Blog CPR

My blog has been a rather lonely and neglected place lately. It's been about 5 months since I've posted anything to it. I suppose the following video sums up my recent activity.

But fear not! I have two valid excuses to explain my absence.

1.) I got a divorce.

In February, Patty, my ex-wife, and I decided mutually to end our 24-year marriage. It was, without a doubt, the toughest decision I've ever made. To this day, I'm still grappling with the fact that she and the kids are not a daily part of my life. The emotional fallout has been intense. I suppose I'll never 'get over' it completely. I have many fond memories that I'll cherish forever. But without getting into too much of a diatribe, the breakup had to happen. I honestly believe that our toxic relationship was bringing both of us down. It was time.

2.) I moved.

The second excuse ties in directly into the first. Because of my divorce, I decided that I needed some new scenery. I relocated to Bradenton, Florida, a beautiful Florida gulf town about thousand miles south of Terre Haute, Indiana. My reason for choosing Bradenton was based purely on a lead for an inexpensive mobile home I saw for sale online. (As it turned out, I purchased better, more inexpensive unit that I later discovered by simply driving around town.)

I'm now settling in quite nicely. I have a job, a Florida driver's license, and I'm registered to vote. I've found an excellent outdoor, local pool at G.T.Bray Park where I can swim laps. Bradenton also provides plenty of spots for bicycle riding. So there's plenty of activity here, and the year-round warm weather enables me to be take part in them consistently. I still have gotten acquainted with too many folks down here yet...but give it time.

And with that, I've now officially revived "Outlook from the Outskirts"!

So Goes The Nation…So Backslides Indiana

Amid the fanfare of becoming the first state to legalize recreational use of marijuana for non-medical customers, Colorado appears to be leading an inexorable trend toward relaxing pot laws that’s taking place in all of the United States…EXCEPT Indiana. Because of laws requested and signed into law by Gov. Mike Pence, Hoosiers actually have to deal with even stricter laws and penalties.

In a nutshell, Pence and the ultraconservative, GOP-controlled legislature revised reforms last year to actually increase possession from a misdemeanor to a felony. Ironically, these changes were initially intended to lessen marijuana penalties. During the debate, the Governor said he’s interested in reducing prison populations. "I think we need to focus on reducing crime not reducing penalties," Pence said.

Apparently, the Governor was not swayed by the statement made in 2012 by the head of the Indiana State Police.

While Pence remains resolute in his plans to clamp down on pot, some folks suggest that his motives may be laced with unethical and ulterior motives. From the Daily Kos, a diarist writes that Pence favors stricter penalties because it helps fill the beds in the state’s corporate prison system, whose parent company (the GEO Group) is a huge campaign donor.

“The Indiana governor wants to make possession of small amounts of marijuana a felony because, apparently, we aren't nearly hard enough on those non-violent pot smokers. Or something. Lurking beneath the surface is an insidious actor. The unmentioned hand of political influence guides his actions, as prison corporations like GEO own their candidates and wreck state criminal codes.”

According to followthemoney.org, GEO contributed $12,500 dollars in 2012 to the Pence gubernatorial campaign, and nearly $68,000 dollars campaigns statewide. From the Daily Kos:

“That (campaign) contribution made GEO one of Pence's top 30 corporate contributors, ranking in front of US Steel Corp, Caterpillar, and Koch Industries.”

If these assertions on Pence’s motives are true, then this information serves as one more contemptuous affirmation that the so-called ‘war on drugs’ is nothing more than a huge money-making scam for corporations and the political whores who serve at their beck and call.

Geese at the Park

Geese at the Park: http://t.co/8P6KsqXM2l via @youtube #DemingPark #TerreHaute #Indiana #beautifulday

— Joel Wells (@animule) September 15, 2013

Indiana's Borders in an Alternate Universe

Imagine if Indiana's eastern boundary with Ohio was 50 miles further to the east and simultaneously, its western boundary with Illinois was extended 50 miles further to the west.

If this unlikely scenario ever became the case, Indiana's population would more than double. This huge influx of people would arise from including the population of Cook County (Chicago) in Illinois and the Cincinnati area in Ohio comprising Hamilton County, Butler County and Warren County.




Indianapolis, which is now the most populous city in Indiana, would suddenly rank number three under this new border arrangement.

I don't think there is any other state that holds this somewhat dubious distinction.

Some Interesting Maps

I just love maps! While indiscriminately surfing the net last night, I came across a site called Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks. It's a site that can generate color-coded maps of every neighborhood in every city in America based on income and rental prices. Since I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, I thought I'd produce a map of my old stomping ground based on income.




Really no surprises here! I'm quite aware of the wide disparity of income in the St. Louis area. One can find some of poshest mansions just mere miles from some of the most blighted slums in the United States. Actually this map, in my opinion, doesn't quite do this huge gap justice. But you can get the idea from it.

Since my current residence is Terre Haute, Indiana, I thought I'd add an income map of it as well. (Hey, it's my blog! lol)


Terre Haute also has an income gap, but not quite on the level that one sees in St. Louis. For the record, I live in an orange shaded area.

In another visualization project involving mapping, so to speak, I found an intriguing 'YouTube' video that mapped New Yorkers' bus usage in a randomly selected day. The video is called, 'New York transit (MTA): one day of activity'.



Finally, I leave you with some information about the border between the United States and Canada that I bet you weren't previously aware.



I love maps! What can i say?

Ice Storm 2011: A Few Thoughts and Reflections

Local weather forecasters began talking about it almost a week before it arrived as two huge low-pressure systems began forming over New Mexico and eastern Texas respectively. As it became clear that most of the nation would start the month of February off by being slammed with a major winter storm, people prepared for the inevitable by depleting stores of food, milk and supplies…and by forming social networking, groups called “Snowpocalypse 2011” on Facebook.

As it turned out, my home in west-central Indiana lay at the southern edge of the winter storm, but apparently, that wasn't "southern" enough to escape the mayhem. Instead of the thick blankets of snow, which most of the Midwest experienced, our show, here at home, was an inch-and-a-quarter coating of ice over everything.

Unfortunately, electrical engineers still haven't designed power lines that can sustain the weight of such huge quantities of ice. Moreover, it was about 7:30 on Tuesday night (February 1st) amid heavy freezing rain, sleet and high winds when I noticed about a half dozen flashes of light. I first thought it was lightning, but then reluctantly acknowledged the flashes were due to transformers blowing out. Within minutes, our lights began flickering and then ceased to work at all. No more TV, microwave, lights, heat, hot water…and OMG, internet. My family, neighborhood and town were feeling nature’s rage as it decided to make a statement that night.

After 36 hours, we finally had our power restored late Thursday morning (February 3rd). When we arrived home from our overnight stay at the Holiday Inn, we could see our breaths while sitting in our living room. It got down to around 10 degrees the night before and I think our dog and our cat were happier about our return than we were. (The motel stay was rough with the indoor pool, hot tub and room service...LOL!)

Seriously, it is good to be home and at least the food in the fridge didn't go bad!

“Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right
It's all right.” – the Beatles

Beautiful White Christmas

What is it about waking up to view everything covered with a fresh coating of snow on Christmas morning? Perhaps, it's years of social conditioning from various sources that have given me this western perspective that there must be snow on Christmas. In my mind, Christmas and snow go together like cake and frosting even though 90 percent of the people who celebrate it never, ever experience one.

This year, the "White Christmas" scenario played out almost perfectly here at my home in west-central Indiana. Frantically, we did our last-minute, Christmas Eve shopping yesterday. And almost on cue, snow began to fall when we got home to wrap our gifts to lay under the tree. The front room window view looked almost like a turn-of-the-century Christmas postcard with snowflakes magically falling and adding a white canopy to everything they collectively touched. It continued to fall through the night. And by morning, the winter storm had relented after dumping about 2 inches of snow on us. Not too much...not too little....

I'm going to enjoy every minute of this wintry spectacle so long as the calendar says it's Christmas. But tomorrow is Dec 26th...and the official countdown to the vernal equinox begins.