Midnight Shooter

Well, he's back.  I wrote about him here , posted about him on Craig's List (the post got flagged by some pencil neck geek and removed).  So now he's back.

On Monday, August 27^th, 2018 at or around 11:55 PM, some deranged pinhead torched off three shots about 25 yards or so from my house.  I called the Columbus PD and reported it as shots fired, and the dispatcher assured me that a unit would be sent to the area to investigate.  Then she wanted to know if I'd like to speak with the police in person.

No.

I was just falling off to sleep when (I suspect) Tyrone torched off a single, followed by a double tap.  This isn't the first time, and it won't be the last.

These Roads Are Not Safe!

My nephew Albert turned 16 last week.  His father, Shotgun Bob, brought him down South for a little visit.  I collected Big Mike and 88, and we all went out to dinner.  During this momentous occasion I debated about just what sort of wisdom I should impart to the little fellow as he achieved a state of mobility, approached high school graduation at a snail's pace, and now (thanks to Shotgun Bob) has a rolling bedroom.

So... somewhere between the second and fifth martini, I said, 'Albert?' I said.  'Albert, stop drooling over the tits at the next table and pay attention.  I've got something to tell you, and it's important.'

'Just when do you not have something important to say when you're half in the bag, Uncle Jack?'

'When I'm asleep or lost deep in thought.  Roughly the same thing.  So... where was I?  Ah.  Here we go...'

Three Wheel Death Trap

I've always liked cars.  Actually, I like anything with a motor - even riding lawnmowers.  The push mower you can keep and give to your teenage son or daughter, who clearly needs more exercise to remain a healthy and productive member of your family.

I saw this article on Rueters: Swiss Brothers Get Ready to Refloat the Bubble Car (August 16, 2018).  This might be a good idea in Switzerland, but not in the U.S.

Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan Dead Right There (DRT)

The dust cloud (well, one of them anyway) you're watching is the fuss over Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan, two citizens of the United States who took off on a shoestring bicycle journey around the world and ended up dead in a You-Name-It-Stan ditch.

Keep reading for a hardhearted look at them and the news media.  Warning: This missive is politically insensitive, personally insensitive, and hasn't been screened for trigger warnings, politically incorrect speech, and other bad things.  Read at your own risk.  Your mileage may vary.

Religion, Satanism, and Pedophilia

I never did trust the Catholic church, not even when I was a child. The nuns looked mean to me, and many of them were.  The Priests weren't allowed to get married, and even though I had no interest in marriage or girls or (heaven help us all) kissing a girl - yuck! - that didn't seem quite right to me either.

If you live in Pennsylvania (home state of serial killer Kermit Gosnell), and you read the local scandal sheet, you'd know that six tons of top quality fertilizer have just hit the turbine blades, and it's no small deal.

Keep reading for a somewhat atypical diatribe on the Catholic Church.  Politically incorrect comments are kept to a bare minimum, but your mileage may vary.

Take the Gloves Off and Speak Up!

Sarah Hoyt posted a missive about Hate Speech which is worth reading.  My summary of Sarah's missive is that the Moonbats, SJWs, and similar subcultures spew it, the rest of the world more or less tolerates it, and we shouldn't.

Several social media platforms have come under fire (ha ha) for censoring hate speech, but especially hate speech directed at white males. Because, well... I can't think of just why, or even if they are.  Censoring, that is.

Keep reading for a politically incorrect, socially insensitive yet well reasoned communiqué about free speech, social media, and the Internet.  I recommend that anyone with a thin skin dose themselves with 1 milligram of Xanax before reading.

Book Review: Instinct by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

Instinct (previously published as Murder Games) by James Patterson (Author) and Howard Roughan (Author)

My Rating: * out of *****

File Size: 1922 KB
Print Length: 369 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0316273961
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (June 26, 2017)
Publication Date: June 26, 2017
Sold by: Hachette Book Group
Language: English
ASIN: B01M0CDHMG

insert your own standard disclaimer along with the caveat that your mileage may vary

PET Scan Results

In short, I'm cancer free.  I have no cancer.

A Truly Meaningless Post

I'm due for a PET scan tomorrow, which costs more than I could easily afford during the best of times.  Either stress, drugs, or the local environment has put me into a foul humor.  I don't want to talk to anyone.

Load Up and Get Ready

It's been over five years since the Zimmerman - Martin shooting.  Left alone, this event would eventually be remembered by those select few who study history these days.  And yes, that was a shot.  Sadly, there are a few people who don't want to let a sleeping dog lie.

So tonight we're off to the races.  Load up and keep reading for an opinionated piece grounded in cold facts.

Well, here we go.

In other news, 'they' canceled my CT scan.  'They' weren't 'comfortable' with giving 'me' a CT scan, given my allergy to CT Scan dye - even though I was premeditated (I'm using the past tense) with Prednisone and Benadryl.  'They' want to perform a magenta renaissance imaging (MRI) instead.

The pain in my throat, head, and neck is old news, and the side of my neck is no longer tender.  I'm reluctant to schedule this because of the cost.  No such thing as a free lunch, right?

A lot of this is in quote, deliberately.  They are the medical powers that be and remained nameless through the entire business.  The fact that they aren't comfortable (a truly annoying use of the word, as their comfort or lack thereof has never appeared on my list of priorities and likely never will) has a lot more to do with me, the consumer, cashing in my chips while lying on their table and undergoing a life saving test that they recommended.  I'm thinking that if they only knew that my own personal attorney is Johnny the Hammer, then they would fire me and take out a restraining order against me.

Disclaimer: In real life my attorney really is the notable Hammer, who really does specialize in medical malpractice.  He tends to win.  He also is dead set against the Second Amendment but will defend gun owners with the ferocity of a mama honey badger defending her kittens, and the tenacity of a Rottweiler with a band new rawhide chew toy.

As I write this, I'm so screwed up on Prednisone that I'm over-typing my own eyesight.  Or something.  I ingested two of the three Prednisone tablets before some nice lady called me early this morning to tell me my test was cancelled.  I'm glad she called before I took the third tablet and the Benadryl, which would have made me too tired to function and too nervous to rest.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow is the big day.  Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM EST I get my CT scan, then I have an appointment with the ENT doc to check the results and plan for treatment, depending on the phases of the moon and the lumps on Fathead's noggin.

I'm not all that worried.  The pain is mostly gone, and only annoys me at night.  I haven't taken more than one pain pill a day lately, and I could probably get along without that if I felt like it.

So we'll see what's up.  I'll post the results tomorrow.

Thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes, and I mean that.  It really helps.

Movie Theater Shooting

I wrote about the Curtis Reeves and Chad Oulson Shooting shortly after it happened, and have been waiting for something significant to happen ever since. Now it looks like we finally have a trial date. According to the Tampa Bay Times a February Trial Date Set in Curtis Reeves Theater-Shooting Case

From the article:

...the state passed a revised version of the law, which shifted the burden of proof in such cases to prosecutors. Previously, the defendant had to prove he or she was in fear when using deadly force.

DADE CITY — A judge has set a trial date of Feb. 25, 2019, in the case of Curtis Reeves, the retired Tampa police captain who claims he was acting in self-defense when he shot another man in a Wesley Chapel movie theater.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Susan Barthle scheduled the trial at a hearing Tuesday, declining a defense attorney’s request to hold off.

I want to see how this one shakes out, as I cannot for the life of me imagine how this case relates to a stand your ground law for more than five seconds.

Pick Another Letter...

This is the official follow up to Pick a letter..., as posted several days back. So all of you can pick another letter, any letter, just one out of twenty-six scintillating choices.

The Midnight Shooter and Craig's List

You may remember that I wrote about The Midnight Shooter and his hobby, which is torching off six at three in the morning, thus disturbing my sleep and causing me to wake up on the wrong side of the gutter.  Since the local constabulary took such an enthusiastic interest in this case (yawn), I took the law into my own hands.

The Midnight Shooter

On Sunday (7/8/18) at 4:12 in the A of M, some silly SOB decided to torch off a few.  This addled firearms aficionado kept this up last summer, generally on the weekend, and generally with his .38 revolver.  Near the end of summer he acquired a second revolver and would shoot them at the same time.

How do I know?  Sound and cadence.  He's fairly close to me - close enough to wake me up which I don't enjoy.  The Columbus PD has about as much interest in this as a dog with a ceiling fan.  He might want to catch it, but since it's always out of reach it's more fun to chase the cat, raid the trash can, or chew the Old Lady's brand new $649.00 shoes that she hasn't worn yet.

Today I took some action.  I posted on Craig's List.

Craig's List - Columbus, OH

The chance of the Midnight Shooter actually seeing this and respecting my wishes is slim and none.  Still, it makes me feel slightly better about the situation.

If it keeps up, I may buy a burner phone and report a shots fired call to Columbus 9-1-1.  Then hang up instead of answering the idiot questions they ask.

Pick a Letter...

Pick a letter out of the alphabet.  You have twenty-six attractive choices (32 if you count the optional letters that were eliminated by some group of bibliophiles back in the n^th century).  So pick one, and remember that your grade for the year does not depend you your selection.

The Death of Officer Amy Caprio and What Scares Me

On Tuesday, May 22, 2018, four young, violent criminals went to work very early in the morning - or late at night, depending on your perspective.  In an upper middle class neighborhood, three of these criminals started their search for a house to burglarize, while the fourth waited and patrolled the immediate area in a stolen car - a black jeep.

Quora Question: Do you have a younger sibling...

Some nameless fathead on Quora posted this philosophical interrogatory.  I hope my answer doesn't disappoint him.

Do you have a younger sibling who would pick on you when you both were children?

My younger brother. He’d do all kinds of stuff to get under my skin, and when I’d react my parents would yell at me, saying he’s just little, so if he breaks your (whatever) it’s just one of those things you have to live with.

We lived very close to a junk yard, so one day when no one was watching I put the snatch on him, duct taped his hands, feet, and mouth, and stuffed him in an empty dog food bag. I tossed the bag into the trunk of a stripped down car headed for the crusher, figuring that would be the last I ever saw of him. I don’t know how, but somehow the little plague got loose and escaped. He stopped giving me grief, though, and about all I can say is that as we got older family holidays and reunions got real interesting.

Nobody believed his wild story, even with the duct tape evidence.

I posted this little gem this morning around 9:30 or so.  Now we'll see what happens, although I expect the censors at Quora will simply delete it out of hand.  With the answers I give I'm probably on their watch list by now.

Quora Question: If I leave work early...

It gets better. Trust me.

Some nameless pinhead on Quora asked: If I leave work early, come home, find an intruder in my house, kill him, and he turns out to be my wife’s lover, who she let in the house, would I go to prison?

My answer: