Monday Musings...

Well, that was one craptastic weekend, as far as the weather goes, wasn't it?
Half of it was at least tolerable, while the other half...not so much.
Nothing like some icy drizzle covering streets and sidewalks, making life oh so much more "fun". While Saturday wasn't THAT bad, Sunday was the kicker as far as everything goes.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will see us with cold conditions, with a high of only around 28 degrees, mostly sunny skies, and no precipitation (for the time being).
Remember to drive with caution and dress appropriately for the cold.

So, let's get a nice large hot cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa to chase away that chill, as we see what's been going oo elsewhere...
*** First off of the yet to be cleared side streets is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature?:
FEBRUARY 12 -
---It's National Clean Out Your Computer Day

(why? Its noit going to make a lick of difference as far as performance goes)
---It's National Plum Pudding Day

(don't have a huge desire to have any, not that I can find it anyplace around the city)
*** Next up, a really good story about recent homicides in Fort Wayne. Here's the link
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20180211/this-years-slayings-are-mostly-female
Yes, most of them HAVE been female this year (so far)...interesting, and disturbing at the same time, isn't it?
Roderick Parker (who I met on The Fort Report several years ago) nailes it with his call on WHY this trend is happening.
It's like I said with women and their "boyfriend of the month club"...sooner or later, they will crib with the WRONG people, and thereby become targets when their boyfriend/baby-daddy gets his ass in a sling (as they tend to do).
Seven of last year's 41 homicides were female.

((Fort Wayne Police Chief Steve Reed blames the escalation on the “acceptance of violence” and said there are “a lot of young people with little or no positive outreach.”))
Hopefully, the new initiatives in place will reduce that number substantially.
((The national rate of women murdered by men increased from 1.08 per 100,000 population in 2014 to 1.12 per 100,000 in 2015.)) That's not a good thing to see, is it?
((Society has become numb to violence, says PattiJae Jimerson, executive director of the Victory House for Women, which helps abused women get back on their feet.

“We used to run,” Jimerson said, when gunshots were heard. “Now it's business as usual.”
Jimerson also believes that the release of small-time drug abusers and minor criminals into the wider community spells trouble for women.
“Our community control programs are releasing economically disadvantaged males out into the community where they are largely supported, by any means necessary, which is usually a woman,” she said.))
I believe Ms Jimerson nailed it there with the release back into the community of these young males. Obviously, the jail-time they secure for themselves is NOT doing them ANY damn good as far as needed "life-skills".
Rather, it's (as I've often said) making them better criminals by the time they get back out.
*** Next, just when you thought the Olympics was a venue that had LESS politics than everything else, comes THIS:
www.journalgazette.net/sports/olympics/20180211/nbc-apologizes-to-south-koreans-for-analysts-remark

Yeah, how soon people forget that JAPAN occupied Korea during WW2, along with most all of the SE Asian nations at that time. Perhaps these commentators should have paid more attention in their world history classes in high school?

Other than that, the opening ceremonies were outstanding..
It actually seemed better than Beijing.

Almost as good as seeing the 10th Doctor in that one episode when HE lit the torch...lol.
But, that's not all. There was also this story, which kind of ticked me off, because it didn't need to happen.
http://www.journalgazette.net/sports/olympics/20180211/speedskater-a-no-show-at-opening-ceremony

Okay, so a black skater loses a COIN-TOSS (to be the flag bearer) and, as a result, chooses to NOT attend the opening ceremonies and walk with the rest of his (USA) teammates.
Must be part of this whole "entitlement mentality" thing we see in our country these days, coming home to roost, as it were.
It was a stinking coin toss; a 50-50 chance for God's sake...grow a pair and get over it already.
I will wager that if this speed skater WON the coin toss, the other person (a white female athlete) would have NOT reacted in the manner he did.

Sorry, but the Olympics is not the place to be an asshole. There are PLENTY of other chances to be one OUTSIDE of this world-wide event (where everyone else from everywhere else can see what a jerk you were).
*** Next up, a story has been a LONG time coming, and you'll know why. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/features/20180212/noise-may-be-bad-for-heart

How about THAT? NOISE can be harmful to your HEART! What a frigging EPIPHANY.
Thing is, I've been saying that an abundance of loud noise was bad for you (for many OTHER reasons) since this blog was created (and long before that even).
The Noise Pollution Clearing House has been on this even before I was.
Sure, the obvious culprits contribute to health problems, like jackhammers, airplanes, car horns and such, but the REAL bastard child on all this (that's not even mentioned in the article) are all the damnable BOOM CARS, and their ear-bleeding, house-shaking stereo systems. Not a word about them. Guess the writer is afraid of stereotyping those who feel the need to share what passes for music from several block away?

((“Noise can be considered a cardiovascular risk factor,” he said. “Importantly, this is a risk factor that cannot be managed by patients or by doctors; it just can be managed by politicians by making laws with low thresholds for decibel levels during the day and during the night to protect the people living very close to noise sources.”))

S-T-F-U, idiot! No woofers on tricycles!

Well, that's a damn good FIRST STEP...now, make those laws ENFORCEABLE and give them a higher priority.

Shut THESE idiots DOWN.

And this goes for in house stereos as well as car stereos. There is simply NO need to be acoustically assaulted 24/7/365 by the uncaring and terminally stupid among us, is there?
*** Next, time to stop by out "Kitten Corner"...
Our kids wee not into being bad all weekend, which is a major plus. Hardly anything worth noting, but a lot of cute going on.

The grocery bag deal is the new play-toy.
I'm sure that also filling the bird feeders had something to do with occupying some feline time.
Maybe the kids are just starting to settle down from their terrible twos?

Whatever the case may be, I'm not complaining one single bit. I love it.
Just as long as nothing gets damaged or broken, all with be wonderful...for all of us.
*** Next up, it's time to check in with "Midnight and Company"...

THIS house is PROTECTED.

Our furry twosome did not miss a single meal all weekend, although Midnight did show up a bit late a couple times (no doubt due to his patrols).

I'll be there in a second.

A simple shake of the keys on a plate brings him around straight away. Don't seem to have a problem with Whiskers.

I'm staying close by for the food and water.

She's always at (or very near) the door.
And, we're back to replacing the frozen water in the dish with LIQUID water (a lot easier to lap up). Yesterday was Soggy Food Sunday, and that meant warm food on a warm dish (morning and afternoon).

Told 'ya I was comin' for food.

That beef in gravy goes far to cement a relationship with a homeless cat, that's for sure.
*** Last back to the ice cube trays...I wonder what it would take to get people to wise up in America.

Many of us already "get it" when it comes to common sense and decency, and it's something we didn't just learn overnight or wake up with when we rolled out of the sack.
We were brought up with such values and principles, which our parents passed on to us.
(sometimes utilizing the board of education against the seat of knowledge)
And we're none the worse off for that, are we?
But today, we face a couple generations that have NOT been taught many of the simple things in life that are NEEDED, so we can all get along a lot better. You see the results of such "lack of teaching" every day.

Get 'em while they're young.

Also, with the advent and promotion of all the social media around us, it's actually getting worse, rather than better.
We've too few educators to teach the growing "unwashed masses" of declining human behavior.
For every generation that "loses it's way" regarding morality or ethical behavior, several generations will be required to straighten out the mess.
Let's hope (and pray) we can be up to the task of teaching by example, and be able to increase OUR numbers along such lines.
The alternative will not be something we want to have future generations grow up and become part of.
Just something to ponder today.

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