Tuesday Tidbits...A Brand New Year.

Well if the rest of this brand spanking new year is anything like the way in which the OLD year left, it could be most "interesting".
We'll get into that in a moment, but first, we've some other stuff to take care of.

Our Hoosierland weather for today brings us clearing skies (by the looks of things) with temps climbing to around 38 degrees and no rain (for a change).

Now, what say we get this year off and running with a nice hot cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa (or perhaps a wee bit of "the hair of the dog" as they way), as we see what has been going on elsewhere, hmm?
*** First out of the medicine chest is our "What the hell happens today,Bob?" feature:
JANUARY 1 -
----It's New Year's Day

(if this wasn't obvious, by now, you must have one HELLUVA hangover).
---It's National Hangover Day

(speak of the devil, right?)
---It's National Bloody Mary Day

(the DRINK, people, and nothing more, got it?)
*** Next, let's see what MONTHLY observances are waiting in the wings:
---It's National Hot Tea Month.

---It's National Oatmeal Month

---It's National Soup Month

---It's National Hobby Month

There you go then...a few things of note. Moving on...
*** Next up, time to see what the last week of 2018 brought us in the way of local crime stats: with the FWPD calls we SHOULD have heard about...but did not:

FWPD CALLS - DEC 24 - DEC 30
SHOTS FIRED ((113)) - ARMED ROBBERY((53)) 
((23,113 - vandalism by gunfire))
=======================================
18F150577 12/24/2018 01:31am 113 SHOTS FIRED 3000 WINTER ST
18F150616 12/24/2018 06:35am 113 SHOTS FIRED 4700 GAYWOOD DR
18F150789 12/24/2018 06:28pm 113 SHOTS FIRED W MAIN ST & RUNNION AV
18F150808 12/24/2018 07:27pm 113 SHOTS FIRED E PONTIAC ST & S CLINTON ST
18F150848 12/24/2018 10:29pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 7200 HICKORY CREEK DR
18F150885 12/25/2018 12:22am 113 SHOTS FIRED 3000 WINTER ST
18F150923 12/25/2018 03:25am 113 SHOTS FIRED 4900 MAMIE DR
18F151064 12/25/2018 06:24pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 2600 FOX AV
18F151094 12/25/2018 09:04pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 1900 N CLINTON ST
18F151110 12/25/2018 10:12pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 800 MCKINNIE AV
18F151114 12/25/2018 10:18pm 113 SHOTS FIRED ALEXANDER ST & OXFORD ST
18F151135 12/25/2018 11:58pm 113 SHOTS FIRED HOLTON AV & E PONTIAC ST
18F151391 12/26/2018 05:41pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 1000 N COLISEUM BLVD
18F151436 12/26/2018 07:38pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 1000 N COLISEUM BLVD
18F151482 12/26/2018 09:39pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 2700 BOWSER AV
18F151483 12/26/2018 09:41pm 113 SHOTS FIRED E PETTIT AV & GAYWOOD DR
18F151551 12/27/2018 04:03am 113 SHOTS FIRED SHORT ST & W STATE BLVD
18F151554 12/27/2018 04:07am 113 SHOTS FIRED 2200 POINT WEST DR
18F151859 12/27/2018 09:29pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 2400 CLARA AV
18F151866 12/27/2018 09:42pm 113 SHOTS FIRED S HANNA ST & DECATUR RD
18F152207 12/28/2018 07:00pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 3600 NEW HAVEN AV
18F152250 12/28/2018 08:24pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 3700 SCHELE AV
18F152256 12/28/2018 08:36pm 113 SHOTS FIRED BARTHOLD ST & HIGH ST
18F152287 12/28/2018 10:15pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 1400 ECKART ST
18F152293 12/28/2018 10:29pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 2400 WINCH ST
18F152329 12/29/2018 12:51am 113 SHOTS FIRED 400 GREENWOOD AV
18F152358 12/29/2018 03:28am 113 SHOTS FIRED DIPLOMAT DR & WAYNE TRACE
18F152374 12/29/2018 04:40am 113 SHOTS FIRED 3300 WEBSTER ST
18F152385 12/29/2018 05:35am 113 SHOTS FIRED 5800 COUNTESS DR
18F152474 12/29/2018 01:25pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 800 E COLISEUM BLVD
18F152640 12/29/2018 09:47pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 2900 BOWSER AV
18F152768 12/30/2018 03:53am 113 SHOTS FIRED 2900 E STATE BLVD
18F152994 12/30/2018 08:54pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 2900 SOUTHWAY DR
18F153004 12/30/2018 09:36pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 7500 BLUFFTON RD LOT 52
18F153009 12/30/2018 09:58pm 113 SHOTS FIRED 2400 NEW HAVEN AV
======================================================
18F152429 12/29/2018 10:52am 23,113 2800 SUNDALE DR
18F152555 12/29/2018 05:03pm 23,113 2000 REDWOOD AV
18F151015 12/25/2018 01:28pm 23,113 600 HUFFMAN ST
======================================================
18F150753 12/24/2018 04:23pm 53 ARMED ROB 3400 MCKINNIE AV
18F150779 12/24/2018 05:59pm 53 ARMED ROB 1600 SPY RUN AV
18F151085 12/25/2018 08:34pm 53 ARMED ROB 7900 W JEFFERSON BLVD
18F151637 12/27/2018 11:34am 53 ARMED ROB 4000 WAYNE TRACE
======================================================
18F150715 12/24/2018 02:17pm 56 MOLESTING 700 BROADWAY
18F152432 12/29/2018 11:06am 56 MOLESTING 3800 CHANCERY PL
======================================================
18F151427 12/26/2018 07:12pm 58 SHOOTING 900 E BELMONT DR
18F152038 12/28/2018 12:09pm 58 SHOOTING 2200 RANDALLIA DR
18F152262 12/28/2018 09:06pm 58 SHOOTING 4000 WAYNE TRACE
18F152673 12/29/2018 11:07pm 58 SHOOTING 1200 WALL ST
18F152739 12/30/2018 01:51am 58 SHOOTING 300 E TILLMAN RD
======================================================
18F151547 12/27/2018 03:29am 59 CUTTING/STAB 1200 PUTNAM ST
18F152169 12/28/2018 05:27pm 59 CUTTING/STAB 3900 E STATE BLVD
======================================================
18F151274 12/26/2018 12:04pm 61 RAPE 300 E WASHINGTON BLVD
18F152409 12/29/2018 08:16am 61 RAPE 1100 S CLINTON ST
=======================================================
18F151631 12/27/2018 11:08am 75 PURSUIT 3000 CENTRAL DR
18F152384 12/29/2018 05:30am 75 PURSUIT LUMBARD ST & MAUMEE AV
=======================================================
Plus 8 narcotics calls 
=======================================================
Fireworks calls: DEC 24 - DEC 30
===============================
NONE? 
They saved them all for New Year's Eve...trust me.
*** Next, there was one last shooting death to make it to 46 for 2018. Here's the story:
https://www.wane.com/news/local-news/police-1-dead-after-apparently-shot-inside-car/1681608501

Weird, how the media says we had FORTY FOUR homicides this year. You don't suppose TWO of them went and did the resurrection gig, do you?
(nah...!)
A male juvenile showed up at hospital with a gunshot wound and died a short time later. It appears the shooting took place near the intersection of Lafayette St. and Williams St around 1630 hrs.
Several shell casings were also found in the street.
There was another shooting up on the NW side, but it's a nicer neighborhood, and the victim survived (well placed shot, no doubt).
*** Next up...Ringing out the old and ringing in the new...

Should have patrols LOOKING for these jerks.

Yes, we had our share of (ghettohood) CELEBRATORY GUNFIRE (some fairly close by - on street over), and yes, once again, I saw absolutely NO police cars cruising the area..that's a nasty habit the FWPD has gotten into over the years.

Wifey had Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper on for the ball drop (oh, the jokes I could make about THAT one), while I rang in the year with Dotcor Who and over on El Rey Channel a Firefly marathon (hard to decide which one to watch).
We toasted the year with some Aste, and had some cheeses and small salami slices.
We didn't eat the cocktail shrimp yet (might save that for some Scampi), and on the menu for today is a nice beef brisket (oven cooked, mind you). It should be a very good day (as long as all the idiots leave the area or stay the hell in bed...heh).

Worth the angst.

Also, I was awaiting the arrival of an eBay purchase - the Star Trek Beyond ornament (USS FRANKLIN) starship from 2017 that I managed to grab for TEN BUCKS!
(believe me, that's a BARGAIN!)
Anyway, the USPS was supposed to deliver it yesterday, and of course, they were running VERY late. When I saw the truck, it just passed us by, and I was like "WTF???" Tracking says it's to be DELIVERED.
This was after 6 PM, so I decided to wait until 8 PM , and then go out and check the mail box one last time, before I unleash 7 kinds of hell upon those responsible.
I go to step out the door (still raining) and there on the TOP step is a box (rather wet). Lo and behold, it DID arrive (someone had to swing back and drop it off).
The ornament is pretty cool and is on the tree (for the rest of the week).
No hell will be unleashed this day.
*** Next, let's make our first stop of the year at our "Kitten Corner"...

"Wake me when Mommy gets home."

The kids were pretty laid back, even when Wifey arrived back home from Vincennes.
To them, it was just some more of the "same old"... Dogs on the other hand will knock you the hell over when you come back, even if it was out to mow the lawn...lol.

I'm almost ALWAYS awake."

When the gunfire and fireworks began (around 2330 hrs), they got a bit "antsy" and stayed close by us. I told them it's okay...we're here.
*** Next up, I think we should do our first check in of 2019 with "Midnight and Whiskers"...

Only dry spot was under the table.

The furry twosome had a good day...no one missed any meals and they even got two bouts of back step treats (Wifey did a solo run), and when the noise began, Midnight was hunkered down on the top of our back steps (keeping watch).

Morning eats...still raining.

I'm guessing Whiskers was in one of the shelters.
In any event, they were both on the patio, nice and early (today) so I know they came through last night well.
*** Last back to the home-front...another year with the same problems, isn't it?

I will STILL see the same morons roaming about down here, the same idiots blasting their "music" as they drive past, the same dipshits tossing trash on the lawn, so what leads me to think that a shift in behavioral patterns will be forthcoming?
Absolutely nothing, my friends.

City planning strategy for the SE side.

But, that doesn't mean I will sit back and just ignore it...that's the CITY'S job...LOL.
I will continue to "fight the good fight" this year, as I have in the past, and even if the change we can affect is so minuscule as to be barely noticeable,. it's STILL change for the better, and we take a bit of solace in that much.

The ONLY game around.

Also, living in a manufactured "ghetto", we take our victories anyway we can get them.
Maybe we'll break a few eggs in the process, but I've yet to see an omelet made any other way...have you?

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