We had an unusual robbery in my region (here in Germany) over the weekend. A grocery got robbed.....after hours.
If you've never been to Germany.....most buildings have a tile roof....not just houses, but most stores and regular buildings. Tile roofs are an odd factor in construction.
Years ago....for twenty-odd minutes one afternoon....I stood and watched this crew put up a tile roof. One guy on the ground would pile tiles on an escalator-like device and it'd go up to the roof and deliver the loose tiles to two big strong and husky guys. The two guys would walk across the roof and simply pop the ceramic tiles into place. No nails. No glue. No tar. Just popping them onto a wood plank, and putting another tile on top of that. A regular roof deal probably wouldn't take more than six hours for two guys to throw up into place.
So, we have this grocery in the nearby town.....four miles away....with a tile roof.
The break-in guy figured out that once you get on a roof.....you just slide your hand under a tile, and you can remove it. Once he removes a dozen tiles and there's this opening. He slides in....gets past the false ceiling, and he can rob the place easily.
Cops won't say how much, but you can figure that he carried out booze, smokes and maybe some cash.
Here's the thing.....there's almost no way for the grocery guys to figure some protection against another robbery like this. You could throw up sensors......but for a store like this? You'd have to figure $20,000 spent on the sensors. A security guard? Well....for seven nights a week.....that's a cost item. Leave a dog in the place? Sanitation requirements would fall into play.
It'll be curious if this gets repeated several times and it's a gang with one smart roofer in the mix.
Wednesday, 7 October 2015
Friday, 11 September 2015
9-11 Observation
I sat and watched a video interview deal that a student team did on George Mason University (a significant university in Virginia). The topic? They walked around the university and asked dozens of college students why the US was attacked on 9-11.
The typical answer? Most students said they didn't know the reason which triggered 9-11. A handful commented that it was George Bush's fault, but they rendered a one-star explanation. They then asked the students if there should be classes to talk more on 9-11....which almost all of them agreed that would be good thing.
So, the video in the end points out.....these were all people who were around age four when 9-11 occurred. Their knowledge level is non-existent....of an event which occurred less than twenty years ago.
The blame toward Bush? You could have a laugh over the answer given. The same guy would give similar answers over the banking crisis, the housing market collapse, and various oil tanker accidents....in my humble opinion. A smart guy in the background ought to quickly jump up and note that Bush was responsible for the Nazis coming to power, the riots in Detroit in the late 1960s, the trigger to causing the Vietnam War, and helped to send the iceberg into the path of the Titanic.
The typical answer? Most students said they didn't know the reason which triggered 9-11. A handful commented that it was George Bush's fault, but they rendered a one-star explanation. They then asked the students if there should be classes to talk more on 9-11....which almost all of them agreed that would be good thing.
So, the video in the end points out.....these were all people who were around age four when 9-11 occurred. Their knowledge level is non-existent....of an event which occurred less than twenty years ago.
The blame toward Bush? You could have a laugh over the answer given. The same guy would give similar answers over the banking crisis, the housing market collapse, and various oil tanker accidents....in my humble opinion. A smart guy in the background ought to quickly jump up and note that Bush was responsible for the Nazis coming to power, the riots in Detroit in the late 1960s, the trigger to causing the Vietnam War, and helped to send the iceberg into the path of the Titanic.
Wednesday, 9 September 2015
"Person of Interest"
Around the Christmas holidays of 2011, I had to do a trans-Atlantic flight, which means eight or nine hours in a cramped plane and the only entertainment is the video offering. I sat and saw some five episode deal of a new CBS show....Person of Interest. After viewing the original show, and the next four episodes....I had an interest in it. For the remainder of the 2011 season, I probably watched a total of a dozen episodes. After that, I just didn't have time to view it.
This past six weeks....I've been using Netflix and caught up with all the episodes of the first three seasons. A fourth season was done for last year, and CBS has agreed to produce roughly a dozen episodes for what they believe is the final year.
After watching the sixty-six-odd episodes....I'm at a point where I'm keenly into the series. On several levels....they've screwed up and accidentally produced a five-star series loaded with mistakes. Viewership isn't where it should be and CBS thinks they are doing a good thing to let the series wrap up the ending. There's talk that Netflix or Amazon might be in the background.....ready to pick up the series and run it for a season or two. Maybe if huge numbers come up for Person of Interest over the final dozen episodes.....CBS might wake up and carry it for another season or two.
The big screw-ups?
1. The name doesn't work. It should have been "Man and Machine" or "Man in a Suit". Person of Interest has zero appeal.
2. The use of music within the video? For the first season, they marginally did a good job on this. For a couple of season two episodes....they did a five-star job and the rest fell between a two-star and four-star. They should have hired some smart guys to gear music to the scenes.
3. A lot of this storyline is about Artificial Intelligence (A-I). For a large segment of the audience....they needed a real introduction to the science. I think somewhere in the middle of season two, they woke up and did some explanations but they wasted tons of opportunities.
One of the big problems with the series is that you have to watch each single episode because they are laying down bits and pieces of secondary stories. If you missed two or three episodes from season one, and two episodes from season two.....you'd be in hurt-status for grasping season three.
So, I'm kinda hoping that the series survives the short season, and someone picks it up.
This past six weeks....I've been using Netflix and caught up with all the episodes of the first three seasons. A fourth season was done for last year, and CBS has agreed to produce roughly a dozen episodes for what they believe is the final year.
After watching the sixty-six-odd episodes....I'm at a point where I'm keenly into the series. On several levels....they've screwed up and accidentally produced a five-star series loaded with mistakes. Viewership isn't where it should be and CBS thinks they are doing a good thing to let the series wrap up the ending. There's talk that Netflix or Amazon might be in the background.....ready to pick up the series and run it for a season or two. Maybe if huge numbers come up for Person of Interest over the final dozen episodes.....CBS might wake up and carry it for another season or two.
The big screw-ups?
1. The name doesn't work. It should have been "Man and Machine" or "Man in a Suit". Person of Interest has zero appeal.
2. The use of music within the video? For the first season, they marginally did a good job on this. For a couple of season two episodes....they did a five-star job and the rest fell between a two-star and four-star. They should have hired some smart guys to gear music to the scenes.
3. A lot of this storyline is about Artificial Intelligence (A-I). For a large segment of the audience....they needed a real introduction to the science. I think somewhere in the middle of season two, they woke up and did some explanations but they wasted tons of opportunities.
One of the big problems with the series is that you have to watch each single episode because they are laying down bits and pieces of secondary stories. If you missed two or three episodes from season one, and two episodes from season two.....you'd be in hurt-status for grasping season three.
So, I'm kinda hoping that the series survives the short season, and someone picks it up.
Stonehenge II?
If you drive for roughly two hours west of London.....you will eventually reach Durrington....a small town with only one significant feature....Stonehenge.
I made the trip twenty-odd years ago. You come over the top of some hill....and you look down to the right of the road, on a very low-grade slope, and you can see the stone monument off in the distance. But you typically think of....at least in my case.....it's all a big cow-field. Just open farm land with grass growing.
My little group spent about 90 minutes at Stonehenge.....walking the circle. Once you've been there....you realize there's no reason much to return.
Well, this week....some researchers noted that they've found more to the whole Stonehenge thing.....except a much bigger site.
Around two miles from the current site....is this mostly buried site, with around ninety big stones (all buried, of course). They note the depth of the stones to be at least three feet under surface.
So, there are some basic facts, and then a lot of mystery.
They calculate that this was Stonehenge II (to have occurred after the original smaller episode). They also calculate that this all occurred around 4,500 years ago (2500BC). They also calculate that some of the buried stones are fifteen feet tall.
Purpose? Unknown.
What folks have come to say is that Stonehenge I (the smaller site) was developed as a mystic ritual site and people were told far and wide that if you made a walk (like the Catholic Saint James Way from the center of Europe to the far west end of Portugal)....that some higher power would help in your life, cure ills, bring good luck, and and lift your outcome in life.
It's believed that a large assortment of people in Europe would find their way to Stonehenge.....bringing sick relatives with them, and believed that the mystic charm of the site would do something.
Why was Stonehenge II (the new site) buried? No one is sure if it was buried intentionally (three feet of dirt is a lot). There's no flood area there, and there's no possibility of landslides to disrupt site. There's no possibility of a volcano being involved (as in Crete's case). So you are left with the idea that some guys put a lot of effort into burying the site.
I would take a humble guess that some event occurred....of a pretty harsh and negative nature. Enough people were standing there and believed that the Stonehenge II site was 'cursed', and they decided that it was best to bury it and never walk those grounds again. A disease? A plague? Who knows? The fact that thousands made the journey from Europe to Stonehenge I....meant hundreds probably had a disease and passed it along via the trail to Stonehenge. It was only a period of time before a large segment of visitors would arrive and be seriously ill while visiting the original site.
So, I'd suggest to the research guys.....broaden the search pattern slightly and look for a burial ground within a couple of miles of the second and newer site. Once you find a large assortment of burials....look for clues.
I made the trip twenty-odd years ago. You come over the top of some hill....and you look down to the right of the road, on a very low-grade slope, and you can see the stone monument off in the distance. But you typically think of....at least in my case.....it's all a big cow-field. Just open farm land with grass growing.
My little group spent about 90 minutes at Stonehenge.....walking the circle. Once you've been there....you realize there's no reason much to return.
Well, this week....some researchers noted that they've found more to the whole Stonehenge thing.....except a much bigger site.
Around two miles from the current site....is this mostly buried site, with around ninety big stones (all buried, of course). They note the depth of the stones to be at least three feet under surface.
So, there are some basic facts, and then a lot of mystery.
They calculate that this was Stonehenge II (to have occurred after the original smaller episode). They also calculate that this all occurred around 4,500 years ago (2500BC). They also calculate that some of the buried stones are fifteen feet tall.
Purpose? Unknown.
What folks have come to say is that Stonehenge I (the smaller site) was developed as a mystic ritual site and people were told far and wide that if you made a walk (like the Catholic Saint James Way from the center of Europe to the far west end of Portugal)....that some higher power would help in your life, cure ills, bring good luck, and and lift your outcome in life.
It's believed that a large assortment of people in Europe would find their way to Stonehenge.....bringing sick relatives with them, and believed that the mystic charm of the site would do something.
Why was Stonehenge II (the new site) buried? No one is sure if it was buried intentionally (three feet of dirt is a lot). There's no flood area there, and there's no possibility of landslides to disrupt site. There's no possibility of a volcano being involved (as in Crete's case). So you are left with the idea that some guys put a lot of effort into burying the site.
I would take a humble guess that some event occurred....of a pretty harsh and negative nature. Enough people were standing there and believed that the Stonehenge II site was 'cursed', and they decided that it was best to bury it and never walk those grounds again. A disease? A plague? Who knows? The fact that thousands made the journey from Europe to Stonehenge I....meant hundreds probably had a disease and passed it along via the trail to Stonehenge. It was only a period of time before a large segment of visitors would arrive and be seriously ill while visiting the original site.
So, I'd suggest to the research guys.....broaden the search pattern slightly and look for a burial ground within a couple of miles of the second and newer site. Once you find a large assortment of burials....look for clues.
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
The Hillary Oath?
This oath?
Well....it's an odd deal. You just say that you are committed to Hillary....offer up some help like a backyard bar-b-q or coffee meeting with other concerned Hillary folks, and then hand this into the team that runs her campaign.
Might someone lie on the loyalty oath? Well......yeah. That's one of the dozen-odd problems with such oaths.
You can always dump your loyalty.....in fact, from day to day or hour to hour.
A comical political theme? Well, if you get desperate enough....you might turn to the idea of a oath.
Monday, 7 September 2015
Wise Words from a Dentist
Some journalist did an interview with the Cecil-the-Lion killer-dentist. At the end of the conversation....the dentist kinda admitted that if he'd known the lion had a name and was noteworthy.....he never would have killed the lion.
Being from Alabama, I took a moment to ponder upon his wise words.
Generally, you learn a thousand and one things as you grow up on a farm. Around lesson number 644....there's this important bit of wisdom....never name any animal on the farm that you might have to sell or butcher one day.
Things get painfully difficult when you've named some goat "Marvin" and you realize he's up next as the 'stew-goat'.
So, it occurs to me....the way ahead in Africa or anyplace for that matter.....to prevent animals getting shot or killed....is to name them. If you got sixteen-thousand lions in Africa.....they each need a name. If you have forty-five-thousand elephants....they each need a name.
Some ought to get royal-sounding names....like Prince Albert or King Micky. Some could get fictional names like Atticus Finch, T.S. Garp, or James Bond. Some could be named after sports figures like Babe Ruth or Micky Mantle.
You would ID tag each animal and let folks know the status of Doctor Zhivago (the Rhino).
Course, as quickly as you create a fad like this.....some anti-name-the-animals crowd would start up, and prefer that we only use numbers.
Yeah, if you pay attention....occasionally, you will get a bit of wisdom....it's just that you have to think about how to use that wisdom and not be real stupid.
Being from Alabama, I took a moment to ponder upon his wise words.
Generally, you learn a thousand and one things as you grow up on a farm. Around lesson number 644....there's this important bit of wisdom....never name any animal on the farm that you might have to sell or butcher one day.
Things get painfully difficult when you've named some goat "Marvin" and you realize he's up next as the 'stew-goat'.
So, it occurs to me....the way ahead in Africa or anyplace for that matter.....to prevent animals getting shot or killed....is to name them. If you got sixteen-thousand lions in Africa.....they each need a name. If you have forty-five-thousand elephants....they each need a name.
Some ought to get royal-sounding names....like Prince Albert or King Micky. Some could get fictional names like Atticus Finch, T.S. Garp, or James Bond. Some could be named after sports figures like Babe Ruth or Micky Mantle.
You would ID tag each animal and let folks know the status of Doctor Zhivago (the Rhino).
Course, as quickly as you create a fad like this.....some anti-name-the-animals crowd would start up, and prefer that we only use numbers.
Yeah, if you pay attention....occasionally, you will get a bit of wisdom....it's just that you have to think about how to use that wisdom and not be real stupid.
Sunday, 6 September 2015
The Two-Percent Alabama Folks
I noticed the Dothan Eagle.....yeah, I even read their newspaper.....had an interesting article up this week. Journalists in Bama are always looking for a religious angle to something....for the weekend edition and it hints of some religious theme which folks in Bama enjoy. So Matt Elofson (normally the crime reporter of the Eagle)....wrote up this analytical piece.
The story relates to Gallup, who did up a poll nationally....state-by-state....on folks who attend church. It's an odd question and they probably just want to show that the traditions of the nation are evolving. The slant on the article was to tell some story about the society around us and their church-going habits.
So, I went back to Gallup and looked up the situation for the state of Alabama.....46 percent of residents say they attend church weekly. Around 25 percent of folks said they go near weekly or at least once a month. In the category of seldom or never....27 percent of folks held up their hand.
Now, at this point....you'd add up the numbers and say we are at 98 percent. And then you look at the choices and ask what's left.
Well.....two-percent of folks said they didn't know.
Now, you can debate this and talk about it for hours and hours.....but why would two-percent of Alabama folks just say.....they don't know?
Well....some folks don't keep calendars up on the wall and track anything much other than the NCAA football season.
Some folks don't track things like this because they've got more important things....like hunting season, tornado season, or wet-dry voting episodes.
Some folks would prefer not to answer a loaded question like this...in fear that some Baptist minister will jump out of the bushes and launch into a sixty-minute discussion over Moses and his woes in life.
Some folks will say that they drink too much and they might have been there at church last week but they were drinking a bit and just don't remember much of anything.
Some folks will say that they are taking a fair amount of pain-killer and weed, and just don't remember things clearly.
Some folks will question the guy asking the question, and if they work for the federal government....then simply provide this as a 'non-answer'.
My brother would probably respond that he would have been to church....but that dang fence got busted again by his playful cattle, or the barn roof required mending, or that Sunday morning was the only dry spell to cut hay, or that some neighbor stopped by on Sunday morning to ask thirty-six questions on the method of operation for a 1968 Ford Model 14-71 hay-bailer. Oddly, these events occur not only fifty-two Sundays out of the year.....but 365 days out of the year.
Oddly, the two-percent crowd aren't that worried about weekly church attendance, or the condition of pews at the local church, or if there's a new interpretation of Revelations, or if the new minister hired up at the church is an authentic Republican or a fake Republican.
The two-percent crowd doesn't want to get anyone upset or get anyone frustrated. So when you see the question pop up and some local guy wants to discuss the numbers because he's worried about folks.....well, just reassure him.....the two-percent crowd are holding together the rest of the state....under sometimes dire circumstances.
The story relates to Gallup, who did up a poll nationally....state-by-state....on folks who attend church. It's an odd question and they probably just want to show that the traditions of the nation are evolving. The slant on the article was to tell some story about the society around us and their church-going habits.
So, I went back to Gallup and looked up the situation for the state of Alabama.....46 percent of residents say they attend church weekly. Around 25 percent of folks said they go near weekly or at least once a month. In the category of seldom or never....27 percent of folks held up their hand.
Now, at this point....you'd add up the numbers and say we are at 98 percent. And then you look at the choices and ask what's left.
Well.....two-percent of folks said they didn't know.
Now, you can debate this and talk about it for hours and hours.....but why would two-percent of Alabama folks just say.....they don't know?
Well....some folks don't keep calendars up on the wall and track anything much other than the NCAA football season.
Some folks don't track things like this because they've got more important things....like hunting season, tornado season, or wet-dry voting episodes.
Some folks would prefer not to answer a loaded question like this...in fear that some Baptist minister will jump out of the bushes and launch into a sixty-minute discussion over Moses and his woes in life.
Some folks will say that they drink too much and they might have been there at church last week but they were drinking a bit and just don't remember much of anything.
Some folks will say that they are taking a fair amount of pain-killer and weed, and just don't remember things clearly.
Some folks will question the guy asking the question, and if they work for the federal government....then simply provide this as a 'non-answer'.
My brother would probably respond that he would have been to church....but that dang fence got busted again by his playful cattle, or the barn roof required mending, or that Sunday morning was the only dry spell to cut hay, or that some neighbor stopped by on Sunday morning to ask thirty-six questions on the method of operation for a 1968 Ford Model 14-71 hay-bailer. Oddly, these events occur not only fifty-two Sundays out of the year.....but 365 days out of the year.
Oddly, the two-percent crowd aren't that worried about weekly church attendance, or the condition of pews at the local church, or if there's a new interpretation of Revelations, or if the new minister hired up at the church is an authentic Republican or a fake Republican.
The two-percent crowd doesn't want to get anyone upset or get anyone frustrated. So when you see the question pop up and some local guy wants to discuss the numbers because he's worried about folks.....well, just reassure him.....the two-percent crowd are holding together the rest of the state....under sometimes dire circumstances.
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