A Shy Spider

     ...With a "face" marking!

     It -- probably she, from the size -- is another orb weaver, with yellow knees, and very shy.  It's built several webs on the side of the front porch and in what appears a typical ploy, the first web was very big and subsequent ones are smaller.  Testing the bug flight paths?

     When I walked down the steps and around on the grass to get a photo of the top of the spider, it ran up to one corner, adopted a contorted-looking pose, and held it.  Nothing to see here!  Just an old dead bug!  Move on, move on.

The Saddest Words Of Screen Or Device...

     "Installing update 1 of 497."  Gak.

Ode To A Sunday Snack

     Oh, Nutella-cream-filled donut, how could I not delight in thee?

     It's a kindly world that puts a world-class donut joint so handily nearby -- and what appears to be a decent gym even closer.  Having indulged in the first, it behooves me to take a closer look at the second.

Woke Too Early/Slept Too Little

If James Bond taught English, rather than working as a spy:

     The Spy Who Declined Me

     Dr. Know

     Never Say "Ain't" Again

     To the Thesaurus With Love

     And so on.

"Barely Room To Swing A Wrench!"

     Or, "What I did Thursday."

      And on a tiny scale -- those are SMA connectors.  That's a 5/16" wrench.  And the the whole mess is overhead.  I had to replace the N-to-SMA bulkhead adaptor.  The other side is even worse to get to -- and that's where the nut that holds the thing is located.

     As for the nut who decided it was okay to build this widget in a box this small, I don't know.  I hope he has either learned better or retired.

...And...?

     In the wake of tragedy, sometimes it's difficult to figure out how to follow it.  This one hit close to home -- murderer and victims could easily have been people I worked with.

     At the circus, they'd send in the clowns.  Real life is not a circus.


     So, in attempt to get back to normal, I have some images of the occasionally-James-Bond-scale of my part of the bigtime world of mass communications from high atop a building that must remain nameless:

     It's a nice view, especially if you don't think about it too much.  And it's safe enough -- you're inside railings and much farther away from the edge than it seems.  This is looking north, with the gutted remains of the Paul Cret-designed library visible just over the rail.  The big curved thing behind it is where they keep the books -- pardon, "media" -- now; the bluish glass is a connector atrium where the stacks once were.  I do not approve.

     When I call the stadium "monstrous," I'm not referring to the manner in which it is a huge tax sink so much as I am describing the size of the thing.  I've lived in towns that would have fit inside it -- might take four levels, but they would have fit.
 

     "Inside a railing," I wrote.  Sometimes only barely, but inside it nevertheless.

     To get up there, you have to climb a caged ladder from here, which is above a heat-exchanger the size of a two-story house.  (This is where the villain would leave James Bond, no doubt dangling over one of the big fans with the protective screen removed.)  The uncaged ladder in the distance is a shorty, and pretty much "trained professionals only" because of where it leads to.

     To get to the top of the heat exchanger, you go up this spiral staircase.  Very carefully.

     And on the way home, an apartment building designed by an ocean cruise line!  --C'mon, if you had the penthouse, you'd put a binnacle and ship's wheel on that balcony, wouldn't you? 

It Bled, It Led, Dammit

     ETA: It was the lead story on local and network news last night; it led in NBC's Today show just now, Thursday morning.  TV just can't pass up the bait -- and the continuing coverage only makes further crimes of this type all the more attractive to the next violent loser with a manifesto.

     By now you already know the story: a recently-fired TV reporter fired two years earlier shot and killed a pair of his former co-workers while they were on the air, live from a remote location.  Worse, he posted first-person video of it to social media.  It has been suppressed, but that genie is out of the bottle and it will be bouncing around the Web for years.

     Let us hope this does not become a trend.  TV news crews working in the field are almost pathetically vulnerable: their attention is on their task.  Their hands are usually full, figuratively and literally.  Photographer -- "cameraman," only inside the biz, that's not the term -- and reporter are extremely task-focused, especially when taking video or editing and the photog quite often sees only what his lens picks up, in black and white at that.

     The roots of this incident may go back years.  There's no question the shooter was unhinged and he may well have started out as a personality on the edge; he seems to have been inclined to collect grievances and perhaps encountered people very willing to hand them out.  There can be no justification for what he did -- but at the very least, at some point his growing anger should have rated a first response more probing than a pink slip years before the one that apparently set him off.  We may not pay enough attention to one another's "gruntles," and maybe, as a matter of self-protection, we ought to. (This is not to say people should do even more tiptoeing around the sensitivities of others than they already do -- but "don't be a jerk" and "speak up if something's not right" are good guidelines.)

     The usual pundits will say the usual things about this incident but I'll tell you right now, live news is a high-risk and highly-exploitable activity.  I have been at the public appearances of Presidential candidates and though the security is tighter than that for passenger air travel, there are aspects I will not even get close to discussing: no security is perfect.  And for J. Random News crew covering lower-profile events, "no security" is exactly what they have.  Some of it is just part of the job -- police try to push the Press back from hostage and active-shooter scenes, the press push back and more than one crew has returned with stories of the sound a round makes as it goes whizzing by.  But publicity-seeking murderous nitwits targeting newspeople is a new phenomenon, and not a good one.

     Look for a hard fight: this guy put a scare into the yapping mouthpiece of American politics.  I don't know of any law that could have stopped him -- but that won't keep the easy-solutions crowd from proposing a few dozen.

Ed Delany, Are You A Fool, A Pawn, Or Both?

     Good old State Repressive Representative Ed Delany thinks it's time to "finally talk about gun violence," I guess as opposed to talking about gun violence like everyone else has been doing.  (And I'm still not sure why it is somehow worse to be subjected to violence by means of firearms instead of knives or clubs or even bare hands. Can't we address the common factor, violence?  No?  ...Coward.)

      Ol' Ed has sent around a nifty mailing based on talking points from a Bloomberg anti-gun group a New York Times article. The article itself is flawed, including the false "40 percent of all sales are done without a background check" claim.  Ed's got his opinions and I have mine, and that's just how it goes -- but Ed gets the facts wrong, and that is not how it goes; that would be what we call lying.

     So let's start with his intro: "...we can't sit idly by* without at least talking about solutions to the gun violence and mass killings that seem to dominate today's news."
     What, like the National Firearms Act, a late response to the uptick in criminal violence during Prohibition?  Like the Gun Control Act of 1968, a response to the assassinations of prominent political leaders?  Like the Brady Bill in 1993?  Mass shootings per capita are down; violent crime and murders are down.  Yes, they still make headlines and they should: these are outrages against human decency and civil peace.  But it appears Ed doesn't actually want a conversation.  He wants to dictate "solutions" handed him by anti-gunners.  He wants to show party loyalty. And he may be deeply and willfully ignorant.

     In the mailing, he proceeds on to wanting to  "balance gun safety with gun rights while keeping weapons of the hands of those who want to inflict harm...."  Notice he presents "safety" and "rights" as opposed -- try that with the First Amendment, and see how far you get.  (The Fourth Amendment?  Presently a slightly different story, if you accept the notion that travel by air or rail is not a right.  But they're busy chipping away.)

     So what does Mr. Delany want to do, other than furrow his massive brow in concern? He's got a little list:

     His first point says we ought to recognize that "potential penalties will not deter mass murderers..."  Yes, and they won't deter regular criminals, either.  He says "We must do everything we can do to keep guns out of their hands."  This apparently includes keeping guns out your hands and mine as well, since his second point starts out with this gem:

     "Ban the sale and use of automatic weapons."  That would be every handgun that's not a revolver or single-shot-per-barrel, every long gun that is not a lever-action, bolt-action, pump or single-shot-per-barrel.  Glocks, 1911s, Berettas -- all gone.  "Turn 'em all in, Mr. and Mrs. America," as one of his fellow-Democrats once hoped.  He goes on to want bans of "armor-piercing bullets" (already banned, except for two rifle bullets the Federal Government makes available through the Civilian Marksmanship Program), and any magazine that can "hold more than ten rounds" (more ignorant nonsense: magazines can be swapped out in a second, while more than one mass shooter has been stopped or slowed by a crummy large-capacity magazine jamming).

      Point three: "Establish a more thorough licensing system to verify whether an individual should be able to purchase and own a gun," which is to say, license an inherent, Constitutionally-protected human right.  We know how well that's worked at reducing violence in Chicago and Boston, right? Plus, he wants "...a mandatory waiting period until all background checks are complete..." and elsewhere cites Walmart's buckling under pressure from a Bloomberg group and banning all sales when the Brady background check is not completed in three days by asking, "What does Walmart know that the rest of us don't?"  Gee, I dunno, that bad publicity from a well-funded advocacy group sucks?  The kicker in this is that an uncompleted background check would mean restriction of a Constitutional right by bureaucratic whim or fumble.  And Ed wants this to include "private sales and gun show transactions," which is unenforceable and cannot be done with the present NICS system.  His choice of phrase also reinforces the crazy notion that gun show sales are somehow not covered by the same laws as any other sales: FFLs at a gun show (90% or more of the sellers) must do NICS checks.

     Point four: "Ensure states add the names of those people deemed unfit to own a gun to the federal registry."  ...Even a stopped clock finds the occasional ear of corn: NICS is there and the states are supposed to be turning their lists of felons, dopers (don't like this one?  Then change your state's drug laws!), convicted spouse-beaters and the adjudicated mentally ill.  There are ways you can lose the right to keep and bear arms; they are written down in law books and it's pretty hard to argue against most of 'em.

     But Ed goes through all this looking a guns and only guns, like Mr. Magoo peering at the shoelaces of an angry giant under the impression they are snakes, unaware of the greater threat.  Hey, Ed, what about young men joining gangs so they can belong to something bigger than themselves?  What about a deeply damaged culture and drug laws that create financial rewards for lawbreakers?  What about a broken mental health system?  What about young people who are profoundly alienated from ideas of basic decency and fair play, and who expect neither from the government and society in general?  What solutions have you got for those things, Ed?  --I'm asking 'cos if you can make even fair progress towards fixing those, "gun violence" will decline, right along with violence in general.

     The United States has always had poverty.  We've always had social stratification, disaffected youth, insanity, drunks and dopers† and for nearly 150 years, we had cheap guns, mail-order guns and no background checks or restrictions on ownership or sales in nearly every state and city. What we didn't have was "if it bleeds, it leads" 24/7 news; we didn't have so many people who ignored their neighbors.  It was far from halcyon but it had its good points and we'll likely do better polishing them up and putting them to work than building taller, tighter fences that mostly hem in the law-abiding.
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* [sic]. Y'all done split the infinitive.  Might want to watch a little less Star Trek and spend more time doing your homework.  These Bloomberg cribsheets aren't helping you. 

† Since ether was invented, anyway.  Or were Colonials smoking the "herb of the fields" before then?  Does even tobacco count?
 

Monday Dinner

     Soup, or maybe stew:

     Stew beef, Italian sausage, onion, potato, carrots, beef stock + water, sauteed red bell and poblano peppers, zucchini. No seasoning other than what was in the stock, a dash of pepper on the beef and a cube of chicken bullion late in the cooking. It was good last night and I hope it will be good at lunch today.

     The things you do when you crave fresh veggies and you're short on grinding teeth!

Salmon-Tuna Patties

     Aside from the bicycle trip for Saturday brunch, I slept most of the weekend and apparently needed it.   Still, one does need a little energy even to sleep and I found myself peckish Sunday evening. Tam said she was probably going to make herself some salmon salad; she had three packets of salmon and would I like one?

     I thought perhaps so.  However, I am not a huge fan of mayo.  I love salmon patties (croquettes, loaf, whatever) and so I went looking.

     The little packets aren't all that much -- 2.5 ounces, very little of which is water.  Had some cans of tuna, three ounces, and drained, that would add up near enough to five ounces of canned fish.  Could salmon and tuna co-exist?  Never know unless you try!  (This is Depression-era cooking, comfort food for my parents generation; it is what I learned growing up.)

     A third of a cup of crushed crackers (saltines and Italian Herb Ritz), sufficient milk to make a kind of paste, and one beaten egg later, I was ready to add fish, seasoning and spices.  Traditionally one uses dill but we were out.  Onion and celery are nice, too.  Didn't have any of those, either.  Sooooo...  A couple dashes of curry powder, a bit of celery seed and more than a bit of chives, a little parsley, rosemary and cilantro* and a grind of pepper later, three medium-sized salmon-tuna patties were sizzling in the skillet, sending the cats into ecstatic transports of delight (I bribed them with treats).

     (When you combine the ingredients, the result should be neither dry nor drippy; cohesiveness and homogeneity are the desired properties.  Adjust with milk or cracker crumbs if needed.)

     Tam decided she'd have a canned-fish patty instead of salmon salad and pronounced it "very tasty."  I had to agree.  The curry powder adds a subdued hint of flavor, not like dill but remarkably harmonious.  As for salmon and tuna, they get along -- dare I say it?  -- swimmingly.

     Tamara, seeing my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook open, told me I had better mark that page.  I had to explain it was only open for rough reference proportions of grain, milk, egg and fish; their salmon loaf recipe, made with soft breadcrumbs, is delicious but significantly different to what I cooked.
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* The thing about cilantro is, people who don't enjoy the taste of it are not likely to when it shows up unexpectedly.  If you dislike the vaguely "soapy" herbal flavor encountered in some salsa, you should leave it out of this.

"Kitchenette?"

     "They named it 'Kitchenette,' really?"  That's what I asked my little brother when he told me about a new breakfast/brunch place in Broad Ripple.

     The answer, it turns out, is "Not exactly."  It's called Northside Kitchenette, and it is yet another of the amazing, wonderful places to get a bite to eat in  my corner of town.  Relatively light fare, breakfasts and sandwiches, but oh my, what breakfasts!  What sandwiches!

     Checking at home, the menu promised much.  Tamara and I rode our bicycles up to the place, an hour and a half before closing, and  what the menu promised, the kitchen delivered.  She had an Italian sandwich, hot and piled high with wonderful meats and cheese; her fresh-made French Fries had a light, wonderful hint of malt vinegar but were crisp and tasty.  (Tam ordered them instead of the house chips -- not chips from a bag, chips fresh from the fryer.  Observed examples were thin, golden, curly, tasty-looking.)

     I had a breakfast burrito, a whole-wheat wrap enclosing eggs, chorizo, pico de gallo, good cheese, fried potatoes and green-chili sauce.  Even with my unfortunate shortfall in the molar department, I found it flavorful and easy to eat.

     The coffee was good, the service was splendid and we will be back!

     Food and beverages for two came to $26, which is about average for Broad Ripple.  Portions were generous and despite our lateness, we were not rushed.

     Northside Kitchenette is part of a new group of restaurants. Broad Ripple has several such groups, most famously the Patachou family, and it appears to be an excellent strategy.  This new bunch consists of The Northside Social (a pleasant-looking, upscale restaurant with a huge, well-stocked bar that replaced The Stone Mug, a would-be/once-was biker bar), Northside Kitchenette and Village Cigar, all side by side in a tiny L-shaped strip mall, plus down in SoBro, Delicia and La Mulita, which offer "modern Latin food" and nice bar spaces.  They easily meet the very high standard for dining in Broad Ripple.

  (As for me, I rode back home, laid down, and was asleep by four in the afternoon.  I was awake off and on between then and now, mainly to take OTC painkillers, but never awake for very long until the TV began talking to itself at six this morning. Possibly just exhausted from the healing at the former site of the removed tooth and the effects of pain there and elsewhere; I was subjected to dentistry Friday and found it extraordinarily wearing.)

Eh? Speak Up, Sonny!

    For some reason, I feel as if I was two hundred years old this morning -- well, maybe only 150.  Gah.