next, some "hands-on" training out at the PSA. Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/Putting-themselves-in-police-s-shoes-16742975

Yep, that's an airsoft pistol, Sarge.

A "use-of-force" training workshop was presented to community leaders, demonstrating HOW police handle certain situations. People in attendance had the opportunity to act as officers who might encounter people presenting a risk to themselves and others.

Potential traffic-stop scenario

It was a 2-hour workshop (hardly enough time, imho), but hopefully, these leaders of our communities will get SOME kind of understanding what the LEOS out there have to deal with daily.
Thing that cheeses me off...no one called me to come by. Bet if Cpt. Chamberlin was still here, I'd be asked to attend, if only to show how a fake gun can be made to look real.

It NEVER comes down to this around here, though.

I'm very good at that, but I do live on the ghetto-ized SE side, so to me, it's a required learning skill-set, as is keeping one's head on a damn swivel.
*** Next up, a little more on the F-35 JSF and Pentagon spending.

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/us/Expert-at-odds-with-Pentagon-on-F-35-program-progress-16713065
Guess what Montgomery Scott once said (ST-III - The Search for Spock) is still quite true:

"The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."
Sounds about right with a fighter that should NEVER have cost this much so far.
*** Next, it's time for some "Kitten's Corner"...

They're ALWAYS cute when asleep.

The dynamic duo were pretty much behaving themselves last evening, taking the time to hang around in the same room I was in, watching TV.
And that's not a bad thing. Something soothing about a purring cat in one's lap (beats the hell outta a drooling saint Bernard, or great Dane under like circumstances).
This morning, they were dashing about after getting fed, and knocked a coaster holder off a table, breaking it. Easy enough to fix (wood glue), but they need not be jumping onto places they're not supposed to jump...kapeesh?
Still, the frenetic behavior goes away as fast as it begins, and they'll be back to napping soon enough.
*** Last back to the snow shovel...there is nothing wrong with learning.

Some people would seem to refute that.
My Dad always said that:"The day you stop learning is the day you die". Sounds good.
I will take that to be true as well.
My Dad was like that...practical as the day was long, and was always reading something. He took the time to learn his craft (lithography) and many (at his work) benefited from his knowledge, even if it pissed the bosses off now and then.
Yeah, sometimes the "grunts" know more than the damn "generals", because THEY are in the damn trenches fighting the battle, right?

Yet, there are those who NEVER seem to learn, no matter how many times they're shown, or how often the chance to learn presents itself. And there are those who never learn from whatever mistakes they make in life.
I've always been one of those guys that never makes the SAME mistake twice...I just resign myself to keep making NEW ones...LOL.
Variety IS still the spice of life, right?
Anyway, what we need to take away from such things, is that every mistake IS indeed a learning opportunity, just as much as any other sort of learning that is spawned from other events in life.

That is what makes the "journey" worth the trip...it's a challenge; not something to be shunned, but rather something we should expect with some level of anticipation.
Life can always find some way to knock you down...the challenge comes in being able to get back up ONE more time than you get knocked down.
Therein lies the lesson for today.
Have yourselves a good weekend.  Mind the cold weather, too.

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